Chrysanthemum Hand Tattoo

"There's a foreign object lodged in the patient's lower region. Due to the unique circumstances, we need the patient's next of kin to sign the consent form for an extraction procedure." My body stiffens when I see the name on the consent form. "I'm Renee Becker's next of kin." It's Liam Cassidy who says that. He's the first love of my wife, Renee Becker, who has been away for a month, claiming she's off on a business trip. Liam doesn't recognize me. He takes the pen and signs the consent form. In the section to mark his relationship to the patient, he writes the word "husband". After passing the pen back to me, he grips my hand tightly and beseeches me, "Doctor, you must do everything you can to help her. She's carrying my baby." As I wrench my hand back from him, my wedding ring slips off and falls onto the floor.

"What's in it for me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "You become the Alpha of Alphas" she answered, crossing her arms over her chest, holding her stance despite her racing heart. The necklace around her neck glowing under her shirt, catching the Alpha's attention. "And what's in it for you?" He asked, growing a bit more interested in her offer. Eyeing the dim light under her black shirt. "I get my revenge. So, what do you say, Alpha? Do we call it a deal?" She asked, extending her hand to shake. He stared at her hand for a second, before extending his, shaking hers. "Deal, piccolo lupo" he said, tightening his grip "only we'll play this, MY way" ************************* Having lost her family in the hands of Lycans, Lia Elica finds herself seeking help from the one and only, cold, ruthless, and heartless Capo dei Capi, Alpha Ezra D'Caprio...

During the ten years since I was found and brought to my biological family, Sonia Baxter, the girl who took my place, and I have been as close as real sisters. Even Mom says that Sonia cares more about me than a real sister would. I once swore I'd give my life to protect our special family of four. When Sonia is rushed into emergency surgery with a ruptured cerebral aneurysm, I am in my office, calmly practicing a basic suturing technique on a surgical simulator. On the screen, the robotic arm threads the needle with such precision that it looks like a work of art. A few minutes later, my boyfriend, Oliver Lyons, slams open the office door and shouts at me, "Amelia Baxter! Sonia's in critical condition. Only your micro-dissection skills can save her! Every expert in the hospital is waiting for you! We've got less than an hour before the window closes!" He looks at me with hopeful eyes. I'm the only person in the country capable of performing a surgery this complex. My hands are even known as the "Hands of God". However, I simply reply with a hum and continue fiddling with the model. Suddenly, my parents rush in. Mom grabs my arm and cries out, "Amelia! That's your sister in there! How could you just stand by and watch her die?" I gently pull away from her and hold my right hand out in front of them. This hand, which had once created countless medical miracles, is now trembling slightly. "Unfortunately, since yesterday, I've been showing symptoms of essential tremor. Dad, Mom… this hand is ruined."

Ace was raised in a world where death and betrayal go hand in hand. How can she move forward if she's still trapped in her past? She can't trust anyone except herself and her trusty bullets. Can someone thaw her frozen heart? Or will she kill them all and it will be too late for her.

Agatha is a writer at a publishing company. She is single and ready to mingle, provided that no commitment. Even sex is not a problem as long as no strings are attached. On the other hand, Lexie is a happy-go-lucky actress but not as famous as others. They are best friends with opposite personalities, but they get along. They have no secret except one. Lexie didn’t know her best friend was a femme lesbian.

In the southern land of Clandestine Empire lies the city of lawlessness where the thirteen-year-old Dio is satisfied with his life. A warm home despite the chaotic city, a loving grandfather, and a humble living are all he needs in his life. However, everything changed when his grandfather died in a fire. He lost everything-- his family, his purpose, and his will to live. At a young age, he was lost with no hope for the future. “How about I help you find meaning in your life again?” It was an offer that he doesn’t even need to consider but because he wants to uphold his grandfather’s dying wish, Dio held the hand that was offered to him. It wasn’t salvation, just a temporary solution to push him to move forward. Little did he know that the hand that he took would lead him to know the reason why his grandfather had to die and how it was all connected to him. Will he be able to continue moving forward and face the future or give up on life and focus on revenge?

" You're mine, cara mia…” Adrian's breath crept up my skin as he held me still with his arm around my waist. I hissed, pulling back and failed. “In your dreams, Adrian.” His low chuckle scared me, but I acted tough. I couldn't afford to lose face before him. His other hand ran up to my hair and pulled, making me help and he whispered in my ear. “Disobey me again and I'll make you cum while my men watch.” That was Adrian Moretti the devil, and Mafia Don to the top elite cartel and Serena was his surrogate. He had bought her as his surrogate and didn't love her, but why? Serena craves freedom but she can't bring herself to hate his touch. What happens when she finds out he has a hand in her father's death and planned all of this to make her his? Read on to find out!

It's Family Day at my daughter, Hannah Neel's, preschool, but my wife, Samantha Miller, says she has to work and tells both Hannah and me not to go. Seeing the disappointment on Hannah's face breaks my heart, so I bring her to school anyway. As soon as we step through the gates, I see Samantha. She's holding her childhood friend—Oscar Barnett's—hand, with a little boy clutching her other. The three of them look like a perfect family, laughing and chatting, as if they belong together. When Samantha sees us, her smile fades, and she lets go of Oscar's hand. "Zach, it's not what you think. Oscar's raising his son alone. Today's his fifth birthday, and he just wanted to give him a little taste of a mother's love," she says quickly. I study her for a moment, then kneel and gently take Hannah's hand in mine. "Sweetheart, say hello to the lady."

When Isadora Giordano is forced into a contract marriage with the disfigured billionaire whose scarred face and missing hand have spawned endless town gossip—her world shatters. Darren Barlowe has everything money can buy—except love. He makes a deal with Isadora’s desperate father: He clears his debt in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage. On their wedding night, Darren uncovers her deception. She has a lover and she finds him repulsive. Fueled by pride and heartbreak, he offers an escape clause: two months as his wife. If she still detests him when the contract expires, she walks away wealthy and free. Isadora's walls crumble as she discovers the wounded soul behind the fearsome reputation and unexpected feelings begin to surface. But when her former lover reappears and a deadly conspiracy unfolds, she must choose between the safety of her past and a scarred man who might be her future. Can they can survive the forces determined to tear them apart?

A heatwave swept across the surface of the Earth right after the end of boot camp. Temperatures rose to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and all electronic items stopped functioning. Even our water source had all dried up. I was lucky that I never liked the taste of water in college, and I always had five boxes of bottled water standing by in my hostel room. If I rationed my water, I could sustain myself until help arrived, but our instructor suddenly requested everyone to hand in their water to be managed by one person. "We're a group, and it's only by working together that we will be able to sustain ourselves until help arrives! Whoever doesn't hand in their bottled water will be considered the common enemy!" I had no choice but to hand in all the water I had. However, the instructor was not fair with his water rationing. He would give the women one bottle a day, while I only had one bottle cap's worth of water. "You're a man, aren't you? It doesn't matter if you have less water. Do you really want to fight the fairer sex for a little water? The ladies should be pampered like princesses. Can't a man like you bear some responsibility to take care of them?" I wanted to argue with him, but my girlfriend, who was also my childhood sweetheart, helped the instructor tie me up and flung me under the sun to be burned to death. When I opened my eyes next, I had returned to the day before the heatwave. This time, I moved all of my water into a cave and watched gleefully as that lecherous instructor got thrown under the sun by his pampered female trainees to be burned.