Family Over Everything

From New York Times bestselling author Krista Lakes, comes a sexy standalone novel about the baddest bad boy doctor and the sweet little nurse that he falls for. When I left my small hometown years ago, I never expected to come back. I certainly never expected that when I did, I'd be working for him. He's the town's doctor. He's supposed to be a respectable member of society, a pillar for the community. He's supposed to have come a long way from the bad boy who rode a motorcycle in high school. But he hasn't. One glance from those lustful eyes looking at me tells me that he has the same voracious appetites that he did when we were younger. Only it's not quite the same stare. It's more urgent. It's more intense. I'm not the same nerdy girl who tutored him. I've grown up, developed fertile curves that I know he finds irresistible. In this small town, rumors travel fast, and the family doctor can't be seen as a player. So he does try to resist. And I do too. But with every smoldering glance and moment of sexual tension, we find our barriers breaking down. After a stressful night of touch-and-go baby delivery, a moment of elation overcomes our inhibitions. It seems like maybe we'll need to confront those rumors sooner rather than later, especially before I begin to show the results of that night. Can I give this doctor the family he has always desired?

I'm playing hide-and-seek with my son when he locks me on the balcony. It's freezing outside, and my face turns blue from the cold. However, all he does is laugh at me while I call for help. He makes ugly faces at me through the glass. "You look like the stray dog downstairs, Mom! You're so ugly!" I die a frosty and terrible death. Before breathing my last breath, I see my son excitedly give my husband a video call. "Mom has frozen to death, Dad. Can you take Ms. Cole home to be my new mom now?" When I open my eyes again, I'm taken back to the moment my son wants me to play hide-and-seek with him.

I've planned seven wedding ceremonies in total, and not once has my fiance, Zachary Gardner, ever shown up for it. The first time, his adopted younger sister, Louise Foster, bursts into tears because she lost her passport at the airport. It was the dead of winter, but he dumped me by the side of the road and left me. The second time, Louise's dog sprained its ankle. Zachary stuffed the ring back into its box and rushed to the animal hospital to accompany her. Every time I argue with him about it, he declares nonchalantly, "We can get married anytime, but I can't let Louise be upset." Everyone around us agrees with him, saying that we're all family anyway, so I shouldn't be so petty. None of them has seen Zachary and Louise kissing fiercely on the dance floor. Today is the seventh wedding ceremony. Once again, he turns to leave after getting a call. I grab the corner of his shirt and say in a choked voice, "If you leave this time, Zachary, I won't marry you anymore." He stops in his tracks and peels off my fingers. "Wait for me," he says before rushing off. What he doesn't know is that this time, I won't be waiting for him any longer.

R-18: Walang ibang hinangad si Tanya kung hindi makapagtapos ng pag-aaral ang kaniyang nakababatang kapatid na si Miko. Pero nang magkasakit ito at mangailangan siya ng malaking pera pambayad sa operation sa ospital. Wala siyang ibang magawa kung hindi mangutang ng malaking halaga sa isang kilalang matandang senyora sa kanilang bayan. Ngunit hindi siya nakapagbayad sa takdang araw sa matinding takot sa bantang ipakukulong siya nito. Nagmakaawa siyang gagawin ang lahat huwag lamang iyon mangyari. Ang buong akala niya ay dinala siya nito sa isang bahay-aliwan upang ibenta ang kaniyang katawan. Pero laking gulat niya na ang kaniya lang gagawin ay magpanggap bilang babae ni Isidore Lanchester, ang nag-iisang tagapagmana Lanchester Empire, na nabuntis nito.Pero hindi lamang doon matatapos ang lahat, may lihim palang itinatago ang binata na oras na malaman niya ay ikasisira ng relasyon nilang dalawa.

My daughter has a sudden allergic reaction, and my husband, an expert in these things, is the only one who can save her. I call him at this critical juncture, but his childhood sweetheart is the one who answers. "Clinton is busy. He wants me to tell you not to call him if it's not important." There's no time for me to get mad. I say anxiously, "Tell him to come to the hospital now. Ivy has had an allergic reaction and is waiting for him to save her." Clinton Reeves says impatiently, "Gemma and I are just watching a soccer match. Do you have to joke around with Ivy's life? I'm so disappointed in you." Later, Ivy dies in the hospital, her body covered in rashes. I wipe my tears and call Clinton once more. I say icily, "Let's get a divorce." The first thing I hear is his and Gemma Walken's laughter. After a while, he says, "Sure, but Ivy is mine."

