889 Book(s) Related to carlos mata novelas

"I want you in everyway, Aria, just say yes to me."

He's older. He's forbidden. He's everything she should avoid.
Aria Maren never thought a simple holiday visit would turn into a temptation she can't resist.

Trapped in the snowy estate, with her best friend's father, Alpha Rowan Thorne, the air between them sizzles with tension, desire, and danger.

Will a blizzard, a rare Winter Omega bond, and a fated connection spark an explosive heat that cannot be ignored?

This Christmas holiday is packed with pack politics, jealousy and a prophecy threatening everything. Giving in maybe the only way to survive… and the only way to belong.

When Travis, Serena's mate, picked her sister over her, she couldn't help but think her fear had come true.

She was denied by her mate.

Choosing the easy way out of the heartbreak, she ran away with no intention of going back. But, it wasn't that easy when her older brother managed to track her down and demanded for her to come home.

And when she does, secrets will pop out and she will find herself in a situation that she never thought would end up in.

The best deal I ever made in my life was selling my blood to a vampire.

I was a broke, permanently starving werewolf who needed ten times the food a normal person did just to feel full.

Evan was a vampire heir with a blood allergy, the kind where the smell alone made him sick and dizzy. Somehow his life was worse than mine.

Except my blood didn't trigger it. He never reacted to me.

So he pulled out his card. "I'll keep you fed. You let me feed off you."

This wasn't a vampire. This was a walking meal ticket.

For the next three years, he was the perfect meal buddy. Five meals a day, and he never once complained. Once I finished and let out a satisfied burp, it was his turn, just a small sip, nothing more.

Then, the year we graduated, he got a call from his family. He had to fly back to Europe that same night.

Before he left, I figured I'd thank him for three years of generosity. I pulled my collar aside.

"Go ahead, take more this time. Consider it a going-away present."

He hesitated, then leaned in.

But this time, once his teeth were in, he couldn't stop.

By the time he pulled back, horrified at himself, I already had a hand pressed to my neck, and everything went dark.

At the scene of the car accident, my parents frantically scooped up my sister—who only had a scraped knee—then kicked me aside as I lay there dying.
"Don't be a burden to your sister. Just wait by the roadside and croak!"
They drove off without a second thought. In that moment, my heart turned to stone.
What they didn't know was that I didn't die. Instead, I got adopted by a top-tier professor and became a math prodigy worth tens of millions.
Two years later, when my birth parents went bankrupt and got on their knees begging me for a handout, I smiled coldly and played the recording of their attempted murder...

They don’t know I’m a girl.

They all look at me and see a boy. A prince.

Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires.

And, when they storm into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervene to protect her. I make them take me too.

The plan is to escape with my sister whenever we find a chance.

How am I to know our prison will be the most fortified place in their kingdom?

I’m supposed to stay on the sidelines. The one they have no real use for. The one they never mean to buy.

But then, the most important person in their savage land—their ruthless beast king—takes an interest in the “pretty little prince.”

How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy?

And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave?

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This is a dark romance—dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+.

Expect triggers, expect hardcore.

If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in!

(DAILY UPDATING)
Adriana is the forgotten daughter of the Alpha of the Red Moon Pack. Her father barely acknowledges her, her sister despises her, and the mate she loved for five years chose power over her—by sleeping with that very sister.

But Adriana has a secret.

A rare white wolf. A power she’s been forced to hide.

When she unexpectedly crosses paths with the Lycan King, she doesn’t know he is her father’s greatest enemy… or her second-chance mate.

Elijah never planned to bond again. Betrayed once and now raising a silent son alone, he has no interest in love. But there’s something different about Adriana. Something powerful. Something his wolf refuses to ignore.

As tension between wolves and lycans rises, secrets begin to unravel and claiming her may mean starting a war.

This time, Adriana won’t be the weak daughter they overlooked.

My name is Mira. I am the princess of the Nightwood Pack, yet I live like a slave.

Everyone believes I am the cause of my mother’s death. My father, the Alpha, hates me for it. While my twin sister is loved, cherished, and treated like a princess, I am punished, humiliated, and forced to suffer in my own father’s house.

On the night of our eighteenth birthday, Alphas from different packs arrived to celebrate the Blood Moon Festival. That was the night I found my mate, Ashur, the strongest Alpha ever known. I was finally happy. I believed my suffering was over.

