28 Book(s) Related to cameron ferris bueller

Tiyanna, born of two Alphas, is a member of the Red Dawn Pack though her parents were not the Alpha and Luna. They came from another pack and when it was destroyed, they left and joined as the new Betas. Her life was great as she and the Alpha’s daughter were best friends and were practically inseparable until a rogue attack took the life of her parents while they were protecting the Alpha and Luna. Jealousy of her beauty as well as greed for her parents’ fortune that was left to her upon their deaths took hold and they treated her as a slave. She dreamed of turning 18 so that she could finally claim her inheritance and leave this god-awful pack. She never anticipated that when she found her mate, he would reject her for her ex-best friend or that she would get a second chance mate in the form of the most feared Alpha of the strongest pack in America, Alpha Cameron of the Black Diamond Pack. Will he reject her as well or will he take her as his mate?

Alpha Cameron is the strongest Alpha in America and the most feared, but he has a secret. He doesn’t want a mate because of this and has decided to take a chosen mate to become his Luna in name only. His mother, sister, and beta urge him constantly to rethink his decision as the woman he has chosen is a nightmare. They believe that he should wait for his fated mate, but their pleas fall on deaf ears. What happens when he visits the Red Dawn Pack for the Alpha daughters’ coming of age party and finds his fated mate being beaten? Will he save her or reject her?

She was born into a cage of blood and lies.
Selena Rossi knows two things: her mafia don father’s empire is built on corpses, and her mother’s killer walks free.

He’s the ghost in her nightmares.
Rook. Her father’s deadliest shadow. A name whispered in fear. An assassin without a face… until he’s forced into her light as her 24/7 bodyguard.

Mutual hatred is their shield.
Trapped together as bullets fly, Selena sees the flicker of pain behind his ice-cold eyes. He sees the crack in her armor. When chaos erupts, a savage, stolen kiss ignites a fire neither can control.

Then she uncovers the truth.
Security footage. A masked killer removing his disguise.
Rook’s face.
Pulling the trigger.

Her world shatters. Trust bleeds out. She vanishes into the night, leaving only betrayal behind.

Three years. Three lifetimes.
Selena is a ghost now too. But her father’s empire is crumbling. Enemies close in. A senator is dead. The FBI’s net tightens.

He walks back into her war.
Rook. Broken. Haunted. He carries a digital bomb – evidence that could save her family… or bury them.

“Your mother’s death wasn’t my mission. It was my damnation.”
But the shadows hold darker truths. The real puppetmaster pulls the strings.

As bullets tear through a warehouse of ghosts, loyalties shatter.
Her father faces a traitor’s gun.
Rook takes a bullet meant for her.
A recording holds the key to salvation… and damnation.

He thrusts the evidence into her hands.
“Save them… or let it burn.”

Sirens wail. Blood pools. One choice remains.
But the deadliest secret isn’t who pulled the trigger.
It’s why the gun was loaded.

Justice has a price. Is love the bullet… or the shield?

"You were the man…in the forest…the one I saved…" her voice trailed off as it continued to look at me. Her hazel eyes which were bright with tears roamed around my body, and then they hardened.

"You..you did this!" She yelled at me, the braids in her hair that I hadn't noticed before loosening as she trembled.

"How could you…" her words breaking off as she gasped for air, she grits her teeth as her now bloody hands folded into a ball, "... how could you kill them! After I saved you!"

Growing up as an orphan, Fenrir never expected to be loved by anyone until he met his girlfriend, Lisa. His dedication to her made him join the cruelest Mafia gang(City thugs) however his naivety was exploited by the mafia gang leader, which made him commit suicide by falling off a tall building.

Without any remembrance of the past, Fenrir woke up on a full moon night as an Alpha werewolf after a disturbing curse was placed on him. “Never to love, or beloved.” Unfamiliar with his new body development, the full moon effect, and the impact of the curse inflicted on him, Fenrir could only follow the lingering smell he perceived into a small park where he broke into a killing spree.

After killing the Alpha, Luna, and a few members of the pack, he declared the marriage between him and the deceased Alpha’s daughter.

What happens when he finds out that the scent of the person who saved him back in the woods is the same as hers? Will Akela forgive his crimes after finding out they are mated to each other? What will be the end of their predestined love story?

