7268 Book(s) Related to the one that got away

Everyone knew Ethan Blackwood and I were Professor Richard Hartwell's two proudest students. From childhood easels to Columbia studios, inseparable for over a decade.

Everyone assumed we'd get married, stand together on the Pritzker stage someday. Until he fell in love with Sophia Crane, daughter of our mentor's academic rival.

I let him go. Love isn't something I can design.

But I never thought he'd destroy our mentor's entire life for her.

Five years later, he's back in New York riding high on his success, excited to "make amends" with Professor Hartwell.

I laugh.

Go ahead, Ethan Blackwood. You'll spend the rest of your life searching.

I am the top medical genius from an Ivy League university.
For the woman I love, I gave up my tenured teaching position and willingly became the unseen academic ghost behind her, enduring the excruciating pain of heart failure to pave the way for her.
When my life was counting down and I was about to receive a heart transplant, she did not hesitate to use her power to give my only matching heart to my first love, who only had mild premature ventricular contractions, leaving me to die in the ICU.
She thought that once I breathed my last, she could get rid of this cumbersome burden and embrace perfect love.
But she didn't know—
Without my core clinical data to back her up, her proud "Queen of Cardiac Surgery" aura wouldn't have lasted even half a month.

By an accident, she became the glamorous daughter of Ocean family. When the real daughter comes back, she, as the false daughter, she neatly leaves this time. After being bullied by them, she decides to take what was taken from her past life and holds it firmly in her own hands. Dealing the bitch, kicking cheating philandering men, then goes to the top. She thought she would be alone all the time, but she never thought there is lifetime love awaiting for her...

I caught his scent before I saw them, my husband's scent, saturating another woman's skin.
Three years. I gave Alexander three years, my father's territory, my people's loyalty, and a slow poison quietly destroying my body from the inside.
I made him — pulled a fallen, abandoned Alpha from the dirt, merged our packs, convinced every dissenting elder, and stepped aside so he could wear the crown I built.
I called it love. He called it convenient.
The night I walked into that ballroom uninvited, his mistress was already on his arm.
By the end of the night, she was on her knees — telling the entire pack she was carrying his heir.
That was the moment I understood: I was never his wife. I was his ladder.
I walked out without trembling. And I started planning.
There was only one move left — to go to the man I had once rejected.
The most powerful Alpha in the word.
The one who never forgot.

I was supposed to die alone in an alley.

Instead, a god found me.

One moment, I was bleeding beneath the neon glow of the city, my life slipping through my fingers. The next, a glowing blue screen appeared before my eyes, offering me a choice that was never really a choice at all.

Accept the Summoner’s Mark. Or die.

Now I belong to the Death Game — a brutal cosmic system where ordinary people are turned into Players, thrown into impossible missions, and forced to survive horrors designed for the amusement of gods.

Every trial has rules.
Every monster has a weakness.
Every victory comes with a reward.

And every reward makes me less human.

My name is Nerissa Valehart, and I refuse to be anyone’s pawn.

But surviving the Game means trusting the one man everyone warns me to fear.

Veyren Ashford is ruthless, powerful, and dangerously beautiful — a veteran Player with blood on his hands and secrets in his soul. He says attachment will get me killed. He says love is a weakness the Game always punishes.

Yet when death comes for me, Veyren is the one standing between us.

In a world where gods gamble with mortal lives, monsters hunt from the shadows, and desire may be the deadliest weakness of all, I have only one goal:

Survive long enough to cross the board.

And make the Starless God regret choosing me..............

The dealership called to inform me that my Rolls-Royce Starlight Headliner had been replaced with a pink one and was ready for pickup.
I was bewildered. I hadn't driven that car in ages—why would anyone change the headliner without my knowledge?
I confronted my husband, who managed our garage, demanding an explanation.
"Honey, maybe they got their wires crossed. I'll swing by the dealership later and sort it out."
I wasn't about to waste my breath. Instead, I called my friend directly—she happened to own the dealership.
"William's having an affair. I'm going to catch him red-handed."

Hania, a single fashion designer, is secretly in love with her sister’s fiancé.
After the engagement party, she gives herself to a stranger—one reckless night, no names, no rules—then disappears before sunrise.
She doesn’t know the man she left behind is David Miller, president of Miller Group. Cold. Untouchable. A man who loathes women’s advances—and never forgives trespass.
When he finds her, punishment becomes obsession.
She thinks she’s escaped him—
until she meets his dark gaze from the stage of a strip club.

This time, David doesn’t let her run.
He takes her away.
Keeps her in his bed.
On his terms.
“Before I lose interest,” he whispers, dangerously close,
“You exist for me.”

