How Does Behind A Smile Explore Mental Health Themes?

3.5 Stories in one. She hides behind ugly suits and fake names. He's done trusting women. When they meet in a masked sex club, neither realizes they've been fighting each other across boardroom tables for eighteen months. At Taylor Industries, she's Joy Smith—the frumpy CFO who drowns her curves in shapeless polyester and wearing a wig. At home, she's the forgotten wife of a cheating lawyer who hasn't touched her in so long she's starting to wonder if she's broken. When she finds hot pink lace panties stuffed in her couch cushions...definitely not hers, it's not heartbreak she feels. It's freedom. Grayson Taylor doesn't do relationships anymore. Not after walking in on his actress fiancée with another woman. Now he channels everything into hostile takeovers and board meetings, especially the ones where his overcautious CFO fights him on every goddamn acquisition. Joy Smith is brilliant, infuriating, and funny when he pushes all her buttons. But Honey is tired of being invisible. Tired of never having felt real pleasure. So, when her best friend gives her the details of The Velvet Room—Manhattan's most exclusive masked club—she promises herself just one night. One night to find out if her husband's right, if she really is frigid, or if she's just never been touched by the right hands. She doesn't expect the masked stranger who claims her the second she walks in. Doesn't expect the chemistry that ignites between them, the way he makes her body sing, or the orgasms that leave her shaking. Doesn't expect him to hand her an email address with one command: "Only me. No one else touches you."

Two mafia families. One bloody feud. And a love that was never supposed to exist. Valenti Moretti is known as Ghost—a shadow in the underworld, a man feared for his precision and ruthlessness. But beneath the cold exterior lies a burning obsession he can't escape: Lorenzo De Luca, the golden prince of their rival family. Lorenzo's every smile, every calculated move with his perfect fiancée, is a reminder of what Ghost can never have—or forget. Their story began years ago, with a kiss neither of them were supposed to remember. Now, Ghost has a plan to make Lorenzo face the truth they both buried: a staged kidnapping, a forced reunion, and a chance to rewrite their fate. But Ghost goes a step further, paying the kidnappers to make them sleep together. But love born in the dark doesn’t thrive without consequences. As secrets unravel and both families spiral into chaos, Ghost and Lorenzo find themselves drawn together by the very forces tearing them apart. Loyalties will shatter. Blood will spill. And when the truth about their past comes to light, they’ll have to decide whether their connection is worth destroying everything—or if it was doomed from the start. In this deadly game of power, hate, and obsession, how far will you go to claim the one thing you can’t have?

Alexa Whittier has always been a cheerful child but sometime in her preteen years, something terrible happened to her that wiped that angelic smile off her lips. Her heart becomes a stone-cold wasteland. Will she ever smile again? Will she ever love again? Find out in this amazing, chilly, emotional and breathtaking adventure of Alexa Whittier.

On the verge of tears, she smiles. Her smile hides a storm. His touch brings the thunder. • "Are you planning to leave me?" He snarled, his voice dripping with fury. His entire demeanor contorted in anger, the chilling blankness replaced by a terrifying rage that made Zynah shudder. Fear flooded her voice, momentarily stealing her voice. Mustering all the courage she could, she forced out a "No." In a split second, Bilal's frown turned into a smile, a predator satisfied with his prey's submission. He reached out, gently framing her face. He leaned in, and for a fleeting moment, she thought he was going to hit her, but instead, she felt his lips on hers. She stilled. Pulling away after a second or so, he spoke; his voice a low, menacing murmur. "Good," he crooned, the possessiveness in his voice sending a fresh wave of tremor through her. "Because no matter how hard you try, you can never get away from me, you will only get yourself in trouble with me, and trust me, you're going to hate yourself for defying me." • He claims to love her, but his affection is a cage. Will this twisted affection set her free...or break her for good? Find out!!

Natasha has been through more grief than a person experiences, in their entire life. She carries baggage that no kid should entail. She lives a pain filled life but hides it all beneath a fake smile. Behind that smile, she is truly hurting. When you look into her closely, then you can see the Pain within. She has Hidden Scars that she prefers to stay hidden in her closed heart and nobody had ever been let in not even once. But of course, she must be loved and love comes when two of them can depend on each other, cherish each other and have no secrets. Her Hidden Scars are soon to be explored by mysterious and popular bad boy, Reece Worth. . . . Reece Worth is the school's scandalous bad boy who acts on impulse and blinded rage who is known for breaking every single rule. He only has his best friend and his cousin by his side. . . . Driven by a whirlwind of secrets, Natasha and Reece are thrown together despite their differences. . Can Natasha open her heart to be loved despite the pains buried within her? Will that be possible when her abusive stepbrother lurks around.

She had it all not until everything fell apart. Now, the only thing she has left... is a second chance. Aria Richmond was the girl everyone wanted to be very beautiful, rich, and admired. With her flawless looks and queen-bee status, no one dared to cross her path, she was cruel, arrogant and wicked. But when a new girl named Hope enters the scene and steals the attention of the one boy Aria secretly loves, jealousy ignites a cruel plan that spirals far beyond control. One night changes everything. A fire. A fall from grace. A face she barely recognizes. Now scarred, broken, and alone, Aria must face a world that no longer bows to her presence. But beneath the ashes of who she once was lies a girl yearning to be seen not just for her beauty, but for her heart. Beneath Her Scars is a story about pain, healing, and the power of unexpected kindness. It’s about how the ugliest moments in life can lead to the most beautiful transformations.