After a brutal on ice fight destroys his reputation, arrogant hockey captain Kai Ryder is forced by his university and sponsors to join a campus reality show designed to rebuild his image.

The only problem is that the producers choose Lena Brooks as his fake girlfriend.

The same Lena Brooks who publicly wrote an article calling him “the most selfish athlete on campus.”

Now they must pretend to be the university’s perfect couple in front of cameras 24/7 while hiding how much they genuinely dislike each other.

But behind the staged dates, scripted kisses, and viral interviews lies the truth:

Kai is struggling with grief and anger after his brother’s death and Lena is secretly drowning under family pressure and financial problems that could force her to leave school.

The more they fake their relationship for the cameras, the more real their feelings become and when a devastating secret from the night of Kai’s scandal resurfaces, their relationship, futures, and hearts are put at risk.

Warning: 18+

Lights... cameras... and starts the seduction... This is the story of Cris Gómez, a kind and virtuous nun who, due to unforeseen circumstances, becomes entangled in a world driven by greed and exploitation within the adult entertainment industry. Almost innocently, she becomes a favored performer for her employer, concealing her true identity behind her work, while maintaining her inner faith and integrity.

Cris eventually manages to leave that world and marries Arturo, a fellow industry professional who helps her rebuild her life. Together, they have a daughter named Sofía. Tragically, Sofía dies under mysterious circumstances, a loss that Arturo keeps from Cris.

Over time, Cris meets Mia, a drama student seeking to start anew after her friend's passing. Their bond deepens into a meaningful relationship. However, Arturo's intentions toward Mia are sinister: Mia is connected to someone from Cris’s past, and Arturo has a dark history involving previous tragedies. As Cris uncovers the truth about her past and Arturo’s actions, her faith and values are tested.

Will her faith in goodness and hope restore her heart? Or will her pursuit of love, acceptance, and happiness threaten her future?

"You wear her face, but you bleed differently. Tell me, pequeña mentirosa, who are you really?"
When Isabella Moreno identifies her twin sister Sofia's mutilated body in the San Isidro morgue, her world doesn't just shatter—it ignites.
Sofia wasn't supposed to be anywhere near the cartel underworld. She was the good twin—sweet, trusting, working as a trauma nurse, engaged to a respectable doctor. She was everything Isabella wasn't: innocent, hopeful, loved.
But someone put three bullets in Sofia's chest and dumped her body in the River Rojo like garbage.
The police call it gang violence. Case closed. Another statistic in a city that bleeds daily.
Isabella knows better.
She's spent five years as a DEA intelligence analyst, building cases against the very cartels that rule San Isidro. She's seen the patterns, knows the players, and recognizes the signature of a professional hit when she sees one. Sofia's murder wasn't random—it was an execution. And every trail of blood leads to one man:
Damián Flores, heir to the most powerful cartel in Mexico.
Devastatingly handsome, Princeton-educated, and colder than the blade he's rumored to wield personally, Damián took control of the Flores Cartel after his father's assassination three years ago. He's turned the organization into an empire—ruthless, efficient, untouchable. The DEA has tried for years to build a case against him and failed. He's too smart, too careful, too protected.
But Isabella has something the DEA doesn't: Sofia's face.
The twins were identical—same dark hair, same amber eyes, same delicate bone structure. When Isabella assumes Sofia's identity, no one questions it. Not Sofia's grieving fiancé. Not her hospital colleagues. And definitely not Damián Flores, who appears at Sofia's favorite café three days after the funeral with an expression that makes Isabella's blood run cold.

Wearing a straw hat and marked by dermal nevuses, Chloe Davis, an unattractive country bumpkin, is about to choose her husband from three dazzling heirs.
Scorned by Michael, mocked by Liam, and eyed strangely by the rest of the Martin family, Chloe is determined to change her fate.
After shedding her disguise and revealing her true beauty, Chloe captured the hearts of the three heirs of the Martin family.
She is the mischievous sweetheart in Grant's eyes, the princess he wants to protect.
She is the perfect on-screen partner in Michael's eyes, the future star of the fashion world.
She is the most stylish motorcycle goddess in Liam's eyes, the elusive figure he can never catch up to.
Let's guess, who will Chloe ultimately choose to spend the night with and share her life with?

