THE HEART WANTS WHAT THE HEART WANTS Part One
/1/129726/coverbig.jpg?v=d952b45e9b05aae9f5803a8b2c8d4fc6)
The Hockey Prince's Secret Ice Queen
All I wanted was to find a computer genius to process the non-linear dynamic equations for my ecological model. Instead, I found myself cornered by Julian Andrews, the university's hockey prince, trading a public, staged kiss for his academic support. To finalize our "deal," I was dragged to the campus ice rink. The cheerleaders and puck bunnies immediately swarmed him, mocking my plain clothes and treating me like a pathetic joke. Brooke, the head cheerleader, even set up a figure skating competition with a date with Julian as the grand prize. She performed a basic spin, blew him a kiss, and smugly waited for me to fall flat on my face and humiliate myself. His hockey teammates laughed from the sidelines, watching me try to support Julian as he stumbled around the ice like a newborn giraffe. But as I held his warm hand to keep him from falling, I couldn't help but feel something was terribly wrong. Why was a top-tier athlete faking such awful balance? And why did his ice-blue eyes stare at me with such knowing anticipation, as if he already knew about the professional figure skating past I had spent years trying to bury? "Just let go and skate." He whispered, slowly releasing my hand. I took a deep breath, glided to the center of the rink, and landed a flawless double Axel. As the entire rink fell into a dead, shocked silence, I realized I had just exposed not only my own hidden past, but also the biggest secret of the campus god.
Chapter 1 No.1
Sage POV:
"Let me kiss you."
The request was a low, hurried murmur—warm, quiet, and laced with the faintest edge of mortification.
Stunned, I snapped my head up toward the sound.
Julian Andrews filled my vision. He easily towered a head over me, his lean, athletic frame silhouetted against the bright morning glare, casting a long shadow across the cobblestones. Briar University's star forward. Team captain. The athletic department's untouchable golden boy.
Campus rumor had it that Julian was notoriously indifferent, never sparing anyone a second glance.
Behind him, a solid wall of navy-and-gold varsity jackets blocked the brick path. His teammates were whistling, shoving each other, and effectively cutting off my only exit.
The sudden commotion immediately bottlenecked the morning foot traffic. Whispers rippled through the crowd, and within seconds, a dozen students reached into their pockets out of sheer muscle memory, black camera lenses catching the light as they aimed squarely at us.
Julian's sharp eyes tracked the movement, his jaw tightening into a hard, irritated line.
Before I could take a single defensive step back, he closed the distance between us. Leaning down into my space, his broad shoulders shifted in a subtle, fluid maneuver—throwing up an impenetrable physical wall that completely shielded my face from the intrusive glare of the cameras.
His sharp, striking face hovered breathtakingly close. His deep baritone brushed against my ear, lost to the autumn wind, meant for me alone:
"Sorry to drop this on you," he whispered, his pale blue eyes disarmingly earnest, holding a quiet heat that sent a tremor straight down my spine. "The guys backed me into a locker-room dare... but I'm not here to use you as a joke. We can fake it. Angle it so it looks real—whatever you're comfortable with. Just help me get them off my back, and I owe you one."
It was only then that my brain finally rebooted.
What on earth? He's actually trying to kiss me?
A sharp flare of pure absurdity hit me, and my gaze dropped to my reflection in the dark glass door of the adjacent building: an oversized, faded gray hoodie that swallowed my frame whole, soft, thin jeans worn at the knees, bare-faced dark circles carved beneath my eyes from forty-eight hours of non-stop coding, my dark hair hastily twisted into a cheap plastic claw clip, and a pair of oversized, thick black-rimmed glasses sitting heavy on the bridge of my nose, completely hiding my face.
I looked like a refugee from an all-night disaster. How had Briar's golden prince ended up in front of me?
When I looked back up, my breath trapped in my throat anyway. He was too close, his clean scent of winter mint and cedar wrapping around my senses. Having those pale blue eyes staring straight down at me made my chest tighten in a way I really didn't want to acknowledge.
"Clock's ticking, Cap!" Landon howled from the sidelines, hands cupped around his mouth as the rest of the players lost their minds laughing. "Plant one on her, or enjoy the five-AM bag skate!"
A raucous chorus of barks and chest-thumping went up from the team.
A few yards away, two girls heading toward the dining hall froze in their tracks, pointing their phones.
"Wait, who the hell is that?" one of them laughed loudly, zooming her camera in on my face. "She looks like she just crawled out of a dumpster. There's no way Julian's actually kissing her. Post it on Sidechat right now—this is going straight to number one."
The cruel words hit like a splash of ice water, snapping me out of my daze and instantly killing the stupid flutter in my chest.
I hated the attention.
