My friends call me Mal and my family calls me Lia (I respond to both). I write romance and relationship-focused stories. I believe in soulmates, happy endings and finding 'the one'.
I always dreamed of becoming a writer but knew early on that I wasn't meant to be a starving artist in a garret. So, I built a career I'm proud of and wrote whenever time allowed (which was almost never for the longest time).
During the pandemic, I realized that I was tired of waiting for the stars to align to pursue my writing. So, I created this account to initially share my original novel, Happy Ever After. And then I started writing fanfiction for Open Heart, and the rest is history.
Aside from fics and edits, I post positivity quotes and coffee memes, swoon over Hallmark movies and share random musings.
I enjoy answering questions, so don't be shy. I also take fic requests -- anons are open!
Cassie starts a new Pictagram tradition. Feat. OPH Gang
Parent Trap - @liaromancewriter ☁
Ethan and Cassie have one job when it comes to their children.
[Domestic; Family]
Romance Vibes - @liaromancewriter 📷
Cassie’s date night post has people talking.
So High School - @liaromancewriter ☁
A case during Cassie’s shift at the community clinic has her wondering about Ethan in high school.
Special Privileges - @liaromancewriter ☁
Cassie doesn’t let anyone get away with insulting Ethan.
[Domestic; Marriage]
Other Ethan Fics
Friendly Observations - @liaromancewriter ☁
Dolores notices something between Ethan and the new intern, and can’t wait to tease him.
[1.4]
Open Heart MC
Fair Play - @liaromancewriter 📱
The tables turn when it’s Cassie’s turn. Feat. M!OC
Rafael x F!MC
Love In Every Heartbeat - Continued - @rafasgirl23415 📚
[extended: wip] A significant time jump where Mia is older but Casey & Raf are struggling to give her a sibling. TW: mention of cancer and chemotherapy, mature themes
Chapter 247 - When The Hospital Starts to Scream - Part 2
Chapter 248 - The Moment He Must Face The Fear - Part 2 | Part 3
Chapter 249 - The Threshold of Bad News
Chapter 250 - Sepsis in the Dark - Part 2
Chapter 251 - The Moment He Lets Go of Her
Chapter 252 - The Night Her Family Learns How to Wait
Chapter 253 - The Night They Refused to Let Her Go
Chapter 254 - Fragments of Belonging - Part 2
Chapter 256 - Between the Meeting That Could Break Them
Chapter 258 - The Night of Two Surgeries and One Collapse - Part 2
Cassie’s like, WTF. All I did was ask what you’re doing here.
And then he just keeps going. Meanwhile, Cassie doesn’t see anything wrong with any of it.
Inwardly, she’s thinking: 🙄
No, Ethan. She’s not surprised at all. No one is. 😂
And this time Cassie just says it like it is. 🤭
My second ever fanfic, Delaying the Inevitable, was a rewrite of this scene. I was still building out Cassie’s character then (along with the Valentines), but the bones were there.
Now, I might do a rewrite of her fellowship decision.
I know my fic Mystery Admirer covered a similar topic, but can you imagine these topics trending on Edenbrook and Mass Kenmore’s water cooler chat rooms? Cassie and Bryce would be on them fanning the fire and creating absolute chaos 🤣
Premise: The rescue mission for Dolores results in new reflections. Missing scene 1x4
Fandom: Open Heart
Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine)
Rating/Category: Teen. Fluff.
Words: 1,110
A/N: I'm just not ready to let go all the possibilities in Book 1, Chapter 4. Enjoy another missing scene.
I'm using Prompt 977 from @creativepromptsforwriting. Tagging for reblog to @creativepromptfills
Ethan Ramsey gripped Cassie Valentine’s hand, holding her steady, as she fished around in the storm drain for a stuffed toy and wondered how this was his life.
A few hours ago, he’d been blissfully enjoying his day, ignoring the fact that Harper Emery was pushing him into a fellowship competition he didn’t want or that Valentine had caught him in moments of weakness, not once but twice.
First, when Harper had patronizingly overruled his objections. Then during his daily walk with Teresa Martinez, one of the handful of people he let his guard down with.
Actually, scratch that. It was three times in less than 12 hours. Just an hour ago, Valentine had asked one of his oldest friends if he’d always been handsome and expressed shock (somewhat mockingly) that he actually had friends.
Well, he’d tried to shut both avenues down with a warning and a glare. Cassie had ignored him as cheerfully as a barker at a circus, impervious to the crowd’s disinterest.
Dolores hadn’t helped matters by indulging his intern’s curiosity. Nor had she been of any use when she rejected his offer of taking the squish balls in his office as a perfectly acceptable replacement for the lost stuffed toy frog she had bought for her unborn son.
And somehow, he’d been commandeered for a search-and-rescue mission to locate a stuffed toy on the side streets as fire crews battled the blaze in Dolores’s office building.
This is not how he’d imagined spending the last few hours of his thirty-sixth birthday. Trying not to breathe in the acrid smoke blowing their way and wishing he was at Donahue’s sipping a celebratory scotch in peace.
