Linger Maggie Stiefvater

After awakening years before the demise that once destroyed me, I, Lucy Hale, swear I will never again fall for Adrian Hawthorne. In my last life, loving him earned me nothing but humiliation, betrayal, and a future broken beyond repair. Now, armed with memories I shouldn't possess, I tuck myself away inside my boutique, determined to avoid him, avoid fate, avoid everything. But the universe has never been kind to my plans. No matter how I twist the timeline, Adrian keeps slipping back into my life, closer, impossibly entangled. His eyes linger longer than they should. His questions cut deeper than I’m ready to admit. And worst of all, he seems drawn to me in ways he never was before. And then there is Elias Ward, quiet, observant with eyes sharp enough to see through any disguise. Elias is nothing like Adrian. Where Adrian gleams with cold polish and empty promises, Elias is warmth wrapped in quiet mystery. A man who shouldn’t matter to me. Yet, somehow, he does. As I try to distance myself from the Hawthornes, Elias drifts steadily closer, noticing the cracks in my composure, the ache beneath my smile, the truth I’ve fought so hard to hide. He becomes the one thread I can’t cut, no matter how much I fear being stitched into someone else’s future again. With Adrian circling me like a ghost from the life I escaped, Elias begins to draw me toward a fate I never expected, a fate where for once, I might finally choose myself. And maybe him, too. But the past doesn't release its hold so easily. And neither do the Hawthornes.

Kathalina Ruiz never believed in fairy tales. Her mother's dying wish bound her to enigmatic CEO Thirdie Stone in an arranged marriage she accepted out of duty, not romance. Yet somewhere between quiet nights and fragile smiles, Kathalina fell deeply for her distant husband only to keep her love locked away, too afraid it would never be returned. For three years, their marriage balanced on politeness and silence. Then one stormy afternoon shattered it all. Kathalina walked into Thirdie's office and found another woman-half-naked-sitting on his lap. Without demanding an explanation, she signed the divorce papers he placed before her, his gaze as cold as the ink that sealed their separation. What she never knew was that Thirdie's betrayal was a lie... a desperate act to protect her from the dangerous threats circling his empire. Heartbroken and grieving, Kathalina fled abroad. From the ashes of her pain, she rebuilt herself into a celebrated jewelry designer, admired for her elegance and independence. But fate had other plans. Years later, her mother's lawyer makes a revelation she has inherited a vast fortune and controlling shares in Stone Corporation. The life and the man she tried to escape are waiting for her return. Back in the city where it all began, Kathalina comes face-to-face with Thirdie once more. Old wounds resurface, secrets linger in every shadow, and danger draws closer than ever. Now, she must decide to protect her heart from the man who once broke it or uncover the truth he buried......a truth that could change everything she thought she knew about their past. A story of love, sacrifice, and second chances, The Stones We Keep asks.....is it ever too late to believe in a love that never truly died?

Lila Reid’s life of privilege has always felt like a gilded cage. As the wallflower daughter of the powerful Richard Reid, she has always shy away from the cameras due to her traumatic experience when she was a kid. But when a series of sinister threats against her family emerge, her father hires his best friend, Caleb Marshall to be her bodyguard. Caleb Marshall with his commanding presence and rugged good looks, awakens something dark and primal within Lila. She can't help but be drawn to the way his eyes linger on her, the subtle brush of his hand against hers that sends shivers down her spine. The forbidden nature of their attraction only intensifies her desire. Every stolen glance and accidental touch fuels a hunger she’s never felt before, a need she knows is dangerous but impossible to resist. Caleb Marshall known in his other life as Alpha Marshall has always been a man of honor, fiercely loyal to his best friend Richard Reid. Protecting Richard’s daughter, Lila, was supposed to be a straightforward task, but the moment he saw her, he felt an overwhelming pull. She is his second chance mate, a bond he thought he’d never feel again. The fact that Lila is human and already promised to another man only adds to the torment. Every moment he spends with Lila is a test of his restraint. Her scent, her closeness, the way she looks at him with a mix of innocence and desire—it drives him to the edge. He is consumed by a dark, primal need to claim her, to mark her as his despite knowing the consequences. The forbidden nature of their attraction gnaws at his control, making every touch, every heated gaze a battle against his deepest instincts

