After The Party: A Novel Novels & Stories

6 years ago, Lydia suffered a brutal betrayal orchestrated by her own husband and step-sister, who drugged her and framed her. In a twist of fate, she ended up having a one-night stand with a stranger. Don't even remember what he looked like. Later, in the throes of death, she discovered the truth about her mother's death all those years ago. In the blink of an eye, she lost everything. 6 years later, Lydia returned with her genius son, vowing to exact revenge on all her enemies! Little did she know, she encountered an incredibly familiar man at the airport! *** The man was briskly pushing open the door to the restroom, heading to the urinal. Even with such a mundane action, he did it with unparalleled elegance and grace. Lydia, following him in a daze, saw his fierce lower body and suddenly snapped back to reality. She let out a high-pitched scream, instinctively covering her eyes with her hands, her cheeks flushed, and stood there stiffly, unsure of what to do. Lambert furrowed his brows slightly but remained calm as he continued to relieve himself. The sound of water hitting the urinal made Lydia's face even redder. She angrily shouted, "You pervert!" Little did Lydia know that Lambert, seeing her in this state, had a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Memories from many years ago flashed through his mind, and his heart couldn't help but stir. It was her!

Six years ago, I married this man, with all the love, trust, and loyalty in my heart. I loved him so much; I stayed with him when he had nothing, built with him, and we grew stronger together, hoping that we're going to be parents, soon… Now, he's cheating? Not with any other women out there, but my best friend. After everything we've been through together? That evening, I had walked in on him, half-naked on the bed with my best friend Sherry. But what shocked me the most, I was mocked for being barren. I couldn't bear the betrayal from the two people I cherish the most, so I left everything behind after he proposed to divorce me and marry her and gleaned into the night. Five years, later. I'm a mother of twin babies, have a business of my own, and married his boss at work. Guess who came running to me for forgiveness? My cheating husband! Should I forgive him or push him away?

I loved him long before I knew better. Derek Holland—the kind of man who could ruin your life and make you thank him for it. I gave him loyalty, patience, years of loving a man who only ever loved himself. He made me feel small, unwanted, replaceable. I stayed anyway. I believed one day he would choose me the way I chose him. But he didn’t. He destroyed me instead. So I did the only thing a woman with nothing left to lose could do. I married the one man Derek hated most. Ryker Holland. His older half-brother. The family scandal. Cold eyes, wicked mouth, and a grudge sharp enough to cut. Our deal was simple. Make Derek jealous enough to crawl back on his knees. Help Ryker take back everything Derek stole. It should have been easy. But somewhere between the lies, the fights, and the way Ryker touched me like he already owned me, I stopped knowing which brother was more dangerous. The one who broke me… or the one who makes me want to break all over again. Either way, we were one big happy fucking family. _Disclaimer: This story features morally complex, flawed characters with twisted motives. It includes themes of manipulation, deception, and emotional cruelty. Reader discretion is advised.

Maya Rivers came to Eldridge Falls to disappear — to bury herself in routine, classes, and the quiet anonymity of the library stacks. But secrets don’t stay buried here. Not in the same town where her best friend Lena has already learned how quickly desire can ignite in the shadows. For Maya, it begins as a late-night confession whispered into the glow of her phone. A fantasy shared with a stranger. Harmless, she thought—until the fantasy steps out of the screen and into the library aisles. Now every night draws her deeper into a game of secrets and proximity, where rules are written in whispers and broken with a touch. The man in the shadows knows too much, appears too often, and echoes words she thought no one else could read. As Maya wrestles with temptation, danger, and the thrill of being noticed, her story begins to intertwine with Lena’s. In Eldridge Falls, boundaries blur, shadows stretch long, and desire has a way of pulling you past the lines you swore you’d never cross. Some secrets keep you safe. Others demand to be lived.

The heir to the New York mafia family, the Donovitch crime family, chose me as a potential fiancée candidate. But I refused to become his wife and the future Madre of the Donovitch family. Because in my previous life, he missed the desperate call from his childhood sweetheart on our wedding night. That led to the sweetheart being killed by a Mexican cartel in revenge. He vented all his frustration on me, using sulfuric acid to disfigure me, tearing off my limbs. He tormented me for five long years. Finally, he used the punishment method for a traitor to stuff me into a gasoline barrel and burn me alive. In this life, I will definitely change my destiny. He has a thing for his stepsister, so I'll let them have each other. But this time, that cold and arrogant man ends up crying and begging me to come back.

