Painted Scars

"Some cages feel like safety… until you fall in love with your captor." Leona has spent her life escaping—from homes that felt like prisons, from scars no one sees, from a past that keeps dragging her back. At seventeen, homeless and hunted, she crashes into the life of Marco De Santos—a billionaire with ice in his eyes, secrets in his past, and a twisted need for control. He takes her in. At first, it’s charity. Then, it’s ownership. Marco is used to women obeying. But Leona isn’t like them. She’s fire in silk. She disobeys. She challenges. She learns him—in ways that terrify and undo him. What begins as protection becomes obsession. And when secrets unravel the truth about her parents, about his past, and about the dark connection binding them—everything explodes. As the world threatens to pull them apart, Leona must decide: will she stay the girl he saved, or become the woman who saves him? Because pleasure can heal... or destroy.

Uprooted from her childhood home and thrown into a new life, introvert Irene has to navigate the ups and downs of a new neighbourhood, new school, and potential friends and enemies. Her world changes when her eyes fall on a pair of tantalising green ones and her heart falls for the very first time. Until one terrible night shatters all those hopes and innocence of first love, and Irene learns the hard way that she shouldn't have let her life revolve around a boy. But what happens when years later, when she has moved on and recovered from her scars, her past comes knocking once more? What happens when an old flame reignites her brokenheart?

"It won’t fit," I whispered, my breath hitching as he leaned closer, his lips grazing my ear. His voice was dark, commanding, and impossibly seductive. "You have no idea what your body is capable of. Relax and let me teach you." Alessia never believed in fairy tales. Life had taught her that happy endings were a cruel illusion. Struggling to care for her sick mother, she’s spent years working dead-end jobs, her sharp tongue and stubborn nature ensuring she never stayed anywhere for long. Now, she’s a bartender in a shady Sicilian bar, juggling rowdy customers and a boss who thinks a raise is only for women willing to strip. Then he walked in. Luca Romano is a man of few words but commands a room with his presence. The whispers about him are conflicting—billionaire, recluse, criminal mastermind. Women throw themselves at his feet, but his cold, detached demeanor makes one thing clear: he doesn’t care about anyone. Yet when Alessia crosses his path, everything changes. What begins as a business arrangement—a desperate woman agreeing to play the role of his date for one night—quickly spirals into something much darker. Luca’s possessiveness knows no bounds, and Alessia finds herself drawn into a world of power, danger, and unrelenting desire. But Luca has secrets as deep as his scars, and his love is anything but gentle. He’s a man consumed by vengeance, his methods ruthless, his emotions raw. Alessia thought she could handle his intensity, but the closer she gets, the more she realizes there’s no escaping him. He doesn’t just want her. He owns her. And as their twisted romance unfolds.

In the heart of the opulent Veridian Heights, two souls from opposite ends of the spectrum are drawn together by forces beyond their control, setting the stage for a love story as tumultuous as it is irresistible. Meet Mace Sinclair, a formidable business mastermind with a ruthless edge, a genius mind, and a grin that could seduce the devil himself. The heir to the city's most influential dynasty, he thrives on control, power, and dominance. Yet beneath his cold, manipulative exterior lies a man haunted by a tragic past, and a thirst for redemption he never thought possible. Then there's Nysaa Everhart, a spirited and sharp-tongued troublemaker who refuses to bow to anyone. Beneath her fearless facade, she carries the scars of a painful history that has left her with trust issues and a determination to never rely on anyone but herself. Her unyielding spirit and unpredictable nature make her a force to be reckoned with. When their paths collide, the sparks of conflict ignite a slow-burning desire that neither can deny. Mace, in a twisted game of power, coerces Nysaa into taking care of his defiant niece, Seraphina, as payback for her challenges. As they navigate the forced proximity and constant battles of wills, their banter evolves into something deeper and more dangerous. Can they withstand it? Can they withstand the haunting clutches of their past?