That same night, I gave myself to him, and we shared a one-night bond.

But by morning, everything changed.

After my father filled Asher’s ears with lies, calling me a curse, Asher rejected me publicly before the entire pack. As if that pain wasn’t enough, he chose my twin sister as his Luna and left me shattered.

Weeks later, I discovered I was pregnant with Asher’s child.

Then an old wizard appeared with a terrifying prophecy:
The child growing inside me would one day kill my sister, and to stop the prophecy from coming true, I must be killed.

Being a female Alpha is rare, especially in a world that still doubts women in power. Every move I make is judged. Any sign of weakness would be used against me.
Love is not just love for someone like me. It is a sign of weakness.
Taking an Alpha consort feels like risking the pack my grandfather handed to me. He ruled without a mate. If he could do it without a mate, so can I.

So when fate bound me to Leo Leonidas Blackwood, my childhood friend, the one I once loved without fear, I rejected him without delay.

I chose my throne over the bond. But a mate bond does not disappear because an Alpha says no. It lingers. It pulls.

Now everyone is watching. The elders want me to have a mate. The pack wants stability. But no one asks what I want. Because loving him once broke me and choosing him again might destroy us both.

.

I had to claim Caleb tonight.

I had paid a six-figure premium to contract a high-level werewolf mate from the nation’s top "Fated Mates" agency. I had chosen him for his elite stats, the "absolute submission" guaranteed in his file, and most importantly, a face that could put any Hollywood A-lister to shame.

But over the last few months, things had completely derailed from my expectations.

He refused to let me touch him!

I have to figure out what's going on.

Eighteen-year-old Princess Eleanor Anderson has always believed her future was already written·A loving family. A handsome fiancé. A peaceful life within the safety of Namalia—the last human kingdom surrounded by monsters.

But everything changes when the dreaded Bridal Selection returns.

For centuries, the humans of Namalia have survived under a fragile alliance with the Vampire Realm. Every twenty years, a human bride must be offered to the Vampire King in exchange for the kingdom's protection.

This time, the chosen bride comes from Eleanor's family.

And the sacrifice is her twin sister, Maria.

Determined to save Maria from a fate worse than death, Eleanor vows to fight the decision, even if it means standing against her kingdom, its traditions, and the terrifying Vampire King himself.

But before she could save her sister, Maria escaped from the kingdom, leaving Eleanor as her only Substitute.

Now Eleanor is being forced to become the kings fated bride.

"Do not dare pretend you didn't pray hard to be our mate so you can live in wealth and luxury, human!" one of the mighty angel Kings snaps in disgust.
"I measure the quality of a man by his hardwork. Have you worked hard for this wealth, your majesty?" I boldly ask and hear the servants and guards in the room gasp in shock.


The angel kings of Lordsland, considered the most flawless of beings, had hoped that they would have a useful mate, like the graceful princess of the neighboring kingdom, especially now that the kingdom is facing the greatest crisis.
Attacks by Rogue dragons are becoming more and more frequent, their kingdom could use the help of another army. They are utterly disgusted when a human of no royal blood, Ira, turns out to be their mate. They demand that a special ritual be performed to transfer the mate bond to the woman they truly desire. What they doesn't know is that despite Ira being a human, she hails from a special bloodline. She isn't just the bravest and kindest woman across all kingdoms, she also possess rare blood, the only thing that can control rogue dragons and wipe away every magical spell cast against their reign.
Everyone is surprised by Ira's careless reaction to their rejection. Any woman would have knelt and begged to be their cherished queen. But Ira believes that only a kind man with genuine love for her is worth her tears. She also knows that the Angel Kings are making a huge mistake by choosing the pretentious Princess over her.

I saved Theron’s life, and in return, he lined up his eight grandsons before me. Whoever I chose would be the next Alpha of the Frostvale Pack. My wolf instantly recognized Rhysand—my fated mate. I chose him without hesitation.
On our wedding night, the moment I touched him, he broke out in hives and gasped for air. The doctor said he was allergic to me. Overnight, I became the city's laughingstock. For three years, I walked on eggshells, terrified to even step near my own husband.
Until he was dosed with a lethal aphrodisiac. If not cured within two hours, he would die. I threw caution to the wind and climbed into his bed. Through an entire night of skin-to-skin contact, there were no hives, no suffocation. His "allergy" had miraculously vanished.
But at dawn, his ex-girlfriend Linnea walked in. Rhysand looked at me like I was garbage. "If Linnea hadn't saved me last night, I'd be dead."
Two weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. But before I could even share the news, a raging fire buried that unspoken hope—along with my unborn child—in the ashes forever.
I finally understood. He was never allergic to me.
He just never loved me.

