♡♥︎ 𝓗𝓮𝓻 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓱𝓲𝓶, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓱𝓮𝓻. ♡♥︎
He wasn't a man grown with a silver spoon, but he was her prince charming.
She wasn't a girl pampered as a princess but she was his favorite women.
𝐀𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐚 𝐏𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐚, a 24-year-old man, living with his three-year-old daughter in a quiet village.
A man of principle, he possessed sharp and handsome features, yet carried a gentle and soft heart.
A struggling writer, he often found escape in his words. To the villagers, he was their savior.
"Shree, mere paas tumhe dene ke liye sirf prem hai... sachha prem hai. Mera parivaar sirf yeh gaav hai."
[Shree, all I have to give you is love... true love. My family is just this village.]
𝐕𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚 𝐀𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐚, a 24-year-old woman, hiding the dullness of her life behind a smile. She had run away from her house in search of peace, chasing the path toward her dreams.
Little did she know, her destiny would lead her to a village and into the arms of her prince charming.
"Swami, mehlo mein pali Mata Parvati bhi apne prem ke saath Kailash sawari thi. Mai to aapki shree hu aapke saath ke alawa aur kuch nahi chahti."
[Swami, Mother Parvati, who grew up in palaces, also lived in Kailash with her love. I am your Shree, and besides being with you, I desire nothing else.]
One was finding peace to heal and other was finding a story to write.
His story became her healing and her healing became his life.
This isn't the story of a billionaire who laid the world at her feet, it's the quiet, tender tale of them who needed nothing more than each other to feel whole.
In a world chasing luxury, they found something far rarer, a universe tucked in shared glances, a home built in unspoken moments, and a love so grounding it made the ordinary feel divine.
PAUL
I cheated on my fiancée.
Sophie and I were building our future. In love, happy, peaceful. Then she found a lump in her breast and I made the worst choice: I numbed my fear by sleeping with someone else. My worst mistake and my biggest regret. Now I see Sophie around town with him. She's radiant and laughing with people who actually show up. I'm trying to learn how to be a man who does. If she lets me, I'll spend the rest of my life proving I can choose her when it's hardest. If she lets me...
SOPHIE
I thought the promise was in sickness and in health.
But he buried his fear in someone else. On the same night, I walked into a bookstore and meet the gentle giant owner who invites me to his book club full of misfits.
I'm laughing again, I smile more than I ever have, I heal my heart.
My ex says he can learn to stay, but my bookstore owner keeps showing up like it's as easy as breathing. I don't know what the future holds; I don't know if I'll win this battle against cancer, but I do know I'm done wasting time on people that love only when it's easy.
CALLUM
She came in to Rivers & Rhodes Bookstore and asked for books with happy endings only.
I gave her a recommendation, an invitation, and an offer of friendship. Now, this beautiful brave woman is completely under my skin. I'm not here to win a competition against him. I'm here because choosing someone, second by second, is the only way I understand love.
Content Warnings: on page cheating, emotional and physical infidelity, cancer, mentions of vomiting, bleeding, surgery. Please be advised.