Nothing Is Wasted

I signed the divorce papers on a Tuesday. No tears. No phone calls. No begging. I just picked up the pen, signed my name, and let Dominic Hartley go. For four years, I tried to be everything a good wife should be. I put my career on hold. I pushed my dreams aside. I made myself smaller so he could feel bigger. And somehow, it still wasn’t enough. He looked through me like I wasn’t really there. I loved him quietly while he built his empire, not realizing he was slowly tearing mine down. When he filed for divorce, I think he expected me to fall apart. I didn’t. I started over. A new apartment. A new job. A version of myself I hadn’t seen in a long time. And for the first time in years, I felt like me again. While he stayed in his perfect penthouse, surrounded by everything money could buy and nothing that felt real, I was finally learning how to be happy. That’s when he noticed me. Of course. Too late. Now Dominic Hartley, the man who never had to chase anything, is chasing me. Calling. Showing up. Saying all the things I used to beg to hear. But I’m not that woman anymore. And I’ve learned what he hasn’t. Love isn’t enough to go back to something that broke you. He wants another chance. I just don’t know if he’s really changed… or if I’m the one thing he can’t get back.

For three years, Corinna Voss was the perfect wife. She cooked his meals, kept his house warm, and loved him in the quiet, and faithful way that asks for nothing in return. She told herself that patience was enough. That one day, Stellan Rhys would finally see her. He never did. When he hands her the divorce papers — cleanly, coldly, without an apology — Corinna does not beg. She does not cry. She simply signs her name, sets her ring on the table, and walks out of his life without looking back. What Stellan does not know is what he just threw away. Corinna Voss is the sole heir to the Voss Group — one of the most powerful private investment empires in the country. She hid it for him. She made herself small, ordinary,and invisible, because she wanted to be loved as a woman, not a fortune. Now she is done being small. When fate forces them back into the same world, Stellan barely recognizes the woman he discarded. She is radiant. She is untouchable, and she is standing beside a man who has loved her long enough to know exactly what she is worth. Stellan wants her back. But Corinna has one question she needs him to answer first. Is it her he regrets losing, or everything he never knew she was?

I was diagnosed with kidney disease. My wife, Serene Warner, an heiress from high society, broke down in tears from worry. She did everything she could to find a donor for me. However, just as the doctor handed her the consent form, she hesitated. "Keith's treatment can't be delayed any longer. This donor kidney is compatible with him too. Can you find another matching kidney?" she asked. With a troubled look on his face, the doctor replied, "Ms. Warner, that would be rather hard. Perhaps…" Before he could finish, her daughter spoke up and decided my fate. "Of course, the kidney is going to Keith. Dad is old and a nag. He doesn't even look like me. I don't want it to go to him." Serene gently smacked Tina on the back of her head, but what she said next was just as chilling. "Joseph, Keith studied abroad. He'll contribute a lot to the Warners and this society…" Without saying a word, I looked down at my wedding ring. My heart had grown numb long ago. That was because I had already gone through this. In my last life, this was when I shouted at her, despite having always been a gentle soul. "What about all the sacrifices I made to take care of you two in the past eight years? I'm clearly ahead of him in the list. It should be mine! Why him?" But without question, a poor teacher like me stood no chance against the rich and powerful. In the end, out of guilt, Serene stayed by my side day and night. She reminisced with me about the past, but not even she realized that the memories she spoke of did not belong to us. I slowly faded away. This time, I would not fight her. I would not trouble her anymore. "Alright."

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."

Book two. Please read "Not All That Glitters" before "Not All Who Wander Are Lost."Christmas 2019 in Auburn brought with it a chance for new beginnings. Complicated relationships started to mend and different recoveries were being made. As far as Whitney York and Hollis Bogard were concerned, they knew every hardship they'd face from that point on would be easier since they had each other for support.Fast forward to May, five months later. While making the last minute preparations for she and Whitney's Christmas gift to New York for a week, Hollis gets some disheartening news. If that weren't bad enough, patching things up with her parents was turning out to be a long, winding road. Dalton's prolonged, stressful testimonies to ensure he gets more than a cash settlement from the wealthy prick who put him in a wheelchair after driving drunk is the last straw. As Hollis starts wrestling with her inner demons again, slipping downward is inevitable. Will she confide in Whitney, or risk relapsing?Since disowning her, Whitney stopped hearing from her perfect family altogether. While the lovers are wrapping up in New York, she suddenly comes face to face with Hollywood's latest headliner;Theresa, her famous sister, has died. Urged to attend the funeral, Whitney makes it clear she won't go without Hollis, the very person her parents blame for staying in Maine.Buckle in! Disclaimer: Strong mature content, graphic scenes, drug usage. 18+, please. This novel won’t be for you if you’re not comfortable with any of the above topics.2020 All Rights Reserved (you know how it goes) Please don't attempt to steal any part of my work.

I reach for the door handle, the cold metal biting into my skin as I press my thumb against the latch. Before I can pull the door open, Cade's arm shoots out from behind me, slamming it shut. My body jolts, my heart leaping into my throat as I feel the heat of his body against my back. He lowers himself to me, his breath fanning my ear. "Are you walking out on me again, Elysian?” A shaky breath parts my lips, the hair on the back of my neck standing on its ends. "I never walked out on you, Cade…" My voice falters, betraying me. "Don't lie to me." His tone is aggressive. "I told you a long time ago never to walk away from me again. Are you always so careless?” I try to swallow, but my throat is too tight. "I'm sorry," I manage, the words barely audible. "You said that already," he challenges me, warning me to choose my next words carefully. But I can't. I can't think. I can't move. As his grip on the door tightens, I realize he's not giving me a choice. ⊰ Heartprints in the Void ⊱ My name is Elysian Reign, and I'm not extraordinary. His name is Cade Sinclair, and unlike me, he is extraordinary. At the age of 25, he inherited billions from his trillionaire father—David Sinclair. You never imagine that the love of your life's own father would manipulate his son's life to get rid of you—even if it means forcing him into an experimental hypnosis treatment. After three years, you'd think I'd have learned my lesson. You'd think I would've changed my identity and left the country after walking in on my first day at my new and finding out that Cade is now my boss.