On top of that, he’d just spent an awkward half hour on the drive over fielding Cassie’s seemingly endless curiosity about his life: “If you have one, that is,” she had added archly at his sharp look.
Most interns withered after one glare from him. Just look at that curly-haired intern who was always hanging around Valentine like a puppy dog.
She appeared to be made of sterner stuff.
Ethan supposed that if he’d had one-on-one, interrupted time with an attending in his first month of residency, he’d have been mining them for information too. But he’d have stuck to medicine and not pumped them for hospital gossip.
He paused in reflection. On the other hand, he had appreciated her restraint at not spreading rumors about what she’d witnessed between him and Naveen a few days ago. Her curiosity today was only natural.
“Got it!”
At her excited exclamation, Ethan pulled Cassie back out of the storm drain, lifted her to her feet, and—before he could question the wisdom of it—dusted off the dirt and soot sticking to her scrubs as best as he could.
There was a moment, just one, almost like a whisper, when he thought she went still beneath his touch. But when he stole a glance, she was looking at the toy in her hand, not him.
He noticed a smudge of grease on her cheek. A few strands of her blonde hair were also sticking out at the ends. He almost reached out to wipe it off and smooth down the hair, but stopped himself just in time.
“Mission accomplished,” Cassie said with a smile full of delight as she held out the stuffed frog.
He stared at it thoughtfully. He reasoned, underneath all the muck, it was a cute little thing and very much something Dolores would buy.
“Excellent work,” he said neutrally, reverting to his role as her attending. “You can give Dolores the good news when we get back.”
Of course, the frog would have to be cleaned up first, he thought absently, turning towards where he’d parked his car.
“After we sterilize this, of course,” she said, walking beside him. “We wouldn't want it anywhere near a pregnant woman, otherwise.”
“My thoughts precisely,” he said, smiling in approval.
They climbed into the car, buckling themselves in before Ethan started the engine.
Just before he pulled out into the street, she turned her head, throwing him a soft smile, likely of gratitude for indulging her and Dolores.
Based on their conversation on the drive over, she had clearly assumed he was a robot, incapable of feelings because she couldn’t imagine him wanting to rescue a toy.
What had she called him? Ah, yes. Dr. Terminator.
Under the glow of the streetlights, he once again noticed the grease stain and made a decision.
“You have something….” He pointed to her cheek.
Cassie flipped the visor down to check the mirror, turning her face sideways.
Ethan reached for the box of tissues he kept in the glovebox and handed it to her.
“Thanks.”
Ethan waited for a break in traffic, banged a uey, and headed back to Edenbrook. To prevent a repeat of the question-answer period, he turned up the volume on his car stereo, and let Puccini fill the air.
A short while later, he turned into the driveway leading to the hospital’s main entrance instead of the parking lot.
The journey back had been even more awkward than the one before because the silence had stretched, as if waiting. After that, he needed some distance from her before he headed back inside.
“I’ll drop you off here,” he said, pulling up outside the atrium doors. “Page me when you get Dolores’s labs back.”
“Yes, Dr. Ramsey,” Cassie replied, waiting for locks to disengage before opening the door.
She was halfway through closing the car door when she paused, leaning back inside to peer at him.
“You’re actually not that bad when you want to be.”
Ethan smirked, secretly pleased to have surprised her for once. “Don’t let anyone know that or people will expect this from me.”
“Your secret’s safe with me… Dr. Softie,” she added the moniker boldly, her green eyes twinkling under the overhead lights.
Before Ethan could respond, Cassie shut the door and ran up the steps, disappearing through the sliding glass doors.
He wasn’t sure how long he sat there staring after her, but the sight of Bobby the security guard waving at him shook Ethan out of his reverie.
He waved back, changed gears, and drove off towards the parking lot, shaking his head at the audacity of this particular intern.
No, he mused again. This is not how he’d planned his day to go, and certainly not how he had imagined he would feel about Cassie Valentine when he’d evaluated her residency application all those months ago.
She already intrigued him, but he suspected the biggest revelations about her were yet to come.
Premise: The rescue mission for Dolores results in new reflections. Missing scene 1x4
Fandom: Open Heart
Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine)
Rating/Category: Teen. Fluff.
Words: 1,110
A/N: I'm just not ready to let go all the possibilities in Book 1, Chapter 4. Enjoy another missing scene.
I'm using Prompt 977 from @creativepromptsforwriting. Tagging for reblog to @creativepromptfills
Ethan Ramsey gripped Cassie Valentine’s hand, holding her steady, as she fished around in the storm drain for a stuffed toy and wondered how this was his life.
A few hours ago, he’d been blissfully enjoying his day, ignoring the fact that Harper Emery was pushing him into a fellowship competition he didn’t want or that Valentine had caught him in moments of weakness, not once but twice.
First, when Harper had patronizingly overruled his objections. Then during his daily walk with Teresa Martinez, one of the handful of people he let his guard down with.
