108 Book(s) Related to paper towns summary

I could feel blood rushing out from my hands but I couldn’t see it

I felt a claw growing from its finger
My eyes widened a little

I saw a face coming out of the mirror
His face was filled with bloods
His teeth was a black color as bloods were flowing down from it

His claw finds its way to my neck as we both screamed together

I jumped up from my bed, breathing heavily
It was a dream

Every time my husband wants to make me give in, he slaps divorce papers on the table. Every time my parents want me to cave, they threaten to disown me.

What they want is simple: give everything to my twin sister.

I used to fight back. I cried. I demanded to know why it always had to be me.

But when the doctor slides the test results across his desk and tells me in that pitying voice, "Stage four brain cancer. You have a month, maybe less," something in me just... stops caring.

I'm dying anyway. They can do whatever the hell they want.

As he got closer to climax, he was more aggressively gripping my hair, "you're mine and no one will ever take you from me," he whispered as my heart beat faster and faster in a panic.


Vivienne Layley lost her husband in a car accident. Over and over again she keeps running into Officer Aaron Jansen. Officer Jansen is not who he claims to be, a sinister motive is lurking just beyond Vivienne's view. She feels herself drawn to him, and something about him just made her couldn't stop thinking about him. Will Vivienne be able to escape his possessive and obsessive ways, or will Officer Jansen ultimately get what he wants?

Love is not part of why Kane Beaumont marries Emilia Taylor.
It was purely a contract deal to him and nothing more. Saving her family's business from the claws of evil loan sharks is Emilia's motive for marrying a man she barely knew.
However, she doesn't count on being hopelessly attracted to him even when he treats her like a worthless peasant.
Their relationship is chaotic, thanks to Kane's lover who is determined to ruin any opportunity of their romance ever blooming.
Even if it means putting Emilia's life in danger, setting her up, and turning the world against her.
When sparks begin to fly between Kane and Emilia after an unfortunate accident, their relationship goes through a tough test that destroys the tiny flames of love burning between them.
Will love eventually find a way in the end or will this marriage continue to be a high-stakes business deal with dangerous rewards?

During bright and sunny summer holidays, a group of incredibly wealthy teenage friends embark on a lifestyle filled with luxury and unforgettable adventures. Staying in a stunning beachfront villa, their days and nights are a perfect blend of fun, relaxation, and excitement but filled with conflicts and drama.

The story revolves around six friends: Jake ( Jaxon), Maddie, Oliv (Olivia), Ethan, Liam, and Ruby, Together, they create a summer full of extravagant and memorable moments.

Their days are spent indulging in the finest things life has to offer. They host private yacht parties along the beautiful Hawaiian cost, take spontaneous trips to exclusive destinations in their private jets, and relax by their luxurious infinity pool. They savor gourmet meals prepared by world-class chefs and embark on high-end shopping sprees at prestigious boutiques. They find themselves at glamorous parties, exclusive club events, or enjoying intimate gatherings under the starry sky each night.

Despite their opulent lifestyle, the friends face the complexities of their relationships, personal ambitions, and the constant scrutiny of the public eye. Amidst the glamour, they navigate issues of trust, loyalty, and the search for true happiness.

Summer Kills is a vibrant and glamorous tale of friendship, fortune, and the limitless possibilities that come with immense wealth. This story offers a dazzling portrayal of the ultimate summer, where every day is an adventure and every night is a celebration.

One summer, Callisto and his family visited the town of Isabela, the place where the legendary Mt. Octover could be found. In a short time, Callisto met and fell in love with a strange girl named Stalin. However, their relationship wasn’t easy because Stalin had been cursed by a goddess named Estrella, and she had lost her sanity.
During their vacation, Sebastian and Dorothy, Callisto’s parents, reminisced their memories from seventeen years earlier, when they were a young couple. But not all those memories were pleasant; some were nightmares they wished to forget forever. Due to amnesia, however, Callisto’s father couldn't remember any of it.
Callisto had a sister named Ruth, but she wasn’t his sister by blood. Ruth was adopted from an orphanage. Unbeknownst to the family, she was actually one of Estrella’s minions.
Now it's your turn to accompany Callisto in his journey to unravel the mysteries of his parents’ past, the curse haunting his beloved Stalin, and the true intention behind Ruth’s return.

Beautiful, kind and loyal.
Who would have thought this would happen to her?
When Piper steps in to help a friend, she would never expect she would land in serious trouble. Abused, broken and used as a pawn in a conspiracy to bring down her best friend’s husband’s company, her life takes on a sudden somersault.
Will she ever walk out of this living hell or will she be drawn in by the temptation of the evil within?

