What Love Leaves Behind

What Love Leaves Behind

  • WpView
    Reads 531
  • WpVote
    Votes 39
  • WpPart
    Parts 2
WpMetadataReadMatureOngoing29m
WpMetadataNoticeLast published Sun, Jan 25, 2026
E'laila Celeste Parker-Laia, or just El if you didn't want to get cussed out-is a 13-year-old girl with green eyes, caramel skin, and a temper as sharp as her tongue. She's small-just 4'8" and barely 74 pounds-but she's always stood tall in her hometown of Sherwood, Georgia. Raised by a single mother who loved her fiercely, Laia never knew her father-he was taken from her far too soon. She always wondered what it would feel like to belong to someone again. When tragedy strikes and she loses the only parent she's ever known, Laia's world unravels. But in the ashes of her grief, something unexpected blooms: the male dean of students at her school steps forward-not as a teacher, but as a guardian. A man of quiet strength, structure, and deep compassion, he offers her shelter, safety, and a second chance at something she never thought she'd have again-family. He doesn't flinch at her sass or backtalk. He doesn't let her run wild. And when she crosses the line, he corrects her-with a firm hand and a steady heart. This is the story of what love takes-and what it gives back. "I didn't ask to be saved, because I didn't think I was worth saving." IB: @blakemicheal
All Rights Reserved
Join the largest storytelling communityGet personalized story recommendations, save your favourites to your library, and comment and vote to grow your community.
Illustration

You may also like

  • The Silent Sister
  • THERE IS ALWAYS A PRICE TO PAY
  • Crown of Venom: crestwood university book three
  • Heart
  • Knox's Girl (Carmichael Series #1)✔️
  • The Boris Kids ✔
  • Dabbling in Danger
  • The Ghost

Alessandra has never believed in safety. Life never gave her a reason to. Pain carved her childhood, silence became her armor, and trust? That was a luxury she could never afford. So when she runs -- bloody, broken, and barely breathing, she doesn't expect saving. She certainly doesn't expect to be taken in by a family dripping in wealth and power and. . . warmth? A mother who refuses to give up on her. A father who watches like he's waiting for her to let him in. And six brothers. Rough. Protective. Complicated. Brothers, who don't know what to do with a sister who won't speak. She doesn't know how to trust. How to believe that maybe not everyone wants to hurt her. Every instinct tells her to run. To shut down. But they don't let her go. Not when she flinches. Not when she hides. Not even when she breaks. Happiness is for other people, or that's what she believes. But when love comes wrapped in gentle patience and fierce protection, when hands reach for her without demand, when hearts break themselves wide open just to hold her... she starts to wonder. Can a girl stitched together with silence and fear ever belong in a family built on love? Can she stand tall when the ghosts of her past refuse to let go? And when danger claws its way back into her life, threatening everything she's come to know... will she find her voice, or will she shatter all over again? Trigger Warnings: Child abuse. Violence. Addiction. Panic attacks. Self-harm. Death, and more.

More details
WpActionLinkContent Guidelines