Barely Tolerable

"I'm in love with the new teacher." I announced, and the whole room fell silent. I could barely look at mum. She was in anguish. I had brought those pains to her already fragile heart. I had broken her heart to a point where the pieces couldn't be mended together anymore. The judge cleared his throat, and peered closely at me. "Are you sure of what you just said, Devan Baker?" He quizzed. I glanced at Mum once more, and gave my reply. "Yes I am." I announced, and the whole room fell into uproar. I gazed at their faces. The irony of life. What was good for me, couldn't be good for you. I wasn't a minor any more, and so I could choose who I wanted to be in love with, or maybe I wasn't supposed to? However, I had chosen to fall in love with Ms. Ellen Dudley the new teacher, and the world thought I was wrong? What did the world know? Things had begun to get messy, and I was in deep shit...

Riley Jordan thought office romance was safe, until she caught her long-term boyfriend with his pants down. Tangled between her boss’s legs. In the company conference room. One wild night meant to drown her heartbreak ends in a hotel suite, with a cold billionaire whose drink, like hers, had been spiked. She wakes up in his bed. He offers her a blank check for a night she can’t even remember. She tears it up and walks away. But Michael Gray doesn’t take rejection lightly. And when the woman who walked out on him turns out to be the marketing genius his empire desperately needs, he makes sure she’s left with no other option. Suddenly, she’s evicted, jobless, and barely surviving. Riley has no choice but to accept his deal. Only this time, she’s not the woman who breaks for anyone. What begins as control slowly turns into obsession. And when secrets finally explode, Riley must choose between her survival and the man who could ruin her.

Isla, the unwanted daughter of the Grayson family, has a shadow of rejection hovering over her. Her father, when he was alive, treated her with cold civility; her mother could barely tolerate her, and her sister despised her. After her sister travels abroad and refuses to come back, she is forced to marry her sister's fiance but her sister’s fiancé is not just any man; he is Alpha Lucien, the Alpha of Redridge Pack, who now hates her because of the marriage. After years of a loveless marriage, her sister returns and once again her life is pushed into a haul of negativity. She is banished from her home and left for dead but when it seems all hope is lost, she is saved by him. Alpha Killian, the lycan king, not only saves her but tells her she is his mate. After living a life of hardship, can she accept love when it comes from the most unlikely source? And how can she forget her past when it keeps coming back?

The night I confessed my love to my girlfriend, she wept so hard she could barely breathe. She said she had seen the future, and she wanted to make a promise with me. I asked her why. She only shook her head and said, "I don't remember… all I know is that in the future I regret something terribly. Frank, no matter what happens, you must give me three chances. Will you?" I was deeply in love with Agnes Grey, so I agreed without hesitation. But later, it was as if she had forgotten all about that night—forgotten it when she clung so intimately to her male assistant. Only then did I understand why she'd made me promise that all those years ago. Because the moment I signed my name on the divorce papers, I heard a familiar voice. It was Agnes at nineteen. Through her sobs, she pleaded, "Frank… you promised me, didn't you? You said you'd give me three chances."

After losing her daughter to a cruel betrayal, Evelyn is done being loyal. Her mate—Adrian, the Alpha she once trusted—broke his promise, chose another, and left their daughter to die. When Evelyn discovers the truth, rage takes over. One night of blood and fire forces her to flee her pack, hunted like prey. Wounded, broken, and barely alive, she crosses into forbidden land—territory ruled by the mysterious Lycan King, Damon. The villagers say he’s a monster. That he’s ancient. That he kills without mercy. But when Evelyn sees him for the first time, something deep inside her stirs. It’s not love. It’s not desire. It’s something older. Something dangerous. Known to all as a force to not mess with. Damon isn’t just powerful. He’s watching her. Waiting. And Evelyn begins to wonder if crossing into his world wasn’t a mistake… but fate. He sees the fire still burning in her. She sees the ruin buried in him. And in the ashes of everything she lost, something new begins to rise. A bond neither of them expected. A war neither of them can avoid.