Aldwin Rush a well known Billionaire, Strongly hates women.
Aldwin Rush had just stepped out of his car; for a funeral service for the late Dustin Cage usually, he doesn't attend such events but his driver (Dustin Cage) died in his car while coming to pick him up from the airport. He usually doesn't attend funerals because they bring back bad memories
but he thought to pay his final respects to Mr. Cage. As he walked down the stairs to the graveside he saw a familiar face, she was standing by the grave-side holding a flower. At first, he could not believe his eyes but eventually took a step further, behold standing in a black knee-length gown was Kia Ray,
her hair made into a ponytail with a few strands intentionally left out on both sides of her face, her sunglass perfectly fits, she looked sad and those sad eyes looked familiar he could tell.
While standing in the back Nile, Julian and Davin approached him “I hate funerals because someone always cries like that little boy over there” Julian says pointing towards Aries.
“Isn't that his fiancée, I heard their wedding was supposed to be today” Nile said pointing towards Kia,
she looks familiar” He says for the first time; “Of course she looks familiar, she was his fiancée Dustin's favorite topic” Davin says.
“No it's not that, I can't place my fingers on it but I remember that face”
He insisted.
She dropped her flower in the coffin, turns around heading for the car.

Aldwin could not explain how the world was currently on a slow-mo, she took off her sunglasses and the sunlight was shining directly on her face, her lips looked soft her beautiful smile when she finally flushed, something like adrenaline spiked .

"I’ll marry you Drake, not because I get weak in the knees and cream my panties whenever I see you, but because I want Riley to suffer for hurting me.” “I don’t care what your reasons are my love, just say yes to me and I’ll worship your sweet, curvy body for the rest of my life, I’ll make you the envy of every woman on earth, just say yes to me, my love."
Mia’s wedding to the big boss, Riley Osborne was cancelled on her wedding day. There was a rumor that she cheated on Riley and ended up getting married to low life pauper, but no one knows who her husband is and they keep mocking her because of her breakup with the boss. The war between Riley and Drake caused everyone to know that Mia is loved and wanted by two billionaire brothers. Who would have thought that she is secretly married to the senior master, her bosses elder brother Drake Osborne, who happens to own 80 percent of the Osborne empire.

She went to a club with her friends to drink for the first time after finishing her third-year examinations. Gabriella was a 21-year-old virgin who had never kissed anybody before. 

She met a stranger at a club, accompanied him to a hotel, had her first kiss, and lost her virginity. She enjoyed herself. When she awoke the next morning, the man was gone,  He left. She found out she was pregnant a few months later. She continued to go to the hotel in the hopes of running into the man, but after four months, she gave up. He abandoned her, leaving her to face the situation alone. 

She dropped out of university to raise her son. She returned to school a year later to complete her studies and get her degree. She then saw the person she had slept with on TV and realized he was now engaged, as well as the fact that he was the well-known multi-billionaire Javier Hills. 

What would his grandma do when she finds a boy who looks just like her grandson?

Elysia Vivienne Montgomery is an architect who had a good life. A job at the biggest firm in the city, a fiance she loves and a wedding on the way.
But it all came crashing down when she finds out that her fiancé is actually dating someone else. Oh, that someone else is her sister/cousin
She broke up and tried to pick up the pieces of her broken heart.

While nursing a broken heart six months later, Elysia received an invitation to their wedding, which she planned by the way, they did not change anything she did. Maybe one or two.

To shut some people up, who thought she would be too heartbroken to show up. She went, with a guy she randomly met while being in a bar, as her plus one.

Will he be more than just a plus one?

How do you find those hiding in the shadows, when you believe everyone is hiding something?

Sheltered, and Innocent Amelia West has had a long, stressful life even though she's just nineteen. In other for her life to be less stressful, and without problems, she kept herself, and her life hidden under a hoodie after gaining admission in a prestigious university away from her parents.
Unfortunately, she was wrong. She became a victim of bullying which was something she never expected to happen. She met Finnick Stark, the cold-hearted, heart breaker, and mysterious man.

Finnick became interested in Amelia after seeing her for the very first time. She was weird, but he knew there was something else. All his life he's been searching for His Special One. The one made for him.

Their completely different worlds collide. Amelia's strangeness, and the mysteries about Finnick will slowly be revealed.

Jasmine Hunt is vacationing with her parents in South Pointe, Miami, for one last weekend together before she goes away to college. Zain Perez is a college senior on a full-ride baseball scholarship to USC, home for the summer. What neither of them knows is that their lives are about to change forever.

