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I turn down a dream research program at Hefford University just so I can stay and help my debt-ridden boyfriend run a burger stand. This time, he says he's serious. I give him all the money I've saved up over the years, hoping we can build a better future together. A few hours later, I discover he's forgotten two hundred dollars in the drawer. I grab the money and run out, hoping to catch him. What I catch is a scene straight out of a corny movie. The loan sharks who used to beat and threaten him are now bowing and nodding deferentially. "Sir, I guess we don't need to show up at your house anymore, right?" Kurt Saunders rubs his temples and replies, "Yup. Anna gave up her entire future for me. She even turned down an opportunity to study at Hefford just to help me pay off my debts." Before he even finishes, his childhood friend lets out a giggle. "Kurt, that's still not enough. You'll only know if she really doesn't mind being poor if she sticks around through a year of flipping burgers without any complaints." Kurt looks at her sly expression and lets out a helpless laugh. "Alright, we'll do it your way. One more year of pretending. Anna would never leave me anyway." I stand there, listening to the sound of my own heart shatter. Kurt, you think I'm giving up my future for you, but it's still mine, and I can take it back.

Seven years I spent with Jason Shaw, but I never got a ring. Rather, all I received was an invitation to another person's wedding. That day, as a wedding planner, I was at the rehearsal, making last-minute adjustments. Looking up, I saw the man whom I waited every day to reply to my messages, walking down the aisle, arm in arm with another bride. "Her boyfriend had something urgent come up, so I'm filling in for him," he said, standing straight, his tone light, a small smile on his lips. But his eyes couldn't hide the hurt, like a child who lost his favorite toy. As if that wasn't enough, he told me to hand over my wedding plan. He patted me on the shoulder, saying sincerely, "There's no rush for us. We've got plenty of time. I promise I'll give you an even better wedding. Just help me out this time. It's not like I'm not going to marry you." He didn't know that I had revised the wedding plan hundreds of times, even counted and recounted the bouquets seven times. To me, it wasn't mere work—it was a dream I held for five long years. I didn't argue anymore, just quietly stepped aside. Later, I lay alone in a hospital bed, listening to the rain tapping against the window from outside. I counted each drop as the hours slipped through my fingers. Perhaps those who worked so hard to create happiness for others had lost the right to their own happiness.

The day my birth parents found me, the reunion banquet they threw turned into their funeral. My parents and their adopted daughter, Leila, died of food poisoning that night. The only one who survived was my older brother, Alpha Kian. He didn’t like sweets, so he never touched the cake. The cake that I handed to them myself. “So you want to take Leila’s place. “You’re just jealous because she got all our love! “She was the only one who ever accepted you, and you still killed her!” Those were Kian’s exact words as he shouted at me right outside the hospital room. From that day on, I became a sinner. To make up for it, I barely slept four hours a night and worked five jobs just to buy back the villa the rival pack seized during the chaos. However, the day I finally saved up enough, I saw my dead parents throwing a birthday party for Leila in that very villa. Kian stood among them, looking at her with a warmth I didn’t recognize. My mother said, “Isn’t today also Lily’s birthday? It’s been eight years. Maybe it’s time to forgive her.” However, Kian didn’t hesitate to refuse. “No. Even though Leila sniffed out the wolfsbane and saved you, we agreed that Lily gets ten years. “We can’t risk her ever trying to poison Leila again. Not even a day less.” I clutched the diagnosis paper from the clinic tightly and laughed through my tears. I knew I wouldn’t get to ten years. I was already dying.

