1917 Book(s) Related to that time i got reincarnated as a slime chapter 97

How long would you wait for the one you were fated to love?
And how many lifetimes would you live to find your way back to them?

Penelope was only fifteen when she offered her soul to her fated beloved, binding their souls in sacred vowfire. When he left for war, she knew that so long as their fire burned, he would return to her.

For fifteen years, Penelope ruled her island kingdom, holding off the droves of suitors from the surrounding islands and the mainland who sought her throne. Her people whispered that she was stubborn. Unyielding. Cursed. And she let them believe that and kept her eyes on the horizon, waiting for him to return.

Their fire burned on, and her faith remained unwavering.

Until the day she died, and the trap she’d laid sprang, giving her the chance to turn back the clock and chart a new course for the war that stole everything from her.

But she is not the only one who has come back in time, nor is she the first, and there is much more at stake than her fated love and the future that had been stolen from them.

Goddess bless her blood-stained path.

TW: Graphic Violence, War, Mentioned Child Abuse

Anna Lancaster was the family shame, hidden in the shadows while her perfect half-sister, Lauren, was groomed to marry William Fairchild—the ruthless, devastatingly handsome billionaire heir.

But on the night of the fairytale wedding, Lauren is found dead.

To bury the scandal, the cruel Lancasters force Anna into her sister’s still-warm, blood-soaked wedding dress and drag her down the aisle. Now, she is bound to a man who despises her very breath, trapped in a gilded mansion where the walls whisper lies and danger lurks in every corner.

William thinks he’s married a meek, helpless pawn. The Fairchild family thinks they can break her.

But they don't know the truth.

They think Lauren’s death was the tragedy. They don’t realize it was just the first move in a much darker game.

In a house full of monsters, the innocent bride might just be the most dangerous creature of all.

Welcome to the Fairchild Mansion. Step inside if you dare...

I fought for a decade as a man, earning honors that crowned my family in glory. Returning home, I expected a hero's welcome. Instead, I was a ghost—a secret they feared would destroy them.

To protect their new daughter and stolen privileges, they offered me a poisoned cup. They shattered the hands that held their kingdom safe, thinking they had erased me.

They were wrong.

I awoke on the day of my return, gifted with a second chance. This time, I will not seek their love. I will claim the throne of vengeance that is rightfully mine.

One day I'm dealing with cranky toddlers and parents who work too much to actually parent, the next my life is turned upside down and I'm working in a bar for supernaturals. I might not know how to mix drinks, but strangely enough the skills needed to deal with misbehaving children seem to work well enough on vampires, werewolves and even witches. The good news is this job is interesting and hey, my boss might be a demon but I'm pretty sure that under all the grumpy expressions he is a total softie. The bad news is that humans aren't supposed to know about all this magic stuff and so now I'm magically bound to this bar until I can convince them that I won't go telling everyone. Or I die, whichever comes first. Sadly dying is seeming more and more likely because someone is after me. I don't know who or why but they are dangerous and they have magic. So I'll domy best to survive, and if that means spending some extra time with my scary but gorgeous boss then so be it. I'll convince him to trust me if it's the last thing I do.

On the brink of a life that seemed too dull to excite her, amidst the chaos of the insurgency that threatened not just her happiness, but the little she had as a world; Maryam Bukar Ibrahim seemed to battle more wars than her 16 years old and autistic brain could handle.

It became too much to bear, too much grief for her heart to take and a commitment her innocent yet frail body could endure. As if that wasn’t enough, destiny found a way of getting her married to a soldier, at the brink of her father’s death and the last words he pronounced were of her becoming Mrs. Na’im Bolori.

For Captain Na’im Bolori, marriage was the last thing he thought for his life. He was the prince of the Kingdom of Maiduguri and suffering from an unmentioned illness broke more of his engagements than he cared to count. Being a soldier was his lifetime dream, yet rescuing a dying father only to get him married to his weird and two colored eyes daughter was something he had never imagined.

He took her home not because he wanted, not because he was ever going to accept the so called marriage, between, she was only 16 years old! But destiny decided to play with his heart and test how capable he was of controlling himself and protecting the ones he loved. As said, When A Soldier Loves...He Kills To Protect.

He pushed me on the bed and climbed on top of me, cuffing my hands over my head and tied it.

“What are you doing?” I exclaimed, tears forming rapidly behind my eyeballs.

I lay on the bed with my hands tied, crying, sweating, and scared to death. Praying for someone to save me.

Mark unzipped his pants, threw his waist-belt away, and then leaned in closer to me with an evil grin "Do you know what I want?" he scoffed coldly. His arms grabbed my breast and he sucked my nipples, making me moan against my wish.

"I want you, and I take what I want.”

He was about to take off my panties.