It begins with Belle excited to attend a boy band show for the first time, mostly when she has to see Julius, her crush. However, the concert suddenly becomes bloody when Julius throws a toy wolf claiming that anyone who catches it becomes his.
Belle is scared as a stampede happens, she witness people dead and accidentally finds the toy. Almost immediately, everything becomes normal and everyone pretends as though nothing happened.
Shockingly, she's declared the winner and suddenly the mate for the five boys. Belle isn't comfortable and wants to go home but Julius tells her she belongs to them.
She's taken away by them and becomes their sex slave but narrowly escapes through the help of a mask boy, the fifth member of the band.
It's 5 years now, Belle lives her life trying to hunt down these five boys but it's impossible as she ends up losing her team members. To worsen it, she has a curse.
Every 12 midnight, she becomes a beast and attack people on sight and the only way to break out of this curse is to murder the leader of the team, Julius.
Her last search made her lose some policemen and she's forced to resign while her father arranged a marriage for her with the president's son. Leaving the precinct, she suddenly finds a poster of the 5 boys hosting a concert in two months while intending to dig more into the boys, she's run over by a car.
Belle is brought to the hospital but it's 12am and she ends up murdering the doctors on sight. Depressed, she paced out of the ward only to encounter a stranger who is the replica of Julius.

Indulged in a night of mystery and passion at a lavish masquerade ball, where identities are hidden behind elegant masks, Diana Thorton, the assistant to the wealthy and powerful Alexander Stone, is looking for a break from her stressful job and recent heartbreak.

But when she meets a mysterious stranger at the ball, little does she know that he's actually her boss.

Despite recognizing Alexander's face behind the mask, Diana succumbs to their mutual attraction and shares a steamy night with him.

As their desire for each other grows stronger, Diana discovers that she's pregnant and decides to resign from her job.

However, fate has other plans for them. In order to save Alexander's reputation from a media scandal, they must enter into a forced marriage with a lucrative annulment deal.

But can their passion survive the constraints of a contractual relationship, especially when dark secrets from their past threaten to tear them apart?

Rejected and humiliated on her bonding day by her fates mate, Omega Elara is cast aside for her pregnant twin sister. But the moon Goddess has other plans. Awakened as the legendary Fenrir Heir, Elara rises from the ashes with power that can scatter packs or forge an empire. When she forms a dangerous alliance with her mate's ruthless enemy, Alpha Darius, old flames and new desires ignite. Will she choose revenge or the bond that was always meant to be? A tale of betrayal, power, and fierce love

Everyone in this city knows that the king of the underworld, my husband Vincent, is crazy about me.

Three years ago, when that bullet tore through my abdomen, it took away my chance of ever being a mother. He held my blood-soaked body and swore to God he'd make the shooter's entire family pay. A month later, that family was wiped off the map in this city. No one dares speak their name anymore.

He sat by my hospital bed, holding my hand. "I don't need kids. I only need you."

I believed him.

Until six months ago, when his brother died in an accident, leaving behind his wife Serena. The family pressure came like a tidal wave. An heir. A bloodline. That's all they cared about. And that woman became everyone's golden ticket to keeping the Caruso name alive.

That's when my husband stopped coming home at night. Every night, I hear them through the wall. Sounds that used to be mine.

But today, the doctor told me my body is healing. The chances are slim, but there's hope.

I clutch the medical report and rush home, imagining Vincent's face when he sees the results. Maybe everything can go back to how it was. Maybe he'll realize he doesn't need her.

Until I stand outside our mansion and hear laughter pouring out.

"Serena's pregnant! Can you believe it? The family finally has an heir!"

"Finally. The family's saved."

After a painful loss and with overwhelming uncertainty knocking at her door, Lunna Rivera feels lost once again, accompanied by fear. She still feels like the little girl shaking in fear under the covers, wishing her heartbeat would calm down. However, she discovers something: true love. Will love to rise like a rainbow after the storm? She and Adam will face several difficulties that will test their love and feelings, putting their hearts to the test. Will this burn love stay alive? Will Adam finally fight for his first love? And will Luna learn to see beyond appearances to discover the truth?

However, for Lunna, trusting her heart means a path that should not be followed, something deceitful and cruel. She prefers not to think about it because it causes fear and reminds her of the child who cried under the sheets, wondering why her heart was bleeding again.

