Painted Scars Neva Altaj

He was the richest man in the country, yet his cold heart was shrouded by pain and grief. Her life was in the captivity of four walls but she smiles brighter than the sun. What happens when two unlikely souls meet under the strangest circumstances? The mighty CEO Jason Cho finds himself in a predicament when his estranged older sister dies and gives him the custody of her little daughter, Alina. Hiding the scars of his abusive past and shrouding himself behind a wall of anger, he neglects his niece who serves as a reminder of his nightmares. Neglected by her uncle and saddened over her parents’ deaths, Alina resents her uncle for his indifference. But everything changes when a mysterious girl named Alya enters their lives like a wrecking ball. Highly optimistic and naive, Alya's bright outlook begins to clash with the cynical Jason while Alina is delighted to have a companion. Alya's positive influence bridges the gap between the uncle and niece. Jason, too, finds himself drawn to the girl who was determined to break his fences. Alya was also attracted to his inherent goodness, her heart beating erratically whenever he was near. But the deep rooted secret Alya hid was going to endanger Jason’s life. The secret which had made little Alina’s parents the target of a sinister man and led to their deaths. That Alya was not a human being. She was a mermaid. Can Jason accept Alya after knowing the truth? Can Alya protect her newfound family from the man who is hellbent to recapture her and throw her back into captivity? Can the powerful CEO save his lady love from those who are threatening to destroy their happiness?

Alina Lauraine Santiago is finally beginning a new chapter—college life in the city, away from the shadows of her painful past. But freedom doesn’t erase trauma, and the emotional scars of her father’s abuse and her family’s struggles still cling tightly. Determined to make it on her own, Alina juggles part-time jobs and photography gigs to support herself and help her siblings. Then she meets Harold—charming, kind, and seemingly perfect. But behind his smile lies a truth that leaves Alina shaken and betrayed. After a devastating encounter, she runs from everything. It’s only through the love of her best friends that she finds the strength to return to university and face the pieces of her broken life. That’s when Grayson enters the picture. They’ve crossed paths before, but never like this. A simple deal brings them together, and what starts as casual quickly turns into something more. But when Alina discovers she’s pregnant, fear and uncertainty force her to make an impossible decision: leave Grayson behind without telling him the truth. Years later, fate brings them back together—and Grayson still doesn’t know he’s a father. As they reconnect and old feelings resurface, Alina must confront the secret she’s kept for so long. When Grayson finally learns the truth, their fragile reunion is put to the ultimate test. Just as they begin to rebuild, a new threat rises from the past—one that could destroy everything they’ve fought to protect. Can love be made from pain and second chances? Or are some wounds too deep to ever truly heal?

Blurb. He was supposed to marry the eldest daughter of the Moretti but he fell for the younger daughter. Maximiliano Bianchi(ML).The heir to the most feared and dangerous mafia empire in New York agrees to an arranged marriage. His betrothed is everything the underworld wants.Sophisticated, beautiful. But on the day of their engagement,Max meets Aaliyah Moretti.Soft-spoken,hazel eyes and innocent but beneath all that,is a ruthless and defiant girl. Amidst everything,Max can't seem to stay away from her. As their forbidden connection goes on. Iris has some skeletons and when the truth is out,might love be enough to save them. Hearts will be broken, loyalty will be tested,ties cut off but only one sister will be able to wear the crown. Characterization. Aaliyah (FM)is a smart,strong-willed young lady who doesn't scare easily.She has hazel eyes,curvy and blonde shoulder length hair. She has her own scars and struggles.She challenges the mafia king any chance she gets. Aaliyah grew up not getting involved in their Mafia affairs. Aaliyah struggles between taking revenge and accepting her feelings for the man she hates. Maximiliano Branchi (Max)is a cold hearted, ruthless and dangerous mafia heir who is feared not only in the underworld but across New York.Physically,he is tall with broad shoulders and bone chicks as sharp as a blade.He has piecing blue eyes that is cold and calculating. He was betrothed to Iris but got eyes for her younger sister Aaliyah. Iris Moretti is a beautiful, sophisticated and well mannered young lady with long dark hair and the shape of a model. She was betrothed to the heir of the Bianchi mafia.She loved Max but loves power and money. She pretends when everyone is watching.

