LOVE PAINTED IN LIES

LOVE PAINTED IN LIES

Quin phenie

5.0
Comment(s)
View
20
Chapters

Prologue ‎Some stories begin with love. ‎Some begin with war. ‎But theirs began with a promise, one whispered under the fading glow of a streetlamp, sealed with youthful dreams and a future full of light. Neither of them knew how quickly love could twist into something darker... or how far a wounded heart could go just to feel whole again. ‎This is not a tale

Chapter 1 BEFORE THE STORM

Eliana discovered love the year she least expected it, in a season where the sun seemed to shine brighter and school corridors felt like endless possibilities. She was the type who lived in colours and brushstrokes, whose fingers were often stained with paint, who stayed after class to perfect her canvases while others rushed home. Everyone knew her as the girl who aimed high scholarship aspirations, art competitions waiting to be won, a future she guarded fiercely.

Romance, she believed, was a distraction for people who had time to fall apart and piece themselves back together, she didn't think she was one of them.

‎Then Adrian came.

‎He transferred from another city mid-term tall, quiet, with that kind of presence that entered a room gently yet confidently. People noticed him instantly, but he wasn't loud or showy. He smiled rarely, but when he did, it reached his eyes softly, like a secret shared with the world. His first week was a blur of introductions. Girls whispered about him, boys tried to befriend him, teachers praised his smart answers. Eliana barely paid attention until the day fate decided to intervene.

‎It was a Tuesday, the kind with lazy heat pressing down on the school like a heavy blanket. Students gathered under trees during break, escaping the sun. Eliana sat alone sketching a distant church tower, lost in the rhythm of pencil strokes. She didn't notice someone approach until a shadow fell across her page.

‎"Your drawing's so detailed. You did that in one break?" a voice asked.

‎She looked up Adrian.

‎Her heart skipped, not romantically, but from surprise. She wasn't used to attention, especially from people everyone else admired.

‎"Yes," she replied, tucking a braid behind her ear. "It keeps me calm."

‎He smiled slightly. "Mind if I watch?"

‎Most people stared at her art like an exhibit, but he watched her, curious about the person behind the pencil. It felt different. He sat beside her, careful not to intrude, and asked questions about shading, perspective, her favourite paint medium. Not small talk. Real interest.

‎Break ended too soon, and they walked to class together. That was the beginning.

‎Days passed, and they found themselves paired for a history project. At first, it was just work research meetings in the library, exchanging notebooks, drafting timelines. But school projects have a way of creating moments. Their conversations stretched beyond history dates into life stories. Adrian confessed he loved music, especially acoustic guitar, though he never performed publicly. His mother wanted him to study medicine, his father pushed for engineering, but he wasn't sure what he wanted. Eliana spoke about art like breathing, about the colours that reflected her moods. They were different, yet something connected quietly, curiosity, respect, and slowly, comfort.

‎One rainy afternoon they stayed back in school to finish the final slides. Thunder echoed outside, and everyone rushed home, but electricity flickered and went out. They remained, trapped, their project only half-done. Instead of panicking, they sat near the window, watching raindrops race down the glass.

‎"It sounds strange," Adrian said, voice soft under the storm's rhythm, "but rain makes me feel less alone."

‎Eliana nodded. "It makes everything slow enough to feel."

‎He looked at her as if her words painted something only he understood.

‎That moment lingered, warm and quiet.

‎By the time the rain lightened, something unspoken had formed between them. They walked under his jacket, sharing its cover from the drizzle. Their hands brushed accidentally no confession, no dramatic music, nothing like movies, just two hearts learning to beat near each other.

‎Soon they were inseparable. Others noticed. Their classmates teased gently "Eliana and Adrian, the creative duo," "History couple," "Art and music." She blushed at jokes, but a part of her felt proud, chosen even. For someone who thought love was a distraction, she began to look forward to school more than ever. Study sessions turned into long conversations. Messages at night stretched until sleep stole one of them away mid-reply. They exchanged playlists, photos of paintings and sunsets, poems found online. Eliana felt her chest bloom with warmth she did not know how to name.

‎One evening, as they walked home from a debate event, the street was washed with golden dusk. Children played nearby, a football bouncing across the road. Eliana laughed at a joke he made a sound light and free. Adrian paused, watching her in a way she didn't notice until silence replaced his laughter.

‎"Eliana," he said, voice steady but gentle, "I think I'm falling for you."

‎The world seemed to still. Cars passed, wind rustled leaves, but her heart grew loud. She'd never been confessed to before. She looked at him, his eyes holding sincerity like an open book.

‎"But we're young," she whispered.

‎"I know," he replied. "But feelings don't wait for age."

‎She didn't answer at first. Love felt like a cliff thrilling, terrifying. Yet something inside her stepped forward. She smiled faintly.

‎"I think... I'm falling too."

‎No kiss. No dramatic embrace. Just two hearts realizing they had become each other's safe space.

‎Their relationship blossomed. They sat together in class, shared meals during break, competed playfully over grades. On weekends, they walked through markets and parks, sometimes silent, sometimes laughing endlessly. Adrian played guitar for her once shy fingers trembling but his voice was soft and beautiful. She painted him a small portrait, one he said he'd keep forever. They made promises to support each other's dreams, to stay honest, to never let misunderstandings break what they had.

‎Love was simple. Pure. Like a sunrise before the clouds form.

