Laila Collins never believed in fairytales. After losing her mother and being sent away to a rehabilitation camp, she learned the hard way that trust was fleeting, and love was nothing but a beautifully crafted lie. But then she met Maximilian Astor- reckless, untamed, and carrying wounds of his own. For one summer, they found solace in each other. A connection so raw, so intense, it felt unbreakable. Until it shattered. A misplaced number. A severed connection. A destiny rewritten by forces beyond their control. Now, eight years later, Laila has built walls around her heart, and Max has become the cold, untouchable heir to an empire. When fate forces their paths to collide once more, the ghosts of yesterday come rushing back along with secrets that could change everything. But love doesn't wait for second chances. And some wounds never heal. Will they fight for what was lost, or will the shadows of their past consume them forever?
Chapter 1 The Unwanted Goodbye
(Laila 's POV )
The walls of my room used to feel warm. Once, they smelled like my mother's perfume-roses and vanilla. Now, they're just walls, covered in shadows that stretch with the passing hours. I sit by the window, knees drawn to my chest, staring at the sky as if it holds answers.
It doesn't.
It's been over a year since she died.
Twelve months. Fifty-two weeks. A hundred different ways my life has unraveled.
And now, just two weeks after my father's grand wedding, he's shipping me off like I'm some problem that needs fixing.
My fingers tighten around the locket at my neck. It's old, the gold slightly tarnished, but it holds the only picture of my mother I have left. She's smiling in it, caught mid-laugh like she didn't know the camera was there. My chest tightens.
She wouldn't have wanted this.
A soft knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts. I don't answer. A second later, the door creaks open and her voice fills the space.
"Laila , sweetheart, we need to talk."
Stepmother.
I don't look at her. I don't even bother turning around. Instead, I stay perfectly still, my gaze locked on the clouds. It's better that way. Looking at her, I see the delicate pearls around her neck-the same ones my mother used to wear.
I might say something I regret.
My father's voice follows, deep and businesslike. "Laila , enough with the silent treatment. Turn around."
I don't.
A sigh, then footsteps. My father moves across the room, stopping just beside my desk. He's tall, broad-shouldered, still carrying the air of authority that makes grown men listen when he speaks. But to me, he's just the man who moved on too quickly.
"We've made a decision," he continues. "You're going to spend the summer at Ledge-hill Rehabilitation Camp."
My stomach twists. "Excuse me?"
Stepmother steps forward, folding her hands over her stomach. "It's not what you think, darling," she rushes out. "It's not one of those... clinical places. It's more of a summer retreat, you know? A place to heal. To grow."
To get rid of me.
I let out a slow, steady breath. "I don't need healing."
Stepmother's eyes soften. She looks like she's about to cry. Always so dramatic. "Oh, honey, I know you think that, but-"
"No, you don't," I cut in. "You don't know anything about me."
A silence stretches between us. For a second, I think my father might step in, might defend me, might act like the father he used to be-but he doesn't. He just pinches the bridge of his nose, already exhausted by me.
"You're going," he says. Just like that. Final. Absolute. "Pack your bags."
The drive to Ledge-hill is too quiet.
My father doesn't say much. My stepmother fills the silence, going on about how "amazing" the camp is, how it's run by only the best professionals, and how it will help me.
I tune her out.
The city gives way to open fields. The open fields give way to thick, towering trees. Somewhere along the way, I stop looking out the window altogether.
I don't care where we're going.
I just want to go home.
The first thing I notice when we pull up to Ledge-hill is that it's too loud.
Laughter rings through the air. Groups of teenagers-most of them around my age-are scattered across the open space, some sitting in circles, others kicking a soccer ball across the field. There's music coming from somewhere, and a bonfire is already being set up near the main lodge.
This isn't a rehabilitation camp.
This is a summer camp.
My hands curl into fists.
"What is this?" I ask, voice sharp.
Stepmother blinks. "Laila , I told you-"
"You said it was a retreat. You said it was for healing." I whip my head toward her. "This is a vacation spot."
She dares to look hurt. "I didn't lie."
I can't even respond.
Someone knocks against the car window, making me flinch. My father sighs, then finally turns to me. "Try to be civil, Laila ."
I don't answer.
I step out instead, shoulders squared, ignoring the too-bright sun and the too-loud laughter.
I don't belong here.
I don't want to belong here.
And as I take my first steps onto the perfectly paved walkway, I swear under my breath.
This summer is going to be hell.
Chapter 1 The Unwanted Goodbye
22/03/2025
Chapter 2 The Boy They Sent Away
22/03/2025
Chapter 3 Summer Nights and Silent Glances
22/03/2025
Chapter 4 Strings in the Silence
22/03/2025
Chapter 5 Unspoken Patterns
22/03/2025
Chapter 6 Beneath the Flames
22/03/2025
Chapter 7 The Heat Between Us
22/03/2025
Chapter 8 The Breaking Point
22/03/2025
Chapter 9 A Night to Remember
22/03/2025
Chapter 10 A Fading Echo
22/03/2025
Chapter 11 The One That Got Away
22/03/2025
Chapter 12 Never Again
22/03/2025
Chapter 13 The Woman She Became
22/03/2025
Chapter 14 Unfinished Business
22/03/2025
Chapter 15 The Ghost of us
22/03/2025
Chapter 16 Ghosts of the Past
31/03/2025
Chapter 17 Echoes of restraint
31/03/2025
Chapter 18 Whispers Beneath the Chandelier
31/03/2025
Chapter 19 Reflections and Regrets
31/03/2025
Chapter 20 Lines Blurred and Boundaries Broken
31/03/2025
Chapter 21 The past echoes
31/03/2025
Chapter 22 The Rust and Echo of Summer
05/04/2025
Chapter 23 Ghosts and Wildflowers
05/04/2025
Chapter 24 The Weight of Silence
05/04/2025
Chapter 25 Crimson and Confessions
05/04/2025
Chapter 26 Unmasked
05/04/2025
Chapter 27 Unspoken Words
05/04/2025
Chapter 28 Proclamations
05/04/2025
Chapter 29 I'm Here
05/04/2025
Chapter 30 Torn
05/04/2025
Chapter 31 Our Place
05/04/2025
Chapter 32 The Flower and the Silence
11/04/2025
Chapter 33 Before Tomorrow
11/04/2025
Chapter 34 Today
11/04/2025
Chapter 35 What She Already Knew
11/04/2025
Chapter 36 A Familiar Unknown
11/04/2025
Chapter 37 Uncharted Ground
22/04/2025
Chapter 38 The Weight of Silence
22/04/2025
Chapter 39 Quiet Confessions
22/04/2025
Chapter 40 A Name I Didn't Expect
22/04/2025