
Introduction
What begins as a PR strategy quickly turns into forced cohabitation under constant surveillance. Lewis is cold, controlled, and unwilling to perform for the cameras. Audrey is sharp-tongued, honest, and unwilling to be intimidated.
But as the cameras keep rolling, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur. What the world sees as a redemption story slowly becomes something neither of them expected—an emotional collision that exposes hidden wounds, buried truths, and a love neither of them was prepared for.
Chapter 1
AUDREY’S POV
I don't even like hockey.
I want to make that clear before anything else, because what happened tonight was entirely Matilda's fault, and I refuse to let history remember it any other way.
"You owe me," I said into my phone, squeezing past a guy in a jersey three sizes too big for the entrance of the stadium. “Excuse me. Sorry. Coming through,” I muttered in quick succession.
The stadium smelled like popcorn and body heat. I could practically feel excitement buzzing off the people. Way too much excitement for this simple sport played on ice. Couldn't be me. "I'm literally in the nosebleed section, Tilda."
"Audrey." Her voice crackled softly and I could tell she was about to blackmail me like always. "You're doing me the biggest favor of my life."
"You said that when I proofread your essay."
"This is bigger." I could hear the eyeroll in her tone.
I dropped into my seat— her seat, technically —and looked down at the rink. From up here, the players were tiny. Like little action figures someone had wound up and let loose. I squinted at them, trying to point out the one she wanted.
"Which one is he?"
"Number seven. Audrey. Come on, you've seen his face enough times on my wall." She whined.
I'd seen it, sure. Poster Lewis Jeremy was brooding and sharp-jawed and photographed like he knew exactly what the camera wanted from him. Real Lewis Jeremy, from this distance however, looked like everyone else— helmet, pads and moving too fast for me to track.
"Right," I said. "Number seven."
I held up her camera. The viewfinder made everything worse, honestly. I was not a sports photographer, and this camera cost more than my laptop.
"Please don't drop it," Matilda said.
"I'm not going to drop it." I assured her.
I was not absolutely going to drop it.
By the third period I had figured out which one was number seven. Hard to miss, honestly— not because I was paying attention, but because whenever something happened, the crowd's energy bent toward him like a compass finding north.
He was fast. Stupidly fast. The kind of fast that made you forget you didn't care.
Okay. Fine. I see why they were obsessed a little.
But I didn't say that out loud.
The Beanpot final. That's what the announcer kept calling it— “The Beanpot final, folks, and what a night”— and I gathered from the volume of the crowd that this was a big deal.
The Hartwell Wolves were winning. Number seven had scored twice and people around me were losing their minds in the way sports people do.
When the buzzer went, the stadium went insane.
I stood up because everyone around me stood up and I clapped because it felt weird not to. I even lifted the camera and got a few shots of the celebration— the players hugging, helmets off, the captain throwing his arms up—
And then number seven turned, and even from up here I could see the shift in him. His shoulders were hunched over and he was staring right at the captain.
No one noticed. But I did. He was skating towards the captain with a specific intent that made my stomach coil with unease.
What was he going to—
The punch landed before I understood what I was seeing.
One second the captain was laughing. The next, Lewis Jeremy's fist connected with his face, and the sound— even through the chaos— cut through everything.
The crowd went from euphoria to shocked silence in the span of a breath.
Then everyone started talking at once.
I stood there with Matilda's camera half-raised, staring down at the rink where two teammates were already pulling Jeremy back and I had only one thought. Matilda is going to lose her mind when I tell her.
The cold outside hit me like a punch as I stepped out.
Fuck.
I pulled my coat tighter and called her before I'd even made it to the bottom of the stadium steps. She picked up on the first ring.
"How was it? Did you get good shots? Was he amazing? Tell me everything —"
"He punched someone."
She went silent. Yeah, me too.
"He—what?"
"The captain. He just… right after they won, Tilda, in front of everyone just clocked him." I stepped onto the sidewalk and started walking.
The crowd was still spilling out around me, voices overlapping, everyone with their own version of what they'd just seen. "I got it on camera, I think. By accident."
"Oh my god."
"Yeah."
"Is he okay? Is Lewis okay?"
I blinked. "The captain's the one who got hit —"
"Audrey. Answer the question."
"I don't know, I left." I tucked the camera under my arm very carefully and weaved between a family taking up the whole pavement. "All I know is your precious idol is apparently a violent maniac with a temper problem. I watched him skate for two hours and the man smiled exactly zero times."
"He doesn't smile at games, that's just how he is when he's focused—"
"Matilda, he punched someone on live television."
"There must be a reason —"
"There's always a reason with people like that," I said. "Doesn't make it less of a red flag. He's got anger issues. Big ones. I'm telling you, there's something wrong with him."