Jasmine promised her mother that she would wait to sleep with a man until she was married. But Zain comes up with a solution: Get married Friday and divorced Monday, while having the time of their lives for just one incredible weekend before going back to college. Sounds like a plan. But what was supposed to be a casual liaison ends up being their heart’s desire.

Join Jasmine and Zain as they learn what it is to sacrifice for the good of family. But will their love be the ultimate sacrifice?

Just One Weekend is a novel of first love so epic that neither of them can forget… or deny.

Eight years ago, I formed a mate bond with Alpha Lucian Blackwood, ruler of the Silver Fang Pack, and became his Luna.
I thought it was a blessing from the Moon Goddess.
Only when he brought home that sick she-wolf, Jasmine Moon, did I finally understand.
I was nothing but a substitute.
A tool meant to take care of him and his son.
And now, they wanted me to hand over even the last of my dignity.

At my engagement party, a sex video of my fiancé and his secretary was exposed to the public, making me the laughingstock of the entire city. Seeking revenge, I got drunk and spent the night with my ex-boyfriend from years ago—William Brown, now the "King" of the legal world, whom I had dumped in our youth. I even humiliated him with money afterward.

I thought it was just a ridiculous mistake, but as my father's condition deteriorated and the battle for the family fortune intensified, he turned out to be my only lifeline. He closed in on me step by step, setting traps at every turn, leaving me to wonder: should I submit to him, or become his enemy?

However, I gradually discovered that his motives for getting close to me seemed far more complicated than a simple transaction...

When The Wrong One Loves You Right
Enemies make the best lovers...

Evelyn Rodriguez needs to find who murdered her sister. But her only suspect is sexy as hell and every kind of wrong. Suddenly Evelyn's not sure if it's determination that's got her pulse racing–or something altogether less appropriate. Worse of all, she has to live under the same roof with him.

Supernova Jason Lyndon, burnt by experience and casual flings is torn between taking the offer of the man he despises the most or the woman that annoys him the most. Either way, he wasn't about to go to jail for something he didn't do. He realized too late chosing Evelyn's offer was a terrible idea. She didn't only arouse all his sexual antennas but started pulling down the firm wall– he's spent years building– around his heart.

CRIME. SUSPENSE. ROMANCE.

“A MASTERPIECE OF THRILLER AND MYSTERY. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. 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) ALMOST GONE is book #1 in a new psychological thriller series by USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews. When 23 year old Cassandra Vale accepts her first job as an au pair, she finds herself placed with a wealthy family in a rural estate outside of Paris, and all seems too good to be true. But she soon discovers that behind the gilded gates lies a dysfunctional family, a twisted marriage, troubled children, and secrets too dark to air. Cassandra is convinced she’s finally found a fresh start when she takes a job as an au pair in the idyllic French countryside. Just beyond the Paris city limits, the Dubois manor is a grand relic of the past, the family its picture-perfect occupants. It’s the escape Cassandra needs—until she uncovers dark secrets that prove things aren’t as glamorous as they seem.Beneath the opulence lies a dark web of malice, one Cassandra finds all too familiar, triggering dreams from her own violent and tortured past, one from which she desperately runs. And when a grisly murder tears the house apart, it threatens to take down her own fragile psyche with it. A riveting mystery replete with complex characters, layers of secrets, dramatic twists and turns and heart-pounding suspense, ALMOST GONE is book #1 in a psychological suspense series that will have you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 and #3--ALMOST LOST and ALMOST DEAD—are also available!

Since she could remember, Cassie Smith had been in love with Nathan Greg. When she left home to attend a university two states away, they transitioned from being best friends in school to friends with benefits. Their once-a-month weekends were the pinnacle of her life, when he would fly in to see her and she would have him all to herself for the whole, uninterrupted weekend.

Then he announced his impending marriage to her.

Cassie had to take action to restore order since her idealized world was in danger of collapsing. She wanted to be the woman Nathan married and had a happy life with because she needed him in her life. She thus devised a scheme to interrupt the wedding and kidnap the groom.

She later met Brian.
In order to make the groom envious and aid her in calling off the wedding, Brian Colleen, the reclusive aviation Billionaire, promised to pose as her lover. She began to doubt her allegiance to Nathan as a result of his stunning green eyes and the way he made her feel when he touched her. He's also Nathan's stepbrother, incidentally.
She couldn't deny that she felt something for Brian, but what would it indicate for her relationship with Nathan going forward? Should she continue on her current path and work for the happily ever after she had always envisioned with Nathan, or take a risk on a new relationship with Brian?

