Forbidden Gold by Mary B. Moore

I’ve lived in my brothers shadows since I was born. I’m not Ariana Townsend—I’m Noah, Levi, Archer and Tate’s sister. The truth is, I haven’t always liked the me that I see in the mirror every morning, but now, I want to be known for me and to be my own person and to get out from under their shadows.
I’ve worked on my reflection and who I really am, and now I’m learning to love myself. I’m not cured, but I am healed and that’s what I’ve been fighting for. The rest will all build on top of that foundation, one brick at a time.

I never intended for Parker to be part of the new me. I’m just so sick and tired of love stories and fairytales. The truth is, love sucks, the end. You meet a guy, he breaks your heart, you don’t recover, et cetera, rinse, and repeat. That’s real life, not a gooey romance where he sweeps you off your feet.
But then, I didn’t know the real Parker, only the version he let the world see. Now that I’m seeing the real him… I know that he needs the new me to give him strength and to help him heal, too.
What we have isn’t a gooey romance, it’s something stronger and worth fighting for.

The woman my dad married was the definition of a monster, and someone who abused every piece of power that she had. It has dominated how I live my life, leaving a trail of collateral damage behind me while I convinced myself that I had control.
Ariana Townsend woke me up from it. The look on her face that morning triggered the need to get help, so I did. Now, I’ve moved away from my hometown, moved away from what was holding me back, and I’m ready to live a life breathing clean air.
Each day is a day of growth, a bigger step away from it all, but I still have a long journey ahead of me, and somehow, the trigger for the change is the same person helping me through it all. She accepts my past, accepts who I am, and still wants me regardless of it all.

Unfortunately, nightmares are harder to shake off than I realized, especially when the person you’re trying to escape isn’t ready to give up yet.