Kissing Scars

Set in the mid-19th century, a masked benefactor purchases a supposed 'satanic' creature on London's black market. What he gets instead, however, is someone he never knew he would fall in love with, much less be loved back. As they both heal from the scars of their past, they find their fates are more interwoven than either would have ever imagined. *Contains themes from Beauty and The Beast, Phantom of the Opera, and Frankenstein* (I do not claim rights to the cover image)

I wheel myself into the birthday celebration that Wales Price has thrown for me. The atmosphere is originally lively, but a brief silence descends when everyone sees me. The guests are there for different purposes, but celebrating my birthday is not one of them. "Is that Mr. Price's crippled fiancée, Joey Hertza?" "Yeah, but the one he really loves is Anna Giovanni. I saw them kissing in a corner earlier." They use their wine glasses to block their mouths as they speak loudly. They think I'm still the crippled deaf I used to be. They don't know that I regained my hearing last week. I can hear every mocking comment they make. Meanwhile, Wales stands there and allows it to happen. He doesn't stop the guests from talking about me. He seems to have forgotten that I only ended up like this while protecting him. I shoved him away when the accident happened and got trapped underneath the car myself. When I was rescued, Wales swore to stay with me and care for me for life. It's only been three short years since then, but he's already changed. I receive a message on my phone. "Ms. Hertza, the lifelike corpse that you've ordered is now complete. Reply to this message with your confirmation, and your death-faking service will be immediately effective. We will send the corpse to your and Mr. Price's wedding in five days." I don't even hesitate as I reply with my confirmation. Enjoy your wedding, Wales.

Alpha Joe signed a marriage contract with me to save his heart-sick crush— in exchange for my heart. On the day of the wedding, I was pushed onto the operating table. Her heart was taken. He was kissing his bride, while I died alone on a cold hospital bed. But fate gave me a second life— I returned as the most power ful Alpha, Stephen, vowing to make every betrayer pay in blood. Alpha Joe thought I was still the helpless little Omega. He never expected me to come back— with a lethal power , and memories sharp enough to kill him.

Ethan West and I were together for seven years. Because of one promise, I gave up the thrill of being a gold-medal race car driver to become a housewife, tied to the mundane rhythm of pots and pans. Yet, Ethan never changed. His gentle care and thoughtfulness remained constant over the years, and I believed he loved me. Until the day I saw him, madly holding another woman, kissing her as if the world would end. It was then I learned the truth: I was Ethan's wife, but Tara was the unattainable princess he had always longed for.

I was once the beloved daughter of the powerful Alpha and Luna of The Midnight Ridge Pack. I thought I had everything—a loving family, a protective brother, and a perfect fated mate—Steve Dolton, the strongest Beta of The Midnight Ridge Pack and the man I had loved for eighteen years. But when I turned eighteen, my world shattered. I discovered that I had been switched at birth and that Penny was the true heir of the pack. In an instant, I became the most awkward existence within The Midnight Ridge Pack. Though my parents promised I would always be their daughter, when Penny offended The Rogue King, they didn’t hesitate to make me take the blame and threw me into the infamous rogue den. I endured torture from silver chains and wolfsbane, my body covered in scars, becoming the lowest slave in the rogue den. It wasn’t until the fifth year that my brother-Alpha Joe and my former fiancé- Steve, came to the rogue den to take me back to The Midnight Ridge Pack. I overheard the casual chatter of the servants. "Does she seriously think she can come back?" "She made Miss Penny suffer outside for over a decade, stole ten years of happiness from her, and now she has the audacity to return and keep taking what belongs to Miss Penny. Shameless." "I heard that bringing her back this time is to help Miss Penny..." My throat tightened, and my palms grew cold. "Julia, come back home with us. We were wrong about you!" "Steve and I will treat you twice as well. You're still our precious little princess!" Amid their urging and apologies, I loosened my hand grip on the tattered hem of my dress. I had already promised to marry the son of The Rogue King. Our wedding was just around the corner.

After getting a divorce with her husband which leads to the fall of her family into bankruptcy, Olivia sues her ex-husband and loses the case alongside her house and properties due to foul play from the judge’s side. After returning to her hometown for a fresh start with scars of the heart that might never heal — a chance encounter leads her to a younger man she never remembered helping during their childhood days. And he has other plans for her even though the whole world seems to be against them being together.

