The Scar He Left: Finding True Love

For three years, I was Colton’s hands and feet. I wiped the sweat from his brow and taught him to walk again after the accident that nearly killed him. He promised me a future. But the moment his ex-girlfriend, Charlie, returned from Paris, I became nothing. "She was just the crutch I needed to walk to you," I heard him tell her. At his recovery party, Charlie shattered his late father’s cherished wooden puzzle box and blamed me. She shrieked that I had poisoned her soup out of jealousy. Colton didn't hesitate. He didn't check the security footage. He didn't ask for the truth. He gripped my jaw, his fingers digging into my cheeks, and forced the scalding broth down my throat. "Eat it! Prove you're not crazy!" He roared while I choked on blood and blisters, the hot liquid searing my skin. He chose the woman who abandoned him over the woman who saved his life. I took the severance check, deleted every photo, and vanished into the night. Six months later, I was accepting an award for my new rehabilitation clinic in Australia, wearing a diamond ring given to me by a man who treats my scars like gold. Colton stood in the back of the auditorium, looking like a ghost. He had finally discovered that Charlie was a fraud who faked her "spiritual journey" to get illegal plastic surgery. He came to beg for forgiveness. But when our eyes met, I didn't feel anger. I didn't feel love. I turned my back on him and walked into the light.

Chapters

Chapter 2

Aminda POV

The ballroom was a suffocating sea of silk and diamonds. The scent of expensive perfume hung heavy in the air, sweet enough to choke on.

I stood near the entrance, anchored in a simple black dress I had bought three years ago. It was the only formal thing I owned. In this crowd, I looked exactly like what I was: the help.

Colton stood in the center of the room.

He was standing. Without crutches. Without me.

He looked magnificent in a tuxedo, his broad shoulders filling out the fabric, his height commanding the space. He was the Golden Boy of the tech world again. The broken man I knew was gone.

And draped over his arm, looking like she had been sheathed in liquid gold, was Charlie Mack.

She was beautiful in the way a predator is beautiful. Sharp, sleek, and dangerous.

"Look at them," a woman whispered near me. "A match made in heaven. I heard she flew back from Paris just for this."

"He looks so happy," another replied. "Like the accident never happened."

Like I never happened.

Colton scanned the room. His gaze slid over the crowd and landed on me.

For a second, I expected him to smile. To wave. To acknowledge that he was standing on legs I had helped rebuild, muscle by painful muscle.

Instead, his brow furrowed. He leaned down, whispered something to Charlie, and they began to cut through the crowd toward me.

My heart hammered against my ribs. Maybe he would explain. Maybe he would say the conversation I overheard was a misunderstanding.

"Aminda," Colton said. His voice was cool, professional. "You're late."

"I had to clean up," I said, my voice steady despite the trembling in my hands.

Charlie smiled. It didn't reach her eyes. "So this is the little therapist? Colton told me how... dedicated you were."

She twisted the word 'dedicated' until it sounded like 'desperate'.

"She did her job," Colton said, cutting in. He didn't look at me. He looked at the guests watching us. "Aminda, I need you to grab a glass of water for Charlie. She's parched from the flight."

The air left my lungs.

He wasn't introducing me. He was giving me an order.

Jayden appeared beside us, his face dark. "Colt, seriously? Get a waiter."

"It's fine," Colton waved him off, his eyes fixed on Charlie with a sickening adoration. "Aminda knows what Charlie likes."

I didn't move.

"Actually"-my voice was quiet but clear-"I don't."

Colton's head snapped toward me. His eyes narrowed. He wasn't used to resistance. Not from me. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not a waitress, Colton. And as of this afternoon, I'm not your therapist anymore either."

A hush fell over the immediate circle of people.

Charlie laughed, a light, tinkling sound. She stepped closer, looping her arm possessively through Colton's. She looked at me with victory dancing in her pupils.

"Oh, honey," Charlie cooed, loud enough for the onlookers to hear. "Don't be like that. We all know you developed a little... crush. It happens. The patient-doctor transference thing. But Colton is back in the real world now. His world."

