Hughes

~ She came home. But she still isn't free. ~

Five years ago, Amory Hughes disappeared. Now she's home. But surviving was only the beginning.

After five years of captivity, abuse, and exploitation, Amory returns to a world that moved on without her.

The life she remembers is gone. The person she used to be feels like a stranger. And while everyone around her wants her to move forward, Amory is still trying to understand who she's become.

But the past hasn't simply followed her home.

It's changed the future she thought she'd have.

Pregnant as a result of her captivity, Amory faces her new, cruel reality and questions she never imagined having to answer. With her thoughts and emotions becoming more complicated and overwhelming by the minute, she struggles to reconcile what happened to her with what her life might become.

How do you reclaim your future when so much of it feels like it was decided for you?

And are there some things you can pick up where you left off.

Alex.

Her closest friend from her life before. Her confidant. A man with a dark, complicated past of his own.

As Amory attempts to discover herself again, she must face the fact that she is no longer who she once was. But she can't help but wonder:

Can Alex do the same?

Is Alex looking for a girl she can never be again? Is she as safe with Alex as she once was? Does he want to control and use her like so many men have?

Does he want to own her like the man who is now behind bars once did?

Elias Redding.

An unassuming yet manipulative man, whose face Amory can never forget. As she attempts to find comfort in her rescue, the looming possibility of his release makes moving on seem impossible. Surrounded by threats and intimidation from Elias's associates, Amory wrestles with the question:

How can I reclaim my life when the man who took it from me still has the power to threaten my future?

Together, Alex and Amory confront these demons, ghosts, and roadblocks, but only Amory can make the decision to heal.

Because Alex can't erase her past. He can't make her decisions for her. And even his love can't promise that the danger is over.

Amory must find the courage to face a future she never imagined, confront the past that refuses to release her, and discover who she wants to become.

HUGHES is an emotionally intense contemporary romance with elements of romantic suspense, exploring survival, unwanted pregnancy, complicated love, and the difficult journey toward reclaiming your life.

Book One of an ongoing story.

*Content Advisory: This novel explores mature and potentially distressing themes, including captivity, sexual abuse, exploitation, pregnancy resulting from sexual violence, psychological trauma, threats, intimidation, and recovery. Sexual trauma is a significant part of the story, but the novel does not contain graphic depictions of sexual acts.