Introduction
Just as I was leaving, I got a text from that new male student of hers—attached was a photo of him shirtless, wrapped around her sleeping form with a caption that screamed pure provocation:
[If you really loved her, you wouldn't trap her with marriage. Can't you see she doesn't want this?]
When she finally picked up my call, her tone was beyond annoyed.
"Colin's having a meltdown over mixing the wrong colors, and if this piece gets ruined, it's on you. A marriage certificate is just a piece of paper—we'll do it another time."
She had no idea that, thanks to Colin "accidentally" spilling that cheap turpentine, my severe asthma was raging. Every breath felt like swallowing shards of glass dipped in blood.
And that "another time" she mentioned? It was never going to happen.
After hanging up, I calmly tossed the wedding ring I'd bought for her.
Then I turned and took the groom's suit from the senior who'd had a crush on me for seven years.
Chapter 1
Today was supposed to be the 99th time Sabrina and I were scheduled to register our marriage. It was also the 99th time she stood me up.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Colin, Sabrina's male student.
A photo.
A selfie taken in bed—Sabrina fast asleep, looking vulnerable in her thin nightwear, while Colin, shirtless, held her intimately from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder as he smirked triumphantly at the camera.
Then came the text:
[Vincent, stop trying to tie Sabrina down with marriage. I mean more to her than you ever will. Honestly, she doesn't want to go to the courthouse. If you really love her, let her go. She's made up ninety-nine excuses already—why can't you take a hint?]
In that moment, all I felt was a strange, dead silence.
I turned off the screen, stuffed the phone back into my pocket, and watched Sabrina step out of her car.
She walked up the steps, her brow furrowed.
She started in on me immediately. "Colin just had a complete meltdown because he couldn't get the color right. If that painting is ruined, it's on you."
"Sabrina," I said, glancing at the courthouse's closed doors, "today was registration day."
"I know," she cut me off impatiently. "It's just a piece of paper. We'll do it next time."
I looked at the woman I'd loved for seven years.
"The courthouse is closed," I said, a heavy, cold realization settling in my chest. "There might not be a 'next time.'"
She paused, and the tension in her shoulders visibly eased.
"Oh, well. Next time, then," she said with a dismissive wave. "Nothing we can do about it now. I'm heading back. Colin's waiting for me to help mix his paints. He's really upset and needs me."
With that, she turned and left.
Not even a word of comfort.
I watched her car disappear around the corner, and for the first time, it hit me clearly: maybe I didn't need to waste my life on her.
...
Back at the apartment, I found Sabrina had brought Colin over for a painting lesson.
The strong smell of industrial-grade turpentine hit me like a wall, and I nearly choked on the spot.
I have severe asthma and am highly allergic to turpentine.
Back when I used to support Sabrina's creative process, I'd even wear a respirator to help her clean her brushes.
But now, the living room had turned into a gas chamber.
And Sabrina had promised countless times to upgrade the ventilation system—she'd long since forgotten.
My violent coughing seemed to startle Colin, and his brush clattered to the floor.
When Sabrina heard the commotion, her first reaction wasn't to check on me—it was to comfort a shaken Colin.
"Vincent, can you keep it down?"
She snapped without even turning around, her voice thick with annoyance: "This painting is at a critical stage! Colin just found his flow!"
"I... can't breathe..." I forced the words out.
My throat felt like it was swelling shut, burning like I'd swallowed broken glass.
Lack of oxygen made the veins on my forehead bulge, and cold sweat instantly beaded and dripped from my jaw.
The edges of my vision began to blacken. I gripped the doorframe, my knuckles turning white, just to keep from collapsing.
Sabrina finally glanced back at me.
There was no panic in her eyes—only disgust.
"Stop being so dramatic, Vincent."
She said coldly, "It's just a little turpentine. Don't make a scene."
Sabrina always said she had a bad memory—that she couldn't remember how deathly allergic I was to turpentine, even though I'd coughed myself half to death in front of her countless times.
I used to think it was just part of her eccentric artist persona—how she didn't care about anything outside her work.
But when it came to Colin, her memory worked just fine.
