TETHERED HEARTS

She will always be mine… even when she belongs to someone else.

 

I choose to be in this place—my heart tethered to Shanti Mahal, regardless of her lack of reciprocation. I choose to stay in her orbit, to remain close, even if the repeated sting of rejection hits me again and again.

I love her.

I have loved her for years.

More than once, I’ve questioned my sanity. Wondered if I’m an emotional pin cushion. How can I not? Every time Shanti chooses someone else, it’s a scorching blade to the heart.

Yet, I stay in her life.

I continue to wait for her.

Wait for her to look at me the way she does them, and matter.

Wait for the day she returns my feelings and chooses me.

**Tethered Hearts contains sensitive and graphic content in certain scenes that may trigger emotional distress in some readers. Please use your own judgment before proceeding, but know that everything is resolved and the book ends with an HEA. Below is a list of triggers and where they occur in the story (if a location is not listed, it likely is a recurring theme throughout the book).

  • Grooming, manipulation of a minor (verbal) – specifically in the past with Vivienne, but is also in the present

  • Homophobia (mentioned) – chapter 5

  • People pleasing

  • Mental health – depression, anxiety – chapters 13 & 19

  • Parental neglect

  • Emotional, psychological, and verbal abuse – verbal in chapter 17; emotional and psychological in past with Shanti’s parents

  • Degradation, non-consent, and sexual assault – chapter 11

  • Underage drinking – chapter 21

  • Substance abuse and addiction – chapter 23