Vivian, a weak and wolfless daughter of the Alpha of Nightfall Pack, is constantly ridiculed and humiliated by the pack. Her mate rejected her for being weak and useless. To make matters worse, her father was killed by Alpha Logan and the pack was forcefully taken away.

To save her life and her mother's life, Vivian agreed to become one of the concubines of a narcissistic and ruthless man, her father's murderer and her enemy.

In a simple village, something catches the attention of the residents, they believe that the kingdom is cursed, women can no longer conceive and think that humanity will perish.
The world became infested with monsters and everyone fears for a great evil, among all these events, only two families will be able to procreate, in a moment of climax, a young woman becomes pregnant, and when she discovers that the father of her child is one of the creatures, her life turns inside out...
For the life of the young woman not to be in danger she will have to accept a marriage contract with the man with whom she slept only once.

Emma Spencer is a financial risk analyst at a major international company.

Finally, after years of not taking her vacations, she takes time off for her upcoming wedding and honeymoon. But everything takes a dramatic turn when she finds herself in Hawaii, alone and without a husband. For the first time, she flips a coin and decides to live a night without risks, passionately engaging with the first stranger she meets at a bar, someone she believes she'll never see again. What were the chances of meeting him again? Absolutely zero.

But fate brings them together unexpectedly... and in the least expected place.

A twist of fate.

Ariana is a nerdy young lady who loves to study fantasy creatures and is been wanted by so many hot guys who notice her innocence, she keeps hiding herself until she gets to meet a werewolf for real and her life changes forever.

"Show off." I scoffed, the words coming out airy.
"You're fucking killing me, Laura." He groaned.
There were several ways to celebrate her best friend getting hitched off to the man of her dreams. Having sex with a stranger wasn't one of them—at least Laura didn't plan on it. But when an opportunity presents itself in the form of an incredibly sexy tattooed man, who was she to say no?
Laura doesn't do relationships, or dates, or anything related to the subject. She is strictly a one-night-only type of girl and doesn't go back on that rule no matter what.
So what happens when this sexy stranger Laura hooked up with, turns out to be a close friend of Jack—her best friend's husband—who had actually been at the party that day, and now wants more than one night from her?
A game of wills ensues.
Will Laura succumb to the sexy stranger under his top-notch seduction skills?
Or will she go the extra mile and beat him at his own game?

Alpha Brian is a powerful, intelligent and the strongest Alpha ever known. He is rich and handsome but surrounded by enemies within who sought for his downfall. Faced with a lot of challenges on his rise to become the new Alpha of his pack, Alpha Brian is tested in the form of so many challenges.

During this tough part of his life, he discovered his mate was Sarah, the quiet, easy hybrid of his pack. With the help of his mate, Serah and her hybrid powers, Alpha Brian was able to navigate some of the challenges that came his way.

As he struggled to remain the Alpha of his pack, so many secrets are revealed with some threatening to destroy the relationship he had with his mate.Amidst this unsteadiness, Alpha Brian lost the only man who knew him better than anyone else: his father, the former Alpha of his pack.

Despite all the tribulations and challenges he faced, he continued to surmount all of them until he is forced to battle with his greatest enemy, the demon pack leader. Alpha Brian isn't sure if he would succeed and this battle would be the greatest he had ever faced. How will Alpha Brian face his life difficulties with the help of hybrid mate?

Although Madelyn Eve Villanueva is already a well-known actress, she still feels painful when she thinks of the rainy day.
She made a promise to herself that she would never be affected by his presence. But she didn't expect the wind to change, and the promise she'd made to herself was slowly shattered...
"I want to talk to you, and please ... I don't want to see your face again, ever," he said in a serious voice.
"Is it a joke? Don't be like that Ethan, I'm nervous about what you're saying," I laughed but I knew it was just an effort.
"Do I look like I'm joking with you?" his voice became sarcastic so I blinked and stared at him. He isn't the same man I remember.
"E-ethan..what are you saying?" I asked confused.
His fists were clenched and his jaw clenched. "Let's b-break up ..."
Three words but very painful to listen to.

"When Nina told me her full name—Nina Smith Willow—I felt like I'd been punched in the chest."
"It's just a name. Millions of people—" "Julia, look at me. That night at the club, when you said you named her after your best friend… was that the truth?"
Christmas is supposed to be the most magical time of the year. But for Julia.
Homeless for most of her life, Julia now struggles to raise her three-year-old daughter on the streets. She dreams of more, but a dangerous secret looms. If anyone finds out the truth, everything—her safety, her child, her fragile hope—could be torn apart. She's running out of time... and places to hide.
Riley has everything: a successful business empire, a loving family, and a loyal best friend. But there's one thing missing—someone to share it all with. What he doesn't know is that his past holds a truth even he can't remember… until Julia and her daughter walk into his life.
What will happen when both worlds collide? Can Julia get the Christmas that she has always dreamed of for her and her little girl? Can Riley learn to forget his past so that he can move forward and when Juila's secret is revealed and blows both of their worlds apart, will it bring them together or tear them even further apart and destroy Julia's world, just like she has always feared it would?