I kept walking, still talking, working through everything I'd seen— the coldness of him, the way the celebration hadn't touched him at all, the way he'd looked at the captain right before—
I didn't notice the guy walking beside me until my elbow nearly clipped his arm.
I stepped to the side automatically and didn't look up. I just kept talking.
"Dalia is going to be so disappointed," I said into the phone. "She's had his poster since sophomore year, and now she's going to have to watch highlight reels of her favorite athlete committing assault—"
My foot caught on something. Something that definitely wasn't there a second ago.
Oh shit.
I didn't fall far— stumbled more than fell, one knee down, hands out— but the camera slipped.
I tried to grab it.
And I missed.
The crack of it hitting the pavement was the worst sound I'd ever heard in my life.
Oh fuck.
"Audrey? Audrey, what happened —"
I stared at the camera on the ground. The lens. The way it was sitting at an angle it definitely wasn't supposed to sit at.
"I'll call you back," I whispered and immediately hung up, my fingers trembling.
I crouched down and picked it up. Turned it over. Closed my eyes. Opened them.
Broken. The camera was obviously broken.
I looked up scanning the pavement like the universe might offer me some explanation, some stray pebble I could blame, some crack in the concrete that made me trip —
There was a guy a few feet away, walking like nothing had happened with his hands in his pockets, head down, dressed in a dark hoodie, plain, no jersey. Just a guy in a crowd.
But I caught his profile for half a second before the crowd swallowed him.
The tightness of his jaw. The way his gaze slid to mine coldly for a second.
My stomach dropped.
Lewis Jeremy.
What was he doing out here?
But he was already gone.
Last Chapters
#61 Chapter 61 The truth.
Last Updated: 7/13/2026#60 Chapter 60 Cheering her up
Last Updated: 7/11/2026#59 Chapter 59 Sharing her fears.
Last Updated: 7/10/2026#58 Chapter 58 Facing Challenges
Last Updated: 6/30/2026#57 Chapter 57 A mistake
Last Updated: 6/30/2026#56 Chapter 56 Unrequited feelings
Last Updated: 6/30/2026#55 Chapter 55 Getting them together.
Last Updated: 6/30/2026#54 Chapter 54 Uncovering the secret.
Last Updated: 6/30/2026#53 Chapter 53 Betrayal
Last Updated: 6/30/2026#52 Chapter 52 Hooking them up.
Last Updated: 6/30/2026
You Might Like 😍
From Sacrificed Slave to the Dragon King's Obsession
His fangs glinted as he gripped my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. Dragon scales shimmered along his neck, breath scorching my skin.
"Your Majesty... I beg—" He shoved me onto the bed. Silk tore with a sharp rip, cold air rushing over my exposed body.
"Scared?" He smirked, palm sliding down my waist, fingers tracing slow, burning circles. "Yet you shiver... not from cold."
I lunged for the candlestick, but he caught my wrist, pinning it overhead. His knee forced my legs apart.
"When your father gave you to me," his lips brushed my ear, voice a dark rumble, "you were already mine."
On the eve of freedom after ten years of servitude, Lina Valeria stood one night away from reuniting with her betrothed. But Dragon King Augustus condemned her to the Abyss Mines on false charges—a trap forged from obsessive desire.
Augustus Ashenwing, Supreme Sovereign of Skyhold Citadel, is ruthless and feared by all races. His obsession stems from ancient grudges and dragonkind's most dangerous instinct: possessive desire. He demands her submission, binding her to his throne as his consort.
From prisoner to queen, Lina battles him through court intrigue and twisted passion—fighting for her mother, her freedom, her dignity.
Yet this cold-blooded tyrant reserves all tenderness for her alone. He indulges her temper, bends his pride, compromises without limit—anything to see her smile. Gradually, her heart wavers. But loving him means betraying Kain, who waited eleven years. Torn between duty and desire, she drowns in agonizing guilt.
Love and hatred intertwined—a forbidden dragon romance in a realm of oppression.
The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)
The saint to my sinner. with her innocent eyes and devilish curves.
A Madonna that was meant to be admired but never touched.
Until someone took that innocence from her.
She left.
The darkness in my heart was finally complete.
I avenged her, I killed for her, but she never came back.
Until I saw her again. An angel dancing around a pole for money.
She didn’t know I owned that club. She didn’t know I was watching.
This time I won’t let her escape.
I will make her back into the girl I knew.
Whether she likes it or not.
2/ Judge and Jury- I can’t stop watching her.
I’m not even sure I want to.
Taylor Lawson, blonde, beautiful, and totally oblivious to how much dangers she’s in.
She’s also the one juror in my upcoming murder trial that hasn’t been bought.
The one who can put me behind bars for a very long time.
I know I should execute her.
After all that’s what I do.
I am the Judge.
I eliminate threats to The Family.
And Taylor is a threat.
But I don’t want to kill her.
