1467 Book(s) Related to awakening sss rank skill after a kiss

WARNING MATURED CONTENT R16

Layla had everything she ever wanted in life not until the day she began to live with her stepmother after her mother passed on.

Layla was maltreated by her stepmother, but her stepsister scarlet always stood by her until the day she found out that scarlet had been having sex with her boyfriend.

Layla is broken and finds herself in a bar where she has a one night stand with a complete stranger.
Layla discovers that she was pregnant for a stranger and to protect her baby she runs away from home to another city.

Layla's friend takes her in and helps her find a job.
What happens when Layla discovers that her boss is no other than the man who she had a one night stand with and is supposedly pregnant for?

I’m Aurora, a she-wolf bound by a promise to my lost love, Raymond. For three years, I endured hardship in our werewolf pack, facing cruelty from Diana, the Alpha Edgar’s chosen Luna. Despite Edgar’s offers of power and love, I stayed true, defying him to bind with Raymond, who I learned was alive. As Edgar wrestles with jealousy and regret, I find my true home, proving my love outweighs any throne. A story of my loyalty, sacrifice, and redemption.

For six years, I wore Pack silver. I sold my blood. I scrubbed silver out of Pack den floors. I slept on a basement floor — all to pay off my mate's Pack debt and buy my brother's wolfsbane antidote.
Today, with the receipt finally signed, my brother looked at me and said:
"Seren, I was never poisoned. Our parents aren't dead either. The Rogue raid six years ago — I arranged it. The only wolf hurt that night was you."
My mate stepped up behind him: "I never lost my Pack rank either. I've been at the estate the whole time."
Then my parents — the ones I'd buried seven years ago — walked through the door.
The Pack physician had given me forty-eight hours left to live.
They were going to remember every single one.

My husband often made me suffer for the sake of my younger sister, even divorcing me because of her.
My parents gave all their love to my sister and neglected me.
My husband and parents even had my sister perform surgery on me.
But they didn't know that my sister had no idea how to perform surgery.
It didn't matter though, because I no longer cared.
On Christmas Day, when they were celebrating, they finally remembered me.
But I was already dead.

Five years in hell, my beloved and best friend joined hands to push me into the abyss. The savior I trusted was actually a deadly fraud. Reborn from despair, Vito came through the light. I tore apart the scumbag and the evil woman, settled all debts, broke free from the shadow, stepped into the light, and lived the rest of my life only for myself.

The day my all-powerful wife personally handed me over to the mob's basement, she was shielding my identical twin brother, furiously accusing me of destroying his ability to carry on the family line.
To compensate for my brother's "trauma," my parents stood by and did nothing. Using her influence, my wife pressured me to take his place at a black-market clinic, testing a lethal drug.
They thought I was just going to suffer some physical hardship, that after enduring these two weeks, everything would be happily resolved.
But they didn't know I had already been poisoned by my brother. I was dying.
I died in agony on the cold operating table. As my body was being gnawed and rotted by rats, they were happily vacationing by the sea.
Only when the lies were exposed did my wife kick down the hidden door. Holding my maggot-infested, decaying flesh, she wept until she vomited blood, then went mad and swallowed a bullet. My parents watched their family shattered and wept on their knees.

One of my employees went online and dragged me, claiming I'm making them sacrifice their health for a paycheck and forcing everyone to work over Thanksgiving.

Here's what actually happened. My company gives nine days off for Thanksgiving. Volunteer to work overtime, get triple pay, with a $500 daily meal stipend and a $5,000 bonus. No one gets penalized for not working.

The whole internet's tearing into me for making employees sell their lives for cash. So I give her exactly what she wants and send out a company-wide notice:

To protect employee mental health, the building gets locked and the power gets cut over Thanksgiving. No one is allowed to work for any reason. Anyone who does gets fired.

The minute that email goes out, the employees who were counting on overtime to pay their mortgages lose it. Now they're all crowded outside the building, begging me to open the doors.

After I got pregnant with my second child, our two foster kids turned into monsters.
Ten-year-old Silas started hiding crushed glass in my prenatal meals. His eight-year-old sister, Lyra, would stand outside my door at night, whispering, "Die, Vivienne. It's your time to die."
When Silas violently shoved me toward the stairs, I packed their bags, ready to send them back to the agency.
But my five-year-old daughter, Elodie, clung to them, begging me through tears.
Foolishly, I relented. I let them stay.
Shortly after, I lost my baby.
I closed my eyes in absolute despair—only to open them and find myself back on the exact day I discovered I was pregnant.