I am a sex slave, someone who is owned by someone else and forced to perform sexual acts for them.

To use a more precise term, “whore” probably best describes what I am. You see, in exchange for financial support, I have made myself completely available to a man. This includes, but is not limited to, complete devotion, confidentiality, and the satisfaction of his every physical desire in any way he sees fit.

The irony is that I didn’t have to live this way, but I did so voluntarily. Well, I didn’t really have a choice because a better chance hadn’t come up yet, but I still went with it.

I wasn't forced by anyone… No one seek me out. There was no abduction or brutal beating to force me into submission. I chose to go willingly.

And I did it all, fueled by the desperate need to safeguard a precious life.

My name is Lalaine Brown, and this is my story.

Grim Reapers. Saving lives. Lessons in love. 

(Previously published as Disorganized As Death)

For some, it's a fictitious world, but for Jessica Flores, it will become her life. 

Jessica prizes one thing above all else: her salon.

Little does she know that her business competitor, Charity, has passed onto her something that will fight for that first-place spot in her life.

The foul-mouthed hairdresser is known in the community for her crass advice, her shark-like tactics in the boardroom, and her unforgiving nature.

When Death swoops into the picture and knocks her off her feet, priorities go tumbling. And a man who is everything she can't stand manages to become a contender for that number one spot.

Will becoming Death take her life as she knew it away? Will the man mess up what she is now, or compliment her?

Grab a glass of wine and read this Paranormal Women's Fiction story. Just be careful when taking a sip since the laughs can be dangerous!

Go up and click ‘Buy’ or ‘Read For Free’ now and start reading a series that turns love and relationships totally around.

Elara, a bright and ambitious student at Astraea University, has always been drawn to things that defy logic. When she enrolls in a Philosophy class taught by Lucien—a young, charismatic professor shrouded in mystery—she can’t shake the feeling that something about him is... off. He never seems to change, as if time itself refuses to touch him.

One rainy night, on her way home from the library, Elara stumbles upon something she was never meant to see—Lucien locked in a brutal fight against a group of dangerous creatures. In the chaos, she gets injured, and the scent of her blood draws predators lurking in the shadows. To save her, Lucien does the only thing he can: he binds her to him with a drop of his blood, tying their fates together in ways neither of them could have foreseen.

But that single act unravels a much bigger secret—Elara’s blood is not ordinary. It’s something vampires have sought for centuries, something powerful enough to shake the very foundations of their world. Now, her life will never be the same. Trapped between fear and uncertainty, she has no choice but to stay by Lucien’s side—the only one who can protect her from the darkness closing in.

the longer they are together, the more Elara realizes that Lucien is not just her protector—he is a man burdened by a past he cannot escape, a man fighting against feelings neither of them are ready to face. And as the truth about her blood slowly unravels, Elara is forced to make an impossible choice—become part of a world she was never meant to belong to, or defy fate, even if it means losing Lucien forever.

This is an Enemies to Lovers romance. Harper is a young woman about to graduate from college. She has experienced two traumas in her life: she lost her parents in a helicopter crash, and later her beloved cousin ended up in a semi-vegetative state after a car accident. She received help from her aunt and uncle, Leonard and Dorothy, who are now facing financial problems. To help them, she is forced to marry Alex Montreal, a somber and seemingly cruel-looking man who seems to have a blind hatred for Harper. Why does he hate her? What led to this marriage? What will this everyday marriage be like? And how will it lead to love? These are the questions this novel will answer!

In the dark circles of the elite world, he is one of the Saints—most gorgeous, wealthiest, sexiest legacies of old money familias. Objectified and revered, they can do nothing wrong. In truth, Giancarlo Verrazzano came dangerously close to perdition before earning his title. He now lives a life forged out of this past, whilst staying away from its clutches.
Then a young daughter of a family friend is sent to him to mentor before their families present her to society as the Von Schiller heiress. Elise is grown up, desirable and exquisite—it’s torment not to touch her. Everyday, he tries to protect her from himself.
But when danger stalks her steps, sexual crimes of a serial killer persist and another Saint fixates on her, he gives in to his desires so he can publicly own her. He will do anything to shield her from the shadows that targets her as a result of his teenage obsession with her beautiful mother.
Elise dreads the day she must face the world as a Von Schiller and she clings to the man whose blanket of protection has always kept her safe. If only she doesn’t want him, he wouldn’t drive her nuts! The nasty rumors about a dead ex should have repelled her, but Gian can never scare her.
So when she finds out she resembles this ex and a sex club exist in her memory, she has to step back and see with unbiased eyes what kind of man truly lurks behind his beautiful mask.

