When We Were Strangers Novels & Stories

When Valentina met Matteo in 2019, they both felt as if they’d known each other before. Everybody knows Matteo Giudice is the first son of a billionaire who is probably, but not surely, the head of the Sicilian mafia. Everything he does seems to be for his own pleasure even though there’s a certain darkness to him that seems to follow him everywhere he goes. Burnt-out from a young age due to his generational wealth, being bored is his biggest problem in life. Valentina is the daughter of a successful Russian businessman and has always flown under the radar at school but now seems to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. There’s something a bout her, as if she has something nobody else possesses, that stirs up Matteo’s interest in the first place. Somewhere along the way of trying to figure each other out they unintentionally fall in love. When buried secrets come out, their lives turn into a deadly game of power, in which love and war have no choice but to co-exist. A slow-burn coming of age mafia romance novel, in which the only thing the protagonists know for sure is that fate doesn't care if you're ready for the love of your life. Part 1 of the Games We Play works.

Mari, who just turned twenty-six years old, keep on fooling herself from having a super rich, handsome and nice boyfriend for all she know. She keeps on saving her every penny because she wanted to give her boyfriend a valuable gift. But putting a lot of effort to something can sometimes give you the same amount of disappointment and frustration. She did not expect to caught her patron saint of a boyfriend cheating on her at the very day of her buying gifts for him and preparing for their second anniversary. Dos, a twenty-seven years old bachelor, found himself suspecting that his girlfriend may be cheating on her. Well, he lost his girlfriend for months already because of constantly refusing her and being busy with his work. However, when he got the chance to investigate, he found a woman who is also a victim of a cheating boyfriend. Coincidentally, the woman’s boyfriend is his girlfriend’s other man! With the two of them finding comfort to each other, what will be their ending story if they are still into their cheating partners? Can the two of them learn to appreciate the others presence and learn to love each other? What will they do if their exes come back begging for them to make it up again one day?

Samantha Lee and David Collins come from families that hate each other because of business rivalries. They’ve been raised to avoid and despise one another, but one unexpected night changes everything. Samantha’s cousins, who don’t know what David looks like, unknowingly end up hanging out with him and his siblings at a bar. Despite trying to stop them, Samantha gets caught up in the fun. The next morning, she wakes up in David’s apartment with no memory of how she got there—and a terrible feeling that something happened between them. Determined to move on, Samantha avoids David whenever she sees him. But at one event, she feels dizzy and ends up in the hospital, where she discovers she’s pregnant. David overhears the news and wants to step up, but Samantha’s family quickly sends her abroad to keep the secret and protect their reputation. For five years, Samantha raises her child alone, far from David and their feuding families. But when her grandfather dies, she has to return home, terrified of running into David again. Now, Samantha must face her past, and the future of their child. Can they overcome their families’ hatred, or will the past keep them apart forever?

Ashlyn hasn't spoken a word since the age of eight, and her heart's never felt more protected. But, when the confident and ever so charming Derek stumbles into her quiet little world, her emotions-and forbidden desires-have never been so loud. For twenty years, silence is all Ashlyn Holland has known. Haunted by the memories of her father, and the harrowing song of the ocean that stole him from her, Ashlyn maintains a safe distance from the rest of the world. Treading carefully the sea of fear and anguish that surrounds her, Ashlyn is determined to do all she can to protect her heart from such a tragic loss striking again. In silence, she grieves. In silence, she is safe. In silence, she finds the strength to breathe. But the silence can only last so long... Derek Moreno is charming and devoted, and quick to see through every wall Ashlyn erects. With his arrival in town, defences fold and walls begin to crumble, the songs of her heart reaching new heights. Together, they crest twin tides of fate, the silence she'd once sought engulfed by his gentle touch, and the whispers of a love thought impossible. For the summer, Ashlyn welcomes the noise. The disruption. But, the ghosts of Derek's past will no longer remain silent, and their deafening power has the potential to drag them both into a current strong enough to drown them amidst their heartache.

Why is Love so cruel? Why does the same heart have to go through all the sufferings, pain and heartbreaks? Is there an end to this distance or were you never my destiny to begin with? The life of four people takes a drastic turn when all of them happen to intern in the same company. Series of unexplained events brings them all under one roof. Old flames will reunite and new flames will have to fight its way to happiness. Who knows what destiny upholds when it's hard to even figure out what your own beating heart represents. You might have a happy ending but 'LOVE does not always mean you have to end up being together, LOVE just means that you have to have immense care and endearment for that person so that if and when time comes, you can let go of him/her.' *** Who will confess their feeling first? Who might end up together? Will the sparkles that they feel in their heart brighten their life or will it be penned in, in the heart itself? Will their feelings be reciprocated or does destiny have something else written for them? A story with a perfect blend of romance, intensity, comedy and pain.

It has always been him, he was my first love, and so, I had to let him go. He wasn't made for this life. He, was made for greater things. He was too much of a tornado for this small town, that doesn't mean I miss him any less. It's been 9 years since we last saw each other. Nine years of hatred on his part and self-loathing on mine, why did I let him go? Now, he is a successful billionaire, living the life one could only dream of. I wish things were different now that he's back but that just seems like a foreign concept to him. He doesn't want me anymore, but I can't blame him either. It was me who broke us and it is going to be me who will put all the pieces back together. Even if it is the last thing I do before death comes knocking at my door.

YVES' fiancee lost all of her memories due to tragic history about her past. Even her, was having a hard time to accept her situation. She never expected that she would also forget the man she loves the most. For the past five years, Yves had been secretly looking at her from a far until he finally decided to meet her in person, with a desire to capture her heart all over again. A longing smile was plastered on his face as soon as he saw her. He unconsciously uttered those four words, with sixteen letters. “Honey, we meet again.”

It has been seven years since I shadowed Eula Ross like a fawning puppy. Under my dedicated tutoring, she successfully became a top student. But after the SATs scores were released, she casually dropped a single line at a class reunion. “Why don’t you apply for a community college with me? I have to go be with Luke Stetson.” All these years, I have been at her beck and call while granting her every wish. To make her happy, I even humbled myself to the point of slapping myself in front of everyone. Everyone said I was her shadow that she could never shake off. They bet that I would be stuck with Eula for the rest of my life. Right then, our classmates were standing by. They waited to see how me, the valedictorian, would humbly agree. For the first time ever, my expression was cold as I flat-out refused her. “Screw that! You’re the one with a screw loose. I’m not.”

Life has a way of awakening us…Often cruelly. Astraia Ilithyia, a humble art gallery hostess, finds herself pulled into a world she never would’ve imagined existed. She meets the mysterious and charismatic, Vasilios Barzilai under terrifying circumstances. Torn between the world she’s always known, and the world Vasilios reigns in…Only one thing is certain; she cannot survive without him.

Jenifer Smith falls in love with the hard-to-get Jason Knight. He also turns out to be a playboy and a gang leader she finds herself in a situation in which she might get hurt. He acts nice and so on but really is his intention? But does Jason even cares or is he just playing with her mind? On the other hand, there is Blake the ex who tries over and over again to correct his wrongs of a cheating boyfriend. Do different really attract or do they draw apart? Apart from that Jenifer has to learn how to loosen up to get the boy she wants, to party, dance, sing, and of course, have fun. But the thing is that Jenny has a dark secret of her own which no one not even Family knows about is the Little Innocent Girl really just a good Girl? Join Jenny on her Adventure of heartbreaks, love, and a lot of Secrets.