Maya Jenkins has built a life on her own terms. After being abandoned by her father at a young age and betrayed by a man she once loved, Maya has little faith in the concept of true love. But one lonely Saturday night, against her usual instincts, she downloads SoulLink—a new dating app designed to match people based on more than just physical attraction. When she matches with a man named “Ash,” she starts to wonder if she’s been too quick to write off the possibility of something real. Asher Reed is no stranger to living behind a mask. By day, he is the powerful CEO of NovaSpire, the cutting-edge tech company he inherited from his demanding father. By night, he sheds his corporate persona and anonymously tests SoulLink, a product his company has developed. What he doesn’t expect is Maya—a woman who challenges him with her passionate and authentic personality. For the first time in years, he feels seen—not as the CEO or the broken man his ex-fiancée left behind, but as himself. As their connection deepens, so does their vulnerability. Maya’s long-standing trust issues clash with Asher’s secret identity, and their growing bond is threatened by the arrival of past figures— Asher’s manipulative former fiancée. With each revelation, the digital space where they first met becomes a battleground for truth, betrayal, and the complicated pull of their emotions. In a world where identities can be easily manipulated and love is often elusive, Maya and Asher must confront their pasts, their fears, and the choices that will either bind them together or tear them apart. Can they overcome the ghosts of their history and the secrets they’ve kept from each other? Or will their insecurities and unresolved scars lead them down separate paths?

In a world ruled by Alphas, where Omegas and Betas were meant to serve, Mikhail lived in the quiet safety of his mother's love. He was a rare kind of Omega-mute, delicate, and unseen by the brutal world beyond their small cottage. His mother shielded him from the harsh reality of their hierarchy, whispering soft words into his ear as he traced the shapes of her lips with his fingers. But peace was fragile. One cold evening, his father returned-a man Mikhail barely knew, reeking of alcohol and desperation. With a cruel glint in his eye, he grabbed Mikhail's wrist, pulling him away from his mother's trembling arms. "You're worth more than you know," his father muttered, shoving him into the arms of a hooded stranger. Mikhail didn't need words to understand. He had been sold. Colton was a name whispered in fear, a beast draped in human skin. An Alpha whose touch left scars on both body and soul. He ruled with cruelty, his presence alone enough to make even the strongest Omegas tremble. Mikhail had heard of him. Everyone had. When he was thrown at Colton's feet, he didn't fight. He didn't beg. He simply met the Alpha's piercing golden eyes with silent defiance. The room was silent. Colton tilted his head, intrigued. "A mute Omega," he mused, his voice like gravel. "How will you scream for me?" Mikhail swallowed hard, but he refused to break. The Alpha's lips curled into a smirk, but there was no amusement in his eyes. Only hunger. Only the promise of ruin. "Let's see how long that silence lasts."

In Alabama’s rot-soaked bayous, Drucilla Drakes survives by three rules: silence, scars, and never letting Louise—her Bible-thumping captor—catch her hoping. But when a schoolyard ambush leaves her bleeding beneath a stranger’s leather jacket, invisibility becomes a death sentence. Enter Dragon Morales: New Orleans’ most notorious runaway, a cartel prince turned outlaw mechanic with grease-stained hands and a death wish. He doesn’t save people—he survives them. Yet in Dru’s lashed flesh and hellfire gaze, he sees his own shattered reflection. Their bond is gasoline and matches. Dragon’s father—Colombia’s cartel kingpin—hunts them relentlessly. Louise, armed with voodoo rites and the chaos-hungry loa Marinette, vows to break Dru. Their only allies? The Lou Nwa, a bayou biker gang trading in bullets and black magic, and Papa Legba, the crossroads spirit who offers Dru a lethal bargain: *“Her soul or yours.”* Fleeing through the Deep South’s cursed underbelly, they dodge cartel hitmen, haunted swamps, and safehouses reeking of betrayal. Dark magic seeps into old wounds; family secrets tighten like nooses. Dragon swears he’s too ruined to love. Dru knows she’s too shattered to trust. But in the bayou’s choking heat, desire is a grenade they can’t outrun. This isn’t a fairytale. It’s switchblade kisses and saintly curses—a collision of fire and ruin where protectors become predators. Dru doesn’t need saving; she needs an inferno. And Dragon? He’s got a lighter and nothing left to burn. Will they raze the South to ashes, or become the sacrifice the crossroads demands? One truth remains: in the bayou, even survival leaves scars. **Warning:** No princes here. Just bayou smoke, blood-soaked magic, and the kind of love that devours.

MERGING BOOK 1 & 2 "Rainbow! You should be the one begging to stay! We both know that no one else would love you as I do! Who else is going to accept a scarred and wolf-less woman like you if not me?" Jean roared and shattered my heart. "You're so ugly that babies will take one look at you and scream! To top it up, you're wolf-less! You are an abomination!" Jasmine— Jean's supposed sister hurled hurtful words at me. _________________________________________ Wolf-less and Scarred; Unwanted and Ugly, will Rainbow ever find true love? Rainbow was once the eye of beauty itself until two days before her eighteenth birthday. A fire starts and in order to save her boyfriend— Jean, she jumps into the fire despite her wolf's warnings. In saving Jean, she suffers unimaginable burns and the pain is so unbearable that her wolf falls into a hopeless sleep. Therefore, causing her to be wolf-less. Due to her scars, she starts suffering abuses from her pack. The only thing that keeps her going is because she believes her boyfriend loves her despite her scars. Until she catches him cheating on her with his adoptive sister and instead of feeling remorseful, they hurl hurtful words at her because of her condition.This shatters her heart into pieces and when all hope seems lost, the goddess sends her another man in the form of the beautiful Alpha of the pack. Will she finally find true love and her place in the world?Or will she be mocked and played like Jean had done? Unbeknownst to her, her unpredictable journey just began. Follow Rainbow into this fantasy world and find out the twisted things that the goddess has in store for both her and her Alpha mate. NB: Not your typical werewolf story.