Jacob an enthusiastic research doctor is betrayed by his wife and his father-in-law which leads to him becoming one of the most wanted criminals. After escaping and surviving multiple assassination attempts, he meets the mafia that would soon change his life.

After years of being an assassin, Jacob decides to live a normal life but with his evil father-in-law around, it was far from possible. Getting killed in an attempt to save his fiancee, he is given a mission by a system to eliminate the very family that hurt him.

With a second chance at life, he is determined to rectify everything and make everything go back to how it ought to be. He would save his fiancee....

"Shoot her, Luna, do it!"
"I.. I can't.. She is my mother"
Luna, a divorcee, and Maverick, a widower who decided to join forces together to bring down their enemies are faced with lots of setbacks, twists, turns, and surprises. Will they conquer their enemies, or will they be conquered?
Will their love conquer all or will their past lives ruin them forever? Dive into this story of love, hate, betrayal, backstabbing, and revenge.

"For a million dollars, I became a billionaire's contract bride, but my only condition is: for this year, you can only belong to me."
For twelve years, Sophia Banner has worked tirelessly to keep her family's farm from foreclosure. Every payment is a small victory, until her sister, Daphne drains the money for a modeling opportunity that turns out to be a scam.
Daphne isn't sorry. The bank doesn't care. And Sophia is out of time. Her solution arrives in tailored suits and effortless charm.
Andrew Ashford—her witty, rich-as-hell employer, the man she delivers groceries to weekly. And… the man her sister, Daphne has been infatuated with for years. He's also the man whose eight-year-old nephew she tutors.
When a medical diagnosis rattles Andrew's carefully managed life and sets his volatile family on edge, he decides appearances need fixing.
What he needs is a fiancée. What he offers is one million dollars for one year. The money would save Sophia's farm outright. And the image of a diamond on her finger, of Daphne forced to watch—sharpens the temptation to a dangerous edge.
Sophia agrees. She steps into Andrew's world of obscene wealth, jealous socialites, and an overbearing chaotic family that treats appearances like currency. Fake kisses are expected. Convincing smiles are mandatory.
The problem is, Andrew plays his role too well—and the reasons behind this engagement begin to feel far from innocent. Because Andrew Ashford didn't choose Sophia at random. One year. One million dollars. And a lie that's starting to feel dangerously real.

ran down the stairs, as soon as I heard a car horn outside. As I got outside, I saw my boyfriend in his car waiting on me. I went up to the car and got in.

"Hi babe." Logan Cummings leaned over to the passenger side and kisses me on my cheek.

"Hi." I greeted as he started the engine and drove to school. We were at school in ten minutes and we both got out.

"I have to see my science teacher about an assignment, so I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Logan said to me.

"Okay." I said. He was always meeting teachers a lot lately. I also notice that he was avoiding me most of the times and cancelling our dates.

Logan and I have been dating for a year now, but recently, I've realized that he had become distant. Shaking my head of Logan's weird behaviour, I went into the school's building.

Not all roses have thorns, and neither are all monsters born a beast.
“Close your eyes, princess. I’m only going to kiss your beautiful, plump lips... that’s all.” His breath felt hot as it ghosted against the skin of my cheek, flowing straight into my head and making me feel drunk dazed in a fleeting second.

“If you make a sound into the kiss, maybe I’d forget about my previous promises and tie you up beautifully, and perhaps – give you kisses in other parts of your body, especially your other pair of lips which is definitely slicking up right now.”

I whimpered.

“And I’d definitely use my tongue to lick into your lower lips, and get it wetter with...”

• • •

Sinfully hot Xavier Costello is a dangerously cunning Mafia lord who was ruthless, heartless and passionate about nothing but his Mafia. Althea Rodriguez, an eighteen year old girl who was as innocent and powerless as a lamb, got betrothed to him – a man she has never met, but had heard uncountable scary rumors about. There was a twelve years gap between them, which made Althea quiver in fear about the thought of getting married to him.

Not all roses have thorns, and neither are all monsters born a beast. And in this case, when two complete opposites are forced together, unexpectedly, intriguing things are bound to happen.

Everything always comes to Xavier with a price, including Love– and he’s going to either cling to his pride and lose the best thing that had ever happened to him, or do the necessary needful.

With claws like secrets threatening to tear them apart and unexpected betrayals from all angles, Althea is going to be thrown in the middle of the dangerously muddled mess filled with guns, men unbelievably heartless than Xavier, and power-starved monsters.

