Eminence In Shadow Claire

My younger sister, Mindy Sampson, has a rare blood condition. She needs regular blood transfusions and a bone marrow transplant. My husband, Ian Huffman, and I are matches. My mother says we should draw lots. Whoever draws the short stick will become Mindy's blood donor. In the next five years, I am always the one who draws the short stick. Because of constant blood draws and bone marrow extractions, my body breaks down. Before I die, I stumble upon Ian holding Mindy and saying, "Cindy is so stupid. There are only short sticks in the container. Every time, we let her draw first. How could she ever get a long one? "She is going to die without ever knowing you are not sick at all. Once she dies and we get the insurance money, we can travel the world." When I open my eyes again, I am back in the fifth year after Mindy is diagnosed. I look at the container of sticks on the table and smile. Then, I look at Ian and say, "This time, you draw first."

I got into a car accident on my way to celebrate my daughter, Anna Chapman's birthday. When I wake up, I stare at my family, who has my bed surrounded. Then, I decide to crack a joke. "Sorry, but who are you people?" I do my best to suppress my smile as I look forward to how my family will comfort me now that I'm "amnesiac". Will my dad and my wife hold my hands out of heartbreak? Or will Anna rush over to hug me while crying for me? What I don't expect is that my family actually heaves sighs of relief after their initial shock. My dad is the first one to speak up, his tone tinged with relief. "It's a good thing that you've forgotten about your past. The truth is, you're the adopted son of the Gray family. Calvin is the actual heir of the Grays." My wife, Yvonne Stewart, points at me while telling Anna, "You should address him as Uncle Damian." Before I can recover from my shock, I see Anna, who I've risked my life to protect, run into Calvin Gray, the fake heir's arms. "Daddy, I was out having fun the whole day! Oh, I've missed you so much!" It turns out that my family wants nothing more than for me to lose my memories. In that case, I might as well abandon everything that's fake in my life.

I've gone to the church to pray for my son, Robert Scott. On the way home, my carriage is overturned because the horses suffer from a shock. When I wake up, I look at my family gathering around my bed. Then, I decide to pull a prank on them. "Sorry, but who are you?" I do my best to suppress the smile that threatens to appear on my face. I want to see how my family is going to comfort me now that I have "amnesia". Will Mom and my husband, Jeremy Scott, take my hands comfortingly? Or will Robert lunge at me while crying out to me? What I don't expect is to see my family breathing sighs of relief after their initial shock has faded away. Mom is the first one to speak up with a hint of relief coloring her tone. "Since you've already forgotten all about us, then it's fine. Maisie, you're actually the adopted daughter of the Liddell family. Amber is the actual heiress of the Liddell family." Jeremy points at me while telling Robert, "Robbie, you must address her as Aunt Maisie." Before I can recover from my shock, I see my own son, whom I'm willing to sacrifice my life to protect, running over to hug Amber Liddell, the fake heiress, happily. "Mom, I've spent the whole day playing outside! Oh, I miss you so much!" So, it turns out that my case of amnesia is exactly what this family wants. In that case, I might as well abandon this farce of a family.

I've gotten into an accident. When my childhood friend, Jason Patel, drops by to visit me, I feel like pulling a prank on him all of a sudden. So, I ask, "Who are you? I've lost my memory." He's left feeling stunned for a moment before he reveals the fake smile that he often wears whenever he pulls pranks on others. "I'm your boyfriend, Jason Patel." My heart begins pounding wildly in my chest. I decide to go along with this little prank. That summer of us playing pretend has to be the happiest time of my life. But when Giselle Ford returns to our lives, Jason immediately clears the air between us. It turns out that he and Giselle have had a crush on each other during their high school days. Unfortunately, they missed the chance to date each other. What am I to them, then? So, I can only grant their wish of wanting to stay together. That's why I laugh and call Jason out for being an idiot because he can't even tell that I faked my memory loss. Unexpectedly, I get into another accident some time later. When I wake up, I ask Jason who he is again. Impatience flickers across his expression. "Don't you feel lame for using the same trick twice?" What he doesn't know is that I've truly lost my memory this time.

Being forged from the trauma that clings to your soul like an additional layer of sin has an elegance to it. When my father and I buried my sister, falling in love with her first love wasn't on the agenda. Don Alessandro Valentino has something I want. Something he refuses to depart with and no matter how much pain he inflicts upon me, I will never give up. I vowed to never let him win. I thought I had escaped his grasp, but his torment had only just begun. Despite everything, he still held the power to manipulate my heart and make me crave to be possessed by him. As secrets come to light and the truth is exposed, can I surrender the battle and surrender what I've been fighting for all along, without hesitation? --- He tore his lips away from mine, peering down at me, brushing the pad of his thumb along his lower lip—smearing my touch as far as it would travel. “You taste like mine.” He said in a cold and condescending tone. Then he left. He walked out of the wine cellar without a second glance over his shoulder as Riccardo locked the door behind them.

