The Within Me Universe

For anyone who’s ever mistaken attention for love… this is for you.

Reya Carter is doing all the right things: therapy, journaling, showing up to work with a pasted-on smile. On the outside, she looks like someone putting her life back together.

But inside, she’s unraveling.

Reya doesn’t fall in love, she dives headfirst into obsession. One glance. One text. One breadcrumb of affection, and she’s spiraling. Her hunger to be wanted drowns out every red flag, and it’s cost her nearly everything.

Now, she’s caught between a man she should never want and a fantasy that is already falling apart. As the lines between healing and self-destruction blur, Reya’s choices become reckless, seductive…and impossible to ignore.

The Ache Within Me is an intimate, unflinching portrait of emotional addiction, fractured womanhood, and the dangerous comfort of being seen… even when it’s by the wrong eyes.

This isn’t a love story. It’s the unraveling.