She remembered his favorite "cobalt blue" had to be air-shipped from Germany. She always ordered three tubes in advance, worried he wouldn't be able to mix the exact shade he wanted.
Turns out her memory was selective.
I turned and fled the gas chamber.
I called my best friend, Sam, to take me to the hospital.
On the way, Sam slammed the steering wheel, venting for me.
"What kind of person does that? Goddammit! Vincent, if you forgive her after this, I'll shake some sense into you myself!"
I leaned back in the passenger seat, breathing through a portable oxygen tank.
At a red light, I looked out the window and saw two people in an ice cream shop.
It was Sabrina and Colin. They must've slipped out at some point.
Colin was holding an ice cream cone, smiling as he brought it to Sabrina's lips.
Sabrina was a serious germaphobe.
For seven years, she rarely even kissed me. She'd told me over and over, disgusted: "Swapping saliva is for animals. I don't like sticky, messy intimacy. Vincent, respect my boundaries."
So I respected her. I maintained our relationship like a monk.
But now, that "germaphobe genius," the woman who claimed to hate intimacy, tilted her head without hesitation and took a bite of the ice cream from Colin's hand.
My throat tightened. My heart felt like it was being torn apart.
I lowered my eyes, perfectly calm, pulled my phone from my suit pocket, and texted Sabrina: [We're done.]
The next morning.
Sabrina woke up and reached out instinctively for what was on her nightstand.
For the past seven years, I'd always left a prepared glass of milk there for her.
This time, her hand met empty air.
"Vincent?" she called.
No answer.
She sat up impatiently and walked into her studio, trying to settle her mind through painting.
She went to her palette to mix the signature color of her acclaimed work—"Sabrina Red."
But as she started blending the paints, she realized in horror that she couldn't get the perfect red, no matter what she tried.
Only then did it dawn on her that all these years, I had been the one mixing it for her.
Panic turned to anger.
Sabrina threw her brush on the floor.
She grabbed her phone and called me. "Vincent, are you done yet? Stop with this childish running away and come back here. I need you to mix my paints."
Last Chapters
You Might Like 😍
I Loved You in Silence, You Betrayed Me in French
At my birthday party, my husband whispered to his mistress in French that he missed her. His voice was low, but I heard it all—the black lingerie, the bit about how pregnancy makes you more sensitive. His French clients around us were laughing. He turned and put his arm around me, claiming he was just helping his clients come up with sweet nothings.
He doesn't know I understand every single word. Just like he doesn't know that inside my body, I'm carrying his other surprise. And his mistress—she's pregnant too. Two wombs, one secret.
Confrontation would be too cheap. Tears are worthless. I quietly started cataloging the hidden networks my father left behind, activating the Swiss accounts.
In seven days, Zoey Smith will cease to exist. And what will my husband's reaction be?
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother
"What is wrong with me?
Why does being near him make my skin feel too tight, like I’m wearing a sweater two sizes too small?
It’s just newness, I tell myself firmly.
He’s my boyfirend’s brother.
This is Tyler’s family.
I’m not going to let one cold stare undo that.
**
As a ballet dancer, My life looks perfect—scholarship, starring role, sweet boyfriend Tyler. Until Tyler shows his true colors and his older brother, Asher, comes home.
Asher is a Navy veteran with battle scars and zero patience. He calls me "princess" like it's an insult. I can't stand him.
When My ankle injury forces her to recover at the family lake house, I‘m stuck with both brothers. What starts as mutual hatred slowly turns into something forbidden.
I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother.
**
I hate girls like her.
Entitled.
Delicate.
And still—
Still.
The image of her standing in the doorway, clutching her cardigan tighter around her narrow shoulders, trying to smile through the awkwardness, won’t leave me.
Neither does the memory of Tyler. Leaving her here without a second thought.
I shouldn’t care.
I don’t care.
It’s not my problem if Tyler’s an idiot.
It’s not my business if some spoiled little princess has to walk home in the dark.
I’m not here to rescue anyone.
Especially not her.
Especially not someone like her.
She’s not my problem.
And I’ll make damn sure she never becomes one.
But when my eyes fell on her lips, I wanted her to be mine.
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
The Human Among Wolves
My stomach twisted, but he wasn’t finished.
