Hopelessly Optimistic Novels & Stories

## **The Wicked Games We Play for Love** *Book One of The Wicked Series* Fourteen years ago, Dorian Vanderbilt abandoned Troy Summers in an orphanage. He locked her in a closet, walked away with his new wealthy family... and never came back. She spent fourteen years preparing for one thing. Revenge. Now twenty, Troy earns a place at an elite university where Dorian studies, armed with a simple plan: make him fall hopelessly in love with her, then destroy him piece by piece. Only Dorian isn't the boy she remembers. He is quiet. Calculating. Beautiful. Dangerous. A man with silver hair, ancient eyes, and a talent for seeing through every lie she tells. As Troy's carefully crafted seduction begins to work, her plan starts unraveling. The university hides violent secrets. Men fight like predators. Wolves roam the forests after dark. A lonely vampire mourns the loss of sunlight. Ancient druids guard magic that should no longer exist. And Dorian is not simply the heir to a powerful family... He is the nine-tailed fox. Bound by an ancient fae treaty that has stolen freedom from every supernatural race, Dorian has spent centuries manipulating allies and enemies alike in search of a way to break it. Troy was never supposed to become part of that plan. But the more they deceive each other, the more dangerous their game becomes. Every kiss is a test. Every touch is a lie. Every act of intimacy is another move in a ruthless battle between revenge and love. Until Troy discovers the truth. The boy she swore to destroy may be the only one capable of saving them all. And Dorian's greatest weakness has never been his enemies. It's the orphan girl he left behind.

On my wedding day, my husband abandoned me to marry his childhood sweetheart, while I was tortured to death. *** Yeah. That was how my first life ended, pathetic. Wasn't it? I was the perfect fiancée: quiet, obedient, hopelessly in love with a man who never loved me back. For three years, I erased myself to become Adrian Whitmore's first love, Isabella Clarke, the woman he truly loved. I cooked for him, fought for him, and even gave up my father's company for him. And what did I get in return? Betrayal. Humiliation. Death. But heaven gave me another chance. I wake up three years earlier, at our engagement party. The same party where Adrian threw our rings into the pool and I—desperate and pathetic—dove in to retrieve them. Not this time. This time, I throw the rings back in his face. I expose his secrets, reclaim my father's empire, and walk away from the man who never deserved me. But Adrian isn't ready to let go. The obedient woman who worshipped him is gone, replaced by someone he can't control or predict. For the first time in his arrogant life, he wants what he can't have—me. Too bad I'm done being anyone's second choice. With a sweet billionaire offering genuine devotion and a dangerous mafia boss promising absolute protection, I finally have options. Meanwhile, Adrian watches helplessly as I become everything he never let me be. In my first life, I died for love. In my second life, everyone who hurt me will pay.

Aria Lockwood has already died once. In her first life, she was nothing more than the wolfless stepdaughter of the Alpha—weak, unwanted, and hopelessly in love with the wrong man. When the arrogant hockey star Tristan Lockwood promised to finally accept her as his mate, Aria believed him with her whole heart. All he asked for in return… was a small favor. Poison his twin brother. Trenton Lockwood—the golden heir of the pack, the captain of the Winterridge Ice Wolves, the man admired by everyone. Blinded by love, Aria obeyed. Trenton died on the ice in front of thousands. And that same night, Tristan poisoned her too. As she lay dying on the locker room floor, Aria learned the cruelest truth of all. The man she murdered… had been her real mate. But the Moon Goddess gave her one more chance. Reborn one hour before the match that destroyed everything, Aria refuses to repeat her mistake. This time she will protect the man she once killed—even if it means chasing the cold, distant Trenton Lockwood across campus while he tries desperately to push her away. Because Trenton remembers something too. A nightmare where she murdered him. Now Aria must survive a dangerous game of deception, revenge, and forbidden desire between step-siblings while her jealous ex-lover plots their destruction. But the closer she gets to Trenton, the more the mate bond burns between them. And when passion finally explodes between the Alpha heir and the girl who once killed him, the consequences will shake the entire pack. Because some loves are dangerous. Some bonds are forbidden. And some second chances come with a price written in blood.

