Better Than Before Lynn Painter Novels & Stories

When Stacey’s mom gets transferred — again — Stacey is forced to start over in New York, bitter and lonely in her new high school. After she meets Derrick, the school’s star basketball player, everything changes he becomes her first real friend… and so much more. Family expectations, secrets, and the pressures of chasing big dreams sets in, Stacey and Derrick must make the toughest decision: Can their love survive the challenges that come with growing up? Follow Stacey and Derrick as they chase first love, stumble through heartbreak, and learn that growing up means sometimes letting go. Book 2 — Loading ………..

My fiancee gets drunk the day before our wedding. While I'm taking her home, she mistakes me for my best friend. "Jackson, don't bring our child to the wedding tomorrow. I don't want Samuel to know about us." I slam on the brakes, causing Madelyn Wilkinson to hit the seatback and come to her senses. When she realizes it's me, she freezes for a moment before slowly explaining, "Since you heard that, let's call off the wedding for now. You don't have to worry. Jackson doesn't plan on getting married again. But I'm still that child's mother no matter what, so I need to help out. "Jackson's your best friend. You feel sorry for him if he has to raise a child alone, don't you? I'll marry you after my son starts school." I can't help smiling bitterly. "Alright then… I don't have a problem with that." When we get home, she packs up a suitcase and leaves without another word. Feeling a sting in my eyes, I suppress my emotions as I sit on the couch, falling into a daze. That's when my phone rings at the worst possible moment. My childhood friend, Hazel Parsons, says in a hoarse voice, "Sam, don't marry her. Please." I fall silent for a beat. "Alright."

They said I was beautiful — but not real. That my smile was perfect — but my past made me broken. I spent years trying to prove I was more than the girl who changed her face to survive the world’s cruelty. I married Julian Vale, believing love would finally see me. I called Serena Blake my sister, trusting her more than my own reflection. And when my world collapsed under secrets, silence, and the weight of never being enough — I disappeared. Then I opened my eyes… Ten years earlier. Before the surgery. Before the vows. Before I forgot who I was beneath the makeup and the mask of confidence. This time, I don’t need to be fixed. This time, I don’t need to be forgiven. I remember every lie. Every betrayal. Every time I silenced my voice to keep the peace. So I’m not here to win back love. I’m not here to punish the past. I’m here to become the woman I was always meant to be — unedited, unafraid, and finally, completely seen. I was more than pretty. This time, I’ll live like I believe it.

Lois had decided to use alcohol to numb her pain and forget everything she had gone through. She had caught her boyfriend in bed with another woman, and now the child services agency was threatening to take her sister away from her. To add to her woes, she had also lost her job. As she sat in the bar, she encountered some problems that almost resulted in her being raped. However, Leo came to her rescue and saved her from the manager. He then offered to help Lois, but with a condition: she would have to marry him in return. Desperate for help and without a second thought, Lois accepted Leo's offer.

“I will marry you. I don’t want to marry Camelia. All this time I have only taken advantage of her intelligence.” Those words became a knife that mercilessly tore through her heart. For years, Camelia dedicated her brilliance to building William’s company—saving it from bankruptcy, winning impossible negotiations, and turning failures into success. She believed they were partners in love and ambition. She was wrong. To William, Camelia was not a woman to be loved. She was merely a mind to be exploited. A strategy to be used. A stepping stone toward greater profit.

On the third day of kneeling before the statue of the Moon Goddess and praying for Ryan Summers, a sudden row of glowing text appeared right in front of my eyes. [Ryan really is a piece of trash. His little childhood sweetheart, Rowena Blake, ran off the moment she learned he was going to hold a bonding ceremony, so he actually faked his own death just to chase her.] [Ryan and Rowena are out there whispering sweet nothings to each other under the flowers and moonlight, while Jenna Cuttridge cried her eyes nearly blind over that scumbag.] [Too bad Jenna never finds out that Ryan tricked her. When he comes back from playing dead, she even happily marries him.] So this was the miracle the Moon Goddess had bestowed upon me. Thunderstruck, I grabbed my phone and called my Alpha father, Jake Cuttridge. "Dad, remember that alliance bonding you mentioned last time? I agree to it." Half a month later, the news that I would be entering an alliance bonding with an Alpha from the Northridge Pack spread throughout the entire wolf kingdom. Ryan's friend, Luke Carter, who had been in on his plan, rushed over and demanded, "Ryan just died not long ago, and you're already so eager to find the next guy?" "He's dead. I can't possibly stay single for him my whole life."

