Better Off Dead Novels & Stories

Althea Johnson did not walk blindly into darkness. Before the contracts, the demands of blood and legacy — Dominic Valtieri had loved her. It was fierce, dangerous, and real enough to make her believe she could stand beside a man the world feared. Behind his ruthless reputation, she had seen a man capable of choosing her. For a while, he did. Until the weight of his name consumed him. By the time they marry, Dominic is no longer the man who once held her like something precious. He is colder, controlled by a dynasty that demands an heir and sees love as weakness. Still, Althea clings to the ghost of what they once were, hoping the man she loved is still buried somewhere inside him. On their wedding night, that hope dies. There is no tenderness—only possession. No love—only purpose. She is not a wife to him, but a necessity. When she discovers she’s pregnant, the truth becomes unbearable. Dominic did not choose her again. He chose what she could give him. An heir. A legacy. A continuation of a name built on power and fear. To him, she is no longer the woman he loved. She became a vessel. But grief hardens into something far more dangerous than heartbreak. Because Althea remembers who he used to be — and that memory burns. If legacy has consumed Dominic Valtieri, then she will become the one thing his empire never accounted for: defiance. She will not allow her child to be raised as a pawn in a dynasty built on fear. She will not let love be twisted into ownership. And if she must burn his empire to the ground to set her child free— She will.

It was a dream come true for Briar Prescott, who married Adrian Sterling for love. But he married her for an heir. Briar believed she could win her distant, cold husband's wholehearted love, but she soon discovered the truth. He never saw her as his partner. She was chosen for only one purpose, to produce the heir to the Sterling business empire. Learning this after falling pregnant, Briar felt betrayed. She eventually makes a decision that her mother who did all she could to make the marriage happen would have killed her for. She ran, but unfortunately got into a fatal accident. Five years later, she returned under a different name, successful, vicious, and no longer the woman Adrian once pushed aside. But Adrian couldn’t believe the devastating truth. His wife was alive. And not just that, the little boy she has with her looks like him and calls someone else dad. Now the cold-hearted billionaire who once stomped on love. Must fight for the woman who no longer wants him and a son he never knew existed.

A high-profile rape case rocks Corvessa City. During the autopsy, I examine the deceased's private area as part of the standard procedure. My wife, a police captain, blows up in front of the onlookers. "Don't we have a female medical examiner in our unit? Do you realize you're re-victimizing the deceased? And your wife is standing right here. Are you really that desperate?" The crowd turns on me in a heartbeat. Bowing to public pressure, the department suspends me and tells me to keep reporting in at my own expense. I hand in my resignation on the spot. Without me, nobody in Corvessa City is going to crack this case.

I can understand Wolfish, but I've never told my Alpha mate, Felix Grayback, about it. In public, he's the mate who dotes on me the most. He even declines a pack trading contract that's worth billions of dollars just to celebrate my birthday with me. As Felix holds me in his arms, he declares in front of his pack, "Bankruptcy is nothing as long as you're happy." I'm so touched that I'm about to burst into tears. So, I embrace Felix's huge, wolf-like body tightly in return. At that moment, I hear him emitting a low growl from his throat. It's a language that only wolves can understand. "This woman is finally plump enough to eat. Tonight, I shall share her flesh with my pack members."

My dad died in a car crash. On the seventh day after his death, I hear him whisper in my ear, "Amara, save your brother. There are cracks in the old stone bridge at the village entrance... It will collapse... He will die." I immediately call my brother, Asher Langford, and he takes a different route out of the village. But that afternoon, the police report that a murder took place on that road. The victim is Asher. My sister-in-law, Delia Winslow, and I bury him in tears. On the seventh day after my brother's death, I hear my dad's voice again. "Amara, keep an eye on Jasper. Don't go to the back of the hill. The dead trees there attract lightning... There will be a thunderstorm in three days." That night, Delia locks my nephew, Jasper Langford, inside the house. But three days later, Jasper falls from a window on the 12th floor. Delia goes insane after losing her husband and son consecutively in such a short time. Holding back my grief, I leave my own son, Billy Calloway, with my husband, Felix Calloway, and help Delia lay Jasper to rest. On the seventh day after Jasper's death, I see my dad holding Billy's hand and looking back at me with a sorrowful expression. He says, "Amara... There are spirits looking for substitutes in the reed marsh in the village. Take care of Billy. Don't go..."

