Everything Is Not Enough

She’s playing hard to get, and I love it. I decided a long time ago to let my career as a high-powered New York Editor and my son be my only focuses. But my family had hoped for a different fate. As much as I miss them, I’ve lost touch with them, and with love in general. Wealth calls to me after my grandfather dies and leaves me his billions. But there’s one catch. There always is, right? I have to live on the farm I grew up on for six months and take a break from my big city life. It’s worth it and maybe my little boy will enjoy the time with me. One thing I never expected was a beautiful woman to show up and steal our hearts. She’s everything I want in my life and my bed. But she’s a tough cookie. I’m up for the challenge. There’s nothing I’ve wanted in life that I haven’t gotten. Unfortunately for her, I don’t want just six months in Montana. I’m demanding all of her.

For the love for your life, are you willing to give up the love of your life? When one has everything, one does not see what she is missing. Caress Aragon, epitome of beauty, abundant of wealth and pampered with love. In the brink of losing everything, she traded something she never realized the true value to her. Now, she must face the consequences of her choices including the ones she made in the past. Against fate, mystical beings and foes, will she still get a happy ending?

My mother was a veteran HR director, so she built a performance scorecard for my entire childhood. A perfect test score earned me ten minutes on my phone. Finishing first in school earned me a milkshake. Whatever I wanted, I had to earn with grades. After I entered Crestmont Institute of Technology, I spent three straight years at the top of my program. According to her rules, that was worth one thousand dollars. When I came home, she tossed a single dollar bill at me. "So what if you're still first? Your GPA has slipped by a tenth of a point every year. You have the nerve to ask for a reward?" Beside her, my brother lounged with the keys to his new Hawthorne sedan spinning around one finger. My stomach sank. "When I got into Crestmont Tech, you said I wasn't valedictorian, so all I deserved was a used scooter. "Why does he get a new car for barely making it into community college..." Mom's eyes flashed. "You and Tyler are completely different. "He went from having no chance at college to getting accepted somewhere. That's progress. You're moving backward. "Since you've chosen to coast, I'm cutting off your living expenses next semester. We only invest resources in people who improve. "Raise your GPA by finals, then come trade your grades for money." I walked outside without another word and made a call. "You really are me, ten years from now. You were right. Her performance system only applies to me." Future me answered calmly. "Tomorrow, sell the artwork Dad left you. Three of the pieces are genuine old masters. "Put every dollar into your research project. No matter what anyone says, don't abandon it. That project is your way into Crestmont's tech elite. "Let this family lose a future multimillionaire over one thousand dollars."

On our eighteenth attempt to get married, Miles Corbett stopped the ceremony again because I began my vow a fraction too late. He looked completely disappointed in me. "You know I'm a perfectionist. Why can't you follow the wedding schedule exactly? "If you miss the timing again, maybe you should let your best friend take your place." My best friend, Audrey Sloan, was famous for always being perfectly on time, so Miles used her as the standard I was expected to match. If I reached the curb one minute after Audrey at the end of the workday, he drove away with her and left me behind. If I entered the restaurant half a step later than she did on Valentine's Day, he gave her the candlelit dinner that was supposed to be mine. If I reached the airport twenty seconds after her before our annual vacation, he canceled my ticket and traveled with Audrey instead. Even at our wedding, he had stopped the ceremony seventeen times and used Audrey to rehearse my role seventeen times. To make the eighteenth attempt succeed, I filled the venue with more than a hundred synchronized countdown clocks and practiced every cue for over two hundred nights. But ten seconds before my vow was due, Audrey jumped the cue and said "I do" first. Miles ignored both me and the synchronized clocks and canceled the wedding for the eighteenth time. The problem had never been my timing; the problem was that the bride was not her. So I finally decided to give his perfectionism what it wanted. Miles took Audrey's hand again. "Watch carefully. We'll demonstrate it one more time." I smiled and slid the wedding rings onto their fingers. "No demonstration needed. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness."

Surrounded by luxury and comfort, Dominique Le Blanc does not miss anything, except excitement. His life as the owner of the largest casino in Monaco requires a lot of time and dedication to enjoy this refined and electrifying, but unimportant, environment. Bets and money are no longer able to excite you. Could that change with a gunshot-covered escape in a hospital parking lot? Without knowing why, a young woman flees from her armed captors. The reason for the chase is unknown, but the escape leads her to get into the first open car she sees. Driven by the instinct to fight for her own life, she hides in the vehicle, while the passengers agree to flee the scene quickly. The young woman carries nothing with her, no belongings, no clothes, no name and much less memories. What is the first thing she should look for? “An Inconsequent Desire” is a dark novel full of action and chaos, with two protagonists who know very well what they want… or almost. Tension, desire, luxury and danger mix as Dominique and the fugitive try to resolve their relationship and their desires in a world as opulent as it’s reckless. Violence and attraction go hand in hand for a couple covered in the past, immersed in the present and with almost no future. What is the price of unearthing their memories? How much can it change what is yet to come? Love or obsession. Salvation or ruin. In the end, everyone has something to lose... and maybe that's everything.

After my year-end bonus came in, I immediately transferred 10,000 dollars to my husband to buy New Year’s gifts for both our parents. I even told him to get the very best, especially that case of whisky for my father. On New Year’s Eve, I rushed home to have dinner with my parents. However, at the table that night, Dad, who had always loved his drinks, was sipping tea instead. I was confused. “Dad, it’s the holidays. Why didn't you bring out the liquor?” I smiled as I rose to my feet to grab the case. “Kevin went out of his way to get this. I heard it tastes amazing.” “Don’t touch it!” Dad slammed his teacup against the floor. His face was flushed dark red. “Zeena, don’t send this stuff anymore. I know it’s not easy for you to make money in the city. But even if our Collins family is poor, we still have our pride! People in the village are talking behind my back, saying I’m putting on airs!” I was completely stunned. I opened the bottle and took a sip, then froze for a moment. This was not whisky at all. It was just plain water.