Miri Thistlewick has a perfect record. Every soul in the village of Bramblewood knows that if the cheerful matchmaker with a touch of "knack" magic takes on your case, your happily-ever-after is guaranteed. Her secret? A little intuition, a lot of stubborn optimism, and a talking sourdough starter that gives surprisingly sound romantic advice.

Then he walks into her shop.

Roran is a brooding fae blacksmith with forge-fire eyes, shoulders broad enough to block a doorway, and a hellhound puppy that chews her furniture. He also comes bearing an impossible request: find him a mortal wife within three months, bound by an unbreakable fae promise—with one devastating condition. Miri must not, under any circumstances, fall in love with him herself.

A dark Phoenix will rise from the ashes of its wrath. The Lord of Darkness will come to guide and mould it.Oppressed by her own family, Emily has always longed for love and recognition. The woman with the jade -green eyes has no idea what fate lies ahead of her and who is pulling the strings in the background. Because Emily is something special and as one day the man with the black eyes, in which the whole world seems to be lying, enters her life, abysses open up for her, which she would not have thought possible. She begins to follow a path that could not be darker and soon realizes that she is just a pawn. "Eternity and a day" is the first part of the prequel to "The night is ours". It describes the career of the first and most powerful witch Emily. Experience bit by bit how the foundation for a breathtaking tale is conjured up and go on a legendary journey.

Krystal Hunter died with a broken heart, a knife in her back, and one regret—she finally won the damn lottery right before she died. Ten million dollars, untouched, deposited in the bank… wasted.
Or so she thought.
Because when Krystal wakes up in a hospital bed—very much not dead—the world has gone to economic hell. The global economy has collapsed, the dollar has depreciated into dust... and her forgotten bank account?
Now worth one hundred billion.
With the world burning and billionaires falling like flies, Krystal is no longer the girl they betrayed. She’s richer than empires, hungrier than ever, and back to collect what she’s owed—with interest.
Ex-lovers, fake friends, and bloodthirsty siblings beware:
She died once. She’s not dying quietly again.

A deliciously savage romantic revenge comedy about wealth, power, payback, and kissing someone hot while the economy collapses.

I looked at the naked stranger lying asleep beside me. Lightning flickered, illuminating his muscular body only in glimpses. He was covered in mud and blood, and though in human form now, he still looked wild and monstrous.
I’d never found myself lying beside any naked man before in my life.
He pulled at my clothes, and I let him rip them off.
The thunder came closer, booming right overhead.
We kissed with frantic passion and grasped at every inch of each other.
One of the only normal human girls at the Werewolf Noble Academy, I was at the bottom of the social order from the start. But even worse than that, just about everyone at school picked on me for being fat. One day I slept with a stranger in an accident. He is the second prince of the werewolf, and wants to marry me!

My name is kiven, and I found myself stranded on an unnamed deserted island following a plane crash. As the saying goes, "Great misfortune promises great fortune." At the outset, with a beauty in one hand and supplies in the other, watch how I create a diverse community on this nameless island. However, in the face of treacherous human nature and an emerging mysterious civilization, where will destiny lead me?

She was never meant to be touched. Until he did.

When Maritza de León—heiress to a billion-dollar empire—catches her fiancé cheating, her life implodes in a single scandalous night. But her revenge kiss with Cole Harrison, the ruthless lawyer her family despises, lights a fire neither of them can put out.

He wants payback. She wants freedom. But the closer they get, the more dangerous their desire becomes—because Cole’s secret could destroy everything she’s fighting to protect.

Power. Betrayal. Obsession.

In the glittering world of the De León dynasty, love is the most forbidden sin of all.

Kaitlyn Randall wakes up late and the first thing she does is leave her place, almost throwing her cold coffee on a cop car nearby with a handsome officer inside.

To say the least, her day isn't going very well except for the eye candy. Especially when she shows up to work extremely late and has to clear out her desk.

When she finds out later that her estranged father left her millions of dollars, she decides to go to Europe and take a well-earned vacation after quickly buying a house.

Once she is there, she realizes that it was all an elaborate scheme

and now she is stuck in Europe by herself, without a single dollar to her name.

Will a tall, dark and handsome stranger come to her rescue?

Or more importantly, what will he want in exchange?

See what this rich stranger has in store for her in A Day To Remember.

Anna Green walks in on her boyfriend cheating, only to realize she's not the only witness. A mysterious man stands beside her, watching the same scene unfold. He leans in and murmurs, "Want revenge?"

That night, she loses a boyfriend and picks up a husband.

What begins as a deal between strangers soon turns into something far more complicated. She thought it was just about benefits. He gave her exclusive love.

Now, tangled in a marriage she never expected, Anna wonders who's really in control, especially when the man she married refuses to play by the rules.

When the world fell to monsters, Avery was just a girl with nothing but a name.

