Fortune

To take care of my paralyzed mother-in-law, I quit my job and spent three years as a full-time househusband. That day, after cleaning up her waste, I hid in the bathroom with a cigarette between my fingers and came across a post on my wife’s boss’ Instagram. [You’re meant to be with me in the end. Since that freeloader can’t give you happiness, let me take you to the paradise of Maldev.] Above the caption were two plane tickets. Someone commented below. [That homemaker husband of hers is definitely clinging onto her. After all, she’s his meal ticket.] The boss replied. [Don’t worry. Tonight she’ll go home and come clean. She’ll say the company was caught falsifying accounts and is facing massive fines, and that she might need to serve jail time. [To keep that guy from getting dragged into it, the only option is divorce. He’s as timid as a mouse and will take any chance to flee.] I stared at the screen, stunned, until the cigarette burned my fingers. Ten minutes later, my wife rushed home, panic written all over her face. She dropped her bag on the floor. “Honey, something’s gone wrong with the company’s finances. They’re accusing us of falsifying accounts. I was solely responsible for the accounts. I might need to serve 10 years in prison, plus fines of more than ten thousand dollars. “We need to sign the papers before they seize our house. I don’t want to drag you and mom into this.”

I sell handmade fortune cookies in the park. Each one costs $10,000, yet every day, people fight to buy them. That’s because what I sell are fertility fortune cookies. Eat one, and you can get pregnant instantly. You can even choose what kind of child you want. Slip in a double-yolk charm, and you’ll have twins. Seal in a perfect test paper, and your child will be a genius. A spayed female dog ate one and ended up pregnant with six puppies. Someone buried a fortune cookie beneath a withered tree, and by the next day, it had burst into full bloom. I sell fortune cookies to both women and men—anyone who wants to get pregnant. I turn no one away. Even animals, if they so much as make a sound, I’ll feed them. Until one day, a young woman, Mara Kessler, who had been standing in line from dawn until dusk, finally stepped forward and timidly said she wanted to buy a fortune cookie. I only took one look at her, then staggered back in terror. "I can’t sell to you. Leave. Now."

Charlotte’s life changed instantly when she met Prince Lucas, the respectful billionaire. Her only aim was to build a community center and focus on her architectural career. Life with Lucas was so beautiful. She found comfort in the hands of her husband and became the happiest woman on earth.

As the adopted child of the Steward family, I was the glass child, the last child, the black sheep, the ignored. I wasn’t wanted, I was chosen. Chosen to become the one to uphold their ‘social standings’. They had no care for me, they picked me, they saw the quiet, bullied girl in the orphanage who was constantly picked on but couldn’t fight back. And they decided that I was the perfect choice, to be the poster child that cleaned their poorly received social standings. Now, I’ve been promised to the devil CEO in place of my runaway older sister who decided to run merely days before her engagement ceremony. Adrian was no sweetheart, he was cold and standoffish. Not a man of many words but a man with a commanding presence. I thought I would forever be miserable in the marriage but luck shined on me because my new husband wasn’t what the media and the rumor made him to be. He may very well be my fortune. But my happiness has never been guaranteed, just when I thought I could finally be happy, secrets, snakes and unfolded memories threaten to ruin it.

Th‍e⁠ir marriage was a transaction.⁠ Th‍eir war was p‍e‌rsonal. T⁠hei‌r pas‌sion was unforeseen. Elara Vega is an⁠ artist whose life i‌s p‌ainted in bold⁠, rebellio‌us colors. When a devastating betrayal by he‌r‍ own family threa‍tens to de⁠stroy everything‍ her⁠ father built, she is‌ given a brut⁠al ch‍oice: sell her‌ freedom to save his le⁠gacy. ⁠Kaelan Sterling is a billionaire fortress of ice and ambit‍ion. To secu⁠re a cruc‌ial merger and shield his empire from a l‌urking threat, he needs‍ one thing: the per⁠fect, unto⁠uchable wife. He doesn't want lo‌ve; he wants a business‍ pa‍rtner. Bound by a cold, clinical contract, they a⁠re‌ enemies from‍ the start. He sees her as a chaotic liability. She sees him as a heartless tycoon. Their for‌ced proximity is a battle of‌ will‍s, fi⁠lled⁠ with sha‌rp word‌s and eve‌n sharper attra‍ction. Bu‍t in t‍he gilded cag⁠es of penthouses⁠ a‌nd high‌-society ga‍la⁠s, a dangerou‍s fire ignites. As a c‍ommon en‍emy closes in, their fa⁠ke r⁠elationship begins to feel terrifyingly real. The lines between strategy and surrender b‍lur. But when hi‍dden truths surface and old‍ wounds are ripped open, their fragile trus⁠t shatt⁠ers. Now, El⁠ara must‌ decide if the man behind th‍e fortune‌ i‍s worth the ultimate risk, and Kaelan must learn that some bonds are too powerful to be broken-even by a billion-dollar contract.