Luna must heal her broken heart, while Adam faces his own internal battles. Will it be possible to overcome past mistakes and find redemption? Will the love between Luna and Adam withstand all trials? They explore pain, overcoming, and the search for true connection. Confronting their weaknesses and traumas, both want to rekindle the flame of love that once brought them together. Secrets will be revealed, difficult choices will be made, the courage to forgive and start over will be fundamental.

Will destiny have a happy ending in store for Luna and Adam?

Deep in the ocean is an ancient power. A god. A monster. A lover. Whichever depends on who you asked for the story.

"Oh dove, my vile, sick dove," his voice wrapped around me, thick as the deep, forcing itself into my lungs like I was drowning in him.

"You're vile," I panted, my body pinned against the cold glass of the tank, his inhuman strength keeping me right where he wanted.

His mouth brushed the column of my throat, his teeth grazing my skin—hard enough to shiver. "No, little pet," he growled, his hands roving, clawing, owning. "You're vile. I am evil."

Dr. Lila Monroe never believed in myths, only science. But when her team captures something impossible—a creature too beautiful, too deadly—she knows she has discovered something beyond human comprehension.

Something that has been waiting for her. Night brings the dreams. Too vivid. Too near. His voice coils around her mind, whispering secrets and promises, drawing her into a place where she is not herself.

He tells her she is his. Possesses her in ways that make her shake when she wakes. But the creature in the tank is no normal specimen. He is an elder abyssal deity, a being who doesn't plead for affection—he demands, he takes, he consumes.

His hunger is never-ending, his obsession unwavering, and Lila is the only one who can hear him, feel him, and crave him.

As forces beyond her control rage above and reality warps around her, she has to make an impossible choice—fight the pull of the void or surrender to a bond she can never break because some hunger will never be denied. And he has waited eons to drown her in pleasure, in terror, in him.

Cara Smith is happily blessed with a caring and loving husband, Chris Knowles, with a true best friend, Jessica, by her side. For two years, everything is going on perfectly fine. Or so she thought?

On their anniversary party, Cara discovers a shocking secret about an intimate relationship with Jessica and Chris, and apparently, everyone around knew about it except for her! Devastated and heartbroken, she filed for a divorce and headed back home to her parents.

Somewhere else lies a rich and successful artist and CEO of a famous art museum, Romeo Armani, who is desperate for true love. Romeo and Cara are actually best friends since childhood, but when he asked her to come with him to France to further their career two years ago, Cara had rejected his offer to be married to Chris, although this is a sweet lie she tells herself. She couldn't dare state the real reason she left Romeo.
Chris threatens to ruin Cara's career after a lie he hears from Jessica in an attempt to make him despite Cara.

However, Romeo mocks him for making such threat. He is rich and powerful and announces that Cara's company would be the best no matter what Chris does. A year later and Cara becomes stronger and powerful. Chris has a change of heart and wants her back, but Cara has moved on and is finding a new love with Romeo.

Synopsis:

Loyal, devoted, obedient. Angel Krytos, the daughter of the pakhan and alpha, found herself forced to accept a divorce she did not want. "Why, Dimitri?" Angel asked her husband, looking at the divorce papers on the table. "What did I do wrong?"

"Sign them, Angel," he said, looking at her with a gaze as cold as ice.

Her heart sank, and she looked at him for a moment, thinking. He watched as she picked up the pen and signed the paper.

But when the great leader, Alpha Dimitri, discovers she is expecting his child, everything changes.

18+ mature content, not rated or suitable for those under the age of majority. This book is one of romance and horror.

Wynne is an ordinary woman, until her world is turned upside down. The Wild Hunt has kidnapped her and dragged her into Loslosach, The Sidhe Mists, home to mythical creatures and great danger. It's there that she discovers she is not human as she believes, but one of the Sidhe. Deadly adventures and daring romances await her...

Tessa has just kissed stepbrothers Mason and Bennett.
They decide they don't like sharing and now she has to choose between them.

"Bennett is calm and cruel.
Mason is reckless and rude.
I've been a good girl and stayed out of their way,
but they'll do everything in their power to force me to do
the one thing I've never been able to do.
Choose between the Slade brothers.
They'll have to kill me first.
I've seen what they're capable of.
So maybe they can..."

