Introduction
Ella Sinders is content to toil away as a graphic designer for her father's company in the attic taking orders from her stepmother, until an accidental phone call opens her eyes to the lies she’s been told. Now, she’s desperate to reach the man on the other end of the line to see if they can build a life together. However, the discovery that the one she’s falling for is the son of her father’s sworn enemy makes that seem impossible
Rome Verona wants nothing more than to make a name for himself in Hollywood. His father might be a big name movie producer, but Rome wants to build his own legacy. When an accidental phone call leads him to the daughter of his father’s nemesis, Rome will do whatever it takes to find Ella and set her free, even if it means giving up everything he’s worked so hard for.
Can these star-crossed lovers survive fate and make a life together?
Share the book to
About Author

Bella Moondragon
Chapter 1
The bird was back. Perched outside of the attic window, it chirped a cheerful song, fluttering its wings and tapping its beak on the glass. Ella Sinders found herself distracted again. The bright blue feathers, the same shade as the sky behind the visitor, beckoned her to come outside, to feel the crisp spring air, feel the grass beneath her feet, gaze at the clouds as they rolled by, and forget all of her troubles.
But that wasn’t an option. Not only did she have more work to do than it would be humanly possible to get done in two lifetimes, she literally could not go outside. The door was locked. The door was always locked. Other than sticking her head out the small window and basking in the sunshine that way, there wasn’t much of an opportunity for her to enjoy the great outdoors.
“I’m sorry, little birdie,” she said, refocusing on the computer in front of her. “I can’t play right now.”
The bird sang its song again, and Ella hummed along as her fingers flew over the computer keys. The design she was working on was coming along. She thought her father would really like it. She just had a few more touches to add, and then she’d be ready to submit it for approval.
So focused was she on her work and the song she was humming, she didn’t hear the door open until it closed with a sharp thump, and then the key scraped against the lock again. Alarmed, Ella turned to see who it was. Relief washed over her when she saw it was only her friend, Mary Baker, the only one of the household's workers allowed to come into the attic while Ella was working. It wasn’t because she was the most trustworthy of the group; it was just because Ella’s stepmother, Teresa, disliked Mary almost as much as she disliked Ella, so she sent her up to the attic to do the dirty work.
“Sorry to disturb you,” Mary said, ducking her head. She was a tiny woman, thin, pretty, with a brown mop of short hair.
“Oh, don’t be silly.” Ella giggled and turned back to her work. “You’re not disturbing me. I just thought you might be… someone else.”
“Don’t worry. Mommy dearest is laying out by the pool, as are her worthless daughters.” Taking a few steps closer to Ella, she whispered, “I hope all three of them burn to a crisp.”
Trying not to laugh, Ella shook her head. “Be nice, Little Mouse. No need to lower yourself to their level.” The nickname was more for Mary’s size than the fact that her hair was such a mousy shade of brown. That and she seemed to attract the creatures.
Mary sighed, going about her dusting. “I don’t understand how you can be so sweet, Ella. They’re awful to you. Only letting you out of this attic for dinner. I don’t know why you don’t say something to someone.”
“Who? I never see anyone--except for you.”
“Your cousin Tim is allowed to see you. Does he know about your imprisonment?”
“Don’t be so dramatic.” Ella didn’t wish to downplay the situation, but she knew Mary was right. If she had known what her stepmother had in store, perhaps she never would’ve come back from France. She knew she’d be taking an important job for her father’s movie marketing company, but she had no idea she’d never be allowed to leave the house.
Her father, Lloyd Sinders, one of the most successful, and thus wealthiest, movie marketers in the world, was overseas himself now and planned to be for the next several months. He had no idea that Teresa had her locked up. His wife had explained to Ella that the arrangement was “for her own good,” but Ella knew better. Teresa was still jealous of her mother who had died when Ella was seven. It was clear that her father still loved his first wife more than he could ever love Teresa. Though Teresa was a beautiful blonde with the nicest fake boobs money could buy, she didn't have the natural beauty Chantel Bisett had exuded on both the inside and out. Ella looked almost exactly like her mother, and it drove Teresa crazy. She had been a rival of Chantel’s when they were both models. Thus, Ella was locked away at least until her father returned. By then, Teresa must’ve hoped she’d decide for herself this is where she wanted to be.
Ella didn’t hate it as much as one might think. Of course, she longed to go out into the world, to feel the sun and the breeze. But she had no friends in LA. She’d attend school in France since she had been in grade school. Her Aunt Suzette had practically raised her after her mother died. It seemed her father, who professed to love her, also had trouble looking into the same eyes he missed so desperately since his wife had passed away.
