Hero's Journey For The Hobbit

In my parents' hearts, there was always a "perfect son" who died too soon. I was just his flawed substitute, while my younger brother was their new hope. They pretended to be poor for 20 years, secretly funneling all their resources to him. While I was in the final stages of stomach cancer, writhing in pain, they were spending millions of dollars to build him a state-of-the-art study room. When the doctor told me to notify my family about hospital bills, I felt helpless, thinking they were just ordinary, broke workers. When my mom finally showed up at the hospital, she grabbed my hand, not out of concern. "Neville is under so much stress with his college entrance exams. Can you not die right now? He can't take it." My dad stood by, wearing a stern expression. "David was way more sensible than you."

My girlfriend keeps saying that she comes from a poor family, but she gives her childhood sweetheart a yacht on our anniversary. I text her to ask about this, but all she does is berate me. "Who do you think you are? How dare you stick your nose into my business! I'll give anyone whatever I want. My money, my call. Get lost!" Unbeknownst to her, I'm covered in blood on the other end of the line.

When struggling waitress Elira Cruz was forced into entering a contract marriage with cold, ruthless billionaire Caelan Ferrer, she thought she was sealing just another business deal: one year, no emotions, no strings. But behind that icy stare lay hurtful memories Elira unknowingly played a part in. Snowed in by her messy kindness, the man who swore never to love again slowly began to thaw. Secrets begin to unfold underneath. A hidden link ties them much closer than either one would have imagined. Will their fake marriage survive the truth...or will love become the price of revenge?

Halo Remington has spent her entire life in the shadows of her perfect twin sister, Scarlet, the golden child, the chosen one, the family's heiress. No one ever sees Halo, and that’s just the way her family prefers it. Until Talon Ashwood walks into their home with a contract and a choice that was never meant to be hers. Talon needs a bride, quickly. His father had made it clear, no marriage, no inheriting the Ashwood empire. Choosing Scarlet should be simple, expected. But when a single glance at an old portrait reveals a hidden twin, Talon makes a last-minute decision that shatters the room’s expectations. He no longer wants the golden daughter. No, he wants the quiet lamb hidden in the shadows. Pulled from her place behind the closed doors of her room, Halo is thrust into a deal she never saw coming. Marry him, and she would finally be free of her family’s control. Walk away, and she would remain unseen and unwanted, a ghost in her own life and a shadow in the footsteps of her sister. After coming to a decision and going through with it, Halo steps into a world of power, deception, and an attraction she never anticipated. But as secrets unravel and ruthless tactics ensue, Halo realizes that this marriage harboured far more than just a business deal. It was the cost of being chosen by an Ashwood.

Amelia To pay my father's debt and protect my brother, I married Salvatore Conti. The underboss of the Gambino Family. He was ruthless and treated me like his property. The only reason I kept holding on was my little brother, Ben. I was all he had. I had given up on life, but I found my knight. His son. Alessandro Conti. It was forbidden. It was dangerous. But it made me feel alive. Alessandro I was the son of Salvatore Conti, one of the most feared men in NYC. I hated the family and everything it stood for. And I hated my father even more. The first time I saw Amelia, she was marrying my father and no matter how beautiful she was and how s*xy her long legs were, she was beyond my reach. I should not have touched her but I had and she had become my sweet addiction.

I was eight months pregnant when my water broke—the same day as the birthday of my husband’s adopted son. To keep my child from being born on the same day as his adopted son's, he forced me to wait until after midnight. He refused to take me to the hospital and locked me in the basement. Adrian Shaw looked down at me. His eyes were dark and hostile. “Elena, you're really good at picking the timing, huh? Of all days, you had to go into labor on Evan’s birthday.” I begged him to take me to the hospital. A trace of disappointment flashed across his eyes, and his voice turned cold. “You’re still trying to lie to me? I asked a doctor. Even if your water breaks, you don’t give birth right away. Some women don’t deliver for three days. “All this scheming is just to secure your position as Mrs. Shaw, so your child can compete with Evan for his birthday and his place. You've really thought this through.” I took a deep breath as despair washed over me. “The baby I’m carrying is yours too! Adrian, I’m begging you. Please, for the child’s sake, save her. As long as the baby is safe, I promise I’ll never show up in front of you again.” His expression darkened. He bent down, grabbed my chin, and replied harshly, “Don’t play games with me. “As long as you stay here quietly until after midnight, I’ll take you to the hospital. Once the baby’s born, you can finally use the child to secure your place and truly marry into the Shaw family.” Later, when my contractions grew unbearable and I cried out in pain, he found me too noisy and took Evan and his mother out to celebrate instead. By the time he remembered me and asked whether I had a boy or a girl, his secretary’s face paled. “Mrs. Shaw is… gone.”