Actually, scratch that. It was three times in less than 12 hours. Just an hour ago, Valentine had asked one of his oldest friends if he’d always been handsome and expressed shock (somewhat mockingly) that he actually had friends.
Well, he’d tried to shut both avenues down with a warning and a glare. Cassie had ignored him as cheerfully as a barker at a circus, impervious to the crowd’s disinterest.
Dolores hadn’t helped matters by indulging his intern’s curiosity. Nor had she been of any use when she rejected his offer of taking the squish balls in his office as a perfectly acceptable replacement for the lost stuffed toy frog she had bought for her unborn son.
And somehow, he’d been commandeered for a search-and-rescue mission to locate a stuffed toy on the side streets as fire crews battled the blaze in Dolores’s office building.
This is not how he’d imagined spending the last few hours of his thirty-sixth birthday. Trying not to breathe in the acrid smoke blowing their way and wishing he was at Donahue’s sipping a celebratory scotch in peace.
On top of that, he’d just spent an awkward half hour on the drive over fielding Cassie’s seemingly endless curiosity about his life: “If you have one, that is,” she had added archly at his sharp look.
Most interns withered after one glare from him. Just look at that curly-haired intern who was always hanging around Valentine like a puppy dog.
She appeared to be made of sterner stuff.
Ethan supposed that if he’d had one-on-one, interrupted time with an attending in his first month of residency, he’d have been mining them for information too. But he’d have stuck to medicine and not pumped them for hospital gossip.
He paused in reflection. On the other hand, he had appreciated her restraint at not spreading rumors about what she’d witnessed between him and Naveen a few days ago. Her curiosity today was only natural.
“Got it!”
At her excited exclamation, Ethan pulled Cassie back out of the storm drain, lifted her to her feet, and—before he could question the wisdom of it—dusted off the dirt and soot sticking to her scrubs as best as he could.
There was a moment, just one, almost like a whisper, when he thought she went still beneath his touch. But when he stole a glance, she was looking at the toy in her hand, not him.
He noticed a smudge of grease on her cheek. A few strands of her blonde hair were also sticking out at the ends. He almost reached out to wipe it off and smooth down the hair, but stopped himself just in time.
“Mission accomplished,” Cassie said with a smile full of delight as she held out the stuffed frog.
He stared at it thoughtfully. He reasoned, underneath all the muck, it was a cute little thing and very much something Dolores would buy.
“Excellent work,” he said neutrally, reverting to his role as her attending. “You can give Dolores the good news when we get back.”
Of course, the frog would have to be cleaned up first, he thought absently, turning towards where he’d parked his car.
“After we sterilize this, of course,” she said, walking beside him. “We wouldn't want it anywhere near a pregnant woman, otherwise.”
“My thoughts precisely,” he said, smiling in approval.
They climbed into the car, buckling themselves in before Ethan started the engine.
Just before he pulled out into the street, she turned her head, throwing him a soft smile, likely of gratitude for indulging her and Dolores.
Based on their conversation on the drive over, she had clearly assumed he was a robot, incapable of feelings because she couldn’t imagine him wanting to rescue a toy.
What had she called him? Ah, yes. Dr. Terminator.
Under the glow of the streetlights, he once again noticed the grease stain and made a decision.
“You have something….” He pointed to her cheek.
Cassie flipped the visor down to check the mirror, turning her face sideways.
Ethan reached for the box of tissues he kept in the glovebox and handed it to her.
“Thanks.”
Ethan waited for a break in traffic, banged a uey, and headed back to Edenbrook. To prevent a repeat of the question-answer period, he turned up the volume on his car stereo, and let Puccini fill the air.
A short while later, he turned into the driveway leading to the hospital’s main entrance instead of the parking lot.
The journey back had been even more awkward than the one before because the silence had stretched, as if waiting. After that, he needed some distance from her before he headed back inside.
“I’ll drop you off here,” he said, pulling up outside the atrium doors. “Page me when you get Dolores’s labs back.”
“Yes, Dr. Ramsey,” Cassie replied, waiting for locks to disengage before opening the door.
She was halfway through closing the car door when she paused, leaning back inside to peer at him.
“You’re actually not that bad when you want to be.”
Ethan smirked, secretly pleased to have surprised her for once. “Don’t let anyone know that or people will expect this from me.”
“Your secret’s safe with me… Dr. Softie,” she added the moniker boldly, her green eyes twinkling under the overhead lights.
Before Ethan could respond, Cassie shut the door and ran up the steps, disappearing through the sliding glass doors.
He wasn’t sure how long he sat there staring after her, but the sight of Bobby the security guard waving at him shook Ethan out of his reverie.
He waved back, changed gears, and drove off towards the parking lot, shaking his head at the audacity of this particular intern.
No, he mused again. This is not how he’d planned his day to go, and certainly not how he had imagined he would feel about Cassie Valentine when he’d evaluated her residency application all those months ago.
She already intrigued him, but he suspected the biggest revelations about her were yet to come.
Trying to figure out what to write next. A canon missing scene or something from my future canon. Or even something from my Valentineverse. I’d love to tell Tony’s story.
