Failing Forward Novels & Stories

Three years into a cold, contract marriage, Evelyn Vance realizes her sacrifice was for nothing. Despite playing the part of the perfect, distant wife to the ruthless tycoon Rhysander Bert, her father secretly gambled away the bailout money Rhysander provided, destroying the very legacy Evelyn sold her freedom to save. The story flashes back to the day the deal was struck. Evelyn’s father had pathetically tried to force Rhysander into a marriage pact to save his failing shipping company, only to be met with cold mockery. Just as they were being ushered out, Evelyn stepped from the shadows and negotiated her own sale. Instead of a romance, she proposed a three-year "merger." She offered Rhysander a PR makeover and access to exclusive port permits in exchange for capital and protection for her family's business. Impressed by her calculated, business-like stoicism, Rhysander agreed, with the lethal warning that he would ruin her family if she ever embarrassed his name. Evelyn had sacrificed her freedom for help. Years later, she meets the woman who was Rhysander's first love and she knows that her time to leave has arrived. The first love tries to cause trouble, however, Evelyn is not one to take insults lying down. She immediately defends herself. Rhysander gets drugged and sleeps with Evelyn, then she leaves the next day. Seven years later, Evelyn comes back to the country with her children, who are also Rhysander's children and they bump into each other at the airport. Rhysander is shocked and surprised to see her at the airport.

I am in such a rush to pick up my daughter, Ava Pennington, from school that I don't have time to change out of my work attire. At the kindergarten gates, I run into the mother of one of her classmates, Candice Austin. She sizes me up from head to toe and says, "You must be Ava Pennington's mom." I politely nod. Just as I am about to say hello, her expression suddenly sours. "It's no wonder your daughter dresses so skimpily at school. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?" I am so mad that I nearly forgot to respond. "What nonsense are you talking about?" Candice clicks her tongue and grows even more aggressive. "Nonsense? Your daughter wears skirts to school every day. She's distracting my son so much that his grades have slipped." Her words leave me utterly speechless. How is her son's failing grades somehow Ava's fault? When I don't respond, she gets bolder. "Look at you dressed from head to toe in cheap junk; how can you afford to send your daughter to this elite kindergarten? You must have pulled some shady strings to sneak her in through the back door, didn't you?" Has she lost her mind? Since when does Ava need strings to attend the school I built?

In my first life, I believed love was salvation. I tore my future apart for two men who had grown up beside me—Marcus Black and Damian Knight. I chose one of them, only to be abandoned on my wedding day for Elena Rivers. My grandmother died that same day, shattered by grief. When I was at my lowest, the other man took my hand and promised he would never betray me. I believed him. I married him. And slowly, my world went cold. I thought his distance was regret. I thought my failing health was fate. Until the night I was dying, and I watched him run past me—to save Elena, whose injuries were nothing more than a scratch. That was when I understood. My life had never been a love story. It was a carefully scripted game. After my death, I learned the truth: Marcus and Damian had already written their wills, leaving everything to Elena Rivers. They had sabotaged my education, manipulated my career, and even fabricated a chronic illness to keep me weak, dependent, and easy to control. They never wanted me to succeed. They only wanted me quiet—so Elena could shine. But fate gave me another chance. This time, I tore up my admission letter to Harvard. This time, I rejected their confessions before they could cage me again. In this life, I will not be the woman they use, betray, or discard. I will live for myself. And I will never walk the same path twice.

17-year-old Roger Willis was forced to move to the small town of Viridian Falls along with his parents to save their failing marriage. Roger thought his life was over then but when he was admitted at the public high school, he instantly befriends everyone. He meets the shy redhead Carmine Reid and he develops a crush on her. When Roger was invited to a house party, he got super drunk and was attacked by a werewolf gone rogue. He manages to survive with the help of an unknown person. Roger soon meets the mysterious substitute biology teacher Idris Lykaios who immediately recognized his scent. Idris came to the town to track down a rogue member of their pack, the very same one who attacked Roger. When Roger saw Carmine being kidnapped, he tracks her down using the scent of her shawl. Roger was then led to a trap and he eventually learns that Carmine was a member of an all-female pack and their goal is to kill every male werewolf in town. Idris sensed what was going on and came to Roger’s rescue. Roger soon discovers that Idris is in fact a werewolf and that he has also become one. As Idris takes Roger under his wing, he develops some sort of attraction towards the young werewolf. Idris soon realized that Roger had imprinted on him and the bond was becoming stronger. When Roger defeats the alpha of a rogue pack, he becomes their alpha. This is a clear threat to his own pack. Will Idris follow the beating of his heart or will he kill Roger who was now an alpha of a rogue pack?

The sound of footsteps fell on her ears, forcing her to turn around. Dhruv stood a few inches away, a white towel wrapped around his waist. Water dripped from his hair as he ran a hand through it. When his eyes landed on her, they raked up and down her body and his eyebrow lifted while his lips formed a tiny frown. "What are you wearing?" He said tilting his head. He did not look pleased. "Your t-shirt," said Shanaya and rolled her eyes. "And who gave you the permission to wear it?" "You did yourself when you tore my dress into two pieces." His lips curved in delight at her words but returned back to normal soon enough. "Did I? I don't remember it." He shook his head. "Hmm, blame your rusty mind. What was your intent anyway? To have me walking naked around your house?" He pressed his lips together, attempting but failing to keep the amusement out of his voice. "Maybe. That'd be a nice sight, I must admit." *** Shanaya Arora has lived her life peacefully without any drama, that is until Dhruv Kapoor, her ex decides to make a return after eight years, bringing along with him a storm of desire and a promise of companionship for a lonely soul like hers. Burdened with the weight of her past, Shanaya tries to avoid him, denying Dhruv another chance at breaking her heart. But fate has other plans.

