Only in Your Dreams: A Novel (Oakwood Bay, #1)

by Ellie K. Wilde

Connor had always been a doting boyfriend since the very first date. Showered me with love, affection, and gifts. Told me all the time how beautiful I was. How much he cared. How he wanted me to do well, how we’d spend the rest of our lives together.

ooof love bombing... aka step one in mental manipulation. step two is of course controlling behavior disguised as "i care ab you"

WHAT IS LOVE BOMBING? SEVEN SIGNS TO LOOK FOR. Apparently, Connor’s type of love has a name. I turn back to my closet, glaring at my collection of clothes as though each piece has a sin to answer for. It’s right there, at the top of that list of seven signs: unexpected, needless gifts and tokens of affection. Pretty, shiny, designer things Connor showered me with as proof of his love, only to use them against me later. Simple yet oh-so-fucking-effective, wasn’t it?

ah-ha! and i called it lol!

“Noah,” Melody says, voice thick with relief as she scans him, head to toe. I’m not sure what she sees there beyond what I do, but it makes her hop off the counter, cross the kitchen to wrap him up in a hug. “You’re not interrupting. You’re never interrupting. This is your home.” She’s tiny in his arms, doesn’t even hit his shoulders, but after a second in which he doesn’t seem to know what to do next, Noah sags into her. His chin hits the top of her head, tears pool in the corners of his eyes. Whatever Mel saw in him, she was right. He needed that damn hug. He looks about a hundred pounds lighter when they draw apart. He wipes dry his cheeks, and my fucking heart hasn’t felt so full in years. “Are you alright?” she asks, clutching Noah’s shoulders. “I’m fine. Zac got in the way before my dad even got close.”

BITCH IM CRYING OMGGG