"You're going to meet your mate someday." I whispered.
"Olivia."
I forced a smile and lifted my head. "And it's fine. I'll be rooting for you all the way."
He cut me off with a soft "Liv."
I blinked away my tears. "No, listen to me. We need to accept that this won't last forever. You could find her on your next trip out of town, and I'll be forgotten."
I swallowed the lump formed in my throat. "I just hope we'll still be friends."
His face twisted in pain as he rested his forehead against mine, his hands trembling as he cupped my cheeks. "You'll always be my best friend."
"And you'll always be mine."
I pressed my lips against his, needing to taste him, to feel his lips on mine, to know that at this moment, he was mine.
Olivia Martins has always been an outcast in the Nightshade pack.
She's an omega, and the pack she grew up in never failed to remind her that she'd never be one of them.
It wasn't so bad growing up—she had her best friend by her side.
Caspian Storm, son of the alpha of the Nightshade pack, befriended her when they were both little, and they've been inseparable ever since.
Their friendship started out sweet and innocent, but it developed into more.
Olivia knew that it couldn't last forever because Caspian would find his mate—and what they had would come to an end.
Yet, she couldn't guard her heart.
And when her worst fear comes true, she flees.
Will Olivia and Caspian find their way back to each other?
Or will the threat of Caspian finding his mate keep them apart?

WARNING: MATURE CONTENT!
An EROTIC-ROMANCE story!


Since high school, Isla Peterson, a college student, had a crush on her brother's closest friend. She wished to be noticed by the man not just as a young sister, but also as a lover. She begged her brother, Apollo, to invite him to her 18th birthday party. Because her brother adores her, he eventually agreed. She was overjoyed when her long-time crush arrived—her wish had been granted.

After reaching the legal age, Isla relaxed during her after-party and assured her brother that she would only drink a little. However, she got drunk and involved herself in a situation that forever changes her life. She had sex with her long-time crush, Zero, the famed womanizer.

Zero Cohen is a well-known monster in bed who prefers extreme sex over making out. He only had one rule: "keep up with his pace," and he will lavish you with joy. Zero didn't realize it was Isla he claimed that night because they were both drunk at the time. And he admits, the lady was too good for first-timers. He began to crave her body, and every time he saw her, his pet hardened and desired to delve deeper into her core.

But can they really expect to go very far in this game? What if they have to face their difficulties? Will one of them give up, or will they fight? What could it bring if the playboy faces his downfall?

Roaming the earth for millennia in search of his soulmate. Caine, the first of all vampires, father to all children of darkness, and his beloved Lillith ruled the shadows together in defiance of all that was good. That is until a small skilled sect of holy crusaders, armed with a talisman forged in heaven, tore her from him. Destroying her body and condemning her soul to wander the earth lost, in a state of forgotten sadness, unable to remember the truth of her real power.
Rebecca Adams is a journalist with an insatiable curiosity for the murderous underbelly of the city. Convinced there’s a darker force at play than mere human immorality. When they meet for the first time, it all feels like a dream. How far is she willing to find out why?

Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Zelyne has mastered survival through silence and submission. As the Beta's daughter with a dormant wolf, she's treated worse than the household slaves, enduring daily humiliation while clinging to dreams of true love and freedom. But when her father arranges her marriage to Dominic Thorne—the notoriously cruel future Alpha of Moon Fire Pack—to advance his political ambitions, Zelyne's world shatters.

Her desperate escape fails when her best friend betrays her, leading to a forced wedding that binds her to a cold, brutal husband. Yet in her darkest hour, she finds an unexpected light: Kael, Dominic's younger brother, whose kindness awakens feelings she's never known. As their forbidden attraction deepens into true love, Zelyne discovers they're destined mates—a bond that could destroy them both.

But fate has darker plans. Luna Aliya, Dominic's mother, practices forbidden magic and has orchestrated everything for one purpose: Zelyne is the prophesied Silver Wolf, the most powerful werewolf in existence. Aliya murdered Zelyne's real mother and suppressed her powers to control her destiny.

When devastating truths emerge—including a blood connection that voids her marriage—Zelyne must embrace her true nature and fight for her freedom. In a world where power corrupts and love is forbidden, can she break the curses binding her and claim the mate her soul recognizes?