Ethan Ashworth had nothing — no money, no family, no future. Just a rundown room, a handsome face that brought him nothing but pain, and the daily beatings from rich bullies who saw him as trash.

Then came the brutal ambush behind the school building. Left bleeding and alone as the weekend began, Ethan finally gave up on life.

That was when the voice spoke.

[Bloodline Legacy Contract activated.]

Suddenly, the frail orphan from the slums was thrust into another world — a realm of magic, kings, and monsters. With a mysterious system at his side and a sword in his hand, Ethan must complete deadly missions to grow stronger.

Because back home, the rich still rule… and he has a score to settle.

From #1 New York Times Bestselling author Vi Keeland comes a new, sexy standalone novel.The first time I met Max Yearwood was on a blind date.Max was insanely gorgeous, funny, and our chemistry was off the charts. He also had the biggest dimples I’d ever laid eyes on.Exactly what I needed after my breakup.Or so I thought…Until my real date arrived.Turned out, Max wasn’t who I was there to meet. He only pretended to be until my real date showed up.To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.Before he left, he slipped me a ticket to a hockey game a few blocks away, in case things didn’t work out on my actual date.I tossed the ticket into my purse and went about trying to enjoy the man I was supposed to meet.But my real blind date and I had no connection.So on my way home, I decided to take a chance and stop by the game.When I arrived, the seat next to me was empty.Disappointed again, I decided to leave at the end of the period.Just before the buzzer, one of the teams scored, and the entire arena went crazy.A player’s face flashed up on the Jumbotron. He was wearing a helmet, but I froze when he smiled.You guessed it: Dimples.Apparently, my fake blind date hadn’t invited me to watch hockey with him, he’d invited me to watch him play.And so began my adventure with Max Yearwood.He was everything I needed at the time—fun, sexy, up for anything, and only around for a few months since he’d signed with a new team three-thousand miles away.Max proposed we spend the summer helping me forget my ex. It sounded like a good plan. Things couldn’t get too serious when we had an expiration date. Right?Though, you know what they say about the best-laid plans.

The day Elodie was diagnosed with late-stage cancer, she received intimate photos of her husband and his mistress.

Five years of marriage, and she had been nothing more than a presentable servant — her mother-in-law barked orders at will, her husband saved every tender moment for someone else, and even the money to treat her illness had to pass through layers of approval.

Finally, she slid the divorce papers across the table to him, picked up her luggage, and moved into a rented room. In her pocket: the cheapest painkillers she could find. On the bill: Initial Treatment Cost — $100,000.

No one knew she was sick. And no one remembered that this so-called "useless young madam" had once been a legendary prodigy at law school.

A light buried under dust for too long.

It was time to dig it back out.

Madeline Quinn was supposed to spend the summer tracking whales—not falling for the two rugged, infuriating brothers who run the research boat.

Jake is steady and silent. Reid is sharp and impossible. They’re both off-limits.

And yet… the deeper she goes, the harder it is to come up for air.


“You should’ve stayed on the boat,” Jake said, voice quiet but firm.

“I’m not made of glass,” she snapped.

Reid pushed off the wall with one boot. “No, you’re made of trouble.”

“Reid—” Jake warned without looking at him.

“What?” Reid said with a shrug, moving a step closer. “Look at her. She knows what she’s doing.”

Madeline lifted her chin. “And what exactly am I doing?”

“Turning this into something dangerous,” Reid said, almost too calmly. His eyes didn’t waver.

Jake finally looked at her. “It already is.”

She swallowed. Her pulse thudded in her throat.

“You think I don’t feel it too?”

Reid’s lips twitched like he almost smiled. “Oh, she feels it.”
He stepped closer—just enough to make her catch her breath.
“But I don’t think she knows what to do with it.”

Jake stood now, his movements slower, more deliberate. “That’s enough.”

“No,” Madeline said, softer now. “He’s right. I don’t know what this is. With either of you.”

Reid’s voice dropped. “Then let us show you.”

A long silence. The kind that doesn’t feel empty—just heavy.

Jake’s gaze didn’t waver. “Together.”

Her breath hitched. Rain hit the windows. Her towel slipped an inch lower on her shoulder.

“God help me,” she whispered.

4

Aurora is A simple maiden living in the occupied lands of Montenegro.

At a banquet truss, She was invited to the mansion of the Montenegro and one night changed her life when she met her siblings, Manuel and Ezekiel.
She discovered that the siblings had a strange feeling for her. She discovers that she also has a secret love for Montenegro.

How can he fight that love without hurting the other one?

From the heat of summer nights to the quiet of winter mornings, each book in The Seasons of Us series follows a journey of first love, heartbreak, and the fragile hope of starting over. With every season comes a new chapter, new beginnings, painful goodbyes, and moments that linger long after they’ve passed.