Her two stepsisters, Anna and Drew, who were aspiring actresses, spent every night at dinner chattering about how horrible the world was out there. They were both beautiful, though Ella questioned their acting abilities. With the connections their stepfather had, they should have easily been able to get better parts than the commercials and walk on roles they were getting. Both of them complained that the world was a terrible, cruel place, one that would wad you up and spit you out. Why would Ella want to go out there if she didn’t have to?
Besides that, she didn’t look like the girls she saw in the photographs of actresses and models she worked on for the marketing campaigns. They were all blonde, with golden tans, big, fake boobs, and curvy hips. Ella’s dark hair, Mediterranean coloring, and thin build made her feel inferior to these actresses and other women in every way possible.
Here, in the attic, she was safe to wear her baggy pants and T-shirts, not worry about makeup, and never have to concern herself with being compared with others. If the other women in LA acted like her stepsisters, she didn’t want to have anything to do with any of them.
No, her best hope at this time was for her father to come home so that she could speak to him about going back to France. She was much more comfortable in the little village she’d lived in with her aunt. She had friends there. That’s where she was most happy.
“You have a phone. And email. Why don’t you tell your father what she’s up to?” Mary asked, sweeping the barren wood floor with a broom.
Ella shook her head. “You don’t understand, Mary. It’s more complicated than that. I don’t want to make Teresa hate me. My father will start asking questions before he believes me, and when she finds out, she’ll take both of those things away. My father will be back in a few months. I’ll talk to him then.”
“If he comes back when he says he will. He’s already extended his trip twice.”
“True.” The bird was still fluttering at the window, and for a moment, Ella wished she had wings so she could fly away. “I’ll be all right, Little Mouse.”
The housekeeper shook her head, but she was giggling. “I’m not as timid as a little mouse. Just because I have a way of attracting the little critters, that doesn’t make me one.”
Ella laughed, remembering how funny it had been each of the times the mice that slept in the walls came out to follow Mary around, curious about her sweeping, Ella supposed. She was some sort of a mouse whisperer. “I’m thankful that you’re so bold, Mary. It serves you well.”
“One of these days, after I’ve secured employment elsewhere, I’m going to accidentally leave this door unlocked. Then, you can escape if you’d like to.”
Turning her head away from the computer to meet her friend’s eyes, Ella smiled. “Don’t get yourself into any trouble on my account, Mary. I’m all right.”
“The moment you change your mind, you let me know.”
“I will.” Ella turned back to the screen, doing her best to ignore the echo of the lock clicking shut, sealing her in the attic indefinitely, at the mercy of a stepmother who was anything but merciful.
Latest Chapters
#175 Epilogue
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 12:46#174 Endings and Beginnings
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 12:46#173 Awake
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 12:46#172 Room to Wait
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 12:46#171 Shocked
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 12:46#170 Changes
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 12:46#169 Confessions
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 12:46#168 Solutions
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 12:46#167 Another Form of Hell
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 12:46#166 Deal with the Devil
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 12:46
Comments
You Might Like 😍
Off Limits, Brother's Best Friend
“You are going to take every inch of me.” He whispered as he thrusted up.
“Fuck, you feel so fucking good. Is this what you wanted, my dick inside you?” He asked, knowing I have benticing him since the beginning.
“Y..yes,” I breathed.
Brianna Fletcher had been running from dangerous men all her life but when she got an opportunity to stay with his elder brother after graduation, there she met the most dangerous of them all. Her brother's best friend, a mafia Don. He radiated danger but she couldn't stay away.
He knows his best friend's little sister is off limits and yet, he couldn't stop thinking of her.
Will they be able to break all rules and find closure in each other's arms?
My Marked Luna
"Yes,"
He exhales, raises his hand, and brings it down to slap my naked as again... harder than before. I gasp at the impact. It hurts, but it is so hot, and sexy.
"Will you do it again?"
"No,"
"No, what?"
"No, Sir,"
"Best girl," he brings his lips to kiss my behind while he caresses it softly.
"Now, I'm going to fck you," He sits me on his lap in a straddling position. We lock gazes. His long fingers find their way to my entrance and insert them.
"You're soaking for me, baby," he is pleased. He moves his fingers in and out, making me moan in pleasure.
"Hmm," But suddenly, they are gone. I cry as he leaves my body aching for him. He switches our position within a second, so I'm under him. My breath is shallow, and my senses are incoherent as I anticipate his hardness in me. The feeling is fantastic.
"Please," I beg. I want him. I need it so badly.
"So, how would you like to come, baby?" he whispers.
Oh, goddess!
Apphia's life is harsh, from being mistreated by her pack members to her mate rejecting her brutally. She is on her own. Battered on a harsh night, she meets her second chance mate, the powerful, dangerous Lycan Alpha, and boy, is she in for the ride of her life. However, everything gets complicated as she discovers she is no ordinary wolf. Tormented by the threat to her life, Apphia has no choice but to face her fears. Will Apphia be able to defeat the iniquity after her life and finally be happy with her mate? Follow for more.
