Cut The Tension With A Knife

She blankly stares at the unfamiliar ceiling. 'Didn't I die?! I'm sure I cut my wrist. I felt it! I watched my blood flow before I blacked out! What's happening?!' She is Raine, an orphan who died by her own hands... Now she's given a new life and a family. A life in ancient times.Author: Please excuse my lapses on grammar as I am an amateur writer.

Wanting to forget her tragedy-filled past, Vivian worked as a cleaning lady in Malcolm Incorporated. No one paid attention to her because of the hideous knife scar on her face. But her peaceful life was turned upside down when the company's visitor, the enigmatic CEO Steve noticed her. Steve began paying lavish attention to her. When her job as a cleaning lady no longer gave her stability, she needed to find another job. Steve offers her a job with his company, and the best part, he was willing to pay for her surgery to remove the scar on her face under salary deduction scheme, no strings attached. Without her knowledge, Steve had already dug into her past. When Vivian finally accepted Steve's offer, her past and present collided. Will she go back to her chaotic past and reconcile with the man who owns her heart or forget everything and create a secure and fulfilling life with Steve?

“You are going to be my wife because of the agreement that your parents and my uncle Jack arranged. You can keep running your café business and I can make my uncle happy. It is a win-win situation for the both of us. Nothing's going to change really, you can do whatever you want and of course same goes with me. However, you are going to carry my surname. I won’t do anything to embarrass you and I expect that you will do the same.” I felt a knife stab my heart after saying those words, but it stung more when Lucy said “Of course, I completely understand. I know my role and I know my place. I may not be as rich as you are nor have the stage that you are on, but I am absolutely capable. Do not underestimate me Mr. Lowell or shall I say my future husband.”

Hailey meticulously plans a Valentine's Day surprise for her husband, Leo. It's supposed to be a day to mend the growing chasm in their relationship, but fate has a different plan. As Hailey steps into their home, the sight that greets her shatters her world: Leo, entangled in a passionate affair with a woman, right in their bedroom. The betrayal is like a knife to her heart, twisting deeper as the truth unravels. This is not a one-time indiscretion but a web of deceit spun over the years. Hailey's mind races as the reality of her situation settles in. Determined not to be a victim, Hailey vows to seek vengeance. But how? Should she reveal her long-hidden identity as the sole heir to a vast fortune? Or should she embrace the affections of the attentive suitor who has been vying for her heart? As Hailey embarks on her journey for retribution, will she discover a new self amidst the ruins and start anew? From a Divorcee to a Billionaire is created by Ivan TaleSmith, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Seven years into their marriage, Bella got hit with a truth—Steven had a kid. A six-year-old. She crouched behind the preschool slide, barely breathing, as Steven bent down to scoop the boy up. "Daddy, you haven't come to see me in forever." "Be good, Ollie. Work's been crazy. Listen to your mom, alright?" Bella froze. Same face. Same eyes. It was obvious. Everything about them screamed it—The man who swore he'd love her forever had been cheating on her this whole time. Steven and Bella weren't just a couple. They were childhood sweethearts. She once took a knife for him. Nearly died. Lost their baby. Lost the chance to ever have one again. Steven had held her hand back then, eyes red, saying, "I don't care if we never have kids. As long as I have you, that's enough." She still heard the shake in his voice. Now? Every promise. Every memory. All of it—gone.

My grandfather, the company’s chairman, had an unmistakable obsession with pink. Not only had he decorated his entire house in soft rosy hues, but he even had his newly purchased Rimac Nevera repainted in blush pink. I was home for the summer. On the day he got his new car, he excitedly asked me to drive him to work. We had just entered the underground parking garage when a black Rolls-Royce suddenly blared its horn and sped up to cut in front of me. It then slammed on the brakes without warning. Unable to react in time, I crashed straight into it. The driver lowered his window and cursed at me. His face was twisted with arrogance. “Are you blind? Vixen, can’t you drive?” Swallowing my anger, I retorted, “You were the one who deliberately cut me off. How can you twist this around and blame me?” He let out a mocking snort. “You women in pink cars are hopeless drivers, yet you still blame others? You had it coming. You must be a new intern. Let me tell you something. You’ve just hit the chairman’s car. Get ready to go bankrupt!” My grandfather and I exchanged a baffled look. If that was the chairman’s car, what were we in?

It was my twentieth birthday. My father presented me with the photos of many rich heiresses across the nation. He wanted me to pick the one to have a political marriage with. I told him I wanted to leave that in the hands of fate. Why? In my previous life, I picked Rachel Osborne, an heiress from Shampton. And I did that without hesitation. After we got married, I found out her true love, Zacharias Newman, had gotten himself drunk at a bar. The reason? He was heartbroken that we got married. And while he was drunk, a robber mugged him and cut off his hand's tendons. He tried to kill himself three times, and who did my wife blame? Me. She extracted my family's assets and gave them all to her beloved. My family was left as an empty husk. And she let him cut our brake lines. Thanks to him, my family and I died in a horrifying car crash. This was my second life. This time, I chose Seraphina Oliviera, an heiress from Fortunopolis. She was someone who couldn't care less about worldly matters and was a God-fearing woman. Eventually, I showed up at the engagement with Seraphina, but that apparently drove Rachel mad.

Sasha Hawkins gave her best to save her marriage but her husband, Roland, never considered her his wife and when his childhood crush returned after so many years, he didn’t think twice before divorcing Sasha. His childhood crush, Anastasia, framed Sasha for hurting her wrist with a small knife at the welcome party. The incident went viral and caused a fatal blow for Sasha and most of her big investors pulled out from her business. With no one to turn towards and no home to return to, Sasha had no option but to turn to her worst enemy, her ex-husband’s step-brother, Noah Beck. Using her vulnerability against her, he offered to help if she became his wife for a year. Given the opportunity to get back on her feet and face-slap all who had made mockery of her, will Sasha accept the offer? Or will she seek help somewhere else considering the fact that she can’t stand staying in a place with her Ex-husband’s step-brother?

To everyone else, I'm the wife of Stefano Pace, the man who runs this city's underworld. To others, I am living the kind of luxury every woman in town envies. But what no one knows is that in three days, I'm leaving my husband for good. It started when I took Stefano's car to wash and spotted a black stocking that wasn't mine wedged in the passenger seat cushions. It was balled up and still reeked of sickly sweet perfume. The sight of it was like a knife to the heart. I knew that perfume. It is Isla Torelli's. She's Stefano's underboss, the only woman besides me who's ever taken the passenger seat. My hand trembled as I gripped the stocking, but I kept my cool. I thought back to our wedding seven years ago, when Stefano stood in front of the whole family and vowed, "If I ever betray you, then betray me a hundredfold!" He probably did not think those words would come true.

Hera is a hired assassin sent to kill the king, but what she doesn’t know is this job will change her entire world. When she arrives at the annual ball and meets King Ambrose, she discovers not only that shifters exist but that the entire court is part of the pack. Ambrose reveals she’s his mate and asks her to stay to find who is behind the plot against him. With no other choice, Hera is thrown into dangerous court politics, flirtatious seductions with both the king and prince and a mystery that continues to evade her.  *** Ambrose takes the second knife and, somehow, without touching my chest, slides it beneath my corset from the top. His lips are inches from mine, his breath warm against my own. I’m still frozen, unable to think or react. I swear I see the light catch his eyes, making them glow. But in the next moment, it’s gone.    *** The Shifter King is written by Amara Nelson, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.