Now she's hunted by ancient Titans—creatures from myth that should never have been real—and saved by three deadly brothers bound in blood, magic, and secrets. Damien is cold and cruel, convinced she’s hiding something. Ezra is her reluctant protector, willing to defy his own blood for her. And Rowan… wears a muzzle for a reason.

They say she’s marked. Chosen. That the Titans want her for what she is, or what she’s becoming.

She says she just wants to go home.

But love in the ruins is dangerous, and Avery is about to learn:
you don’t survive the end of the world without breaking—or being claimed.

He's her arrogant boss. She's his biggest headache. Neither expected to become family, or to fall this hard.
Stella Blake has one goal in mind: rise through the corporate ranks, hit every target, and avoid falling for the insufferable CEO who seems determined to block her at every turn.
Rhysand King is cold, controlling, and relentless. He refuses to take no for an answer, especially not from the bold new executive who keeps challenging him in his own boardroom.
When a high-stakes merger forces them to work side by side, tensions run high. Then comes the real shock: their parents are getting married, making them soon-to-be stepsiblings.
What begins as a power struggle slowly turns into something much more dangerous. She doesn't like him. He doesn't trust her. But resisting each other proves impossible.
Office clashes lead to lingering touches. Family dinners are filled with lingering glances. And just when they think things can't get more complicated, the truth starts to unravel, and both their hearts are on the line.
Enemies. Stepsiblings. Lovers?
This irresistible grumpy boss, enemies-to-lovers romance is full of slow-burn chemistry, explosive tension, and a forbidden relationship that defies all the rules.
One bed. No boundaries. And no chance of walking away without consequences.

Bryson POV
Blackridge University was already a nightmare before I dumped hot coffee all over Julian Hayes.
He's tall, built, with this perfect smirk that makes me want to punch him. Captain of the hockey team and the biggest asshole I've ever met.
He destroyed me in front of everyone. Made sure I knew exactly where I stood.
But then I joined the hockey team to make my mom happy, and suddenly everything changed. I could actually play. And Julian? He started looking at me like he wanted to destroy me in a whole different way.
Now every practice feels like war. Every time we're alone in the locker room, I can barely breathe.
I hate him.
I want him.
And I'm pretty sure he knows it.

Julian's POV
I run Blackridge University. Team captain, golden boy, everyone wants to be me or be with me. Then some transfer kid crashes into me and ruins my shirt.
Bryson Miller.
Smart mouth, cheap clothes, and eyes that look at me like he's not impressed.
I should've crushed him and moved on. But the little shit joined my hockey team and turned out to be good. Really good.
Now I can't get him out of my head. Every practice, every fight we have feels like something else entirely. Something I don't want to think about.
I thought that was complicated enough.
Then I walk into my house tonight and find Bryson unpacking boxes in my living room..

Maya has been secretly in love with Liam Miller, her best friend Chloe's older brother, for years even though she knows he is five years older and completely off-limits. When Liam gives her his hoodie in the rain and tells her she is growing up dangerously fast, Maya's carefully hidden feelings begin to surface. On Liam's twenty-first birthday they are left alone and share a kiss that changes everything, but Liam pulls away saying Maya is too young and this cannot happen. Maya tries to move on by agreeing to attend Spring Formal with Noah, but Liam cannot handle watching her with someone else. When their forbidden relationship explodes into a public scandal, they face backlash and accusations that tear both families apart, Maya and Liam must decide if their love is worth the price or if some lines should never be crossed.

Isadora Bellini spent her entire life living in the shadow of her twin sister, Giulia—but nothing hurt more than the moment their childhood best friend and her fated mate, Capo Lorenzo, chose Giulia over her. Shattered and humiliated, Isadora disappeared from the Luna Nera Clan, carving out a quiet life among humans. Eight years later, she’s dragged back to the one place she promised never to return—for Giulia’s funeral. What begins as a painful farewell quickly spirals into a storm of secrets, guilt, and dangerously unresolved emotions.
Lorenzo isn’t the same confident Capo who once broke her heart—he’s grieving, broken, and searching for answers. But so is Isadora. As truths begin to unravel—about Giulia’s betrayal, Lorenzo’s rejection, and a past that refuses to stay buried—Isadora finds herself caught between the scars of yesterday and the pull of a bond she tried to erase.
In a world where fate is sealed by blood and moonlight, and love can be the sharpest weapon of all… will Isadora risk everything to uncover the truth, or let her pain write the ending for her?
When love feels like betrayal, how do you trust what your heart still wants?

While others seek survival, I engage in flirtation

I'm an OB-GYN. On Valentine's Day, I pulled a ring out of a woman's vagina.

It turned out to be my husband's wedding ring.

An hour before, he'd texted me. Said he loved me. Said he was too busy with work to come home.

