LOVE PAINTED IN LIES
Prologue
Some stories begin with love.
Some begin with war.
But theirs began with a promise, one whispered under the fading glow of a streetlamp, sealed with youthful dreams and a future full of light. Neither of them knew how quickly love could twist into something darker... or how far a wounded heart could go just to feel whole again.
This is not a tale
Chapters
Share
Chapter 10
The school did not feel the same anymore.
Mila noticed it the moment she stepped through the gates. The walls that once held laughter now felt like they were listening. Every corner felt watched. Every whisper sounded like it was meant for her.
Lena was gone, but her presence lingered.
Police had questioned students. Teachers had tightened security. Yet nothing felt safer. If anything, the danger had simply learned how to wait.
Adrian walked beside Mila, close but not touching. The space between them felt heavier than distance ever had.
You don't have to stay today he said softly.
Mila shook her head. I won't hide anymore.
That answer both scared and impressed him.
In class, Mila tried to focus, but her thoughts drifted. Her phone buzzed once.
No number.
Just a photo.
It was her locker. Taken minutes ago.
Her heart raced.
She slowly looked up.
Nothing seemed out of place.
She typed back.
Stop.
The reply came almost instantly.
You're still telling me what to do.
You never learn.
Mila's hands trembled, but she didn't panic. Not this time.
She saved the message.
At lunch, Mara pulled her aside.
People are saying things she whispered. About Ethan.
Mila's chest tightened. What things.
That he's been seen talking to the police. That he's blaming you for what happened.
Mila felt something crack.
After everything.
She found Ethan behind the library, where they used to sit and talk before things went wrong.
He looked tired. Guilty. Afraid.
Why are you telling them things about me Mila asked quietly.
Ethan flinched. I'm not blaming you.
Then why does it sound like you are.
He ran a hand through his hair. They asked how Lena knew so much. I told them we used to talk. That you trusted me.
Her voice shook. I did trust you.
I know he said quickly. But if I don't cooperate, they'll think I helped her on purpose.
You did help her Mila said. Maybe not how she planned. But you did.
Silence stretched between them.
Ethan swallowed. I never meant to betray you.
But you still chose her over me.
He looked up sharply. That's not true.
You gave her information about me Mila said. You lied. You watched me fall apart and still stayed quiet.
His voice broke. I thought I could fix it.
That doesn't erase the damage she replied.
Footsteps approached.
Adrian stopped beside them.
He looked at Ethan coldly. Stay away from her.
Ethan didn't argue.
He walked away without another word.
That night, Mila sat on her bed staring at the ceiling.
Her phone buzzed again.
Another message.
You look strong now.
But strong people break better.
Mila closed her eyes.
Tears slipped down her temples, but she didn't wipe them away.
She typed back.
You won't control me anymore.
This time, the reply took longer.
Good.
Then let's see who you really are without everyone protecting you.
The next day, something shifted.
Adrian didn't come to school.
Mila texted him. Called him.
Nothing.
A cold fear settled in her chest.
By afternoon, rumors spread.
Someone said Adrian had been questioned again. Someone else said he was involved more deeply than people thought.
Mila's heart raced.
She went to his house after school.
His mother opened the door, eyes red.
He didn't tell you she said quietly.
Tell me what Mila asked, panic rising.
He turned himself in for questioning this morning.
The world tilted.
Why.
She sighed. Because he believes Lena is targeting you because of him.
Mila felt breathless.
That night, the betrayal cut deepest.
Not from Lena.
Not from Ethan.
But from the truth.
Adrian had been hiding something.
Mila sat alone in her room when her phone lit up again.
This time, it was a video.
Adrian, sitting in a small interview room.
His voice shaky.
I'll do anything to keep her safe.
The video ended.
Another message followed.
See what love does.
It destroys quietly.
Mila pressed the phone to her chest, heart breaking in ways she didn't know it could.
She whispered into the empty room.
I love him too.
Outside her window, a shadow paused.
Then disappeared.
You may also like
7.7
The Cameron family clinic smelled like lemon polish and impending death. For three years, I'd been a vessel in a cold, forced marriage to Underboss Kade Cameron. But today, the doctor's words would shatter everything.
"No heartbeat," Dr. Finch declared, then, "Stage IV gastric cancer. Terminal." A double death sentence. As the world tilted, a news alert flashed: Kade, my husband, parading his mistress, Carla Shaw, across Europe-"a love that defies family lines."
Dying and carrying his dead child, I overheard nurses gossip Kade wanted me gone for his "true love." I chose to feel the D&C agony, cleansing him from my soul. Stumbling out, Kade accused me of killing his child, then rushed Carla, feigning illness, to OB/GYN, ignoring my bleeding and dying state.
Back at the mansion, I vomited blood, my body failing. Kade watched with disgust, dismissing my terminal diagnosis as a "performance." He called me "collateral," a "debt payment," then left me for his mistress. The last shred of loyalty shattered, replaced by chilling clarity.
I signed the divorce papers he dismissed as a "tantrum," leaving his ring. No longer a Cameron, no longer his possession. With Fluffy, I made one call, choosing to die on my own terms, finally free.