Please dear readers, I want to inform you all that this story is in series and I will be uploading all of them in the story, thank you all.

Olivia, who had been in a deep slumber for a thousand years, was awakened and embarked on a journey to uncover her true identity.
Skilled in witchcraft, array formation, and magic, she was a master of all.
The vampire ancestors were so frightened that they fled away, exclaiming, “This terrifying woman is still alive! We can’t provoke her!”
The monster hunters pleaded to Olivia, “Please take in this thousand-year-old monster!”
The priests also begged Olivia, “We are all your descendants. You must revive our career!”
Olivia gave a cold smile. But how did she become a vampire?

Selene only wanted one thing—revenge.
After being humiliated by her ex-fiancé and betrayed by her best friend, she shows up at their wedding with a lie big enough to save her pride: a handsome billionaire fiancé.
The rented Novio she hires as her fake fiancé turns out to be Alejandro Velasco devastatingly handsome, dangerous, and the new CEO of Velasco Real Estate Group.
What was supposed to be a one-night act of revenge quickly spirals out of control when Alejandro plays along too well… and the entire wedding believes they are truly engaged.
But Selene’s nightmare doesn’t end there.
Because the next day, she walks into her job… and finds out the same man she paid to pretend to love her is now her boss.
Now trapped between humiliation, desire, and a dangerously convincing lie, Selene must survive a man who knows all her secrets and seems determined to blur the line between fake and real.
And the worst part?
She’s no longer sure who is acting anymore… him or her.

Grace stepped back in fear when he stepped ahead.
"Do it again and I will break your legs..."
He warned.

Her eyes filled with tears.
"Chief, I am sorry... I didn't wanted to but it happened all of a sudden... I had no idea..."
She sobbed.

Dominick grabbed her chin harshly.
"Open your mouth for only one thing in front of me..."
He gritted and she whimpered and sobbed when he let it go with jerk.

"Please Don't punish me... I am sorry"
She pleaded but her words fell on deaf ears.
"I don't want to do it, chief please... I am scared of this... Please, please..."
She cried.

"Strip..."
He ordered while walking towards the wall.

Her eyes widened when he did that. Grace couldn't think properly. Out of fear she ran towards the door but poor girl didn't know that she can't open it.


Grace is a nice and intelligent girl but her kindness is her enemy. she was living happy and peaceful life until Mob boss knocked on her door.
Grace had to sacrifice herself to the devil for her father's mistakes.

but does this devil have heart? how will Grace deal with this silent and cruel man who doesn't even talk to her? how long she can do it for her father? afterall it's not easy to have sex with mob boss.

They don’t know I’m a girl.

They all look at me and see a boy. A prince.

Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires.

And, when they storm into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervene to protect her. I make them take me too.

The plan is to escape with my sister whenever we find a chance.

How am I to know our prison will be the most fortified place in their kingdom?

I’m supposed to stay on the sidelines. The one they have no real use for. The one they never mean to buy.

But then, the most important person in their savage land—their ruthless beast king—takes an interest in the “pretty little prince.”

How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy?

And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave?

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This is a dark romance—dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+.

Expect triggers, expect hardcore.

If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in!

She came with claws and fire, scent like sin; his wolf didn’t stand a chance. Neither did he.

•••

Brant Paxton has always been the wild one—gorgeous, untamed, and irresistible to everyone. But when Sable Knox returns, everything changes. She’s no longer the sweet girl he remembers. She’s fierce, sexy, and carries a scent that sets his wolf on edge. The heat between them is dangerous. Forbidden. But Brant can’t stay away.

Sable once called the Paxtons her family, but one tragic night tore it all apart. Now she’s back, stronger and smarter, ready to make them pay—especially Brant. But nothing prepares her for the fire that ignites when they’re close. Her wolf wants him. Craves him. And Sable doesn’t know if she’s falling into his arms or into a trap.
As old wounds reopen and passion burns hotter, Brant and Sable must choose: follow the rules or give in to the sin that could ruin them both.

Content Warning: This book contains sexual content and mature themes. Reader discretion is advised.

"You're terrible in bed! The stamina of a goldfish! I want someone else!"
"Oh yeah? Who exactly?"
"Someone who can actually keep up!"
My husband's jaw ticked. That night, he proved exactly how much stamina he had—and I could barely walk the next morning.

Three years of marriage. Three years of negative pregnancy tests. Desperate times called for desperate measures—so I pushed every button he had, hoping to finally conceive.
One reckless night of passion later, I thought we'd finally made progress.
Instead, divorce papers slammed into my hands.
"Anyone could mother my child," he said coldly. "Literally anyone but you."

