Black Swan Mom

A grim look flashes past Daniel's face as he heard someone knocking on the door. When he finally sees Heather's pretty face so deeply imprinted in his head, his lips curl into a sarcastic smile. "So you've been telling people I'm dead?" Daniel asks.

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

A drunk Eliza Harper ended up having a one-night stand with Benjamin Clayton, a powerful billionaire, after getting cheated on by her boyfriend on their one-year anniversary. The two thought that they were meant for each other until Shannon, Benjamin’s feisty ex-wife brews up a storm between the two. Will Eliza and Benjamin survive love’s hardships? ---------------------------------- “Mommy, how come I don’t have a daddy like the other kids?” Eleanor questioned her mother with her glistening bug eyes. Her mother stopped her work and stared at her lonesome daughter. Tears flowed down her face like a stream as she took her daughter in her arms. She didn’t know how to answer such a difficult question....

Olivia's reputation as a star student and loyal friend is tested at Velmont Heights Academy when a new brilliant student arrives and threatens her spot. With her father's health declining, her brother's wayward life, and a mother worn out from constant hospital visits, her academic excellence is the one thing that keeps her going. Then there's Andrew, her male friend who may be more than just a friend. Lola, her girlfriend — the life of the party who hides behind her laughter. Davis, the guy who loves to tease her but maybe there's something more to it. Jack, who plays the piano and always seems to show up at the right moments. And Nora? Whose absence speaks louder than words. Her desperate attempts to hold everything together only lead to more chaos. As rivalries are triggered and alliances formed, secrets unravel and relationships break. Olivia is forced to confront the cracks in her facade and the truths she's tried so hard to hide. Will she find the strength to face her fears and be real... or will everything she's built come crashing down?

When Ava walked into that bar, she only wanted to forget. Forget the man who left her for money. Forget the wedding she was never meant to attend. But one drink, one stranger, and one reckless night changed everything. She woke up in a stranger’s bed only to find out he wasn’t a stranger at all. He was Adrian Blackwell, her CEO. Cold, powerful, and dangerously irresistible. Adrian swore he didn’t do love. He didn’t chase. He didn’t lose control. Until Ava. Now he wants her body, soul, and every breath she takes. But loving Adrian means walking a thin line between passion and danger… because the man who owns her heart might also be the one who ruins her.

Sa loob ng dalawang taon, inakala ni Therese na may puwang pa siya sa puso ng kanyang asawang si Ezekiel Craig. Pinanghawakan niya ang pangakong "hanggang sa dulo," ngunit isang araw, bumagsak ang mundong inakala niyang sa kanya. Natuklasan niyang hindi siya tunay na anak ng pamilyang Forbes—isang kasinungalingang nagpabago sa takbo ng kanyang buhay. Kasabay nito, itinakwil siya ng pamilyang minahal niya, at ang mas masakit, pinalitan siya ng babaeng may tunay na karapatan sa pangalang iyon… at sa lalaking minahal niya nang labis. Sa isang iglap, nawala ang lahat. Ang pamilya, pagkatao, at maging ang kasal na buong puso niyang ipinaglaban. Ngunit sa pagkawala niya, isang mas matinding katotohanan ang lumitaw na hindi siya basta-basta mawawala. Dahil sa kanyang dugo, may pamilyang mas makapangyarihan ang handang ipaglaban siya. Sa kanyang pagbabalik, hindi na siya ang dating Therese na kayang yurakan ninuman.

It was a bad idea. She knew it but she had no choice. After finding herself penniless after the death of her parents who nevertheless had a good fortune, Rose had no other idea than to loot the trunk of her old house to pay for her little sister's treatment. Anyway, it wasn't a theft because nobody knows about this safe... The house was empty because it was for sale, she was going to sneak in and she would never set foot there again. It was a perfect idea... When she entered the house, she suspected that there was someone but she persisted and continued... -Who are you? What are you doing at my house? She was so relieved that no one had touched her money so she hadn't even heard the footsteps... She turned to see a man...a man with a mask covering half his face. .. Frightened, she did not expect that this night could change her life... -I'll let you take your trunk and I'll offer you double more so that you serve as my escort, for one night... Rose could not understand such a proposal. However, she had no choice...

On Christmas Eve, my father got the man I had secretly loved for ten years drunk and sent him to my bed. When I woke up the next morning, Roy pulled away from my attempt at a good-morning kiss. His voice was cold and distant as he agreed to marry me. After the wedding, Roy wasted no time submitting a transfer request. He took an overseas post and left. He did not return for five years. I gave birth to our daughter, Eve, alone and waited for him to come back home. When I heard that Roy had finally applied to return to a domestic position, I was overjoyed. I spent days preparing, imagining our first reunion as husband and wife. But even when the clock struck midnight, he still hadn't come home. Our daughter, ever so thoughtful, placed her most treasured possession—a photograph of Roy—into my hands. "Don't cry, Mommy," she said softly. "Look, Daddy's right here." I tried to convince myself that his absence was due to a delayed flight. But later that night, while watching the news, I saw him. He was on a crowded city street, holding a young girl in his arms. Beside him stood a woman, her smile soft and warm. Facing the camera, Roy said, "Being with them is my greatest wish." At that moment, something inside me broke. I wrote up the divorce papers, packed our things, and planned to take Eve to change her identity. I didn't want him anymore. The day before we left, a man I had never met came to see me. He was Roy's father. "You could call me Dad," he said, a faint smile playing on his lips. "But I'd rather you call me Ryan." I told him everything about the past five years—how I had waited, how I had hoped. When I finished, he laughed softly, an unusual warmth in his voice. "If it was just business," he said, "perhaps your father should have tied a bow around me and sent me to your bed instead. But I hold my liquor well—if I ever end up wrapped in a bow, you can be sure it's by choice."

Labis ang galak sa puso ni Tamarah when she found out she's pregnant. She wanted to surprise her husband on their upcoming wedding anniversary, pero ganoon na lamang ang gulat nya nang makita ang asawa sa hospital kasama ang maid nila—Their maid is pregnant with her husband's child! Tamarah left the country. Two years later and she's back with her triplets, at sisiguraduhin niyang magbabayad ang dati niyang asawa.

BLURB: Elena Rivers only wanted to survive senior year quietly but one wrong seat next to Ryan Blackwood, the school’s most feared and untouchable boy, changed everything. He’s dangerous, untamed and hiding secrets darker than his tattoos. Elena is soon pulled into obsession, lies, and forbidden attraction that could destroy them both because loving Ryan Blackwood isn’t just risky… It's deadly!