8.4
"How can you smile like that when neither of your fathers are here at your own wedding reception?" Pond asked, eyeing Dunk, who stood in the gallery, smiling towards his newly-wedded husband.
Dunk's smile didn't waver, but his eyes darkened. He turned to Pond, voice sharp, "Do you think I don't care? That I'd go against them on purpose?"
Pond responded without hesitation, "Aren't you doing exactly that?"
"No, I'm not," Dunk snapped. His voice dropped lower, colder. "I'm standing here for my pride-the same pride he crushed. I'm not a child who goes crying to his parents. He destroyed me, P'Pond. Now it's my turn. I'm going to destroy his life-completely."
Pond looked shaken. "You can't marry someone for revenge, Dunk. I told you-I'm here for you. I'll never let anyone from the Guthithanan family hurt you again."
Dunk's voice cracked as he exploded, "But he crossed the line that night!" He scanned the room and quickly pulled Pond into a quieter corner.
His voice was low and furious. "He shattered everything I had. And now, with this marriage, I'm going to make him live with the consequences. He's trapped with me now-forever. I won't let him walk away so easily."
His gaze flicked across the room-directly to Joong, who stood beside Sarawat, calmly speaking to a business partner. Joong caught Dunk's stare and instinctively looked his way.
Dunk raised his champagne glass with a mocking smile. A toast to war.
Joong clenched his jaw, returning the gesture coolly-but his burning eyes slid to Pond, full of rage and warning.
7.1
"You broke the first rule, Princess. That means I get to take something from you. I'll start with this," he said, tugging at my panties and a needy throb ran straight through my core.
"Kyren, don't," I tried but it was to no avail.
He roughly pulled at the flimsy material, covering my most intimate part. The sound of lace ripping, filled the room. And the cool air from the AC bit into my exposed skin.
His hands slid up my back. He unclasped my bra with ease and it soundlessly dropped to the floor. His gaze raked over my trembling form with a satisfied hunger.
"You're not a cheerleader tonight. You're just mine. And I'm going to spend the next few hours showing you exactly what happens when you break my rules," he stated, before pushing my legs wide open with his knee.
××
Hailey thought she could handle the "Ice King." She thought she could seduce him, win the bet, and walk away with her heart intact. But Kyren sees right through her games. He doesn't want her seduction, he wants her submission.
As the lines between a dare and reality blur, Hailey finds herself trapped between her father's expectations and a man who wants to claim every inch of her. In a game where the rules keep changing, Hailey is about to learn that the Ice King doesn't just freeze people out... he burns them down.
9.3
They call Dante Moretti the ruthless and heartless mafia boss. Seven years ago, he made a
deal with Elara Vance. But he used her, broke her, and planned to send her to a medical facility
after she produces an heir.
Scared for her life, Elara ran away. Now, an entirely different person has returned to New York.
She doesn't want his money, and she certainly doesn't want his heart, unless it's on her
operating table.
The girl he destroyed is dead. The woman who replaced her is the only one who can keep him
alive. He's dying for a second chance, but he's just waiting for the first cut.
7.7
Five years of war, three peace summits. One rule that never changed. Ray Carter and Levi Morgan stay on opposite sides, until the night fate decides otherwise. Ray feels nothing, rules everything and answers to no one. He built his empire on control and his reputation on fear, and he has never once lost either.
Then Levi walks into the room. His enemy, his rival. The heir of the pack that took everything from him, his mate. One bond, two men on opposite sides of a war neither of them started. Laws older than their bloodlines demand they reject each other, walk away, and pretend it never happened. But the bond doesn't care about laws and neither, it turns out, does Ray. Someone already knows their secret and someone who has been waiting for exactly this moment.
The question isn't whether Ray and Levi can survive each other. It's whether either of them will survive what's coming and who exactly wants them to find out the hard way?
9.4
I was the daughter of a defeated Alpha, kneeling as a broken war spoil before the ruthless Lycan King, Kaelen Varg.
Through a twisted misunderstanding with a spiked drink, the tyrant lost control. But when he attacked me, an impossible spark ignited between us. His inner wolf roared in triumph, recognizing me as his fated Mate, and he claimed me in the heat of the night.
But the next morning, he woke up with another woman's name on his lips. Realizing he had surrendered to a lowly tribute, his eyes filled with absolute, violent loathing. To erase the humiliation of our bond, he shoved me to the floor like garbage.
"Take her to the Barrens. Leave her there. Make sure she never comes back."
His Beta dragged me to a sealed, sun-baked wasteland crawling with mutated beasts. They clamped silver cuffs onto my wrists, searing my flesh and suppressing my wolf, leaving me to die a slow, agonizing death.
I lay in the scorching dirt, the silver burning into my bones. I couldn't understand how a fated Mate could be so merciless. Why was my life worth less than his twisted pride? Why did I have to be fed to monsters just so he could keep his throne spotless?
The cold rage in my core solidified into a diamond-hard resolve. I forced my bleeding body to stand in the desolate wasteland. I will not die here. I will survive, and I will live to see his kingdom burn.