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 3

Aminda POV

I made it as far as the garden path before the raucous noise of the party faded into a dull, rhythmic thrum. The night air was biting, stinging the raw skin on my knees from my earlier fall.

"Running away so soon?"

The voice was melodic, cloying like syrup over rot.

I stopped. I didn't turn around. "I have a flight to catch, Charlie. Go back to your fiancé."

Charlie stepped in front of me, blocking the path to the cottage. She held a glass of red wine, swirling it with a casual, predatory grace, the dark liquid sloshing dangerously close to my dress.

"He's not my fiancé yet," she smiled, her teeth gleaming white in the moonlight. "But he will be by midnight. I just wanted to make sure you understood the terms of your severance."

"I don't want anything from him," I said, stepping to the side to bypass her.

"Good." She moved to block me again. Her eyes flashed with malice. "Because you were never a threat, Aminda. You were a placeholder. A warm body to keep him alive until I was ready to come back. Did you really think he could love someone like... you?"

She flicked her gaze up and down my simple dress, my sensible shoes, dismissing my entire existence with a single look.

"I'm leaving," I said, my patience snapping. "Get out of my way."

"Or what?" She laughed. "You'll hurt me?"

Suddenly, footsteps crunched on the gravel behind us.

"Charlie?" Colton's voice cut through the tension. "What are you doing out here?"

Charlie's face transformed instantly. The malice vanished, replaced by a look of wide-eyed fear.

"Colton!" she gasped. She took a step back, her heel catching on the edge of the stone path near the ornamental koi pond.

It was a performance. A bad one. But she flailed her arms, looking like a damsel in distress.

"Charlie!" Colton lunged forward.

She reached out, not for him, but for my arm. She grabbed my wrist, her nails digging in, and yanked me forward as she pretended to fall backward.

"Help me!" she screamed.

Colton didn't hesitate. He didn't assess. He reacted on instinct-an instinct to protect the thing he valued.

He reached for Charlie, wrapping an arm around her waist to anchor her.

And with his other hand, he shoved me.

It wasn't a gentle push. It was a hard, frantic heave to clear the space, to make sure his precious Charlie didn't get dragged down by the "help."

I stumbled back. My heel hit the wet grass.

I fell backward.

The back of my head cracked against the jagged edge of the decorative stonework lining the pond.

A blinding white light exploded behind my eyes.

Then, the cold shock of water.

I sank.

The water was freezing, filling my nose, my mouth. My head throbbed with a sickening, pulsating rhythm. I tried to kick, but my limbs felt heavy, disconnected.

Through the rippling surface of the water, I could see the distorted figures above.

Colton was clutching Charlie to his chest on the dry path. He was checking her face, stroking her hair, asking if she was okay.

He wasn't looking at the water. He wasn't looking for me.

I was drowning a few feet away from him, and he was comforting the woman who had pulled me down.

Darkness began to bleed into the edges of my vision. The cold seeped into my bones.

Let go, a voice whispered in my head. He pushed you. He chose.

Then, a splash.

Strong arms grabbed me. Not Colton's.

I broke the surface, gasping, coughing up water.

"I got you, Amy. I got you." Jayden's voice.

He dragged me onto the grass. Isaias was there too, already shucking off his jacket to wrap around my shivering shoulders.

"You're bleeding," Isaias hissed, touching the back of my head. His hand came away red.

I looked up.

Colton was standing ten feet away. He still had his arm around Charlie. He was looking at me now, his eyes wide, but he didn't move toward me. He stayed with her.

"Oh my god," Charlie sobbed, burying her face in Colton's chest. "She tried to pull me in, Colt! She tried to drown me!"

Colton looked at me. The protective rage in his eyes fractured into confusion. But there was no trust. No instinct to save me.

"Is that true?" he asked.

The question hit me harder than the rock had.

Jayden stood up, water dripping from his clothes, his face twisted in fury. "Are you insane, Colton? She's bleeding from her head!"

"She attacked Charlie," Colton said, his voice hardening. He was choosing his narrative. It was easier to believe I was the villain than to admit he had hurt me.

"I need to leave," I whispered. My teeth were chattering so hard I could barely speak. "Jayden, please. Get me out of here."

"We're going to the hospital," Jayden said, lifting me into his arms.

"No," I grabbed his wet lapel. "Airport. Please. Just get me away from him."

"Hospital first," Isaias commanded, glaring at Colton. "Then anywhere you want."

As Jayden carried me past Colton, I locked eyes with him one last time.

He reached a hand out, a stuttering, half-hearted motion. "Aminda..."

I closed my eyes. I let the darkness take me. I didn't want to see him ever again.

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 3

You may also like