1 second after

The day after my best friend, Sarah Blunt married Patrick, the second son of the Brosnan family, I too became a bride and wed Matthew, his older brother. She married a swimming champion, and I, the rock-climbing coach. We thought we had our futures all figured out. Then, something happened that summer. The four of us planned a getaway but Matthew and Patrick’s baby sister, Megan joined us and our peaceful trip became a crowded affair.  While rock climbing, disaster struck—the rope snapped, and all five of us plummeted into the river below. The brothers rushed frantically to save Megan, leaving Sarah and me at the mercy of the river’s current, battered and tossed like driftwood. By the time the rescue team pulled us from the water, we were bruised, scraped, and utterly spent. In the hospital, Megan and I received devastating news that would change everything.  “You’ve been pregnant for 40 days, Ma’am. How could you put yourself in such a risky situation? Your baby survived, but your friend lost hers.” Shaken, I called Matthew to tell him about the pregnancy. His anger cut through the line. “You’re angry that I went to Megs first and now you’re trying to fool me with a fake pregnancy? She’s my sister—it’s my duty to protect her!” Sarah faced her own storm. Patrick practically scoffed at her grief. “Miscarriage? Do you expect me to believe that? The doctors said you only had a 30% chance of conceiving. I can’t stand women who create drama out of nothing.” Both calls ended abruptly, leaving us stunned as we stared at each other in the sterile light of the hospital room. In that shared silence, we made our decision—we would leave these men behind and start anew, launching a business together. But when the brothers received our divorce papers, they showed up at my door in the middle of a storm, kneeling in the pouring rain, crying through the night for a second chance.

Eidolon Avenue: Where the secretly guilty go to die. One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards. The sequel to Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast (“a great read...powerful and jarring” - Cemetery Dance) returns to the voracious Eidolon as it savors The Second Feast. A narcoleptic man in apartment 2A battles a vengeful past determined to rob him of everything as he runs from the barbaric disaster of a delusional love. A woman in 2B, reinventing herself to please a callous boyfriend, discovers the horrors that wait in the shadows of her self-renovation. The man in 2C, a teacher at the nearby Catholic girl’s school, collapses beneath the brutal consequences of his lecherous desires. An older woman in 2D, after decades dedicated to the church, is cornered at last by the grisly carnage beating at the hollow center of her faith. And a college student in 2E, hungry to escape an ignored life of invisible anonymity, finds herself captured between the pages of a ravenous book. All thrown into their own private hell as every cruel choice, every drop of spilled blood, every silent, complicit moment of cowardice is remembered, resurrected and relived to feed the ancient evil that lives on Eidolon Avenue. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

On the day of my divorce, my ex-mother-in-law updates her social media with a photo. It's my husband's mistress' ultrasound—she's pregnant. Their friends and family congratulate her. Meanwhile, I share a premarital medical report. It belongs to her son, Owen Wade. It also clearly indicates he has congenital necrospermia. There's no way I'll want a man who can't have kids!

"I want you, Diana. I want you now," he whispered in a husky voice and brought his other hand to her waist. * * * * * Marriage was meant to be a beautiful thing but not in Diana’s case. She was a toy, a thing of pleasure. After years on enduring, she finally took the bold step to leave the marriage and suddenly, her husband wants her back! Running away from her husband was one thing, running with his pregnancy was another thing. How far can she run away from the billionaire when she melts at his touch?

“I didn’t mean leave the house; I meant leave the pack. I don’t want you here; you should be grateful because I am doing you a favor.” Damon said. “What?” I exclaimed, my eyes threatening to bulge out. Roxanne, an orphan, and Damon, the son of the Alpha, have been best friends since childhood. They have a one-night stand when Damon is crowned as the alpha, even though they're not fated mates. However, Damon finds his fated mate two weeks later and chooses his mate as Luna, which breaks Roxanne’s heart. He orders her to leave the pack, and she leaves the pack and melts herself into the human world. However, she finds herself pregnant with twins… Years later, Roxanne has become a successful, famous doctor who raises her triplets. She's dated with Kylian for 2 years. One day she gets orders from Damon to go back to the pack. The fact is Damon is cheated on and rejected by his fated mate after their 6-year marriage. His father falls sick and he needs her help. Roxanne is unwilling to go back but is kidnapped by the pack. Upon they meet again, Damon finds Roxanne is his second chance mate, but Roxanne can't recognize the mate bond because she gets wolf bane. As secrets surfaced and old wounds reopened, Roxanne and Damon found themselves confronting their past, navigating through love, betrayal, and the hope of second chances. Can they overcome the hurdles standing in their way, or are their destinies forever intertwined in heartache?

