A Touch Of Ruin Pdf

I gave my husband everything—my love, my loyalty, my future. But to him, I was just a fool to be used, a wife to be discarded. The night he threw me out in the rain, pregnant and broken, his mistress smirked as the door slammed shut. And when my baby died from the cruelty of their betrayal, I made a vow over that tiny coffin: I would bury them both beside my child. Then I met Rolin McCarty—the most dangerous man in the country. Ruthless. Powerful. Who is willing to help me burn my husband’s world to the ground. Alex thought he broke me. But he only awakened something worse. And now? Now, he’ll wish he’d killed me when he had the chance.

On the first day I take my daughter, Layla Gibson, to an elite kindergarten, I'm told that Layla hasn't been admitted to the kindergarten at all. I call my husband, Maverick Gibson, on the spot. After all, he's the one in charge of enrolling Layla in the kindergarten. How is it possible for her to not fit the criteria to be accepted into the kindergarten? In an upset tone, Maverick tells me that the kindergarten has gotten it wrong. "I'm sorry, darling. Our company's assets have yet to reach the minimum requirement that's needed for the kindergarten to accept Layla as a student. "I was worried that you'd be saddened when you found out about this, so I didn't say anything about this. This is my fault for not working hard enough. Because of me, Layla lost to her peers in terms of education." After ending the call, I call my dad, who's actually a board member of the kindergarten. At the same time, I have my lawyer draft a divorce agreement. I'm interested to see which bastard child has taken Layla's spot, which has already been reserved by my dad a long time ago.

My husband, Kieran, is the heir to the Thompson family. In the three years of our arranged marriage, he has never once touched me. I told myself he was just cold and guarded, that I could find a way into his heart, little by little. Then one day he came home drunk, pinned me to the bed for the first time, and called out his first love's name. "Camilla, all these years... I've thought of you every second of every day..." That was when I knew. All the passion and love he possessed was already spent on another woman. I pushed him away, burned every photo of us, and went to a high-end club in New York full of handsome male models. Nine months later, I walked into the airport with my newborn baby in my arms. Later, Kieran searched the world for me, his eyes bloodshot. He asked in a trembling voice why I never told him I was pregnant, why I wouldn't let him see our baby. I glanced at him and gave a light, breezy smile. "Who said the baby was yours?"

"It’s not just a deal. It’s an opportunity. I’m offering you a way out of all the bullshit—" "By tying myself to you forever?" I laughed bitterly, the absurdity of the situation hitting me. "No, thanks." Ethan’s jaw clenched, his calm demeanor faltering for the first time. "It’s not forever. It’s just... a few years. Until we both get what we need. Then we can go our separate ways. You’ll have power, money, and respect." I stared at him, incredulous. "You’re insane. You're offering me marriage just so I wouldn't expose you for being a vile and evil man" His voice dropped and his expression darkened, "How much do you want?." ------------ Madison Taylor never expected to see Ethan King again—the arrogant high school golden boy who made her life a living hell. But years later, fate throws them together when she takes a job at his billion-dollar company. Madison is no longer the shy, vulnerable girl she was in high-school, she had changed into a gorgeous confident young woman who was ready to make her mark in the world and Ethan is intrigued by this transformation. Now, Ethan is desperate to keep his past buried and offers Madison a $30 million contract to marry him and protect his spotless reputation. Madison agrees, but not for the reasons Ethan thinks. She’s ready to make him pay for every cruel word, every insult that scarred her. But as their contract marriage unfolds, so do feelings neither expected. Caught between revenge and undeniable attraction, Madison must decide: will she ruin the man who once broke her, or fall for him all over again?

That year, during the Sicilian arms trafficking conflict, my lover of three years, Silvio, deliberately betrayed my transport routes at a critical moment in a deal with the rival "DiMarco" family, causing me to lose all my territory. He immediately defected to the DiMarco family's leader Marina, becoming her lover. As he left, he didn't even bother to disguise his betrayal, coldly tossing out, "What we had was just business, nothing personal." While I was burdened with my family's blood debts and pushed to the edge of a cliff, Lorenzo, who had secretly harbored feelings for me since childhood, found me and offered his family's entire fortune. "Isabella, don't be afraid. In my eyes, you'll always be Sicily's most formidable Queen of the Arms Trade," he said. He took the Colt pistol from my hand, and his voice was gentle yet resolute. Five years later, my power resurged. I was about to completely crush Marina's smuggling network and reclaim everything I had lost. My caporegimes, the captains of my organization, were ready and waiting for my command. But on the night before the operation, my weapons warehouse suddenly exploded, turning priceless arms into worthless scrap metal. I barely escaped through the thick smoke, my body covered in burns. In a secluded monastery, I overheard Lorenzo and Silvio whispering outside my door. "You really had the guts to blow up the arsenal. Weren't you afraid of blasting her to pieces too?" Silvio's voice carried a mocking tone. "If she died, just died. I've always loved Marina. If it weren't for that unlucky family marriage lottery five years ago, I wouldn't have had to endure this ugly bitch for all this time." Lorenzo's voice was ice-cold and unfamiliar. I closed my eyes, feeling like a dagger had pierced my chest. Explosion. Arranged marriage. Ugly bitch. So those five years of shared hardship were just his unwilling choice after losing a high-stakes gamble. "I married her to keep watch. If it weren't for me paving