Warning: Mature Content
The Shadow Of A Luna
Everyone looked in that direction and there was a man standing there that I had never noticed before. He would have been in his early 20's, brown hair to his shoulders, a brown goatee, 6-foot 6 at least and very defined muscles that were now tense as his intense gaze was staring directly at me and Mason.
But I didn't know who he was. I was frozen in the spot and this man was just staring at us with pure hatred in his eyes. But then I realized that the hatred was for Mason. Not me.
"Mine." He demanded.
Alpha's White Lie
When a new guy moves into the empty apartment across the hall, Rosalie Peters finds herself lured towards the hunky man. Blake Cooper is a very hot, successful, and wealthy businessman with a life built on a little white lie.
Rosy’s life, on the other hand, is full of mystery. She’s hiding a secret that would tear apart love and friendship.
As the secrets in Rosy’s life start to unfold, she finds herself seeking refuge with Blake.
What Rosy didn’t anticipate was Blake’s admiration for her was so much more than just love; It was supernatural.
Life for Rosy changes when she discovers that Blake’s biggest secret was animalistic and so much bigger than hers!
Will Blake’s white lies make or break his relationship with Rosy?
How will Rosy adjust to all the secrets that throw her life into chaos?
And what will happen when Blake’s twin brother, Max, comes forward to claim his twin bond with Rosy’s?!
Game of Destiny
When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.
Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.
When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?
My Billionaire Husband Wants an Open Marriage
"I want an open marriage. I want sex. And I just can’t do that with you anymore."
“How can you do this to me, Tristan? After everything?”
Sophia’s heart breaks when her husband, Tristan, pushes for an open marriage after twelve years of marriage, saying her life as a housewife and mom has killed their spark. Desperate to hold their twelve-year bond together, Sophia reluctantly agrees.
But what hits worse than the open marriage is how quickly her husband dives into the dating pool, even going as far as to violate their set boundaries.
Hurt and angry, Sophia escapes to her art school, where she meets Nathaniel Synclair, a charming new sponsor who lights a fire in her. They talk, and Nathaniel suggests a wild idea: he’ll pretend to be her fake lover to get back at her husband’s double standards.
Caught in the love triangle between her broken marriage and Nathaniel’s pull, Sophia hesitates, sparking a mix of want, lies, and truth that shakes up all she knows about love, trust, and who she really is.
The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride
Yet Alexander made his decision clear to the world: “Evelyn is the only woman I will ever marry.”
Crossing the lines ( Sleeping with my Best friends)
get together with the rest of our college friends,led me to reveal some of my secrets. And some of theirs. From being accused by friends I gave up. Little did I know the get together was just a ruse for them to get back into my life and they were playing the long game, making sure I belonged to them and them only.
Dean's POV : The minute we I opened the door and saw her ,so beautiful, I knew it was either going to go our way or she ran. We fell in love with her at Eighteen,she was seventeen and off limits,she saw us as brother so we waited, when she disappeared we let her ,she thought we had no idea where she was ,she as absolutely fucking wrong. We watch her every move and knew how to make her cave to our wishes.
Aleck's POV : Little Layla had become so fucking beautiful, Dean and I decided she would be ours. She walked around the island unaware if what was coming her way.one way or the other Our best friend would end up under us in our bed and she would ask for it too.
Letting Go
That fateful night leads to Molly and her best friend Tom holding a secret close to their hearts but keeping this secret could also mean destroying any chance of a new future for Molly.
When Tom's oldest brother Christian meets Molly his dislike for her is instant and he puts little effort into hiding it. The problem is he's attracted to her just as much as he dislikes her and staying away from her starts to become a battle, a battle that he's not sure he can win.
When Molly's secret is revealed and she’s forced to face the pain from her past can she find the strength to stay and work through the pain or will she run away from everything she knows including the one man who gives her hope for a happy future? Hope that she never thought she would feel again.
The Rejected Luna: From Outcast to Alpha Queen
Then she came back.
Layla—my pure-blooded half-sister with her perfect smile and poison tongue. Within days of her return from Europe, Paxton was ready to throw me away like yesterday's news.
"I want to sever our bond, Freya. Lyra is my true mate."
Wrong move, Alpha.
He thinks I'm just another submissive mate who'll quietly disappear. He's forgotten I'm a mixed-blood Alpha who's been playing nice for far too long. While he's busy playing house with my backstabbing sister, Lucas Morgan—the most dangerous Alpha in the territory—is making me an offer I can't refuse.
Paxton wants to discard me? Fine.
But he's about to learn that some women don't just walk away—they burn everything down on their way out.
I'm done being the good girl. Done being the perfect mate. Done hiding what I really am.
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
The CEO's Contractual Wife
About Author

Bella Moondragon
Download AnyStories App to discover more Fantasy Stories.
