Bar Series #6 For as long as Avey Hermoza remembered, River Eustaquio wasn't into her. River made it clear that he would never love Avey. Friendship is the only thing he can offer. Avey was fully aware that a man like River would never break his rules for her. So, she tried to pretend that the man meant nothing to her. She even asked River to introduce her to his friends in the hopes that she would forget about him. She never did until she got married to Gael Toledo. Her marriage was supposed to be perfect. She loves the man, and the man loves her. However, everything changed when Gael discovered Avey's betrayal of him. While trying to save her marriage, Avey found herself in a tangled rendezvous with River that eventually led to bloodshed. River has finally realized that he cannot lose Avey for the second time. Now, he holds the gun. Will it be able to save Avey, or will it seal their love for each other until the end of time?

"When I tell you that he hates me, you'll probably assume it's because he's a jerk...but you'd be wrong. He's not a jerk. I am." --- Several years ago tragedy struck Emma's home, leaving her broken... like a cup with cracks spiraling and slithering around the edges. Slowly, bitterness crept in like tar, hardening between each fracture to resemble a deceitful wholeness. She became a monster, and targeted her venom on the sweetest person she could find: Trinity Nixon. Too bad the boy Emma longed for was Trinity's brother. Now, as Emma fights to win the heart of the boy who despises her, she's forced to hide her demons. She paints her fragile cup in pinks, yellows, and oranges - all the colors of the sun. She paints on a smile, and an unusual sense of humor, so that the world will view her as bright and cheerful, when in reality she's breaking. But she's completely unprepared for the acidic truth that melts away the tar, demolishing her shell, and awakening the Emma White buried deep inside. --- Book 1 in The Dismantled Pride series *Story was previously titled "Faking It"