The Tangle of Awful

The Tangle of Awful Copyright © 2023 K Webster Editor: Emily A. Lawrence Formatting: Champagne Book Design Photographer: Wander Aguiar ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information and retrieval system without express written permission from the Author/Publisher. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page Dedication About This Book Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty--Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty-Three Chapter Thirty-Four Chapter Thirty-Five Chapter Thirty-Six Chapter Thirty-Seven Chapter Thirty-Eight Chapter Thirty-Nine Epilogue About the Author Excerpt from The Heart of Smoke To Matt—my heart will forever be tangled with yours. From USA Today Bestselling Author K Webster comes a new steamy age-gap, enemies-to-lovers “why choose” forbidden romance! He’s a successful attorney with a secret craving for his too-young stepdaughter. He wants her badly. But his wicked son wants her too… Love is an illusion. In my world, collecting the shiniest trophies is what I do. Beautiful wife. Swanky home. Expensive cars. Successful firm. Future attorney general. Add in the Park family name and I’m the envy of every man in town. True love, however, was never attainable, no matter how much I secretly wanted it. The desire to be loved isn’t my only secret. My wife is missing. With my life under scrutiny as I run for office, I’m finding it difficult to lie away her whereabouts. People are starting to notice. My political opponent. Her best friend. And worst of all, my wife’s daughter, Aubrey. Aubrey is finally back home after two long years with her dad, but she’s asking questions I don’t have answers to. Yet, that’s not all she’s doing… She’s invading my thoughts and my heart, driving me insane with her beauty and vulnerability. I want her. She’s barely legal and my wife’s daughter. Forbidden and morally wrong. I can’t have her. I can’t. My son, though, doesn’t live by the same code I do. He wants her too. But not to love…to destroy. I’ll risk everything to keep him from her. Even if this tangle of awful costs me my reputation, my campaign, and my son. ***This is a complete mfm standalone novel with a happily ever after. Characters are of legal age and there is no romantic involvement between blood relations. *** Trigger Warning This book has triggering scenes for some readers including bullying, stalking, sexual assault, and other potentially upsetting subject matter. Please read with caution. Aubrey There’s only one person in the entire world I hate. Spencer Park. He’s vile. A monster. Awful. I vowed two years ago I’d never look at or speak to him again. It was a promise I’d been able to keep until recently. And, because of my mother, I’m once again going to be subjected to the misery he creates. This time, not because I’m being forced to but by choice. I’m choosing this for myself. I don’t suddenly like Spencer. Far from it. I just know something is going on with Mom and I will get to the bottom of it. “Here?” the Uber driver asks as he slows to a stop in front of the massive structure I once called home. “This is it,” I say with a shaky sigh. “Thanks.” I climb out, pull on my backpack, and grab my overstuffed suitcase before slamming the car door shut. The home looms over me, cold and mocking. Every single detail of this house screams money. From the perfectly trimmed hedges and yard to the shiny black luxury vehicle in the driveway. And then there’s me. The leech. At least, that’s what he took to calling me seemingly out of the blue. One day, we were friends and the next, everything was ruined. Old memories of Spencer’s cruelty simmer to the surface of my mind, but I don’t let them consume me. I’m no longer the sixteen-year-old girl I once was. I’ve changed. I’m stronger, smarter, and a freaking adult. Spencer Park holds no power over me. I’m back now and I refuse to let him get to me. Slowly, I wheel my dented suitcase up the front walkway toward the pristine charcoal gray door that will welcome me into a cold hell. My hands slightly shake as I reach it. Since Spencer used to always steal my house key, I kept one hidden outside. Leaving my suitcase, I walk over to the gutter spout at the corner of the house. I crouch in front of it and lift the biggest of the smooth stones on the ground in front of it. The key is there. My stomach twists. It’s all wrong. The metal teeth no longer sharp and jagged. It’s as if it’s been melted smooth. Words have been carved into the metal. Not welcome, leech. I curl the useless key into my palm and rise to my feet. He may have intimidated me two years ago, but I’m no longer that girl. I’ve been living in Los Angeles with Dad ever since I left, going to school with a whole bunch of assholes rather than just one. I’ve learned how to survive. With newfound fury burning up inside of me, I storm back over to the front door. Of course, when I try the knob,