"Yes baby, just like that. Oh yes! Yes!" I opened my mouth as utter shock and pain filled my body. My husband was my step sister on our wedding night. Hot tears dropped from my eyes as the sounds and grew louder and louder. *** Larissa, the esteemed Luna of the Tokenmoon pack, had it all. A loving husband and a strong pack. But it was all a lie. Stefan, her alpha husband, was the devil. He maltreated and abused her constantly while cheating on her with her step-sister. To make matters worse, he rejected her and sent her away. Heartbroken, Larissa was lost until she stumbled across her second chance mate. . . Kaden. Kaden, handsome as sin and the alpha of Griffen-howl pack is a broken man. When his wife runs away with another man, while abandoning him and his son, he vows never to believe in love. But when a homeless woman, Larissa comes into his territory, it appears that he might be breaking those vows. She is his second-chance mate but will he be able to believe in love again?

When 18-year-old, Isabella goes on a grocery trip with her older sister, she finds herself connecting with widowed single father, Devon Black, and his young daughter, Sophie. Devon does not hesitate to offer her a job opportunity that she gladly considers taking. What she does not know nor expect is that this job will prove to be more life changing than she would have ever dreamed of.

"Bitch! Still trying to play innocent?" Jasper said as he tightened his grip on Renea's throat and squeezed harder. Then he used his other hand and took out the phone from his suit pocket and played the video of two people having sex in front of Renea... What was even more shocking was that the woman in the video was Renea Morris, but the man in the video was not Jasper. Renea struggled to get the phone out of Jasper's hand and tried to explain, "Jasper, it was not what you think... I... I can..." Jasper looked at Renea with disgusted eyes as he said, "Let's call off the wedding. I can't marry a woman like you." After saying that, Jasper walked out of the store. Renea runs after Jasper. But then she sees Jasper passionately kissing her sister Kailey. And she hears everything, that her sleeping with strange men was all a plan of the Vipers for the last two days, and that their goal was to get out of this stupid marriage. Even her adoptive parents were involved in this... They are all doing this to her because of the inheritance left by her grandfather... Renea's heart was filled with anger and she wanted to expose them to the public... But before she could do anything, Kailey had pushed her in front of the car and she was killed... But when Renea opened her eyes, she found herself in the car with Kailey... She realized that she was reborn and went back to the time when it all started... Renea looked at the people who had hurt her in her previous life and her lips curled into a cold smile... She was back... But this time... she was back for revenge...

On the day Catherine’s younger sister died, everything fell into crumbles. Her adopted parents cast her off, her medical license was revoked, and her reputation was ruined. Her best friend, Monique, helped her in moving to another city to start a new life. She became a college professor despite her struggles of hiding her past. A young CEO suddenly entered her discreet yet peaceful world, changing her usual peace. He offered her a contract that she can’t refuse. She has to choose between peace and freedom. Find out what is Catherine’s choice and either her choice will lead her to happiness or another heartache. Catherine:" You must be sent by my younger sister to me. She might think that I will be lonely once she's gone so she brought you to me." Alexander: "On the day before I thought I died, your voice brought me back to life. I promise in front of the grave of your sister that I will protect and love you. You will never be alone anymore."

On the day the gauze was removed from my eyes, I joked that I was blind. "Don't be afraid if you can't see. I'll take care of you my entire life." My husband and best friend took care of me while I was in the hospital. They sincerely made that promise to me. However, when we got home, all three of us were on the same bed. My best friend rode on top of my husband breathlessly. They were caught up in their intimacy as they thought I could not see. My best friend was worried I would suspect something and spoke up to eliminate any suspicion. "Uhh… Summer, I'm just giving your husband a massage." I was so disgusted that I wanted to throw up, but I held myself back. Once they were done, I was about to find an excuse to leave the room when my five-year-old suddenly ran in. "I miss you so much, Mom!" Hearing that warmed my heart, and I opened my arms to hug him, but he ran past me and lay down next to my best friend instead. The 'happy family of three' were all smiles and threw me looks of disgust. I could no longer tolerate this. When I called my lawyer, I told him to bring me the divorce papers. If they wanted to become a family so badly, I would make their wish come true. I just did not know if my best friend could afford to earn a decent enough income to take care of my useless husband and son.