Four years ago, after my family and my former training partner framed me and destroyed my competitive skating career, I swore I would never be public entertainment again. I buried my name, switched majors, and hid behind oversized fleece and thick glasses just to live an invisible life. If I ended up on the campus forums with Julian Andrews, the internet vultures would dox me before noon—and drag up the toxic scandal I had bled to walk away from.
My research was already on the verge of falling apart. I didn't have time for this circus.
I locked my grip around my heavy binders, my knuckles straining white.
"Find someone else for your dare, Andrews," I said coldly, taking a step back to put distance between us, my voice tight with adrenaline. "I'm not interested in being part of your game. Move."
I kept my head down, attempting to brush past him.
"You're Sage Kelley, right?"
The sound of my name brought my boots to an immediate halt.
I blinked up at him, caught completely off guard.
"Professor Beaumont's senior research student," Julian straightened up slightly, his cadence measured and even, carrying an intellectual sharpness that seemed impossible beneath a varsity jacket. "I saw your Havenwood Creek senior capstone proposal sitting on his desk over Sunday dinner."
My heart gave a hard, hollow thud. Professor Beaumont was my academic advisor—and the guardian of the final research endowment my late father had left behind.
Julian leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a near-whisper against the whistle of the wind. "I spent an hour going over your codebase."
My lips parted. "You... read my proposal?"
"Your simulation keeps crashing because your core fluid algorithm strategy is flawed," Julian murmured, his pale blue eyes deadly sharp. "And Uncle Des mentioned that if you don't deliver a working version by this Friday, the department is pulling your grant—which means you don't clear your senior thesis, and you don't graduate in May."
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
Friday was the deadline. If the funding was pulled, the project died, my senior capstone failed, and I would be forced to stay another semester without my degree. Worse, my father's final ecological legacy would be reduced to scrap paper.
I had been panicking over that exact deadline for two days straight, and Julian had just laid it out like it was nothing.
Worse, I couldn't even brush him off. I had heard the rumors about Beaumont's nephew—the CS prodigy everyone in the department talked about. I just had never realized it was him.
"I know how to fix your algorithm," Julian stated plainly, laying his cards on the table, his gaze locking onto mine with an unshakeable, quiet certainty. "Help me get through this bet. In return, I'll rewrite your boundary calculations tonight. Deal?"
/0/30478/coverbig.jpg?v=b61226bd333f7e8d7cb8652bfce83827)
THE HEART WANTS WHAT THE HEART WANTS
A young Master's Journey to love.... Rolph, the appointed future heir of a Mafia family had everything he wanted except love. Not that nobody loves him, but he doesn't know how to love. Or should we say, the ones that fell in love with him always felt wrong for him. Like his true love is out the
/0/33116/coverbig.jpg?v=b275c9aa753f9bbe4286194969a1b778)
WHAT THE HEART WANTS
After an incident that cost a life, Michael became determined to pay for his sins and to do everything possible to make it up to the people he hurt. But what happens when he begins to fall in love with the daughter of the woman he killed?
/0/39712/coverbig.jpg?v=23d5cc3810ee65ab7e9f3834a20a66ac)
Love and Crosses: What The Heart Wants
"I told you already, Riele. I don't love you." Kim answered her. Riele could tell he was lying. Just a month ago, he confessed his feelings to her and she told him she needed time to think about it but his first love, Jane Crimson appeared and he went back on his words. What was she to do now th
/0/65657/coverbig.jpg?v=a67bc535b094b4e4c8d1e8c35ba53ae2)
Never Looking Back: The Heart Wants What It Wants
Everyone thought Lorenzo truly loved Gracie, until the day of their daughter’s heart surgery. To Gracie’s utter shock, Lorenzo gave the precious organ needed by their child to another woman. Devastated, Gracie opted for a divorce. Fueled by her need for revenge, Gracie joined hands with Lorenzo’s u
/0/84779/coverbig.jpg?v=4fac60fa482b33e81c1a38b1e2b4d0f6)
Love and Crosses: What the Heart Wants
The heart wants what it wants, but sometimes it's not what it seems. In the high-fashion world of glamor and betrayal, small-town girl Riele sets out to heal the broken heart of billionaire CEO Kim. But her plan backfires when she finds herself falling for him, only to have her love rejected. Now,
/0/81488/coverbig.jpg?v=01ca6e3fbb8f12bedb8cea34f5b2565b)
The Mafia Man Wants My Heart
She wasn't looking for trouble-but trouble found her, dressed in a suit and staring like he already owned her. Mia Cruz has her life under control. A steady 9–5 at Luxe Visions, a quiet bookstore she co-owns with her mother, and just enough routine to keep the past where it belongs. She prefers boo
/0/66392/coverbig.jpg?v=d716714928ba7f83d51b2a4200f5416b)
What The Heart Desires
Shattered by betrayal and heartbreak, a young woman's deepest desire is to find true love. But when she finally discovers it, her world is turned upside down by a shocking revelation; a lifelong deception, that changes everything she thought she knew. Can she overcome her past and fight f
/0/27585/coverbig.jpg?v=20220523100208)
What He Really Wants
Edna is forced to fend for herself and child, due to some certain circumstances surrounding the father of the child and she would not let anything stop her from being there for her child as her Parents were not there for her. Alex Laurent is a wealthy billionaire who wont let anything come between h
/0/48313/coverbig.jpg?v=d645082943caa96d68c564d469006f90)
What My Body Wants
"You promised me your virginity and your body. I was foolish to pass on the first, but like a debt collector, I am here to take the latter which belongs to me. Your body is mine, Rosianna." A loved one who became a stranger and a heart filled with secrets... "Oh, Rosy," Santos whispered, his voice
/0/49395/coverbig.jpg?v=9a6af0c9ae6a2c89d99e8f61197e67b6)
What the heart keeps quiet
Two young students meet in high school and, as the days go by, they fall in love. The problems begin when they discover that they are brothers.