Blurb Valerie thought she had it all, a devoted fiancee, a promising future, and a life carefully planned. But everything took a left turn when her fiancee accused her of cheating on him and being pregnant despite the fact that she was still a virgin. And true to his claims, the test was positive, Valerie was pregnant, question was how? Her family casts her out and her fiancee breaks up with her. Valerie is devastated and has no idea what to do until she rans into Max Black. A man who claims the child she is carrying is his. Valerie is forced into a marriage of convinience, she steps into the world of Max Black only to uncover some dark secrets, he is not just rich and powerful, he is the alpha of a secret werewolf pack and the child growing inside of her is his heir and also part werewolf. Valerie is now torn between fear of the life growing I side of her and the growing bond she feels with the man who vows to protect her and her unborn child

I woke up as the Villainess, but instead of a halo, I got a Scythe. However, my power has attracted the world's most dangerous monsters: A possessive Werewolf, a bloodthirsty Vampire, a Tentacle-wielding Professor, and a Biblically Accurate Angel with a thousand eyes. They think I'm their prey to be tamed, but they forgot one thing: I am Death itself.

When I see someone asking for help in an assignment related to the entrepreneur course on the college forum, I join the group chat using a student account. I even help refine several financial models and market strategies because of my job's nature. Everyone in the group chat is excited, to say the least. Every day, they keep calling me a genius while urging me to improve the details of the whole assignment. Two months later, the assignment's quality is very close to perfection. But the group chat suddenly goes silent. I scroll through the chat history out of curiosity, only to find out that the students have already created another group chat. "That senior isn't an official teammate of ours. Let's not tell her about us using this assignment for an upcoming competition." "Precisely! Our names are the only ones on the list! She'd better not steal the credit during tomorrow's finals!" "With one less person involved, we each get an additional tens of thousands of dollars' worth of rewards!" As I look at the screen, I just let out a soft chuckle. It appears that this isn't an assignment at all. But unfortunately for these students, I happen to be one of the judges sitting at the judging station tomorrow.

If you ask Olivia Marshall, she would tell you that being a billionaire's wife is not always as it seems, especially when your husband is toxic and abusive.      Olivia stays married to her first love, Sebastian Gilbert, through his abuse and infidelity for the sake of their daughter. All that changes when she hooks up with a stranger after discovering her husband's mistress.      To her greatest surprise, the stranger is no ordinary man. He is Desmond Wrightwood, a tech billionaire, and her husband's greatest rival. Desmond is charming, a good father figure and most importantly, madly in love with Olivia. What started as a one-night stand slowly blossoms into a love like nothing Olivia had ever experienced before. The new, passion filled relationship prompts Olivia to finally divorce Sebastian.      It is clear to Olivia that Desmond loves her and her daughter more than Sebastian ever did. But roses do not come without thorns. Olivia is shattered by a shocking discovery about the man who made her give love a second chance. Her hero, her daughter's new father figure, her Desmond. Olivia is terrible at letting go, but she cannot be with a man she distrusts.      Soon, Olivia suffers a great loss, leaving her shattered and depressed. Sebastian returns a changed man, begging for her forgiveness but Desmond refuses to leave her side. Olivia must choose between the man who hurt her for years, and the man who came into her life with deceit. The man she loved first and the man she loved last. To make it worse, she's choosing between brothers.     

"I thought you loved me!" He cut me off instantly. "Didn't we agree to run away together?" I cried, "Maxwell... I swear on my life, I had no idea this was going to happen. My mom planned everything and…" He dismissed me with a wave of his hand. "Cut it off, step-sister," he said, heading to his car. "Maxwell! Maxwell! Please don't leave me with that son of a bitch!" I shouted desperately. Anastasia, a recent college graduate, is torn between her forbidden love for her stepbrother Maxwell and her mother's demands to marry Ryan, a stranger. When she discovers she's carrying Maxwell’s child, her world spirals out of control. Trapped in a loveless marriage with a monster, she longs for Maxwell, but he's nowhere to be found. Just when she thinks all hope is lost, Maxwell's father steps in—but he's determined to keep her for himself. She's stuck. Damn it!