I wanted a divorce. Needed one. But then I found out—our marriage was never registered.

In his manor, I was nothing. Just a fake wife.

He grabbed me by the throat—right in front of his mistress. Called me "damaged goods." Said I'd spent a year in another man's house.

But that year, I went as a hostage in his place.

I ran. Made it to the cliff's edge, covered in blood. And the man who saved me? The mafia godfather who'd held me captive that whole year.

He looked at me. "Marry me."

The first birthday after we finally made up.

Shen Linze sent me a menu and told me to cook everything myself.

He invited all his close friends, plus the girl he was chasing, saying it was a birthday party for me.

On the long dining table were the stir-fried dishes I’d spent three hours rushing to make.

Shen Linze picked up a piece of sweet and sour spareribs and carefully held it to the girl’s mouth.

“Yaoyao, have a taste. I asked Su Qingyan to make them specially—they’re all your favorite dishes.”

The girl sitting in the main seat didn’t react at all.

Shen Linze put down his chopsticks and told the servants to wheel out a custom-made multi-layer cake.

“Do you like it? I designed this just for you. It has the place where we first met, your prettiest smile,
your favorite flowers, your favorite color purple, the wedding you’ve always wanted, and the initials of your name: ZY…”

Three months ago, I’d seen that exact cake design in Shen Linze’s office.

After he finished the design, he brought in several top pastry chefs from abroad and spent three months making it.

My birthday was coming soon, and I’d thought the “ZY” on the cake stood for the last characters of both our names.

I never knew it was just my own foolish wishful thinking.

I had a childhood arranged marriage with the Mu family. My unreliable dad just tossed me a New York address and told me to go inherit the company there.

They only broke the news to me after my plane touched down in New York: I could take over the family business only if I went through with the marriage.

I followed the address, only to be led winding through the streets by the men at the gate and taken to an abandoned construction site.

Along the way, the man guiding me feigned sympathy: “The Mu Group went bankrupt two years ago. They sold their house and company to pay off debts, yet still owe a fortune in loan sharks. Debt collectors hound him every day, and he always brings them here to talk. He works an office job by day and fights in underground boxing matches for cash by night—his life is nothing short of miserable.”

Hardly had he finished speaking when I heard the harsh clanging of steel pipes. A devastatingly handsome man was grappling with a dozen men, a steel pipe gripped in his hand.

His features were sharp, his jaw clenched tight. Blood trickled down his cheek from his temple, mixing with dust, carving out an air of broken ferocity about him.

Hell no—they’re picking on my future husband right in front of me?

The guide tried to say more, but I, a die-hard sucker for good looks, grabbed a steel bar beside me and charged straight in.

The brawlers froze for a split second at my sudden appearance, then plunged back into the fight.

Mu Qingye threw every punch with reckless brutality, and I, a multiple-time taekwondo champion, was no pushover either.

Once we’d chased the debt collectors off, I tossed the steel bar aside and watched Mu Qingye lean against the wall, gasping for breath.

His clothes were frayed and faded, and the bandage on his right leg was soaked through with blood, a glaring, vivid red.

He sat on the ground, lifted his eyelids to glance at me sideways, his eyes as cold as ice.

I stared at his outrageously handsome face, my heart racing wildly: “I’m Meng Shixia. Do you remember me? I—”

“I don’t know you.” He cut me off abruptly, staggered to his feet by leaning on the wall, and shot me another cold glance. “Stay out of my business.”

My sister and I both married the wrong men in our past lives. I was bound to an overbearing Lycan Duke, who saw me as nothing more than a vessel for his heir. I ultimately lost my life in childbirth. My sister wed a frivolous Fae Prince, hounded and tormented by his countless mistresses until she was driven to take her own life.
Reborn before our weddings, we bravely choose to swap our marriage contracts, determined to break free from our cruel fates. This time, we rewrite our stories and grasp the our happy lives .

I think I'm dead.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in an abandoned amusement park, and my body was sitting on that slowly turning carousel.

I was only ten years old. I don't know how I died.

Detective Sarah, the blonde officer, promised to find the truth. So I followed her, watching her peel away layer after layer of lies—

In my diary, I wrote down all my fears and all my waiting.

On the phone, Mom sent that video of me laughing.

In the autopsy report, evidence of long-term abuse filled every page.

Mom had been saving money for three years, saying she'd take me away. That afternoon she picked me up from school and said, "We're really leaving this time."

Then what happened? Why did I die at the amusement park? Why was Mom's first reaction after my death not to call the police, but to—

I thought Mom came to save me.

Until I saw the text message she sent...

Ten years loving Liam Rockefeller cost me everything.

