Madness or Love (Be With Me Book 1)

Tara Whyley is young,
beautiful and successful, and you would say that she has everything, everything
but a heart. It’s broken. She is desperate to find her path back to life, but
the only way to do it, is to get lost in the memory of Him - Peter McClain.
For the past three years she is going back to the one place she found
happiness. Letting the reminiscence of her one true love in her soul, she is
finally free, free to forget the horrors and savor the greatest moments of her
relationship.
This is a story of immense happiness and erodent grief, of love and darkness,
passion and the power, hidden in each of us; it's about finding the road back
to life... fighting the impossible.

AMAZON US:
http://amzn.com/B00C2G2S7S

AMAZON
UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00C2G2S7S

THE DEATH OF THE ROSE – poetry
collection

Love, a young heart, pen
and paper—that is all it takes to pour your soul out. Love is a power, strong
enough to create miracles, to defy all odds, to make you untouchable and, at
the same time, a force that is capable to destroy your heart and break your
soul into pieces. Poetry is an unique way to share emotions. These pages will
let you to a place that is at the same time unique and beautiful, and torn,
confused, and painful; a place where love is everything and nothing; a place
that, I believe, you know.

AMAZON US:
http://amzn.com/B00J772M0S

AMAZON UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00J772M0S

“Love
is friendship set on fire.”

—
C.
J. Duggan, Ringer

Table of Contents

Other Work by Selina Bodur

Chapter One

Victoria
stopped
for a second
in front of the mirror
,
gave a critical look at her hairdo,
and splashed a nude gloss
over her full
,
rosy lips.
Her
sleek black hair was up in a high
ponytail. The green eyes looking back at her were bright and full of excitement.
She needed to succeed today
.

“You can do it
,”
she said
to her reflection,
and
her eyes
hardened
. Her
determination carried in her soft and sensual voice. T
he
most important day in
her
twenty-four years of long life had come. The
job interview
she was about to attend was crucial
for her professional
growth
.
And that wasn’t all of it
.
Today
was
the first day of her bright new
future
.
Victoria needed to believe that she
would be able to change
her
gray daily rounds
.

Only at twenty-four
,
some would say her life was in front of her. She felt,
though, that her chances for a successful career were melting fast like the
polar caps in result of the global warming process.
Luck had cheated her quite often, but she didn’t like to dig
into her failures and overanalyze them.

She
had accepted life, so far, with easiness, and was quick to fling the disappointments.
Her
sham indifference was her savior
,
and the laughter was her only weapon
against the injustices of the world
.
She
feared the day when
the m
u
ndan
e
w
ould
take over her life
and the gray would swallow her
.
Victoria craved and dreamed for colorful days, excitement, and passion. And she
was determined to start anew and dive into a brighter future
.

The job
she had applied for
was Senior Front Office Administrator at a unique, boutique
hotel in central London. It wasn’t a dream come true but a step toward a goal—to
run her own business
,
a small eco-hotel. She felt confident
in her inner strength. She could channel her passion and accomplish anything. She
had made the first step and got a chance to start a career at something she was
passionate about. No more waiting on people and wiping floors.

London
always had been a
step-mother to her
.
Victoria was
born
up North
and grew up on
the countrysi
d
e, surrounded by farms and pictures
que
vil
la
ges.
But that didn’t make her life in the
capital easier—quite the opposite.
The city had it
s own rhythm, a non-stopping pulse that had been new and
puzzling for the young girl that she was four years ago, right after she had
decided to turn her back on the family business and search for success in
London. Since then, she had fought all alone with the life, the bills, and the
depression. She hadn’t picked her jobs and had often felt emotionally dead
because of the dullness and the lack of challenge.

But her moment
of glory
had come
.
Her
turquoise-
green eyes
shined bright on a face blessed with
f
lawless, peach
-
like
skin and full, rosy lips. The deep-green eyes
contrasted with her sleek black hair. The image in front of her was
complemented by a slender body and a glow of happiness. She smiled at her
reflection.

Determined, she made a step toward the front door but
stopped mid-track. The shouting of her “sweet” neighbors echoed in the
building. Victoria sighed. The scene would probably end
with the interference of the police
.
She waited till the angry sounds died out and a door slammed.
She needed to get out of there.
The shared house
was all she could afford until now.
The one thing that made her go on was the hope that she was capable of changing
her fate. She wasn’t just a dreamer; she was ready to get dirty for her goal. Victoria
opened the door of her gloomy room and stepped into the future.

The ride to Boutique on the Gardens was long—two tube
changes and a bus. She used the time to set up a plan. First—smile! Second—be
confident! Third—prove that you are all they need! She had never put so much
energy, thought, and soul into one goal, but for the first time, she really
needed to change her life, needed to make that first step on the road to her
ultimate dream. She often dreamed about it, seeing her
self
in the middle of a brightly-lit foyer with a grand
staircase behind her back. Going out of the building into a rose garden, the
air was filled with a heavy flower scent. A hotel painted in pure white stood
in the middle of a rich garden, and it was hers. The dream was all the same,
and it had become a goal, a purpose to follow.

Victoria
stood on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the building and looked firmly in
the direction of the main entrance of the hotel. It was now or never. She
crossed the street and let her heart believe for the first time.

Chapter Two

The morning air smelled like rain and sausage rolls. Victoria
smiled to the new day. Her new home, a small and comfy flat, possessed a charm.
The only drawback, or an advantage, was the flat was on the top floor, over a
bakery, and the appetizing aroma filled the space every day
. Her stomach
growled; time for breakfast.

The new job had paid off well.
She finally managed to wriggle out of that awful
shared house
, and even the smell of the
past
r
ies
couldn’t downcast the fact. She felt alive. Every day
was better than the other, and the job as a front office assistant had brought
her satisfaction.
Sometimes she couldn’t believe her
luck.

True, she had fought hard, but there
were some days when life felt unreal. In six months, her status, predicament, and
even she, had changed completely.

She went to work that day without suspecting that her
life would change inevitably. She felt the strange aura with the first steps
she made into the spacious lobby. It was quiet, too quiet for a hotel in
central London at
8
:00
p
.
m.
Two of her colleagues at the front desk whispered lively.

Stacy noticed her first and impatiently waved her hand. “You won’t
believe it,
” she
sai
d
in a hushed voice.
Her eyes burned, and her cheeks
flushed.
“We’ll have a VIP guest. He should
arrive before midnight. Imagine!”

“Who is he
?”
Victoria
interrupted impatiently. The only thought on her mind was the immense pressure
and expectations that a “very important person” would bring to the staff. And
besides, she never understood the hysteria surrounding the rich and famous
. In her mind
, they were all just humans.

“Ian Young,” came Stacy’s squeaky answer.

“Who?” Victoria lifted her brows questioningly.

Her colleague looked
dumbfounded. “You don’t know who he is!” Her tone raised a notch. She
looked at her as if Victoria just killed someone, or at least stole her
favorite curling iron.

Victoria’s amused smile turned into a frown while she
wondered how anyone could be so shallow. Stacy would never win any kind of “bright
mind” award, true, but to Victoria, her life was only Friday night parties,
boys, and celebrity gossip. She waited patiently but wasn’t prepared for the
answer.

“Born 1986, New Orleans, one sister. He started his
career as a model at sixteen; first movie—
Broken Stars
—wasn’t a success.
He’s most known for his lead in
Lost Souls
. One of Hollywood’s rising
stars. Extremely good-looking, no, gorgeous, amazing blue eyes, dark hair,
single . . .”

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