"I, Alpha Xander Finch of the Red Moon Pack,” he said. Wait, is he going to accept my rejection now? “Reject your rejection, Alpha Chastity Reid of the Silver Moon Pack,” he added, and my eyes widened when I felt something extraordinary. Maybe he felt it too because he was surprised as well. Then he carried me before he pinned me at the back of the now already closed door and kissed me and, oh goddess, I felt like I missed him for a thousand years already, so I kissed him back.


Chassy, an omega who carries the weight of her heritage, is mistreated by her mother and the Red Moon Pack for her entire existence. Her real potential, which was acquired from a father who came from a mysterious lycan clan, is hidden from her and her tormentors. She found out that Xander, her Alpha, was her mate. For some reason, he hurt her. As a result
Chassy leaves and rejects him.

But destiny has more in store for her. With the advent of her lycan beast, she unexpectedly rises to the position of alpha in her adopted pack. Then she met her father whom she never knew and found out more about herself.

The persistent vampires, push packs to band together under an alliance. Chassy's previous and present lives intersect when Xander stops by her new pack for a joint training session against this backdrop of peril and unity. Will Xander and Chassy be able to cross the gap between them? Can they stand together in the face of the impending vampire threat?

What will Chassy do when she knows that she's unable to give Xander an heir and a boy with his mother comes to the pack claiming Xander to be the father?

After a one-night stand, she gave birth to a daughter for Alex.
Alex thought it was just a drunken folly, believing that she would later meet someone better, marry a clean and upright man, and have a complete family. Little did he know that she would raise her daughter alone.
"Daddy, Daddy, where are you?"
The little girl cried with a heart-wrenching agony, huddled in the corner and trembling helplessly.
Alex returned furious, and he made those who wanted to bully his wife and daughter pay the price!

Emerald thought that she and Jace Higginson were divorced. After five years, she returns to the country to collaborate with his company and eventually takes her revenge. What will she do when she sees a different Jace, making her uneasy whenever they meet? What would she do when her supposed ex-husband was still her husband because he didn't file the divorce? Will Emerald give Jace his rights to their son whom she conceived before she left?
Find out how Emerald will try to fight her own feelings towards Jace and his eagerness to win her back as she tries to find her nanny who will eventually unfold her true identity.

When her fated mate chooses her best friend, Euphyllia Ivara Ruinart discovers a cruel truth that she has been reborn countless times, only to be betrayed in every life.

In her despair, one forbidden night binds her to Lucretius Xior Franciosa, Alpha of the Golden Eclipse Pack, commander in the royal military, and her mate's own uncle and sworn enemy. From that night on, cryptic notes and a single chrysanthemum begin to appear, which she soon discovers are from him. It's his constant reminder that she is being watched, claimed, and marked as his.

Then comes his offer: vengeance, in exchange for her body, her trust, and perhaps even her soul. A deal with the devil, which she accepts, swearing to destroy the mate who cast her aside and the friend who betrayed her.

What starts as revenge becomes an entanglement with his darkness, where obsession devours love and ruin is the only end. But amidst the chaos of betrayal and desire, Euphyllia yearns to uncover the mystery of her past lives and discover who she truly is.

"She's wolfless. She's worthless. She's not fit to be my Luna."
Those were the last words her fated mate spoke before claiming another woman as his Luna—after Thalia sacrificed her own wolf in a forbidden blood ritual to save his life.
Broken and abandoned, Thalia thought she had lost everything.
But the Moon Goddess had other plans.
Her wolf didn't die that night.
It split.
Now, three powerful Alphas are bound to the pieces of her broken soul:
The Pack Healer, whose gentle touch awakens a desire she can't deny.
The Rogue Alpha, who would burn the world before letting anyone hurt her again.
And the mate who rejected her, now on his knees begging for forgiveness.
As ancient magic awakens and rival packs close in, Thalia must uncover the truth behind her shattered wolf before it destroys everything.
And suddenly the question isn't who she belongs to anymore...