ORIGINALLY ON AMAZON

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?"

Ariella Hayes was seventeen years old when she learned that grief had a taste.
It tasted like burnt sugar. Like the batch of croissants she’d left in the oven too long the morning after the funeral, too numb to hear the timer, too broken to care. Like the coffee, she drank black now because adding cream felt like a luxury she didn’t deserve. Grief tasted like everything and nothing.
Mostly nothing.
She was thinking about this at 4:47 a.m., lying in bed and staring at the water stain on her ceiling that resembled a reaching hand. She’d been awake since three. She was always awake from three, that gray hour when the world was silent enough to hear all the things she tried not to think about during the day.
Like how it was her fault.
How she should have been the one in the car.
How her mother hadn’t really looked at her in six months.
The timer screamed, and Ariella dragged herself out of bed, moving through the apartment like a ghost, past her mother’s bedroom door, down the narrow stairs to Hayes & Daughter Bakery. The name felt like a lie now. Her grandmother was gone. Ethan was gone. Soon the bakery would be gone too, and it would just be Ariella and her mother in an empty building, haunting the space where their family used to be.

She is about to embark on a life-altering journey as she enters a contract marriage with billionaire heir Aiden Frost, all in a bid to rescue her family’s struggling bakery. As they step into this pretend union, neither of them anticipates how their arrangement will evolve into a haven, where they might uncover feelings that challenge their initial intentions.

Do all men lose interest in their wives after marriage?

We’ve been married for five years, and he never touched me.

At first he said he wasn’t well, so I was understanding. Later he recovered, but still kept me far away.

On our fifth wedding anniversary, my sister came in for a check-up, clearly pregnant with his child.

The truth hit me hard: he wasn’t incapable. He was just incapable with me.

I drew up the divorce papers, ready to end this empty marriage.

On the reason for divorce, I wrote with my own hand:

“Male sexual dysfunction; no marital relations in five years.”

He only smiled coldly when he saw it.

A week later, in the urology clinic.

I put on my medical gloves, looked at him, and said calmly:

“Sir, will you undress yourself, or shall I help you?”

His disapproval didn’t take away my confidence.

I still embraced better things in my career and love life!

But his life started to be filled with one accident after another.

“I want a divorce!” Angela said, staring at her young and handsome husband with her head high.

“You had the nerve to tell me that? Fine! Who wants to stay married to an ugly and stupid woman?” Sky Mars scoffed, looking at her from head to toe. “How much do you want from me?” He asked, thinking she only married him for his money.

“I don’t need your money, Sky. Only that,” Angela pointed at the beautiful handmade quilt on the bed.

“Not only you’re ugly and stupid, but you’re also crazy. Take this, sign the divorce papers, and don’t ever come back,” He took the blue peacock design comforter on the bed, throwing it at her.

She picked up the quilt that landed on the floor and turned her back on him, hugging the soft fabric as she walked toward the door. She did not bother correcting him that she is not ugly and stupid, but crazy? Maybe. She was probably insane falling in love with Sky, that not only the name and status is beyond her reach but also his heart.

“Kayleigh, you will either take your pants off, or I’ll do it!” Alexander Hearst warned her.

If her thighs were not swelling and in pain, this could probably lead to something else because the way he said it turned her on.

“Then do it.”

She could not take her joke back because he had already opened the button and pulled down the zipper of her pants. Carefully, he took her pants off, and she could hear him gasp as he carefully touched the red skin. He jolted when she yelped in pain.

“What’s this, Kayleigh?” His voice was low and angry.

She wished to tell him she was lucky her father did not hang her on the wall to punish her for getting married without telling them. It was an accidental marriage, only for convenience, but who would have thought she would be married to the stranger she met at the elevator, the gorgeous, sexually attractive, and the luscious man she had ever met.

She was a powerful witch, disguised as a maid to the prince who found her attractive yet dangerous.

She clearly had secrets, the prince believed she had something to do with his younger brother, who coveted the throne when they were kids.

But the prince was only half right. Her agenda remained a secret to everyone until the truth emerged...

Fell in love again with my twin white wolf mates.

When my mate saved me from being bullied, I thought it was the best gift the moon goddess could give me.

To my surprise, my mate is a twin!

But will they remember me after my rebirth?


This innocent sensuality was most tempting. I almost wanted to submit, almost--

No, I couldn't. She seemed drugged and didn't know what she was doing, and besides, she wasn't Tanya.

She wasn't Tanya... I shouldn't touch her.

I warned myself to suppress the flames of desire, but her hips suddenly moved at this moment, causing my member to sink slightly into her delicate folds.

Damn it! I cursed under my breath but couldn't restrain myself any longer. My tongue entangled with her small and delicate pink tongue, and I couldn't resist letting weak desire take over everything...