Six years later, I returned from overseas—CEO of a medical empire, renowned archaeologist, certified gemologist, and secret heiress to the nation's wealthiest family. Oh, and I brought along my adorable twin geniuses.
My multiple identities? Mind. Blown.
Meanwhile, my ex-husband's dirty secret hit tabloids: He's firing blanks. Always has been.

Just as I'm about to marry my charming new fiancé (who actually appreciates me), my ex corners me in a hotel suite. His eyes bloodshot, voice cracking:
"You're the only one—the ONLY one—who can be my children's mother. My love. Please..."
Too bad, buddy. You snooze, you lose.
💎 Revenge. Rebirth. Twin Chaos. And one groveling ex who's about to learn what he lost. 💎

With the death of her parents, the bankruptcy of the company, and the betrayal of her fiancé, Rebecca went to a bar to get drunk, but accidentally took Thomas as a pimp and slept with him, and the next day Rebecca was afraid to see Thomas's face and left in a hurry. Four years later, Rebbeca returned with three children, but accidentally reunited with Thomas.
How the next?

One wild night with a stranger. It was number one on Krystal Miranda's list to get laid before settling down in Clayland. Then, she thought she had left her one-night stand behind in the past but fate had other plans. As she struggled to settle down in Clayland, she unexpectedly comes face to face with the man she had a one-night stand with. Torn between avoiding him and confronting him, she discovered that he didn’t remember her or anything about that night. Will their unexpected reunion lead to a second chance at love? Or will she suffer a terrible heartbreak?

“A fucking submissive, I love the way she obeyed me.
Her legs were against her chest while I thrust into her.
“You never listen to me until my dick is in you.” I thrust harder and she lets out series of curses, “answer me princess."
“Fuck.” She whispers, she is unable to make any sentence. I pushed her leg down thirsting harder into her, the way she moaned, the way her fingers found it place on my back, I know I would be waking up with bruises on my skin.
Victoria Sanchez decides to take revenge on her cheating boyfriend by sleeping with his associate.
Kelvin Ricci has no desire to find his mate, what happens when he finds his mate in a one night stand.
She leans in and whispers “I know your punishment, you don’t get to cum”

Rated 18

The agony of flesh being torn apart still burned in my memory.
But I had been reborn.
I tremblingly touched the face in the mirror. Whole, unmarked. Was this real?
Just moments ago I had been struggling on death's edge, and now I stood in an 18-year-old body. Everything felt too surreal.
The entire pack still thought I was that naive Elena, forever living in the shadow of my pureblood sister Sarah. They didn't know I had seen the darkest truth.
The door suddenly burst open, and Sarah walked in carrying a cup of hot tea.
"Elena, don't stress yourself." Her voice carried an air of superiority. "Given your... situation, the Moon Goddess would be more forgiving."
Looking at her flawless smile, I was nearly sick to my stomach. This face, this expression—I had witnessed it countless times in my past life.
"About fated mates and all..." Sarah gently stroked my shoulder. "It's not something you absolutely have to follow. If you find Alpha Lucas too domineering, choosing a gentler Alpha would be a good option too. I'll stand by you either way."
Stand by me? I nearly laughed out loud.
In my past life, I had been blinded by these very words. I had given up other opportunities and chosen my fated mate Alpha Lucas, only to become a tool to mask his true feelings.
The truth hadn't surfaced until Sarah's birthday celebration. When the rogue wolves' claws had targeted her, that man who had claimed to love me for years hadn't hesitated to push me toward the pack.
As I collapsed in a pool of my own blood, the wolf claws having torn deep gashes across my flesh, I watched Lucas cradling Sarah protectively while she clutched her belly in panic.
"Save Sarah! Quickly, save her! The child in her belly..." Lucas had immediately rushed her to the medical room.
No one had paid attention to me lying in a pool of blood. In everyone's eyes, only Sarah had mattered.
"It's all my fault," Sarah had said weakly. "If I hadn't gotten pregnant, Elena wouldn't have been lashing out in jealousy..."
What? She had actually claimed I was lashing out in jealousy?
"Elena, I'm sorry... I'll make it up to you in the next life." Lucas had given me one last look, his eyes full of guilt.
Next life?
You got me killed, and you still wanted me to give you a chance in the next life? Dream on!

Life must be smart to lick, someone who is good at looking for faces. He will get a good position, as well as employment from other people. The world of life is only full of wars, those who are the best at removing and wearing topek. They are the ones who will endure to the end. In this world, there is not a single person who is truly good. They just come, then take advantage of each other

When I woke up with a hangover, I found a handsome and naked stranger sleeping beside me.

