He Loved Me In Her Shadow

Patrick and Clare wake up trapped in a basement, a thin wall separating their cells. Their captor is mysteriously absent, which at first seems like a blessing. As more time passes with no food or water, they begin to realize a clock is ticking for their survival.They know their captor is still out there, and it is only a matter of time before he returns.©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

He didn’t choose her then. He has to fight for her now. *** I married Alex Marwood because our families said it was right. He never chose me. Not once. One lie from my stepsister ruined everything. I signed the divorce papers with a secret in my belly. I left, learned how to breathe again, and built a quiet life with two little cute humans who call me “Mom.” Years later, fate walks through the lobby of my hotel in a tailored suit and the same storm-blue eyes my son wears. Alex stops. Looks at my twins. Looks at me. “I’m sorry,” he says. But where do I start? With the nights I cried alone? With the accident nobody will talk about? With the powerful people who would rather bury the truth than let me be happy? Alex wants a second chance. I want peace. But when old enemies start circling and “accidents” stop being accidents, I realize love isn’t just flowers and apologies. If he wants us back, he’ll have to fight for us.

As a child, Elena Carter witnessed the brutal murder of her father, a decorated detective, at the hands of men she believed to be part of the Mafia. That night, her world shattered, and she vowed to dedicate her life to avenging his death. Years later, she becomes a detective, determined to bring down the very criminal empire she holds responsible. Her mission leads her deep into the city’s underworld, where she goes undercover to get close to the ruthless and enigmatic Adrian Moretti, a powerful Mafia boss feared by many. Cold, calculated, and untouchable, Adrian is a man who trusts no one—but when he crosses paths with Elena, something shifts. She intrigues him. She challenges him. And, against all logic, he lets her in. As Elena gets closer to him, her resolve wavers. The man she was sent to destroy is not the monster she expected. But the deeper she falls, the more dangerous her web of lies becomes. And when the truth is revealed—that Elena is not only a cop but the daughter of the detective who was killed that night—Adrian’s world comes crashing down. But the truth runs even deeper than Elena ever imagined. The police force she serves is not as righteous as she believed. Her own agency orchestrated her father’s murder, framing the Mafia to cover up their own corruption. Now, the people she trusted want her dead, and the only person who might be able to protect her… is the man she betrayed. With enemies closing in from all sides, will Elena and Adrian fight for love, or will the past destroy them both?

I have been dating my manager boyfriend, Caleb Frost, for five years. He calls off our wedding 52 times for Gina Lowe, an aspiring actress on the set. On the day I am ready to give up on him and walk away, Gina falsely accuses me of using expired makeup on her that caused an allergic reaction. So Caleb shoves me into a sealed cellar and locks me inside. As he pushes me down, his face is twisted in disgust. "It's one thing to pick on Gina, but to use expired makeup on her and cause an allergy? Do you know how important an artist's face is? "Stay down there and think about your wrongdoings." With that, he drags the crying Gina to the hospital. The cellar's air vent is blocked. Every breath I take grows harder until I suffocate to death inside. Three days later, Caleb remembers me only after attending a gathering with Gina. But little does he know, I am already dead from the lack of oxygen in that dark cellar.

As the quality control supervisor of an import company, I need to finish up the storage of the final batch of king crabs before the Independence Day festivities. Just after entering the subzero freezer, the door is immediately locked shut. The alarm system also fails. When I realize I'm starting to lose body heat, I immediately take out the hand warmers from the emergency kit. However, the moment I apply them, a chilling sensation makes me instantly realize something is wrong. I scream from the cold, and the walkie-talkie transmits the boisterous laughter of my fiance, Martin Clay. "We're live-streaming and challenging the company's 'Ice Queen' to be locked in the freezer. Let's see how long she lasts!" The flirty voice of his female colleague, Lilian Saunders, also comes through, "Sierra, smile for the folks in the live stream! The number one donor wants to see it!" I instantly understand that they're live-streaming a prank on me. Not only did they lock me in the freezer, but they've also replaced my life-saving hand warmers with cooling patches meant for fevers! I grit my teeth, trying hard to stay calm as I call out to them for help. "The spare… spare hand warmers… Give them to me!" My fiance's voice rings out from the walkie-talkie, sounding unconcerned, "Oops! Lily gets cold easily, and it's her time of the month. The spares are all being used to keep her belly warm! "You're so healthy that you can just jump around a little and you'll warm up! You might even get some tips from the number one donor!" I stop arguing with them. With frozen hands, I pull out the signal flare gun and aim it at the most valuable and mysterious cargo in the freezer—a tube of frozen sperm worth 200 million dollars.

After a scandalous one-night stand forces Sophia Chen into marriage with billionaire Alexander Wyndham, she spends two years loving a man who keeps his heart locked away for another woman. When Sophia finally finds the courage to leave, Alexander refuses to let her go, believing he's fulfilled every duty as a husband. But Sophia wants something he's never offered, his love. Now she must choose between everything he can give her and the one thing he won't.

Ophelia was rejected and framed by her mate, Eric, after she had stood by him to fight his way up and secure his position. She however lost her power which made her useless to Alpha Eric , she was framed with treason and banished from the pack, she thought life was all over until she was gifted another power, one that awakened her and comes with great responsibility. With her newly found strength she vows to rewrite her story and clear her name alongside her second chance mate.However this power threatens to devour her as it is not to be used to seek revenge, threatened to be devoured by her anger will she be able to get the justice she deserves?

In the fifth year of our bland marriage, I receive a message that my husband has booked a hotel room with a woman. Within the next second, seductive pictures of me show up in the work group chat. In the pictures, I seduced my husband but failed. My colleagues in the group chat mock me by saying, "She gave Mr. Reed an ultimatum and forced him to marry her. He was forced to break up with the woman he loves." "Mr. Reed put up with her for five years. It only makes sense that he could no longer resist and decide to reunite with his lover." My sick father dies out of shock, yet my husband does not show up to his funeral. That night, I inform Belinda that I wish to divorce her son. "Back then, you told me that I'm Caleb's blessing in life. You said that he'd have endless success if we were to marry. "As long as I married Caleb for five years, you promised to pay for my father's medical fees. Now that the time is up, you should let me go too."

Sofia Esteban had given up her fortune, her family and her name for love... only to have her husband shove divorce papers in her face and announce he was marrying another woman… who claimed to be pregnant with his child. Two months later, Sofia wakes from a coma with no memory… only to discover the man she loved has married her rival and her life has been shattered…

On the day Mateo was crowned as the Alpha King of the Eastern Packs, I learned that my remaining wolf's power was depleted and that the silver curse would eventually take my life. During the coronation ceremony, the Grand Elder asked Mateo who he regretted losing the most. Without hesitation, he dialed my number. I answered, listening to his cold voice through the phone: "When I got hurt, after you left me thinking I wasn't Alpha anymore, did you ever regret it?" Looking at the astronomical bill for another month's supply of moonwort potion, I laughed softly: "Mateo, since you're so powerful now, could you lend me 500,000 for the treatment?" The line went dead instantly. On the live broadcast, I watched as his face turned to ice: "Now I have no regrets." He didn't know that seven years ago, when that cursed silver dagger was killing him, I had secretly channeled my wolf's power to him, taking the curse upon myself.