Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography

Richard Franklin has left his Midwestern roots behind to live on the coast of Maine with his family. But in the autumn of the year 2000, he must return to his Illinois birthplace on a sorrowful journey. His wife Michelle has been killed in New England by a hit-and-run driver who is never found, so back home he comes with her cremated remains, to fulfill a final wish and on her birthday scatter her ashes in the park along the river in Blackwater Valley—simply Blackwater Val to locals—the small town where they both grew up and fell in love. With him he brings his six-year-old daughter Katie who still grieves for her lost mother: Katie, who can sometimes guess who’s going to be on the phone before it rings. Who can stop all the clocks in the house, and break up clouds in the sky with her mind, and heal sicknesses, and who sometimes sees things that aren’t there...people who are no longer alive. All gifts she inherited from her mother. Only something isn’t quite right in the Val. Sinkholes are opening up, revealing the plague pits the sleepy hamlet was built over in the 1830s, when malaria and cholera outbreaks ran riot. Mysterious bird and fish die-offs begin to occur, and Katie can see ghosts of the dead gathering all around. But what she can’t see is the charred, centuries-old malevolence which has been waiting for her, and wants her for its very own. Or the pale Sallow Man who haunts the town’s nighttime streets...or the river witch—another Blackwater Val, of sorts—each of whom will be drawn one by one into the nightmarish bloodletting about to take place. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

À 62 ans, Daphné Delacroix est une figure incontournable de la haute société parisienne. Veuve et désœuvrée, elle a un nouveau projet : mettre fin au célibat de ses trois fils, qu'elle juge "malheureux" ou "mal-orientés". Son but est simple : trouver trois belles-filles dignes du nom Delacroix avant la fin de l'année. Pour orchestrer sa quête matrimoniale, Daphné rédige un Cahier Secret, un registre impitoyable où elle consigne les profils idéaux de ses futures belles-filles, avec des critères allant du pedigree social aux perspectives d'héritage. Cependant, ses trois fils résistent à ses manœuvres avec une détermination désarmante : Alexandre, l'aîné, avocat d'affaires glacial, voit le mariage comme une fusion d'entreprises, non comme une histoire d'amour. Benjamin, le cadet, photographe bohème, rejette le monde de sa mère et fuit l'engagement comme la peste. Cédric, le benjamin, professeur de lycée trop sensible, est si terrifié par la séduction qu'il se réfugie dans la poésie et la timidité. La Saison des Épouses est lancée lors d'un grand gala de bienfaisance, où Daphné déploie ses stratagèmes pour mettre en contact ses fils avec ses candidates choisies (la banquière influente, la restauratrice d'art stable, la bibliothécaire délicate). Mais l'amour, même quand il est planifié par une main de fer, a l'art de dérailler. Entre les fils qui s'échappent, les candidates parfaites qui se révèlent être de terribles choix, et l'irruption de femmes que Daphné n'aurait jamais osé inscrire dans son Cahier Secret, la quête du bonheur devient une comédie de mœurs endiablée. Ce roman raconte l'histoire hilarante et touchante d'une mère obsédée par la perfection qui doit, malgré elle, accepter que l'amour ne se dicte pas, mais se trouve là où on l'attend le moins.

On the day of my birthday, I'm burning with a fever that almost hits 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of that, I've called Tristan Graham more than a dozen times. He never picks up any of them. In the end, my dad has to take me to the hospital. When we walk past a corridor, he suddenly stops in his tracks. "Mr. Graham? What are you doing here?" I raise my head to see Tristan and Madison Franklin walking from the OBGYN department. Their fingers are tightly laced together. Tristan is even carrying a bag of medication. Birth control pills as well as ointment meant to be used on private parts can be seen in that bag. My mind goes blank at that moment. All I can do is stare at Tristan. As soon as our eyes meet, Tristan frowns slightly at me, though his gaze only lingers on me for a second before he turns to look at my dad. "I'll be hosting a banquet in the garden tomorrow night. Remember to decorate the garden nicely." Dad quickly accepts the order. "Don't worry, Mr. Graham. When Luna's fever breaks out, I'll deal with this task right away." Tristan is momentarily stunned by Dad's words. When he notices my unnaturally flushed cheeks, he instinctively takes a step toward me. But that's when Madison tugs his sleeve. "Stop wasting precious time on a gardener's daughter, Tristan. Let's go. I'm still in pain, you know." Tristan stops in his tracks instantly. Then, he leaves with Madison. Later on, he pays for my hospital bills. Our seven-year underground relationship that's considered a taboo is also paid off as well.

