Cut The Tension With A Knife

My sister-in-law, Hannah Martinez, was eight months pregnant when someone shoved her to the ground. Due to the heavy bleeding, she was rushed to the hospital. I happened to drive past, but I rolled up my window and pretended I saw nothing, pressing down on the gas pedal. In my previous life, I had immediately taken Hannah to the hospital when I saw her pass out from the blood loss. However, the situation was critical. After the severe bleeding, she developed an amniotic fluid embolism. My wife, Lauren Martinez, was the best obstetrician in the city. I called her, begging her to hurry to the hospital. Yet, she thought I was throwing a tantrum out of jealousy because she was having dinner with her first love, Isaac Poole, and his family. She believed I was using Hannah's emergency to force her to come back. By the time her family finally arrived, Hannah had already died from the failed treatment of the amniotic fluid embolism. Her entire family blamed me for Hannah's death, convinced that I had deliberately caused Lauren to misunderstand and let Hannah die. My brother-in-law, Jacob Turner, who rushed back from out of town, believed their lies. In his overwhelming grief, he hacked me to death with a knife at Hannah's funeral. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Hannah was pushed and started bleeding out.

My husband Norman had always hated how his childhood friend Julia clung to him no matter the occasion. He even cut her off for my sake. One morning, I woke up and realized that I had mysteriously swapped bodies with Julia. I wanted to find my husband and figure out what to do, fearing he'd turn me away because of Julia's appearance. I cooked up a hundred explanations in my head until I finally arrived at our home. When Norman opened the door and saw me, he frowned and quickly shut the door, pushing me away. Just as I was about to explain that I wasn't Julia, he suddenly pulled me into his arms. "What are you doing here? Can't stand being apart from me for even two days, huh?"

Devlin Ashford has spent her whole life being the daughter her family always forgot. Inside the high walls of the Edevane stronghold, built to keep lycans and wolves out and everything else rigidly in, she learned early that love in her family was a privilege distributed by usefulness and she had never been the most useful child. That distinction belonged to Mara, her older sister, who was beautiful and charming beyond words. When their father arranges Devlin's engagement to Corvin Hale, son of a neighboring chief, it is the first time in her life she has been given something that feels like a future. Corvin was at least decent and had a bright future as the youngest son of a Chief. Mara decides that's too good a future for someone like Devlin. Her parents make him choose, marry Devlin and live as just the youngest son of a Chief or marry Mara and become the chief of Edevane. Corbin makes a choice without thinking twice, he chooses the more attractive sister with a bright future tied to it. Inciting Incident Devlin goes over the wall with just forty coins, a knife and an extra set of clothes. She doesn't make it far before she's captured by slave hunters. In the borderlands auction market, the mate bond snaps in place between her and the lycan king, Ronan. That night he marks her in his room.

Kira, prayed for a perfect relationship and she thought she found it when the Billionaire Alex started dating her. They spent so much time together she was certain he was going to propose until Alex cut ties with her with no genuine reason other than he was done with her. Kira was beyond devastated. She begged and pleaded but Alex Wilfold wasn’t the kind of man who kept one lady for too long. He had gotten enough of her and he had to move on. Heartbroken and deeply scarred Kira picks up the pieces of her life once again. She finds a job and she is immediately spotted as the best in her field. A promotion is given to her but her excitement dies when she realizes that she would have to work with the very man who had tossed her to the side like a worthless whore –Alex.

My best friend's boyfriend was cheating, so I tagged along to bust him at a hotel. Fifteen hours until go time. Felicity Cook booked a room right next to Jake's, jaw tight. "They'll be here tonight. When the time comes, we'll catch them red-handed." Inside, I could barely keep my eyes open. She'd been a wreck since last night, and I hadn't slept a minute trying to keep her sane. Figured I had time, so I set an alarm and crashed. When I opened my eyes, a guy was lying next to me. Felicity kicked the door in and pointed at me. "Lydia Lloyd! I can't believe you betrayed me! You're my best friend! Why would you sneak around and steal my boyfriend?" I just stared, mind blank, trying to get words out. She snapped, yanked out a kitchen knife, and in front of everyone, drove it into me again and again. I hit the floor, drowning in my own blood, eyes stuck open like my body refused to let me go. I came here to catch a cheater—how did I end up the side chick? Then I blinked... and I was right back at the moment I first walked into that hotel with Felicity.

