Hercules Eighth Labor

I had proposed seven times, but Winnie Smith continued refusing to marry me. This was because the Smith family had a special test. To marry their daughters, their sons-in-law had to refrain from sleeping with their fiancees after being drugged. I tried seven times. However, every time after I regained consciousness, Winnie would be sleeping naked next to me. She would cry and throw herself into my arms. “It’s fine. We can try again. I trust you.” It was not until the eighth time that I overheard her instructing the butler, “Switch the aphrodisiac to sleeping pills, and make sure it’s a high dosage. “After he falls asleep, I’ll take it from there as usual.” While I kept my eyes shut tight, I could hear her taking off her long dress. Then, she came over to unbutton my shirt. I heard her sigh. “I’m sorry, Benjamin Lowe. Joe Anderson’s been diagnosed with cancer, and his last wish is to be with me. “Don’t worry, though. After he passes, I’ll marry you immediately.” Right then, I realized that her family’s test had been a lie she told just to marry her childhood best friend. The next day, my parents pressured me again to leave the country and inherit the family business. So, I agreed to their request. Since she wanted to marry Joe, I would wish the couple well.

“We’re equals, remember? And you’re the king.” He pulled her onto his lap, his right hand gripping her thigh. Their faces were so close, Violet could see the flecks of gold lingering in his irises. “To me, you’re king, Violet Bellerose.” *** Violet Bellerose lives in a jealous, elven world where everyone from royals to bounty hunters are after her unique ability to amplify magic to incredible heights. When she saves the Storm King from an assassin, Violet earns a post at his side as bodyguard, unaware they have begun to unravel each other’s secrets. Forgotten lovers, turbulent powers, and a political marriage push and pull at king and bodyguard. Their bond must strengthen to withstand court rivalries and the enemies at their borders. With only each other to lean on, they face the Blood King together and labor through every obstacle to make it to their coronation. The Elf King and His Bodyguard is created by Hayden Marlowe, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Ava gave up everything for love—her wealth, her family, and even her identity—just to be with Richard, the man she thought would cherish her. But after years of neglect, betrayal, and heartbreak, she finds herself alone, abandoned, and on the brink of despair. On the night she goes into labor, Richard ignores her cries for help, and tragedy strikes. Waking up to the devastating loss of her children, Ava realizes it’s time to reclaim her life. She returns to her family, agreeing to marry the man her father had chosen for her. But she never expected that this man was more than human—he was a powerful werewolf, leader of a secretive and deadly cult… and her destined mate. Now, caught between vengeance and a fate she never imagined, Ava must navigate a world of supernatural power, dark secrets, and a love stronger than she ever thought possible. But will her past let her go, or will Richard’s sins come back to haunt her?

Becca thought her life was all set in stone, but little did she was wrong. Through heartbreak, she finds herself in a predicament. She’s pregnant. Becca isn’t ready to tell the world about her baby, so she decided to hide her pregnancy until she was ready to face the father. The only problem was that Becca started to have feelings for another man. She told herself she wasn’t allowed to get involved with anyone until after the baby came, but Will made that hard. Eventually she lets her feelings for him take over. She’s willing to tell him everything. Luckily, Will accepts her and the baby as his own. Throughout the pregnancy they plan their lives together. They even start looking to buy a house together to raise Becca’s baby. But tragedy strikes when Becca goes into labor three months early. Will her baby make it and can she keep the love of her life? Or will her life just fall apart?

Eight years after running away pregnant, I found myself crossing paths with my ex-husband, Howard Quinn. His friends stared at me in surprise. "So, this is what you have become after leaving Howard? Reduced to a cleaner?" When I was six-months pregnant, I met with an accident. While I lay there, he was staying by the side of another woman, his so-called true love, in labor, never leaving her side. When I confronted him, in pieces, he looked at me bored and impatiently. "Don't be so jealous and petty. I have no time for you. As long as you behave, you'll always be Mrs. Quinn." I couldn't stand it any longer, so I ran away, staying away for eight long years. Now, those sharp eyes glared at me. "Have you had enough? If so, come home." What he didn't know was that my husband and daughter had already made dinner, waiting for me and my son to return home.

