Barely Survived

I had just become an adult when my neighbor, Connor Grayson, started flirting with me. We kept our relationship a secret year after year. After a wild night of intimacy, Connor whispered into my ear that he loved me over and over again. The next morning, I could barely stand as I got out of bed. Then I saw Connor bring another woman home. "Selena, this is my fiancée. We're getting married." I thought Connor would let me go. I didn't want to ruin anyone's relationship. However, he wouldn't leave me alone despite my shameful predicament. "Yes, I'm getting married, but did I say you could go? It took a lot of effort to make you fall for me."

My husband came home on our anniversary with my best friend on his arm and divorce papers in his hand. He told the world I cheated. He took my name, and left me sleeping on the. streets with a secret I hadn't told anyone — his baby growing inside me. I had nothing. Until a great-aunt I barely knew left me a vineyard, an estate, and a second chance I didn't ask for. I was finally building something. A business. A life. A future for my child. What I didn't know was that I was surrounded by more enemies. The new man I was falling for had been sent to find me. And the man who divorced me was now fighting to get me back — because I had become the one thing he couldn't beat.

I fell in love with the nanny's son. After boldly pursuing him, he reluctantly agreed to marry me. But I never expected his young lover to storm into my home like a madwoman, prying my mouth open to pour scalding water down my throat, pressing me into a sink full of dirty water, and finally pushing me down the stairs. My husband stood by my hospital bed, looking at my broken body with disdain. "Irene, every moment with you makes me sick," he spat, barely able to hide his impatience for my death. Yet, when I finally died, he sobbed uncontrollably in public, playing the role of the devoted, heartbroken husband. "Irene, don't leave me! You have no idea how much I wanted to die with you!" At that, I spoke softly from behind him. "Is that so?"

It is the night before our wedding when my fiancee, Whitney Sullivan, reunites with her childhood sweetheart, Steven Foster, a mercenary who has been missing for five years. He is brought to our doorstep by his teammates, bloodied and barely clinging to life after being poisoned with a deadly aphrodisiac on a mission. Whitney, usually so aloof and controlled, immediately breaks down. She locks the door, defying my efforts to stop her, and stays with Steven all night long. I choose to stay outside the door, never closing my eyes. I confront her the following morning with a torrent of accusations, only for her to stand in front of Steven protectively and say shamelessly, "I couldn't just stand by and watch Steven die. Isn't it just my virginity? What's the harm in letting loose the night before the wedding?" In that instant, all my affection for her is utterly destroyed.

She became the price of her father’s mistake. Now she belongs to the devil himself. Chiara Ricci’s life was quiet—small-town, under-the-radar, and barely hanging together. But when her father's hidden debts come crashing down, she's thrown into the world of Dante Sabatini—the cold, calculated mafia don who offers a single solution: Her. As payment. He’s ruthless, dangerously charming, and makes no apologies for the way he claims her—as his property, his responsibility... his obsession. Chiara was supposed to be a bargaining chip. But in Dante’s arms, the lines between hate and heat blur fast. Now she’s caught between fear and fascination, craving the man who owns her while longing to be free of him. But there are rules in his world. And the first? Don’t fall in love with the monster who owns your soul.

"Have you ever loved me?" Lilian's voice barely rose above a whisper. "Never." … Lilian Stephan had always loved Marcus Damon, it was love at first sight and she tried all her possible best to make sure that she gets married to Marcus. She sacrificed everything just to be with him to become his wife. Even after getting married to him he never for once showed her any love or even care about her. But she did not really mind and she just kept hoping that he would return back to her side. But she was given a divorce paper instead. She found out that she had always been a substitute for someone else. Lilian gathered her courage and left. She returned five years later with a baby that looked so much like Marcus.

"Skylar, here's a hundred for the breakup. Don't crawl back." Mack flung the bill at my face like he was doing charity work. "Winona's the Frostmoon Pack's Beta's daughter. She'll save me twenty years of hustle. You? Still drowning in student loans." I eyed Winona's designer bag—logo halfway printed like it gave up mid-stitch. "You're sure this is a breakup?" "Locked in. Engagement party's tonight at Lunara Estate. You can crash if you want a pity plate. Might be your only shot inside." Door slammed. I turned to the hot wolf crouched by the ditch, mid-bite on a rabbit leg. "Hundred bucks. I'm renting you for two hours." He arched a brow, blood slick on his lips. "That's cute. But for that price? You're barely getting a paw."

I breathe heavily as he pins me to the wall, his hands wrapped tight around my throat I could barely breathe. ‘You hear me, Sera? I found you first. I noticed you first! I fell for you first. No one else, I mean, no one should put their hands on you, because if they do, I swear to God, Sera, I'll fucking break their arms and legs and serve it to you to eat!’ He growls. Seraphina Puckett is the perfect definition of trauma. A walking trauma. She tries to navigate her life, trying to bring in sunshine but as the world is determined to make it rain on her, what does she do? Does she get beaten in the rain or walk through it? When her abusive father gets out of prison and is out to get her, how does she face her fear?

”I bow to no man!” Her voice sent a chill down my spine as I stood before her. I’d only heard those words once before in my life. They’d been haunting me every night and day since--- Since the worst night of my life! Back then, they’d saved my life… With my heart still beating hard in my chest, I slowly approached her. I could barely see her eyes, from how swollen they were. But sure enough, stubbornly looking back at me were those azure blue eyes that had been my only comfort when I was surrounded my nothing but darkness. The woman who saved my life – the one I’d sworn to come back for and give my life to! - was my dead enemy's daughter!

Vanessa never expected her life to shatter in an instant. After getting kidnapped by someone dear to her, she is thrust into a brutal underworld, kidnapped by a mafia she barely knows exists. Her impulsive acts makes her make the horrible decision ever. Amidst the chaos, another mafia steps in to help her escape. Drawn to in ways he can’t explain, he risks everything to protect her from a deadly fate. But as she finds herself free yet in constant danger, she can’t deny the growing bond between them—or the sense of debt she feels towards him. With danger at every turn and enemies closing in, They must go through a world of violence, betrayal, and desire. Can they survive long enough to confront the past and take control of their futures? Their only hope may be each other, but in the mafia world, money comes first!