I’m Tanya, a surrogate’s daughter, an omega with no wolf and no scent.
On my 18th birthday, when I planned to give my virginity to my boyfriend, I found him sleeping with my sister.
I went to the bar to get drunk, and accidentally had a one-night stand with the handsome stranger.
I thought he was just an ordinary werewolf, but they said he was Marco, the alpha prince and the most powerful Lycan in our kingdom.
‘You slut, you’re pregnant! Fortunately, Rick is kind enough to let you be his mistress and save you from shame.’ my stepmother said, tossing a pregnancy strip on the table.
Rick was an old pervert. No she-wolf could keep up with his sexual demand. No she-wolf could survive with him more than 1 year.
When I was in despair, Marco came to my rescue. He got down on one knee, took out a ring and said he would marry me.

I thought Marco married me because he loved me, but later I found that was not the truth…

Since she could remember, Cassie Smith had been in love with Nathan Greg. When she left home to attend a university two states away, they transitioned from being best friends in school to friends with benefits. Their once-a-month weekends were the pinnacle of her life, when he would fly in to see her and she would have him all to herself for the whole, uninterrupted weekend.

Then he announced his impending marriage to her.

Cassie had to take action to restore order since her idealized world was in danger of collapsing. She wanted to be the woman Nathan married and had a happy life with because she needed him in her life. She thus devised a scheme to interrupt the wedding and kidnap the groom.

She later met Brian.
In order to make the groom envious and aid her in calling off the wedding, Brian Colleen, the reclusive aviation Billionaire, promised to pose as her lover. She began to doubt her allegiance to Nathan as a result of his stunning green eyes and the way he made her feel when he touched her. He's also Nathan's stepbrother, incidentally.
She couldn't deny that she felt something for Brian, but what would it indicate for her relationship with Nathan going forward? Should she continue on her current path and work for the happily ever after she had always envisioned with Nathan, or take a risk on a new relationship with Brian?

"Did you bring one back?" My mom, Siobhan, urged.
I pushed my half-empty mug to the center of the cafe table. The campus buzzed around me, students stressing over minor things like finals.
"I’m still at school, Mom."
"The Summer Solstice is in exactly one month, Maeve." The line crackled.
"If you cross that water empty-handed, Finn is going to the pens. Are you going to let your own brother be taken?"

At the Morello family’s Christmas dinner, I stood beside Vincent, waiting for him to announce our engagement.
Instead, in the very next second, he walked in holding a little boy and claimed him as his son.
And the woman he said he was going to marry? Scarlett Morello. The one he had always introduced as his “sister.”
The whole room erupted in applause. I stood there frozen, like a nail hammered into the floor.
Later, in his study, he took my hand and said, “Scarlett is dying. Late-stage breast cancer. She only has six months left. After she’s gone, I’ll marry you.”
But there was no guilt in his eyes. No love, either.
Then he told me to go to his villa that afternoon, to take care of the woman who was supposedly “dying.”
I opened the photo he sent me. Scarlett was lying in a hospital bed, pale-faced, an IV in the back of her hand.
A professional tennis player who had been playing in an exhibition match three weeks ago, and who had dropped three grand at Louis Vuitton on Fifth Avenue just five days ago.
But sure. She was “dying.”
At three in the morning, I was curled up by the front door of my apartment, crying so long I lost track of time.
Then my phone lit up. A text from an unknown number:
[Elena, I’m downstairs. When we were kids, you told me that once I controlled the docks on the East Coast, you’d marry me. The docks are mine now. Does that promise still stand?]
I pulled back the curtain and there he was. Ethan Vitale, my first love, leaning against the door of a black Cadillac, lifting a hand in a lazy wave.
Three years ago, when he left New York, he was only a Capo.
Now, he was the Don of the Vitale family.
He didn’t rush me. Didn’t pressure me to come downstairs.
He came for one reason only, to let me know he was back.
I wiped away my tears and texted back:
[It still stands.]
Because I wanted to see for myself just how long that woman could keep up her act.

I ranked first and snagged the most prestigious job offer in the city. Yet, not a single person congratulated me.
Because for the past twenty years, every top student who received this offer from the medical school "committed suicide" that very night.
Reporters blocked the school gates, grinning as they asked if I planned to jump off a building or swallow a bullet. My roommate grabbed my collar, screaming curses, wishing me dead.
Too bad they all completely miscalculated. I come from a filthy rich family, I’m perfectly sane, and top psychologists have signed off that I have zero suicidal tendencies. I have no reason to die.
So, I looked straight into the live cameras and declared: "If my body is found tomorrow morning, it’s not suicide. It’s murder!"
After all, for that final exam, I turned in a blank paper.