Anais Vale vanished three years ago, breaking the terms of a legally binding marriage contract with billionaire CEO Cassian Vale. To the world, their short-lived marriage was a mystery. To Anais, it was survival. But when a mysterious legal summons pulls her out of hiding, she’s forced to return—not as a woman in love, but as a wife under obligation. Cassian, ruthless and unreadable, never divorced her. Their original contract still holds, and now he wants her back—if only to fulfill the remaining years and protect his corporate empire from a hostile takeover. Emotion is not part of the deal. But the contract hides more than just legal conditions. It conceals a past filled with betrayal, a family legacy steeped in secrets, and a shared history neither of them fully understands. Anais returns as a woman determined to endure it quietly. But things change quickly: she discovers Cassian’s health is failing, that someone wants her dead, and that her own tragic past may be connected to his family’s crimes. As the truth unravels, Anais is forced to confront who Cassian really is—and who she must become if she wants to survive in his world. Along the way, both begin to transform. Anais, once passive and self-effacing, begins to find her voice and strength. Cassian, seemingly heartless and stoic, is forced to feel and face the consequences of his past. Their story is a collision of control and vulnerability, love and guilt, power and protection. What begins as a contract slowly becomes a reckoning—and a second chance neither of them expected. But second chances come at a cost. And not every ending is fair.

Miguel has built his life around the land. Born of indigenous Costa Rican ancestry, he believes ownership is stewardship, not control. High in the mountains of Monteverde, he struggles to preserve his farms and a failing eco-lodge sustained by pristine mountain springs that carry life-giving water for the entire valley. Bobby, a kindergarten teacher from Ireland, arrives in Costa Rica carrying a private grief. A genetic diagnosis has ended her hopes of motherhood, and leaving Ireland for Costa Rica is the only way she knows to start a new life. Vulnerable and unmoored, she falls under the influence of Sean, a charismatic expatriate who offers work, protection, and belonging—while quietly binding her to his business interests. The springs beneath Cabinas Las Nubes become the fulcrum of their collision. To Miguel, it is sacred. To Sean, it is a commodity to be stripped and laundered through shell companies tied to South American narco networks. When Miguel refuses to legitimize the illegal extraction, intimidation escalates into violence, culminating in the kidnapping of a child—Christopher—to force his compliance. Bobby recognizes the danger too late but refuses to run again. Risking her life to save Christopher, she confronts the man who once controlled her and exposes the depth of her courage. Her choice strengthens Miguel’s resolve. Working from within, he dismantles Sean’s operation and reclaims the land before it is destroyed. Set against Costa Rica’s ancient waters and living terrain, the novel explores grief, integrity, and the quiet ferocity of love chosen under threat.

On the day of my wedding, I immediately recognized that the masked man before me, Wyatt Sterling, was an impostor. I said nothing. I smiled and went through with the ceremony. This was because, in my previous life, I had exposed the fake groom publicly, forcing Wyatt to return and marry me against his will. That very night, his childhood sweetheart and cousin swallowed gold and took her own life. When Wyatt heard the news, he showed no grief. He cursed her for dying. After our marriage, he treated me with devotion, or so it seemed. I poured money from my family into the failing Sterling family, helping him rise bit by bit. However, on the day I was seven months pregnant, he personally had me dragged to the top of Astraeus Tower, the tallest building in the capital. There was no warmth left in his gaze. "If you hadn't forced me to come back to that wedding, Becky wouldn't have died. "Anna, why should you get to live in peace and happiness? I want you to feel the same despair she felt when she died." Then he pushed me. From that towering height, I fell. My body shattered on impact. Two lives were lost. When I opened my eyes again, I was back there on my wedding day. This time, I pretended not to know and married the impostor. I wanted to see, without the Larson family's wealth behind him, how he planned to save a house already on the brink of collapse.

My Alpha mate secretly marked me for three years. I helped him manage the pack as a Beta and even helped him successfully run for Alpha King. But after the successful election, he publicly announced that his Omega assistant Scarlett was the one who helped him the most. "I'm announcing that 15% of our territory will be placed under Stella's management. From today forward, Stella's position in the pack will be second only to mine." With two simple sentences, he'd erased twelve years of my efforts. But my mate thought I was making a mountain out of a molehill. "I just showed a little extra care for the pack's Omega," he said dismissively. "My body never strayed. You're acting like I committed some unforgivable sin." I turned and left, aborted our child and proposed a mate bond severance agreement. Then, I called a number that I hadn't contacted for 12 years. “I regret it. I am willing to be the Alpha of your pack.”

I was hit by a car and suffered a brain injury while trying to save my fiancé. Before I was taken to the hospital, I accidentally saw him locked in a kiss with his assistant, Sarah Mineli. I suspected he was cheating, so after I woke up, I pretended to have amnesia to test him. "Do we know each other?" Ethan Meyer paused, his expression faltering. Then he suddenly pointed at his best friend. "I'm your fiancé Grayson Hudson's closest friend. I came to attend your engagement ceremony." I watched as he and Sarah stood there, their fingers tightly intertwined, my face turning deathly pale. Grayson stepped forward and draped his coat over my shoulders. "Baby, I'm your fiancé," he said softly. "It's my fault I couldn't protect you." I felt the warmth of his palm and gave a faint smile. "Then let's go home," I said. "We still have an engagement ceremony to prepare for."