How Does Graceful Disasters End?

What does the underboss of an infamous crime family have in common with a spirited primary school teacher? Absolutely nothing, except a marriage of convenience, of course. When Lionel Tyson defaults on a gambling debt and offers his most prized possession as collateral, Austin Hawthorne is underwhelmed. But in desperate need of a housekeeper and permanent child minder, he knows he’d be an idiot to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, against his better judgement, he accepts an offer he should absolutely refuse. Marybeth Tyson is horrified to learn that not only is her father wanted by loan sharks, but he has also sold her off to a mafia boss. Bound by duty and pushed by guilt, she agrees to give Austin Hawthorne one year of her life, despite common sense screaming at her to run the other way. After all, how hard can pretending to be madly in love with someone be? It’s all fun and games until play pretend becomes all too real, and an earth-shattering secret from Austin’s past comes to light, threatening to destroy his second chance at love with his dogged pursuit for answers. Betrayal, especially at the hands of his older brother Blake and long-time friend, Andrei Ivanov, is a bitter pill to swallow for Austin, and letting them off scot-free is not an option. Driven by his unquenchable thirst for revenge, Austin will stop at nothing to get to the truth, even if it means destroying decade-old friendships and fragile ties to The Corporation. 2022 Val Sims. All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author and publishers.

Esme was compelled to marry Jasper by her parents. It had been two years. Her husband never paid attention to her as he should give to her as his wife. He was a good person but a worse husband. She knew. He was seeing someone. She never tried to find it out. Her parents died. So she was trying to fulfill her parents' last wish. Livia! Her best friend, one day forced her to go to the club with her. There she met him, Carlos King. He stole her innocence, her heart……. That night, she cheated on her husband. Esme was a good woman, trapped in an unwanted marriage. To escape, the daily torture of her husband negligence. She shouldn't have spent the most passionate night with a stranger in the club. But she wasn't ashamed of cheating on her husband.

Grace Anderson is a striking young lady with a no-nonsense and inimical attitude. She barely smiles or laughs, the feeling of pure happiness has been rare to her. She has acquired so many scars and life has thought her a very valuable lesson about trust. Dean Ryan is a good looking young man with a sanguine personality. He always has a smile on his face and never fails to spread his cheerful spirit. On Grace's first day of college, the two meet in an unusual way when Dean almost runs her over with his car in front of an ice cream stand. Although the two are opposites, a friendship forms between them and as time passes by and they begin to learn a lot about each other, Grace finds herself indeed trusting him. Dean was in love with her. He loved everything about her. Every. Single. Flaw. He loved the way she always bit her lip. He loved the way his name rolled out of her mouth. He loved the way her hand fit in his like they were made for each other. He loved how much she loved ice cream. He loved how passionate she was about poetry. One could say he was obsessed. But love has to have a little bit of obsession to it, right? It wasn't all smiles and roses with both of them but the love they had for one another was reason enough to see past anything. But as every love story has a beginning, so it does an ending.

When a small town woman collides with the most dangerous man in the city, sparks ignite and nothing will ever be the same. Grace Adams has spent her life carefully avoiding chaos. But when she crosses paths with Damien Blackwood billionaire, rule-breaker, and the kind of man who makes sin look like salvation her world tilts. Damien isn’t the type to take no for an answer. He’s powerful, magnetic, and determined to unravel every wall Grace has built around her heart. But Grace knows men like him only bring heartbreak… and she’s already been burned once. What begins as a dangerous game of resistance quickly spirals into something darker, deeper, and far more intoxicating. The harder Grace pushes him away, the harder Damien pulls her in. And when shadows from her past resurface jealous ex-lovers, secrets she thought buried, and enemies that even Damien can’t control Grace must face the ultimate question: Will she run from the fire, or let it consume her? 🔥 When Fire Meets Grace is a sweeping, addictive romance filled with passion, danger, betrayal, and the kind of love that can’t be tamed. Perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover, Ana Huang, and Sylvia Day.

On the night before our engagement ceremony, Jeremiah Clarke's childhood sweetheart, Kylie Yates, used the opportunity to set an explosion in my marital home while I was out on a gathering with my best friends. She insisted on having a candlelight dinner at home. Before she left, she didn't turn off the gas, nor did she blow out the candles. A short while later, the concentration of gas in the atmosphere exceeded the safety limits. The moment it made contact with naked flames, the entire house went up in a ball of flames and hot air. That was how my parents and my younger sister, Aurelia Shaw, died in their sleep. I rushed to the scene like a madwoman. The moment I did, I saw three charred bodies getting carted out of the wreckage. Heartbroken, I bolted over to hug Aurelia's skinny and frail corpse. Finally, I broke down and wailed at the top of my heart. But Jeremiah, on the other hand, just hugged Kylie gently. "Don't be scared, Kylie. This is just an accident. I'll protect you." With an enraged shriek, I rushed over to attack Kylie. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to rip her apart. But Jeremiah shoved me away, causing me to fall to the ground. "That's enough, Olivia Shaw! This is just an accident! It has nothing to do with Kylie!" Later on, Jeremiah had the audacity to destroy all the clues related to this incident just so he could protect Kylie. Overwhelmed by despair, I used the same method to take down Jeremiah and Kylie with me to hell. When I open my eyes again, I've actually returned to the day before my engagement! This time, I quickly arrange for my parents and Aurelia to stay in a hotel instead. Unexpectedly, an explosion still occurs at night. Three charred bodies are still found at the explosion site. This leaves me feeling very confused. Who are they? What are they doing in my home?

Every time Anthony Slim and I tried to get our marriage license, something went wrong. For three years, we tried thirty times. And every single attempt ended in an accident. The first attempt ended with a vagrant that went berserk and stabbed me four times. I nearly died outside the city hall. The second attempt ended with a speeding motorcycle crushing the bones of my hand. The third attempt ended with a burning mall, and I was trapped inside for three whole hours. … Everyone told me to cancel the engagement, but I stubbornly refused to give up. And then the 31st attempt ended with me getting rushed into the ICU. A billboard that fell from up high crashed right into me. I was rushed into the ICU with a severe head injury. The doctors issued one critical notice after another. For two months, I hovered between life and death before barely pulling through. Then on the day of my discharge, I overheard Anthony talking to his best friend. "If you really love that underprivileged student and want this marriage canceled, you can just tell Melissa. Why set up all those accidents? She nearly died." Anthony did not answer for a long time. When he did, his voice was filled with gloom. "I don't have a choice. Her family saved my life ten years ago, and her parents died in the process. This marriage contract is repayment of that favor. "But I only love Lily. I won’t marry anyone but her.” I looked at the bruises and wounds that decorated every inch of my skin and let out a broken cry. All the accidents and near-death experiences I went through were the machinations of another man, not actual mishaps. If Anthony was feeling stuck, I was more than happy to make that choice for him.