Failed State

Established in August 1941 what was known as The Independent State of Croatia, A puppet state of Nazi Germany Imprisoned 70,000 - 100,000 Jews, Croats, Serbs, Roma, and Bosnian Muslims. Amidst chaos and war, late summer into early winter as Chrysanthemum flowers bloom so is the deep affection of Hannele daughter of a german soldier, chief in charge of the Jasenovac concentration camp. and Budo a jew prisoner longing for freedom. Will their forbidden summer fling come to an end as the winter season starts? Will they defy tradition and fate? Can this hot summer fling survive cold winter nights?

In a tale of revenge, rebirth, and romance, Ashlyn Knight rises from the ashes of public humiliation to become one of the most powerful figures in the business world. After being betrayed at her wedding by her fiancé Christopher White and his mistress Penelope, Ashlyn transforms through a strategic marriage to mysterious billionaire Richard Walker, who shares a connection to her past life as a military commander named Hannah. Ashlyn methodically dismantles the White and Knight families' empires, revealing dark secrets including Penelope's involvement in her mother's death and Christopher's illegitimate status. Her revenge plot takes an unexpected turn when she discovers she's actually Steven White's granddaughter through his illegitimate daughter, giving her a legitimate claim to both family empires. Richard, initially a partner in her revenge scheme, proves to be more than just an ally. Their marriage of convenience evolves into a powerful love story as they discover their shared past lives - he was a fellow commander who failed to protect Hannah in their previous existence and has spent this life making amends. The story climaxes at the International Business Summit, where Christopher's desperate attempt to destroy the couple backfires spectacularly. Multiple confrontations lead to Penelope's arrest, Christopher's imprisonment, and the public recognition of Ashlyn's birthright. In a dramatic moment, Richard renews their vows, transforming their tactical alliance into a declaration of true love. The narrative concludes with Ashlyn and Richard's unified empire becoming a model of ethical business leadership. They establish a foundation in her mother's name, helping others who face similar injustices. Their story becomes legendary in both business and social circles, proving that the sweetest revenge isn't just in destroying enemies, but in building something greater from the ashes of trauma while finding true love along the way.

My husband worked overtime in the studio and suffered from an explosion. His body was blown to pieces. When my bestie frantically told me the news, I just nodded calmly. She called and texted me nonstop. She urged me to go to the site to recognize my husband's body. I blacklisted her and bought a ticket to go abroad. In my previous life, when I heard the news, I stopped at nothing and rushed to my husband's studio. However, I only saw my husband's cold ashes. My bestie said that my husband had poured out his troubles to her once. My husband said that I had run up a mountainous debt for gambling. He wanted a divorce, but I threatened him that he would have a sky-high debt if he divorced me. Even my mother cried and accused me of often going to the casino and taking men home at midnight. But none of this was true. I treated my husband very well; just a few days ago, I gave him a million-dollar watch as a gift. And I had never done anything related to gambling. Facing their accusation, I chose to call the police to prove my innocence. However, the police discovered my diamond necklace at the explosion site, where forensic experts also found my fingerprints. I failed to prove my innocence and became the heinous murderer who killed my husband. My mother took me to court for justice and took over my business empire. In jail, I was retaliated and died. When I opened my eyes again, I regained my life on the day when my husband suffered from the explosion.

Aziel had a chance encounter with Laia, a girl he knew from his grade school days, in a pub. Though they had been classmates, they had never really gotten along and had often been at odds with one another, with Laia even slapping him in the past due to some past altercation. Despite this, Aziel was struck by her beauty and decided to flirt with her, not recognizing her at first. They ended up spending the night together, but he lost touch with her afterwards. Months later, after returning from an overseas project, Aziel was kidnapped by Laia's father, Mr. Arseneo, who was revealed to be an ex-mafia boss. He was then forced to marry Laia at gunpoint, leaving him in a state of shock and disbelief. Despite the circumstances, he couldn't help but feel that this was some sort of karma for his actions, and he couldn't help but be in awe of Laia's strength and determination, despite her passive exterior. And now, he became an ex-mafia's son-in-law.

Natasha Davis always had the dream of getting married to her high school sweetheart, Paul, so she wasn't bothered when she got pregnant for him at the age of 17. That was until Paul decided to leave the country to further his education. Six years later, Natasha is a single mother to give year old Mirabella and she needs to find a job. Unable to find a quality job without the required certificate, Natasha settles for the job of a nanny. Not just any nanny but a nanny to Malcolm Grayson's kids. Malcolm Grayson is a divorcee with a set of twins. His ex-wife, Yvette Brooks, a popular actress cheated on him and divorced him, leaving two kids behind. After almost four years of looking for the perfect nanny, he finds Natasha. However, Malcolm finds out that Natasha is not like any woman he knows. She is smart and determined and loyal to a fault. He start to fall head over heels for her, despite his heartfelt desire for his wife to return to him. Natasha realizes that she cannot fight her attraction for her strong-headed, annoying and insufferable boss. And just when the both of the think they've found love with each other, Natasha lands a major role as an actress that will launch her stardom. But this means she has to leave the state for a while. Not only that, Yvette decides to return back to claim her husband and kids and Paul soon finds out that he has a kid somewhere. Both of their exes return to their lives and Natasha and Malcolm have to go extra mile to prove the love and trust they have for each other.

