Dreamhaven Duet Series by Zee Shine Storm

PaigeWe called him the stable boy. Dad took him out of foster care and brought him to our farm because it meant free labor. I didn't know his name. Didn't want to.You know what else I didn't want?I didn't want to notice him as he eventually grew out of that lanky frame and got...hot. I didn't want thoughts of him invading my brain when I was on dates with my boyfriend. I didn't want to care when he looked like he needed to say something so badly but couldn't.Because he was mute... morePaigeWe called him the stable boy. Dad took him out of foster care and brought him to our farm because it meant free labor. I didn't know his name. Didn't want to.You know what else I didn't want?I didn't want to notice him as he eventually grew out of that lanky frame and got...hot. I didn't want thoughts of him invading my brain when I was on dates with my boyfriend. I didn't want to care when he looked like he needed to say something so badly but couldn't.Because he was mute. He couldn't speak even if his life depended on it. And after making that same life a living hell for him all these years, I didn't want to face the fact that he might never forgive me.OliverWhy didn't they ever say it? Why didn't they ever say my name? I ached to hear it sometimes instead of the usual phrases like 'stable boy' and 'dumb kid'. In their eyes, that was all I was. Because of what? My disability?And her...My tormentor. My foster father's daughter who never got off her high horse. What did I ever do to her? Why did she hate me so much?Even when I treated her with kindness.Even when I helped her out with things.Even when tears gathered in my eyes and I wanted to tell her to stop because I didn't deserve to be bullied but words wouldn't come out of my mouth.The world was my hell and she ruled it like the devil. And the worst part of it all was that...I let her.TW: This book contains themes and situations pertaining to slavery, abuse, bullying, sexual assault, trauma and disability discrimination. Reader discretion is advised...(Note: The Dreamhaven duet is a loose retelling of the classics 'Oliver Twist' and 'The Count of Monte Cristo' consisting of reverse bully romance and rich girl/poor boy trope in Book 1 followed by a vengeance plot and HEA in Book 2. Book 1 ends on a cliffhanger and features a hero suffering from mutism and 17 y.o MCs but with 18+ content.) less

PaigeThey told me he was dead. That Oliver was never coming back to me. It wasn't a lie.The boy who had given me all of himself no longer existed. In his place, stood a man who didn't even leave tiny cracks in his heart which could be filled with love.He could destroy me all he wanted with his hatred. But this time, I was going to make sure that someone saved him. Someone who would remind him that life was so much more than the darkness he had buried himself in.. morePaigeThey told me he was dead. That Oliver was never coming back to me. It wasn't a lie.The boy who had given me all of himself no longer existed. In his place, stood a man who didn't even leave tiny cracks in his heart which could be filled with love.He could destroy me all he wanted with his hatred. But this time, I was going to make sure that someone saved him. Someone who would remind him that life was so much more than the darkness he had buried himself in...OliverThey took everything from me. Ripped into my soul like savages until all I was left with were shattered dreams of a life that could have been.But I found something to replace the loss.Something that kept me alive when I wanted to give up. Something that tasted bitter but was more faithful than anything else I had ever known.The fire of retribution. It burned through me every second.And now...they were all going to burn with me....'The Tyrant Prince' is Book 2 of the Dreamhaven Duet and cannot be read as a standalone. Contains graphic sex and violence along with sensitive themes which could be triggering for some. Reader discretion is advised. less