Better Days Ahead

My whole family only ever loved my younger sister, Carrie Brooks. Carrie had a crush on my fiancé, Josh Beaumont. On my wedding day, my mother pressed a knife to her throat, forcing me to give Josh to Carrie. "The fortune teller said Carrie's illness will get better if she gets married," Mom pleaded. "You're healthy. You'll find someone else." My brother, Nick Jansen chimed in. "Grace, don't be so selfish. Hurry up and take off the dress. Carrie's thinner than you. Make sure you don't stretch it out." Even Josh said, "Carrie doesn't have much time left. But Grace… we still have our whole lives ahead of us." They didn't know. The one who was truly dying… was me.

Bella’s life took devastating turns after her father’s death. Bounded by a contract she never signed, she marries Lucas, the son of her father’s business partner, in hopes of fulfilling her father’s dying wish for her to have a better life. But the man she marries is far from the saviour she expected. Finding out an unexpected truth after a year of marriage, she left the marriage, knowing fully well she was carrying a baby no one knew about. Her father's wish for her to get a stable life through the marriage crumbles. Some years later, she returns not as a shattered woman but as a strong, independent woman. Ready to face any storm ahead of her. She found love again in an unexpected place. Will her past jeopardise her chance of happiness, or will she strive through all odds?

“I, Angelina Rossetti, reject you, Alpha Luca as my mate. You can go ahead to enjoy your new fangled home.” Lucas stepped closer to me, his eyes furious and dangerous. Then, a felt a sharp sensation at my cheek, my head swinging to the side. It took me a second to realise what had happened. He'd slapped me. *** Insults, maltreatments and disrespect have been all Angelina Rosetti has always known. But that's deserving of a poor omega. Getting married to an alpha doesn't change the fact. After learning of her husband's betrayal, Angelina dumps him and searches for a better life. Little does she know, one's shadow doesn't leave them. Thrust into a new world, Angelina deals with a new admirer, the ghost of her past and an enemy with a deadly intention.

I help my students gain admission to top state art academies, yet my boss, Sebastian Emerson, withholds every cent of the pay I earned from 24 consecutive days of overtime. When I confront him in anger, he accuses me of stealing 120 thousand dollars in training fees from the students. "Honestly, being poor is no excuse for being shady. And having disabled parents doesn't give you the right to steal. "You've got two days to pay it back! Otherwise, I'll make sure you spend a few nights in jail, and I'll even inform your parents!" When a student calls, he snatches the phone and starts screaming, "There's no money! All your tuition went into buying your art supplies! If you've got a problem, go ahead and sue me, brat!" Meanwhile, Jayla Buckley, who is curled up in his arms, keeps placing order after order of Chaennal haute couture without the slightest hesitation. Watching the two of them colluding so shamelessly, I grip my attorney license in my pocket until my knuckles ache. Take it to court? Litigation? That's my arena. And I'll make sure both of them end up exactly where they belong—behind bars.

"You died four days ago. You were buried yesterday. That's fast healing, even for us," Clara explained. "Us?" Clara smiled. "You have risen from the dead and have healed all your wounds. You have no pulse. You do not breathe, and we've been giving you blood so that you can survive. And the last thing you can remember is a tingling in your neck before you died." She clasped her hands together. "I've read your personnel file, Shamira. I know you're not stupid, even if your former bosses thought you were. You can figure this --" "Vampire? You're kidding, right? You have to --" "Wanna go ahead and say 'But there's no such thing as vampires' so we can get that out of the way?" "There's no such thing as vampires!"

*Trigger Warning* SMUT AHEAD Winter Hollister is in love. Her boyfriend surprises her with a nine-day Valentine's Day cruise. She's thrilled and things seem like they're moving in the direction of a proposal. That's only until she catches him sleeping with another woman in the rose petal lined bed they were meant to share on the first night. Blake Troy thought he was in love until his girlfriend dumped him only days before the cruise. He turns it into a bachelor's trip of sorts and decides to have some fun on the rebound. Sparks fly as they meet and enjoy a passionate first night together. Winter is mortified the morning but then they hatch a plan. She needs revenge on her ex-boyfriend. He needs a fiancee to take home. They become each other's alibis but what happens when make-believe bleeds over into reality?

Elara longs to be close to her family. She does all it takes to keep it together. Despite her efforts, nothing worked. When she is diagnosed with a terminal illness, she tries a special werewolf treatment and suddenly can hear the werewolves' mind-link. This new ability reveals a painful truth: her husband and son have always favored Ivy, the Beta's daughter. The pack adores Ivy, while Elara is seen as only human. At first, Elara wanted to tell her family about her illness, hoping to spend her final days with them and find comfort. But after learning about her husband and son's betrayal, she is left heartbroken and filled with grief. She changes her mind and decides to pursue a divorce instead. She also goes ahead to plot her own death. Does her plan work out successfully?

Someone steals my takeout at the school gate. It is from a BBQ restaurant. Not only does the thief eat it all, but he also humiliates me in front of my classmates. He mocks, "Look, everyone! This is what a pauper would eat. Even my dog eats better than this!" He pulls out a stack of cash and slaps one bill against my face. Then, he tosses the rest into the air. "Happy birthday, beggar!" Three days later, he is burned to death in the alley behind the school, his limbs stretched out and tied to a tree. He is literally "grilled." And I become the murderer.

*(Dimitri's story) Can be read as a standalone novel* Alyanna Rosellini's life is on pause because of a murderer on the loose. Only being able to live through the present by holding on to the past while hoping for a better future, she will do anything she can to go back to her old life. Even if it is to act as bait to draw out the killer. Jayden Carlton is in a relationship with two women - his dead childhood sweetheart and a woman who won't leave him alone. Everyone has only one piece of advice for him - go to therapy and move on. But that advice is applicable to people who want to get better, not Jayden. How can he, when moving on also means letting go? Katerina Van Acker has a heart of gold but the world convinced her to use it sparingly. So she wore a bitchy attitude for armour, sharpened her tongue into a sword, and waged a war against it. But if she doesn't stop fighting, she might chase away everyone she cares about. And nothing short of her own guardian angel can convince her of that. Dimitri Volkov might be a prince but he is no guardian angel. Haunted by the memories of the one he was supposed to love and protect but ended up killing, he knows that he deserves no second chance. But fate has other plans. Now, his future rests in his shaky hands. Their life is on pause. The only way to move ahead is to reflect back on the past, learn from their mistakes, and make better choices this time around. Because with stakes higher than last time, they will either get everything they hoped for and more or lose more than their soul can bear.

I died not knowing Rowan had fallen for another. So, I made a deal with the witch, exchanging my wolf heart for seven days of life. Seven years ago, during a territorial conflict between wolf tribes, I lost my sight while saving Rowan. My deal with the witch not only gave me seven days but also restored my vision. Overjoyed, I rushed to Rowan’s home under the moonlight. I was eager to share my miracle with him, even if I had only seven days left.  However, he was in the arms of another woman. Rowan’s cruel words echoed in my mind: "You know how to please me so much better than that blind princess ever did." "I’ve had enough of her lifeless eyes. Every time I look at her, I feel like I’m shackled by chains of duty and morality. I can’t breathe around her!" His harsh words and the sounds of their intimacy crushed the last of my hope. I was going to die soon, and with the short life I had traded the wolf heart of a Moonshadow Wolf Tribe Princess for, I had only lived long enough to witness Rowan’s betrayal.