Barking Up The Wrong Tree

My elder brother, Dexter Ashford, makes an offhand remark to a welfare student whose studies he has been sponsoring. "What a coincidence! You share the same birth date as my younger sister. Even the timing is the same!" Ever since then, the welfare student, Candace Ashford, becomes convinced that she and I were switched at birth, and that she is actually the true heiress to my family. So, she hires two thugs to abduct me, planning to kill me so that she can take my place. In the face of danger, I quickly call my fiance, Liam Hilton, to save me. However, he speaks to me in a very impatient manner. "Denise Ashford, you stole Candy's life from her. This is your karma. You deserve it." Just as I'm thrown into the river, Liam's uncle, Jonah Hilton, suddenly appears and jumps into the river, trying to save me. However, he quickly runs out of strength, and we both sink to the bottom of the river. When I wake up again, I realize that I have been given a second chance at life. It's still the same day when I get abducted by the two thugs. This time, when Candace tells me to pick someone to call and deliver my last words to, I call Dexter immediately.

Love was the only part of me untouched by blood. The moment she screamed my name, that too was taken. I searched for her in every shadow. Now that I have her again… I’ll burn the world before I let her go — Jairo Vitale . . . Kindly support the book with gems and follow me on IG @twinstar05_ with a cat profile.

My wife is a pilot. We had our wedding three years ago, but she's stood me up 18 times since then when we agreed to register our marriage. The first time she stood me up was when her apprentice took his first flight. I waited outside city hall the whole day for her. The second time she stood me up was when she turned around after receiving a call from her apprentice. She left me by the roadside. Later, whenever we set a date to register our marriage, her apprentice would run into all sorts of trouble. Finally, I decided to leave her. But after I board a flight to Avalonia, she chases me all the way there like she's lost her mind.

"I only asked you for a favor, and this is what you pay me back with?" Asher stared right into my eyes, his voice dripping with venom. My hand trembled, my heart aching as I stared back at his face. "I didn’t do it, Asher… Please believe me. I swear on anything—I didn’t do it," I sniffed, tears rolling down my cheeks. "Take her out," Asher roared, and just like that. Every hope I had was shattered. ~~~~~~~ Elena knew exactly what she was walking into when she said yes to a man who never loved her. She knew his heart belonged to Vienna, her sister. But all Elena wanted was a chance. Just a sliver of space in his heart. What she didn’t expect was Vienna’s return to come with a vicious accusation. One Asher never questioned. He didn’t ask. He didn’t look back. He shoved Elena into the deepest hole, cast her aside like she was nothing. And when he returned weeks later to her, it wasn’t with an apology. It was with a deal. A second chance—for a crime she never even committed. Elena carried the weight of betrayal, humiliation, and pain. She went ahead to give them everything, just to be free. And when they were done with her, they discarded her like trash. But she picked up her pieces. She wiped her tears. And she made herself a promise— What they did to her would never define her. Years later, Elena walks back into their world. Not as the quiet, desperate girl they once used and discarded, but as a woman whose name now echoes power. And just when they think they’ve seen it all—Secrets begin to unravel. The kind of secrets that leaves even the cruelest speechless.

Lyssa was adopted into Zeta’s family when she was a child. Zeta always protected her as an older brother, and over time, Lyssa fell deeply in love with him but never said it to anyone. Later, the grandfather arranged a marriage between them because he believes she’s fit to be Zeta’s wife. Lyssa agreed because she loved Zeta, but she pretended she didn’t so he wouldn’t feel pressured. They have been married for three years, and Lyssa thinks they are building a real life together. On her 25th birthday, she plans to finally tell Zeta she loves him. But when he comes home, he gives her divorce papers, saying his college girlfriend has returned after 5 years of studying abroad and he wants to be with her again. Lyssa realizes she was only a temporary replacement until Isabella came back. Zeta thinks Lyssa never loved him and he feels he was doing her a favour by ending the marriage so she can be free to be with any man of her dreams. This hurts her even more. To find out more, read Fifteen Years of Craving The Wrong Love

The news that Angelo Rizzo was becoming the new Don of Brucklin District had spread throughout the entire family. Everyone knew except me, Lila Bennett, his fiancee. He had always thought I was childish, like an irritating tail he couldn't shake off, sticking to him wherever he went. "I've only managed to bag Brucklin District all thanks to Cyrus." The study door was ajar as the scent of cigar smoke drifted out along with his voice. "Lila? Why bring her up? She's annoying. Like a piece of gum stuck to your hair." I crouched on the hallway carpet, lost in thought. Before, it was always Angelo leaving first and me realizing it too late. This time, I wanted to surprise him by going to Brucklin ahead of him. When he saw me there first, he'd realize that I was smart. But the next day, at the bus station, when the driver asked where I was going, I mixed Brucklin and Mannattan up. The driver grew impatient. Afraid he'd call me an idiot like Angelo would, I hurriedly shove the money at him. "To Mannattan! I'm going to Mannattan District!"

I slid under his arms, seeking a safe place to catch my breath. I noticed a playful smile on his lips, but I chose to ignore it. "Will the transformation hurt?" I lowered my gaze and whispered. "First, your bones start to break, sending you to the ground," his eyes were closed. "Then, thick fur will grow all over your body. The limb stretching, I think that's the most thrilling part of the pain." The Alpha teased with a flicker of his tongue before continuing. "Next comes the shortening of the snout and the development of sharp claws and fangs." "Will I become irrational?" I covered my mouth, trying to control the knot that had formed in my throat. "How do you control it?" Laughing, he had already reached me and pulled me close, digging his claws not too deeply into my hip, causing a painful moan. "It takes strength, training, and having the goddess on your side, human..." He withdrew his claws, leaving only a long scratch, and returned to my chin, scratching it and collecting a drop of blood. He licked it and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be here throughout your trial..." "To make sure I die?" With tears in my eyes, I took a few more steps towards his dangerous game, realizing that his breathing was slightly heavier. "You remind me a lot of her," he murmured, pressing his forehead against mine. "To ensure your transformation doesn't get out of control and to witness the deity's choice." With more pressure on my forehead, he forced me to take a few steps back in pain.

When I was four months pregnant, my fiance, who was a doctor, left me hanging when we were supposed to get married. This was not the first time; this was the sixteenth time. The first time, his nurse fainted at the sight of blood during an operation, and I waited for him for an entire day at the city hall. The second time, his nurse called, and he left me behind on a viaduct to buy daily necessities for her. Whenever we were about to get married, his nurse would call him for all sorts of problems. The final time was when he told me he was sick. Despite the rain, I rushed to the hospital, only to find that it was his nurse who was sick. He stayed by her side to care for her while he lied to me without batting an eye. At that moment, I began to hate him. I aborted our baby and left. But he chased after me and even traveled out of the country just to apologize.

She was promised to one man. Claimed by another. Eliza has always believed love was a choice—one she already made. But one storm-soaked night in the woods shatters everything she thought she knew, binding her to a stranger whose presence feels as inevitable as fate itself. Alaric Storm is an Alpha ruled by duty, not desire. He doesn’t believe in love—until an impossible bond awakens and leads him to the one woman he was never meant to touch. Caught between loyalty and instinct, love and fate, Eliza soon learns that desire can be even more dangerous than betrayal.

The day my cancer is diagnosed, my husband slaps me across the face. "You're vicious! You're even pretending to have cancer just to look more pitiful than your sister!" My son shouts, "Mom is horrible! I hate Mom!" I don't cry or make a scene. I quietly put the test results away and choose a grave for myself. In 15 days, I'll leave this city to die somewhere else in peace. I won't even give them the chance to regret it.