Possessing her, making her love me seems like a much better plan for this particular Juror.
3/ Rags and Ritches-
What the Heart Wants (Book 1 of the Alpha Faros Series)
Not loving him will cost more.
Derek has one goal: survive high school without drawing too much attention or pissing off his pack’s alpha.
As the youngest son of the alpha, his life is governed by lycan hierarchy, tradition, and politics. With no signs of awakening a lycan spirit, his only value is what he can do for the pack’s image. He knows he’s only ever one misstep away from exile… or worse.
Then, he finds a boy trapped in a locker on orientation day, and everything changes.
Derek shouldn’t want Nikolias. He’s off-limits. A risk Derek can’t afford.
So why does it feel like he’s the only thing worth fighting for?
Nikolias has just lost everything: his parents, his home, and any sense of peace. Sent back to the town his family left years ago to live with his prejudiced and controlling uncle, who wants nothing to do with anything—or anyone—not human, he’s trying to do everything in his power to get out quickly.
But then he meets Derek again, and all of his plans vanish in the soft, yearning flecks of gold in Derek’s green-hazel eyes. He’s drawn to Derek in a way that’s impossible to deny, and he thinks Derek feels the same way, despite the danger their relationship holds for him.
As Moonshadow's politics turn deadly, Derek and Nikolai are caught in the crossfire of a war that had started long before they were born, and their bond becomes a threat and a lifeline that neither can afford to sever.
Because the heart wants what it wants….
And it never asks permission.
TW: Graphic Violence, Suicide Ideation, Suicide Attempt, Child Abuse, Cult-Like Behavior
Bound by Fate, Freed by Choice
Her escape leads her to Alpha Rowan, the commanding leader of the Blackwood Pack, who offers shelter, protection, and an unexpected chance at a new life. But Rowan’s fierce and jealous fiancée sees Lyla as a threat, and the pack’s charming Beta is drawn to her quiet strength.
As a dangerous attraction simmers between Lyla and Rowan, they begin to unravel a dark web of secrets that implicates Kaiden and threatens both their worlds.
With her hidden power awakening, Lyla must navigate treacherous loyalties, face the alpha who shattered her, and decide: Will she follow the destiny fate forced upon her, or claim the love and strength she has chosen for herself?
Mated to Her Alpha Instructor
Weeks later, our new Alpha combat instructor walks in. Regis. The guy from the woods. His eyes lock on mine, and I know he recognizes me. Then the secret I've been hiding hits me like a punch: I'm pregnant.
He has an offer that binds us tighter than ever. Protection… or a cage? Whispers turn ugly, darkness closes in. Why am I the one without a wolf? Is he my salvation… or will he drag me to ruin?
Let Them Kneel
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.
But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.
Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.
When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.
For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.
Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.
But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.
And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.
Especially him.
She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.
Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
The CEO's Unspoken Love
Before I could answer, he moved closer, suddenly looming over me, his face inches from mine. I felt my breath caught, my lips parting in surprise.
"Then this is the price for speaking ill of me to others," he murmured, nipping my lower lip before claiming my mouth in a real kiss. It began as punishment but quickly transformed into something else entirely as I responded, my initial rigidity melting into compliance, then active participation.
My breathing accelerated, small sounds escaping my throat as he explored my body. His touches were both punishment and pleasure, drawing shudders from me that I thought he felt reverberating through his own body.
My nightgown had ridden up, his hands discovering more of mine with each caress. We were both lost in sensation, rational thought receding with each passing second...
Three years ago, to fulfill the wish of his grandmother, I was forced to marry Derek Wells, the second son of the family that had adopted me for ten years. He didn't love me, but I had secretly loved him all along.
Now, the three-year contractual marriage is about to end, but I feel that some kind of sentiment has developed between Derek and me that neither of us is willing to admit. I'm not sure if my feelings are right, but I know that we can't resist each other physically...
Accardi
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.
Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
They'll Regret This
My fiancé didn't just dump me—he proposed to her that same night. My so-called family handed me bus fare and a one-way ticket to the countryside.
Perfect. Let them think they won.
They don't know who I really am. The anonymous genius surgeon who saves lives when elite hospitals give up. The legendary artist whose paintings sell for millions at auction. The undefeated shadow queen of the underground fighting circuit. And the true heiress to a fortune that makes theirs look like pocket change.
Now my ex-fiancé begs on his knees. My fake sister's jealousy is eating her alive. And that cold, arrogant CEO who once threw our engagement contract in my face? He's hunting me down like a man possessed, desperate for one more chance.
They threw me away like trash to upgrade their lives.
Joke's on them.
I was always the upgrade.
To protect what’s mine
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
Bound By Power, Torn By Love
She regards him as her only salvation, but he regards her as a pawn for revenge. When two enemies dance on the sharp knife, what will be the final outcome?