Over the Fourth of July weekend, I took my boyfriend's sister to his flashy new influencer hub. Fresh off brain surgery, Benedetta Griffin needed a break from her recovery, and I hoped the trip would lift her spirits. In the hub, a streamer was hawking a face cream like a carnival barker. "Listen, fam! The boss lady is slashing prices. Get this $3,800 cream for just $398 today!" Benedetta tugged my sleeve. "That cream is bad news." She'd interned at the FDA last summer and could spot a scam from a mile away. "It's packed with steroids. Long-term use will ruin your skin." Driven by her sense of justice, she marched up to the streamer. "You can't sell this unlicensed junk. The steroids exceed legal limits. Pull it from the shelves." Morgan Lamb froze, but then her fake smile twisted into a scowl. "Who the hell are you to trash my product?" Benedetta didn't back down. "You're scamming people, and you know it." Morgan planted her hands on her hips. "I'm the boss lady here. How dare you slander my brand? Nobody leaves until you cough up $500,000 for damages." "Boss lady?" My stomach churned. My boyfriend's sudden venture into the streaming industry now made sense. He was sinking money into this hub to bankroll his lover. I fumbled for my phone to call him, but Morgan was faster. "Babe, get to the hub. Two haters crashed the party, trying to tank our business."

I had a one-night stand with my heartless boss to mend my broken heart. In the morning, he was gone.... Off to propose to my best friend. I thought that was my rock bottom. I was wrong. I fainted in front of him months later, and the doctor announced my pregnancy. His baby. To protect everyone, especially my best friend, I hid the truth and disappeared with his child. Now, two years later, he’s found us. The ruthless, cold man I remember is gone, replaced by someone determined to be a father… and to win me over. But between his controlling family, my vengeful ex-best friend, and the ex-boyfriend who won’t let go, trusting him feels like the most dangerous risk of all. My son’s life and my fragile heart are on the line. Do I dare believe the man who once destroyed me is my only chance at a real family… or is this the final set-up for a betrayal that will break us forever?

Elaine Smith gave ten years of her life to a man who never chose her. On the night she lost her unborn child, her husband ran to another woman, again. Humiliated, divorced, and branded barren by the media, Elaine disappears from society… only to return as the contract wife of Steve Greyson—the most feared billionaire in New York. Their marriage is fake. Their alliance is strategic. Their enemies are powerful. But when revenge turns into desire, and secrets begin to surface; hidden pregnancies, corporate conspiracies, and deadly betrayals, Elaine must decide if she will use love as a weapon… or risk her heart one last time.

CONTENT WARNING! This book may contain depictions of sexual assault, suicide, explicit intimacy, and dark content! 'You smell so good, divine. ' He drawled out the words, dipping his nose on the side of my neck. The warmth of his breath fanned the skin, raising goosebumps along the area. My back ached when he latched his warm mouth on my skin, sucking hungrily. I lifted my hips up, attempting to add more friction between us. The rest of the people faded, mind body and soul focusing on our man. 'Please don't stop. ' I pitifully begged when he kneeled down, putting a distance between us. 'Ssssshhh love, soon baby. ' He purred,  guiding two fingers in my eagerly waiting mouth. *************** Scarlet Baranov has lived all her life without a wolf as an outcast and a slave under the leadership of one cruel Alpha, until one night, his abuse goes beyond the bounds. Determined to preserve the tiny bit of her dignity left, Scarlett flees, only to wander into the territory of the most notorious alpha in the were community, whose hatred for rogues runs deep in his tainted veins, Alpha Jaxon. Having turned rogue after her escape, scarlet faces a torturous death in the arms of Jaxon, who is scared by his painful past. She suddenly finds out that she is mated to the very man who swore to kill her. Rejected and accused of conspiring with her former alpha to finish Jax off, Scarlett finds out that the events that led to her escape had borne a bitter fruit of unexpected and unwanted pregnancy. Everything is different from what it seems, submerged in twisted turns, secrets and past sins that Jax and Scarlett must uncover. Will Jax be able to look past his hunger for blood and the pregnancy?