My brother-in-law, Benjamin Fallow, got trapped in a deep pit, so I grabbed some ropes and risked my life to climb down and pull him out. Just after I tied the rope around his waist, the line went slack and we both came crashing down. When I looked up, I couldn't believe my eyes. My wife, Celeste Fallow, had cut the rope. Meanwhile, her childhood friend, Vincent Jameson, grinned and egged her on. "Do it." Black-clad bodyguards started shoveling sand into the hole, trying to bury us alive. I grabbed the walkie-talkie and screamed up at her, "Celeste, your brother and I are still down here!" She sneered back. "Three years ago, during the quake, you left Vincent's brother trapped under the rubble for five days while you saved others. Now it's time to pay what you owe." Vincent shed crocodile tears and crowed, "Celeste, thanks to you, my brother's revenge is finally complete." With the sand already up to our ankles, I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Celeste Fallow, your brother is really down here with me!"

He woke up with no memory, no name, no past… only a system in his mind telling him his fate: conquer the hearts of eight men… or lose everything. Naïve, silly, and utterly unprepared, Finn had no choice but to obey. Each man was more than a challenge... they were his past lovers, the very ones he had betrayed and abandoned, and now, he had to win their hearts again. There was Niam, wild, reckless, and infuriatingly irresistible—the first to challenge Finn, and the one who taught him that love could sting as sharply as it could thrill. Then Franklin, the perfect golden prince, hiding a playboy heart behind a flawless smile. Lucian, the older, calm, untouchable stepfather figure. Ethan, the cold professor, untouchable and strict. Aiden, the brilliant scientist. Lucas, the cunning actor, schemer, and manipulator…. Mason, the isolated genius doctor, haunted by solitude, whose heart melted for a patient unafraid to cry, play, and demand love on his terms. And finally, Theo, the dying tycoon, preparing to leave the world, only to find a reason to fight for life, desire, and passion… in the arms of the boy who promised him love in return. Bound to these eight men, Finn had to navigate lust, desire, heartbreak, and the pain of past betrayals. Every touch, every glance, every kiss was both a weapon and a lifeline. Could he win back the hearts he once broke, or would he lose himself—and them—forever? From system-driven missions to torrid nights of passion, from angst to redemption, Finn’s journey is one of love, loss, and a harem that refuses to forgive—or let go. One thing was certain: to survive, to regain his life, and maybe even happiness… he would have to conquer not just their hearts but his own.

"It is nice to see you again, my cheater, slut, gold-digger ex-wife." -Rome Wilson. Without saying a word, Faye Reagon left her husband, Rome Wilson, and replaced him with the old, wealthy guy, Benjamin Sorsuela. Her husband tried to search for her to come back, but he failed, only did he recognize that his wife had cheated on him which made his life turned to miserable. He became furious, swearing at her wife. When he eventually discovered himself, he developed successfully when he met his real parents, who gifted him to run the company they had founded 47 years ago, and able to complete the Business Management course. He became a billionaire but was also a womanizer, cold-hearted, and ruthless. They finally met five years later. Faye is one of the applicant chosen, unaware of what kind of job, but she has no idea that her ex-husband is her boss. His rage goes up and he moves up to make plans to punish his ex-wife, and make her pay for what she did, so he immediately hire Faye as his secretary and his maid, and that the beginning of his sweet revenge.

