Conflicts of Interest
Cassie didn’t plan to fall for anyone, not after everything. But in Conflicts of Interest, the past catches up with her in the most unexpected way: through her son’s new classmate and a man she hoped never to see again. Matt, her ex-husband from a drunken Vegas mistake, is back in her orbit, and this time, she’s not the one he notices. It’s his nephew, Harrison.
This book doesn’t rely on big twists or romantic fluff. Instead, it leans into the quiet chaos of real life, where parenting is hard, choices aren’t clear, and the past rarely stays buried. Cassie’s not perfect. She’s defensive, overworked, and scared. But she’s also fiercely protective, deeply human, and trying to do right by her son even when nothing feels right anymore.
At its core, Conflicts of Interest is about what happens when one truth sets off a chain reaction. A secret kept out of love now threatens everything Cassie has built, including a new connection that feels surprisingly safe… and dangerously complicated.
Meet Cassie Reid: A Woman Caught Between Love and Loyalty
Cassie isn’t your typical romance lead. She’s a preschool teacher, a solo parent, and someone who’s been through more than she lets on. When the story begins, she’s holding it together, just trying to raise her son, Harrison, in a routine that works. But everything shifts the moment she sees Theo again… and remembers exactly who his brother is.
This isn’t just a love story. It’s about emotional trauma that doesn’t always look dramatic. It’s about a woman who’s healed so much on her own that she’s scared of letting anyone else in, even someone kind. Cassie doesn’t want drama, but she can’t avoid it when old decisions collide with new realities.
What makes Cassie compelling isn’t her strength in the typical sense. It’s her vulnerability. Her ability to love deeply while fiercely protecting her boundaries. Her silent, internal coming-of-age, one that so many women go through as adults, especially when they’re forced to grow alone.
Whether she’s dodging awkward questions from her son or holding her ground with Matt, Cassie’s story reminds us how messy, brave, and painfully real it is to fight for peace when everyone else wants answers.
Theo and Matt: Brothers, Rivals, and the Men Who Shape Her Fate
Cassie never asked to be in the middle of two brothers, but life doesn’t ask for permission. Matt was a mistake from her past, the man she married on a drunken night in Vegas and never expected to see again. Theo, his older brother, is something entirely different: steady, respectful, and the father of her son’s best friend.
It’s messy from the start. There’s history with Matt, anger that hasn’t healed, and a shared child he never knew about. But it’s Theo who starts showing up, asking questions, offering help, quietly noticing the weight Cassie carries. The problem? Theo works in the same orbit as Cassie, blurring lines between personal and professional. There’s attraction, comfort, and something Cassie hasn’t felt in a long time: safety.
But falling for someone so close to her past isn’t easy. And even Theo, kind as he is, has his own limits, especially when the truth comes out.
This is a love story shaped by boundaries, power dynamics, and hard emotional truths. A workplace romance tangled in family loyalty. A reminder that healing isn’t always clean, especially when love and responsibility come from opposite directions.
The Realities of Toxic Love and Workplace Power Plays
On the surface, Cassie’s job at Teddy Bear Daycare is the one place that feels steady. But underneath the routine, there’s pressure, to be polite, to stay quiet, to keep personal problems separate even when her world’s falling apart. And when the toxic workplace boundaries blur with Theo’s growing presence, it becomes harder to tell where comfort ends and conflict begins.
This story doesn’t glamorize romance in the workplace. Instead, it explores the real tension of working alongside someone who’s connected to your past and who might also be the only one who understands it. The power dynamics are complicated. There’s chemistry, but there’s also caution. Trust has to be earned.
What stands out is how honestly Conflicts of Interest handles emotional manipulation. Matt isn’t violent, but the way he talks to Cassie, twisting words, using guilt, and refusing accountability, are clear signs of a toxic relationship. She knows it. And she’s done letting that kind of control sneak back in.
This isn’t about drama for drama’s sake. It’s about the quiet, exhausting patterns so many women face, in work, in love, and in the spaces where those two worlds collide.
Motherhood in the Gray Zone: Cassie’s Fight to Do Right
Cassie isn’t just raising a child; she’s carrying the weight of every decision, every secret, and every what-if that’s ever followed her. Her son, Harrison, is the center of her world. But when his father shows up, a man who never wanted kids and still isn’t sure if he does, Cassie is thrown into a storm of doubt and pressure.