She gestured around the opulent room. "This world isn't for you, Aminda. You're young. You'll find someone... simpler. Someone who needs fixing."

I looked at Colton. I waited for him to defend me. To tell her to stop.

He just sighed, looking annoyed. "Charlie is right, Aminda. Don't make this awkward. You were a great employee. Let's leave it at that."

Employee.

The word hung in the air like a guillotine blade.

Three years of sleeping on a cot in his room when he had nightmares. Three years of holding his hand. Three years of I owe you a future.

"Employee," I repeated.

I reached for a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. My hand was steady now. The shaking had stopped. A cold clarity had set in.

"To the happy couple," I said.

I downed the drink in one swallow, the bubbles burning my throat.

"Good luck, Colton," I whispered. "You're going to need it."

I placed the empty glass on a table with a deliberate clink.

I turned my back on him.

"Aminda!" Colton called out, his tone warning. "Walk away now and don't expect a reference."

I kept walking.

I cut through the crowd of staring faces. I felt their pity, their amusement. Look at the poor girl who thought she had a chance.

But as I pushed through the heavy double doors into the cool night air, I didn't feel shame.

I felt lighter.

I had my luggage packed in the cottage. I had a flight booked for 6:00 AM.

I was done.

Continue to next part

I spent forty hours hand-beading a gown for a woman who was currently sleeping with my husband. My fingers were raw, my vision blurred, and the needle had just driven deep into my index finger, leaving a drop of blood on the silk. Braxton walked into our penthouse, rain dripping from his suit, and didn't even look at me. But the scent hit me instantly—Bulgarian rose and white musk. It was the custom perfume Griselda, my own sister, commissioned in Paris. I had spent three years as a ghost in my own marriage, sewing costumes for the woman who had haunted my vows since day one. Braxton didn't bother to hide it anymore; there was a smudge of her coral lipstick on his collar. He didn't offer an explanation, only a command to finish the gown for the Met Gala so I wouldn't embarrass them. My mother called moments later, her voice sharp with the usual dismissal. She didn't care that I was bleeding or that my husband was cheating with my sister. She only cared that I was "falling behind" on Griselda's gown. I sat in the silence of that cold, marble cage, staring at the needle in my hand. For years, I had swallowed every insult and stitched every lie, believing I was the capable one who had to make them happy. But as the clock ticked, a door inside me finally clicked shut. I wasn't just tired; I was finished. I set the needle down, picked up my phone, and dialed my sister’s number to tell her she’d have to find someone else to bleed for her.

Horror Modern Romance

7.8

Bound by the Alpha's Curse

7.8

Nara has spent her whole life at the bottom of the pack. The weak wolf. The girl no one defends. The one everyone believes will never shift, never matter, and never belong. All she wants is to live quietly and survive another day without being beaten or humiliated. But the Moon Goddess has a different plan. During a rogue attack, Nara crosses paths with Alpha Kael Draven-a powerful, ruthless leader known for his strength... and his curse. The moment their eyes meet, the mate bond snaps into place with a force that shocks them both. Kael rejects her instantly. A weak mate is the last thing he wants. But as he walks away, the bond does not break. Instead, it burns. Soon, strange things begin happening around Nara-her wounds heal too fast, shadows move when she panics, and wolves who once mocked her now fear her. Whispers spread. Someone demands her capture. And Kael, the Alpha who tried to reject her, suddenly can't stay away. As an ancient prophecy resurfaces, Nara learns she is the last descendant of a lost bloodline-one powerful enough to break Kael's curse... or unleash a darkness even he cannot control. Now hunted by enemies, betrayed by those she trusted, and torn between the Alpha who wounded her and the destiny she never wanted, Nara must rise from weakness to strength. Because Kael's life is tied to hers. Her power is awakening. And the bond that was meant to be broken might be the one thing that saves them both- or destroys their entire world.