The night I died, my whole family was busy celebrating my twin sister Elena's eighteenth birthday. Everyone thought Elena was going to die the next day. We're elves. My father worked as a clan guardian, and after Mom gave birth to Elena and me as twins, she stopped working altogether. We should have been a happy family. But from the moment we were born, Elena and I were bound by a witch's curse. Because Elena came into the world one minute before me, she took the full weight of it onto herself. She was never supposed to live past eighteen. From the day we were born, Elena was the family's treasure. Mom and Dad treated me like I owed her something. New toys went to her first. New dresses were always her pick. Every night, Mom would sit in Elena's room for at least an hour before she'd turn off the light. I always fell asleep alone. One night I had a nightmare and ran barefoot to find Mom. She was holding Elena and didn't even look up. "Go back to bed. Stop making a fuss." I kept telling myself: she's dying, of course they're kind to her. But every time I let something go, that splinter in my chest pushed a little deeper. Then the day the curse was supposed to take effect finally came, and naturally, that was the day my stomach cramped so badly I could barely stand. Mom and Dad didn't hesitate. They shoved me into the cellar and locked it from outside. I crouched on the stone floor with the smell of mildew everywhere and knocked on the door over and over. "Mom... Dad... my stomach really hurts, I can't even stand up... let me out, please..." One sentence came back through the door. "Your sister is dying tonight! Can you just give us one day? One day!" "But... Mom... I'm scared..." Nobody answered after that. The cellar went quiet. My eyelids grew heavy. My last thought was: if I were the one dying of a curse, would they come hold me too.

I was a human, but my husband Damien was one of the noblest vampires. When I was two months pregnant, I was kidnapped by a traitorous vampire whom Damien had banished, and tortured to death. But my husband Damien, was with his first love Vivienne, accompanying her for her Blood Withering treatment. This is an extremely rare vampire disease that requires human blood of a rare blood type for treatment. Three days ago, he demanded I give my blood to Vivienne. When I refused, telling him I was two months pregnant with our child, his eyes had turned cold. "Stop lying," he had snarled. "You're just being selfish, trying to let Vivienne die." He drove me to the edge of the territory and left me there — a human, alone in the wilds after dark. "Find your own way back since you're so heartless." I stood there in the darkness and was taken by Silas — a rogue vampire Damien had once condemned to punishment. He cut off my limbs. With cruel satisfaction, he called my husband. But Damien simply didn't believe it. His response was brief and cold: "Whatever it is, Vivienne's treatment is more important. She needs me right now." Silas let out a dark laugh. "Well, well... Seems like the great Enforcer values his ex over his own wife." When Damien arrived at the crime scene hours later, he was horrified by the brutality inflicted on the corpse. He raged at the killer for being so savage to a pregnant woman. But he didn't recognize that the mutilated body before him was his own wife — me.

Everyone knew how much I was in love with Alex Carter. I was willing to do anything for Alex just to see him happy and never bothered if they ruined my dignity or worth. But to Alex, I was seen as a desperate shameless lady who wanted him by all means even though I knew he always had a lover. After we got married, he treated me like dirt and threw me in prison, accusing me of financial crimes. Killed by a jailer sent by him, I died with regret of loving him. When I woke up again, I found myself back on my wedding day with Alex in my previous life and realised it was an afterlife, a second chance at life. This time, I wouldn't let him ruin me twice.

My younger sister had sworn off marriage and children, but as we grew older, she envied me for having both a husband and son. Not only did she demand that I share my husband with her, but she even wanted my son to care for her in her old age. I scolded her for being delusional and shameless. But she held a grudge, and in front of my son, she claimed that I had cut off his chance at inheriting a fortune. He believed her. With one strike, he killed me and then declared to the world that my sister was his real mother. When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the day my sister refused to go on a blind date. This time, she happily agreed to it and even boasted to me that she planned to have many kids. "Liz Stanton, this time, I'll be the one with a husband and kids." But I had no intention of reliving the misery of marriage either.

After being released from my three-year sentence, Zoe Sanders finally found me in an underground fight club. The moment she saw me, she grabbed me by the collar and punched me across the face, her eyes burning red with fury. "Henry Goldman, who gave you the nerve to disappear like this? "And what the hell have you done to yourself?" I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and laughed carelessly. "One punch, one hundred thousand. "If you’re still angry, feel free to keep going. I could use the money for this year’s rent." Her fists trembled uncontrollably, but her voice softened. "Come home with me... apologize to Ronald Green. "He’s always been kind-hearted. He already forgave you for framing him." Her gaze swept over the scars covering my body, something unreadable flickering in her eyes. "Look at yourself. Covered in blood like this... what’s the difference between you and a stray dog digging through garbage?" My body stiffened. Then I turned and walked away. What she did not know was this: In prison, blood and violence were the only ways I learned to survive. "Don’t forget," she shouted after me, "I’m still your fiancée!" My footsteps stopped. How could I forget? Three years ago, on the night of our engagement, Ronald drugged me and sent me to a black-market auction. I was stripped of all dignity and sold like merchandise. That night, I became the laughingstock of the entire city. And the person who signed the papers that sold me… was my fiancée herself.