It doesn't matter how she ended up in this four-walled room. What matters is she gets out. ***** After a night out in New York City, Liliana Rossi wakes up in a windowless room with no recollection of how she got there. And she's not alone. The dark and tattooed Mateo Aguilar is also held captive. As the two struggle to survive and hatch an escape plan, they also struggle with growing attraction toward each other, facing Lili with the biggest question yet: is Mateo the reason she's here, or the one who's going to save her? ✨ Wattys 2018 Shortlist & Featured Story ✨ Content warning: this story references themes that readers might find triggering, including drug use and sexual assault. [[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]] Cover designed by Stefanie Saw

The last thing Liam Mcyntire expected to find in his barn one cold February morning, was a half-starved , frozen-solid woman. She's covered in bruises and full of mistrust and suspicions. He'd been perfectly content in his bachelor life of trapping critters, selling furs and living in solitude but this mysterious woman might just change all that. Emma Hawke was running. Running from her father, from the damage the man had done. Running from a life she didn't want--a life no different from the one that had killed her mother. She's never been off the mountain. She trusts nothing and no one--not even the man who saved her life by bringing her out of the cold. If Liam's going to win her heart, he's going to have to learn patience and how to truly care for someone more than he does himself. He'll have to love her softly. Can Emma overcome her past? Can she learn to trust--possibly even love--despite the fear that she holds of men and of marriage? Or will her past track her down and destroy any hope she has for a future?