Aria Vale leads two lives. In one, she’s quiet, focused, invisible—just an intern in a world that barely notices her. In the other, she’s Luna—a rising star in the cam world, masked, magnetic, and in control. Her voice commands, her body obeys... and no one ever gets too close. Until Obsidian. He never asks questions. Never speaks. But he tips like he owns her—and worse, he knows how to use the Lush she keeps tucked inside her. With one anonymous command, he can control everything. And he does. Night after night, she tells herself it’s just fantasy. Until reality cracks. Because Obsidian is watching her even when the camera’s off. He’s Xander Cross. Billionaire. CEO. Her boss. And he’s been waiting for her to make one mistake. When their worlds collide, obsession turns physical, power shifts, and Aria is forced to ask the one question she’s never dared: What happens when control isn’t just something you give... but something he takes?

Kingdom of Ash and Blood Book one of the Sicilian Ruin Series She was the fire he thought he had extinguished. He was the ruin she barely escaped. Three years ago Amara Varela vanished without a trace --- betrayed, broken, and hunted by the man who once owned her heart. Now she's back in Sicily, not as the naive girl he left behind, but as a woman forged by survival and secrets. She has a score to settle and Luca Moretti is at the top of her list Luca, the heir to the brutal Moretti empire, never forgives himself for losing her. When he finally finds her alive, everything he buried erupts --- lust, rage, obsession. But the Kingdom he now rules is built on blood, and his bride-to-be is not the one who haunts his dreams. Torn between a crown he never wanted and a woman who could destroy it all, Luca must choose loyalty or desire, power or love. In a world of violent cartels, arranged alliances, and ruthless vendettas, Amara and Luca's reunion is anything but tender. It's a war. And their passion? It could burn Sicily to the ground. Dark. Obsessive. Addictive. This is not a love story. This is a Sicilian ruin.

“One night shatters her world forever...” “What did you see?" Enzo demands, his voice deadly quiet. “Nothing," she whispered under her breath as she tried to back away. “I saw nothing." “Liar," Ryan growls, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat. “Your eyes betray you... and your scent—" His nostrils flare. “Impossible." “Mine," they growl in unison. And before she can flee, their claiming marks sear into her flesh. Hours later, she's chained in a dungeon cell, accused of a murder she didn't commit. But why would the powerful Alpha twins frame their own mate? ………….. Invisible. Forgotten. Barely surviving. For years, Athena has scrubbed floors and endured cruelty as a servant to the DarkMoon pack's ruthless Alpha family—until the unthinkable happens. Betrayed by her Alpha twins mates and thrown into the dungeon, she endured their years of abuse, but the moon goddess has chosen her champion. What happens when a power awakens within her that could burn her enemies to ash—or save those few she's come to trust. But wielding it may cost her everything.

It was not until after I married Bennett that I found out he had a clingy little childhood friend who loved to play the victim. On the very first day of our marriage, at dinner, I simply asked Bennett to pass me a bite of food. She immediately exploded. "Holly, you're disgusting! Bennett already used those utensils, and you seriously asked him to serve you food? What, don't you have hands?" I froze, completely blindsided. Before I could even react, Bennett put down his spoon and went straight to her, wrapping her in his arms like she was the one who had been wronged. Then he turned to me and said I should just get my own food from now on. However, honestly, wasn't it normal for a husband to serve his wife a bite? What was so outrageous about that? I barely got a word out before Bennett shut me down in a low, firm voice. "That's final. If Rosie doesn't like it, then we're not doing it. End of discussion."

When Nicole had Alex in her life, she couldn't wish for anyone better. Barely surviving a heavily bruised past, he's the only person who has made her feel safe in a long time. That is…..until his family rejects her in the worst possible way. And Alex doesn't stop them. Now six years later, she has finally taken control of the reins of her life and made a new woman of herself. But what game does fate have in mind when it lands her right on Alex's lap on an unusual Monday morning? He's no longer the man she knew, but one thing remains certain. He wants her back, and he's not going about it the gentle way. She risks another rejection and most importantly, her heart if she dares open up to him. Will she finally bow to the pressure Alex continues to mount on her as she's forced to work side by side with him? Especially with the secrets of her past fast creeping towards her? The weight of one secret is heavy enough. But what happens when Nicole has two?