Alone. A simple word that has always held many meanings to Ella, and starting her senior year at a new high school, solitude had seemed the easiest way to go.
A week passed, bland and unnoticed, before her plans quickly get thrown overboard.
Losing one of her most priced possessions, she finds herself making a rather simple deal with someone from school. His name, for her book.
There's only one little problem; she has no idea who this person is.
Laughs and tears, friends and heartbreak, and the past that comes knocking on the door. Ella faces it all as she takes on the search to find her secret admirer.
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"I can't believe him after the texts, the letter, the flowers. All these months and he just tells me 'we'll talk later'", I told him, feeling absolutely frustrated. I am so damn stupid, thinking this was gonna be something special or whatever.
"It isn't him", he suddenly spoke and I just rolled my eyes. He doesn't even know what he's talking about, the imbisile.
"It is, you don't even know what you're talking about so shut up", I cried out, walking forth and back for the hundredth time.
"Listen, I do and it isn't him", he yelled this time and I stopped walking, angrily turning to him. Can he stop just pissing me off even more? "Oh yeah? And how are you so sure?"
"Because it's me"
"𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏"
𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒑?"
She thought she had her life figured out.
A quiet job in a quiet town, a routine that never hurt, and a heart too careful to fall for anyone too fast.
But then he walked in.
The new hire. Mysterious. Impossibly attractive.
He had the smile of a gentleman and the presence of a man who'd burn the world to keep your attention.
He said all the right things. Held doors. Knew how to make her laugh.
And when he looked at her-it felt like she was the only girl in the universe.
But love, she learns, can be blinding.
And not all monsters hide in shadows.
Some wear suits. Some call you "baby."
Some hold you like you're a prayer-then break you like a curse.
Because he has secrets.
Dark ones. Dangerous ones.
The kind of truths that can't be buried without blood.
So now the real question is...
Will she uncover who he truly is-before it's too late?
Can love survive when it's soaked in lies and obsession?
And when she finally sees the monster behind the man...
Will she run?
Or will she stay?