My life was a never-ending struggle.

As a descendant of witches, I possessed incredible powers that lay dormant within me, waiting to be awakened. But the tragic loss of my mother left me alone and powerless, with no guidance on how to use my witch abilities. To make matters worse, I was constantly bullied by the Dark Moon pack, who saw me as an outcast because of my Omega heritage. Even my own father, an Omega himself, abused me, adding to my emotional turmoil.

But my luck changed when I met my second chance mates Brande and Elton, the Alpha twin brothers of the White Wolf clan.

Yes, mates.

They were unlike anyone I had ever met - Elton exuded dominance and confidence, while Brande was gentle and caring. Despite their vastly different personalities, both brothers fell in love with me and vowed to protect me.

The three of us formed an unbreakable bond, but fate had other plans...

"I want you," he growled. "I need you. Beth, look at me."

She couldn’t help but kiss him back, even though she knew she shouldn't have.

Beth, the widow of Daniel's brother in the middle of a brewing war when the pack needed leadership most, her! receiving Daniel's every thrust of his hips as he ground upon her with their clothes in the way.

It had barely been an hour since she had received Daniel's confession and told him to be patient, and she might have given him something to cling to when she didn't turn him down, but this was too fast.

She had needed time to convince herself to be reasonable, and not to do something stupid like let Daniel grope her over his sheets while she writhed underneath him and grew damp between her thighs all the while.

Beth was dying, she prayed to Moon Goddess for a second chance to live her life. When she opened her eyes again, she realized her wish was granted. In this life, it seemed like it didn't get off to a good start as well, because she became a widow on her wedding day. But then she met her brother-in-law, Daniel, the most ruthless Alpha she remembered in the past life... What happened next was far beyond her expectation...

I am suddenly lifted up in the air. In shock, for a split of a second, I think someone wants to pick me up, then smash me down on the floor.

But I am wrong. In these short moments, I am in a trance. I smell the fresh scent of ocean salt in the morning. I have never smelled such a pure fragrance.

It brings my whole being out of this place, out of this hell, as if a beautiful golden sun is rising above the horizon, bringing light to the dark sky.

Then, I see a firm jawline, a tall and slightly bony nose, and strong and broad shoulders. I am being hugged by a pair of muscular arms. A gorgeous stranger was lifting me up like a weightless feather, and carrying me out of the monstrous crowd. Who was he?


My name is Isabella Atwater, and I am the last princess of the Werewolf Empire, a great kingdom that existed for centuries, ruling over the night.

We are a lost realm that was once resplendent and stretched from the continent of North Landing, across the Old Mountains, to the southern edge of the Gentle Sea. But now, the whole race is tarnished. Packs of werewolves are in hiding, living in the shadows since we lost our blessed King, and all the power we once held was lost along with him.

It seemed like the Moon goddess had abandoned us. I once thought that I would die like this, ending my life as I bear all the pain of my race. But what I didn’t expect was, that day, a miracle brought me to my fated destiny. The day I met him, the love of my life, in the place I grew up, called Moonlit.

"Jue, the marriage ends here—"
"Let's break up."
The sudden word was like a heavy stone smashing into the calm water.
The two sides suddenly fell into a stalemate but turbulent silence, and the atmosphere gradually became depressing.
After a long silence, the man's deep voice carried an indescribable anger—
"I admit that I shouldn't have missed the wedding. You have an emotional misunderstanding, and I will explain it to you when I go back. But Zhiyin, don't use such words as canceling the marriage and breaking up. You've crossed the line."
Qin Jue's remarks contained some rebuke, making Ruan Zhiyin dumb for a moment.
They have known each other for eight years and dated for three years. In her impression, he has always been gentle and polite.
When they were abroad, Qin Jue treated her well, and Ruan Zhiyin felt that they could make it to the end. Even in the few quarrels after returning to China, he never had such an uncommon lapse.
However, at this moment, Qin Jue, the groom who escaped marriage for his ex-girlfriend, scolded her for not making a joke about canceling the wedding and breaking up?
Ruan Zhiyin really felt a little ridiculous, but she knew very well that she was not joking at all.

“Let me come, please.”‬ She pleaded, trying to rock her hips despite my grasp.
“Tell me your name and I’ll let you.”‬ I teased her again with a single stroke of my fingers.
“Cadella.”‬ She dropped her head back.
“Your whole name, mouse.”‬ I snarled, wincing when I heard the harshness of my tone.
I thrust and out of her taking my time, hoping she didn’t pick upon my anger.
“Evander. Cadella Evander. Please let me come, please.”‬ She gasped and begged as her hands gripped the cushion edges.
“Good girl, little mouse.”‬ I grinned and increased my pace, bringing her to her orgasm quickly.
I kissed the inside of her thigh, pleased I gotten what I came for.
Cadella Evander.
I had a name.


