A Lifetime To Settle The Score

Kingdom of Ash and Blood Book one of the Sicilian Ruin Series She was the fire he thought he had extinguished. He was the ruin she barely escaped. Three years ago Amara Varela vanished without a trace --- betrayed, broken, and hunted by the man who once owned her heart. Now she's back in Sicily, not as the naive girl he left behind, but as a woman forged by survival and secrets. She has a score to settle and Luca Moretti is at the top of her list Luca, the heir to the brutal Moretti empire, never forgives himself for losing her. When he finally finds her alive, everything he buried erupts --- lust, rage, obsession. But the Kingdom he now rules is built on blood, and his bride-to-be is not the one who haunts his dreams. Torn between a crown he never wanted and a woman who could destroy it all, Luca must choose loyalty or desire, power or love. In a world of violent cartels, arranged alliances, and ruthless vendettas, Amara and Luca's reunion is anything but tender. It's a war. And their passion? It could burn Sicily to the ground. Dark. Obsessive. Addictive. This is not a love story. This is a Sicilian ruin.

'If I did anything right in my life, it was when I gave my heart to you, my love. I swear I couldn't love you more than I do right now, yet I know I will tomorrow.' For Audrey, ‘Seymour House’ is not only a house. It’s her most precious legacy. All her memories are there, still living inside those four walls. So, she needs to do everything in her power to save it. Even if it means going against a ruthless businessman like James Mayer. James came to England with one thing in his mind: avenge his father. He has a score to settle with the Seymour family. James is determined to see this matter all the way through, starting with getting his hands on ‘Seymour House’. After one meeting with Audrey Seymour, James decides he will have the house and everything in it… including the gorgeous lady of the house. Against her better judgment, Audrey is attracted to James’s powerful sensuality. He is so tempting… Still, she is saving herself for her wedding night, and the American tycoon is definitely not the marrying kind! But there’s one thing she doesn’t know about him… whatever James Mayer wants, he usually gets.

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"Don't make me do this, Iris." The muscles in his arms tensed a kilowatt as he clenched his fists into a tight ball. I could feel the primal strength they exuded, and the slutty urge to be subdued roughly by them simmered between the cream of my lower lips. I slammed my lips roughly against his, drawing in a long noisy kiss to make his shaft budge against my lower abdomen. "Show no mercy." Iris Sawyer was forced to navigate her path through a supernatural world of angst and brute force. Stuck between a protracted pack war, she soon realized her survival depended on the side she took, or to use correctly, the kiss she accepted. In her quest to find an escape from the emotional turmoil of losing her parents at a tender age, she met Gustav, the Alpha from the Grey Moon Pack, who was mated to her by the Moon Goddess. Hell was a mild euphemism to describe the horror she met at the Grey Moon Pack. But as fate would redirect her steps, she met with the charming Lycan king from Crescent pack, Ludovic, Gustav's worst enemy. Gustav and Ludovic happen to be caught in a dark web of hatred for each other, and Iris was beginning to be another bone of contention between them. Will Iris be able to follow her heart and roost where it feels more secure? Will she be able to stand strong as she finds answers to all the questions plaguing her mind? Will love prevail in the end, or will blood settle the score?

"It might sound lame but… I'm talking about marriage here. Marry me and I'll protect you even to the point that you already don't need my protection. And in return, you have to act as my wife and help me score my trillions inheritance. Deal?”

Our entire class gets dragged into The Tyrant's Atonement game. The only way to escape alive is to reach a 100% atonement score. The system lets us choose our roles. The class belle, Isolde Adler, picks the tyrant's first love. Her atonement score shoots straight to 99% on the first day. The class president, Asher Brooks, chooses to be a loyal chancellor. His atonement score jumps to 80%. Spectators watching the game flood the screen with comments. "This new batch is smart and way better at picking roles than the last. They might just clear the game in three days." "Even if just one person hits 100%, the whole class goes free. I'm looking forward to seeing who finishes first." "My money's on the first love. She's already at 99%." Just as everyone starts celebrating, the next morning hits us with bad news. All 20 classmates who picked their roles are dead, and Isolde suffers the cruelest fate of all.

Like in the deck of cards, the Ace outranks the King—and so does Ace Salvatore. A Greek-Italian mafia leader feared by all, Ace is a man of unspeakable cruelty, a calculated mind ruling an empire built on blood and terror. His face is a mystery— those who’ve seen it are long gone, silenced by his wrath. Manipulative, controlling, psychotic, and untouchable, he rules his empire with an iron fist, his past buried beneath layers of bloodshed and regret. His obsession with power and control leaves no room for weakness—not in himself, not in his enemies, and certainly not in others. When a desperate debtor can’t repay what’s owed, he offers something unexpected to settle the score: a little girl. Ace accepts the deal, not out of need, but because curiosity flickers in his mind— a curiosity he loathes. Yet the little girl is more than just an innocent. She unknowingly awakens ghosts of Ace’s past— a life of betrayal, loss, and secrets he swore to bury. Even monsters have scars. The darkness that shaped him, the wounds he carries, and the revenge that fuels his every decision begin to resurface. The past never truly stays buried. As their worlds collide, her presence becomes both his salvation and his torment. But as the past catches up, threatening to destroy everything, Ace must face a harrowing choice: cling to the monster he’s become, or risk everything for the one thing he never thought he’d have— a chance at redemption. Will his darkness consume her and change her? Or will she destroy him?

After checking my final exam results, I hand the bottle of water given by my mother and the amethyst bracelet given by my childhood friend to the school bully with AIDS. In my previous life, my exam score of 1250 was swapped with the score of 600 of my younger adopted sister, Adelia Quentin, right after I drank that bottle of water. My health immediately deteriorated in the following days. I had a high fever and kept on coughing up blood. I was even nearly bedridden from severe pain. On the other hand, Adelia miraculously recovered from her stomach cancer. I begged my mother to send me to the hospital. But not only did she refuse, but she even mocked me and accused me of faking my illness. She then locked me in the basement. They celebrated Adelia's enrollment in university while I writhed helplessly in pain. In the end, I died in the basement all alone. After my death, Adelia used my exam score of 1250 to study at a renowned university. She also officially started her relationship with Thomas Haynes, my childhood friend. It was only then that I finally realized that the bottle of water my mother handed me had been cursed. My exam results would be swapped away when I drank it. Meanwhile, the amethyst bracelet Thomas gifted me would swap my health condition with Adelia's three days after I wore it. I'd get Adelia's stomach cancer and die a painful death. Just as I open my eyes again, I find myself back on the day I checked my exam results.

She is a playgirl She parties and has fun she doesn't try to settle for one man. All of her friends are settling down and getting married, will she change her ways and settle down or will she continue to have her different man every night.

Ava is an aspiring model who works two jobs just to keep herself afloat and her sister in college. When she gets a once in a lifetime offer from Sebastian Bancroft, mysterious and handsome billionaire, her life changes drastically. With more money than she ever imagined and the role of a lifetime to play, Ava gets entangled in a web of betrayal, rivalry and love. Sparks may fly between her and Sebastian, but is it really meant to be?