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

Accidentally breaking into the home of a major public-enemy-in-hiding was either the best or worst idea Matilda has ever had. She's not quite sure. -- When Matilda Ryler takes up 'emergency residence' in an unoccupied penthouse in the dirtiest part of town, she doesn't expect to run into much trouble - it takes time for apartments to be acquired and sold on, and by the time anybody figures out how to unlock the door, she'll already be halfway down the fire escape. It's not a comfortable lifestyle, or a safe one, for that matter, but in any case it's better than the world she left behind. Without warning, her plans are suddenly thrown into disarray when she runs into the incumbent resident of the dilapidated apartment. Rugged, brash and wildly antisocial, she isn't entirely sure that this strange new man isn't a serial killer or some sort of nomad returned from 20 years in the wild. Yet something about him is familiar, and perhaps against both of their better judgements, she is able to talk her way into a temporary spot on his sofa. But as time goes on, it becomes clear that both of them are concealing secrets from their pasts. Big, dark, earth-shattering secrets.