Reynolds Ashford.
His code name is: Devil.
When he returned, he found that his own brother had already passed away, leaving only a tombstone behind. His sister-in-law even planned to marry someone else and divide their brother's inheritance.
The man, who boasts an absolutely flawless record, stood in the rain.
Yet beneath his feet, the Chicago underworld remained oblivious, unaware that their doom had already arrived.

Jack left home at the age of sixteen and spent many years wandering in places where corpses lay in abundance, using killing to end killing. Now, he has become the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces, a legendary general, and is also known in the military circles as the "Son of War", unrivaled in the world.
But just as he returned triumphantly, he discovered that his adoptive father, who had given him immense kindness, had passed away. Upon investigation, Jack uncovered a web of intricate conspiracies lurking behind the scenes.
Regarding this matter.
Jack only has one word: kill!
The tyrannical and domineering mafia? Kill!
A British aristocratic family with a century-old history? Kill!
No matter how powerful or wealthy you are, in front of Jack, this undefeated warlord, the soul of the army, and the general of the country, you can only bow down and submit!

"Tell me, has anyone else touched you like this before?"
The heat of his palm against my skin made my knees weak.
"N-No one... y-you're the first," I said before I could stop myself.
I was nineteen, standing on the edge of my mother's remarriage—and the stranger who touched me that night would soon become my step-uncle.
Alice never planned to fall into his world. She only wanted to earn enough money to leave the country, to escape a life that felt too small, too controlled. But one disastrous night in a bar changes everything, binding her to Lance—a thirty-two-year-old tech CEO with power, secrets, and rules she was never meant to agree to.
A one-year contract. Absolute discretion. No emotions.
As Alice is pulled deeper into Lance's orbit, her life fractures into contradictions: a devoted boyfriend who wants marriage, a mother preparing for a new family, and a man who claims ownership over her body while refusing her heart. What begins as silence-for-security turns into a dangerous partnership, where Alice proves she's more than a secret—she's leverage.
But power always demands a price.
When desire collides with ambition, and love becomes a battleground of control and choice, Alice must confront the truth she fears most: if her body surrendered first, does her heart still belong to her—or has it already been claimed?

Freya is the adoptive daughter of the warrior mated couple of the Midnight Pack. She didn't have a scent, so everyone thought that she didn't have a wolf, just like humans.

Matteo Harith is the Lycan prince, soon to be king, who was waiting for his mate. He had smelled her since 9 years ago in the palace, but after that, he never found her, no matter how much he looked for her.

When Matteo was assigned by his king's father to look into the case of a pack that had been wiped out, he lived in the Midnight Pack and found Freya.

The moment Matteo stepped out of his SUV, Freya found out that he was her mate. But Matteo couldn't smell her at all. A tournament that had been held within the pack made Matteo find Freya to be his mate when their eyes met.

When Matteo finally smelled Freya's scent, it was also the time that she remembered what had happened in her childhood and that the palace had refused to help them when they asked, which caused her biological parents' death. What is he going to do when Freya was blaming the royals and wanted to reject him even after they mark each other?

Aurora had been through awful situations all her life, The first princess of King Louis, she was trained to be an assassin by her father King Louis - she was trained to be an impenetrable brick wall, Though many people in the community believed, the king hate his First daughter from another woman, and loved his two daughters from his Queen.

One day, King Louis was summoned for war by King Koppa, a powerful king whom other kings feared, because of his son, Malik. King Louis wielded aurora for the mission to infiltrate king koppa and killed him.

But the mission tarry because Aurora fell in love with the king's son(The crown prince), her father learned of the tarry and sent another assassin for the mission, King koppa was killed by another assassin, ​but the cruel and fiercest crown prince caught Aurora on the scene with the King's dead body.

After five months after the murder, the crown prince was crowned as the king. The man with the coldest eyes.

The first judgment he passed was the crucifixion of Aurora, the murderer of his father.

Yet, a voice whispered in his head

“Death is a favor in disguise for her, make her beg for death.

Her hands slid up to his chest, palms flat, feeling the solid strength beneath his shirt. The fear didn’t vanish completely. But it quieted. Receded into the background. Logan’s thumb brushed her cheek, slow and grounding, as his other hand settled at her waist.

The kiss grew warmer. Slower. Logan felt it too, sharp and electric. His wolf stirred restlessly, recognizing something it shouldn’t, something it wanted to claim even as his mind warned him to stop. He broke the kiss first, breathing hard, forehead resting against hers.