Emily Watson is the next heiress to a multi-billionaire industry company. Instead of taking her fortune and next step as royalty, she let it all go for a man she fell in love with for 7 years. Little did she know that the 3 years of her marriage was going to be cold and distant. Her husband has never touched her since that night, her mother-in-law hates her. Her life was miserable. Yet, she linger on because she loves him. Even if she watched him from a distance, it was fine with her for he was her every breath. Until one day he divorce her to be with the woman he loves. What's this? The woman is pregnant. Heartbroken she left her husband and the home she had called for so many years. 6 months later she showed up at the biggest and grandest Watson's ball. There Emily stood, the next heiress to the multi trillionaire of the century. Her ex-husband, Joshua MacClare was shocked that the woman he have divorce have made him yearend for her. His heart was beating rapidly for her, his eyes followed her every movement, his breathing was unsteady as she was close to him. He gulped as he wanted her. Wanted her as his wife again. "We're divorced," said Emily. "No, we're not," said Joshua. "Huh?" questioned Emily. Joshua smiled at her and said, "On that night, a rainy night if you have forgotten, the documents were destroyed." "What?" asked Emily. "You see, you threw our divorce paper into the stormy rain. So, the rain have washed away our prints." Emily's breath quickened. "So, since there is no legible signatures on the divorce paper, we're never divorce." Emily backed away from him. Joshua walked over to her and said, "You're still my wife."

"Why did you poison my drink?" Yelled a woman, her gaze glaring daggers at the man who stood with a brazen look as he placed both his hands in his pocket simply watching her. His steps echoed his movement as he entered the room, his presence filled the air. "Because you want to leave me" he said, his words angering the woman who reached out to strike him but stumbled in the process, her body swaying to the ground but right before she could fall, she was pulled into a firm sturdy chest. "I hate it when you run from me. I hate it when men linger around you. I hate it when they touch what's mine" he said stroking her head. "You lost the right to call me that Mr DONOVAN. I don't belong to you" With a smirk playing on his lips he said. "If I can't have you, then no one can" *** Never did Lilly realize her peaceful life could turn into her worst nightmare when she fell in love with her childhood crush. 15yrs ago she had brought him into her home. 15yrs later, he reigned down chaos, destroying her peaceful home. He blamed her for the death of his parents, treated her like a slave and left her for dead. But 5yrs later, she returned. She was no longer the weak being she once were. But all hell broke lose when after so long, she crossed paths with him. In her heart she despised him but in his heart, a sudden sense of obsession emerged. A dark desire to keep her with him. Will Lilly be able to forgive him? What happens when she harbours a great secret from him? "Mom, who is that man on the television?" "No one dear. He's your worst nightmare"

They called him Father. She called him forbidden. Ayana Marcus thought coming home for Christmas would be simple—a few weeks of family dinners, church services, and small-town nostalgia before returning to her real life in Boston. She didn't expect him. Father Nelson has been her father's best friend for two decades. A priest. A pillar of their tight-knit community. A man who's supposed to be untouchable, unshakeable, holy. But when Ayana returns after four years away—no longer the sheltered girl who left, but a woman who knows her own mind—everything changes. One look across her family's dinner table, and she sees it: the way his dark eyes linger a second too long, the tension in his jaw when she speaks, the white-knuckled grip on his glass when she laughs. Father Nelson isn't just her father's friend anymore. He's a man on the edge of breaking. One stolen kiss beneath the mistletoe shatters two decades of self-control. What begins as a single moment of weakness spirals into a secret affair that threatens to destroy everything—his priesthood, her family, their souls. He tells himself he's corrupting her. She knows she's awakening him. In the cold December nights, between whispered prayers and desperate touches, they discover that some sins taste like salvation. That the line between worship and desire is thinner than either imagined. That love—even forbidden, impossible, unholy love—can be the most sacred thing of all. But in a town where secrets don't stay buried and the church sees everything, their passion will cost them more than they ever imagined. He's twice her age. Her father's best friend. A man of God. She's everything he's denied himself for twenty years. And this December, they'll learn that some gifts are too dangerous to unwrap… But impossible to resist.