This isn’t a book. It’s a violation. Of your rules. Of your morals. Of the last line between want and ruin. These aren’t stories. They’re commands. Each page is a filthy little dare to spread wider, moan louder, and let go of every ounce of control you thought you had. Because once you start reading? You don’t stop. You can’t stop. This is where innocence gets devoured by the mouths it was told to avoid. Where best friends’ daddies, strict professors, and stepbrothers with no self-control break all the rules in your head—and then break you. They’re not gentle. They’re not careful. They’re not here for love. They want your breath caught in your throat. Your thighs shaking from how much you need it. Your body betraying every thought that says “no.” They’ll pin you down with a stare. Fuck your mind until it spirals. Make you beg without even touching you. You’ll gag on the tension. Cry from the pressure. Climax from the ache of what you’re not supposed to want. So keep your fingers ready. Keep the lights low. And baby? Be warned: You’re gonna need a towel by the end. Because this book doesn’t just seduce you. It owns you. Read it loud. Feel it deeper. And don’t you dare pretend you didn’t love every depraved second of it.

Even though I knew cows were sacred to the Indorians, I still supported their biological daughter in her plan to serve beef at the dinner table of Indoria's wealthiest man. In my previous life, the wealthiest man in Indoria had held a nationwide contest to choose a wife. My sister had fought her way to the final round and planned to make a beef and veggie stew for the ultimate cooking challenge. I rushed to stop her, warning that in Indoria's religion, cows were considered holy, and eating beef could have serious legal consequences. However, my sister thought I was deliberately humiliating her for being "uncultured." In a fit of anger, she ran out, only to be struck and killed by a car. My adoptive parents tried to console me, telling me it was not my fault, that it was simply bad luck. Later, thanks to my exceptional cooking skills, I became the wife of Indoria's wealthiest man. Yet on the very day of my wedding, my adoptive parents sold me to the slums. That night, as eight men assaulted me one after another, I cried and demanded to know why. They kicked me viciously and spat: "If you hadn't made things difficult for Janet, she wouldn't have died. You owe her this!" By the end of that night, I had bled to death. Meanwhile, my adoptive parents used the money given by Indoria's wealthiest man to build a lavish tomb for their biological daughter. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day my sister was about to serve her beef and veggie stew to Indoria's wealthiest man.

"This marriage is nothing more than a business deal so don't expect anything more from me" Those were the words my husband threw at me the minute we got married. How do you make an arranged marriage work when your husband has a mistress who has threatened to kick you out? Hazel Reyes found her world turned upside down when she learnt that her father was on his deathbed and that she must marry a stranger as his last dying wish. Atticus Hayland, the brute force of the capitalist world, received an offer to marry a billionaire's daughter for rights to his company. Atticus intends to marry her before tossing her aside, but he is surprised to learn that his new wife will not allow him to use her for her company rights when she demands respect and for him to get rid of all his mistresses. Will Hazel succeed in becoming Atticus's only woman, or will she be tossed out by the other woman?

Amaraiah “Aya” Reyes’s success as the Senior Marketing Manager of Madriaga Enterprises stands as proof of her skill and dedication. That’s what the public sees—her confident smile, her flawless image. But behind it all, she carries a secret that could change everything. She is secretly married to the company’s CEO, Zedrick “Zed” Madriaga. He was the man she first fell in love with. It was a marriage born from complicated circumstances, a binding agreement that both connects and divides them. Through the years, Aya learned to play the role expected of her—prim, proper, and untouchable even at the cost of her true feelings. But now, Zed wants more than shadows and silence. He wants to live in a world where they no longer have to hide from each other. With Aya’s growing success drawing public attention—and with people ready to expose the truth. So, she must make a choice. Will she keep living the perfect lie, or will she finally fight for who she really is… even if it costs her everything?