They told me my daughter drowned. Too much to drink, a slick deck, a terrible accident.

Then they put a number on her, slid the check across the table, and asked me to sign away the right to ever ask how she died.

I signed.

They didn't ask what I'd do after.

I changed my name. I spent three years earning a desk in their building, close enough to hear the man who buried her joke about the father who "made some noise, took the money, and went away."

He doesn't know my face. None of them do.

They thought the money bought my silence.

They have no idea what it bought.

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.”

He won me in a bet. He broke me in a garden. Now the Alpha of Lead Claw is begging for my help and he doesn't know I survived.

Six years ago, Pete Leadsilver laughed when I told him I was pregnant. Hours later, his thugs beat me and threatened everyone I loved. I left with forty-three dollars and a secret growing inside me.

Today, I own D'Matt Laboratories. He needs my cure to save his dying pack. He doesn't recognize my name on the letterhead and he doesn't know his son exists.

He's about to learn both.

Suck my nipples now. You can't resist me, can you?" Said Mr. Evidence.

His name was Mr. Evidence but he was popularly known as the condom CEO because he owned a condom company that only employed women. Something happened! Which changed his lifestyle completely.

It had only been seventeen minutes since my wife passed away. My daughter was sobbing on the phone.

"Dad, they're trying to drive me out."

I stared at the medical report in the doctor's hand.

The first natural antibody carrier.Toxin levels in the blood: zero.

The same poison that killed my wife, that killed my six-year-old son…had left me completely unharmed.

The doctor lowered his voice."Mr. Miller, you have to stay. They're sending people to pick you up."

I let out a cold laugh.

"My daughter is trapped in the basement storage room right now. Is anyone here going to help her?"

Silence fell over everyone.

I grabbed the glass water cup from the bedside table.

"Five years ago, they handed me a disciplinary penalty and fired me from the rescue team. Everyone said I was good for nothing."

The cup smashed against the floor.

I picked up the longest shard of broken glass.

"Today, I'll show you all how a useless man saves lives."

Chloe was the second daughter of the Bishop family, she was the girl who had it all breathtaking looks, a foster father who loved her as much as his own biological daughter, and a fiance who was handsome and rich.

But nothing was perfect in this world. It turned out she also had a foster mother and sister who could ruin everything she had.

The night before the engagement party, her foster mother drugged her and plotted to send her to hooligans. Fortunately, Chloe went to the wrong room and spent a night with a stranger.

It turned out that man was the CEO of America's top multinational group, who was only 29 but on the Forbes List. After having a one-night stand with her, he proposed, "Marry me, I will help you to take revenge."

Everyone thinks Lily is just a small-town girl trying to marry into wealth. They couldn't be more wrong.
When Lily arrives at the magnificent Sterling estate to fulfill her late father's wishes， she's greeted by five handsome brothers and a cold， calculating mother determined to send her packing.
According to an ancient agreement between the families， Lily must choose one of the brothers as her husband—a prospect that fills all the brothers with disdain.
But Lily is hiding secrets that would shock the entire Sterling family. Behind her quiet demeanor lies a brilliant business mind who built a multi-billion-dollar empire from nothing. She's also an internationally acclaimed singer who performs under the name Nightingale， and a technological genius known as Anny who can beat anyone at their own game.
As she navigates the complex politics of the Sterling household， Lily finds herself drawn to the coldest brother of all—William， the CEO who regards her with nothing but suspicion.
William's mother has already chosen his perfect match: Fiona from the Foster family， his childhood friend and sweetheart.
However， the word "surrender" has never existed in Lily's vocabulary.

On the night my dad kicked me out, I drank too much and slept with my “brother”
It was a one night mistake. Yet, he proposed and claimed me as his mate, his luna.
**
“You have brought enough disgrace to this family.” His Alpha voice rising furiously.
“Me?!” I let out a forced laugh. “I’m not the one sleeping with every woman who passes my presence. I’m not the one who murdered my mother!” I hissed.
“GET OUT!!!” He ordered. “It was a mistake to have allowed you back in Ironclaw. You will leave and are forbidden to return.”
**
What have I done? He’s practically my brother. I had sex with my brother.
“It wasn’t a mistake,”
“What are you talking about, Jonathan?” I asked him.
“Arina, you are my mate. You were born to be my luna,” he said. His face showed no signs of humor.
“I wasn’t born to be anybody’s luna,” I shot back.
“Arina, I love you…” he spoke softly, still staring into my eyes. I could feel the wolf in me stirring; something that I had never felt before. She was awakening; the fire that burned so deep inside of me was beginning to flare.
“Love?” I heard myself saying. “There’s no such thing as love…” After everything I knew about “love”, what my mother went through when she married my father, love didn’t exist.
“Give me a chance to prove you wrong. Marry me.”

