Painted Scars

My boyfriend, Allen, is a fitness coach who is cheerful, handsome, and has eight-pack abs. After getting together with me, he transferred all his female students to other colleagues and would send me daily check-in photos. In anticipation of becoming his fiancee, I happily prepared for our engagement ceremony. However, two weeks before the ceremony, I discovered a bright red lipstick mark on Allen’s workout pants. I quickly pulled up the check-in photo he had sent me that day. Through the reflection on a dumbbell, I saw a woman standing next to Allen—her lips painted in the exact same lipstick color. Most of the previous photos had flaws, but I had trusted Allen too much to notice them. Looking at his message under the photo, I let out a cold laugh. "Baby, I have to work overtime today to train a male student." He actually dared to deceive me. Just then, my phone rang. It was the wedding planning company confirming the engagement ceremony setup. I quickly responded with a confirmation. The ceremony would proceed as planned—except I had a special surprise prepared for Allen, one he would never forget.

Just because I ate one chicken leg more than my brother, my father kicked me out of the house in the middle of a snowstorm. Later on, my father of an archeologist dug up my body. Due to my missing head, he did not recognize me. Even when he saw that the body had the same scars as I did, he did not care. Later on, my mother dug out my heart and showed it to her students. "Today, we will study the heart of someone with congenital heart disease." She once said she would recognize me no matter what I looked like. Mom, now that the only thing left of me is my heart, do you still recognize me?

Sarita has always been a good daughter. The straight A's student and quite possibly going to be the class valedictorian on her graduation day. Like every other girl, she began to notice boys when she was fifteen and one boy in particular caught her fancy; Rajveer Chaturvedi. He is the co-captain of the school's basketball team The Panthers but he has never noticed her because he has his eyes on Divya Malhotra, head cheerleader who also happens to be his girlfriend. But Divya has her eyes on Vikrant Suryavanshi, the captain of the basketball team and Raj's best friend. Sarita loses all hope of ever getting Raj's attention but by a twist of fate, she becomes friends with Vikrant whom she'd heard of and seen a couple of times in school but had never spoken to due to the animosity between him and her best friend Kalyani who happens to be his cousin. Feelings grow between the unlikely pair and a long term friendship is broken when Divya's lies are revealed to Raj and Vikrant is painted the bad guy by his friend who swore to get his revenge. Vikrant's and Sarita's relationship is put to the test when she becomes pregnant due to a situation that was beyond their control and she is forced to choose between her family and the father of her baby when a young man shows up, claiming to be her betrothed.

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)

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.

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.

René Huang is a French-Chinese Painter who lives in France. He lives alone there when his parents are living in China. He is famous, rich, and handsome. Everything in his life was perfect until finally, unexpected events started happening in his life. He painted some paintings in his sleep, and there was a secret behind them. He wanted to find out the secret, and when he became a guest lecturer in an art university, he met a student who was related to the paintings. Their relationship was not good at first, but when they were investigating the paintings together, the romance started blooming. Note: This novel is inspired by my fanfiction that was posted on another platform. The idea and the story are mines. No plagiarism. Cover by MichelleLeeee

Protect. Serve. Love.The Aegis Group’s exclusive, all-woman bodyguard team takes pride in doing their job with excellence. But what happens when the lines between work and pleasure are blurred? Or when co-workers become more like sisters? Haley is hiding secrets from her sinfully sexy client she can only tell the other girls. Jennifer the Miracle Girl is determined to not be seduced by the Greek god while untangling her client’s latest mess. Lumen is hiding scars from everyone while carrying a torch for her ex-husband. Prudence jumps out of the fire and into the frying pan with her new client, who just wants to burn up the sheets. And Sage? No one really knows what Sage is doing, and they’re all afraid to ask. Come along with these Dangerous Ladies who love big, fight hard, and get the guy.Aegis Group Dangerous Ladies is created by Sidney Bristol, an eGlobal Creative Publishing author.

Rima: Jacob Snow is a puzzle. I had initially mistaken him for a cold, uncaring, and arrogant CEO, but as we work together, I realize he's the exact opposite. He's warm, considerate, and humble, a far cry from the man I had painted in my mind. But acknowledging this doesn't mean I'm ready to let my guard down. My past is a dark, haunting shadow, and I refuse to let anyone get too close, afraid of the potential pain that could follow. It's been a while since I've felt this way about someone, and the familiarity of these feelings scares me. The last time it ended being the worst mistake of my life. I don't want to give in to these feelings, but I can't deny that Jacob is becoming more than just a boss to me. Jacob: Rima is enigmatic. She’s resilient, determined, and initially, she appears distant. But as we collaborate, I find myself drawn to her strength and determination. She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met, and the spark between us is undeniable. She’s built a fortress around herself, a wall that's impossible to penetrate, but I’m determined to break it down. I sense she’s hiding something, and I can’t shake off the protective instinct that emerges whenever I see her. As we confront the danger together, I find myself struggling to resist the growing feelings I have for her. As danger looms, Rima and Jacob find themselves struggling to resist the growing attraction between them. Their pasts threaten to tear them apart, but they can’t deny the feelings that are blossoming between them. Will they be able to overcome their fears and trust each other? Or will their pasts continue to haunt them and prevent them from finding love?

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?