Echo Of Distant Water

My younger brother told me he was overwhelmed by school stress and had developed depression. I tried to help by encouraging him to seek treatment, drawing from my own experience with the illness. However, my mother blamed me, accusing me of passing the depression onto him. She took me to a witch, who locked me in the house. Every day, the witch used willow branches to drive away evil spirits, beating me until my skin was raw, forcing me to drink filthy water, and making me bleed. "This is the only way to banish the evil and bless your little brother." After enduring days of torment, my depression worsened, and I chose to end my life. However, when I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day my brother first confessed his depression. I looked at my body—whole and unharmed. This time, I will make them pay for everything I endured.

"I've found that pain makes liars." His voice was husky and low. "But pleasure brings answers." His finger slid through the slick mess he had made of me, and I clamped my mouth shut, refusing to give into his lunacy. There was nothing else to say to him.  But I desperately wanted and needed more of him. Sage is a young woman who is lonely and down on her luck. One day, she falls into a fairy ring and is immediately swept up by a mysterious man who takes her captive. Fynn is a fae prince who was cursed by a water witch to find his mate within a hundred years. Otherwise, he'll lose everything. When Sage falls into his path, he is concerned she is somehow connected to his enemies and refuses to trust her. However, he can't deny the overwhelming attraction he feels for her. Falling for my Fae Captor is written by Claire Wilkins, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

​In her past life, Josie was a fool, wasting three years weeping for a husband who faked his own death just to run off with another woman. She died on a rainy sidewalk with a knife in her chest, watching Julian walk away with his first love and their secret child. ​Now, she’s back. It’s the morning of his funeral, but Josie isn't reaching for a tissue; she’s reaching for a pot of boiling water and a liquidation lawyer. While the rest of the Hart family prepares to mourn, Josie is busy selling Julian’s prized cars and emptying his secret bank accounts. To make sure Julian can never crawl back into her life, she makes a move on the only man he ever truly feared—his uncle, Alexander Hart. Alexander is a ruthless billionaire who has wanted Josie for twenty years, and he’s more than happy to help her bury Julian for good, as long as she’s willing to pay his price.

After the New Year, some of my husband's former students are back to visit him. So, my husband, Isaac Cooper, treats them to dinner. They greet us warmly, but when they first see me, there is a hint of surprise in their eyes. In the private room, Isaac takes my hand. Everyone starts teasing us. "Mr. and Mrs. Cooper are so loving. I'm so jealous!" I lower my head shyly and excuse myself to the restroom, only to overhear two of his students chatting. "I was startled just now. I thought Mr. Cooper's wife would be Lilith Walker." "But Mrs. Cooper looks so much like her. When she walked in, I almost mistook her for Lilith." I freeze on the spot. I know Lilith is Isaac's ex-girlfriend, but I have never seen her in person. Cold water runs over my hands. As I look at my carefully made-up face in the mirror, I suddenly feel a wave of nausea.

Maynard Hansen planned a luxury birthday cruise for Darlene Thompson, but the cruise ship capsized when a violent storm swept in without warning. Without hesitation, Maynard gave the last seat on the lifeboat to Darlene. As I struggled in the water, my son, Waldo Hansen—whom I carried for nine months and gave birth to—cried out, "Don't let Mom up! She'll push Ms. Thompson off." Clutching nothing but a broken plank, I somehow made it to shore. By the time I collapsed on the sand, I was frozen, exhausted, and done. I had never felt so alone. Shortly after, I found myself clutching a diagnosis of severe depression in my hand. I was ready to bring this wretched life to a quiet end. But when my husband and son realized I truly didn't want to live anymore, they collapsed into tears. They wrapped their arms around me as they sobbed, "Please don't leave us. We really can't live without you."

Ella Jameson, a dedicated journalist, finds herself entangled with Alexander Knight, a billionaire whose life is a mosaic of secrets and power. Their chance encounter at a charity gala leads to a passionate one-night stand that Ella vows to keep as nothing more than a memory. But when she discovers she's pregnant, Ella is torn between her burgeoning career and the life growing inside her—a life connected to a man who could upend her world with a single truth. As Ella navigates the complexities of motherhood in secret, Alexander grapples with an inexplicable void that Ella's absence has left in his life. Unaware of the bond they share, he seeks to understand the distance she has put between them, while Ella struggles to maintain her façade amidst the demands of her career and the love for her child. "The CEO'S Secret Child" is a poignant tale of love, choice, and the unspoken truths that shape our lives. It's a story about the strength of a mother, the resilience of the heart, and the enduring question of what it means to be a family. As Ella and Alexander's separate worlds orbit ever closer, the revelation of their shared secret threatens to alter their lives forever. Will the truth bring them together or tear their worlds apart? This is a story of love's silent strength and the secrets that echo louder than words.