Ivy Morgan deeply fell in love with the business tycoon Wyatt Reed. Bound by a life debt, Wyatt married her. However, as the years passed, Wyatt never treated her as his wife. He only uses her. Knowing this, Ivy gave up that love she once felt and filed for a divorce.
After the divorce, Wyatt regrets everything he has done in the past and realizes how much he loves Ivy, making him coax her to do whatever it takes.
Will Ivy acknowledge the billionaire's regret?

"Hey, what are you doing? Don't take off your towel in front of me!"

"Why?"

"You're crazy, aren't you? How could you- wow, that's so big!"

"What's big? What are you looking at?"

"Th-that's your dick, I mean yours-" I felt fresh blood pouring from my nose.

"What's wrong with mine?" Jacob asked. He stepped closer to me, making my nosebleed worse seeing something between his crotch.

"D-don't come any closer! It's yours-"

"What are you talking about? Don't you really want it, hmm?" Jacob pushed my body until my back was against the wall. His two strong arms immediately embraced my body. He's really crazy, but somehow I like his craziness even though I can't admit it.

"Jacob, isn't it too soon for that? We haven't even kissed yet, so-"

"Want a kiss?" He whispered softly. He makes my soul surge, he is truly perfect.

"Yes, I do."


Chasing dreams in New York, almost made me homeless. Until a man offers me to share a room with him. Take it or leave it?

When Serena finds herself mated to her oppressor, she knew she was one of the few wolves that the moon goddess hated. She has resolve, bring down her old mate and make sure everybody pays for what they have done to her.
Lycan king Ardan has to find his mate before he turns thirty and time is running out. He feels betrayed when his mate turns out to be a lowlife omega who was rejected by her first mate for infidelity. Ardan would rather die than go within an inch of Serena but mate bonds have a way of bringing even he strongest of men to their knees, and Ardan will not be an exception.

Desire might be gentle but not here, it is filthy, possessive, obsessive and once you taste it you can never get enough.
Steamy Sessions is NOT sweet slow burn novel with a charming prince, this collection contains quite a number of EXPLICIT ADULT CONTENT including:
Intense Power Play.
Pet play, Pain Play, Bondage, Obedience Training.
Dubsub Elements.
Possessive, Obsessive, Morally Questionable Love Interests.
Dark Erotic Fantasies.
Exhibitionism, Degradation and Praise.
Noncon/Dubcon.
Sharing, Public Submission.
Sadistic Dom, Brutal Switches and Feral Brats.
Queer Characters.
Possessive Monsters.

Gianna Ramirez has three rules: 1. Don't fall in love again. 2. Don't get caught on girlgonewild.com. 3. Don't let Dmitry Orlov back into your life. But the universe has other plans.
Five years after ghosting her, Dmitry returns to New York, handsomer, hotter, and more possessive than ever. When her brother falls into a coma, Dmitry takes her under his roof… right where he wants her. To escape the pull of the man who broke her, Gianna turns to the one person who could erase him from her mind: Kevin Greyheart, the senator's son who's been chasing her from day one.
Caught between her brother's best friend and the man who refuses to let her go, Gianna must decide... who will have her heart, and who will ruin it

Dasy is a shooting Star who decides to reincarnate in earth, so She can find the love of her life, Patrick, who is also a shooting star and have been in love with Dasy since eternity. They both will fin each other the true love they have been dreaming among their reincarnations. But there is a little secret between them, everytime Patrick touch Dasy they shine and everything shakes as a strong equark around them. They must to keep their secret on safe, that they actually are shooting stars living as humans being otherwise they could finish being apart forever, because their love is too strong but as deep as dangerous.

"Family is the most important thing, Eron."
I'm sick of hearing that phrase every day without qualm.
They seek to include me in the standard picture where the only thing that matters is the happiness of others; the happiness of those around you. It is typical to think that you should care about those who, according to the rules of modern society, love you the most. But does owning the same blood connection make the affective connection between people? I want to know if I am the only one who is wrong.
I don't feel that warmth in my chest that I'm supposed to feel.
Do you have something you want to do?
I look at the crumpled papers balled up in the corner of the room, next to my piano. I bite down hard on my lower lip, not caring about the fact that it's parched from the summer and might crack.
Is it really there?
I won't lie; I miss it. The reason my piano is taking dust twenty-four hours a day since one hundred and eighty-two sunsets ago is ever present in my soul. That memory clings to my memory with no intention of letting go and setting it free. The only thing that persists is this emptiness that causes my discomfort.