Hold For Dear Life Novels & Stories

After Uncle Frank and Aunt Gina died, my older cousin, Izzy Kramer, moved in with my family. To make up for the fact that she has lost her parents, everything she has is hers and hers alone. I'm not allowed to even think about touching them. Summer comes along, and my parents get Izzy a brand new bathtub. I happen to glance at it for just a second longer, and Izzy immediately breaks into tears. "If you want all of these things, Melanie, go ahead and take them! I just want my parents back!" Mom and Dad are furious, and Mom storms over to slap me. "Why are you acting like such a spoiled child? What, have you never seen a bathtub before? Why do you keep staring at Izzy's bathtub, huh?" My cheek stings. Ever since then, I've grown too scared to even look at any of Izzy's things. One day, Izzy invites me to have a soak in her bathtub. Thrilled, I carefully step into the water, but it's not as warm as I expected. In fact, the icy water instinctively gives me the urge to draw backward, but Izzy gives me a hard shove from behind. She swiftly locks the bathroom door shut after. "Since you like eyeing other people's things so much, you jealous brat, I'll make sure you have a nice long soak in the tub this time!" Having lost my footing when she shoved me, I bash my head against the side of the bathtub. I feel something warm trickling down my forehead, but that sensation is quickly replaced by the icy water that surrounds me. I don't know how much time passed, but eventually, I find myself hovering in the air. I hear Izzy's voice coming from the other side of the door. She complains to my parents, "Uncle James! Aunt Louise! Melanie snuck into the bathroom to use my bathtub!"

"Despite your protests look at you now." He smirked bending down and placing a kiss on my neck. "In the end you easily succumbed to me without any protest." "I don't want to die." I responded as he continued to trail small butterfly kisses along my throat, all the while lightly grazing his sharp canines against it. "Your mouth is very dishonest woman." He said lifting and staring into my eyes. "It says no while your body says yes." "You're wrong." I whispered. "Am I now?" He spoke against my skin sending goosebumps all over my body. "I don't think I am." Valerie Anderson was your normal everyday secretary, at least she was until the day she died. Killed by her sex crazed supervisor by falling down a flight of stairs, Valerie finds herself waking up in the bed of the cold and oppressive Elias Langley. First prince and next in line for the throne of the land of Allsbrook, Elias gives Valerie two options, either be his slave or die by his hands. Unable to remember a thing, not even her name, Valerie isn't ready to die, not until she discovers how she appeared in this strange land and who she is. Desperate Valerie agrees to be Elias' slave, thus beginning their master and slave relationship. Will the cold Elias end up warming up to Valerie, allowing someone into his cold dead heart? Will Valerie be able to find her memories and figure out her mysterious background?

"You're…you're divorcing me on our anniversary? Our fourth anniversary?" He quirked an eyebrow. "So what?" A surge of anger swept through me at his aloofness. "Tell me Jason. Tell me. Did our marriage mean anything to you?" “You could’ve at least let me eat before destroying me,” I said, my lips trembling with the weight of unshed tears. Jason shrugged. “I don’t see the point of dragging it out. It’s done. Sign the papers.” On their fourth wedding anniversary, Jason slides divorce papers over the dining table. Isabelle is bewildered and tries to reason with him but he is adamant and he insists that she signs the papers. Then, Lila, her cousin, appears out of nowhere, visibly pregnant and clings to Jason possessively. Utterly shocked and angered, she signs the papers and leaves the house. When she returns, she is locked out. Just like that she becomes homeless. She wakes up in a cheap motel with no plan, no money, just nothing. She gets a cleaning job but on her way home after the first work day, she collapses. She discovers she is pregnant. By the help of a mysterious man she meets at the club, she leaves town. Years later, she returns to the city, changed, sophisticated and wealthy. What happens when her path and Jason's cross? Is she back for dirty revenge? To crush his world to nothing but dust? Or is there a chance she would take him back? What happens when the mysterious man returns to her life?

My husband is a stranger. Everyone says I was madly in love with him, that I couldn’t wait to marry him. But when I look into his eyes, all I see is darkness. Cold. And Bottomless. This can’t be love. Not the kind you choose twice. I don’t remember him. Not the wedding, not the vows, not the man I supposedly gave my heart to. But what I do see… makes me question why I ever said yes in the first place. Then the memories come crashing back, a painful memory I wish stayed burried hits me and I understand. I understand why he looks at me with hatred. Why our love was doomed from the start. Why I had to leave. He wouldn’t let me go, so I forced his hand and disappeared. Five years later, fate brings us face to face again. "I can’t live without you, Dear stranger, marry me again." he says. And just like before… My heart remembers what my mind forgot. That a love so deep cuts just as deep. ............. His love will heal her, his rage will burn anyone who tries to hurt her. Ian Quinn Wasn't just passionate, he was explosivey intense. He loved like a storm and hated like a war. He lost her once, this time he will tear the world apart, if it means making her his again.

