Cherry Mint Dramione

"Help me tighten this?" Her voice trembles as she turns her bare back to the doorway. Calloused fingers brush her spine – but it’s not her stepmother. It’s Asher Voss, SU’s star quarterback and her new stepbrother, smirking in the mirror， "Next time you mistake me for Mom..." His breath scorches her ear. "...I’ll leave a real mark." To survive the sweltering New York summer before college, Wendy Wu makes a deal with Asher: Act like strangers once school starts. He’ll remain the untouchable quarterback; she’ll be just another exchange student. No eye contact. No acknowledgement. Ever. But when her father’s long hauls and her stepmother’s busy schedule force Asher into babysitting duty, the lines blur: In the kitchen, he catches her weeping over a shelter documentary and lifts her against his sweat-drenched chest. Garage doors rattle open – his grip tightens: "Hold on. Unless you want them to see you like this." At a party, her friend spots a cherry hair tie on his wrist before he drags her into a dark hallway: "You didn’t want to see me?" His whiskey-laced kiss brands her lips. "Yet your eyes undressed me all night." In a restaurant, a rival girl glares through the window. He traps Wendy’s thigh under the table， "Call me ‘brother’ and I’ll save you."  Their secret collapses. Wendy ends it, and he freezes her out in public， "Do I know you?" Until a rain-lashed night when Ahser, drenched and desperate, pins her to the wall， "Don’t tell me you do not regret the breakup" His teeth find her collarbone. "I have to admit it-- I miss you." Can a love forged in stolen touches survive the spotlight? Or will their step-sibling bond shatter them both?

“When I pictured what today would look like, it never involved me standing here, alone at the alter, humiliated, as the prying eyes of guests etched at me like daggers and hushed whispers rose amongst them, with the collective gasps of disbelief. And worse, the whole world was watching this LIVE on every local news channel”. *********************** Hi my name is Clarissa, and my perfect fairytale just turned into a public nightmare. One night before my wedding, I was drugged and woke up in a strange place. Confused, late, and barely holding myself together, I still showed up in my gown, ready to marry the man I loved. Only to be left standing at the altar. Alone. Humiliated and Live on every local news channel. But that's not even the cherry on top. The real heartbreak? Is that not only did he ditch me, but I caught him later…..in bed, sexually tangled in my sister's arms. My blood. So I did what any broken, furious woman would do. I turned to the one man who could ruin him, His powerful, dangerously sexy billionaire father, Victor Gonzales. It was supposed to be a game. A scandalous way to burn them both. But Victor isn’t a man you use and walk away from. He’s older. Smarter. Wickedly dominant. And he’s made it clear, if I play with fire, I will get burned. Now, I’m caught in a forbidden game of lust, lies, and revenge. And the more I fall for him, the harder it becomes to remember who’s using who. He was meant to be a pawn. But he just might become my greatest temptation….and my deepest downfall.

“Is that how you thank me for saving your ass?” I could feel his warm breath against my skin, a mix of mint and alcohol. His face was clearer now as the moonlight spilled on us. * * * * * Betrayed, broke, betrothed. Savannah McGrathy lost it all after her father's death shattered her once perfect world. Her stepmother and stepsister changed from the loving family she once knew, stripping her of everything she had. Betrayed by her boyfriend and stepsister and now, betrothed to the ruthless billionaire Diego Montenegro, she is hopeless with no way out. But Diego has a secret from a masked party five years ago—the one night that changed everything. He is obsessed and hopelessly in love. He remembers her clearly but Savannah has no idea they've met before. Now, he will do whatever it takes to protect her, not just from her enemies but from the demons within himself.