“Make love to me.” I pleaded. I wasn’t thinking straight and I was only doing this to get back at Benjamin but the way Saint was currently looking at me did not help with my decision making. “Make love to you?” He repeated. He was probably baffled seeing as I was dating his nephew. “Yes.” I didn’t back down. Saint took a few steps closer to me, making me falter. Was he finally going to throw me out of his room for talking such nonsense? I held my breath as I waited for the inevitable rejection. “I don’t make love, mia cara. I fuck.” ~•~ When Adriana Jensen catches her boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend, her first idea is to get back at him by sleeping with his uncle, Saint, but when she is rejected by him, she sees it as a challenge and stops at nothing to make him break before their trip is over. Saint Rossi has no business lusting after his nephew’s girlfriend but he cannot help his obsession, especially after she boldly gives herself to him. He tries his best to stay away from her because she is too good to be brought into his darkness, but it seems like fate had other plans for the pair.

Olivia Anderson was born to rule....princess of the Red Mist Pack, destined Luna to the future Alpha, Smith Thorne. Their bond was fated, unbreakable… or so she believed. When Smith chooses another as his mate, the betrayal cuts deeper than any claw. This shock kills Olivia's father. Worse, Olivia carries Smith's child....the heir the pack once dreamed of. But in a final act of cruelty, Smith and his chosen mate rip that future away, murdering her unborn pup and leaving her broken, bleeding, and abandoned by the entire pack she once called family. Left for dead, Olivia is rescued by the one wolf no one dares cross: Alpha Benjamin Reed, the most feared and powerful alpha in existence. He nurses her back from the brink, awakening a strength she never knew she possessed. As his Luna, she stands at the side of a mate who claims her fiercely, protects her ruthlessly, and ignites a fire she thought forever extinguished. Now healed, radiant, and unbreakable, Olivia returns. ..not as the fragile princess she once was, but as the chosen Luna of the world's strongest pack. Smith thought he destroyed her. He was wrong. Revenge is coming. And this time, the rejected will rise… and the betrayer will kneel. *Trigger warning*** Smut***

Chloe Sue never imagined na ang mapapangasawa niya ay isang lalaking parang yelo na sa lamig, silent and emotionally distant. And Yohan Benjamin never thought that this girl, who was supposed to be just part of a family arrangement, would slowly start breaking down the walls he had spent his whole life building. Nang unang nakita ni Chloe si Yohan, nasa loob siya ng isang eleganteng hall, sun-kissed ang kutis nito. 'Yung mga mata niya, those deep almond eyes, parang may misteryong hindi mo agad mabasa. Tipong kahit sinong lalaki, mahuhulog. Kaya hindi nakapagtataka na halos mapanganga ang buong pamilya Benjamin. Pero si Yohan? Walang reaksyon. Nakatungo lang siya sa maayos niyang military uniform, seryoso ang mukha, at tila ba walang kahit anong nararamdaman. Kung ibang babae siguro, matatakot. Pero si Chloe, curious lang. They're bound by a decades-old debt between their families, at ngayong malapit nang ipadala si Yohan sa battlefield, kung saan walang kasiguraduhan kung makakabalik pa siya, the elders from both families started pushing. Wala nang oras at kailangan na raw nilang magpakasal. Not because they loved each other, but because it was their duty.

He cheated on me! In return, I fucked his boss. Then I fled the city to start a new life. Six years later, I'm back with six babies, all born at a time. These six cuties wouldn't let me rest unless they see their father. I thought their father was just a boss of a small company where my ex husband use to work, I had no idea this man is Lachlan Williams, the CEO of the biggest company in the city, the very one I now work for. I was meticulously avoiding him until one fateful day, I found out the CEO had guests and this guests turned out to be my sextuplets. "Mommy, we found Daddy." My sextuplets had implicated me. "Dare to hide my kids away from me?" Lachlan Williams had resolutely asked. Later, when my ex husband appeared again, he kowtowed and held my foot, begging, "honey, I'm a fool for cheating on you. Forgive me, I want you back again." Lachlan Williams kicked him off ruthlessly, saying possessively, "dare to lay your filthy hands on my woman! Assistant Benjamin, make his family company go bankrupt!"