Welcome To Hard Times

When I was at my absolute poorest, I got sucked into some kind of survival game. The challenge was to survive 7 days on just 50 dollars, and the winner would walk away with a million dollars. As someone who might as well be certified as a professional at being broke, I knew exactly how to survive on next to nothing. That prize money had my name written all over it.

I see Grandfather, and he knows I see him. The people surround me, their faces red with anger. Grandfather raises his hands, eventually quieting them. "Toby... what have you done?" The colony world of Horus was a blissful utopia... until a curious little boy made one mistake and sent the world into a downward spiral of self-destruction. The world's gods were revealed to be nothing more than computers... and those computers are now failing. To pay for his mistake, Toby Spafford, now a man, must travel the deadly, ruined streets to find three missing keys that can activate a backup system created by his grandfather, Professor Jonathan Spafford. Dogging his every move are various factions that have grown to like the taste of power over the helpless citizens, and they'll do anything to stop him. In his favor, he is determined, intelligent, bitterly stubborn, and resourceful. Unfortunately... so are his enemies.

There were two famous deadweights in Kingsgate's high society. One was me, Millie Tanner, the pampered little princess whose only talents were shopping and throwing parties. The other was my childhood friend, Iver Langford, the fragile young heir born with autism and congenital heart failure. However, my older brother was the most feared name in the underworld, and my second brother was the richest man in the country. Iver's older sister was the undefeated queen of the courtroom, and his second sister was a surgeon whose hands could bring back the dead. One day, the four of them were chatting over a game of poker. "Raising one hopeless case takes the same effort as two. Might as well pair them off." Just like that, Iver and I signed the marriage papers. Our married life consisted of maxing out my second brother's credit cards, raiding my older brother's dinner table, and waiting for his sisters to show up with care packages. That was the routine, until my older brother sent us to attend a banquet at the Crestport tycoon's estate in his place. At the banquet, the tycoon's daughter, Portia Beaumont, waved around a blurry photo taken from behind and insisted I was the other woman who had stolen her boyfriend. I kept my temper. "You have the wrong person. I'm married, and this is my husband." Portia lost it on the spot and swung at me. "Married and still out here throwing yourself at men?" Iver stepped in front of me on instinct and took the slap meant for me. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. She sneered, "Oh, is he slow? His wife's out cheating and he can't even tell, but he still jumps in to protect her? One's a tramp, and the other's an idiot. The perfect match!" She flicked her wrist, and several bodyguards lunged toward us. "Get them both." My heart ached as I looked at Iver, and I dialed my older brother's number. "Someone's picking on me." These people had no idea. Crossing the four terrors of Kingsgate and living to tell about it was one thing. Messing with the two of us was something else entirely.

Leonard Cole, was never meant to survive, Not the accident that took both his parents when he was seven, Not the poverty that swallowed him whole after, Not the world that looked at him every single day and saw absolutely nothing worth saving. But Leo survived. And not just that, he fought. Quietly, furiously, on an empty stomach and broken shoes, he fought for a future that nobody around him believed he deserved. Then he met Elena Hartwell, beautiful, warm, the daughter of a Texas millionaire, and for the first time in his life, Leo felt like maybe the universe owed him one good thing. But nothing in Leo's life has ever come without a price. Because someone has been watching him. Long before Elena. Long before school. Someone who knows something about Leonard Cole that even Leo himself doesn't know yet. And closer to home, Elvano Reyes, the dangerous son of a millionaire who wants Elena for himself, has a connection to Leo that goes deeper than jealousy. Deeper than rivalry. Something personal. Something that started long before either of them walked into the same classroom. As Elena's cold and calculating mother works tirelessly to destroy what Leo and Elena have built together, and secrets from the past begin crawling toward the surface, Leo's whole world is about to crack open in ways he never saw coming. He will lose everything and He will break completely. And then, he will rise in a way that shocks everyone who ever looked through him. But the biggest question isn't whether Leo becomes powerful. It's what he does with that power when the girl who shattered him comes crawling back. The decision will be yours.

As the top phone service sales representative, I unexpectedly received a malicious complaint. I expect to be given a fair resolution, but nothing of the sort happens. The director calls off my imminent promotion and has an intern take my place. I'm indignant and want to resign, but I accidentally overhear the intern acting coquettishly toward the director. "Daddy…" The director is the general manager's husband, though. Everyone in the company knows they're DINKs. Where would he have gotten a daughter from? I chuckle and shred my resignation letter. Behold my wrath and revenge!

Based on gender-based violence If you were ever in a position where you couldn't defend yourself - please read the book. There is always someone out there who is willing to help! “if you can’t handle the punches, how will you ever stop them from abusing you?” “Hit me?” Blake yells. Making my eyes watery and angry. “Hit me, or I will hit you,” he said again. I picked up my fist to punch him as hard as I can, but he grabbed me and picked me up before my fist could connect with his jaw. Our eyes melted together, and I’m slowly disappearing into a dark place the more I stare. Emily Dawson was walking home one night from a small restaurant In Virginia where she works to pay for her doctor’s degree when she got jumped by three-man. they beat her and took all of her belongings. 12 years ago, her stepfather abused Emily when she was a child, so she never learned how to defend herself until Blake, the most popular and successful kickboxer in town, came to her rescue. At first, it was only about training and helping Emily get over her fears and learn how to defend herself until she fell in love with him, but that was a dark place she had to go in. Blake has a past of mistreating women, not abusing them but using them. Will he fall in love with her as well? Or will he keep their relationship with no strings attached?