Quality Is Free Book

​The Price of Peace is the final showdown and book three for the No Regrets crew, where the masks come off and the bills finally come due. Shane O’Brien is done playing house. He’s been living his life like a "glorified roommate" with his wife, Isla, ever since she broke their vows with her best friend's husband, but now the cold war is turning hot. While Shane finds a temporary sanctuary with Maya Cruz, Isla is weaponizing their children trying to save a marriage that might already be lost, but will she realize this too late, or burn the whole house down. Speaking of Maya, she has a few secrets of her own, one that involves Mayor Rogers and a scandal that could level the city. ​In the courtroom, Crandon Morgan is fighting to keep his name clean after a very public mental meltdown. He’s looking for a comeback, but he finds a distraction in Tempest Summers, a new law junior associate with a haunted past and a hunger for a kind of justice the law books don’t cover. ​Meanwhile, Kole Michaels is trapped in a different kind of nightmare. A past mistake named Akeisha is using a legal loophole to pin a child named Urmagisty on him. With his relationship with a different Keisha on the line and his daughter Mabel watching, Kole has to prove he’s being set up before the lie becomes his life. ​In this game, peace isn't free, you have to pay for it in blood, truth, or with everything you own.

Selina, a young single mother struggling to rebuild her life, carries the weight of abandonment, financial hardship, and society’s harsh judgment. One stormy night, broken from betrayal and despair, she crosses paths with Darius King, a wealthy and powerful businessman mourning the death of his beloved wife during childbirth. In a moment of vulnerability, their worlds collide, leading to a one-night encounter neither of them expects to matter until Selina discovers she is pregnant again. Determined to stand on her own, Selina applies for a job at King International, desperate for stability. Instead of sympathy, she is met with prejudice from Juliana, the company’s sharp-tongued HR officer. But fate intervenes when Darius himself walks in and recognizes Selina as the woman from that night. Shocked to learn about the child she carries, he is torn between anger, guilt, and an overwhelming sense of responsibility. As workplace tension blends with undeniable attraction, secrets unravel. Darius confronts his pain and the possibility of loving again, while Selina faces jealousy from those who wish to see her fail. When Juliana and others try to push her out of King International, Selina’s resilience is tested, but Darius finds himself standing by her side. Together, they must confront their scars: a man afraid to love after loss, and a woman terrified of being used and abandoned again. Their journey weaves through heartbreak, second chances, and the search for healing proving that love, in its purest form, costs nothing but the courage to accept it. In the end, Selina and Darius embrace not only each other but also a new future one where love is not bound by wealth, grief, or the mistakes of the past, but strengthened by forgiveness and hope.

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."

For three years, I worked for my coworkers for free—designing, covering for their mistakes, cleaning up their messes. They used my work to get promoted, to win awards, even to run side jobs on the sly, and I never took a cent for any of it. Then I single-handedly landed the hardest client project the company had ever taken on and walked away with a hundred-thousand-dollar bonus. That was the day everyone lost their minds. The same people who'd leeched off me the hardest led the charge, cornering me at my desk and tearing into me in front of the whole office. "The whole concept for that project was a team effort. What gives you the right to keep the bonus for yourself?" "Your work has always been garbage. That free labor of yours was never worth anything anyway!" Worse, they spent the whole night digging up old grievances, stitching together every minor slip-up they could find, and spreading rumors through the entire company—that I'd stalled projects, that my work was worthless, that I'd tanked the department's numbers. Finally, they gave me an ultimatum. "Either split the entire bonus with the department, or pay us two hundred thousand dollars for our trouble. Take your pick." Even the department manager tried to smooth things over, telling me, "We're all colleagues here. You've already got a big bonus—taking a small loss won't kill you. Don't be so difficult about it." Wonderful. So three years of quietly covering for everyone had just produced a pack of lazy, credit-stealing backstabbers. Since they wanted to gang up on the one person who'd always played fair, fine. I was going to lay out three years of original files, timestamps, and proof of exactly who'd done the work—all of it, all at once. And what none of them knew was that the special project behind my bonus was an AI system built to replace every single one of them.

Five years ago, Genevieve Winslow vanished without a word, shattering Leander Montclair's heart and leaving behind nothing but unanswered questions. Now, Leander is no longer the man she left behind. A world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeon and the newly appointed CEO of Montclair Medical Group, he has built an empire with one rule—never let anyone get close enough to break him again. But fate has other plans. When Genevieve's consulting firm wins the multimillion-dollar contract to restructure Montclair Medical Group through a blind bidding process, she's forced to work side by side with the only man she's never stopped loving. Every meeting becomes a battle of pride, resentment, and undeniable attraction. While Genevieve fights to keep their relationship strictly professional, she hides the heartbreaking secret that forced her to leave five years ago—a sacrifice she made to protect Leander at the cost of her own happiness. Leander, however, refuses to let history repeat itself. This time, he won't settle for silence. He'll uncover the truth behind her disappearance, no matter how many walls she builds between them. As old wounds reopen and long-buried feelings refuse to fade, one question remains: Can love survive five years of lies and sacrifice... or will the truth destroy their last chance at forever?

Lyra Cole has spent her life fighting to survive. Burdened with the hospital bills for her ailing mother. Her life has always been a delicate balancing act, working multiple jobs to care for her sick mother and younger brother while hiding her talent in digital art, a skill that could change her life if given a chance. But when her mother's condition suddenly deteriorates, she is faced with a staggering medical bill that she cannot possibly pay. Desperate and heartbroken, Lyra turns to her boyfriend, Steve, for help, only to find him betraying her in the cruelest way, shattering her trust completely. With no money, no support, and now unemployed after being unjustly fired from her restaurant job, Lyra feels the walls closing in. Her world seems to collapse until Alexander Dayn, a cold, calculating billionaire CEO, appears with an offer she cannot ignore. He can pay for her mother's treatment but only under one condition; she must enter a contract marriage with him. With no other options, Lyra reluctantly considers the agreement, unaware of the true complexities of Alexander’s world. As they explore a world of luxury, control, and dangerous power plays, Lyra discovers that Alexander's motives are far beyond getting married to her but linked to protecting her from external threats tied to his empire. Undeniable attraction, different personalities, clashing wills, and forced proximity push them into a tense, addictive relationship. Lyra's independence challenges Alexander's dominic, while his control and secrets test her resilience. Their bond is further tested when outside enemies target Lyra and long-buried secrets surface, forcing both to confront their fears, desires, and past mistakes. Eventually, Lyra's courage and talent give her leverage, while Alexander's growing love for her is more than obligation. Together they must choose each other selflessly.