Josh Carter, a beguiling wealthy person known for his costly occasions and laid-back manner, is at crossroads. At the point when his dad dies suddenly, he is given a horrendous predicament framed in his dad's will: wed to acquire the Carter family riches, or watch everything deteriorate away. The Carter realm's past weighs intensely on Josh's shoulders, yet the idea of surrendering his unique lone fierce way of life feels like detainment. Josh makes a dangerous arrangement to get away from this unexpected circumstance. He moves toward Amy Wesley, the contemplative and bashful proprietor of a little bookstore in the downtown area, with a fascinating proposition: a contract marriage. Amy, who is lowered under water and fantasies about reestablishing her valued yet monetary striving bookstore, takes Josh's deal. They start their contract marriage, what starts as a ploy changes into considerably more. Josh's unbending facade starts to break, finding scars from a difficult past he's for quite some time tried to neglect. Amy, with secret stores of force, shrewdly directs Josh through the complexities of their bogus marriage. Their lives become weaved surprisingly, and the limits between what's valid and what's only for show get obscured. Amy finds a secret note tending to her, covered in the dusty profundities of the bookstore, similarly as they have faith in the possibility of certifiable love. The note implies a labrynth of foul play and covered thought processes that causes some qualms about Josh's real goals. Amy starts on an excursion to find the purpose for Josh's inspirations, driven by encoded hints from the note, and the plot takes an unexpected bearing. The novel closes with a strained excursion through the city's complex roads, leaving Amy's life in risk, and a dark message implying towards a perilous plot squeezing to swallow them both.

Blurb When I was fifteen years old I fell in love, he was a walking wet dream and for a teenage girl that was only learning to control her hormones, he was Death. I grew up in a religious household, my grandfather was a catholic pastor and so we were raised on a biblical perspective but somehow I always galloped more to worldly things. I was taught no cussing, no deception, and certainly no fucking a hot boy you just met two weeks ago, but- I loved him. I wanted to love him in all the ways I could, and I think he too loved me because he always promised forever. Somehow forever lasted short, I ended up in the wrong hands, terrible hands. I saw some bad things and did worse, my perception of life was ruined long ago now I have nothing, nothing but scars and demons. I had long forgotten about him, but years later, he crashes into my life, and he's married. His wife, making me an unwelcome proposal, and him, making me feel like the indistinguishable stupid girl I was seven years ago. However I'm no longer her, and he isn't the same eighteen-year-old I lied to, he breathes power and seduction that can be seen from miles away. All I want is to get my life in order but with my past feelings and demons resurfacing, I know one thing for sure, I am screwed. We both are. Caelum thinks he is the only fiend in my story, yet there's a far bigger demon lurking in the dark, and no matter the times he goes hunting, he won't find it, the demon hides in the most open places and the longer Caelum searches, the more broken he will be when he encounters it.

“As they say, there's always a thin line between love and hate. “Ethan Frost,a 27-year -old billionaire and the powerful owner of Nexus Global International , One of New York City's largest companies . Ethan commands attention with his presence, sending chills down the spine of those nearby. Ethan frost-a name that commands power making him every woman’s dream yet everyone’s nightmare. Haunted by emotional and physical scars, he’s driven, ambitious, and emotionally guarded. Despite his good looks, he often uses others' weaknesses to his advantage. You could say he's a devil disguised in angel’s form. Juliana Adams, a 23-year-old orphan with brown skin and an average height of 5’5 . She is a ray of sunshine in a world that has never favored her. Julianna did multiple part time jobs to make ends meet. Guarded and resilient, she is unwilling to give love a second chance, determined to protect her heart from past hurt. But what happens when fire meets water ? After a series of heated encounters marked by mutual hatred, fate intervenes when Julianna secures a position at Nexus Global International.Their paths collide, forcing them to confront their animosity. Rumors about Ethan’s sexuality spread, threatening his public image and the company’s reputation. In a moment of desperation, Ethan presents Julianna with a proposal that intertwines their lives in unexpected ways. Bound by a deal they don't fully understand, their mutual hatred threatens to overshadow the fragile agreement that binds them. Will two wounded souls be the ruin of each other, or will they mend each other’s broken hearts? Get ready for a rollercoaster of emotions filled with twists as these two opposing worlds collide in a realm where desire is forbidden and love may be the ultimate downfall.