Cartoon Crushes

“Stay,” Chance rasped, his thumb tracing the curve of my bottom lip. “One night where you don’t think about the past.” ​I leaned into him, the heat of his skin against mine, making me forget why I ever ran. “And if I don't want to think about tomorrow, either?” ​“Then don't,” he whispered, his breath hot against my neck. “Just feel this.” ____ ​Zara Payson was discarded like yesterday’s news by her billionaire husband, Wilson Adams. He didn't just break her heart…he stripped her of her daughter and her dignity. Now, she’s hiding in a small town, rebuilding her life on a single vow: Never trust a man with a gold-plated name again. ​Then there’s Chance, her rugged, brooding neighbour. He’s a fallen hockey god with a body made for sin and a past concealed in shadows. Zara thinks he’s just a man running from an injury. She doesn’t know he’s the disowned third son of the very empire that destroyed her. ​When Wilson discovers he’s sterile…making Zara’s daughter his only heir…the hunt begins. He’s coming to reclaim his property, and he doesn't care who he crushes to get it. ​Chance is the only man powerful enough to stand in his way, but protecting Zara means stepping back into the billionaire world he loathes. As the brothers go to war, Zara is caught in the crossfire of a dangerous game. ​Chance is playing for keeps, but is he saving her from a monster…or is he just the more dangerous brother?

“Rule #1: Don’t fall for the roommate. Rule #2: Seriously, don’t fall for the roommate.” *** After an incident that shattered her confidence, Phoenix wants nothing more than to disappear. So, when her twin brother makes her a crazy, bizarre but deliciously sinful offer, she slips on a uniform and takes her place as his twin ‘brother’ at Harrison Park Academy — a chance to restart and feel in control, just until she feels okay again. But HPA has its own rules—and none of them account for bathroom phobias, shared dorms, or accidentally locking eyes with your ridiculously attractive new roommate. Justice is intense, loyal, and way too perceptive for her comfort. Worst of all? He’s the one person she can’t seem to avoid… or stop thinking about. He’s just irritating enough to make her blood boil. But he’s also kind in the quietest ways, and she’s falling, fast. Now Phoenix is navigating locker room close calls, midnight showers, secret crushes, late-night parties with their sister all-girls’ school across the lake and an escalating rivalry between the athletes and the academic elite. Her lies are stacking higher than her jump shots, and with each game, the stakes get heavier. Everyone thinks she’s just another boy chasing a spot on the team. But she’s playing for more than victory. She’s playing to feel like herself again. She’s playing to forget what happened last year. And if anyone finds out who she really is, it won’t just be her cover that’s blown— it’ll be her entire world. Phoenix is one step away from getting exposed. And when you’re living a lie? One wrong move is all it takes to lose the game. How long can she keep playing it straight?

Nada’s life shatters the day her husband, Harvey, walks out on her with his best friend turned mistress. She is in labor with their triplets after four years of a childless marriage, but he leaves her side to donate sperm to his best friend, Alisa. Broken and humiliated, Nada gives birth to her triplets alone. She refuses to be a victim. In court, she takes everything—Harvey’s money, his name, his dignity. The once-proud police officer is left with nothing but shame. Harvey turns to Alisa, but she is no savior. He finds out the new wife he adores is secretly engaged to Matteo Morelli, a ruthless mafia Don. She had been a bait to lure Harvey into Matteo’s secret black-market fertility scheme. Harvey’s aristocratic bloodline makes him valuable, and he is forced into an eight-year contract. His life is no longer his own. As years pass, Harvey begins to regret abandoning Nada. But regret cannot save him. The mafia controls his every move. When Interpol finally crushes Matteo’s empire, Harvey is dragged down too, accused as an accomplice. Prison looms, and he has only one hope—Nada. But Nada is now a billionaire and a feared judge in Brooklyn. Her price for saving Harvey is: he must return to her as her submissive pet, living by her strict, sexual rules in her bedroom. Harvey agrees. But inside Nada’s home, he’s tortured not only as a submissive pet of his ex-wife but by jealousy as well. Lucas, the loyal nanny who raised the triplets, has everything Harvey lost—Nada’s trust, the children’s love, and a quiet place in her heart. Will Nada choose Harvey, the father of her triplets who betrayed her, or Lucas, the man who took his place and watched her kids grow?

How quickly everything ended by just a single day, I was just like any other girl in the world- laughing and hanging out with friends, taking endless selfies, having crushes on bad boys and nerds included. I never thought or cared about how I look. It was just mine. Normal and Easy. But everything changed in one single moment- a moment filled with fire, screaming metal, and a blur of terror that rewrote my life. I survived. Everybody says I'm lucky but this, this doesn't feel like survival it feels like a punishment, a curse. A curse that am willing to carry all my life. The accident left me with permanent facial disfigurement, and ever since, I've been stuck behind a mask I never asked to wear. My face is the first thing anyone sees, and sometimes, it feels like the only thing they see. I avoid mirrors now. I no longer go out; I can't risk being stared at. Friends faded. Invitations stopped. Of course they would stop, who would want to invite the hideous me. I would scare everyone, worse, ruin their appetite. They would move away from their tables. What did I expect? Life moved on for everyone but me. My mom is the only person in my life right now, shes' become my anchor. Even with her love, it's still hard to silence the voices in my head, the ones saying I'm hideous, broken, unworthy. I miss my old smile. I still haven't done anything in life. And this isn't about my appearance it's about my self- esteem, my confidence, my ability to feel like I belong anywhere. This is a constant battle with the mirror, with the world, and with yourself. And most days, I'm trying to find the strength to look up to.