Cadella, an ordinary history student, met a mysterious man during a history project trip.
The ancient castle, the sealed vampire king, the faceless man in her wet dream, leads her into a series of dusty secrets and a forbidden lover.
Little did she know, the wheel of fortune begins to spin when Cadella opened the silver door with her blood.

Awakened from the seal, Vasile, the Vampire king, the handsome devil turned out to be the new history professor at Cadella’s school. Will Cadella survive the school year under the possessive watchful eyes of Mr. Vasile? And was their fated eventful encounter worth risking everything? Could love really grow Can love really grow again amidst hatred and darkness? Or maybe love never went away but was sealed away……

Five years ago, my world shattered in a single night.

On my wedding anniversary, I discovered my husband, Rowan Whittaker, in the arms of his ambitious subordinate—Serena, who was carrying his child. Within hours, my family's tech empire collapsed under Rowan's betrayal, and my father was left comatose after a ruthless corporate coup. Broken, pregnant, and hunted by secrets, I fled overseas, seeking refuge from the unseen enemies who destroyed my world.

Now I'm back in Los Angeles—not as the naive heiress everyone remembers, but as H.S., a quantum chip expert known for playing hard and winning harder. I'm not alone; my twin children, sharp and cunning, are my greatest allies.

I know exactly what I need to do: uncover the truth behind my father's fall, reclaim my family's legacy, and make Rowan pay for every lie and betrayal. But in the world of high-stakes tech, revenge is never simple. As old flames reignite and new enemies surface, I discover that even the perfect plan for vengeance comes with complications I never expected...

OMG! One slip and I was paralyzed by Dream Herb. I thought my day couldn't get worse, but then a stranger burst in, threw me over his shoulder, and carried me away.
"Victoria, you will pay for your actions!" he growled.
"No…" I whispered weakly, but he had already forced me to sign a marriage certificate.
Little did I know, this domineering man was New York City's wealthiest tycoon. And he had no idea that the small-town girl he mistook for his runaway fiancée was actually the world-renowned healer he had been desperately searching for.

Scarlett Ross, the world's top integrative medicine doctor, master of life-point massage and expert in pharmaceutical techniques, finds herself swept into the whirlwind of high society. She is mistaken for Gabriel Rothschild's missing bride, a woman who looks exactly like her.

Gabriel Rothschild, the ruthless master of New York's business empire, marries Scarlett to appease his dying grandmother, binding them in a marriage contract.

As they spend more time together, their feelings deepen. Gabriel begins to uncover Scarlett's astonishing secrets: she can bring his grandmother back from the brink of death; she can use her exceptional combat skills to take down her slanderous ex-fiancé; she can outwit those who seek to harm her with her cunning strategies.

Who is his contract bride really? A hidden healer, a hacker genius, a mercenary queen—Gabriel is determined to unmask her true identity.

The beast recognizes his bride.
The voice echoes in Adelaide's mind as crimson eyes pin her to the dungeon floor.
"Bride?" The princess trembles, naked and drugged.
She knows nothing of moon bonds or wolf kings—only that her kingdom will burn in three moons.

A Cursed King. A Princess Spy. A Deadly Bargain.

For 300 years, the feral Wolf King Lycanthar has raged in his iron prison, drowning in bloodlust and madness—a curse born of vampire vengeance, shackling his people to eternal hunger.

Princess Adelaide of Eldoria offers herself as bait. Her mission: infiltrate the werewolf stronghold, uncover their weakness, and save her people. Her disguise: a slave marked for the beast's bed.

But when Lycanthar's fangs graze her throat and his claws claim her body, an ancient power ignites—the Moon Bride's Awakening.

She is his fated mate. The only key to his shattered mind. The prize every wolf commander would kill to possess.

In a world soaked in blood and bound by moonlight, the dance between predator and princess begins—and only one will survive the coming storm.

Perfect for fans of dark fantasy romance, enemies-to-lovers, and fated mates.

"Don't call her a bitch, asshole," Sierra hissed.
"What's it got to do with you?" the greasy creep demanded.
"Oh, I don't know, Stimpy, maybe because you're harassing my woman and she just got here."
"Oh, shit, Orion. Sorry, man. Didn't realize she was with you."
Orion: As the heir apparent to the Primal Howlers' MC President patch, a chance encounter with a beautiful woman pulls me into a war I wasn't expecting that could bring the whole club down. But when she runs from me, I will pursue her to the end of the earth to find her and bring her back.
Whether she likes it or not.
Raquel: I moved to Monument, Colorado to write my thesis and get some much-needed distance from my overbearing family. What I didn't expect was to find myself hung up on a biker who appears to have nothing to lose.
I, however, have everything to lose and I'm worried Orion just might be my downfall.

