Permanent Record

In my previous cycle, when I graduated from university, my cousin Laura gave me a gramophone. But after I received the gramophone, accidents kept befalling my family. In the end, even my boyfriend betrayed me to be with her. It was only then that I learned that all of this was my cousin’s scheme. After I got to the current cycle, I pretended to accept my cousin’s present but never used the gramophone. It led to the curse delivering such a vicious backlash to my cousin and her entire family that they died.

🔞 Mature Content Disclaimer This story contains explicit adult themes, including sexual content, power imbalance, emotional manipulation, possessiveness, and mature language. Intended for readers 18+ only. The alpha kissed me like he hated how much he wanted me. His mouth claimed mine with violence, shattering the one rule we had agreed on. No kissing. No feelings. Just breeding. “Don’t fall in love with me, Lisa,” he warned, his voice rough against my skin. I laughed, breathless and bitter. I knew exactly what I was to him. A contract. A body. A means to an heir. Something he could use and discard while returning to the mate he truly belonged to. This was never meant to be about love. But his touch rewrote my resolve, and the closer I got to giving him what he wanted, the more I realized the real danger wasn’t pregnancy. It was what would be left of me when this ended.

My fiancé is one of the country's top neurosurgeons. One day, he discovers that his childhood sweetheart has been diagnosed with cancer and only has a month to live. He wants to spend this time with her, so he feeds me a newly developed memory-wiping drug to make me forget him for a month. During that time, he throws his childhood sweetheart a wedding and goes on a honeymoon with her. As they stand amid an ocean of flowers, they vow to be together in another lifetime. One month later, he kneels before me in the rain. Tears stream down his face as he says hoarsely, "The drug's effects were only supposed to last for a month. Why have you permanently forgotten me?"

One heartbreak. Too much wine. And a one-night stand with one of the most dangerous men in Sicily. Ada’s anniversary vacation was supposed to be a romantic dream. Instead, it’s a living nightmare. When her boyfriend’s "best friend" crashes their trip, Ada trades her heartbreak for a lot of wine and a messy, public breakup. She’s ready to be the "psycho ex." She isn’t ready to stumble into the arms of a man who looks like a god and kisses like a sinner. Dario is dark, tattooed, and—unbeknownst to Ada—part of the Italian Mafia empire. He’s also been drugged, sent into a predatory haze that only Ada’s fiery spirit and curvy silhouette can soothe. Their night is a blur of desperate heat and hungover promises, but by morning, Ada is gone, leaving only a "walk of shame" and a very confused heart behind. But in the Mafia, you don’t just walk away from a Made Man. Dario woke up with a clearer head and a singular obsession: finding the woman who "serviced" him while he was at his most vulnerable. He thinks she was part of the setup. He thinks she’s a spy. But the more he tracks her, the more he realizes she’s just a heartbroken woman drowning her sorrows in the Mediterranean. Now, the "trouble in paradise" is just beginning. Dario doesn't care about her ex-boyfriend, her flight home, or her plans for the future. He’s decided she belongs to him, and in his world, what the Mafia claims, the Mafia keeps. Ada wanted a vacation to remember. Now, she’ll be lucky if he ever lets her leave.

My boyfriend's childhood friend, Cassandra Lindth, performs one of the forbidden spells, trading 30 years of her own life just to steal the top spot on the civil service exam from me. She pulls off a 30-day miracle and becomes an internet sensation, her comeback going viral. Meanwhile, I take the fall, get reported for cheating, and am banned from ever taking the exam again. I turn to my boyfriend, Derrick Hayes, for help, but the look he gives me spells pure disbelief. "Have you completely lost it? You couldn't pass on your own, and now you're trying to drag Cassandra's name through the mud? I never imagined you'd stoop this low!" I am speechless, with no way to prove my innocence. Cassandra sues me for defamation, and Derrick shows up in court to testify against me. I have studied for three years straight, and it ends with a three-year prison sentence. My parents are disappointed with me. They go so far as to publish their statement in the newspapers, publicly shaming me. Derrick and Cassandra announce their wedding online and are set to dive into their new jobs as soon as the honeymoon wraps up. With no way to clear my name, I spiral into despair. Disoriented and numb, I fall into the river and drown. When I open my eyes again, I am back to the week before the civil service exam. I toss my exam ticket in the trash and sign up for a three-month temp gig instead. If Cassandra is dumb enough to trade 30 years of her life for my spot, she can have it and choke on it!

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.