Patricia Dawson had it all…wealth, love, and a picture-perfect family. Or so she thought.Until cancer stripped her strength, betrayal shattered her heart, and death took her too soon.Her husband was sleeping with her sister.Her parents knew and stayed silent.And the empire she built with her own hands was stolen right before her eyes.But fate wasn’t done with her yet.Patricia opens her eyes again in the body of Patricia Allen, a poor, broken single mother drowning in debt and despair. Three children. No money. No reputation. No one to rely on.This time, she vows to live for herself. To rise higher than ever.To rebuild her fortune, protect her children, and destroy everyone who betrayed her in her past life.But just when she thought her heart was too cold to love again, Alexander Sterling, the ruthless billionaire who once loved her in silence steps back into her life. He knows her secrets. He remembers the woman she was. And this time… he’s not letting her go.Power. Love. Revenge. Redemption.In this life, Patricia Dawson will rise from the ashes—and the world will kneel before her.

I was seventeen when Rowan Ashcroft promised we’d disappear together. I was eighteen when my father sold me to a man who wanted to own my blood. For twelve years, I was the perfect trophy wife to the ruthless Alpha Julian Cross. To the world, I was untouchable, beautiful, obedient, and carefully medicated to keep my true nature buried. In reality, I was a locked vault, a prisoner hiding a forbidden Silver Omega lineage that the supernatural Council had spent generations trying to erase. But the haze of the pills is fading, and a secret is growing inside me. I am pregnant. And I know exactly what Julian will do when he finds out his "perfect wife" is carrying a child that shouldn't exist. So, I run. I don’t get far before the Council’s executioner finds me. Rowan Ashcroft steps out of the shadows wearing the silver marks of an Enforcer and the same cold eyes I once trusted with my life. He isn't here to save me. He’s here because my bloodline and my unborn child are worth killing for. Instead of ending my life, Rowan offers a lethal contract: Three months. A fake mating bond. Absolute protection from the Council. The bond is supposed to be a lie, a way to cloak my scent and hide me in plain sight. But as Rowan’s mark burns into my skin, it awakens something ancient and primal in my blood. I was never just an Omega meant to be owned. I am the return of a legend they thought they’d killed. Julian wants his property back. The Council wants me dead. But they are about to learn what happens when the woman they tried to erase finally becomes Untouchable.

On the day of my mate bond ceremony with Harry, his first love, Teresa, suddenly appeared. She tried to stop Harry and me. But Stephen, the Alpha of our pack, ordered the servants to block her outside. At the final step of the ceremony, when Harry and I were on a power stone at the bottom of a sacred cliff, Teresa fell from the sky. When we approached, she was already dead. Harry held back his tears and proceeded to complete the mate bond ceremony with me. In the following years, Harry hated me and Stephen deeply. As the Beta, he should have been Stephen’s most powerful supporter in the pack, but he took over the Alpha’s position and expelled Stephen from our pack. Stephan became a bankrupt and wandering werewolf. Harry brought different she-wolves home every night, and even took other werewolves to our bedroom while I was asleep. Until one day, Harry kidnapped Stephen and me. He brought us back to the same cliff. “Teresa jumped from here. Only one of you will live. Let’s see who will push the other down.” To his surprise, we both jumped. When I opened my eyes, I was back to the day of the mate bond ceremony. I saw Teresa was still alive and about to break into our ceremony. Stephen was standing beside me. We quickly changed looks. I shouted, “Wait a minute! Let her in.”

For eight years, Cecilia Moore was the perfect Luna, loyal, and unmarked. Until the day she found her Alpha mate with a younger, purebred she-wolf in his bed. In a world ruled by bloodlines and mating bonds, Cecilia was always the outsider. But now, she's done playing by wolf rules. She smiles as she hands Xavier the quarterly financials-divorce papers clipped neatly beneath the final page. “You're angry?” he growls. “Angry enough to commit murder,” she replies, voice cold as frost. A silent war brews under the roof they once called home. Xavier thinks he still holds the power-but Cecilia has already begun her quiet rebellion. With every cold glance and calculated step, she's preparing to disappear from his world-as the mate he never deserved. And when he finally understands the strength of the heart he broke... It may be far too late to win it back.

While Adrian was out negotiating a partnership, Vivian slipped nuts into my food — the one thing she knew I was deathly allergic to. I broke out in blisters all over during the negotiation, making a scene in front of everyone. But Vivian didn't care. She pulled me aside and sneered, "You, Luna, spoiled as you are, just stay there and be a pretty face. Leave the real business to me and Adrian." I lost my temper and slapped her hard across the face. The next second, Adrian appeared in front of Vivian, pulling her into his arms. The look he gave me was pure reproach. "You're the Luna — is this how you treat your own pack members? Vivian didn't do it on purpose. Why are you making her life difficult?" Vivian pressed herself against him, eyes wide and glistening. "Luna, I know I'm clumsy. You're not really going to hold a grudge over something so small, are you?" That night, he didn't come back to our hotel room. I sat on the bed and waited until dawn, tears streaming silently down my face. Through the mate bond, I could feel exactly where he'd been — with Vivian, the entire night. He'd already betrayed me. Numb with heartbreak, I picked up my phone and called Alpha’s father.