Bella is the life of the party, a bold flirt who hides her shattered heart behind layers of charm and deflection. After years of betrayal and pain, she's mastered the art of pretending. Nobody sees the cracks beneath her carefully curated mask-until she meets Ava.
Ava is fierce, sassy, and unapologetically herself. She takes no nonsense from anyone, but behind her fiery exterior lies a vulnerable soul burdened by the weight of her own struggles, including a fractured relationship with her father. When their paths cross, it's not fireworks but friction as the two wounded hearts clash, pushing each other to face the truths they'd rather ignore.
As they navigate late-night conversations, quiet moments of honesty, and shared laughter, Bella and Ava discover something they never expected: the power of connection and the courage to grow together. Slowly, they water each other's withered spirits, breaking down walls and planting seeds of hope in the spaces where pain once thrived.
Raw, emotional, and beautifully messy, When the Masks Fall is a story of love, resilience, and the healing that can only come when we stop hiding and let someone in.
best ranking
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#8 in messy love
#5 in messy love
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]