Hanging Side Table

My mafia husband, Vincent Santoro, was born a monster, incapable of loving anyone. But one day, I discovered he was hiding a ‘forbidden fruit’. A girl from the slums, Claire Murphy. Scarred by life, yet as beautiful as a wildflower growing through concrete. For a man who'd waded through blood his whole life, she was a fatal attraction he never saw coming. He thought he'd covered his tracks. He was wrong. At the Santoro family's annual dinner, I confronted him about Claire, tears streaking down my face. He just lightly frowned, then had his consigliere slide the divorce papers across the table to me. "Isabella. Sign it. The three North Side docks and the shipping lines are yours." I tore the papers to shreds. He just kept raising the offer. He had me thrown into the freezing waters of Lake Michigan. He blew up my family's distillery—the Romano family's legacy. Finally, he took my parents. Tied them in an abandoned warehouse and made one watch as he set the other on fire. "Sign, or watch them burn. Your choice." I begged him on my knees, but a roar of flames consumed the world— The heat seared my skin, the ash of my parents clinging to my face. "No... NO!" When I opened my eyes, I was back. Back on the day I first learned about Claire. This time, no tears, no drama. That night, I called my family in Sicily and set my escape in motion. But the moment I vanished from his world… Vincent Santoro went insane.

At the company's celebration dinner, the new HR guy slapped a bill on the table—$860 for A/C and venue costs from our last all-nighter. I shot a look at Sherry—my girlfriend, my boss—thinking she'd have my back. Nope. She latched onto HR's arm and said, "Quentin, this isn't your daddy's company. Quit freeloading." And just like that, nine years of busting my ass for this company, and turns out—I was the discount item on the menu.

My wife, Caroline Bailey, was a forensic pathologist. For her first love, Ian Lawson, she was willing to break every rule she held sacred and allowed him into the autopsy room to observe. She even let him throw acid onto a corpse's face. That was, until Caroline took on a new case. As she stood over the disfigured body on her operating table, she began to fall apart. The acid-burned face was starting to look more and more like mine.

"Did you hear me, Luca DeLuca? I want a divorce. You betrayed me far too much. Last night was the final straw for me." I snarled, clenching my fists at my sides. I was proud of myself for remaining strong in front of my so-called mate. He always made me feel like a weakling. Still, he did not answer. Did he even hear me? "Luca?" I tapped the table until he finally looked up at me. "For God's sake, Serafina. Are you blind as well as stupid? Can't you see that I am busy?" Luca growled at me, causing me to be silent. He did despise me. The truth finally settled in my gut like a stone in that very second. I was nothing to him. He did not even care about me. Not one bit. For three long years, Serafina stood by her fated mates side, hoping that one day he would love her. But, each day caused more pain and suffering for Serafina, especially when she found her mate entangled with his ex lover. The one who truly had his heart. With his betrayal and rejection towards her, as well as the shame and disappointment her mother threw at her, Serafina finally snaps and demands a divorce, leaving the DeLuca estate and returning to her childhood sanctuary. Unfortunately for Serafina, her mother is not going to give up the idea of gaining power and greed, she forces her daughter to marry an old widowed Alpha despite Serafina’s refusal. Will Luca see sense before he loses his fated mate for ever or is it to little to late for his cursed Luna?

In June of 1975, Ryan Baxter's mom moves him and his brother, Matt, to the small seaside town of Bayport, MA to escape their abusive father. For an eleven-year-old, spending lazy days hanging out at the beach and the arcades sounds like a dream.When he meets Leah and she agrees to be his girlfriend, Ryan is happier than he's been in his young life. Then the "Sea Monkeys" knock-off he bought from the back of a comic book starts to grow...and grow and grow.©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Gary and Rowena didn't get along quite well initially in college. But thanks to their mutual friends, hanging out with each other became inevitable throughout the four years. Snide comments, sarcastic remarks, sparks... wait, what? After an electrifying night together at their graduation party and a 10-day vacation with friends, Rowena disappears and cuts off contact from everyone, leaving a heartbroken Gary. What happened? Where did she go? Will they ever see each other again? 5 years later questions remain unanswered. Until...

Beautiful young Roxanne gets caught up in a mysterious deadly experiment of survival created by a multi billion dollar company known as International body of evolutionary divergence aka IBED. If she fails the entire world dies but if she survived the world escapes a deadly world war III... "She was met with two terrible things, the choking smell of rotten corpses and a room full of dead bodies hanging from ropes attached to the roof. Slowly she began to make her way passed the corpses one after the other"

Genevieve was a sweet and innocent girl who has always dreamed of having a simple life; a loving and caring husband. But she’s forced to abort that dream when her parents showed up years later to take her back home and not only that, she had been engaged for years to Marcus who didn’t want her. Genevieve was left to face the humiliation when her fiancé left her hanging at their engagement party. Would this stop her from getting what she wants or was this just a trial?

Lucia Garcia has spent her life hiding bruises—both on her skin and in her heart, trapped under the thumb of her abusive stepfather. Lucia is thrust into a dangerous world when her stepfather drags her to a lavish party hosted by Lorenzo, the ruthless Mafia King who rules the city with an iron fist. When Lucia accidentally witnesses Lorenzo execute a man, she finds herself at his mercy, her fate hanging in the balance. Lorenzo: "The moment I set eyes on you, you became mine!"

By six, Amelia had whipped up a six-dish dinner with soup—Chad Felton's favorites, of course. By seven, she'd prepped his bath, complete with rose petals and candles. By eight, his slippers were perfectly lined up by the door. At nine, Chad finally strolled in. Amelia stepped up, taking his suit jacket. "Eat first or bathe?" she asked, setting the slippers in front of him and hanging the jacket. "Bathe," he muttered, eyes glued to his phone.