Fantasy Horror Werewolf

7.6

Breaking The Billionaire's Golden Cage

7.6

I spent three years as the hidden mistress of Wall Street tyrant Damon Vaughn. Our no-strings arrangement meant I was his to command, a secret he kept locked away in the dark. Then I saw the Instagram post. It was Damon, raising a champagne glass with his perfect high-society fiancée, the caption hinting that wedding bells were just around the corner. I ended it that night, leaving his black card on his nightstand and blocking his number for good. But a man like Damon doesn't accept being told no. He retaliated by buying the entire building my tech startup was in. He cornered me on the street, slamming his fist into my car's hood, his face a mask of terrifying rage. He was a possessive monster, planning his perfect marriage while refusing to release me from my cage. The humiliation of being his disposable secret burned hotter than my anger. To finally break him, I lied about having a blind date. But the lie became a terrifying reality when my mother forced me into that exact date. Now, Damon has kidnapped me, and as he shoves me out of his car in front of the restaurant, his voice is a low, dangerous whisper meant only for me. "Remember who you belong to."

Billionaire Horror Romance

8.3

Burned by Poison, Saved by the Devil

8.3

My cousin Hailey paid a dock worker to assault me just to ruin my engagement. To survive the military-grade aphrodisiac she poisoned me with, I stumbled into a walk-in freezer and threw myself onto the only source of cold I could find-a man paralyzed by unnatural hypothermia. It was a desperate, primal exchange of my heat for his ice just to keep my heart from stopping. But when Hailey threw open the heavy iron door, leading my fiancé and the entire Bolton family to witness my "shame," her triumphant grin instantly vanished. She hadn't caught me with a low-life thug. She had caught me straddling Demetrius Maddox, the ruthless Iron King of Chicago. The air in the room dropped to absolute zero. My grandmother screamed in horror, and my father turned the color of ash. Hailey, blinded by jealousy, tried to double down. She pointed a manicured finger at the deadliest man in the city and called him a "nameless muscle" I picked up to defile the family name. She didn't realize she had just signed her own death warrant. I didn't cower. I realized this was the only chance to survive the family that wanted me dead. I walked up to the Devil himself, my body still humming with the poison, and looked him in the eye. "Kill me, and the cold inside you wins," I whispered, knowing he was dying from the inverse of my own poison. "I am the only doctor who knows how to cure you." Demetrius tightened his hand around my throat, his dark eyes assessing my worth. "Prove it," he growled. I turned back to my trembling cousin and signaled the enforcer to hand me the whip.

Adventure Horror Modern

7.6

Delicious Reptilian Meat

7.6

Have you ever eaten "Reptilian" meat? My grandfather said he had. Creatures that looked exactly like us on the outside, but were fundamentally different on the inside. Extremely dangerous, yet incredibly delicious. Before he died, my grandfather left behind a notebook. The first page read: "Reptilian look exactly like humans, but human instinct can tell them apart." The moment my cousin Braden returned for my grandfather's funeral, my gut told me: he wasn't human!

Action Horror Modern Sci-Fi

9.3

His Political Lie, My Shattered Love

9.3

My husband, a rising political star, begged me to reconcile. I thought our love story was real. It was a lie, a public spectacle designed for his political gain and my systematic destruction. On our anniversary, I found a group chat on his tablet. He and his mistress were laughing about how predictable I was, calling me a "naive fool" for believing his promises. The cruelty escalated from there. He poisoned my food, publicly humiliated me at a charity auction that left me bankrupt, and even had me whipped in his family's basement as a twisted form of punishment. The final blow came when I overheard him plotting my murder. He planned a "tragic hiking accident" at a remote cliff during a storm, a perfect crime to make me disappear forever. But I turned his murder plot into my own escape. I faked my death and started over as a baker in a quiet town. A year later, he found me, haunted by regret, but his final act of redemption-and the true cost of my freedom-was something I never saw coming.

Horror Mystery Romance

The Scar He Left: Finding True Love

Chapter 2

You may also like