Nuts And Bolts

At the party for our first wedding anniversary, I hit the floor—face-first on a red carpet, gasping like a fish out of water. Carlo Pipino, my husband, had his arm draped around Gianna Verde, his childhood flame, sipping champagne and laughing. Gianna knew I was allergic to nuts. So, obviously, she bathed everything in hazelnut dressing. One bite and boom—my throat locked, my lungs lit up, and hives popped like confetti. I reached for my allergy meds—came up with a fistful of melted M&Ms instead. Gianna laughed when she saw my face. "Surprise! Carlo swapped your meds. Seriously, Siena, one nut? Dramatic much?" I slid off my chair, wheezing, while the crowd placed bets on how long my "performance" would last. "Carlo... my meds..." I croaked. "Please. I'm gonna die." He sighed, annoyed. "God, you're so dramatic. Why do women always play dead for attention? You know I love you. Just stop this show already." Right then, my heart shattered faster than my lungs could. I stopped begging. Hit the distress signal. Called my real family.

I'm Ailee. I am the princess of the largest, most feared Irish mafia and next in line to take over. I'm known as the Ice Queen because of how ruthless I can be to my enemies. I came to the Renegades to find my father. I need his bone marrow to save my life. I don't need him or his club for anything else. But their resident cowboy catches my eye. He says I'm his but can our worlds combine without a deadly explosion? I'm Lug Nut. The moment I see a picture of Ailee I know she is mine. I will make sure her father saves her life so I can have her in mine. Our worlds are different as they can be but I won't let it stop me from making this mafia princess mine. When I suddenly become the guardian of a baby will Ailee stay by my side or will it be too much? The cowboy Renegade will do whatever it takes to keep Ailee and the baby that is the only blood family I have left.

"Before you go, was there something I could have said to make it all feel better?"- Lewis Calpadi Economic hierarchy strips a twenty three year old accountant, Maria Crawford, of a five year relationship with trillionaire Mama's boy, Dominic Payne. Things get a tad bit dramatic when a body is found in Dominic's trunk and love scores again as Maria does everything she can to prove that her ex is innocent. The Good news; she has a best friend who's a good lawyer and actually the best in the state named Zack Osborn, who lucky for them is in town. The Bad; our lawyer friend once had a bruised cheek courtesy of Mama's boy. With pleas from Maria, Zack agrees to be Dominic's lawyer even as he still hates his guts. What could a simple accountant know about murder cases? Would she be throwing herself out too for the murderer to find, or will she leave all these unscathed? ©️ Hillary 2022 ®️All rights reserved

` It was a cool, breezy and stormy night. Rain came down in sheets, as a dark figure stood before a house. The house was pretty ordinary, white with blue shutters; it didn't have more than two bedrooms. It looked like a cozy little family home with flowers and shrubs lining the front lawn, and then the smell from the pellet stove smoke invaded his nostrils. He took a deep breath and pulled out an old, rusted compass from his black trench coat. It looked like it could have been from the 14th century, the small, brass disc was dented and the Victorian designs were faded. He studied it as it pointed east, towards the small house. He looked the house over carefully, looking for the best entrance, before proceeding towards the side to gaze into the window. Inside you can see the small kitchen; the brand new, all black appliances off set the linoleum floor. Cabinets filled almost every wall of the small space that made it look more crowded than it should have been. The kitchen opened to a larger room which seemed to be used as a living room and a dining room all at once. The whole house looked crowded, with the furniture in the living room all touching except for a small gap to walk through and the dining room was so close to the sofa, it could have been sitting on it. He stepped back into the shadows as he watched a young couple enter the kitchen. The wife was tall and slender, had strawberry blond hair formed around her face accenting her jaw-line and her deep blue eyes stopped your heart as you got lost in them. Her fair complexion was silky and complimented her soft face.

I'm due for a promotion when I stumble upon my husband entangled with his childhood sweetheart. After that, I'm secretly admitted to a psychiatric facility. I repeatedly tell the doctors that I'm fine, but all I get is worse abuse and humiliation. When Howard Armstrong visits me every month, I beg him to get me out. Each time, he says, "This is a proper establishment, so you have to follow the doctor's instructions. Don't be unreasonable!" On the day I'm discharged, he speaks to me tenderly and calls me his honey. Later, when I place a divorce agreement before him, he breaks down in tears.

My husband and mother-in-law fell off the cliff in my past life. I was pregnant and fell into a coma. I could not take the blow and had a miscarriage. A few days later, the neighbors informed me that my child could not be saved and urged me to see him for the last time. The corpses of my husband and mother-in-law were nowhere to be found. A year later, our house was demolished. However, I accidentally consumed paraquat. I saw my husband and my mother-in-law when I was dying. "Finally, we got rid of you. My grandson and my daughter-in-law can finally marry." Next to my mother-in-law was Jessie Charles, the girl next door, and a little boy.