Chapter 22 Of To Kill A Mockingbird

Sophia Carter has spent her entire life sacrificing her dreams to support a family that never valued her. With a terminally ill narcissistic mother and a selfish brother who sees her only as a source of support, she is on the brink of financial and emotional collapse. When every door seems to close, an unexpected proposal arises: a marriage of convenience with Alexander Hawthorne, the ruthless magnate who embodies everything she fears… and everything her heart insists on desiring. Alexander is known for his coldness and relentless mistrust, especially towards women. To him, everyone has a price, and Sophia is no different. She will be just another piece in his game: the perfect wife to maintain appearances and ensure the stability of his business. He doesn’t want love, nor intimacy. Much less does he intend to share a bed with her. But as Sophia and Alexander become entangled in this dangerous agreement, lines are crossed, secrets are revealed, and the desire they both struggle to deny threatens to ignite the icy facade they’ve built. In a world where everything seems to be a transaction, how far will they go to protect what’s left of their souls? A story of passion, power, and unyielding boundaries, where even the coldest hearts can be broken… or saved.

Lia Harrison is a witch who cannot use magic. Her poor aptitude for magic is a stain to her mother's reputation. That is, until a wrong turn in the bustling city of New York leaves her stranded and in the company of a Demon. Travis, a high-ranking demon, is on a mission to kill the Jade witch. The first face he sees when he arrives on Earth is Lia’s. Lia thinks that he is a human. The fact that she has no knowledge of a demon’s traits only makes matters worse. Travis doesn’t sense any magical aura from Lia and also assumes she is human. And so the Demon and the witch become friends, both being none the wiser. In a world where witches and demons walk separate paths, will their love end up like the dying embers of a flame, or will it transform into a blazing inferno?

In order to save her father and his company from going down, Kiara Smith was arranged to marry the new Alpha of the Reed Hunter Pack. She was happy with it as she assumed her groom to be Derren Vuron, her crush of 5 years to whom she could not confess due to a certain reason. But to her utter shock, the man who reached to marry her was his younger brother, Icarus, who she hated because he was the reason she couldn't be with Darren. At the night of their wedding, she threw a knife at him and said, "I will hate you forever and never forgive you for what you did." The man, instead, grabbed her neck and said, "You have only two options- live with me as my wife or die."

The tree I fell from was rotten. It's leaves were rotten, it's bark was rotten, and it's roots were rotten. Unfortunately, I am an apple that didn't fall far from that rotten tree. I was groomed in the shadow of that rotten tree and sprayed with poison to ensure I would be nothing but it's germinated seed. My earliest memories are dark and painful. My most vibrant memories are coated in crimson red and shame. The small pieces of my soul that I kept hidden and protected are the only parts of myself I can tolerate. The rest of who I am... The despicable trash that haunts my dreams... I hate. Death is the only answer to my life. Not love. I don't deserve love. A tainted apple is never put amongst the ripe juices apples. It is thrown away, discarded... As I should be.

Financial reporter Zoey, known for her pride and icy beauty, and with a formidable business acumen, finds herself at the center of a scandal on the very day she and financial tycoon Barlen are to get their marriage license. An insider exposes her, claiming that she loves only Barlen's wealth and that their marriage is merely a product of her exquisite acting skills. Unaware of the brewing storm, Zoey and Barlen are in the midst of obtaining their license when the news breaks. Barlen, upon reading the revelations, 'borrows' Zoey's phone and promptly turns it off, facing the onslaught of public opinion with firm evidence in hand. Surrounded by media reporters, Barlen is bombarded with questions about his perspective on the scandal. He deliberately twists the narrative: "My wife, she doesn't just love my money. Could she possibly love someone else's?" The reporters press on, clarifying their query: "Do you mean she only loves money, not you as a person?" Barlen remains composed: "She loves my money, and I love her as a person. Is there a problem with that?" In a single sentence: He redeems her with all his love and warmth. How could I not be enamored with someone like you?