Road to Joy
Join the members of the Dogs of Fire Motorcycle Club as they prepare for their Christmas Celebration. Revisit your favorite characters during the most festive holiday of the year.
Unwrapped
Christmas is approaching for the Dogs of Fire and Burning Saints Motorcycle Clubs, but rather than the usual holiday cheer, the air is filled with the tension of a brewing civil war.
The Gresham Spiders, a local 1% MC, is hellbent on expansion and both clubs lie directly in their path. Will assistance from an outside ally help diffuse the situation long enough to keep the peace during the holiday season?
Join Hatch and Minus, along with these two beloved MCs, as they celebrate the holidays and try to keep their clubs from splintering under the pressure.
Rocky Mountain Christmas
Mouse
There's only one gift I want this Christmas, but the closer I get to Kennedy, the more she pushes me away. I'll do whatever it takes to get onto her nice list, even if it means riding my bike all the way to the North Pole and strong-arming Santa myself.
Kennedy
I have two choices. Open myself up to a man who has the power to shatter me. Or run and protect my heart once and for all. The problem is, a murderous Douglas Fir gets in the way of my perfectly planned escape.
Is it a sign, or merely a roadblock on the path to finding true love?
And does a scrooge like me, even deserve to find herself under the mistletoe this Christmas?

Everyone thinks I'm the wild child of the family, the one who won't fall in line.

Blake's the young king of the business world—rational, cold, always in those perfectly cut suits.

But every night, he's got me pinned underneath him, breathing my name.

He said I was his, but never let me see daylight. Until she came back—my father's mistress's daughter, in her white dress, smiling like an angel.

On my birthday, he went to pick her up from the airport. When the chandelier crashed down, he carried her to the hospital and left me bleeding on the floor. When she smashed my mother's heirloom, he made me apologize on my knees. He said she was fragile, needed care; said I was strong enough to understand.

Then I heard them on my bed, her moaning his name.

So I left. Married a man who truly loved me. And he went insane.

He kidnapped me, forced a wedding, announced to the world I was his wife.

But this time, I just smiled and shook my head.

"Let go. It's too late."

I used to be the Blackwells' best killer. For him, I walked away from that life and became his wife. I even gave him a daughter.

I thought it was redemption. Turns out, it was the start of something worse.

Three years ago, during that shootout at the docks, his first love showed up with his bastard son. When the rival family put guns to both kids' heads, he didn't hesitate. He chose to save her son.

My daughter burned in the explosion.

That was the day the man I loved for ten years died. What's left is just my sworn enemy.

At the Met Gala, I heard my husband tell his friends in French that I'm "boring." That his 22-year-old girlfriend is "so much more exciting in bed."

He laughed when they asked if I knew. "Elle ne comprend même pas 'bonjour'." (She doesn't even understand 'bonjour'.)

What Marcus doesn't know: I spent two years at the Sorbonne.

Je comprends tout, Marcus. I understand everything.

The diamond necklace he gave me after my miscarriage suddenly feels too tight. I smile at him across the champagne and candlelight.

He has no idea what's coming.

Everyone says he loved me more than anything. So I chose to answer that love with death.

Forbes cover stories, tearful speeches at charity galas, shutting down Fifth Avenue every Valentine's Day just to watch fireworks with me. They said he ruled a business empire but would kneel in front of the entire world and call me his reason to live.

I used to believe it.

Until I discovered my perfect husband had built another home with another woman. A warm one, filled with laughter and his child.

So I chose to disappear the night the storm swallowed everything.

They say he spent three days on his knees at the cliff's edge, screaming my name into the black ocean. The man worth billions couldn't even find his wife's body.

When the rescue team recovered that burned-out car, he finally opened the safe I'd left for him. Inside was a positive pregnancy test and a divorce agreement that would never be signed.

By then, nothing mattered anymore.

At the bar, I watched Ethan get publicly dumped and made a crazy proposal fueled by liquid courage—a three-month fake dating contract.

I thought this was my only chance after twenty years of secret crushing. Until his ex showed me the text: "With Mia? Pretty convenient. She's been following me around since we were kids."

So I was just a tool.

The day we broke up, he shouted with red eyes: "I've been crazy about you for twenty years!" I thought he was acting, until his mom handed me a worn journal—

That careless comment I made at thirteen, "I'm never marrying Ethan," he'd remembered for twenty whole years.

Every page of that diary was filled with my name...

Three years after returning to the Duke's estate, I finally admit the truth: the phoenix I poured my heart into raising doesn't love me. He only spreads his brilliant tail feathers for the replacement.