/1/101019/coverbig.jpg?v=a0aefec20cfcbf9edfd7258893924e02)
THE BULLY WHO WANTS MY HEART AND MY RUIN
Seven years ago, Dante Moretti made my life hell. Now he's back, and he wants something I can't give him(me). When I was sixteen, Dante was the beautiful nightmare who lived next door. Three years older, dangerously magnetic, and cruel in ways that left invisible scars. He tormented me through my ju
/0/18454/coverbig.jpg?v=70a6bbf16b99f644dae8b86d82f2b0b5)
One heart, one soul
In his past life, Cifford Harrison was a famous hiker. He explored the wonders of nature with his fiance, Caroline. But in a tragic accident, all his life and love vanished like ashes. Caroline lived miserably when she learned about his death and she wants revenge. Where will her revenge and knowin
/0/78196/coverbig.jpg?v=20260527063839)
The One My Heart Craves
When twenty-two-year-old Sophia returns to Seoul early to surprise her fiancé, she's the one who gets the devastating surprise. Finding him in bed with another woman shatters her perfect plans. Heartbroken and stranded in the rainy city, she turns to the one person she trusts: her brother's enigmati
/0/87981/coverbig.jpg?v=fbd516e253d457c21ad15a1071b6a466)
The Devil Wants Me
"Lovely, Cara," he whispers, licking and kissing my clit. I'm twitching, shaking, back arched- He reaches down and picks up the champagne bottle, pouring out the liquid on my body. I gasp at the sudden bubbling cold. I try to wriggle away but he holds me down and sucks the champagne, licking me c
/0/73432/coverbig.jpg?v=dc120b89933b8d786d8357a72a4df3de)
Express Delivery to the Heart. Part 2.
What would you do if you discovered that the person you love has a dark secret that could destroy everything you thought you knew about them? Mei Ling never imagined that her perfect life would crumble because of a simple package. One day, in her office, she finds a package wrapped in hearts, addres
/0/48037/coverbig.jpg?v=20260525202843)
The Billionaire Wants Her
Sean Fernandez is a business mogul, heir to a mighty empire. But there's a problem. He won't be able to acquire his inheritance if he doesn't settle down soon. Then, he meets Mia, whom he might have spent the previous night with, at his favorite cafe the next day. He doesn't recognize her but s
/0/18139/coverbig.jpg?v=30324f050e1ea27dbc14f1eba82d9a20)
The Player Wants Me?!
Sequel To "My Bestfriends, The Players And I". You should probably read that first but it isn't necessary but for it to make more sense. "So you know who I am then?" He asked, smirking. "Most people do. But yes, you're Kian Wilde. The Bad boy. The Player. The Heart breaker." I say and he
/1/122722/coverbig.jpg?v=842d042f970fb477bdeb745886eb9b47)
When The Devil Wants
Eleanor Thornhill learned two things in two years of marriage, how to disappear and how to stop loving. Her husband Marcus didn't hit her, he just never looked at her, a marriage of convenience become a cage. But when Lucian Vale steps through the door, he didn't come back for revenge, he came back
/1/100608/coverbig.jpg?v=b84546977e849a5bcfd12a628a5ef12a)
My Heart, His Spare Part
My bodyguard, Grant, took the full force of a speeding car meant for me. In that moment, I realized I loved him. He was my protector, and I thought his fierce devotion was mine alone. But in the hospital, I overheard the truth. He hadn't saved me; he'd saved my kidney. I wasn't the woman he loved.
/0/80061/coverbig.jpg?v=30cf147197410172445ee0d16b03797c)
The Heartthrob Wants Me!
On a dark and windy night, I found myself kissed by a handsome stranger-not just once, but twice! Who does he think I am, someone he can just kiss whenever he feels like it? And now he's saying he should take responsibility, get engaged, even marry me? Absolutely not! I left home to escape an arrang