“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.

While playing truth and dare with her friends, Isabella is forced to kiss a handsome stranger in a club.
When she goes for an interview, the man she kisses turns out to be a billionare and blackmails her to signing a contract with him.
Justin Noble wants a wife to secure his family inheritance so when Isabella presents herself to him, he offers her a contract marriage but this marriage doesn't last.
When Justin's true love returns, Isabella is kicked away ruthlessly but what happens when she discovers that she's pregnant with twins?
What will Justin do when he realizes that he can't live without Isabella?
Follow me to discover what happens when the two pursue Love, revenge and redemption.

She is the 7th princess of the north kingdom and became the Baroness of Westland when she was forced to marry the Baron.

A Day that was supposed to be the happiest day of her life turned the saddest nightmare when Princess Althea woke up to the news that her father the king was going to give her away to the Baron of Westland, Damian Clark, who is said to be the most Ruthless, Merciless and unkind Baron to ever rule Westland as the second in command after the king.

Althea was not going to let herself end up in the hands of such a man who's also half beast so she tried to escape but was caught by him and he forced her to marry him.

“You don’t remember me?” Damian asked in a questioning voice laced with anger.

Althea slowly shifted back away in fear as he approached her, his eyes were red in rage.

“I……..I don’t……….know you” she shivered, she is the fearless type but when faced with such a man, she was really scared.

Damian felt so angry and disappointed that she didn’t remember him from ten years ago when she had made him promise to come marry her on her 20th birthday which he actually did. He felt anger realizing that she lost her memory of him. How come she lost her memory?

Even if she had lost her memory of him, he was still going to make her his.

Seeing that he doesn’t plan on ever letting her go, Althea knew she was doomed…….But is she? Will she remember him including the fact that she was the one who made him swear to come marry her on her 20th birthday? There is only one way to find out.

"I am so tired of pretending, where is my happy ending "

Jessa's mother was jilted by her father before the twins were born, leaving only the house where they once lived. It was a tough and unpredictable roller coaster that was sure to leave one scared for life.

Well that's until a cause was proclaimed on the family that stole her twins from her on the day of their birth.
Will the causes be fulfilled at the appointed time?

Will the twins eventually locate their mother?

Will she be sane enough to look after her twins?

Will everything returns to normal?

What happens when the twins' father returns? With questions like this left unanswered you know you don't want to be Left hanging, find out on A twin with a difference.

Amaya didn't expect her life to drastically change, she had moved to the US to work and support her family. She thought she was coming to work as a house maid not knowing she is going to be surrogate for a billionaire who has decided not to marry but want to be a father.

Welcome to The Wonderland Club.

Here you can explore all your darkest fantasies and strangest dreams. No wicked thought or outlandish request is too much. Free yourself from the shackles of reality and join us in this fantastical world. Let loose and go a little mad because we're all mad here.

My name is Alicia. I'm trapped in the Wonderland Club, a slave to the ruthless owner Wendel and his red queen Lilith. I had a debt with them and when they decided to relocate for better business options they took all of us who owed them a debt with them.

Now we're stuck in this place we can never leave, and none of us know when I debt will be paid. Because there is no rules in Wonderland.

When someone is killed outside the club though all hell breaks loose. Suddenly our club is under a microscope and the cops are banging down the door. Why they don't know is they won't find answers here, no one knows the truth about this place. That means no witnesses for them to talk to and no evidence to help their case.

That doesn't seem to deter Detective Rowan King. He sees things he shouldn't and the first time he looked at me I knew I wouldn't be able to hide. There is a spark between us which means he might be the one to finally break me free. Now I just have to convince him and my other guys not to kill each other long enough for us to escape.

This is going to be messy.

*this is a reverse harem story which means the female main character will have more than one love interest.