There’s no perfect answer here. Matt doesn’t scream or threaten, but the emotional manipulation runs deep. He wants to claim space as a father without acknowledging the damage he’s already done. And Cassie? She’s left figuring out how to protect her son without making things worse.
This is where Conflicts of Interest quietly shines. It shows the gray zone so many single mothers live in, trying to hold boundaries while holding everything else together. Cassie’s journey isn’t about being the “strong female lead.” It’s about being exhausted, scared, and still showing up.
She’s not chasing romance. She’s choosing peace. And that makes her love, for herself and her son, even more powerful.
Friendship, Female Support Circles, and the ‘Mum’s Chain’
If Cassie is the heart of this story, her friends are the spine. The “Mum’s Chain,” a group chat of mothers navigating emotional chaos and real-life parenting, isn’t just comic relief, it’s survival. These women are raw, unfiltered, and fiercely loyal. They show up, even when life gets messy.
They talk about everything: kids, breakups, co-parenting struggles, the sting of emotional manipulation in relationships, and the slow, quiet climb back to self-worth and personal boundaries. It’s not always pretty. But that’s what makes it powerful.
Conflicts of Interest doesn’t shy away from the chaos of life. It belongs to the shelf of messy love stories books where healing is nonlinear and love, romantic or platonic is earned. These women are picking up the pieces of heartbreak, raising kids while learning to trust again.
In a world that rarely slows down for single moms or survivors, the Mum’s Chain is a lifeline. And sometimes, the most profound healing after heartbreak romance comes from friendships that refuse to let you fall apart.
When Love Is Forbidden: Theo and Cassie’s Complex Connection
Cassie didn’t go looking for love. Especially not with Theo, the older brother of her ex, the uncle of her son’s best friend, and the one person who could unravel everything she’s tried to protect. But sometimes, a connection doesn’t ask for permission. It just happens.
Their relationship builds slowly, through small moments. Conversations that feel safe. Glances that linger longer than they should. A quiet understanding that neither of them expected. But the timing is all wrong, and so is the history. Theo shouldn’t be an option, especially with Cassie’s job on the line and her past with Matt still in the room.
This is a contemporary romance born from real emotion, not fantasy. There’s tenderness, hesitation, attraction, and guilt. Conflicts of Interest doesn’t offer an easy love story. Instead, it gives us one that feels lived-in, complicated, fragile, and worth fighting for.
It’s a subtle take on the falling for your boss story, where workplace proximity and emotional tension blur the lines between personal and professional. And while Theo is older, more grounded, and emotionally available, the age gap becomes part of their connection, not a barrier, but a balance.
What makes it work is that Theo doesn’t try to fix Cassie. He just sees her and stays. In a world where love often comes with conditions, theirs begins with honesty. And it might just be the first time Cassie lets herself want something… simply because it feels right.
Grab your copy now and step into the secret Cassie never meant to share. Conflicts of Interest by Hannah Wall
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Hannah Wall – Giving a Voice to Women Who Carry It All
Hannah Wall doesn’t write perfect women she wrote about a woman who has healed many traumas on her own. She writes tired ones. Brave ones. Women who’ve done everything alone for so long that letting someone in feels like the real risk. With Conflicts of Interest, the first in her Mum’s Chain series, Hannah captures what it means to survive love, heartbreak, motherhood, and emotional overload, without losing your sense of self.
Her writing is raw but never heavy-handed. Honest, but still filled with warmth. She doesn’t glamorize trauma or turn healing into a cliché. Instead, she writes the in-between moments, when boundaries are tested, when choices don’t have clear answers, and when resilience looks a lot like breaking down in the kitchen after bedtime.
What makes Hannah’s voice stand out is how closely it mirrors real life. The late-night group chats. The guilt of doing what’s best for your child. The fear of asking for help. And the quiet, stubborn hope that maybe, just maybe, you can have love and peace at the same time.
With this series, Hannah Wall isn’t just telling stories. She’s giving space to the women who carry it all and are still expected to smile through it. And she’s doing it beautifully.
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