Novel & Cerita D 9341

I used to be a top ballet dancer. The year I was diagnosed with a spinal hemangioma, my boyfriend Julian Blackwood said, "Wherever you go, I go." We'd been together three years. He walked beside me as I went, step by step, from the most luminous dancer on that stage to a woman in a wheelchair. Every time the nerve pain hit and I collapsed, he was the one who lifted me off the floor. Every round of electrostim and acupuncture, he sat in the corridor outside the therapy room and waited for me to come out. Before I got sick, he promised me—the night I finished my final performance of Swan Lake, we'd sign the marriage license. He'd bought tickets for that show three months in advance. I never stood on that stage again. And the marriage license never came up. Until the morning I noticed the collar of his white dress shirt carried a smudge of lipstick that wasn't mine. I heard him on the balcony. A woman's voice on the other end. "Mr. Blackwood, you left your jacket at the hotel last night. I'll bring it over." I stared at that smear of red, and something in me snapped. I laughed. "Send me to Westbrook. The locked-down rehab facility. I don't want to drag you down anymore." Something flickered in his eyes—a brief, animal panic. Then he nodded. He thought I meant rest. He didn't know I'd already signed the papers to donate my body to science. I was going there to die.

SYNOPSIS Billionaire Michael Verrati was never ready for marriage. Neither did he like the thought of commiting to one person all his life. But he had to grant his mom's wish for grandkids. And there was only one way to do both he assumed. He'd get married just long enough to grant her her desires. It'd just be for one year. He thought he had it all figured up until he met her... She was never his first choice, probably wouldn't have made his first hundredth. But is one year enough to satisfy this passion burning in him amidst different adversaries?

Noah sat beside me. He lit a cigarette. I didn't understand why I was here. But it was true, I'd almost forgotten about Anthony, replaced by fear and curiosity. "What are we going to do?" I asked. "I mean. You said you'd help me with my problem." "Your problem? You're just heartbroken. Not a serious issue. You just need to get revenge." "How?" Noah took a drag from his cigarette. He was handsome, but the vibe he gave off made me scared. "Send him the same kind of video he made with that other woman." "I have to hook up with a stranger just to get revenge?" This was a crazy idea. "No way." "Then just deal with it and accept the fact that you're not more interesting than your boyfriend's side chick." What the hell was that?! I wanted to get even, but I didn't want to do something insane. I grew even more agitated. My phone rang again. I looked at the screen. My mom was calling me. This was bad. She couldn't know I was with Noah, or she'd kill me.

After our eighty-eighth canceled wedding, I called my business partner. "I'm taking the Haviana market project." There was a beat of stunned silence. "Seriously? That's ten years overseas. You just got married—well, weren't you? Does your husband even know? What about your parents? You always said staying close to them was everything." I glanced around the empty church and let out a sharp laugh. "There was no wedding. No husband. And my parents? They've got Cindy. That's all they need." Another pause. "Alright. Pack your bags. You leave tomorrow." After the call, I ran a hand down my wedding dress. One last tear slipped out, quiet and pointless. Cindy had another "episode" today. Claimed she'd off herself. Andrew canceled—again. I'd looked at him, drained. "It's the eighty-eighth time." He dropped his head, guilt all over him. "Just a little more time, Viv. She's been off since the accident. I'm scared she'll actually do it. I swear, I'll talk to her. For real this time. Then we'll get married. Promise." My parents didn't hesitate. "Vivian, let Andrew go. If Cindy hadn't gotten kidnapped trying to save you, she wouldn't have these breakdowns. Are you really putting a wedding over your sister's life?" "How could you be so selfish?" I'd heard it all before. Used to fight it. Not this time. If neither my fiancé nor my parents wanted me around, then fine. I'd leave.

My boyfriend, Tom, promised a grand mating ceremony for my twentieth birthday. But at my banquet, he publicly requested a mate link with my stepsister, Lily. While the whole pack roared and cheered, I just stood there like a fool. The betrayal hit hard. Before I could even breathe, Sam—the Obsidian Pack's Alpha heir—said he'd secretly loved me all along and asked to claim me. I said yes. For five years, he spoiled me. Memorized my favorite runs, my wolf's quirks. Then I overheard him with his Beta: "Sam, Lily's Luna of White Rose Pack now, just like she wanted. You still gonna fake it with Any?" "I can't have Lily. Doesn't even matter who my mate is anymore. As long as I'm with Any, Lily's safe and happy." Later that night, I found his safe in the study. Inside? Every single thing she ever gave him. Handmade wolf fang pendants. Letters sealed with her paw print. His prized chest armor, every single scale etched with her name: [Lily, my dearest love. I'd shred through every thorn for your smile.] [Lily, rip out my wolf heart if you needed it. ] [Lily! Hell, I'd steal the whole damn world if you asked.] Five years. Five years of lies, shattered in seconds. I filed my request to leave the pack. In two days, I'd be out of Sam's life for good.