*TW: Blood, violence, language, sexual content, crime, and descriptions of crime scenes

Lumi once lived a life full of hope and happiness, but after her parents' mysterious death, she’s left broken and enslaved in the Frostborne Pack. Interest: Discovering that her parents were murdered by the rogue Alpha, Kilan, and learning of her boyfriend Kael’s betraya

Giselle has lived her life as the perfect Luna until the day she finds out her fiance has been cheating on her on the day before her wedding. In an impulsive act of revenge she mistakenly enters the wrong room and has a one night stand with a callboy. Her life takes a tumultuous turn when she finds out she's pregnant with the child of a call boy and what's worse he is nowhere to be seen. Amid the turmoil of an unplanned pregnancy and an uncaring and abusive father, she crossed paths again with the call boy from that fateful night. Only this time he's the future king and Alpha of the kingdom and her fiance's boss. Will he be the one to mend her broken heart and show her the love she truly deserves?

Elena died on the operating table, betrayed by her husband, her unborn child already gone.
But death? Just her intermission.
She woke up in a whole new world—a beastmen's world, where females are rarer than diamonds and the strongest males go mad without a woman's mark to calm them down.
And her?
Labelled the weakest female alive. An F-rank body with a joke of a status.
But hidden inside? Unlimited mental power.
Just as she's figuring out this mess, a system pops up with one hell of an offer:
Complete the missions. Bond with assigned males. Save this world.
Do all that, and you get a one-way ticket back home… for revenge.
Sounds simple? Think again.
A Wolf General, colder than a blizzard, who should have ended her—ended up letting her mark him.
A Fox Prince, all charming smiles and secret schemes, who started playing games only to lose his own heart.
A golden Dragon, sunshine-bright and fiercely possessive, who declares her his destined treasure.
A shadowy Serpent, too patient and too dangerous, watching her every move from the dark.
A Phoenix King, whose love burns so hot he'd reduce empires to cinders for her.
They all need her mark. They all want her.
And sharing? Not in their vocabulary.
Too bad for them—
She's not here for love stories.
She's here to survive.
To climb.
To turn their legendary power into her own stepping stones.
And one day…
To go back and make her betrayers wish they were never born.

Three years of marriage. Harper gave up her career, cut off her friends, and made herself invisible for Evan.
Then on her birthday, the blow came. Claire showed up pregnant: "Mrs. Morgan's spot will be mine eventually. What's the point of you holding onto it?"
Harper finally woke up. She filed for divorce without looking back.
The day she signed the papers, she smiled calmly at the reporters waiting outside: "The reason for the divorce? Mr. Morgan was simply never able to satisfy me. In that department."
The untouchable CEO became a punchline overnight.
Evan assumed she was getting back at him. He had no idea Harper was no longer the caged bird he remembered.
Her design talent shook the industry. His own business rivals fell for her.
By the time he realized the partner he had been desperately chasing was his ex-wife, it was already too late.
"Harper, can we start over?"
"Mr. Morgan, if something's wrong with you, go see a doctor. Do you need me to pay for the appointment?"

The day the IVF succeeded was when I realized Michael had deceived me all along.
He had only used me as a surrogate for my sister.
When I confronted him, he tested me, forcing me to kill someone. "Afraid to pull the trigger? Doesn't seem like my kind of woman," he sneered.
I tried to run, but he caught me.
He kept me locked away, forced me to eat foods I was allergic to until I needed my stomach pumped, and chained me to the bed while he went off with her.
I cried until I had no tears left—and finally learned how to hold a gun.

My adopted sister, Cordelia, conspired with her biological mother to harvest my organs alive, yet she had the audacity to claim I paid thugs to rape her.
My biological parents didn't bother to ask for the truth. They cursed me, calling me a vicious bastard, and threatened to break my legs.
My fiancé, Caspian, coldly announced the cancellation of our engagement, declaring he would marry the very murderer who killed me.
I had been dead for exactly three days. No one cared. My body was rotting back in a moldy storage room.
Through it all, my soul was trapped in the manor, forced to witness this absurd farce.
But what they didn't expect was that when they finally learned of my death—
Everyone went completely insane.

They thought that by forcing me to my death, they could devour everything.

My father jumped off a building, and I became a destitute young master whom everyone could bully. To pay off debts, I married into the Hawthorne family and became their sharpest knife.

After my father-in-law died suddenly, my wife immediately brought her childhood sweetheart into the house and forced me to divorce him.

My resistance resulted in a murder plotted by 928 × 213.