“You’re not his wife. You’re a ghost in a borrowed face.” Lena Moore thought she had outrun the darkness. Engaged to billionaire Aaron King and carrying a child she’s not sure belongs to him or the stalker, Kian, Lena’s past comes crashing through the doors—dressed in white. Jennifer, Aaron’s long-dead wife, is alive. Or so it seems. One betrayal spirals into another. On the run from heartbreak and chasing what’s left of her sanity, Lena goes into labor on a stormy highway—only for her ex-lover, Kian, to take their newborn and vanish. When Jennifer is found murdered and Lena is arrested, the world turns its back on her. But behind bars, the truth unravels. Jennifer was a puppet. Alara—Lena’s estranged mother—has been the mastermind all along, manipulating lives, identities, and deaths from the shadows. Lena is done running. With her child missing, a legacy built on lies, and the world doubting her every breath, she’s ready to burn the past down—face by face.

I was born with a strange condition. I couldn't recognize faces and could only identify people by their clothes. Vincent Lancaster, my boyfriend, never minded. He said it didn't change the way he loved me. That was, until our wedding day. He answered a phone call. His childhood friend, Grace Langley, was in labor, life hanging by a thread, and she demanded he come immediately. My voice shook with despair. "Vincent! If you drive away now, we'll never be husband and wife!" But he left anyway, not looking back. Grace had always loved seeing him in white, so he threw aside the black suit I had sewn for him with my own hands and changed into white. A year later, Vincent returned. By then, my belly was swollen with life, and I was holding onto another man while hosting a baby shower. And the man wore the black suit Vincent had thrown away. Vincent went mad, claiming he was my husband, but no one believed him.

Two best friends Emily Jacobs and Delilah Tomson have been in each other’s lives ever since they were young . They have known each other for as long as they can remember so it certainly came as a shock to many when Delilah had an affair with Emily’s husband . When Emily found out about the affair , the shock induced her labor two weeks before her due date . As if that was not enough she lost her new born triplets to a fire at the hospital. Instead of her husband offering comfort he blames her for saving her self instead of their new born babies and demands a divorce so that he marries Delilah who had just given birth to his son . In a single day Emily lost her new born babies , her husband and childhood best friend . Ten years later Emily returns with a different face and identity to investigate the cause of her triplets’ death and to also take revenge on everyone that has betrayed her in the past . Who will stop the fury of a scorned woman ?

After eight years of marriage, I finally get pregnant with Claude Frey's child. It's my sixth round of IVF, and my last chance. The doctor says I can't put my body through it again. I'm overjoyed, ready to share the good news with him. But a week before our anniversary, I received an anonymous photo in the mail. In it, he was bending down to kiss another woman's pregnant belly. That woman is his childhood sweetheart, the one his family watched grow up. She's gentle and well-mannered, and the kind of daughter-in-law every parent dreams of. The funniest part is that his entire family knows about her pregnancy, except me. I'm just the punchline in their joke. It turns out that the marriage I've been holding together despite all my wounds is nothing but a carefully crafted lie. Fine. I don't want Claude anymore, and I'll never let my child be born into a world built on lies. I book my ticket to leave on our eighth anniversary. It's also the very day he's supposed to take me to see the sea of roses. Before we got married, he promised me a sea of flowers all my own. But instead, I find him in front of the rose garden, kissing his pregnant childhood sweetheart. After I leave, he starts searching for me everywhere. "Don't go, please?" he begs. "I was wrong. Don't leave." He finally remembers the promise he'd made to me and plants the most beautiful roses in the world in that garden. But I don't need it anymore.

I first met Kai Valentine at the basketball court when I was ten years old. Kai was taller, louder, and faster than me. And from that day on, Kai became my best friend, my safe place. But then my parents passed away, and my family went bankrupt. After that, we weren't best friends anymore. We were just two strangers living in completely different worlds. Then, Kai starts "stealing" from me. He manages to steal every single girlfriend I've ever had. The day he steals my eighth girlfriend, I finally break. That's when I decide to fight back and get myself a boyfriend instead. That's right; I'm going to pretend to be gay! Let's see how he plans to steal this one. However, I never thought that my actions would make Kai go absolutely berserk. That night, Kai presses me against a dim corner in the stairwell. His fists slam into the concrete wall, his breath hot against my cheek. "If even he can be your boyfriend," he grits out, "then why can't I?" I laugh. "Are you out of your mind?" Kai just keeps pressing closer, his scorching gaze burning into me as his lips inch closer until he is just a breath away. "Do you still not get it?" Something hot and erect presses up against me. He then growls softly in my ear. "I never wanted to steal any of your girlfriends. The only person I ever wanted was you, Aiden Winston!"