After growing up in foster care, Aurora's only way in the world is the way she makes for herself. Finally free to live on her own and attend college, she is working hard towards her ultimate goal - becoming a social worker to help other kids like her - when she comes home to find an injured dog in her back yard.
Aurora forms an immediate attachment to the animal, only to be visited and forcibly befriended by its owner - a brash, strange boy named Adam. When Adam and Aurora are violently taken captive by the shadows of his past, Aurora must learn to trust her new friends - and herself - in order to save them all.
Trigger warning: Main character is recovering from physical child abuse, sexual assault referenced several times from past experiences.
Damian Blackwood is a man who has everything-wealth, power, and an unshakable reputation as a ruthless CEO. Love? He never believed in it. To him, emotions were distractions, and relationships were nothing more than business transactions.
But everything changes one morning when he accidentally spills coffee on a stranger at a café. Ella Carter, with her soft eyes and warm smile, isn't like the people he's used to. She doesn't fawn over his status or try to impress him. Instead, she simply cleans the mess, gives him a polite nod, and walks away-leaving him utterly captivated.
For fifteen days, Damian returns to the café at the same time, just to see her from afar. He doesn't know why. He doesn't even know her name. But something about her makes his carefully controlled world feel unsteady.
Then fate takes control.
Ella walks into Blackwood Enterprises for an interview, only to realize the man from the café-the one who had been haunting her thoughts-is her new boss. Damian is thrilled but keeps his emotions locked away, offering her the job with a professional mask.
As they spend more time together, the tension between them grows. Damian finds himself breaking his own rules, drawn to the warmth and kindness Ella brings into his cold, calculated world. Ella, in turn, sees glimpses of the man beneath the powerful CEO-one who's afraid to love, but even more afraid of losing her.
Will Damian finally let go of his fears and embrace the love he never believed in? Or will his hesitation cost him the one thing he never knew he needed?
A heartfelt, slow-burn romance about fate, unexpected love, and the power of simple moments that change everything.