Susan had been single for longer than she cared to admit. Her friends had always teased her about her hopeless romantic streak, pushing her to step out of her comfort zone. Reluctantly, she downloaded a dating app, bracing herself for an endless parade of awkward bios and uninspiring matches. She swiped left, swiped right, matched with a few, but nothing clicked.
Just as she was about to give up and delete the app, a profile caught her eye, a guy with the mysterious name "A." His bio was cryptic, his photos undeniably charming, and something about him made her want to learn more. As a lifelong romance reader, Susan couldn't resist a man with blue eyes. Against her better judgment, she dived into conversations with him only to realize that Artha, yes, "A" had a name, was everything she'd been warned about: a smooth-talking heartbreaker, a self-proclaimed player, and a walking red flag. Her head screamed to run, but her heart couldn't let go of the rare, unexplainable connection she thought they had.
But then came the truth. During one of their candid conversations, Artha admitted openly, "I'm a playboy, Susan. That's who I am. I've never wanted to change, and I don't think I ever will." His words should have been enough to make her walk away, but they weren't. The hopeless romantic in her wanted to believe she could fix him, to be the one exception in his life. The realist, however, warned her that no amount of anythimg could change someone unwilling to change.
Still, Susan decided to take the risk. She knew she was playing a dangerous game with the devil, but something about him was too strong to ignore and give up.
Was she setting herself up to die by the hands of the devil or for an ever-wanted salvation?
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]]