“Emily,” he murmured, strained. “We should—” She didn’t let him finish. Her lips brushed his jaw, tentative, almost questioning. Her voice was barely a whisper. “Don’t send me away.”


After being betrayed forty-eight times by her mate, Oscar, Emily is drugged and offered to powerful wolves for his gain. Desperate and fleeing danger, she collapses into the arms of Lucas Walker, one of seven feared Alpha Brothers who rule the strongest pack. Drawn to her by an unstoppable pull, the brothers vow to protect her. But Emily’s past hides a darker secret, one that fate has bound to all of them.

Olympia was sold during the Annual Omega Bidding to the powerful and arrogant Alpha King, Alpha Fabian, who owns a five-star night club. Every year, he recruits Omegas to serve as strippers in the club. Others, to serve his top clients in the bedroom.
Most sold off by their relatives.
Once recruited here, chances of escaping and getting a fated mate are slim as the Omegas are considered used.
He’s the most powerful Alpha King in the world, no one can question him.
Leaving her family behind and worse, being sold off by her stepdad haunted her.
Upon arrival at the palace, she got into an issue with one of the task masters overseeing the royal maids.
At the verge of punishment, she’s rescued by a cool, charming gentleman when everyone else watches. Olympia fell for him at first sight, only to discover they are quadruplets.
Alpha Fabian, upon discovering her first day rebellion, as punishment, handed her over to his ruthless quadruplet sons as their personal callgirl.
Alpha Elliott, Asher and Ryder soon realize she’s their mate and are more than eager to tame her, not only physically but in bed but she hates them. They are Enigma Alphas, too dangerous for an Omega like her.
But she loves only one.
Alpha Cassius. The Alpha who saved her.
But what will be her fate as Alpha Cassius is an Enigma. He's an exorcist, regarded as consecrated mate of the moon goddess yet he's the only one among the Alpha princes she wants most, her wolf desires, her body arches for.
What will become of this intense forbidden passion between an Omega slave and the charming exorcist who is trying hard to fight demons and his feral desires at the same time?

My uncle and aunt told me that I couldn't become a wizard.

When others had received their admission letters to the Academy of Magic, I still had nothing. I was destined to become a mortal. But at this moment, an old wizard appeared in the relics left by my parents.

He was the most evil dark wizard two hundred years ago.

He was defeated in the Second Wizarding World War.

However, now his soul has been fragmented into countless pieces. If I help him resurrect, he guarantees that after he regains control of the wizard world, he will make me the president of the Magic Association and also let me become the president of the United States.

-- All of the above are false.

Actually, I'm just a pitiful person who had my magic sucked dry by an evil dark wizard. I have to bring the dark wizard along to study at the Academy of Magic, and I can't let anyone find out.

"I, Alpha Xander Finch of the Red Moon Pack,” he said. Wait, is he going to accept my rejection now? “Reject your rejection, Alpha Chastity Reid of the Silver Moon Pack,” he added, and my eyes widened when I felt something extraordinary. Maybe he felt it too because he was surprised as well. Then he carried me before he pinned me at the back of the now already closed door and kissed me and, oh goddess, I felt like I missed him for a thousand years already, so I kissed him back.


Chassy, an omega who carries the weight of her heritage, is mistreated by her mother and the Red Moon Pack for her entire existence. Her real potential, which was acquired from a father who came from a mysterious lycan clan, is hidden from her and her tormentors. She found out that Xander, her Alpha, was her mate. For some reason, he hurt her. As a result
Chassy leaves and rejects him.

But destiny has more in store for her. With the advent of her lycan beast, she unexpectedly rises to the position of alpha in her adopted pack. Then she met her father whom she never knew and found out more about herself.

The persistent vampires, push packs to band together under an alliance. Chassy's previous and present lives intersect when Xander stops by her new pack for a joint training session against this backdrop of peril and unity. Will Xander and Chassy be able to cross the gap between them? Can they stand together in the face of the impending vampire threat?

What will Chassy do when she knows that she's unable to give Xander an heir and a boy with his mother comes to the pack claiming Xander to be the father?

