Fractured Desire
When Elara Santos walks in on her long-time boyfriend tangled in the arms of her best friend, her world shatters in one night. Heartbroken but determined, she flees to Manila to rebuild her life and prove she doesn’t need anyone to survive.
Enter Adrian Velasco—the ruthless, impossibly magnetic CEO of a leading architecture firm. Cold, untouchable, and dangerous to fall for, he’s the last man Elara wants in her life. Yet fate keeps pulling them together. Every clash between them burns with friction. Every accidental touch lingers. Every glance dares her to surrender.
But their growing passion hides darker truths. Adrian’s past is entangled with the betrayal Elara ran from, and lurking in the shadows is Cassandra Ramirez—a beautiful, venomous woman determined to destroy Elara and claim Adrian for herself.
As secrets unravel and desires ignite, Elara must decide:
Will she guard her heart and walk away, or risk everything for a love that could consume her?
In a world of betrayal, ambition, and forbidden passion, one thing is certain—when fire meets fire, someone is bound to get burned.
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Chapter: CHAPTER 5Elara POVHis words lingered in the air, heavy and dangerous. My pen slipped from my hand, clattering against the table, but I didn’t move to pick it up. His presence was too close, his eyes pinning me down as if the whole room had vanished and it was just us.“I don’t have time for games, Mr. Velasco,” I said, though my voice came out lower than I intended.“Good,” he murmured. His gaze dipped briefly to my lips before snapping back to my eyes. “Neither do I.”The silence between us was sharp, like a string stretched too tight, ready to snap at any second. The hum of the lobby faded into nothing. I could feel the heat radiating off him, the subtle scent of his cologne—dark, woodsy, commanding.I forced myself to move, to break whatever spell he was weaving. I bent down to retrieve my pen, but before I could grab it, his hand was already there.Our fingers brushed.Electric. Immediate.I snatched my hand back as if burned, clutching the pen like it was a weapon. “Thank you,” I said, c
Last Updated: 2025-09-02
Chapter: CHAPTER 4Elara POVUntil one rainy afternoon, everything changed.I sat in a corner café, sketching by the rain-streaked window. My coffee had long gone cold, but I cradled it anyway. My glasses slipped down my nose as I scribbled over a design draft.And then I felt it.The air shifted.The door opened, and he walked in.Tall. Broad-shouldered. Sharp black suit tailored to perfection. His stride deliberate, confident, like he owned every inch of space he stepped into. Conversations faltered, people instinctively shifted aside.His presence was a storm in human form.The barista stammered, nearly spilling his coffee as he murmured a single low word, “Thanks.”And then his eyes swept the café.Until they found me.For the briefest moment, the world stopped. His gaze pierced through me, stripped me bare. My heart tripped over itself, my fingers curling around my pen like it was the only anchor left.I couldn’t look away.My lips parted, and before I could stop myself, I whispered, “Don’t stare,
Last Updated: 2025-09-02
Chapter: CHAPTER 3Elara POVThat night, I sat on the floor of my apartment surrounded by half-packed boxes. Cardboard towers leaned against the walls like silent witnesses, and every object I touched carried a memory sharp enough to cut me.The chair Daniel once teased me about. The shelf where Cassandra had set her coffee during study nights. The framed photos I had flipped face-down so I wouldn’t have to look at them.All of it felt poisoned.On the coffee table sat the small velvet box. The cufflinks. My fingers trembled as I picked it up, the lid half-open, glimmering weakly under the lamplight.I whispered to myself, bitterly. “Stupid. You saved up for weeks, Elara. For this?”The silver caught the light, mocking me. I had pictured him wearing them at a pitch, at our wedding. They weren’t cufflinks anymore—they were my faith, my future, my trust… all broken.My chest tightened, my throat closing around the weight of it.I held them over the trash bin, my hand shaking. I couldn’t let go. Not yet.“
Last Updated: 2025-09-02
Chapter: CHAPTER 2Elara POVThe maître d’ called after me, waiters whispered in alarm, and I felt every pair of eyes burning into my back as I stumbled toward the door. None of it mattered.“I can’t—” I choked, my breath rattling as my knees threatened to give out. “I can’t do this.”My legs buckled as I stopped near the curb, gasping, clutching at myself like I could physically hold the pieces of my chest together. Tears blurred the streetlights into messy halos of gold and white.I wrapped my arms around myself, shaking violently. The sobs tore out of me before I could stop them. I tried to swallow them down, but they clawed their way out anyway.My bag buzzed suddenly, a sharp vibration that made me flinch. My phone. I yanked it out with trembling hands.“Don’t,” I hissed through clenched teeth, my hands shaking harder. “Don’t you dare act like you care now.”Daniel’s name flashed across the screen. And then Cassandra’s. One after the other. Over and over.I laughed bitterly when I saw Cassandra’s n
Last Updated: 2025-09-02
Chapter: CHAPTER 1Elara POVWhen I arrived at the restaurant, I was met with an amazing and cosy odor of garlic and wine, the kind of scent that envelopes you the moment you enter—full, alluring, inviting both warmth and satisfaction. Above my head the chandeliers were shining with their golden light, and this light was spreading over the shiny marble floor and the immaculate white tablecloths. The sound of glasses clinking, people's voices mingling, the quiet and sweet melodic playing of violins—all this I felt around me like a fog of beauty.With my other hand, I held on to the small velvet box as I entered La Riviera by force with my shoulder, the most expensive and most luxurious restaurant in town. It felt like the box was way heavier than it should have been - not because of what was inside but because of what it meant. My heart was racing like crazy, every beat it was throwing up a cocktail of panic, expectation, and love.Breathe, Elara. Just breathe.I mouthed the words to myself, unsteady but
Last Updated: 2025-08-30
Chapter: TEASER Adrian POVI had already figured out that people were quite predictable a long time ago. Greed, lust, envy - they all were just different forms of the same currency. This was also true about Cassandra Ramirez. Pretty on the outside, but with poison inside. I turned down her offer once and since then she hadn't stopped holding a grudge against me. That was why right after the moment I saw her cornering Elara Santos at that networking gala, seeing her smile sharpened like a blade, I knew perfectly well what she was up to.She was wounded, still a bit naive, too trusting, and somewhat awkward from the experience.I saw Cassandra moving closer to Elara, her champagne glass dangerously tilted over Elara's sketch portfolio. An action - to destroy the designs, the project, and the woman.Not waiting for Elara's reaction, I acted. With my hand, I caught Cassandra's wrist when she was going to throw the wine on Elara.“Careful,” I said, my voice low enough to freeze her smile. “You wouldn’t wa
Last Updated: 2025-08-29
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