Clutched Definition

After my mother shot down my pleas to cover my medical bills the 100th time, I clutched my bone cancer diagnosis papers and trudged to the crematorium. "Hi, I'd like to reserve a cremation slot ahead of time," I muttered to the clerk. Half an hour ticked by before my parents and adopted brother arrived in their car. My dad, a forensic pathologist, cracked me across the face. "You're pulling a fake-death stunt now, just to steal the spotlight from your brother?" My mom, a hospital director, snatched the papers from my hands and shredded them into confetti. "Faking records using my credentials and tying up hospital resources? You've crossed the line!" My brother cried, tugging at their sleeves. "It's all my fault. I'll skip the amusement park forever. I don't need a thing. Just quit riling up Mom and Dad." I spun around, my hand pressed against my throbbing chest, and begged the crematorium staff. "Please, when it's time, cremate me and scatter the ashes in the river. I've got no family left in this world."

I roll my eyes. "Why are you being nice to me? Did your therapist say it was good for your mental health?" *************** Jeanet and James have been together for four almost blissful years. Two years ago, James bumped into his ex-girlfriend and realized he still had feelings for her, but every time Jeanet asked him, he denied this, until one morning when he does something that makes Jeanet finally lose it. She moves out of their shared apartment, but she has nowhere to go. She can barely afford rent with her failed business, and no company wants to hire her due to her past. She ends up forced to work for Damien, the Italian hotshot who barely smiles, who is also her best friend's uncle, and who has always despised her, but she never cared, because she despised him back even more. How are they supposed to share space when they are a true definition of a cat and mouse?

**Warning: Mature scenes ahead.***A woman with military training and outstanding credentials, Rayna Chase was the very definition of a badass chick. She was on the top of her career and the top of her game until she was assigned to babysit and guard an enigmatic CEO in the form of Axel Windstorm. It wouldn't have been a problem—certainly a piece of cake really—if not for the sudden unexplained visions she soon received; visions of a growling creature speaking unintelligible words, of golden diamond eyes and starry, windy skies. Yes, it wouldn't have been a problem too if she wasn't suddenly stalked by an alpha predator with midnight black fur, sharp claws and deadly fangs. And with a scent that teased her nose and muddled her brain. 'All is fair in love and war,' John Lyly, a famous poet said. Unfortunately, for Rayna, she couldn't agree, especially when love and war meant two opposing ancient creatures as powerful and mysterious as the sun and moon. All Rights Reserved J.M. Felic Books 2021 Exclusive only on Goodnovel.

When Levi Ezra and I got married, he had solemnly vowed he would love me for a lifetime. Seven years later, he got another woman pregnant — a woman he had so carefully tucked away in a luxurious estate, complete with everything money could buy for a perfect, pampered delivery. By the time I discovered the truth, his mistress's belly was already round and heavy. Her due date was just around the corner. Levi had hesitated — for barely a second — before instinctively shielding her behind him, as though I were some threat. He said, "Nikki, you're terrified of childbirth. Now that this baby is coming, the Ezra family will finally have an heir. You won't have to suffer anymore. We'll still be the same as before. Nothing will change." I clutched the freshly issued pregnancy report in my hand — the one confirming my own child — and let out a laugh so sharp and brittle that it shattered into tears. The day his mistress went into labor, I terminated my pregnancy. I left the divorce papers on his desk, packed my bags, and boarded the first flight to a foreign land.

Three days after my boyfriend’s adopted sister died a tragic death, I clutched a so-called "hush money" check in my hand and became an accomplice in everyone’s eyes. My boyfriend once knelt in the pouring rain to beg me, and his sister’s five-year-old daughter cried and begged me to testify, but I refused them both. Ten years later, when I was dying of cancer, my boyfriend had become a billionaire. The first thing he did upon returning to the country was to forcibly extract my memories, even though I would suffer endless pain. "Elara, you vain, heartless monster! Lily and I must have been blind to ever treat you like family!" "Lily has been dead for ten years, and you’ve been walking free with that dirty money the whole time!" "Today, I’m going to find out exactly who paid you off—the person you protected just for money!" My boyfriend held a press conference to publicly crucify me for my crimes. But after seeing the whole truth, he went completely insane.