I'm the true heir to an affluent family who got switched at birth. But when I'm reunited with my family, they suddenly announce their bankruptcy. The sprawling mansion is repossessed, leaving me, my wife, and my parents to sleep on the streets. My parents are so furious that they end up getting admitted to the hospital—one gets a stroke, and the other passes away. My wife gets her legs broken by one of the creditors, and my son is so frightened that he becomes mentally impaired. To bear the astronomical medical bill, I work countless part-time jobs and put myself through the wringer. Everything changes when, one day, I accept a job as a temporary driver. I go to a lavish hotel's banquet hall. A celebration for a gold wedding is being held there, and I see my late mother and paralyzed father sharing a kiss onstage. My crippled wife is dancing offstage as she enjoys the festivities. Meanwhile, my son speaks fluently in a foreign language as he speaks with a foreign child.

My son, Andy, had a sudden liver failure and needed a liver transplant. The only compatible match was my wife, Vivian Grant. I had begged her for 20 days to give Andy a liver transplant. Finally, she caved in. I waited the entire day in front of the operating theater, but she didn’t appear. On the same day, her first love, Jason Sanderson posted on his social media. [20th day of traveling around the world. Dr. Grant had given up her career to help fulfil my son's dream of traveling the world.] Only then did I find out that Vivian had been travelling the world with Jason and his son, Luke, since day one. That night, I received a call from Vivian. "Charlie, Luke had gotten full marks on his exam. His wish was to have his Daddy and Mommy travel around the world with him. As you know, he doesn't have a Mommy. I couldn't bear to watch him not get his wish. "We'll return in three days. We can have the surgery for Andy then." She had no idea that what awaited her at the hospital was Andy's lifeless body.

"How could you conspire with them. I trusted you Layla!" He was really mad. "I didn't give them the code Damon, okay? I don't know how they got it?" She said. She strangely felt no nervousness or fear. Only the guilty felt fear. "Why didn't you tell me the truth about him? God! We've been dating for almost a year and you never told me he was a ex-convict", he said a shade quieter. He watched Layla look down for a minute and stare back up at him, tears gathering in her deep blue eyes. "If I did tell you, would you still have fallen for me...?" Working in a coffee shop wasn't Layla's dream. She has a degree in Business Administration but getting a got job in America was difficult for minority groups like her. But her boss, William Grey was wonderful, plus, she did get some pretty awesome customers like Damon Prince, the billionaire businessman and New York's most eligible bachelor and some pretty awful ones as well like Logan West, Damon's annoying and stuck-up assistant. After a brief argument with Logan, Damon comes to the coffee shop to make an apology to Layla on behalf of Logan and offers her a check. She turns both down and demands that Logan apologizes or they can forget about their coffee orders. She wasn't going to be pushed around by some rich folks. This intrigues Damon and he gradually falls in love with her. They begin a beautiful relationship but it's not all roses. They soon meet Damon's ex, Yasmin Kyle and Layla's criminal and terrible father, Dario Hernandez. Their trust and love for each other is tested as well as family ties but will they pull through or are something's just not meant to be?

Sharon McKinzie's husband's first love was dying. He often said to Sharon, "Sharon, Kelly doesn't have much time left. Don't be petty and hold things against her." To make up for the regrets of his past, he traveled with Kelly—through mountains and rivers, beneath starlit skies and over distant seas. He even handed over the wedding they had planned—his and Sharon's—to Kelly Walt, without shame or hesitation. Even their five-year-old son clung to Kelly. "Mommy isn't even half as pretty as Kelly," he said. "Kelly's pretty. Why can't Kelly be my mommy?" Sharon decided to grant them their wish. She left behind the divorce papers and walked away without a word. Later, her ex-husband and son knelt before her—her ex-husband full of regret, her son's cheeks streaked with tears. "Honey… please come back to us." "Mommy… do you really not want us anymore?" Just then, a handsome man wrapped his arm around Sharon's waist. "There you are, honey," he said gently. "Our son's still at home, waiting for you to feed him."

Ellara has been raised to be the perfect, obedient wife, sold into marriage with Xavier, the heir of a powerful werewolf family. While Ellara follows the rules, Xavier rejects the patriarchal world that shaped her. He believes women deserve more rights, but he struggles to connect with her, creating a cold distance between them. When Ellara discovers that Xavier and his family are werewolves, fear drives them even further apart. As pressure mounts for Ellara to conceive, Xavier is forced to marry a second wife, a woman who flaunts her superiority and torments Ellara. But as Xavier watches his new wife hurt Ellara, he realizes his deep feelings for her. As Ellara begins to break free from the chains of her past, Xavier secretly works to tear down his corrupt family’s empire. With danger closing in, Xavier must make a choice: will he burn everything down for a life with Ellara, or will the weight of their world tear them apart forever? Can love and loyalty survive a battle against family, fear, and fate?