Burned

Omar bin Khalid is a thirty four year old man who has lived most of his life outside Saudi Arabia and his father's fear is that he might just have forgotten the Saudi laws and his family's traditions, this proves to be so when he returns from America to Saudi Arabia with an American lady as his bride to be. His father, the Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban is not happy with his decisions especially when he already had plans of getting his only son married to the Saudi princess who had vowed never to love again until Omar, the man she is set to get married to, enters the picture. Scorched is a story about love and the trials that comes with falling in and out of love, strong wills, friendships, greed for power and an ultimate secrecy against the throne. Who is actually the villain of the story? The love triangle between Omar, Megan and Mariam, who wins? And is it worth it in the end?

At the Davenport family dinner, I arrive wearing the same dress Tucker Davenport's true love once wore. His face darkens immediately. He glares at me coldly and orders that my dress be burned on the spot. "Damn it, Willow, can't you show a little self-awareness? Shelby might be too naive to notice, but there's no way I'm letting you appear like this in front of her." The intense heat rushes toward me as the flames consume the fabric. A sharp, burning pain shoots between my legs, crashing over me like a tidal wave. The pain drags me under, but I suddenly jolt awake, barely able to gasp a plea for mercy. Tucker doesn't spare me a glance. He simply turns away to help Shelby cut the cake. Days later, he finally remembers I exist. "As long as you behave and don't bother Shelby again, you'll still be Mrs. Davenport." I stare at the burns on my legs as my tears dry up. I refuse to beg any longer. I'm done being Mrs. Davenport.

Three years ago, Samantha Jade and her parents were trapped in a raging fire. She watched with her own eyes as the flames devoured her mother and father. At the critical moment, it was Connor Parker who charged in and saved her. She fell hopelessly in love with him. For the following three years, she drowned in the tenderness he wove so carefully around her. But later, Samantha discovered the truth: that fire three years ago—Connor had set it. He had approached her on purpose, loved her on purpose, all to avenge his first love. Every bit of love, every gentle word, every beautiful moment between them—none of it was real. It had all been a lie. Since he hated her that much, Samantha decided to play along. Amid Connor's revenge, she faked her death. But when he saw the charred body—believing it was hers—Connor lost his mind.

I accidentally ruined the cake at the fake daughter's birthday party. As punishment, my parents and brother locked me in the basement. "You’ve let your jealousy ruin a perfectly good celebration. Stay here and think about what you’ve done!" they shouted. They left me in the basement and went off to the Maldives to throw another birthday party for the fake daughter. When a gas leak occurred at home, I was still locked in the basement. As soon as they remotely turned the lights on, the whole house exploded, taking my life with it. After my death, my spirit drifted over to where my family was celebrating. I saw them gathered around the fake daughter on a beach. When a luxury three-tiered cake was brought out, they watched her make a wish with a smile. The fake daughter put on a show of concern about me. "Darling, you’re too kind-hearted. People like her deserve to be locked up and taught a lesson. Let’s see if she dares to take anything from you again," they said. Hearing that, I completely gave up on my family. When they returned home and saw the destroyed house, however, my parents and brother went mad.

Normal is overrated; that’s what my mom always said. My mom didn’t know the half of it. For 23 years, I thought my biggest problem was being an adopted child of a single mom in a tiny house, then I burst into flames. My first thought was mental breakdown, but that didn’t explain the fact that real flames were put out by real firefighters, so I fled to the city. The plan had been to check myself into a mental hospital, but I’d been too afraid, so I looked for a temporary job while I worked up the courage. My first interview is where things really went off the deep end. I found myself submerged in a world of monsters, and I was one of them. By my 24th birthday, I would supposedly be set into my immortality, with supernatural powers and all. With not one, but two handsome immortals watching out for me, hatred and hostility still lurked around every corner.

The Sinclair family's story continues in The Lupian Chronicles saga with Fire. This series should be read in order starting with Resurrection and then Gravity. Death's revelation about the Norns and the decisions he makes about it, will shape the future of the Sinclair family for generations to come. Kiran has to face soul-shattering personal loss and new enemies in his pursuit of self awareness. The very real yet surreal threat of losing all that he's built, will only be made worse by the charge of sexual assault he's arrested for. In addition to that, Kiran is also compelled to wage a war with an enemy miles away from him who is hellbent on destroying everything Kiran holds dearest. The challenges and Kiran's decisions will leave him at Death's mercy. Kiran has always believed that love is the strongest magic there is and his agonizing trials will cement his beliefs.