When I was nine, I was caught in the blast while trying to save Joel Yorks, and the loud wave took away my hearing. Since then, I have had to wear hearing aids. Joel felt guilty. He insisted on having my hand in marriage. With his eyes welling up in tears, he swore, “Helen, I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life.” However, when I turned eighteen… Everything changed because he wanted to please the prettiest girl in the school. He ripped off my hearing aid in front of her and our classmates and said in disdain, “I’ve had enough of you being a burden. I really wish you hadn’t survived that day when you were nine. It would have been better if you were dead.” I clutched my audiology report and stayed silent. When I got home, I quietly revised my college applications and formally broke the engagement along with my parents. Joel and I would go our separate ways after that. We would not need to meet again.

I had always shared a perfect relationship with my mother-in-law, Betsy Dutton. We were the model pair of a wealthy family. She and my father-in-law, Rourke Dutton had been childhood sweethearts, their bond seemingly unbreakable. But one day, she told me something that changed my entire perception of them.  She clutched my hand and tears were streaming down her face. “Naomi,” she sobbed, “your father-in-law… he’s been keeping a mistress. They even have a child together! “For over ten years, I’ve been in the dark, made into a laughingstock!” My throat tightened, and I couldn’t hold back my own confession.  “Mom, actually… Julius is no better. He bought a whole apartment building for his mistress!” We wept in each other’s arms, our heartbreak spilling out in waves.  After what felt like an eternity, she sniffled and straightened herself. “Men are utterly unreliable creatures!” “I’m done with that old man, Naomi!” I gripped her hand tightly. “Mom, wherever you go, I’ll follow. I’m done with Julius, too!”

On the night of my awakening, which was also my 18th birthday, my parents locked me in a silver cage in the basement while my foster sister Emma prepared for her ceremony upstairs. Then, the Blood Moon Eclipse struck, forcing every member of the pack to evacuate. Emma urged our parents to help. My heart warmed, and I thought they would come to save me. However, the only thing my father carried out was Emma’s stuffed wolf doll. They clutched Emma and fled for their lives, leaving me behind in the collapsing basement. When I crawled out of the ruins, they were already in the safehouse, celebrating Emma’s successful awakening as a White Wolf. Ten years later, I became the heir to Blackstone Consortium, controlling half of the werewolf world’s economy. When we met again, the former leader of the Silvermoon Pack knelt before me. “I've finally found you, my daughter.” My gaze was cold as I faced the stranger in front of me. “You’ve got the wrong person.”

 “ I Landon Arlen, Alpha to Moon Shadow Pack, reject you, Jessica Lyon, as my mate”.  Jessica could feel her heart being shredded into tiny pieces, she tilted her head forward hoping to surge the tears from flowing down her eyes.  :She could feel the mate bond untangle, what felt like a feeling of bliss, drawn to him when he was far away was gone, replaced with a sad feeling of yearning that she could never get again.  “ I Jessica Lyon, daughter to the beta of Moon Shadow pack accept your rejection”.  She forced out the words out of her mouth, her lips pursed into a thin line hoping to feel some relief.  She felt nothing other than the tragedy, her heart filled with the burden of living without Landon for the rest of her life, because he was her entire world for Five years and as she watched him clutched in another woman's arm, Jessica could feel her heart shattered into a million pieces.

She was born from scandal. He was raised to never accept weakness. Together, they were forced into a marriage neither of them wanted... but fate had other plans. After the death of her mother, the daughter of a maid finds herself trapped in the mansion of a father who never wanted her, surrounded by a family that despises her. To gain their approval and earn her place, she agrees to an arranged marriage—with a man as cold as he is cruel. Damien Westwood is the definition of power and privilege. Rich, ruthless, and indifferent, he sleeps with a different woman each night and treats his new wife like she’s nothing. To his family, she’s just a burden he’s forced to bear. To him, she’s an unwanted shadow. But what happens when the girl they all underestimated refuses to break? Through humiliation, heartbreak, and betrayal, she slowly becomes the one thing they never expected: unstoppable. And as Damien’s obsession with her grows, so does the danger... because in this house, love doesn't heal—it destroys.