Best Stand Alone Sci Fi Books Novels & Stories

"Tigrotta." "Mariano. Please we can't do this." "And why is that?" "Your nephew. My fiancé. He is literally downstairs." "We both know exactly what he thinks of you." "It doesn't matter." He kissed her slowly and pulled back just enough to speak against her lips. "It matters to me. You are mine. You have always been mine." **************** Gabriella Hale has spent two years as the perfect obedient fiancée. She kept her head down, followed the rules.Then she caught him with his own friends. Laughing and taunting her about virginity. Then she made a decision. One night in Vegas was all she allowed herself. One night with a stranger who was older, commanding and treated her like she was worth slowing down for. She gave him everything and slipped out before sunrise telling herself it was over. A secret she would carry alone while she went back to stomaching a marriage she never wanted. She did not expect to walk into the Castillo family home and find him standing at the top of that staircase. Mariano Castillo. The new family patriarch. Her fiancé's uncle. The man she spent one unforgettable night with in Vegas. Now he is the most powerful man in the room and he is looking at her like she was never Davis's to begin with.

To get their hands on money so that my younger brother can get married and buy a house, my parents take me to the family tribunal. They show up in ragged clothes, accusing me of being ungrateful and heartless toward my own family. If I'm found guilty, I will be sentenced to life imprisonment. All my assets will go to my parents and my brother. But if I'm not guilty, they will suffer the full backlash instead. I sit on the stand wearing a trendy designer dress and holding a limited-edition handbag. My face full of disdain, I say, "They can sue me all they want! I'd rather die than financially support them!" The court attendees are outraged and start condemning me one after another. But the moment the trial light lights up, everyone freezes in shock.

After I, Rosalie Ricci, was stood up 17 times, the mafia don, Daniel Marino, finally holds the perfect engagement banquet for me. In our second year together, we are ready to get married. But every single time, he has an excuse to hold our engagement off. He says he's busy with work, the timing isn't right yet, or that he isn't quite ready. I never blame him because I love him. I have loved him since our school days. In fact, I have loved him for seven whole years. This is the 18th time. I stand in the banquet hall wearing the gown he personally chose for me and watch as he slips the ring onto my finger. He kisses me with a passionate intensity he has never shown me before. At that moment, I believe that I have finally secured my perfect happiness after waiting seven long years. My happiness only lasts until the guests leave. As I step into the back garden, I see Daniel holding my twin sister, Leah Ricci, in his arms. He says in a hushed voice, "I announced my engagement to Rosalie 18 times. This time, you're finally back." That's when I realize that the engagement banquet that I have longed for is nothing more than a ploy by Daniel to draw Leah back to him. But when I decided to let them be together, Daniel panics.

“Who said Lucas could have all the pretty ones?” he said and I immediately flinched from his touch. “I belong to Lucas” I hissed but he gave a small laugh “All that is Lucas’ will be mine” he whispered close to my ear and I immediately stepped out of his ring and walked away without looking back. A night of fiery passion, an accidental marking and a secret pregnancy puts Jessica at risk but what happens when the trouble comes from the man who placed her in family's way? Now she's on the run with the secret baby of her ex best friend and newest enemy

Aurora’s perfect three-year relationship ends the moment she catches her boyfriend with another girl. Heartbroken and humiliated, she goes to a bar to drown the pain… and wakes up after a reckless one-night stand with a stranger. The problem? He’s her new professor. Now every lecture feels like a dangerous secret, every glance heavier than it should be, and forgetting that night becomes impossible. But in a world where lines shouldn’t be crossed, how long can they pretend nothing happened… when everything already did?

It was just a night, but it changed everything. A night of pleasure but it remained a night she'll never forget. It never crossed her mind that one stolen moment with a stranger would rewrite her fate. It was a night of warmth,desire and forgotten rules. But it turned out to be the point where her carefully planned future was shattered. Few weeks later, her dreams lay in ruins, her expectations cruelly erased and the future and life she envisioned slipped through her fingers and she couldn't do anything to stop it. Her life has become clouded with regrets, secrets and consequences of her actions such that she never saw coming, her future looks bleak and filled with uncertainties. Love became complicated, trust feels dangerous and hope; it was just impossible. Yet from the ruins and ashes of that single night, a new path begins to emerge because sometimes, it only takes one night to destroy what you believe in…and one truth to change everything forever.

Avelina Costa had it all—love, dreams, and a future with hockey superstar Zayn Volkov—until he shattered her world with one cruel decision. Pregnant and heartbroken, she disappeared… only to wake up with a new face, a stolen identity, and a thirst for vengeance. Two years later, she's back—living as someone else, standing beside the man who once abandoned her, married to him under a name he doesn't question. But as Avelina draws Zayn deeper into her web of revenge, old feelings begin to resurface… and so do dangerous secrets. Can she truly destroy the man she still loves—or will her own heart betray her first?

Losing her best friend in a fire felt like the worst thing that could happen to Anastasia, but that was before Kasper proposed a marriage. Harboring rage and resentment that seems to grow more than it lessens, makes Kasper cold and unfair to Anastasia, enough to make her tremble in fear whenever he's nearby. Their relationship is so far from normal, and holds so little of the feelings it should that even speaking about it aloud is forbidden. When Anastasia starts to get glimpses of the man that Kasper can be, she falls a little harder. But would it be enough to erase all of the hurt he has dealt her overtime? What happens when Kasper starts to see her in a new light, as the woman she is and deserving of all he is too afraid to give? Would his feelings for each other push aside the bitterness he's cradled for so long or would the bitterness override the best thing he's ever felt?

Elena Janice thought she had left her past behind. Years ago, she walked away from Los Angeles after her heart was broken by the one man she secretly loved—her brother’s best friend, Dominic Watson. Now a respected doctor and single mother, Elena returns with only one goal: save her daughter, Maya, who is fighting leukemia. But the only person who might be able to help is Dominic—the powerful billionaire she never told about the child they share. Dominic is dangerous, possessive, and used to getting what he wants. When he discovers Elena is back, old feelings and buried secrets rise to the surface. As enemies close in and shocking truths are revealed, Elena must face the man she once loved… and the father of her child. In a world of betrayal, power, and obsession, will love be strong enough to heal the past?

Nathan And I have been best friends until we graduated from the University. Every of Nathan's family knew I and Nathan, including his grandfather whose dying wish was that I and Nathan became couple. After the marriage, Nathan only saw me like a younger sister since he was older. In the eyes of the public, I and Nathan was married but to Nathan, I was a naive little girl who wasn't matured enough for marriage. He believes I had gotten married to him just to fulfill his grandfather's wish, unknown to him that I had fallen deeply for him. Nathan has a lover called Erica and due to the sister and brother relationship we have despite being married, he would invite his lover over as they spend time together, unknown to him about my jealousy but t until Nathan's male friend came into the picture. Or rather, his twin.