Xenia Lewis, the nepotism junior, is eager to craft an image of herself as a prodigy. To prove her talent, she requests to take the lead in court. But when confronted by the plaintiff's attorney's sharp questioning, she falters. Our defense unravels, instantly putting us at a disadvantage. After the verdict is announced, Xenia tearfully throws herself into the arms of my fiance, Zayne Scott. Her voice trembles with excuses. "The plaintiff's attorney was too harsh. It was my first time in court, and I was just too nervous!" Due to her incompetence, the defendant, who could have been acquitted, ends up behind bars. Yet, Zayne and my junior colleague, Hugo Wilkinson, indulge her with comforting words. "Don't be upset. No one wins every case." "With your cleverness, Xenia, you'll surely hold your own next time." Furious, I snap, "The court is a place to seek truth and uphold justice. It's not a playground for make-believe. Because of your mistake, an innocent person has been wronged. How can you live with yourself?" Feeling humiliated, Xenia breaks down, sobbing and threatening to harm herself. Resentful that I've hurt her, Zayne and Hugo distort the truth, shifting all the blame onto me. I end up as the scapegoat for her mistakes. Not only am I forced to resign in disgrace, but I also face disbarment. With nowhere to turn, my spirit shatters. While crossing the street, distraught and distracted, I'm hit by a car and killed. Then, when I wake up, I find myself reborn on the very day Xenia and I are set to appear in court.

I was scheduled to die in less than 24hrs from now. And the person who conspires to put me out of my miserable life is the one who put me through hell. His hell. My husband. I didn't mind dying. I was rather happy to finally get this thing over with. You know, get over life. But just when I was ready to rest in peace, I met her. Her beautiful blue eyes glittered with tears bringing light to this moonless night. The cold breeze brought a shiver to her fragile tiny body. She looked nothing less than a porcelain doll, delicate and clean. But she scared me when she looked at me with hope. Hope to save her. I laughed at this naive little girl. How was I to save her when I couldn't save myself? Nevertheless, I extended my hand for her to take, and with some hesitation, she wrapped her whole hand around my one finger. First time in my meaningless life I felt a spark. Spark of life enlightened in me with her one innocent touch. She made me want to live a little while longer with a small innocent promise, holding me tight to live with her, for her. Cover by @Aphroditelivid

What could go wrong if your prison pen pal ends up being the son and heir of the head of the Castillo cartel? What more could go wrong when your overprotective dad is a DEA agent who is determined to take him down? When Elena Torres, the daughter of a DEA agent, lost a bet and decided to write a prisoner, she had not expected to get in contact with the son of a cartel boss, Marvin Castillo. What she also didn’t expect was for him to get released from prison or for him to take an interest in her. She was known to be the good girl. He was known to be a monster. It was clear that fate didn’t want them to be together, but what the universe did not know was that these two were destined to determine their own path.

After everything I have done for my husband, my cheating husband. He divorced and left me brutally for his pretty ex-girlfriend. This isn't the life I want for myself, I want to love and be loved. He lost me, yes, he lost me to everything good. Infidelity is a barrier to any marriage, and I'm not going to stay tamed, trying to cover my pains when I have a life worth living. I have signed the divorce papers and left with nothing, but one thing is sure… He will regret it soon!

Elijah Morris has been fooling around for four out of the five years we've been married. And from the very first month, he openly betrays me. Meanwhile, I spend my time warding people off with expensive contracts, one after another. Eventually, all that's left between us is constant fighting. One day, his younger stepsister, Abigail Wright, returns. And just like that, he finally settles down. That's when the system tells me that I can finally go home. For the next five days, I no longer ask about his schedule. I don't care if he is with Abigail, nor do I care if she is pregnant with his child. I even move out of the master bedroom myself, listening to them going at it all night. The fifth day after Abigail's return is our wedding anniversary. Elijah bursts into the room, tears up our marriage certificate in front of me, and smashes my most treasured vase into pieces. He grips my throat tightly and growls, "Why did you put mango in Abby's cake? She's allergic, and she almost died! How could you be so cruel?" For the first time, I don't argue with him. Instead, I go along with his accusations. "So what?" I then pick up a shard from the broken vase on the floor under his disbelieving gaze. Then, I draw it across my artery. Just like that, I end my life in this world.

Everything was planned, and in one night, ruined. My best friend. My betrothed. Both backstabbed me in the back. But what they don't know is that I have help, and I will live this life again. And I will make sure I get my revenge on the both of them. All Cecelia wanted to do was prove to her father that her and her betrothed Mason were meant to be. After "paying" a shaman to look into the future to say it is meant to be, Cece decides that's not enough and goes on a quest to find Death. She wants to make a deal with him; if Mason and her are true mates, then she will live a long life with him. If not, she wants a do-over, but at WHAT time, or WHEN, Death gets to decide. At the ball, Cece is made aware of her betrothed's betrayal, and is devastated that the affair was made between him and her best friend. After dying from an argument gone very wrong, Death makes an appearance, going back in time.. Cece has a second chance at life. She will make sure EVERYTHING is different. And it will be Mason, and her ex-best friend who will pay.