Bully

He was her best friend. Then, without warning or explanation, he became her worst nightmare.

Tate thought she'd left Jared Trent behind when she spent a year abroad, putting an ocean between herself and his relentless cruelty. The whispered rumors, the calculated humiliations, the cold shoulder that somehow still managed to burn — she survived all of it. Now she's back, older, stronger, and absolutely done playing the victim in his twisted game.

But Jared hasn't changed. He's still the beautiful, infuriating boy next door who seems to breathe easier when he's making her life hell. What Tate can't figure out is why. Why does someone who refuses to acknowledge her existence work so hard to destroy it? Why does his hatred feel so personal, so consuming — almost like something else entirely?

This dark contemporary romance doesn't flinch from the complicated, messy reality of a bully-to-boyfriend story. Penelope Douglas builds a charged, slow-burn tension that crackles on every page, weaving together a history of friendship, betrayal, and long-buried secrets that slowly reframe everything Tate — and the reader — thinks they know.

Because fighting back means getting closer. And getting closer means uncovering the truth Jared has been hiding all along.

If you've been searching for a romance that keeps you guessing, makes you furious, and leaves your heart racing, Tate and Jared's story is exactly what you didn't know you needed.