I was just eighteen when I mistook a business deal for a fairy tale, letting a schoolgirl crush blind me to the truth. My prince charming? He turned out to be more of a wolf in an Armani suit. Now, five years and a thousand broken pieces later, I've rebuilt myself into someone I barely recognize, a CEO, a survivor, and most importantly, a mother to my beautiful son Griffin. I thought I'd buried the naive girl who once dreamed in a garden. Apparently, the universe had other plans. My ex-husband's back, claiming he's changed and wanting a second chance. And then there's James Drake, a billionaire with scars that match my own, who makes me wonder if my heart remembers how to beat for something other than revenge. Between poisoned flowers showing up at my office and threats creeping too close to my son, I'm learning that success is the best revenge, if I can stay alive long enough to enjoy it. They say love is sweeter the second time around, but can I trust it when betrayal wore the face of love once before? One thing's certain: I'm not that naive wife anymore. And this time, I'm playing for keeps.

She was just the receptionist, or so he thought. When ruthless billionaire Damian marries the quiet girl his grandfather picked from obscurity, he never imagines she’s the heiress to one of the wealthiest families in the country. What starts as a business transaction turns into heartbreak, betrayal, and a shocking revelation that changes everything. When Emmah walks back into his life in diamonds and power, Damian realizes he didn’t just lose his wife,l he lost the woman who was always two steps ahead. Now he wants her back. But some scars run too deep… and some secrets are too painful to forgive.

Jude Queens never believed in fairytales—until Malachi Flynn crashed into his world with a grin like summer and a spike that could stop time. Bound by their shared love for volleyball, their chemistry burned bright and fast, leaving everything else in the shadows. But just as Jude opened his heart, Malachi vanished without a word. Two years later, Malachi returns—older, familiar, and still devastatingly magnetic. The moment they lock eyes, the ache returns. So does the desire. But buried beneath Malachi’s smile are secrets that could shatter them both. Torn between anger and longing, Jude must decide: can he forgive the boy who left him in pieces, or is some pain too deep to heal? “Why Did You Leave Me When I Needed You Most?” is a sizzling, tender story of second chances, the scars we carry, and the hope that love—real, soul-deep love—can echo back stronger than before.

Nelson De Vedra, known as a boatman on the island he called home for many years, lived a life of quiet purpose. His reputation was solid, but his past held secrets he preferred to keep buried. Dorothy "Dorry" Castillo, a young woman who once found herself on the island, sought refuge to heal her broken heart. The serene shores had become her sanctuary, far from the chaos of her past life. Two souls, marked by the stains of the past, are fated to cross paths once again; as their lives intertwine, will they find a way to erase the scars of yesterday, or will their reunion deepen the cracks that already exist?

Jemima Steele’s life has been a series of heartbreaks and rejections. She was rejected by her own mate. She was abandoned by her mother at eleven and scorned as a “bastard child” by her father’s family, she has spent a decade enduring cruelty and neglect. Trapped in a home where love is absent, Jemima finds solace only in the sanctuary of the forest—a place where she can escape her pain and dream of freedom. But her world is forever changed after being cruelly rejected by her mate, Connor. While seeking refuge in the forest, Jemima experiences an awakening she never believed possible, her wolf, Kiona, emerges. After years of being marked as incomplete, Jemima discovers her true strength and embraces her long-dormant nature. While exploring her new abilities, she runs into a golden wolf. And something unbelievable happened to her. But danger lurks in the shadows of the past and the uncertain future. Jemima must navigate her new identity, uncover the secrets that kept her wolf hidden, and confront the betrayals that shaped her life. Will Jemima find the strength to overcome the darkness of her past and embrace the destiny that awaits her? Or will the scars of rejection and betrayal shatter her newfound happiness?

⚠️ Reader Advisory: This story contains steamy scenes, mature language, and forbidden romance. Recommended for readers 18+ who enjoy emotionally intense and sexually charged love stories with depth. ~ “I’m going to turn every dirty page you’ve ever read into your reality, Teyana.” And Jeremy Carter did. ~ It started with a simple party dare and ended with my legs wrapped around the ever-addictive Jeremy Carter’s waist. I never thought the boy who never noticed the nerdy me in high school, the emotionally unavailable biker god I’d secretly fantasized about, would become my stepbrother. Or that I would find a naked painting of myself hidden in his closet — painted by his own twisted hands. Jeremy is inked sin, raw dominance, and a filthy mouth. I was just the quiet, virgin bookworm, that took solace in dark romance novels… until he dragged me into his dangerous world of racing, rage, and ruin. I should run. I should regret it. But when a man like Jeremy Carter kisses you, there’s no coming back. But what happened when family, friends, and even the campus tried to pull us apart? This is the story of how I got ruined by the one man I might never have… and how I let him.