My fated mate, Alpha Kaelen, rejected me seven times. The first time we bonded, he whispered against my ear, his breath hot. “From now on, my soul sings only for you.” But then his first love, the Omega Seraphina, came back for him. And just like that, he rejected me. They shared a mate’s mark from their past. It left her hopelessly addicted to his scent. “I’m sorry,” he’d said. “I have to be with Seraphina. The scent addiction is destroying her. She can’t even shift. Her wolf is weakening.” The first time he rejected me, I slashed a silver dagger across my wrist. I let the blood flow, hoping the pain would make him look at me. It worked. Kaelen was horrified. He left Seraphina for a moment and rushed to my side, holding me, comforting me. The third time, I disguised myself as an ordinary pack wolf. I got an internship at his pack headquarters, just to breathe in the air he breathed. But this time, he looked right through me, as if we were strangers. By the sixth rejection, I had learned how to calmly erase my scent from his suite. I left without a sound. My screams. My surrender. My begging. And what I got in return? Every time he was with her, the full moon would rise, and he’d call me back. Just to play the same sick game all over again. Until now. I heard Seraphina was coming back again. So I handed him the ceremonial dagger myself. He set the date for my return, just like always. He had no idea. This time, I'm the one severing the bond for good. And I am never coming back.

“Fuck,” he groaned, his body tightening as he released his load inside me, spurting, filling my cunt. I remained still, trembling from the aftershocks, he pulled away, leaving me cold and exposed. I watched as he stood, reaching for his clothes with a casual indifference that felt like a slap. “Where are you going?” “Don’t overthink it. It’s just sex, nothing more.” “But… you didn’t mark me.” “Mark you? Why would I do that?” “Dominic… we’re married,” I tried to remind him desperately. He laughed coldly, mocking. “Marriage is just a contract, Samantha. You’re nothing more than a Luna with no wolf, an obligation I’m bound to.” ~~~ Samantha married Alpha Dominic, the man she’d been hopelessly inlove with, but he couldn’t love her back. He was waiting for his fated mate, not knowing that it was her all along becasue the bond remained hidden, unable to reveal itself due to her wolfless state. And Samantha paid the price—suffering the pain of her husband’s affair with another woman. Broken and betrayed, she ran away from the Silver Crescent Pack, carrying a secret that would change everything: she was pregnant. Six years later, she’s returned, not as the fragile woman she once was but as a fierce mother and the powerful right-hand to Alpha Killian. Her secret? Two five-year-old twins—and a wolf that finally emerged the moment she gave birth. When she unexpectedly crosses paths with Dominic, the Alpha she once loved, her carefully built walls begin to crumble. He’s everything she remembers and more: handsome, dangerous, and shockingly more attractively than she ever thought, drawing her in an inexplicable pull. But Dominic was oblivious to the truth she’s been hiding—the secret of their children...

Serena Calloway was the perfect wife—devoted, patient, and hopelessly in love with her husband. She gave Killian Blackwood everything: her heart, her loyalty, and a son who carried his name. But her love, however, was something her husand took for granted. On the night of their anniversary, Serena walks into what should have been a celebration of their love—only to realize the candles, the diamond necklace, the handwritten note… were for someone else. Samantha James. The woman who had supposedly saved Killian, the woman who had snuck her way into their lives with seduction, the woman their own son now called Mommy. And when Serena finally confronts her husband, the man she had built her life with, he looks her in the eyes and asks: “What have you ever done for me?” She's left betrayed, humiliated, and rejected. Killian doesn’t stop at taking her dignity—he takes her company, her son, and the life she worked so hard to build. Left with nothing but shattered dignity and a divorce paper shoved in her trembling hands, Serena makes a silent vow: They were going to r egret this. Six months later, the woman Killian tossed aside walks back into his world—but not as the broken wife he left behind. Serena Calloway is a name whispered in boardrooms, a presence more powerful than he ever imagined. And standing beside her is Damien Knight—his business rival, the man who picked up the pieces Killian so carelessly tossed aside… the man who now owns Serena’s heart. But Killian is not ready to let go. Not when he realizes the truth behind the woman he lost. Not when regret burns deeper than love ever did. Not when Serena’s new happiness feels like his greatest downfall.

"He was the fire I should’ve run from. But I walked straight into the blaze, begging him to burn me. He loved me so hard it bled. Then, he left me — shattered— and now when I hold the power to destroy him, he wants to claim every broken piece." In a world of deceit, can love survive the truth? Kiss of His Betrayal– for those who love dangerous men and the women who dare to love them back. A dark romance of obsession, betrayal, revenge and the kind of love that scars. Read if you crave enemies-to-lovers, twisted chemistry, and secrets that refuse to stay buried. Character Intro: Shefali D'Souza - Barely eighteen… A pure soul with dreams bigger than the sky. Ambitious, fearless, breathtaking— A girl whose beauty wasn’t just on her face, but in the fire burning quietly in her eyes. Her charm? Chaos and poetry wrapped into one. Her sass could stop hearts, and that dimpled smile… dangerously unforgettable. One look at her— and his whole world surrendered at her feet. Damon Knight - He was the sole heir to the most powerful empire in the country— a name that made business tycoons bow and enemies tremble. To the world, he was the renowned boxer, the young CEO, the most eligible bachelor everyone dreamed of. Elegant. Charming. Untouchable. But beneath the tailored suits and angelic reputation… lived a devil carved out of fire and darkness. A man obsessed with the idea of taming innocence, claiming purity, and turning an untouched soul into his most prized possession. Her beauty caught his eye. Her fire… ensnared his soul. What began as a spark of curiosity twisted into an obsession he couldn’t control— and before he even realized it, the devil himself had fallen hopelessly, dangerously in love.