She lowered her eyes, not being able to look directly into the eyes of his crush. Matthew however no longer felt embarrassed and in fact lifted Martha’s face by her chin and implanted a deep kiss on Martha’s glossy lips. The kiss lasted for not more than 10 seconds and it was Martha who had backed out of it. As quickly as she withdrew herself from the kiss, she made quick steps towards the encampment and after a few steps, she stopped and turned behind to Matthew “Let’s get back to the encampment or other might get worried” As she lost the sight of Matthew after turning back and walking towards the encampment, a smile made its way on Martha’s lips since deep inside, she was melting like a hot chocolate by remembering the tender way in which Matthew had lifted her chin and kissed her. On the contrary, Matthew panicked as he believed he made a mistake by kissing Martha without her consent. He quickly followed up with Martha when they were just a few meters away from the camp, fearing if she would blurt out everything in front of others. He couldn’t even muster up the courage to talk to her and chose to leave everything on fate. They reached the camping venue, much to Matthew’s surprise; Martha acted very normally in front of everyone but constantly avoided taking a look at him, let alone talking to him.

“How cruel of you! You were the one who left when I was ready to fight for you. I searched the world for you, and now that I found you, you were betrothed to another man. Tell me how! How do I unlove you?” Tears fall from both our eyes and the next thing we know, we are kissing each other, deeply and passionately, as if the two years of longingness for each other have finally been released. _ Avery Anderson called "Ava" who is still a virgin in her early thirties is a career-oriented woman. She puts up her own business through her hard work and is envied by a lot of women because of her seven-year-long relationship with Seigfried Cohen, a hot bachelor in an accounting firm. Their relationship starts to fall apart as they get into a heated argument because of Ava's unfathomable sexual drive. Determined to lose her virginity, she travels to Austria to unwind and get laid by whoever finds her attractive. There, she encounters a guy named Dmitri, a gorgeous sexy billionaire: an encounter that shouldn't have happened in the first place. She will then, know a world, that she never expects to get addicted to.

Kian Park, a college student in a prestigious SN University, gets hired as a tutor of a bubbly and cute high school girl named Mina. Cold, smart, quiet and handsome, Mina falls for him every day. As she tries to befriend him, Kian Park keeps distance from her, trying to hide his real identity. Mina lives with his rich grandfather who resents her family for pursuing their love for music. Her dad, a band's vocalist; her mom, a music coach; her brother, a band member, all of them have left her, making Mina never want to play her guitar and sing again.She conceals scars from her past. But, Kian Park can see and feel Mina's unheard pain. For her, Kian's eyes have become her home where she no longer needs to hide her wounds and tears. Though Kian slowly becomes Mina's comfort, he always tries not to get close to her. Kian Park's identity, Mina's questions surrounding her tutor, those sudden events that involve both of them, Kian who always appears to help her, Mina's curiosity never stops.What lies behind Kian's beautiful eyes? What if behind his handsome face hides true evil?

It had been five years since I started dating Ross Jenner. His family invited my mother and me to their family home in Fellaton to discuss our wedding plans and to spend Valentine's Day together. It was past 10:00 PM when my mother and I landed, but Ross wasn't there to pick us up because his college junior, Laurel Elledge, had just arrived in Fellaton. He told me to figure out a way to get a cab to the house myself. In a strange place, unfamiliar with the area, it wasn't long before we found ourselves in danger. Just over ten minutes outside the airport, we were robbed. My mother was injured while trying to protect me, and she collapsed, bleeding heavily. Desperate, I held onto her, frantically trying to call Ross. Each call was abruptly cut off, and when I finally reached him, he sounded irritated. "Jennifer, you're an adult, so stop acting like a child. You couldn't even hail a cab on the street? Laurel just got to Fellaton and isn't feeling well. I need to take care of her." Without waiting for a response, he hung up. I tried calling again, only to find that I had been blocked. In the end, my mother's injuries were too severe, and she bled out before the doctors could save her. As I stared at her lifeless body, tears flowed uncontrollably. When I finally checked my phone again, the first thing I saw was a picture Ross had posted on Twitter. In the photo, he was kissing Laurel and holding a bouquet of roses. [Spending Valentine's Day with the one I love most.] I quietly threw the gifts I had brought from home into the trash. Then, I left a comment, which said, [Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness.]