Strangers by Qutie314_Books at Inkitt

Summary

Most people on the 8:05 AM R train are looking for a way out. Preston was looking for a way to stay invisible—until he met the girl who made the silence feel like a lie. Preston is a ghost in his own life. After a betrayal in Reno stripped him of everything, he moved to Brooklyn to disappear into a world of "Proper" routines and sterile silence. He doesn't want friends, he doesn't want a past, and he certainly doesn't want a future. He just wants to be a stranger. Rebecca is a girl built for the rain. She is eighteen years younger, twice as broken, and carries the secrets of Bay Ridge like a second skin. When a chance encounter on a subway platform turns into a transactional arrangement, the boundaries are clear: no names, no history, and no heart. But as the grimy walls of a Brooklyn hotel give way to shared Sunday mornings and the neon lights of Coney Island, the arrangement begins to bleed into something dangerous. Preston is forced to choose between the safety of his isolation and the risk of saving a girl who has already accepted her own end. In a city that never stops moving, can two people who have lost everything find a reason to stay? Or are some strangers destined to remain exactly that?

Genre: Romance/Literary Fiction

Author: Qutie314_Books

Status: Complete

Chapters: 18

Rating: 5.0 1 review

Age Rating: 18+

Author's Note

*Please read before proceeding*

Before you board the 8:05, there is something you should know.

In most dark romances, the “darkness” is a checklist. It’s an obsessive Alpha, a dangerous mob boss, or a power fantasy wrapped in a predictable “Happily Ever After.” If that is the cup of tea you’re looking for, this might be the moment to turn back.

Strangers is a different kind of dark.

Here, the darkness doesn’t come from a billionaire’s shadow or a hunter’s whim. It comes from the world itself, from the cold tile of a subway platform, the silence of a “proper” life, and the devastating weight of the choices we make when we are too afraid to be happy.

This isn’t a story about a hero saving a girl. It’s a story about the finality of our decisions and the “safe” cages we build for ourselves. It is a lesson in the one thing we can never negotiate: Time.

You are about to meet two people who were never supposed to find each other. I invite you to stay for the connection, but stay even longer for the truth.

This is your stop. Are you staying on, or are you getting off?

Because this novel strives for emotional honesty, it explores several sensitive themes. Please be advised that the following pages contain:

A Significant Age Gap: An exploration of a complex and morally gray relationship between an 18-year-old and a man in his 30s.

Domestic Violence: Depictions of the physical and psychological aftermath of parental abuse.

Cycles of Trauma: Discussions of abandonment, grief, and the death of loved ones.

Medical Trauma: Realistic depictions of hospital environments and terminal injuries.

A Tragic Ending: This story does not follow the traditional “Happily Ever After” arc. It is a tragedy centered on the finality of our decisions.

Reader discretion is advised. If you are currently in a place of vulnerability, please take care of yourself as you navigate the world of Preston and Rebecca.

Sometimes, the most “proper” path is the most dangerous one of all.

Last thing! I am transparent about each and every one of my titles. AI was used when making this title; however, the characters, the plot, the setting, and the climax are all done by me. I use AI as a tool to edit and provide feedback for my work. I understand the pushback with AI, but as mentioned, I use AI as a tool rather than a replacement for the author. I put a lot of time and work into my stories. Each of them goes through its own creative process before becoming the final product. I even use my own writing style that keeps the work entirely original. I respect any reader’s choice, even if they choose not to read it, which is why I always put this disclosure before anyone reads it.

With all that out of the way, let's begin with the stories of Strangers.