When I opened my eyes again, Chloe, who had been watching over me for three days and three nights, was beside me.

She said, "I'll take you away."

Three years later, I returned as a mysterious investor. The first thing I did was to buy the family's bankrupt old factory for 1.5 billion.

My ex-wife and I bumped into each other on the street; it was like seeing a ghost.

I smiled and stuck a 30 million yuan check on her forehead: "This is to repay the divorce fee you gave me back then. Keep the change."

The real revenge has only just begun.

My daughter helped my husband cheat.

My ten-year-old begged me to take her to a summer camp in Italy. My husband looked at her like she hung the moon. Booked the tickets right there.

I thought I was the luckiest mom alive.

Then I checked the pet camera from overseas.

There he was, fucking my daughter's riding instructor on our couch.

But what really killed me? What he said, "Don't worry. Nina wants that horse bad enough, she'll keep her mom in Europe as long as we need."

Back home, my husband dropped a receipt. Two identical limited edition watches.

He froze. My sweet daughter didn't miss a beat, "Dad used the other one to bribe someone so I could get my horse!"

They lied in perfect sync. That's when something in me broke.

They thought I was still that stupid, trusting wife.

What they didn't know?

I'd already signed a contract. Going back to my art career in New York.

Nineteen times. That's how many times Lucas promised to marry me, only to leave me standing alone because of her.
Today was supposed to be our day. But as I stood in the biting cold outside the restaurant, watching him carefully help Selena into his Maybach, the marriage application still tucked in my purse, I finally understood—that "someday" would never come.
"Let's reschedule the registration, okay?" he'd said without even looking at me.
I walked straight to HR and submitted my resignation. Then I accepted the offer from the Morinetti family—his sworn enemies.
As I boarded my flight to the West Coast, my phone exploded with messages.
"We agreed to go to City Hall today. Where are you?"
I glanced at the screen one last time, then powered it off.
"We're done."

My life with alpha Caleb was a never - ending nightmare.

Manipulated by Amara, he became my tormentor.

I endured his infidelity, false accusations, and brutal abuse.

Amara framed me for her miscarriage, and Caleb, without hesitation, believed her lies.

He forced an abortion on me, broke my legs, and stood by as Amara caused the death of my mother.

Every hope I had for our relationship was shattered.

Finally, I found the strength to break free and sever the mate bond.

In Nathaniel, my childhood friend, I discovered true love and support.

Despite Caleb’s desperate attempts to win me back, I refused to return to the darkness...

On the night of her wedding, Evelyn Knight paid the ultimate price for trusting the wrong man—her husband murdered her with his own hands.
But fate grants her a second chance.
Reborn on the very day she's meant to marry Nathaniel Andrews, Evelyn wastes no time. This time, she won't be the victim. She escapes the altar and makes a bold move—straight into the arms of her husband's sworn rival.
"Mr. Everett, will you marry me?"
"This a surrender?"
"No," she smirks. "This is a tactical retreat followed by a counterattack."
What begins as a calculated alliance quickly spirals into something far more dangerous—obsession, protection, desire. Julian Everett never expected to fall for the woman who barged into his life like a storm. But now that he has her, he won't let her go.
This time, Evelyn isn't just rewriting her fate—She's taking her revenge one kiss at a time.

Lorraine never expected to lose her virginity to her cold, unreadable CEO Tristan—let alone five times in one night. Even more shocking? He keeps showing up to save her, stepping in not once, but twice, to protect her from a toxic ex. After several heartfelt proposals, she finally agrees to a contract marriage—thinking it's a practical solution to a messy life.

Tristan has had his eyes on Lorraine for years—the brilliant top designer working quietly under his nose. The contract is just the beginning of his plan to claim her completely. He's ready to offer her everything: protection, devotion, and a love she's never dared to hope for.

But when jealous exes and relentless suitors re-enter the picture, threatening to tear them apart, their fragile arrangement is put to the test. Can a marriage built on strategy survive long enough to become something real?

When Iris went to prison for her boyfriend, she discovered that he was about to marry Alpha's daughter.
It turned out that he had been using her all along and then abandoned her...
Iris fell into despair, but unexpectedly, she crossed paths with Marcus, Alpha's son and her former patient.
She became her ex's brother-in-law's wedding companion?! The most notorious playboy in the Pack?

