Series: My Darkest Secret #2
Publication date: January 2022
Synopsis:
In love with the same face that haunts me...
The falling leaves of autumn are like the deceit in my family lineage. Closing the door on the infinite cold--winter blossoms into the spring of new beginnings. In the next season of my life, I'm mending the pieces back together. Opening myself up, I even begin to date, which is a big step for me.
After graduating from high school, a shocking development causes me to be on alert. When nothing comes of it, I move forward, wanting desperately to put the past behind me.
About to start college, I bump into someone from my complicated past, and my heart is torn. The dilemma I struggle with: Do I let other people's opinion define who I am? I must decide if I'll push through the ridicule and pave my own path. Could the face that's scorned me be the key to my resolve? I'll never know if I take the easy way out.
I've unlocked my darkest secret only to have it return to torment me. As the thorns of his obsession encompass me, I discover I'm part of a twisted ploy. If I don't figure a way out of this predicament, then the life I've known may cease to exist.
Don't miss the riveting sequel to Madison's story that will have you dangling on the edge of the seat.
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Excerpt
On my way to my bedroom, I hear sniffling coming from the guest room. The door is cracked. Charlotte is lying on the bed, crying. I'm stunned she's in tears. I've rarely seen her cry. I thought she had left. I should walk away and leave her be. The manners my grams have instilled in me win out.
I open the door slightly. "Do... you need, anything?"
Charlotte pauses from crying, sitting up. Her appearance takes me off guard. Her eyes are bloodshot and swollen. The puffiness is more noticeable on her cream beige complexion. The brawl she had with her sister only adds to her disheveled appearance. Her long, black hair is a tangled mess with the remnants of candied yams in the strands. She also has battle scars. There is a bluish-black bruise forming under her left eye, a cut across her temple, and her lip is busted.
Expecting her to say a smart comment, I'm surprised when she replies, "Can you turn back the hands of time?"
I laugh without humor. "I wish. Do... you want to talk about it?" Charlotte sighs. She doesn't outright say no, so I step into the room.
"I wish things could've worked out differently with Regan. I loved him from the moment I saw him," Charlotte confesses.
"How so?"
"I knew him first. We had last period track together. I was pretty fast, but Regan was like lightning."
Must be where his wicked son gets his speed from. I've heard he's a track legend. From the nightmare dinner, I've gotten some insight into her and Regan's past. Since she seems to be forthcoming for the first time ever, I dig for more. "Did you admit how you felt about him?"
"No. Regan had a girlfriend, of course. Most girls at school lusted over him. Regan was flirtatious toward me, but I wasn't like the majority of his fans. I think it's why Regan and I became friends."
Charlotte takes a Kleenex to blow her nose. The sound is unladylike--the total opposite of her. It's natural to do, but I can see her turning up her nose at anyone else doing it. "How were you different?"
"Where other girls melted at the sight of Regan, I teased him. I never let him see how his charm affected me."
"What is your history with him?"
"Regan and I had been friends throughout his last two years of high school. The beginning of my sophomore year, I started dating someone. When the boy and I broke up, Regan told me that he wanted us to date. Hesitantly, I turned him down."
"Why? You said you loved him at first sight."
"With the way I felt about Regan, I knew if I gave myself to him, he'd own me." Charlotte shrugs. "I guess I didn't want to be that girl." Her eyes cut to the ceiling. "Many of my friends had fallen for a guy, only to be broken-hearted when it didn't work out."
"You feared opening yourself up and getting your heart broken? Is that the reason you decided against being with the guy you were in love with?"
"It was my silly way of viewing life. Better for us to remain friends then end up scorned. Back then, I was very self-preserving."
I keep my lips sealed about her "all about Charlotte" preservation, because it's not in the past. She's still the same way.
Charlotte clears her throat. "Regan graduated, and decided to pursue a career in real estate."
"Were you two still friends?"
"We communicated, just not as often, since we didn't run track together anymore. During my senior year is when he coincidentally met Cassandra and they started going out." Her eyes reach the heavens. "Cass had been going on and on about a man she'd been dating, and how she thought he was the one. My parents wanted to meet him, so he came over for dinner. Regan seemed as shocked to see me as I was him. But all I could do was smile, pretending I wasn't envious inside."
"Didn't Regan know you were sisters if you attended the same high school?"
"Cassandra and I were never close to begin with. If I did mention my two sisters, I didn't elaborate much on Cass. So, I don't think Regan realized that Cassandra Thibodeaux was Charlotte Thibodeaux's older sister."
"What happened next?"
"They ended up getting engaged," Charlotte exhales loudly. "Not long afterward, I bumped into him at a party. We were both drunk and Regan admitted that him and Cass had a pow-wow. After drinking more, one thing led to another, and I ended up in his bed," Charlotte sighs. "It's not like I planned to steal my sister's fiancé. It just happened."
I'm reeling that she is confessing her sins to me. We've never had the kind of relationship where we talked about the important stuff. The situation must be really weighing on her to come clean.
B. Truly has wanted to be an author since she was fifteen years old. She is grateful to have accomplished this dream. B. Truly has very vivid dreams and a wild imagination. She likes to read, watch tons of TV shows, and movies. She's addicted to romance and gets a thrill out of suspense and sci-fi. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romance, sci-fi, dystopian, and paranormal genres.
B. Truly likes to explore conflicted plots of romance with thrilling twists. She also loves creating impossible situations for her characters to grow from and try to overcome.
B. Truly has three wonderful children, and a husband who defines the person that she is today. She works full-time as an Ultrasound technologist in Houston, Texas.
The cover is super stunning!!
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