I was naïve grateful for scraps of kindness, blind to the rot beneath the surface. I thought I’d found a home. Instead, I walked straight into hell. And I paid for that mistake… with my life.
Venessa Gordon was framed for a murder she didn’t commit and executed before the truth could breathe. But death wasn’t the end it was a punishment wrapped in mercy.
Sent back with one final chance, Venessa has one year to rewrite her fate, expose the darkness that destroyed her, and stop a war destined to consume everything.
Fail, and her soul and her wolf will be cast into the eternal void.
But even if she succeeds…
will fate allow her to live long enough to see the end?

Abby King is living a simple life for three years after the horrific incident. When her mother passed away, Abby has left no choice but to agree to the terms of the will. And one thing she’s not prepared for is to marry the extremely handsome Hughes Industries CEO Seb Hughes, but he has a reputation for women.
 
Seb Hughes is rich, handsome, and has everything in a snap of his fingers. A relationship is the last thing he wants, but with just one look on a mysterious Abby, his cold heart flutters, and he starts fantasizing about her even if he knows that’s not right.
 
There’s something about Seb Hughes that Abby can’t shake away—he’s not just a playboy that she should stay away from, he also has a huge heart and an overprotective tendency.
 
After what she’d been through, maybe Seb is the right person for her—who can protect, accept, and maybe love her despite her dark past.

Caspian was a gaming genius with a bright future—until he got stuck inside one. Now, in a world where your destiny is a weapon, he’s been given a wooden stick. Mocked and hopeless, he joins the worst guild alive. But Caspian has a secret: he knows this is a game. And his joke of a weapon levels up.

Twenty years ago, a god promised to return and wipe this world out. Time’s up. And the only player who knows how to win… is the guy holding a stick.

In the ruthless, power-scaled world of the Moon-Crag Hegemony, strength is everything. The Demonic Lycan Cultivators rule by the law of the fang, their authority legally absolute, verified by the terrifying potency of their bloodline scent. For thirty years, King Vaelor bedded hundreds of women to secure a male heir to the Blood-Claw Throne, only to sire six powerful daughters.
When the True Queen finally birthed a son, the empire held its breath.
But the newborn emerged completely scentless. He possessed no beast core, no fangs, and no animalistic qi. Deeming the child a talentless mortal defect and a stain on the royal lineage, King Vaelor brutally ripped the baby from his weeping mother's arms and threw him into the frozen briar patches of the forbidden Deadwood Forest to die.
They thought he was empty. They were dead wrong.
The primitive shamans only knew how to smell common beasts. They didn't realize the boy was born with the mythical Divine Void Dantian—a legendary, ancient meridian structure that rejects primitive animalistic qi because it was built to swallow the primordial spiritual energy of the cosmos itself.
Rescued by a disgraced Heretic Immortal, the boy—Kael—is raised in absolute secrecy. For fourteen years, he undergoes a brutal, bone-shattering cultivation crucible, mastering forbidden cosmic laws that predate the werewolf race.
Now, the old King is dead, the royal bloodline is fractured, and a tyrannical usurper hunts Kael's long-lost sisters like common strays. Stepping out of the forbidden forest as a nameless human stray, Kael encounters a dying werewolf girl running from palace executioners.
The wolves open their jaws, expecting an easy human slaughter. They don't smell danger.
They don't realize that the trash the kingdom discarded fourteen years ago has returned to turn their entire world inside out.

He built the world. The world killed him. Now he's trapped inside it.

Caius Vael was the most brilliant game architect of his generation. He designed Aethoria from the ground up, every dungeon, every monster, every rule. Then he died at his desk at 3:14 AM, killed by a bug in his own code. Or so he thought.

He wakes up inside Aethoria with no class, no stats, and no System recognition. Just a cold error message floating where his name should be. The world he built is three hundred years older, players are trapped with no way out, and something living beneath the game has been feeding on them in silence for centuries.

Nobody can see him or help him. The System itself wants him deleted. But here is what the System does not know. He wrote the System.

Every backdoor, every buried secret. Every crack in the foundation of this world. He put them there. And now he is going to use every single one to burn this prison to the ground.

The problem is he was never supposed to be the hero of this story. He was supposed to be the key.
And what he is about to unlock should never see the light.