Everything she believed in was a lie.
Keira and Alden were Chosen Mates who built the powerful Stormfang Pack together—until she discovered their Mate Bond was a witch's illusion, and the child she raised was actually his with his true Fated Mate, the Omega Rena.
Broken and ready to leave, a secret letter reveals she is the long-lost daughter of Mooncrest Pack's Alpha, the sole heir to a legacy she never knew.
As her dormant Alpha blood awakens in rage, she vows to reclaim her birthright.
But when Kaelan, the cold and calculating Alpha King, approaches her and claims, "You are my Fated Mate," Keira is thrown into deeper confusion.
Why would he say that? And in a world built on deception, can a bond that begins as strategy ever become real… or is it just another layer of the game?

“He dies to grow stronger. The Tower wants him dead.”

On an ordinary night in Jaipur, the sky splits open and a colossal black tower appears above the city.

Within hours, the same towers rise across the world.

A mysterious voice echoes through every phone, every television, every mind.

“Welcome, players. Enter the Tower and earn power beyond imagination.”

Those who step inside quickly learn the truth.

The Tower is not a game.

It is a brutal trial where monsters roam, alliances break, and death is common.

Millions enter.

Most never return.

Arjun Rathore never planned to become a hero. He was just another engineering student trying to survive in a world that suddenly changed overnight. But on the day he enters the Tower, something impossible happens.

A strange message appears before his eyes.

“Hidden System Detected.”

“Karma Ability Activated.”

Moments later, Arjun is killed by a monster on the first floor.

But instead of dying… he wakes up twenty-four hours earlier.

The same day begins again.

At first, he believes it’s luck.

Then it happens again.

And again.

Every time Arjun dies, time rewinds.

Every mistake becomes knowledge.

Every defeat becomes experience.

But the Tower is watching.

And Arjun soon discovers something terrifying.

He is not supposed to have this power.

Somewhere inside the Tower, something ancient has noticed him.

Something that hunts players who break the rules.

Now Arjun must climb the Tower, uncover its secrets, and survive enemies far stronger than himself.

Because if the Tower discovers what he truly is…

Not even death will save him.

After years of marriage, my husband and son see me as a disgrace.
Time and again, they abandon me to care for another woman, and this time, I finally wake up.
They are not worth my love！
But when I officially ask for a divorce, they suddenly claim that I am the one they truly love.
What is going on?

On the day my son died, I saw my husband out playing with his mistress and her child.
They carelessly destroyed my child's belongings and took over my home.
They even suspected I was lying, treating his death as a joke.
Only when I revealed I had just three months to live did my husband's remorse finally arrive.
But it was too late. I would personally take back everything that belonged to me!

1

I once loved Ryan deeply and helped him become the Alpha, only to be rewarded with chains in a dungeon and the mocking laughter of him and his mistress.

Fate gave me a second chance—I woke up reborn on the morning of the mate selection ceremony. There he was, still ordering me around in front of everyone, expecting me to play the obedient servant.

Everyone tried to convince me that Ryan, the man who killed me, is the "right choice."

Yet I chose Connor—the man feared by the entire clan, the one who will bring ruin to the clan for the sake of his one true love.

This time, I refuse to be the stepping stone on Ryan's climb to power.

I'm going to make everyone see who truly holds the reins.

For the third time, Kael fled before the wedding—this time to deliver medicine to the neighbor girl he grew up with.
As compensation, the pack elders offered me two chests of rare ore and the deed to an island.
Someone, still hopeful, called Kael on speakerphone.
His careless voice echoed through the hall:
“Why bother with compensation? Ella loves me so much; she’ll come around as soon as I go back and sweet-talk her a little.”
“Sophia’s health is what matters now. Once she recovers, I’ll just hold another ceremony for Ella.”
The elders tried to explain, but the surrounding werewolves were all waiting to see the show—waiting to see how much humiliation I would swallow.
Just like the first two times.
But I’d had enough. And I’d lost all interest in Kael.
I kicked over the chest of ore and let my gaze fall on Kael’s uncle.
Then, I smiled.
“I heard the old Alpha left a will: whoever can claim me… becomes the next Alpha.”