On the day I'm supposed to get promoted as the deputy director, I pick up a 40-pound barbell before breaking my right arm with it. Because of the injury, I missed the only title-evaluating surgery available in five years. Everyone feels sorry for me, seeing as I've practically ruined my own future with my own hands. But I, on the other hand, am so excited about it that I've downed two bottles of vintage wine in one go. Because in my past life, I spent ten hours in surgery and pulled the patient back from the brink of death. But my wife, Megan Reese, immediately accused me of abusing my power as a doctor just to resolve a personal vendetta by killing her first love, Pierre Hopkins, on purpose. She bribed the nurses who were in the same surgery as me. They were adamant that I used the wrong medication purposefully, which led to the patient dying from a rupture. Not only was my career destroyed, but I also became a public enemy, hated by everyone. My mom tried to seek justice on my behalf, only to get cyberbullied by the Internet users, who knew nothing about the truth, to the point that she broke down. In the end, she accidentally fell into the river and drowned. When I received the tragic news, I chose to end my life by jumping off the hospital's rooftop. After I died, Megan spent my assets however she wanted. She also lived happily ever after with Pierre, who apparently "came back to life". When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day I'm supposed to perform a surgery on Pierre.

Elena Vance made a fifty-dollar mistake that cost her her freedom. Believing her one-night stand was a high-end escort, she left cash and a mocking note on his pillow, only to walk into a boardroom hours later and realize the man was Adrian Blackwood, the ruthless "Ice King" CEO. Adrian didn't just hold her career in his hands; he held a cocktail napkin marriage license signed in a tequila haze and her father’s $200,000 gambling debt. "You belong to me for six months," he declared, trapping her in a fake marriage to secure a corporate merger. Elena entered the "gilded cage" of Adrian's penthouse expecting a cold, transactional war of wills governed by strict "no-touch" clauses. She remained loyal only to save her father, unaware that he would eventually betray her to their enemies. But the boardroom battles quickly turned lethal. Victor Kane, Adrian’s bitter rival from MIT, obsessed with erasing the Blackwood legacy, sold the company's debt to the Russian Bratva. Suddenly, the fake spouses were forced into a terrifying reality: becoming FBI informants. The "Ice King" melted into a desperate protector, and the graphic designer sharpened into a survivor. Their bond shifted from a business deal to a sacrificial love, forged in the fires of betrayal. But when a mission to plant a bug at a mob wedding ends in a massacre, they realize the FBI is compromised. Stripped of his billions and presumed dead, Adrian stands in the ashes of his empire alongside Elena. A secret brother watches from the shadows, and the Russian mob is closing in. "We have nothing left," Elena whispered, staring into the dark. Adrian gripped her hand, his eyes burning with a new, dangerous resolve. "We have each other. And now, we run."

"All three of us are going to fuck you tonight, omega. Over and over until you're dripping with our cum and sobbing our names. And you're going to take every inch like the good little wife you are." Emerald Ukilah—the unwanted daughter, the pack outcast, the girl no one would miss—is now the wife of the three most dangerous Alphas alive. The Ravencourt triplets don't just want her body. They want her complete surrender. Her screams. Her tears. Every shuddering orgasm they can force from her trembling body. Magnus breaks her with brutal dominance, fucking her until she can't remember her own name. Daemon edges her for hours, teaching her that pleasure is a weapon and he's a master. Cassian pins her down and makes her keep her eyes open while he destroys her—but sometimes, in those brown eyes, she sees something that looks like worship. She was supposed to be a sacrifice. A lamb to the slaughter. But these wolves don't want to kill her. They want to keep her. Own her. Ruin her so completely that she'll never want another touch. ***** Why settle for one when you can have them all? Why Choose is a collection of steamy short stories where one woman never has to make the impossible choice. Four men? Three best friends? Two rivals who would burn the world just to share her? Each story explores a different fantasy, a different heat level, and the same answer every time—she doesn’t choose.Because when it comes to passion, love, and lust… why choose?