I was six when traffickers took me, stuck in the slums for twenty years. A year after losing me, the Duke and Duchess adopted an infant from the church.

That girl became the new daughter, enjoying everything that should have been mine.

When they found me at twenty-six, my parents looked at me with guilt, yes, but mostly like I was a stranger. They loved the daughter they raised more.

I don't blame them.

Twenty years in the slums taught me: don't count on anyone's love. Only power and gold won't betray you.

So when he refused me for the third time, I went to the black market auction and bought a battered wolf slave.

The phoenix finally panicked, feathers flaring, voice shaking:

"Master, you promised you'd only keep one magical beast..."

Ethan and I grew up together. We were supposed to exchange rings at the altar, make our vows. But on our wedding day, he left me standing there to go save his so-called suicidal ex. Almost killed my parents from the shame.

Four years later, I'm back in Portland with my husband. The city isn't that big, and of course fate decides to throw him in my path again.

He has the nerve to ask me to be his mistress.

I hold up my left hand, the ring catching the light. "Are you blind?"

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.

The first thing I do with my second chance is sell off my perfect fiancé for ten million dollars.

The first time around, I became someone else for Julian Whitmore.

He likes nude-toned dresses. Hates when I wear anything with color. He won't let me have more than one glass of champagne in public. Won't let me laugh too loud. Won't let me initiate anything in bed.

His voice is always so calm, like he's correcting a disobedient pet.

I spend three years turning myself into what he wants: docile, proper, flawless. Until depression drags me under. Until that night I lay in the bathtub and watched the water turn red.

When I die, he's still downstairs in his study, editing my speech for tomorrow's charity gala.

When I open my eyes again, I'm sitting in the Winters' living room with that unsigned arrangement in front of me.

This time? Fuck perfect.

But when he lifts that veil at the wedding and realizes the bride isn't me, this man who's spent his whole life in control completely loses it.

The night the team wins again, the roar inside the arena could raise the roof.

On the ice, the captain has his arm around the new cheer captain, spinning her under the lights. His skates cut clean lines across the ice. Teammates whistle and shout, someone yells "ask her out!", someone else films on their phone. Everyone waits for me to show up and make a scene. Cry, stumble onto the ice, drop to my knees and beg him to come back. Pathetic, like every time before.

But no one knows I'm in the back of the locker room right now, pressed against a cold metal locker.

The quiet backup player has his hand on the back of my neck, his voice barely steady. "You sure about this?"

I push up on my toes and kiss him first.

Three months ago, I was kidnapped. When Alexander rescued me, I woke up in a hospital bed with my clothes disheveled and bruises covering my body. What happened during those hours? I don't remember any of it.

A week ago, I found out I was pregnant. He held me as I shook and told me that it wasn't my fault. That he failed to protect me. Even if the baby wasn't his, he'd raise it. He'd still give me the perfect wedding.

But the guilt ate me alive until depression took hold.

Every night, sleep stays out of reach. Nightmares find me the moment I close my eyes. I've tried to end it. Three times now. Each time, someone found me just in time.

After the third failed attempt, I make tea and head toward his study to apologize. Voices drift through the door before I reach it.

"Are you out of your mind? Evelyn's your fiancée!" His friend sounds disbelieving. "You actually hired someone to kidnap her? Made her think she was assaulted? Just so Lily could take her place? Do you know how messed up that is? What that does to someone?"

Alexander's voice comes out calm. "Lily got sick because of me. Her dying wish is to marry me once before she goes. If I didn't push Evelyn out of the picture, her father would never let Lily take her place."

All those nights. All those nightmares. All those times I scrubbed my hands raw until they bled. It was all a lie. A setup.

For another woman.

I pull out my phone and call my father.

"Dad. I'll agree to the arrangement."

Being born a Moretti daughter means one thing: the family owns you.

In my past life, Vivian thought she had what it took. She promised Dad she could handle it, swore up and down she'd make him proud. Six months later, she'd burned through three generations of work and left us with nothing but an empty shell. Our enemies found her eventually. Broke both her legs.

And me? I married Marco Rossi.

Everyone envied me for marrying into one of the most powerful families in the city. What they didn't know was that I was his prisoner. He used me, turned my family's connections into stepping stones for himself, spent my money on his mistresses, used my body as a bargaining chip at his deals.

In the end, Vivian killed me. Jealous of my "perfect life," she dragged herself over on those broken legs and put a bullet in me.

When I open my eyes again, I'm sitting in Dad's study.

The door slams open. Vivian bursts in, cutting me off before I can speak. "Dad! I'm marrying Marco Rossi! Give the family to Sienna!"

I look at her and smile.