The little boy I had saved when we were kids grew up to be a possessive, obsessive CEO. For ten years, he kept me by his side, using my grandmother's illness as a bargaining chip to force me into marrying him. He tried everything to win my heart, pulling every trick in the book, but no matter what he did, he could never make me love him. In a fit of rage, he found a woman who looked almost exactly like me to take my place. They flaunted their relationship for everyone to see, and people whispered that the CEO had finally found his true love. But that day, the woman, riding on his affection, barged into the villa with her entourage. She broke my fingers one by one, slashed my face with a utility knife, and removed my clothes to humiliate me. "Even though you had surgery to look like me, I'll let that slide. But you even learned to paint like me, too? You really did your homework. Let's see how you try to seduce men now!" Just as I was bleeding out and on the verge of death, the obsessive CEO finally showed up. The stand-in grabbed my hair and dragged me in front of him, smugly reporting, "Honey, this wench was hiding in the villa trying to seduce you. I've made sure she can't succeed!"

"Take your bastard child and get out of my house!" She was his secret ingredient. He was her dangerous craving. Camila Torres spent a decade hiding her light to make her husband look bright. In return, he called her a "poor thing," mocked her cooking, and kicked her out for a younger woman.  But Jaxon Carter made one mistake: he underestimated the woman he married. When Billionaire Nico Romano finds Camila, he doesn’t see a "poor" divorcee. He sees a woman with a palate like a goddess and a tongue sharp enough to cut through his mystery. He gives her the keys to his kingdom, and suddenly, the ex-wife everyone mocked is the boss everyone fears.  The Carters want her back. Nico wants her forever. In this game of power and passion, revenge is a dish best served... scorched.

My former roommate's cousin was the CEO of a company. She and I had been secretly dating for three years. That day, my roommate said, "Alicia's bringing the guy she's been seeing for the past three years over to meet her parents soon." He added casually, "Oh, by the way, when are you gonna bring your girlfriend around so I can meet her?" I froze at his question, not sure how to respond. Without a word, I stepped out onto the balcony and called his cousin, Alicia Davids. The call suddenly cut off. When I turned around, I saw my girlfriend standing in the doorway, arm in arm with another man. The smile on her face disappeared the second our eyes met. "What… what are you doing at my place?"

I'm one of the rare Omega healers in our pack. My soul essence can fix pretty much anything. Alpha Damian promised me: "Give me your soul essence to keep Isolde's soul steady, and I'll mark you. You'll be my mate, my one and only Luna." However, he drained my soul essence for three solid years, all for Isolde, his childhood sweetheart who pretend to have this soul-fading sickness. Until I got pregnant. And the pack's High Priestess told me my soul flame was about to go out. To save my baby, I secretly cut off the essence supply. Damian found it out. He slammed me against a rock wall. "How dare you to pregnant?! Your soul essence is for Isolde! That’s the only reason you’re even here!" When Isolde found out I was carrying the Alpha's pup, her "sickness" got way worse. She even faked falling into an icy river, making it look like her soul was about to shatter. Damian even dragged my ten-year-old brother, Liam, to the Moon Goddess altar, trying to suck out what little soul essence he had. Just because Liam's soul essence was like mine, but purer. And when I wanted to get rid of the baby to save myself, he locked me in a deep cave in the wolf keep, ordered the High Priestess: "Keep her soul stable. Cut the puppy out. I want her to watch everything she cares about turn to dust." My soul stone was smashed to pieces. When I woke up again, I was back on the day the High Priestess told me I had a pup in my belly. This time, I touched my flat stomach and whispered, " I want to abort this child." " This time, I won't let Damien bully me anymore."

On the drive from our Mating Ceremony, Carter’s voice cut the silence like a blade. "I fucked someone else." He tapped the passenger seat, grinning. "She was right there yesterday. We didn't even make it out of the car." The betrayal hit me like a physical blow, a sickening echo of the past. My throat locked; my chest throbbed with a hollow, crushing ache. "Now I finally get Jake," Carter drawled. "Chloe’s a goddamn firecracker in Heat. That scent? It leveled me." Jake was my ex. Chloe had been my best friend—until I caught them in bed five years ago. When my world collapsed then, Carter was the one who pulled me from the wreckage. Now, he had crawled into the same bed. I was drowning all over again.