‎Eliana didn't know then that the brightest sun casts the darkest shadows. She didn't know that love can be tested, stretched, or shattered. At that time, she believed forever was easy just two hearts and a promise.

‎If someone told her betrayal waited just beyond the horizon, she might have laughed and said their bond was too strong.

‎But life writes its own chapters.

‎And this was only the beginning.

Continue Reading

You'll also like

The Convict Heiress: Marrying The Billionaire

The Convict Heiress: Marrying The Billionaire

Rollins Laman
5.0

The heavy thud of the release stamp was the only goodbye I got from the warden after five years in federal prison. I stepped out into the blinding sun, expecting the same flash of paparazzi bulbs that had seen me dragged away in handcuffs, but there was only a single black limousine idling on the shoulder of the road. Inside sat my mother and sister, clutching champagne and looking at my frayed coat with pure disgust. They didn't offer a welcome home; instead, they tossed a thick legal document onto the table and told me I was dead to the city. "Gavin and I are getting engaged," my sister Mia sneered, flicking a credit card at me like I was a stray dog. "He doesn't need a convict ex-fiancée hanging around." Even after I saved their lives from an armed kidnapping attempt by ramming the attackers off the road, they rewarded me by leaving me stranded in the dirt. When I finally ran into Gavin, the man who had framed me, he pinned me against a wall and threatened to send me back to a cell if I ever dared to show my face at their wedding. They had stolen my biotech research, ruined my name, and let me rot for half a decade while they lived off my brilliance. They thought they had broken me, leaving me with nothing but an expired chapstick and a few old photos in a plastic bag. What they didn't know was that I had spent those five years becoming "Dr. X," a shadow consultant with five hundred million dollars in crypto and a secret that would bring the city to its knees. I wasn't just a victim anymore; I was a weapon, and I was pregnant with the heir they thought they had erased. I walked into the Melton estate and made an offer to the most powerful man in New York. "I'll save your grandfather's life," I told Horatio Melton, staring him down. "But the price is your last name. I'm taking back what's mine, and I'm starting with the man who thinks he's marrying my sister."

Rising From Wreckage: Starfall's Epic Comeback

Rising From Wreckage: Starfall's Epic Comeback

Huo Wuer
4.5

Rain hammered against the asphalt as my sedan spun violently into the guardrail on the I-95. Blood trickled down my temple, stinging my eyes, while the rhythmic slap of the windshield wipers mocked my panic. Trembling, I dialed my husband, Clive. His executive assistant answered instead, his voice professional and utterly cold. "Mr. Wilson says to stop the theatrics. He said, and I quote, 'Hang up. Tell her I don’t have time for her emotional blackmail tonight.'" The line went dead while I was still trapped in the wreckage. At the hospital, I watched the news footage of Clive wrapping his jacket around his "fragile" ex-girlfriend, Angelena, shielding her from the storm I was currently bleeding in. When I returned to our penthouse, I found a prenatal ultrasound in his suit pocket, dated the day he claimed to be on a business trip. Instead of an apology, Clive met me with a sneer. He told me I was nothing but an "expensive decoration" his father bought to make him look stable. He froze my bank accounts and cut off my cards, waiting for the hunger to drive me back to his feet. I stared at the man I had loved for four years, realizing he didn't just want a wife; he wanted a prop he could switch off. He thought he could starve me into submission while he played father to another woman's child. But Clive forgot one thing. Before I was his trophy wife, I was Starfall—the legendary voice actress who vanished at the height of her fame. "I'm not jealous, Clive. I'm done." I grabbed my old microphone and walked out. I’m not just leaving him; I’m taking the lead role in the biggest saga in Hollywood—the one Angelena is desperate for. This time, the "decoration" is going to burn his world down.

Reborn: After 99 Divorces

Reborn: After 99 Divorces

Qing Gongzi
5.0

I stood at the edge of the freezing pond on the Boone estate, my body trembling with a fear that rattled my bones. Across from me, Amanda Olsen looked immaculate in her cashmere coat, a sharp contrast to the jagged reality I was trying to hold together. "Why?" I whispered. Amanda just smiled, admitting she killed Grandpa Boone because he actually liked me. She pulled out a thick envelope-divorce papers Cordero had signed that morning. She told me he called me a parasite and was celebrating with her the night I suffered a miscarriage. Before I could even scream, Amanda lunged and shoved me into the icy water. My heavy wool coat acted like a sponge, dragging me into the artificial abyss. I thrashed and gasped for air, but Amanda just stood on the bank, watching me drown with her hands tucked casually in her pockets. As my lungs burned and the darkness closed in, I realized I had spent my entire marriage taking their abuse. I was the "foster trash" and the "gold digger" who let them win every single time. I was dying alone, hated by the husband I had tried so hard to love, while my murderer stood victorious on the shore. I never fought back. I just let them destroy me. Then, a violent spasm tore through my body. I sat up gasping, sucking in dry, air-conditioned oxygen instead of murky pond water. I wasn't dead. I was back in the opulent master suite, surrounded by red rose petals and wedding decorations. The digital clock glowed: October 14, 2019. I had gone back five years to the very night my nightmare began. The bathroom door clicked open, and Cordero stepped out, looking at me with the same cold disgust I remembered. But as I gripped the silk sheets, a new resolve hardened in my chest. This time, I wasn't going to be the victim. This time, the Boone family was going to find out exactly what happens when you push someone too far.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book