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When Naomi Sinclair moves to Blackwood Hollow, she expects a quiet town and a fresh start. Instead, she finds a house filled with secrets, a curse that won't let go, and a boy who seems to know more about her past than she does. Elliot Blackwood is a mystery-dark, distant, and impossible to ignore. From the moment Naomi meets him, she feels an unexplainable pull, as if they've met before. But when eerie whispers start calling her name, doors unlock on their own, and the shadows in the manor begin to move, she realizes she's caught in something far more dangerous than just a ghost story. Naomi is marked, bound to a history that refuses to stay buried. With each passing day, she slips further into visions of another life-one where she wasn't Naomi, and Elliot wasn't just a stranger. The past is clawing its way into the present, and if she doesn't uncover the truth behind the Hollow's curse, she might not survive long enough to escape it. But some love stories were never meant to have a happy ending. And some souls were never meant to be free.
Whispers of the Hollow
Chapter 1: The Town That Time Forgot
The road to Blackwood Hollow twisted like a serpent through a dense forest of towering oaks, their skeletal branches clawing at the overcast sky. Naomi sat in the back seat of her mother's car, watching the trees blur past, each mile taking her farther from the life she had known.
She hated moving. Again.
"This is a fresh start," her mother, Evelyn Mercer, had said when she accepted a restoration project at Blackwood Manor, the decaying Victorian estate that loomed over the town like a silent god. "A new place, new people, new beginnings."
Naomi had stopped believing in new beginnings a long time ago.
The first sign of Blackwood Hollow appeared on the roadside: a rusted iron plaque, half-buried in ivy, its letters barely legible.
WELCOME TO BLACKWOOD HOLLOW
"A town of history, a town of legacy."
Beneath it, someone had spray-painted in dripping black letters:
"AND A TOWN OF SECRETS."
A chill crept down Naomi's spine. She tore her gaze away from the sign, but the unease settled deep in her bones.
The town was small-too small. Narrow streets wound between centuries-old buildings, their rooftops heavy with moss and age. Gas lamps lined the sidewalks, their flickering glow giving the streets an eerie, dreamlike quality, even in daylight.
People moved slowly, their eyes shadowed and watchful. They whispered to one another as Naomi's car passed.
She locked eyes with an old woman standing by a fruit stall. Her skin was paper-thin, stretched over sharp cheekbones, but her eyes were the strangest shade of silver-like moonlight reflected in water.
The woman's lips moved, though Naomi couldn't hear the words. But she knew what they were.
"You shouldn't have come."
The estate was worse than Naomi imagined.
It stood atop a lonely hill, its blackened iron gates hanging open like a mouth waiting to swallow her whole. The mansion's windows were dark, empty, yet Naomi felt something watching her from within.
"Isn't it incredible?" her mother breathed as she stepped out of the car, taking in the towering spires and intricate Gothic details. "This place has history, Naomi. Real history."
That was what her mother loved most-bringing old places back to life.
But some places weren't meant to be revived.
Naomi ran a hand over the stone pillars at the gate, shivering at how cold they felt. Colder than winter.
Then, she saw it.
Etched into the stone, nearly worn away by time, was a name.
Eleanor Blackwood.
And beneath it, in smaller script, a warning:
"Gone, but not forgotten. Forever waiting."
Naomi's heart pounded.
Who was Eleanor Blackwood?
And why did it feel like she was waiting for her.
The inside of Blackwood Manor was no better.
The floors creaked with every step, the wallpaper peeled like ancient skin, and the chandeliers overhead swayed as though moved by an unseen hand.
Her mother had insisted they stay in the east wing, the only part of the house still livable. The west wing-the oldest part of the mansion-was sealed off, too dangerous to enter.
That night, Naomi lay awake, staring at the intricate carvings on the ceiling. The wind outside howled through the trees, but it wasn't the wind that kept her awake.
It was the whisper.
A soft, aching voice, just at the edge of hearing.
"Naomi."
She sat up so fast her vision blurred. The room was empty. The door was locked. The windows were shut tight.
Still, the whisper came again.
"Naomi, you have to leave... before it's too late."
And then-the sound of footsteps.
Not from the hallway.
From inside the walls.
Naomi's breath caught in her throat as she pressed her ear against the wooden panel beside her bed.
The footsteps stopped.
And then a soft knock.
From the other side.
Naomi's blood ran cold.
Because the west wing was supposed to be empty.
Charlee was left at the altar and became a laughingstock. She tried to keep her head high, but ultimately lost it when she received a sex tape of her fiance and her half-sister. Devastated, she ended up spending a wild night with a hot stranger. It was supposed to be one-time thing, but he kept popping up, helping her with projects and revenge, all while flirting with her constantly. Charlee soon realized that it was nice having him around, until her ex suddenly appeared at her door, begging for another chance. Her tycoon lover asked, “Who will you choose? Think carefully before you answer.”
Aria Wilson agrees to her step- sister offers to have a one night stand with an old man interchange for large amounts. It will be use for his brother's operation. What they don't know is the man she had sex with is turned out to be Jake Thomson! The most powerful man in Golden City, a multi-billionaire. Her step- sister Ayah, pretended that she is the one he was with that night so she is the on who gained wealth. Aria got pregnant and walked away but after five years she came back and her children...
"You're mine, little puppy," Kylan growled against my neck. A soft gasp escaped my lips as his lips brushed my skin. My mind screamed at me to push him away-the Lycan Prince who had humiliated me again and again, but my body betrayed me, leaning into him before I could stop myself. He pressed his lips against mine, and his kiss grew more aggressive, more possessive as I felt my legs weaken. What was I doing? In a split-second, I pulled away and slapped him hard across the face. Kylan's eyes darkened, but the smirk on his lips exposed his amusement. "You and I both know we can't fight this, Violet," he said, gripping my wrist. "You're my mate." "And yet you don't want me," I replied. "You told me you were ashamed of me, that l'd never be your queen, that you'd never love me. So please, accept my rejection and let me go." "Never," he whispered, his grip tightening as he pulled me closer. "Soon enough, you'll be begging for me. and when you do-I'll use you as I see fit and then I'll reject you."
"Is it considered betrayal to develop feelings for your best friend's boyfriend? What about when fate intervenes, and he turns out to be your destined mate? You might think it's luck and thank the moon goddess for such a twist of fate. That's what I believed until the love of my life uttered those dreaded words: 'I want a divorce!' As I stared at the pregnancy test in my hands, I realized it was better to keep my secret to myself. My name is Violet, and this is my story."
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..." But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"
In the previous life, Maggie Johnson was so cowardly, gullible and stupid that she was coaxed by her fiance and stepsister and then broke her legs and lost everything including her fortune, love and even life. However, she was so lucky that she was reborn in the year before everything happened. Since her life restarted, how could she repeat a previous tragedy? Therefore, in this life, she took the opportunity to improve herself and take revenge on the ones who had ever insulted her. Facing the people who had humiliated her previously, she became smart and experienced to break their frames and tricks that had caused her to hurt in the previous life. Finally, no one could stop her pace to amaze the world any more.