My brother Miles blames me for our parents' deaths.
So he chose to adopt the deaf Vivian instead of keeping me.
Later, I met Sullivan.
He gave me a grand confession. He chose me, resolutely.
He also said I hired someone to assault Vivian—that I didn't deserve sympathy.
Five years after being cast out of my family, a dismembered female body was found inside a carnival mascot costume.
Miles, now a police officer, led the investigation. Sullivan, now a forensic pathologist, performed the autopsy.
They saw the bloodstained hearing aid and immediately called Vivian.
"I'm fine. I just saw the news—some big case. Should we tell Sis to be careful too? What if something happens to her?"
They refused, almost in unison.
"The moment she killed our parents, she stopped being my sister."
"She was jealous of you. She did too many terrible things. If she's dead, she had it coming."
My soul hovered in the air, watching them. I laughed until I cried.
But when they found out the victim was me—
Why did they both go mad?

When Carol Bennett caught her long-time boyfriend cheating, she didn't cry or beg. Instead, she exposed the scandal online, turning him into a viral disgrace overnight. Then, without looking back, she agreed to a marriage of convenience with Ethan Mitchell, a powerful billionaire suffering from a terminal illness—her estranged father's carefully arranged match.
On their wedding night, Ethan handed her a cold-hearted prenup and warned her not to expect love, money, or a future. Fine by Carol. She played her role perfectly, calling him "husband" with a sweet smile while keeping her heart locked away.
But the aloof CEO who once wanted nothing to do with her is now the one chasing her. One kiss, one glance, and suddenly he's breaking his own rules.
"Carol, kiss me."
She smirks, her fingers trailing along his collarbone. "Falling for me already, Mr. CEO? Looks like you're the one breaking the contract."
Who would've thought the dying billionaire would end up begging for a second chance?

"You want a divorce?" His voice was ice, sending a chill down her spine. "You'll never get it."
For three years, Bellatrix devoted herself to Cillian Laurent—Miami’s ruthless tycoon and her indifferent husband—hoping to earn his love. But when she’s diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, she realizes the bitter truth: she was never his choice. Just a placeholder for the woman who abandoned him… and has now returned.
Determined to reclaim her life, Bellatrix demands a divorce. But the man who once ignored her now refuses to let her go. As buried secrets unravel, she discovers their twisted marriage was never what it seemed.
Can she break free from a love that was never hers?
Or will his obsession destroy them both?

He was born into extraordinary wealth, admired by all.
Until the woman he loved betrayed him. After years together, they parted ways.
Five years later, their paths crossed again. He sat at a bar with another woman in his arms, but the moment he saw her, rage flashed in his eyes.
"You betrayed me. What gives you the right to show your face here?"
She nodded and walked away.
He lost his mind searching for her.
Only then did he learn why she had really left.
He pulled her close, arms tight around her. "Marry me. Whatever burdens you carry, I'll carry them with you. Whatever tears fall, I'll wipe them away."

After being stood up for the ninety-ninth time while attempting to register for marriage, I sent my fiancé a breakup message. He had allowed me to be let down ninety-nine times, dismissing my asthma as mere pretentiousness and perceiving my sacrifices as acts of greed, all the while lavishing his patience upon another woman. It was only when he had his mistress select a cheap necklace for me and sketched explicit nudes of her that I realized these seven years were not a narrative of profound love, but rather an absurd farce playing out solely in my life. The moment I dispatched the breakup message, I never envisioned that this man, who viewed me as dispensable, would later pursue me with a frenzied obsession.

As the tyrant ruling the underworld, Victor was ruthless and bloodthirsty, showing no mercy to anyone.

Women who tried to climb into his bed usually didn’t even get a whole corpse, yet I was the only one he kept by his side.

I’d taken a poisoned bullet for him, and nearly bled to death on the rotting floor of a safe house giving birth to his son.

He once kissed the bullet scar on my shoulder and promised me that when he sat on the godfather’s throne, I would be his only family matriarch.

But the moment he slipped on that black onyx ring symbolizing power, he carried another woman into the master bedroom of the manor.

I burst for the door, and he ordered his bodyguards to pin me outside, forcing me to listen to their sounds of passion all night long.

I banged on the door like a madwoman, so he slammed my paintbrush-wielding right hand in the heavy oak doorframe and crushed it mercilessly.

I finally caved when he threatened to cut off my mother’s hospital treatment.