Aria had always believed in fate until the night it betrayed her. Chosen by the Moon Goddess to be the mate of Alpha Kael of the powerful Shadow Moon Pack, she believed destiny had finally chosen her. But before the entire pack, Kael rejected her, tearing their sacred bond apart and leaving her broken, humiliated, and alone. Marked by a shattered bond and abandoned by the only home she has ever known, Aria is forced into the wilderness with nothing but her wounded wolf and the will to survive. Life beyond the pack is brutal, but it teaches her a truth she never understood before survival is not just instinct, it is strength. Pain becomes her teacher, and every step away from Shadow Moon forges her into something far more dangerous than the girl Kael cast aside. When the infamous Night Fang Alpha offers her refuge among his ruthless pack, Aria begins to discover a new side of herself. The darkness she once feared slowly becomes her greatest weapon. But Kael’s regret refuses to stay buried, and the echo of the bond he destroyed begins to draw attention from powerful enemies and forces tied to destiny itself. Now Aria must choose her own path. Will she remain the hunted wolf everyone expects her to be, or rise stronger than fate and become a wolf who kneels to no one?

"Thirty million" I heard a male voice echo round the walls of the hall which silenced everyone. Who would bid that high just to buy me? "Thirty million dollars" the male voice spoke up once again, a young man striding confidently forward like he owned the very building with his bidding card raised up. He was eighty percent taller than everyone in attendance. I sucked in breath at his refined but cold appearance. His tuxedo hugged his body and showed of his impeccable muscles. His dark long hair was slick and let to fall, not a single strand out of place. He had the profile of a greek God but his features lacked warmth and empathy. His brown steel eyes burrowed into mine, a look of disgust on his face for me. "Sold!" the chairman hit the gavel on the table after a brief moment of silence since no one else was willing to bid higher. A wave of ovation took the hall, men chattering amongst themselves and whistling. "Get her ready and bring her to me" he pivoted and sharply ordered one of the armed bodyguards standing close to the podium. He owns me now. **** When a ruthless mafia lord bids for an innocent girl, can her innocense survive in the abyss of his darkness?

"I want this girl." He let go of Azfarin with a jerk. Azfarin staggered to the ground and did not understand what the man was saying. But he was now walking back and forth, and the three black men were shaking their heads and heading towards Azfarin. "Till Heradi Macy's Op" "Pick up this girl" He was speaking in his own language, his neck pointing towards the girl. The atmosphere was in full swing, the sobs and cries of the people were drowning out in fear. Everyone was taking two steps back. The girl in the black shirt grabbed the woman's hand tightly. The weapons in their hands and the horrible looks were enough to terrorize. The tall man lifted the girl on his shoulder in one jerk, she was swaying from her shoulder to the back on her stomach, her legs were forward. "Leave me, leave me, save someone" She was screaming in pain and fear, hitting him on the back and trying unsuccessfully to free herself. Her hands were tied behind her back. The girl's screams were so painful that everyone forgot to cry and began to tremble. The echo of her screams was reaching far and wide in the forest. It was almost as if they, including the girl, were disappearing from their sight, a roar was heard. "Liu Har" "Leave her" All eyes were on Xavier.

Kali once said, "Deus' Creations change so fast. Yesterday they cared, today they don't." ... As the threat started to enter in the Twins of Purgatory's life, a new chapter of training comes to enhance their Hold(Magic) also started. As the peace that they experienced in times of their training is still constant, little did they know, the dark continent is planning to break it. So, when Kali and Royalties go far from Mundo da Fantasia, dark continent grab the opportunity to ruin the peace of Mundo da Fantasia. Also, the prophecy that was told by Santos Esmeralda begun to bloom... THE PROPHECY... "AS THE SOLIS KISS LUA, ITS FORETELL TO BATTLE AIMS" "OATH OF FALLEN WILL RISE AND BECAME THOUGH" "THE LIFE AND DEATH HOLDER'S LIFE WILL CLAIM" "AND CLIMATE WILL GO ROUGH" "BLOOD CONTAMINATE THE WATER" "DESPAIR WILL BE THE SMELL OF WIND" "HARVESTRY OF LIFE WILL BE IN DESTROYER" "UNKINDLED THE FLAME AND BREAK THE SINNERS BIN" "DARKNESS WILL SUCKS THE LIGHTS" "AFRAID NOT, THE CHILD OF PROPECY WILL UPHEAVE" "ENRICH BY THE KNOWLEDGE OF ENLIGHTEN" "BRING BACK THE FALLEN AND ALL WILL BE UNCLEAVE" ...