My best friend, Scarlett Throne, is diagnosed with cancer. After running away from home, she takes her own life. She leaves behind only a testament and a pair of eight-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. "You're the only person I can rely on in this world. I'm not asking you to adopt them, but just make sure they have enough to eat." Out of compassion, I take the siblings in. For the next 20 years, my husband and I have been working hard together to raise them, buying them cars and houses. But one day, my adopted daughter reports my husband for being abusive toward her. Even my supposedly dead best friend suddenly appears and testifies against him. I demand to know why she does such a thing. My best friend, filled with righteous indignation, says, "I see you as my best friend! I've never thought you adopted my children just to serve your husband's perversions!" My husband's reputation is ruined, and he's been thrown in jail. I desperately try to prove his innocence, only to be forcibly sent to a mental hospital by my adopted son. There, I wither away and die. When I open my eyes again, I find myself back on the very day my best friend was diagnosed with cancer.

"You don’t scare me, Llewellyn,” I lifted my chin as I spoke even though my pulse betrayed me. Cesare’s lips curved into a wicked smirk as he stepped closer and spoke in a husky murmur. “That’s the problem, Rose… maybe you should be. Because I’m done pretending I don’t want you. I’ll have you—whether you let me or not.” "But you’ve always hated me.” His fingers brushed my jaw, tilting my face up to his. I felt my skin tingle and goosebumps rising. “Hate? Sweetheart, I’ve never hated you. I’ve only wanted you so much it felt like war.” ~~~~~~~~~ Rosette Jenner had everything—wealth, beauty, and power. But all she wanted was love untainted by power. When she trades her real identity for a normal life with Blake, she thought she’d found it. She was wrong. Betrayed and left to die, she wakes up in the past, before her downfall. This time, she’ll reclaim everything they stole from her. She’ll rise as the Jenner heiress she was born to be. But as she walks the path of vengeance, an old nemesis returns, Cesare Llewellyn. Brilliant and merciless. This time, he isn’t just a rival, he’s an obsessive, morally gray force who wants her on his terms, while she’s consumed by vengeance and refuses to trust love again.

[MATURE CONTENT] “I want this,” I whispered, my voice shaking with need. “I’ve been saving myself for you, Gavin. Take me and make me yours.” "Jesus, Mel... you've never?" I bit my lips hard, eyes glued on his as I trailed one finger down from my chest to the middle of my stomach and into my core. His eyes followed the movement, his chest heaving. I lifted the finger and placed it on my tongue, swirling it around and sucking it. “I'm untouched, Gavin, but I'm not innocent. I need you to ruin me!” ~~\\~~\\~~\\~~\\~~ Melanie Wealth has spent her whole life starving for love. Ignored by her powerful politician father, she has learned to survive in the shadows... until Gavin Thorne makes her feel seen. He’s the legendary coach of Chatham University’s hockey team, her boyfriend's coach, and her father's best friend. ​When a violent night leaves Melanie covered in blood and out of options, she flees to the only sanctuary she knows. One forbidden touch is all it takes for years of pent-up longing to explode into an unfiltered, passionate night that changes everything. ​But Gavin Thorne is keeping more than just a secret affair. ​By day, he rules the ice. By night, he’s a man with a hidden agenda and a dangerous mission that targets the very blood running through Melanie’s veins. In a world of secrets, power, and betrayal, can love survive when the mission is complete? Or was Melanie just a pawn in a game she never knew she was playing?

"Fuck, you're so tight for me," Ryder growled against my ear, his hips slamming forward in a deep, punishing thrust that made my back arch off the bed. I gasped, nails digging into his shoulders as he filled me completely, stretching me. "Harder... please..." He pinned my wrists above my head with one large hand, the other gripping my hip hard enough to bruise. "You want it rough, baby? Then beg for it properly." My body trembled under him, slick and desperate. The words spilled out before I could stop them. "Please... Daddy... fuck me harder." A dark, satisfied rumble vibrated through his chest. He leaned down, teeth grazing my neck, voice low and filthy. "Good girl. Come all over Daddy's cock. Show me how much you need this.” *** On my wedding day, I caught my fiancé Dylan Voss and my step-sister Helene fucking each other in a room. Heartbroken and humiliated, I walked away from the altar. That's when Ryder Hawthorne—Dylan's powerful, ruthless stepfather—found me. He carried me to his penthouse, and in a haze of rage and need, I seduced him. We fucked like it was war: rough, and desperate. When Dylan walked in and saw me riding his stepdad—he felt betrayed and stormed out. I felt satisfied and vindicated. It was supposed to be one night. We were never supposed to see each other again. Until I desperately took a job at Hawthorne Prosperity Group to save my dying grandmother…and discovered Ryder was my new boss. One rough, forbidden encounter in his office, and he offered me to be his personal slut, in return he'd pay Gran's bills. I had no choice and accepted. Payback became obsession. My ex wants me back, but Ryder refuses to let go. Now I’m caught between revenge and surrender.

The apartment that I bought four years ago isn't renovated or lived in at all. Yet, I suddenly receive messages on unpaid water and electricity bills. Puzzled by the sudden barrage of messages, I return to that particular apartment to check things out. That's when I realize that a stranger has been living in my apartment this whole time!