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 😍
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
Kaged In
Follow Kage's journey as he tries to heal, falls in love and faces his inner turmoil.
The Alpha Of The Shadow Pack And His Mute Luna
Vanessa, the mute runt of a cursed litter, has only ever known cruelty and abuse. Her voice stolen by a witch’s spell, her freedom crushed by a brutal father, she’s been promised to a monster she doesn’t want. But fate intervenes when she’s left for dead—bleeding, broken, and bound—only to be rescued by Alpha Alfred of the Shadow Pack.
Alfred, fighting against a generational curse that has doomed his brothers to remain wolves forever, never expected his fated mate to be a fragile girl on the brink of death. But the moment he breathes in her scent, everything changes.
Together, they must confront the past, survive betrayal, and uncover the true key to breaking the curses that bind them. Will their bond be strong enough to save them both?
BROKEN TRUST
Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.
Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.
Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
Accidentally Crossing the Tycoon
Four years ago, the Bailey family faced a devastating financial crisis.
Just when bankruptcy seemed inevitable, a mysterious benefactor emerged, offering salvation with one condition: a contract marriage.
Rumors swirled about this enigmatic man—whispers claimed he was hideously ugly and too ashamed to show his face, possibly harboring dark, twisted obsessions.
Without hesitation, the Baileys sacrificed me to protect their precious biological daughter, forcing me to take her place as a pawn in this cold, calculated arrangement.
Luckily, in those four years, the mysterious husband never asked to meet in person.
Now, in the final year of our arrangement, the husband I've never met is demanding we meet face to face.
But disaster struck the night before my return—drunk and disoriented, I stumbled into the wrong hotel room and ended up sleeping with the legendary financial mogul, Caspar Thornton.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
King of the Underworld
However, one fateful day, the King of the Underworld appeared before me and rescued me from the clutches of the most powerful Mafia boss's son. With his deep blue eyes fixed on mine, he spoke softly: "Sephie... short for Persephone... Queen of the Underworld. At last, I have found you." Confused by his words, I stammered out a question, “P..pardon? What does that mean?”
But he simply smiled at me and brushed my hair away from my face with gentle fingers: "You are safe now.”
Sephie, named for the Queen of the Underworld, Persephone, she's quickly finding out how she's destined to fulfill her namesake's role. Adrik is the King of the Underworld, the boss of all bosses in the city he runs.
She was a seemingly normal girl, with a normal job until it all changed one night when he walked through the front door and her life changed abruptly. Now, she finds herself on the wrong side of powerful men, but under the protection of the most powerful among them.
The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)
The saint to my sinner. with her innocent eyes and devilish curves.
A Madonna that was meant to be admired but never touched.
Until someone took that innocence from her.
She left.
The darkness in my heart was finally complete.
I avenged her, I killed for her, but she never came back.
Until I saw her again. An angel dancing around a pole for money.
She didn’t know I owned that club. She didn’t know I was watching.
This time I won’t let her escape.
I will make her back into the girl I knew.
Whether she likes it or not.
2/ Judge and Jury- I can’t stop watching her.
I’m not even sure I want to.
Taylor Lawson, blonde, beautiful, and totally oblivious to how much dangers she’s in.
She’s also the one juror in my upcoming murder trial that hasn’t been bought.
The one who can put me behind bars for a very long time.
I know I should execute her.
After all that’s what I do.
I am the Judge.
I eliminate threats to The Family.
And Taylor is a threat.
But I don’t want to kill her.
Possessing her, making her love me seems like a much better plan for this particular Juror.
3/ Rags and Ritches-
Mated To The Last Scribe
A missing woman is found exactly where her latest story said she would be.
A warehouse burns down hours after she publishes another.
Then anonymous messages begin appearing.
WE KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW.
The problem is that Iris doesn't know anything.
At least, she doesn't think she does.
When her stories attract the attention of billionaire Alpha Cassian Blackmoor, Iris is pulled into a hidden world of werewolves, secrets, and deadly conspiracies.
Cassian believes she may be connected to a mystery that has claimed the lives of powerful Alphas for years.
His wolf believes something else.
That she is his mate.
As enemies close in and events from her stories begin unfolding in real life, Iris must uncover the truth behind her impossible gift before she becomes the next target.
Because someone is watching.
Someone is waiting.
And someone will kill to keep the truth buried.
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.
The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates
"Let me go," I whimper, my body trembling with need. "I don't want you touching me."
I fall forward onto the bed then turn around to stare at him. The dark tattoos of Domonic's chiseled shoulders, quiver and and expand with the heave of his chest. His deep dimpled smile is full of arrogance as he reaches behind himself to lock the door.
Biting his lip, he stalks toward me, his hand going to the seam of his pants and the thickening bulge there.
"Are you sure you don't want me to touch you?" He whispers, untying the knot and slipping a hand inside. "Because I swear to God, that is all I have been wanting to do. Every single day from the moment you stepped in our bar and I smelled your perfect flavor from across the room."
New to the world of shifters, Draven is human on the run. A beautiful girl who no one could protect. Domonic is the cold Alpha of the Red Wolf Pack. A brotherhood of twelve wolves that live by twelve rules. Rules which they vowed could NEVER be broken.
Especially - Rule Number One - No Mates
When Draven meets Domonic, he knows that she is his mate, but Draven has no idea what a mate is, only that she has fallen in love with a shifter. An Alpha that will break her heart to make her leave. Promising herself, she will never forgive him, she disappears.
But she doesn’t know about the child she’s carrying or that the moment she left, Domonic decided rules were made to be broken - and now will he ever find her again? Will she forgive him?
Where I End and She Begins
But when a body lies at Amelia’s feet, and her hands are covered in blood that isn’t hers, one question echoes louder than the rest:
How did it come to this?
As the school year unfolds, cracks begin to show — in friendships, in family, and in Amelia’s own mind. The lines between loyalty and control blur. Between truth and perception. Between who she is… and who she thinks she needs to be.
Because some friendships don’t just shape you.
They consume you.
And when the illusion shatters, there’s always something left behind.
One Weekend with the Billionaire
I open my mouth to respond, but all that comes out is a staggered breath and a small sigh. He chuckles, a low, rough rumble and then leans down and kisses the middle of my back.
I feel the tip of him again at my entryway. He pushes in slightly, and my body comes to life again. My muscles react to his presence, contracting and loosening, as if my body is trying to suck him deep inside.
He's my husband's boss, so this is supposed to be wrong.
So why does it feel so right?
Braxton Merriweather always gets what he wants. Now, he wants her--Julia Thompson, the wife of one of his workers. From the moment he first laid eyes on her, he knew he had to possess her in every way.
When Jeff Thompson takes him up on the bargain he proposes, Braxton is shocked. He's even more surprised when Mrs. Thompson agrees.
But now that he's had a taste of her, he wants more. How can he possess a woman who's already married to someone else?
Julia feels trapped by her marriage to her high school sweetheart. In the two years since they've been married, he's changed, and not for the better. When billionaire Braxton Merriweather shows interest in her, she's flattered. And intrigued. Is it possible that one of the richest men in the world could really want her?
And if so... what does she do about her husband?
One Weekend with the Billionaire is a sexy story for mature readers.













