Oh, how the bells all seem to say throw cares away...
I wish I could. Ever since my mother died, I've found little joy in this holiday season. Sure, the lights are pretty. Yes, my little hometown of Antioch comes alive with the festivities. Tinsel and mistletoe, snow and moonlight, cocoa and carols.
The wonder is everywhere, heralding in a new year. It's a time for celebration, for family, and figgy pudding. Not a time to mope. Certainly not a time to fantasize about tall, dark strangers...right?
Forest Kirschner, the town Grinch. Brooding and handsome, all straight lines and rugged shadows. The perfect subject for charcoal and canvas.
He lets me sketch him, permits me close. Soon I start to see the broken man under the grim guise. And, oh, how I want to fix him.
Christmas miracle indeed...
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Joy without end, their joyful tone to every home...
There's nothing joyful about this holiday. It's a capitalist marketing scheme aimed at people who can't possibly understand what heartbreak is. Full of people tripping over themselves and casting all sense and reason to the wind.
Left at the altar on Christmas Eve. Pardon me for my scrooginess. Bah humbug and all that.
I've locked my heart down and thrown away the key. I just wish someone told Nicasia Crest that.
This girl who trails me, draws me, sees me. It doesn't matter how much I try and hide behind my bitterness, she sees right past it. She mends my broken heart, helps me see the joy I was so ready to forget. She brings the world to life, sends color swirling around me like a whirlwind.
Too bad love can't conquer all...or can it?
Co-written with WriterNat_A.
Warning: Mature content.
Word count: 24,966
"You're a spoiled, ungrateful brat." Asher snarled, turning around so suddenly that I nearly fell from the sheer momentum. His blue eyes blazed with an icy fire as they narrowed into slits.
"Why are you so ignorant?" He took a large step towards me as his words rocketed around the room.
I bit my trembling lip with all the strength in the world.
No freaking way.
Absolutely not.
I refused to cry in front of him.
"Can't you see that I care?" His tone so dangerously quiet, so very low. I pushed myself back further into the stony wall, hoping it would swallow me whole. "Is that not enough?"
His eyes dropped to my lips, flickering back up as quickly as they had fallen.
All I could see was him, all I could feel was him. He had captured every single one of my senses.
And I hated it.
He made me feel things that I sure as heck didn't deserve to feel.
"To hell with the rest of them." He growled, "you're mine."
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Ariella Gates is the daughter of one of the richest men in the world. As someone who is set to inherit billions, she's never had to lift a finger.
Unfortunately, no one expected her 'beloved' daddy to die so soon.
Thrown into a world of poverty, Asher Kent, a pessimistic yet handsome cleaner, reluctantly takes her under his wing.
They say that opposites attract.
Let's test that fictitious, romantical theory out.
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A bucketload of heart fluttering romance, a dash of tragedy and a hint of danger.
INCLUDES SOME MENTION OF THE FOLLOWING TOPICS - violence, physical and emotional abuse, death, mental health and eating disorders.
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A massive thanks to @june-writes for this amazing cover. Check her graphics out!