Ava Reyes has spent four years doing what she does best — keeping her feelings exactly where they cannot do any damage. She is twenty-nine, co-owner of a thriving bakery, and hopelessly in love with the one man she has absolutely no business wanting. Marcus Calloway is her best friend's older brother — steady, brilliant, and infuriatingly easy to be near. When he left for London six years ago, Ava buried her feelings and moved on. Or did a convincing enough impression of it. Then Marcus comes home. Permanently. And he is engaged. His fiancée, Isabelle Ferreira, is a sharp London solicitor who is warm, intelligent, and impossible to resent. She has done nothing wrong. She deserves everything she has. Which makes what Ava is beginning to want all the more dangerous. Because the more Ava finds herself near Marcus — at family dinners, in stolen conversations, in the small accidental moments that keep finding them together — the more she notices things she shouldn't. The way he watches her. The way the air shifts between them when no one else is paying attention. She is not a woman who chases unavailable men. She has a conscience, and it is loud. But she is also a woman who is tired of being careful. What begins as a private war with herself slowly becomes something more deliberate. Ava doesn't set out to destroy anything. She simply sets out to make Marcus Calloway finally see her. What she doesn't account for is how much it will cost — and how deeply she will fall before she understands the difference between wanting someone and deserving them. Some fires don't care how carefully you've been living.

I should’ve known better than to fall for Drake Peterson— my boss, my secret, my addiction, and the only man who could ruin me with a whisper. For two forbidden years, I lived a life no one knew about. By day, I was his perfect secretary. By night, I was the woman he kept hidden in his arms, tangled in his sheets, and locked behind a contract that said I would never expect more. I lied. To him. To myself. To the shattered girl staring back at me every morning. Because I did fall for him—hopelessly, stupidly, completely. And then he destroyed me. With one cold conversation, he terminated our arrangement, handed me a monstrous payout, and told me to walk away like I meant nothing. No explanation. No softness. Just an order: “This is the end, Sabrina.” So I erased him. Deleted my social media. Vanished from New York. And used the money he gave me to build something new— Mendoza Luxe, the jewelry empire that turned me into the woman he never thought I could become. I told myself I was over him. Until the day I ran into an old coworker… and learned the truth I was never meant to hear: Drake is bankrupt. He never married his fiancée. And everything he threw away—including me— he did to protect my life. Now the man who once owned every breath I took is falling from the top… and fate is dragging us back into the same fire that burned us alive. Old desire doesn’t fade. Old wounds don’t heal. Old enemies don’t forget. I survived Drake Peterson once. The question is— can we survive the truth that tore us apart?

He told me I was nothing, stripped me of my worth, broke my body and soul, and threw me out like trash. His rival taught me I was everything and crowned me his Queen. ~~~~~ For nine years, I stood by Vincent's side, as his efficient and loyal assistant, helping him build the empire he inherited from his father while secretly and hopelessly head-over-heels in love with him. But after his first love, Chloe, a money-hungry, manipulative, lying bitch left him without a word and a night I wished never happened, a pregnancy, a forced marriage he loathed me for, and three years of living hell followed. Three years of turning me into his personal punching bag, breaking my body and my soul with each touch. His every word, a reminder that I was nothing but a worthless, disposable stand-in for the woman he truly desired. And when Chloe finally returned, tearfully claiming she'd been forced to raise their three-year-old son alone, Vincent saw his 'true family 'and threw me out like I was less than the dirt beneath his designer shoe. That night, broke, jobless and homeless, I was found bruised and helpless in the middle of the road by Alistair Kincaid, a man with a dark past and a massive personal score to settle with the Ashford family. He didn't just save me. He offered me a home at his side, claiming me beautifully and passionately. He took the shattered pieces of my soul and rebuilt it with his love. He taught me how to rise from the ashes, gave me my voice back, and showed me how to make kings kneel. Now I wear his crown. And my ex? He’ll wish he never threw me away.