"You're using the embryo that you and Serena made and letting Wendy think that the children she's carrying are hers! Damn, man.I can't believe that you could do something like that to your wife." Adrian's friend said, sounding shocked.
"She deserves it," Adrian replied, followed by his friend's laughter. "She's the reason why Serena broke up with me back then."
What would you do if your husband used your womb to have children with his ex?
Wendy sacrificed everything for her marriage. She endured endless hormone shots, cruel whispers, and quiet humiliation, all to give her husband the children he wanted. When the IVF finally succeeded, she believed she had saved her marriage.
Until the day she overheard the truth. The twins she had fought so hard to carry were never meant to be hers. Her husband never wanted a child with her. She was nothing more than a surrogate in her own marriage.
Determined to find answers, Wendy stormed into the hospital. Fate delivered a twist no one could have seen coming: her husband was severely infertile. The IVF had failed. The babies growing inside her belonged to another man.
Wendy walked away with no tears and no second chances.
But Adrian, the man who once betrayed her, came begging for reconciliation.
"Wendy, we can fix this. We can start over."
Too late.
Because somewhere in the same city, Julian Harrington, the untouchable, relentless, and enigmatic CEO who rules the city's business empire, is searching for the mother of his twins.

Alpha Aziz Funsch is the alpha of the Dark Blood Pack at the age of 16 after his father died. He didn’t wish to have a mate in fear that the vampire king that he was supposed to kill will only use her to get to him. He decided to reject her when the time came because he didn’t want any distraction as he started his mission of finding his siblings. He was worried and scared when he realized that his mate was a human who couldn’t even defend herself.

Mica McLauren is a human who had been chased by his step-father. Her father was killed by a wolf while her mother was killed by a vampire. The moment she heard Aziz yelling MINE referring to her, she realized that she was mate and she didn’t like it even if she was already hooked with his very handsome and manly appearance.

With Alpha Aziz’s mission, what is he going to do to make Mica stay when she keeps on running away from him? How is she going to protect his mate who he cannot reject no matter how many times he thinks of doing it but failed?

What is Mica going to do when he marks her so she won’t be able to leave him? With all the lust and desires she was feeling towards him, how would she handle them when her mind was trying to make her remember how his father died? What was she going to do when she found out that her mate was not just a wolf, but also a vampire?

The Enforcement Corps hauled me out of my apartment in the middle of the night and dumped me at the Southside Precinct.

The subordinate I'd trained myself had scratch marks all over her neck and collarbone, and she was shaking so hard she could barely stay on her feet.

The second she saw me, she pointed and started screaming that my mate had raped her.

"Director Cordelia, I've always looked up to you. You can't sic your mate on me just because I disagreed with you in a meeting!"

My brain just went blank. Because I don't have a mate.

He is popular, hot, ruthless, and fierce, Jayden King has it all: that makes him untouchable. But when his relentless bullying drives a classmate to death, his perfect world shatters in a way he could never have foreseen. Haunted by his actions, Jayden unknowingly awakens a curse—a dark force binding him to a fate that defies his control. Now, his only chance at redemption is to face a chilling new destiny, a path laced with danger, mystery, and haunting shadows of his past. With each step, he realizes the stakes are far higher than he ever imagined, and the cost of finding peace may be more than he’s willing to pay.

On the day I was supposed to get married....
I watched my fiancé, Rafael, kissing another woman on his office.
Not a stranger.
My best friend.
Right then, I knew I’d only ever been the safe option, not the one he really wanted.
I left the dress, the ring, and my family’s reputation to burn in every group chat and gossip thread.
All I took with me was a small suitcase, a silent phone, and one secret I hadn’t fully understood yet: there was a baby growing inside me.
Rafael’s baby.
Six years later, I’d built a new life in Los Angeles. By day, I designed buildings for an architecture firm, drawing sharp lines to hold back the cracks I didn’t show anyone. By night, I painted until color stained my fingers and the floor.
In my calm house by the sea, a little girl with hazel eyes called me “Mom” and sprinted between piles of rolled-up blueprints.
In this new version of my life, there was Luca.
The man who always showed up with coffee, mocked my playlist, and told me, “With me, you don’t have to act tough.”
I thought I’d finally found calm.
Until that gala night.
The voice I used to almost promise forever stopped right behind me. “Long time no see, Maya.”
When Rafael’s eyes landed on my daughter’s matching hazel gaze, the air in the room grew heavy.
He wanted answers.
I wanted the nearest exit.
And before the night was over, one sentence from him tore through everything I’d carefully rebuilt:
“You need to meet my brother. His name’s Luca.”
My lungs forgot how to work.
I stared at the man I’d been calling my boyfriend… and wondered if my life had just fallen apart all over again....