A Thousand Splendid Suns Novels & Stories

Ever since Mom has gotten remarried, my stepdad, Winston Cox, becomes the only person who matters to her. She saves every luxury meal and delicacy for him, while I am left to sip on his leftover soup. His designer suits fill three closets until they overflow, yet I am forced to wear my cousin's old hand-me-downs. She spends 20 thousand dollars on virtual gaming gear for him, but when I ask for a ten-dollar study guide, she says, "Just memorizing the textbook is more than enough!" One night, the noise Mom and Winston make in the bathroom disrupts my studying. When I ask that they keep it down, Mom throws me out of the house and onto the street. Years later, I turn into a multibillion-dollar entrepreneur. That's when Mom crawls back to me, begging, "Winston and his mistress teamed up and drained all my assets. Could you please take me in?"

My mate rejected me in front of three hundred wolves. He called me worthless. Omega-blooded. A daughter of no one. Then he sold me to our enemy. Alpha Kael of Bloodmoon paid eighty thousand silver coins for me. Not for love. For revenge. His pack hates me. His hands are cruel. His eyes hold no mercy. But at night, he watches me differently. His fingers linger on my skin. His jaw clenches when other men look at me. And when he thinks I'm sleeping, he whispers my name like a prayer and a threat all at once. I should hate him. I should run. But my body doesn't care about the war between our families. And my wolf? She's already decided he's hers. Then I discover I'm carrying his child. Then my hidden power awakens. And the monster who bought me is about to learn that this sold omega bows to no one. Not even to my enemy Alpha.

Scott Maynard and I were in love for eight years. I once believed he was my soulmate. We joined Doctors Without Borders together and ventured into war zones side by side. But everything changed the day Piper Ellison appeared. To protect her, he shoved me into danger during a rebel siege, using me as a scapegoat. Then, he fled the country with Piper, and left me to rot in the prison. Three years later, Miles rescued me. Yet upon returning home, the first thing I saw was Scott staging an elaborate proposal, surrounded by nine thousand roses. He twisted the truth about what had happened in Asternis, and those around us believed him. I revealed my wedding ring, and Miles stepped forward to shield me. Despite that, Scott still refused to let go. He became obsessed and relentless, even threatening his own life to force me back. This love, riddled with betrayal and cruelty, finally came to a complete end with his death.

Out of the blue, I get a call from the Department of Labor. The officer tells me they received a complaint, accusing me of gender discrimination. Apparently, my treatment of the male and female employees is extremely unequal. I'm left feeling utterly bewildered. Out of compassion for my employees, I give the female employees paid leave during their periods and pregnancy. I also give the male employees the benefit of a family support allowance. I've never discriminated against anyone because of their gender, and neither have I ever mistreated any of the employees. But then, I proceed to see the social media post that has gone viral. "A certain company gives male employees an additional allowance of a thousand dollars a month! Male and female employees are given different treatment!" Having caught on right away, I call a staff meeting and announce, "All of the company benefits have been canceled. You will only receive the basic benefits listed in your employment contract." Everyone goes up in arms.

The story of the three D'Angelo sisters unfolds. Each harbors a story worth a thousand tales, embarking on an odyssey of the soul. Meet Angela D'Angelo, our braveheart. The firstborn among the D'Angelo women, she's got three king brothers overshadowing her, can you believe that? Yet, she stands tall, fighting for her love, clashing with societal norms, wrestling with royal duties, and facing down the peace treaties that could alter her path. And then there's Elisa, sweet, gentle Elisa, the middle sister. Her journey? Not an easy one. She's got trials to face, heartache to bear, and a man's hardened heart to soften. And she'll do it all with grace. Lastly, there's Asteria, the youngest, the most potent, ethereal in her beauty. She has a healing touch, mending the soul-scars of her mate. And the Goddess? She's entrusted Asteria with a sacred mission. These three? They'll rise. They'll find their way. And all while standing on the brink of a human-supernatural war!

After the team-building trip is over, I get complimented by my boss and colleague for organizing it because it's been a fun experience for everyone, not to mention the money they've paid is worth the experience. But the next day, I get publicly shamed by Marilyn Ross, a finance executive, in the company's group chat. She has posted a few ambiguous transaction screenshots and accused me of receiving 50 thousand dollars' worth of under-the-table commissions from the farm. All of my colleagues instantly take Marilyn's side. They begin berating me for acting all pretentious when in reality, I'm despicable enough to do all those underhanded things behind their backs. But that's when my boss, Ethan Keller, leaves a question mark in the group chat. The smug Marilyn begins coercing me into writing a resignation report and returning the money. But what she doesn't know is that the farm is Ethan's private business. How on earth can I receive such commissions, in the first place?

The day before we were scheduled to fly to Meridianna for our wedding, Harrison Tucker, my fiancé of five years, swapped my and my parents' first-class tickets for Mandy and her parents without saying a word. He said casually, "Mandy hasn't been to Meridianna and wanted to take her parents out for vacation, but there weren't that many seats left in first class on our flight... You guys take a ship over. I've already bought you the tickets." I looked toward my fiancé's family, and surprisingly, not a single person opposed Harrison's decision. It was then that I finally gave up all hope. After they boarded the plane and departed, I canceled the wedding venue, as well as the luxury hotel and high-end services I had booked. I want to see exactly how Harrison, a customs declaration clerk making only a few thousand dollars a month, was going to accompany his "dear friend's" family to go around Meridianna without my help.

"One year. No feelings. No intimacy. Just play the part." When Scarlett Hayes's seven-year-old brother is given a strict hospital deadline, she has no choice but to do the one thing she never thought she would—ask the city's most powerful billionaire for help. Lucien Reed is cold, powerful, and determined to avoid an arranged marriage. He doesn't give money without expecting something in return. He offers Scarlett five hundred thousand pesos to pay for her brother's treatment—in exchange for one year of pretending to be his devoted wife. It was supposed to be a simple business arrangement. Scarlett wears his wedding ring, Lucien pays for her brother's medical treatment, and they go their separate ways when the contract ends. But as they play the role of a married couple in front of the media and his ambitious family, their fake marriage starts to feel more real than either of them expected. Scarlett agreed to the marriage to save her brother. But when the contract ends, will Lucien really let her walk away?

I found the lie on a Tuesday. Five thousand dollars. Every month. Going to a woman with my husband's last name. When Flynn came home and saw me sitting on the office floor surrounded by bank statements, he didn't even try to deny it. He just stood there and told me he couldn't explain. Three years of marriage and all I got was “I can't”. So I left. Three months later I met Dominic. Flynn's biggest business rival. Charming, warm, patient in all the ways Flynn never was. He made me laugh for the first time in months. He made me feel like myself again. He felt like the right choice. Except he wasn't. Now I'm pregnant, furious, and standing in the middle of two men who both claim they love me. They're both asking me to trust them. But they both already broke that trust.

On the snowy mountain, Shawn Foster's neighbor, Susan Taylor, suffered from altitude sickness. He blamed me for not bringing supplies in time. He tied me up and left me on the mountain, five thousand meters above sea level. "You should experience the pain Susan went through." I rushed up the mountain to find them, completely forgetting that I was already exhausted. Without an oxygen supply, I gasped for air desperately. He held Susan in his arms and headed down the mountain. I begged him for mercy, but he did not even glance at me. I struggled, but I could not break free from the Prusik knot he tied himself. The same knot I once taught him. Three days later, he asked his colleagues about my whereabouts. "I would never have forgiven her so quickly if it's not Susan's kindness." But he did not know—I had long been buried beneath the snow.