scars

The year I loved Channing Waltz the most, he shattered my hopes. I remember, as I was hauled into the restroom, beaten mercilessly by strangers, there he stood, grinning like the sun itself. His face beamed with a brightness that made my heart sink. The burns from his childhood friend's curling iron marred my skin, leaving a trail of scars, and all the while, he took out his phone, snapping pictures of me in my undressed humiliation and posting them online for the world to mock. I cried, begged him to spare me, but he only laughed coldly, his voice as sharp as a blade. "You haven't even begun to suffer what my sister went through. What's the hurry?" That was when the truth hit me like a lightning strike. He had come to me, drawn me in with warmth, with affection, pretending to care—when all along, it was merely a means to an end. He had used me to set the stage to avenge his sister.

"Love me again; you are my mate," Raymond said, his voice desperate. "I will accept you with everything, Aurora. I am your second chance," another voice echoed from behind, pulling me in a different direction. I thought I knew pain. I thought I could survive anything. Being rejected by my fated mate shattered me, but what came after was worse. Alone and broken, I disappeared, leaving behind the ashes of who I used to be. For three years, I’ve lived in silence, rebuilding a life where no one knows the scars I hide or the strength I’ve found in my solitude. But fate isn’t done with me yet. He’s back. The man who ruined me, who threw me away when I needed him most—Alpha Raymond. Now he wants me again, and he’s not the only one. Another offers me what I thought was impossible—a second chance. But I’m not the same girl they remember. I’ve returned with the one thing that could shatter Raymond’s carefully built world