Trust Fall

Aviana has never belonged to anyone. Passed from one foster home to another, she’s learned that love is temporary, trust is dangerous, and survival means keeping her heart locked away. Abuse and neglect have left her with scars—some that fade, and some that never will. Now, at a secluded trauma retreat, she’s supposed to be healing, learning how to exist without fear. But someone is watching her. He moves in the shadows. A presence she can’t see but can feel. He calls himself Nightshade. A protector. A guardian. Maybe even something darker. As old wounds resurface and buried memories claw their way to the light, Aviana is forced to confront a terrifying truth—her past is not finished with her. And neither is he. But the real danger isn’t the man in the shadows. It’s what she feels when she’s with him. Obsession. Safety. Longing. Love twisted with something she can’t name. If she lets him in, will he be her salvation? Or the kind of monster she’s been running from her entire life?