I'm 29 years old, nearly 30 and so far, my sister and Photography have been my life and soul. Ever since I stepped foot in my first darkroom during my Sophomore year I always had a hunch that this would be my true passion. Since I held my first camera. Set up my first tripod, captured my first photo and filmed my first piece. I just knew that this is what I wanted to do. My life has been a complicated mess since I was 10 years old. My life was thrown away by my parents because I was a burden to them, I had a pen pal who I vented my anger out on for years yet he had become a huge part of my life. I haven't had a serious relationship in...well...ever and It's not every day that you find a man wanting to talk to you...granted, this man is the one who spilt his coffee down me the first time we met and from then on he became the Baine of my existence. I live in Texas City, Houston and I love what I do, the freedom it gives me being behind a camera but it also comes with a price when you least expect it. My life was complicated enough but when I vent out on a secret to this man, my feelings towards him become stir crazy and a whirlwind of emotions. One's I didn't want in the first place because 2 weeks before meeting said man...I was applying for a year long fellow ship abroad. A once in a lifetime opportunity to go to one of Spain's most explored and cultured cities - Barcelona.

As Erica ends up in a fantasy, mystical wonderland she is deceived into a life full of pleasure and riches. She is a stranger in the land of which she only heard in stories, her captivator is a mysterious creature about whom her icy wrath feelings slowly transition into a raging sinful passion. But she is killed by a mystifying dark shadow, but fortunately she is blessed with a new life. Now she is back and she soon realizes the purpose of the life that was given to her the second time. She is determined to take her revenge as she realizes truth little by little. She grows more thirsty to get her revenge from all the people whom she thought of as her friends. What will she do when she discovers the truth about the sugar coated lies that she has been told about her king and the wonderland? What will she do when her desires and passion become another death trap for her again?

After my husband's brother died, he took Miranda, his widowed sister-in-law in. He claimed that he would give me his love—but gave all his money to her. He said that since she had no official status, being with him would make her the subject of gossip, so he took her with him and left me behind in the countryside. Every month, he wrote me three love letters, yet sent all his allowance to her. During the famine, she and her two children sat in a warm little house eating well, while my two children died before I could return from selling my blood. One froze to death, the other starved to death. Later, my husband finally came back, but he didn’t shed a single tear for the children. Instead, he told me he wanted a divorce. "Nathalie, to apply for housing, we need a marriage certificate. It hasn’t been easy for Miranda all these years. I want to give her a home. Don’t worry, even if I marry her, I’ll still divorce her afterward—because you’re the only one I love." In the end, I was devastated and threw myself into the icy river. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my children were about to die. This time, I shook them awake, ready to go reclaim everything that was rightfully mine.

“No Jason!I cannot stand in as your brother’s bride ! What happens to our engagement?” Aliyah shrieked after her long college sweetheart asked that she stands in as his brother’s bride till he finds the real bride. “Nothing Aliyah, Nothing can come between our love, i just need you to help save the face of my family, id be back with the bride before the wedding proceeds “ he lied and successfully manipulated love struck Aliyah. Little did she know her close to perfect lifestyle is about to become a nightmare. Time is speeding and the real bride is yet to be found, now, Aliyah has to stick to the script and play the role of Kelan Donald's bride who happens to be in coma. Soon she found some shocking truth that left her world crumbling down What happens when Aliyah finds out there was no initial bride, everything was a charade and pre-planned by her college sweetheart, Jason? What happens when she realizes the man she was lured to marry is actually in coma? And why will Jason do that to her?

Yasmin Putri Claresta, a beautiful twenty year old girl, is a popular student at a campus in Jakarta. In fact, this sweet girl is famous for being a barbarian and having fun is her life motto. But what if one day his father really urges him to get married? Matching her with a man she really hated in her life. Unable to refuse her father's orders, Yasmin ended up in front of the altar with the man. Raga Ravindra Malik, his name. The smart young lecturer is charming and turns out to be a widower. How is their domestic life like? Will Yasmin be able to survive with someone she hates?