The Ones We Leave Behind

THE ALTAR WE BURNED- Synopsis We burned in silence. We sinned in shadows. And in the house of God, we made a bed of ashes. Every time he pushed me away, I came back craving more. Every time he prayed for forgiveness, I found another reason to fall deeper. What started with longing turned into obsession and the line between salvation and damnation vanished. But loving him comes with a price. He was a man of God. I was the girl who shouldn’t have looked twice. Father Arthur Harper; the parish’s miracle, young, striking, and painfully devoted to his vows. They whispered about how he turned down wealth, women, and a powerful life just to serve behind the altar. But beneath the collar was something dangerous. Magnetic. Something that set fire to every quiet confession and holy glance. I shouldn’t have been drawn to him,but I was. He saw me; Isabella Luca the troubled soul who came to church for peace but stayed because he made my heart race, One touch, One stolen moment, One kiss,That’s all it took to unravel us. The Altar We Burned is a fast-burn, emotionally intense, and sinfully steamy forbidden romance that explores the cost of desire, the power of temptation, and what happens when love crosses the ultimate line. Prepare to confess… because this story doesn’t play by the rules.

I was born the Beta’s only child—raised like a son, trained like a soldier, and expected to protect my family’s legacy. I never asked to be anyone’s mate. Especially not his. Alpha Ethan Alaric is powerful, ruthless, and used to obedience. When his pack threatens to strip my father of his rank, Ethan offers a solution: me, as his Luna. A political match. A bond of duty. But I’m not a prize to be claimed. He remembers me as the girl who once beat him in a childhood spar. I remember him as the boy who never forgave me for it. Now, he wants me by his side—whether I want it or not. We clash like fire and ice. He wants control. I crave freedom. But the mate bond doesn’t care what we want. As I fight to keep my heart guarded, I uncover secrets buried in the shadows—whispers of a hidden heir, a crippled child cast aside, and an alliance built on more than just blood and power. To protect my father, I must step into the fire. To survive, I may have to let the Alpha burn.

"I married you out of pity! Yet you dared to betray me right under my nose and, worse, murdered my sister. Today, I sever every tie I have with you. You'll pay for this with your life in prison, you witch!"-words dripping with venom, are the last that Maxon utters to the woman he once loved. Maxon Adams, the heir to the vast Adams empire, had it all-power, wealth, and a marriage to the woman he cherished. But in one moment, his world comes crashing down when he discovers an unimaginable betrayal: his loved wife in the arms of another man. But that is not enough; devastating news follows that his only sister has been murdered and all evidence points at his wife as the culprit. Could this nightmare be real? How could the woman he loves do this?

In the strict halls of Briarcliff School for boys, 18-year old Hosea finds himself drawn to his charismatic Gym teacher, Ms. Simeon. As their connection deepens, Hosea realizes he’s developed feelings for his teacher that go beyond admiration. But their love is forbidden, and the consequences of discovery could be devastating. Will Hosea and Simeon find a way to be together, or will the weight of tradition and dogma tear them apart?

Kitty experienced a career change from office worker to a housewife in three years. She and her husband Ken were preparing to start a family until Kitty got tangled in a heap of trouble.-befriending her blackmailer, Leah, triggers a chain of events forcing Kitty to turn into the person she hates.

My husband, Cesare Ferrante, the most feared Don of the Ferrante family, had always hated children. Yet everything changed the moment my stepsister, Bianca Moretti, moved in next door with her six-month-old baby. Suddenly, my husband became obsessed with that child. He personally fed the baby formula, sang lullabies, and carried the baby everywhere he went. Every day, he came home exhausted at dawn, yet his face glowed with joy, as if that baby occupied his entire soul. I became invisible to him. Three days ago, someone forced my car off the road, and I crashed into the median. Blood streamed down my forehead, and my vision swam. I called Cesare 55 times. He did not answer a single call. Instead, he posted a photo of the baby on his social media. [My little angel smiled today!] I had had enough. Tonight at the family banquet, every member of the famiglia was seated around the table. I raised my final toast, then set down my glass. "I want a divorce." They all froze. "Are you insane?" My parents' voices rose in unison. Cesare grabbed my wrist, disbelief written across his face. "Giulia, you want to divorce me just because I was busy taking care of the baby and didn't answer your calls? You're actually jealous of a six-month-old child?" I did not meet his eyes. Instead, I stared at the glaring kiss mark behind his ear. "Since you love that child so much," I said calmly, "I'll make it easy for you. Go be that child's father."

One scholarship. Two hearts. A love that never got its chance. Maya came to university with nothing but ambition and a way out of poverty. She didn’t expect Ethan—the boy who challenged her, understood her… and slowly became everything to her. But love doesn’t survive where lies live. When Maya is forced to leave, the distance becomes a weapon. Betrayed by the people they trusted most, everything between them shatters. And by the time she fights her way back, Ethan has already moved on. Now he belongs to someone else. And Maya isn’t the same girl he left behind. Caught between the past that still burns and the present that refuses to wait, they must face the truth: Some love stories don’t end. They just become the ones we almost had.

William Graham and Jasmine Spencer had been at odds since they were kids. But that year, fate played a trick on them—out of all the eligible matches in their circle, only the two of them were left. William swore he would rather die than marry Jasmine. That piqued her interest. She said, "Great. Then I guess I'm definitely marrying you. Go ahead and drop dead." On their wedding day, William humiliated her by releasing dozens of chickens at the ceremony. With a flat look, Jasmine picked one up and called it "Darling". Just like that, William lost all interest in the joke. He looked at the woman who insisted on marrying him and sneered. "You'll regret this." Three years into the marriage, Jasmine caught William cheating for the ninety-ninth time. It was only then that she finally understood— So this was the kind of regret William had meant.

Freya loved the wrong Alpha for eight years. She gave him her body, her loyalty, her soul—and in return, he kissed her with someone else's name. When she finally walked away, she believed she'd found peace—and love—in Silvano, the Alpha who saved her. But years later, on her birthday, silence greeted her again. “Bella,” she whispered to her daughter, “did you forget Mommy’s birthday?” “Not now, Mommy. I'm making a gift for Aunt Aurora. Daddy helped.” The name landed like a wound reopening. Freya once survived being ‘the other woman’. Now, fate flipped the roles—and the silence, late-night absences, and missed calls feel all too familiar. As betrayal knocks again, she must choose: bury herself in heartbreak once more—or rise, not for love, but for herself. When even your mate forgets your worth, how many times must you walk away before you stop coming back? This time—maybe for the last time—she won’t look back.

The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.~Oscar Wilde~Adoration is not profound enough a word to express the depth of my love for her. From the moment she walked into my life and set my heart and soul on fire, not a day's gone by that she hasn't plagued my every thought.We were each other's completion. She was everything I wasn't--the sigh to my roar, the virtue to my sin, the cure to my wounds.We Were One.Until the unthinkable happened.That I've survived such a tragedy without having completely lost it, is a mystery in itself. But as my mind starts to blur the lines between reality and my delusional heart, I begin to question everything, including my sanity.And then the real mystery begins . . .Author's note: We Were One is an alternate POV to Girl In The Mirror but both books can be read as stand alones without the need to read the other to follow along!We Were One is created by Elizabeth Reyes, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.