When my mother won a million dollars from a lottery ticket, she prepared an envelope for each of her three children. After we opened them, my younger brother and younger sister each found a bank card inside. But from my envelope, two 1-dollar coins clinked onto the floor. Seeing me freeze, a trace of unease flickered across Mother's face. "Cassian," she said hesitantly, "Logan and Sienna suffered a lot growing up because your father passed away so early. So I gave each of them 500 thousand dollars as compensation. "You're the eldest son—like a father to them. Don't fight with them over this, okay?" I glanced down at the faded down jacket I had worn for years, the fabric so worn that it had lost its color. Then, my eyes drifted to my younger brother's limited-edition sneakers and to the designer bag slung over my sister's shoulder. Mother seemed to have forgotten that when Father died, I had only been eight. I smiled faintly. "Alright. I won't fight them for it." Hearing this, Mother let out a long breath of relief. The next second, my voice turned cold. "Then I won't fight for the responsibility of supporting you in your old age either."

Claire Blake, 23, works double shifts at a café to cover her mother's medical bills and her brilliant sister Clara's college tuition. Her life is a careful sacrifice - no room for dreams, only survival. Then she accidentally spills coffee on Damian Cole, billionaire CEO and the city's most eligible bachelor. Instead of anger, he's kind. Days later, his assistant calls with an impossible offer: pretend to be his girlfriend for six months. His family won't stop pressuring him to marry, and his manipulative ex-fiancée Caroline refuses to accept they're over. In exchange: $10,000 monthly, her mother's medical expenses covered, and a completion bonus that would transform her family's life. Claire knows it's crazy - she doesn't belong in his world of charity galas and high society. But the money would solve every problem. So she signs the contract and steps into a glittering world where everything feels like pretend. Except it doesn't stay pretend. Damian isn't the cold CEO she expected. He remembers her coffee order, values her opinions, treats her family with genuine warmth. His careful respect comes from protecting his sister from abuse - he's not controlling, he's considerate. As Claire navigates his world, the performance becomes real. When he kisses her, he confesses: "This stopped being fake for me weeks ago." But Caroline launches a media campaign suggesting their relationship is paid - uncomfortably close to the truth. With headlines dissecting Claire's background and questioning whether she "belongs," they must choose transparency over hiding. Can a love that started as a contract become real enough to survive the spotlight?

That sounds like the perfect foundation for a high-stakes, exclusive-worthy novel. Here’s a working concept: --- Title: Fated by Fire and Fortune Synopsis She was destined to be his queen—until betrayal burned their bond to ashes. Now, she returns, not as the woman who once loved him, but as the key to his greatest downfall… or his salvation. Alpha Kieran Blackwood is the ruthless ruler of the Bloodmoon Pack, a billionaire with power stretching beyond the supernatural world. Feared and respected, he’s never forgiven the woman who shattered his trust. Years ago, his fated mate Selene Vale disappeared the night before their coronation, leaving only blood and destruction in her wake. When he hunted for her, all he found was evidence of her betrayal. But Selene had her own secrets. Forced into exile by an unknown enemy, she survived in the shadows, training, waiting—until the moment she could reclaim what was stolen. Now, she’s back, not as the mate who once swore eternal love, but as the woman with the power to destroy everything Kieran has built. What neither of them expects is the fire still burning between them. Their past is a battlefield, but their future is a war. As a deadly enemy rises, Kieran and Selene must decide—will they fight together, or will their revenge consume them both?

"Sold to pay off a debt to the rich owner of a casino. He locked her up in his penthouse for his exclusive use. He held her captive, and punished her when she resisted. She knew he was a bad man, who did bad things. She had to get away before he took more than she could give.Khalid was used to taking what he wanted and walking away without regrets. Until he met Shania. Beautiful, sweet and uncorrupted by his world, he would protect her, cherish her, force her to submit. He would keep her locked away from the world and teach her to love him, in spite of her misgivings. Book through three of the Fire & Vice series. All books are standalone and can be read in any order. Guaranteed HEA, NO cheating, NO cliffhanger. These are dark romance, please read at your own risk.Fire & Vice: Prisoner of Fortune, Fight or Flight, King's Command is created by Nikita Slater, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author."

I've been with my girlfriend, Erin Palmer, for five years. But the moment she finally lands the job she's always dreamed of, she dumps me. It feels like a blade twisting in my heart. Without my support, she would've never gotten to where she is now. What stings even more is discovering she's been cheating on me with my supervisor, Gavin Trent. Yet little does she know that this company is just one of the subsidiaries under my name.