This time, I'm going to survive. And I'm going to do a hell of a lot better than just survive.

In my past life, we were camping in the wilderness area of a state park when my best friend handed out "lucky charms" to the whole group. Charms she'd secretly packed full of wildlife attractant.

A wild boar knocked me to the ground outside the cabin door. Its tusks tore into my stomach. I pounded on the wood with both fists, screaming. "Help! Open the door!"

Inside were my boyfriend of two years and the best friend I'd been quietly supporting for just as long. Autumn Warren.

"I'm so sorry, Brynn." Autumn's voice broke into sobs, but her weight stayed pressed hard against the door. "There are boars everywhere. We open that door, we're all dead."

"Just hold on! I'm calling 911!" Wyatt Fletcher's voice rang out with the kind of conviction that cost him absolutely nothing.

I paid for that trip. I'd fallen behind because I'd stopped to pull Autumn along.

And they stood on the other side of that door, my blood soaking into the dirt, and locked me out.

I open my eyes. I'm back. It's the day we left.

For the top university in the North American wolf packs, transfer students aren't exactly breaking news. But this one sets the entire forum on fire.

It starts with a photo. A girl standing next to a tall, imposing man. Both faces are deliberately blurred, but that build, that presence... every wolf in North America recognizes it. The Alpha King. The caption reads: "Dad why'd you send me this 😭 I'm not ready to go public yet."

Minutes later, the post vanishes. But screenshots flood the forum.

"Moon Goddess above! Is that really the Alpha King?"

"The girl in the photo... could she be the royal princess no one's ever seen?"

The comments explode. Compliments flood in. Even my aloof boyfriend joins in.

Something feels off. I type out a comment: "The Alpha King keeps a low profile. His daughter should do the same. Posting photos like this... doesn't seem right."

Less than a minute later, the replies come.

"Who do you think you are to question her?"

"Can't stand seeing someone else do well, huh?"

My boyfriend chimes in too: "Quit it. You're embarrassing yourself."

I pick up my phone and dial a number. "Dad, since when do you have another daughter?"

The moment I gave up wasn't when I found out my husband was cheating. It was when I heard my ten-year-old daughter laugh into the phone and say, "Mom's so clueless. She has no idea about Dad and Summer."

Ten years ago, I was a top biomedical researcher, making six figures. I gave it all up for his promotion and our newborn daughter. Ten years later, the perfect marriage I traded my career and youth for turned out to be nothing but an elaborate lie.

He called me his safe haven, then got in our bed with his mistress and discussed how to keep me in the dark.

This time, I'm not going to cry or make a scene. I'm going to quietly gather my evidence and call the lab director I've turned down seven times.

The fake heiress and I died twice fighting over the same thing—which of us would get adopted by that wealthy couple.

The first time, I got the necklace. I became their daughter. I thought I'd finally have everything I'd ever wanted. Three months later, they drowned me in the bathtub.

William's voice still echoes in my head. "This is your fault! If we'd taken Chloe instead, she'd still be alive!"

The second time, I gave Chloe the necklace. Let her have the good life. I thought that would keep me safe.

Five years later, Chloe turned up dead in their mansion. The Harringtons called the cops on me. They said I broke in and killed her out of jealousy. I died in prison, broken and tortured. The last thing I heard was Catherine's voice through the visiting room glass, cold as ice. "You belong in the gutter."

The third time, I open my eyes again.

I watch the couple smile at us, all warmth and kindness, and one question burns in my mind. Which daughter do they actually want?

Marlowe Crane is my best friend, and she's also a succubus.

She was born with this power that makes men lose their minds, but she always told me she only wanted to use her "gift" to protect me.

So every time I dated someone, she'd volunteer to "test" him.

Without fail, every single man fell at her feet.

She'd send me photos of them in bed together. "See, Rosie? They're all trash. Lucky I caught them for you."

After breaking up more times than I can count, I had a breakdown and moved from Boston to Los Angeles.

That's where I met Holden Kingsley. I thought the nightmare was finally over.

On my wedding day, Marlowe showed up in my dressing room with a glass of drugged water.

In my past life, I drank it and passed out. She stripped off my wedding dress, put it on herself, and climbed into Holden's bed.

Someone threw cold water on my face to wake me up. When I walked in with the bridesmaids, I caught them tangled up together.

I lost it. Screamed and cried and called the police right there.

And what happened?

Holden didn't feel guilty at all. He acted like I was the bad guy, like I'd ruined Marlowe's life.

Under Marlowe's succubus influence, he believed she was innocent, that I forced her into it.

After that, my marriage became a living hell.

Now I'm back, standing in front of the mirror, staring at that drugged glass of water in my hand.

This time, they're the ones going to hell.

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.