Life is unpredictable. The people whom we deem to be closer to us may not be one. The people whom we think love us may not love us. Laya, who is twenty-two years old, has high ambitions. But they were shattered when she heard that she was going to get married. No one asked her opinion or cared about it. Shattered. She wondered if her parents were alive. But sadly, there were no if’s and maybe in life. But she felt blessed when she got married to Rahul Ravi Raj, a billionaire. He is sinfully handsome, whenever he was close to her, butterflies fluttered all over her body. And he never left a chance to tease her sexually. When she thought her married life would be glad for him, fate had its last laugh. He left her for business for three months, with his mother. And his mother who was pressuring Laya to get pregnant got to know they didn’t consummate their marriage. Taking her son's absence as the chance, she tortured her. Laya almost died because of her physical abuse. By the time, Rahul returned she was in the hospital. Seeing her in that state, he realized whatever positive and budding feelings she had for him were dead. Now, all she had for him were hate and fear. But little did Laya not know was her marriage wasn’t a flash marriage or an arranged marriage. Rahul married her for his reasons. And one of the biggest reasons for marrying her was to save her from dangers. Can he win back her love for him? Can he save her if she goes away from him? What were his reasons for him to marry her?

Pierre Paul Abutu gives a humorous, fascinating and dispassionate narration of the unique intimate and romantic events of his life from teenage to adolescence, and into the early stages of his adult life. This narration revolves around the lives, and relationships of sixteen ladies with whom he shared happy, intimate, eventful and evergreen moments of his life with. These love affairs occur in Pierre Abutu’s life, at his university, the Augustine Nnamani Campus, Agbani, in Enugu Campus of the Nigerian Law School, Akwa Ibom State and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Due to his religious beliefs, personal convictions, personal principles, metaphysical and supernatural predictions and postulations, the media, intellectual and literary effects in his life, most of these affairs either ended abruptly or amicably. These love affairs also reveal the negative attitudes, traits and deceptive machinations of these girls and ladies. Even though certain unpleasant and resultant effects were never intended at any particular stage, or with any of these girls and ladies, one thing was very clear: each love affair was and would always be evergreen to Pierre Abutu.

His face turned to stone, and he grabbed my arm, dragging me into the janitor's closet. "I, Derek Thayne, reject Roxanne Meyers as my mate," he spat, and I snarled. "I accept your rejection." *** Alphas always have to be careful when it comes to their children; they are the perfect targets to the pack's enemies. No one was prepared though when the rogues attacked the Black River Pack and kidnapped the Alpha and his family. For months they were tortured, focusing mostly on the youngest child: Roxanne Meyers. Roxanne endured the abuse for months, constantly reminding herself that she was the daughter of an Alpha, that they would not break her. But one day she had no choice but to succumb to their demands. She returned to a pack that hated her; she killed their Alpha and Luna. Even her older brother turned on her. She became the lowest ranking wolf in the pack: the omega. Every attempt to escape the pack's abuse failed and her only hope was to find her mate. But her mate was none other than Derek Thayne, the son of the Alpha who took over following her parents' deaths. After accepting his rejection, she escaped to a nearby pack with the help of her new Alpha. She was thriving and rising up the ranks in her new pack. But unfortunately for Roxanne, Derek was far from finished with his rejected mate. And he wasn't going to let the threat of war stand in his way.

Rose was a loving child to her mother but didn't seem to exist to her father. Along the line in high school, she met a wolf in sheep's clothing called Prince who was born with a silver spoon. He won her heart with his charm and wealth because anyone who dated him was a queen. Prince and Rose's relationship was kept secret from their parents. Only their friends, colleagues, and some teachers knew about their affair. She lost her virginity to him and got pregnant afterward. She was scared of telling her parents and also being a subject of ridicule so she obliged with Prince's advice of aborting the pregnancy. She ended up aborting many pregnancies for him that the doctor warned her not to go ahead with the last abortion as it might terminate her womb. On Prince's birthday, he had his way with her and impregnated her. She was in a state of a dilemma but still adhered to Prince's advice on aborting the final pregnancy. She lost her womb and the true nature of Prince surfaced as he broke up with her and abandoned her. He cut contact with her but karma caught up with him. He lost peace and stopped attending lectures as he was afraid to face his parents who were aware of his crime. He decided to conceal his whereabouts. His new place was lodging in a remote hotel where he was caught and exposed. His parents who have been looking for him for a long time found him with the help of a hotel receptionist who dialed the police number to expose his whereabouts. He finally met his parents and was instructed to go and apologize to Rose's parents for their loss because she actually committed suicide when guilt and shame were overwhelming for her.

Arabelle, a timid girl. Once became friends with the quiet guy who was avoided by every student in their school because of his dangerous demeanor which she failed to notice., As they grew up he became her only friend. And lover. He had such strong feelings for her that he became possible but Arabelle never complained. She loved him as much as he did. Their feelings developed as new hurdles came across them. Their life was interesting as they saw each other grow through the different times of their life. But their love never changed.