The doctor told me I had 72 hours left, unless I got access to the newest experimental treatment. However, there was only one slot available, and my husband Bowen Liddell gave it to my sister Yvonne Lawson instead. "Her kidney failure is more critical," he said. I nodded and swallowed the white pills that would only speed up my death. In the time I had left, I got a lot done. The lawyer's hand trembled as he passed me the documents. "Are you sure you want to transfer the two billion dollars in shares?" I replied, "Yes. Give them to Yvonne." My daughter, Candice Liddell, was giggling in Yvonne's arms. "Mommy Yvonne bought me a new dress!" I said, "It looks beautiful. Make sure you always listen to Mommy Yvonne, okay?" The art gallery I built from the ground up now had Yvonne's name on the sign. "You're too kind, Kathy," she said, crying. I told her, "You'll run it even better than I ever did." I even signed all my parents' trust fund away. That was when Bowen finally gave me his first genuine smile in years. "Kathleen, you've changed. You're not so aggressive anymore... You're beautiful like this." Indeed. This dying version of me finally became the 'perfect Kathleen Sullivan' in their eyes—obedient, generous, and no longer argumentative. The 72-hour countdown had already begun, and I couldn't help but wonder what they would remember when my heart stopped for good. The good wife who 'finally learned to let go', or the woman who completed her revenge by dying?

Madison Davis, a name that whispered secrets of love, jealousy, obsession, desperation, and separation… A woman every man desired, but only two men would go to war for her. *** Julian's life takes a dramatic turn when his father presents him with a difficult choice: pursue his dreams or remain committed to his beloved girlfriend, Adi, whom he had kept a secret from everyone. Suddenly, Julian came up with a plan to balance his dreams and love, and in two hours, he was on a flight to Scotland. However, his world shattered when his plan failed, and his girlfriend, Adi, vanished without a trace. Despite asking his cousin, Liam who was back at home to help look for Adi, she was still nowhere to be found. Julian's heartbreak was irreparable, as he knew there was no coming back. Liam Anderson, one of the youngest billionaires, with a net worth that can make even kings blush, found love while on his quest to help his cousin, Julian, find a strange girl, Adi. Liam fell helplessly in love with his newfound woman, Madison, a woman he could kill for. As the clock ticked on, fate's cruel hand reached out to them, gradually unlocking the gates of hell upon them. Julian, fresh off the plane from Scotland, heard about his cousin’s engagement party and decides to surprise Liam with his presence. As soon as Julian sets his eyes on Liam’s fiancé, time froze, his heart stopped, and the air around him seized at once. Madison gets entangled with two brothers who would stop at nothing to get her, even if it means taking a life. The game of power, influence, betrayal, and obsession is about to begin, with a touch of steamy romance. Who is willing to back down? Let's find out.

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

"Maria, a resilient single mom from the Philippines, thought love had passed her by. After 25 years, her ex-partner, Dylan, failed to fulfill his promise of marriage, leaving Maria heartbroken and doubting her self-worth.Meanwhile, Liam, a charming pilot and former casanova, sought redemption from past heartaches. He ventured into social media and dating websites, searching for his dream girl. That's where he met Maria.Despite initial hesitations, they connected, exchanging sweet messages and thoughts. As their online romance blossomed, they faced challenges, including quarrels and skepticism from friends and family. Liam's friends doubted Maria's intentions, while those around Maria questioned Liam's sincerity.Undeterred, the couple leaned on each other, introducing their friends DC and Marco to facilitate open communication. Through life's ups and downs, Maria and Liam stood strong, nurturing their love. As they prepared to unite in Canada, Maria's excitement grew. Together, they braved criticism and proved that true love knows no borders.Will their love prevail, or will external pressures tear them apart? Dive into Maria and Liam's poignant journey, exploring themes of resilience, trust, and the power of true connection. As the days turned into weeks, Maria and Liam grew closer, their bond strengthening with each passing day. They would spend hours talking, sharing their dreams, fears, and aspirations. Maria would tell Liam about her kids, her job, and her passion for cooking, while Liam would share his adventures as a pilot, his love for travel, and his desire to settle down. Despite the distance and the skepticism from those around them, they found ways to make it work. They would chat each other every day, sharing their daily routines, and making each other laugh. Liam would always checking up Maria to make her feel special and loved.