"If only my husband were alive, this would have never happened. If only I hadn't yearned for the touch of a man. If only I hadn't felt so alone. If only I wasn't scared of falling in love again. If only I hadn't fallen into a monster's trap. Then, maybe...just maybe, we would be safe." Ember, a widowed mother, scared of falling in love again. Tyler, a playboy, falling in love. Where do we hide when the monsters hide behind caring faces?
Warning:
This story contains graphic/sensitive themes, including:
sexual elements, mentions of death/loss, stalking, and domestic violence/abuse.
I ask you to please take your mental health seriously and use your own discretion as needed, skipping parts if you need. Each episode that includes such themes will have a warning included at the beginning.
If you or a loved one are dealing with domestic abuse, please reach out for help at the National Domestic Abuse Hotline at
1-800-799-7233
The lights dimmed. I held on tight to my little Max, holding his mouth closed, peeking out of the crack in the closet, praying help would come before he found us. Thunderous footsteps marched up the stairs towards us. My other hand tightly clutched onto my pistol. I prayed I didn't have to pull the trigger, but I had to protect my son.
My body froze, and I felt my gut churning and chest burning. "Ember." His venomous voice spat. "Come out, come out wherever you are." I shut my eyes tight, holding back the tears. "Maxi! Where you at, bud?" I held my son closer. Even though he recognized the voice, he remembered the pain the monster put us through. No child should ever have to see what that monster did.
If only...if only my husband were alive, this would have never happened. If only I hadn't yearned for the touch of a man again. If only I hadn't felt so alone. If only I wasn't scared of falling in love again. If only I hadn't fallen into a monster's trap. Then, maybe...just maybe, we would be safe.
*CRASH, BOOM, BANG*
The monster was becoming angry, breaking what little we had left. The sounds of drywall crumbling and glass breaking echoed in the closet. Unfortunately, we became all too used to the sounds during the brief time he was here. Max held onto me tight, burying his face in my chest. What kind of mother am I? Bringing this monster into our lives, I need to protect my baby. I searched the closet for any place I could hide him, then I remembered...the vent!
"Shush, baby. It's going to be alright." I whispered to my son, standing on a box, and loosening the vent cover. "Make it to Tyler's apartment. Stay safe, baby." I hoisted Max and asked him to make the same journey he'd made before, and I saw him cry as he didn't want to leave his mother. I wiped away his tears. "I promise everything will be okay, baby. Go get help." Taking one last look at him, I blew my son a kiss. "I love you, Maxi Bear." With that, I closed the vent. It was the only way I could protect him. I just prayed it would not be the last time I saw him.
Gripping onto my gun, I stay in the closet. Sweat poured down my body as the adrenaline took over. Now that Max is safe, I have one mission: to stay alive for my son. The monster wants me, not him.
"Ember, baby. Just come out and let's talk." The monster slurred his words, drunk as usual. "I love you, sweetheart. I'll change, I'm sorry." He will never change.
I stayed silent, listening to where the stomping was coming from. This upset the monster even more.
"I said come out! His voice changed back to pure evil. "You are mine! After I'm done with you, your little fuck boy, Tyler, is next!" He let out an evil chuckle. Smashing another hole in the wall.
The footsteps moved closer. I held my finger on the trigger, ready to shoot, tucking my body under a pile of clothes, praying he wouldn't see me.
The air was sucked out of the room; I tried my hardest to quiet my breathing. The pile of stale clothes smelling of my love spell perfume clung to my sweat, yet I stay still, curled up as small as possible. Begging for help to arrive before it's too late. My limbs fell asleep, pressed against the hard floor. I shut my eyes tight, constricting my muscles as the footsteps entered the room.
My heart dropped as the sound of the closet creaking open filled my ears. Holding my breath, I froze. The monster slammed the closet shut again; I didn't move a muscle. Relief fell over my body...I don't think he saw me.
Just then, the monster ripped my arm upwards, out of the pile of clothes. "Found you, princess." The monster laughed, pulling my arm towards him.
(updated daily) Being on the run from assassins is not how I imagined my summer to go. I can't help but to have feelings for this man who has sworn to protect my life with his own...how can I fight this desire? Who are the men trying to kill me? Is it even possible to find love while the truth comes to light about my mother's death and father's secretive job?
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
Desperate to handle her grandmother's towering medical bills, Gianna agreed to a contract marriage with Tristan, the enigmatic man she'd once shared a one-night stand with. She assumed they'd fulfill each other's needs and dissolve the arrangement once the terms expired. Unbeknownst to Gianna, this marriage was a dream Tristan had clung to for ten relentless years. Certain she was just filling someone else's role, Gianna prepared to leave when that other woman returned. But Tristan, his eyes burning with unspoken emotion, seized her trembling hand and declared, "You’re mine. Now and always."
She was a world-renowned divine doctor, the CEO of a publicly traded company, the most formidable female mercenary, and a top-tier tech genius. Marissa, a titan with a plethora of secret identities, had hidden her true stature to marry a seemingly impoverished young man. However, on the eve of their wedding, her fiance, who was actually the lost heir to a wealthy dynasty, called off the engagement and subjected her to degradation and mockery. Upon the revelation of her concealed identities, her ex-fiance was left stunned and desperately pleaded for her forgiveness. Standing protectively before Marissa, an incredibly influential and fearsome magnate declared, "This is my wife. Who would dare try to claim her?"
“Drive this woman out!” "Throw this woman into the sea!” When he doesn’t know Debbie Nelson’s true identity, Carlos Hilton cold-shoulders her. “Mr. Hilton, she is your wife,” Carlos’ secretary reminded him. Hearing that, Carlos gives him a cold stare and complained, “why didn’t you tell me earlier?” From then on, Carlos spoils her rotten. Little did everyone expect that they would get a divorce.
Elisa watched as the most important people in her life showered the evil imposter-The fake heiress, with love. Elisa, the lost daughter of one of the most wealthiest family was found 18 years later and was brought back to her rightful home. However, someone had already taken her place. A fake heiress, the pampered little princess. Her coy acting and innocent façade made Elisa's real mother love her more than Elisa, her real daughter. That made Elisa, though, the true daughter end up as an adopted child. "Elisa, could you try not to appear in front of her too much as it could trigger her insecurities." Her parents had told her because of the fake heiress. "Elisa, You've taken everything away from her. Why can't you give her a little more?" Her fiancé had ordered her. Because of an unfortunate accident plotted by Isabelle-The fake heiress, Elisa was sent to prison and her family cut ties with her without a second thought. Four years, after much torture which led to her being crippled and blind on one eye, she was released, but got hit by a truck. While laying on the pool of her blood, she wanted to question, Why? Why had they all treated her so cruelly, while they love Isabelle unconditionally? She badly wanted to rip off Isabelle's mask of innocence, to reveal the fake, manipulative woman beneath. She was full of hatred. But after her death, she woke up back to when she was 18 years like all that happened were all nightmare. She was elated. She was reborn to re-live all that had happened in her last life, but now, her mission was to reveal mask beneath that woman and make everyone that made her suffer in her past life pay. It was her time for revenge! And definitely, she won't mess this up!