"You're just a pathetic little human," Zayn said, his words deliberate, each one hitting like a slap. "Spreading your legs for the first guy who bothers to notice you."
Heat rushed to my face, burning with humiliation. My chest ached — not from his words alone, but from the sick realization that I had trusted him. That I had let myself believe he was different.
I was so, so stupid.
——————————————————
When eigteen-year-old Aurora Wells moves to a sleepy town with her parents, the last thing she expects is to be enrolled in a secret academy for werewolves.
Moonbound Academy is no ordinary school. It's here young Lycans, Betas and Alphas train in shifting, elemental magic, and ancient pack laws. But Aurora? She's just...human. a mistake. The new receptionist forgot to check her species - and now she's surrounded by predators who sense she doesn't belong.
Determined to stay under the radar, Aurora plans to survive the year unnoticed. But when she catches the attention of Zayn, a brooding and infuriatingly powerful Lycan prince, her life gets a lot more complicated. Zayn already has a mate. He already has enemies. And he definitely doesn't want anything to do with a clueless human.
But secrets run deeper than bloodlines at Moonbound. as Aurora unravels the truth about the academy - and herself - she begins to question everything she thought she knew.
Including the reason she was brought here at all.
Enemies will rise. Loyalties will shift. And the girl with no place in their world...might be the key to saving it.
Accardi
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.
Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
A pack of their own
Game of Destiny
When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.
Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.
When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?
Surrendering to Destiny
Graham MacTavish wasn't prepared to find his mate in the small town of Sterling that borders the Blackmoore Packlands. He certainly didn't expect her to be a rogue, half-breed who smelled of Alpha blood. With her multi-colored eyes, there was no stopping him from falling hard the moment their mate bond snapped into place. He would do anything to claim her, protect her and cherish her no matter the cost.
From vengeful ex-lovers, pack politics, species prejudice, hidden plots, magic, kidnapping, poisoning, rogue attacks, and a mountain of secrets including Catherine's true parentage there is no shortage of things trying to tear the two apart.
Despite the hardships, a burning desire and willingness to trust will help forge a strong bond between the two... but no bond is unbreakable. When the secrets kept close to heart are slowly revealed, will the two be able to weather the storm? Or will the gift bestowed upon Catherine by the moon goddess be too insurmountable to overcome?
Shattered Girl
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Was that too much?” I could see the worry in his eyes as I took a deep breath.
“I just didn’t want you to see all my scars,” I whispered, feeling ashamed of my marked body.
Emmy Nichols is used to surviving. She survived her abusive father for years until he beat her so severely, she ended up in the hospital, and her father was finally arrested. Now, Emmy is thrown into a life she never expected. Now she has a mother
who doesn't want her, a politically motivated stepfather with ties to the Irish mob, four older stepbrothers, and their best friend who swear to love and protect her. Then, one night, everything shatters, and Emmy feels her only option is to run.
When her stepbrothers and their best friend finally find her, will they pick up the pieces and convince Emmy that they will keep her safe and their love will hold them together?
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms
From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.
On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...
Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.
George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.
His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"
Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.
When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.
"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"
George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"
"I'm afraid that's impossible."
Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."
The Lycan Prince’s Puppy
“Soon enough, you’ll be begging for me. And when you do—I’ll use you as I see fit, and then I’ll reject you.”
—
When Violet Hastings begins her freshman year at Starlight Shifters Academy, she only wants two things—honor her mother’s legacy by becoming a skilled healer for her pack and get through the academy without anyone calling her a freak for her strange eye condition.
Things take a dramatic turn when she discovers that Kylan, the arrogant heir to the Lycan throne who has made her life miserable from the moment they met, is her mate.
Kylan, known for his cold personality and cruel ways, is far from thrilled. He refuses to accept Violet as his mate, yet he doesn’t want to reject her either. Instead, he sees her as his puppy, and is determined to make her life even more of a living hell.
As if dealing with Kylan’s torment isn’t enough, Violet begins to uncover secrets about her past that change everything she thought she knew. Where does she truly come from? What is the secret behind her eyes? And has her whole life been a lie?