In order to take care of my wife, Mildred Dale, who kept going into lunatic episodes thanks to the side effects of a car crash, I spent all of my assets and ten years of my life taking care of her. Whenever Mildred went into an episode, she'd hurl everything she could get her hands on at me. At the same time, she'd scratch every inch of my body with her nails. But when she sobered up, she'd hug me while wailing at the top of her lungs. All of my friends advised me to file for a divorce, yet I'd always remember the fact that Mildred had pushed me from the incoming car and hit her head, resulting in her current condition. But everything changed when Mildred beat me up to the point that I sustained grievous injuries. Heck, my soul was already floating near the ceiling at that time. That was when I saw Mildred arranging her childhood friend Hank Weaver's collar carefully. "Why are you crying? He's already dead. Shouldn't we celebrate this occasion instead? "But my heart breaks for you, Mildred. You've pretended to be a lunatic for ten whole years just to swindle every cent out of his account!" Mildred kissed Hank on the lips. Then, she uttered icily, "I've been enduring that cowardly fool for ten long years. Now, I no longer have to be with him." It turns out that Mildred and Hank had painstakingly staged the car accident just so they could put on such a perfect act. When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Mildred is diagnosed with mental health issues.

Debt. Betrayal. Auction. Isabella Sterling, a master manipulator in disguise, was sold to Dante Belucci, the notorious and feared Mafia boss. His prize. His captive bride. They thought she was broken. They were wrong. She would use him, his power, his world, to destroy those who betrayed her. By the time he realized her dangerous game, he'd fallen too deep. He'd learn that the woman he owned was far more dangerous than he ever imagined. When Dante looked at her, his heart broken, he asked, "Did you ever love me, Isabella?”

"Strip." "What?" "I said you should strip... You've lost your courage so fast?" Mavis stutters, colour flooding her cheeks. He takes a step further, coming to stand right behind her. he pushes her hair to one side, leaving her left shoulder bare save for the strap of the flimsy red dress. With a deep inhale, he picks the one strap and tugs on it until it slides down her arm, loose. "I am paying you Ten Million Dollars, I should at least have some fun." When the tip of his fingers touch her skin again, it slides dangerously close to her cleavage, and maybe, just maybe, she'd like to have his palms cup her breasts the same way they'd done all those years ago. ********************* It took Seven whole years for her to reappear in his world, and when she did, she did not come alone. She'd had a baby for him seven years before, and that jewel is on the edge of death... For the same child, she'd decided to grovel or worship him and do whatever he wants for a week, just like all those years before. Nothing could possibly go wrong, right? This time, she thinks she can run from Lance Wesker? with the child that looks suspiciously like him? And worst of all, now knowing that Lance Wesker is not a nobody... He is not just the World's Most Eligible Bachelor, he is also her best friend's Elder Brother? Things are about to unravel in the best and messiest way possible, because with Lance and Mavis, nothing is ever going the right way!

At 7am on the dot my alarm rings on my nightstand. After a brief moment of irritation I sprung out of bed to get ready for school. While brushing my long curly ember hair my phone dings incessantly on the bathroom counter. After picking up the phone the dread I already felt in my heart was amplified. It was my best friend Jesse wishing me a happy birthday but I for the life of me couldn’t understand what an 18 year old girl had to be happy about. When a woman turns 18 she is mated for life, she’d be made to quit school, produce children and satisfy their mates every need and urge. That’s all a woman was good for in this town and I’d be damned if I was going to sit down and shut up about it. After ignoring Jesse I finished dressing and strolled down stairs where my mother and father were still having their morning meeting with their subordinates. Alfa John and Luna Kate or not, I’d doubt they’d even notice I was leaving if I hadn’t slammed the door on my way out. I wonder if they were disappointed by my lack of interest of the ways of the pack or if they were just disappointed I didn’t have a penis between my legs. Regardless, I have no intention on going to my mating ball tonight. My parents have invited every male in our pack but there’s no way I was going without a fight! As I lift my fingers from the door handle I come to an abrupt stop eye to eye with my fathers beta Josh. In a low growl all I hear is “You didn’t think you could actually leave did you?”

I woke in the middle of the night to my Don husband murmuring in his sleep. “Juno, be good. Tomorrow I’ll buy you and Mamma a new house.” My eyes flew open. Juno? That was the name I’d always planned for a purebred Ceylon cat I dreamed of owning, but I’d never gotten one because of my pet fur allergy. And a new house? Could this just be a coincidence? I shook him lightly. “What did you just say?” He frowned and mumbled coarsely, “Had a nightmare. Dreamt of a shootout.” I didn’t press further. In the darkness, I reached for his phone and silently opened his messages.