He said the football team jumped him—so I charged in and took the punches. He sobbed that his stepbrother would destroy him at Yale—so I ripped up my acceptance letter. He held me at midnight whispering "I'm so lucky to have you"—and I thought that meant forever.

Three months later, I heard him laughing in the locker room—laughing about me.

"Iris is like a fucking puppy, so easy to fool. Now that the Yale spot's open, Emily can go with me."

The bullying was staged. The tears were fake. Those intimate embraces—just tools to control me while he fucked his side piece.

He thought I'd still stand in front of him even with a broken nose. He thought I'd never wise up.

I wised up.

In his stepbrother Sebastian's bed.

The day I get diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, I can finally stop selling plasma.

For five years, I thought I was paying for the fire that killed my parents and son, left my brother disabled. Selling plasma, joining drug trials, doing the worst jobs imaginable, all to pay back a debt that wasn't even real.

The doctor says I have a few weeks left. I clutch the diagnosis report and head home to tell them.

The moment I push open the door, I see my parents in the kitchen, the ones who supposedly died in the fire. My brother, who was supposed to be in a wheelchair, stands there raising a glass, laughing with my husband.

My brother shrugs like it's nothing. "The broken leg was fake the whole time. You were the only one hurt in the fire. We just wanted to teach you a lesson, make you appreciate things."

"We were going to tell you eventually." My husband pats my shoulder. "Go apologize to Vanessa. Stop giving her a hard time."

"All the money you gave us went to Vanessa," Dad says. "That's what you get for throwing your bio-daughter status in her face."

I touch the diagnosis in my pocket. Everything was a lie. The only truth is that I'm dying.

While I bled to death locked in a storage room, my fiancé Adrian was holding my sister's hand, comforting her.

He hung up on my final call for help, leaving only a voicemail: "If anything happens to Lena, the engagement is off."

My sister once said her birthday wish had always been for me to disappear.

That night, her wish came true early.

But my soul never left.

I watched everyone gather around her, singing happy birthday.

As she blew out the candles, I whispered in her ear:

"Enjoy it while it lasts. This will be your last birthday."

I was drugged with an aphrodisiac by my competitors, and Pierce Pei dumped me in his older brother's room.
Pretending to be delirious from the drug's effects, I seduced his older brother all night long.
The moment I opened my eyes the next morning, I blushed and complained to Pierce, "You were way too rough last night. I can barely get out of bed."
"But you were so amazing last night. I really, really liked it."
Pierce froze. He threw away every gift I had ever given him.
Later, after all his black cards were canceled, he stormed furiously into his brother's office.
There, he saw the cold and aloof eldest son of the Pei family kneeling on one knee, putting shoes on my feet.

Elroy has severe OCD. In the ten years we've been together, he's never allowed me to eat in his car.
On our tenth anniversary, we made plans to watch the stars together.
But just as I reached the mountaintop, my phone rang—it was him.
"Something came up at work. I can't make it tonight. You go ahead and enjoy the view."
The moment he hung up, I saw his female classmate's post about returning to the country.
Catalina was sitting in his passenger seat, holding a half-eaten piece of cake in her hands.
【Someone was afraid I'd get hungry coming back so late, so he specially brought me this little cake～】
Another picture showed Catalina's shoes—still on—planted firmly on the passenger seat.
【He says I'm the only exception to his OCD～ I can do whatever I want in his car, hehe.】
I looked up at the twinkling stars above me, a bitter smile tugging at my lips.
This was the tenth time he'd abandoned me.
Every single anniversary without fail, this "female classmate" of his would show up.
I once tried to gently tell him: "I don't want to be interrupted like this every time."
Elroy looked at me with displeasure. "Interrupted? Catalina is my friend. Can you not be so petty?"
The cold wind howled across the mountaintop. Catalina's words stuck in my heart like a thorn, stinging until my eyes grew wet.
After ten years, I'm done with this relationship.

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone)From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense.In A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3 in the Keri Locke mystery series), Keri Locke, Missing Persons Detective in the Homicide division of the LAPD, follows a fresh lead for her abducted daughter. It leads to a violent confrontation with The Collector—which, in turn, offers more clues that may, after all this time, reunite her with her daughter.Yet at the same time, Keri is assigned a new case, one with a frantic ticking clock. A teenage girl has gone missing in Los Angeles, a girl from a good family was who duped into drugs and abducted into a sex trafficking ring. Keri is hot on her trail—but the trail is moving fast, with the girl being constantly moved and with her abductors’ single, nefarious goal: to cross her over the border with Mexico.In an epic, breathtaking, cat and mouse chase that takes them through the seedy underworld of trafficking, Keri and Ray will be pushed to their limits to save the girl—and her own daughter—before it is all too late.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, A TRACE OF VICE is book #3 in a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)Book #4 in the Keri Locke series will be available soon.