Hope A Memoir Of Survival In Cleveland

In Alabama’s rot-soaked bayous, Drucilla Drakes survives by three rules: silence, scars, and never letting Louise—her Bible-thumping captor—catch her hoping. But when a schoolyard ambush leaves her bleeding beneath a stranger’s leather jacket, invisibility becomes a death sentence. Enter Dragon Morales: New Orleans’ most notorious runaway, a cartel prince turned outlaw mechanic with grease-stained hands and a death wish. He doesn’t save people—he survives them. Yet in Dru’s lashed flesh and hellfire gaze, he sees his own shattered reflection. Their bond is gasoline and matches. Dragon’s father—Colombia’s cartel kingpin—hunts them relentlessly. Louise, armed with voodoo rites and the chaos-hungry loa Marinette, vows to break Dru. Their only allies? The Lou Nwa, a bayou biker gang trading in bullets and black magic, and Papa Legba, the crossroads spirit who offers Dru a lethal bargain: *“Her soul or yours.”* Fleeing through the Deep South’s cursed underbelly, they dodge cartel hitmen, haunted swamps, and safehouses reeking of betrayal. Dark magic seeps into old wounds; family secrets tighten like nooses. Dragon swears he’s too ruined to love. Dru knows she’s too shattered to trust. But in the bayou’s choking heat, desire is a grenade they can’t outrun. This isn’t a fairytale. It’s switchblade kisses and saintly curses—a collision of fire and ruin where protectors become predators. Dru doesn’t need saving; she needs an inferno. And Dragon? He’s got a lighter and nothing left to burn. Will they raze the South to ashes, or become the sacrifice the crossroads demands? One truth remains: in the bayou, even survival leaves scars. **Warning:** No princes here. Just bayou smoke, blood-soaked magic, and the kind of love that devours.

From the outside, her life looked like a storybook — young love, a growing family, and the hope of a future built on hard work and devotion. But behind closed doors, it was a different world — one filled with control, silence, and bruises too deep for anyone to see. Before she turned twenty-one, she had already survived a violent marriage, the constant threat of losing her children, and a battle between truth and lies that nearly destroyed her. Every time she tried to rebuild, life seemed to find a new way to break her — a false accusation that stole her children, a fire that turned into murder, and the death of the man who had helped her believe in love again. Echos of Ruin is the raw, unflinching story of a woman who refuses to stay broken. Through violence, betrayal, and unbearable loss, she finds the courage to keep moving — to fight for her truth even when no one will listen. It’s a story of motherhood and survival, of loving and losing, and of discovering that sometimes the only way to save yourself is to walk through the fire. Told with haunting honesty and sharp clarity, this memoir is not just about what was taken from her — it’s about what she refused to surrender: her spirit, her strength, and her voice. Because even when the world tried to silence her, she learned the most powerful truth of all — the human heart can shatter a thousand times and still find the strength to beat again.

"This realm is your only chance of coming back to life in the mortal world, and if you attract those consequences, take note that you will die.” “Death?” I ask, mostly to myself. And to the voice, “What do you mean by 'I’m on my way to death'?” ~~~ Nova was having a bad day, and all she wanted was for the day to end already. But the universe seemed to have misunderstood her wish, because not only did her day not end, but she met with an accident that left her in a coma. As if that wasn't bad enough, she became trapped in a dimension between life and death, where she had to face a series of trials that would determine if she wakes... or fades from existence. Enter Zephyr, the spirit assigned to guide her to the light – her recovery. The spirit who never tried to disguise his want for her failure. The spirit she should've never fallen in love with. But in a world where survival is determined by the number of challenges a soul can conquer, the heart still found its way around love. With her complicated feelings in an already complicated world, Nova must decide what she's truly fighting for – her life, or the one being who's capable of ending it. *** In a short time, the remaining one hundred and twelve souls are pushed out. When we’re complete and standing, a voice – different from on the bus – greets us. “Welcome, Souls, to the survival games.”

Jayde Clinton’s life has been a series of uphill battles since her father’s death. Struggling to support her mother and fend off ruthless loan sharks, she’s grown used to the feeling of desperation. But when her mother is taken as collateral for unpaid debts, Jayde makes a shocking deal: to impersonate Hattie Everett, a billionaire heiress who vanished days before her arranged marriage. Thrust into a world of deceit, betrayal, and power struggles, Jayde finds herself pretending to live the life she’s always dreamed of, only to realize wealth comes with its darkness. As lies unravel and secrets come to light, Jayde must decide if survival is worth losing herself—and her heart. Can Jayde hold onto her dignity in a world determined to strip it away, or will the weight of manipulation and betrayal be too much to bear?

When Kaya dies — not from heartbreak itself, but from the storm of betrayal and danger it unleashed after being rejected by the man she loves, the ruthless Mafia boss Damon Moretti — the spirits give her an impossible offer:> Go back in time with every memory you have now, make him love you within five months, and uncover the truth behind your death… or vanish forever.But Damon isn’t heartless by chance. Centuries ago, he sold his heart to build his empire — a pact that made him untouchable, feared, and incapable of love. If he ever loves again, both he and his empire will crumble.Now, as Kaya fights to awaken emotion in a man cursed by power, the dead rise in rebellion. Furious that she was granted a second chance, they demand theirs too, crossing into the living world with vengeance.Torn between love and survival, Kaya must solve her own murder before time runs out.To keep her, Damon must defy the curse that built his empire.But loving her means destroying everything he’s ever fought to protect — including himself.

‎I died on Christmas Eve. ‎Betrayed by the man I gave everything to, poisoned by my own sister, and mocked for loving too deeply, death should have been my end. Instead, it became my beginning. ‎ ‎When I wake up in a blood-soaked alley, a cold voice welcomes me to the “Demon Games" —a brutal survival arena where one hundred humans fight monstrous trials for a chance at rebirth. The prize? Ten years of life restored… and one impossible wish. ‎ ‎I am weak. Near-blind. Unwanted. ‎But someone keeps saving me. ‎He wears a mask, smells of danger, and commands fear without speaking. They call him a demon. A king. A monster. ‎And worst of all—he claims I belong to him. ‎ ‎As the games grow deadlier and the audience thirsts for blood, I uncover a terrifying truth: the man protecting me is the “Lycan King" , an overlord bound by rules that demand my death. ‎ ‎In a world where love is forbidden and survival demands sacrifice, I must choose— escape hell alone… or drag the king down with me. ‎

I should have been walking down the aisle. Instead, I was running through the woods in my wedding dress. The white fabric caught on every branch, tearing apart like my life. My name is Camela Siegel. My father is the Mayor, and he sold me to save himself. Vincent Castellano was supposed to be my husband. They call him the Mad Prince, but I learned he’s so much worse than that. His hands trembled when he touched me—sometimes gentle, like I might break, and sometimes rough, like he wanted to overpower me. “You’re mine now,” he’d whisper in the dark corners of that house. “No one else gets to touch you. No one else gets to hurt you but me.” I tried the door handle every day for three months. It only turned from the outside. When help finally came, I thought it was over. I thought I could go home and pretend none of it ever happened. I was wrong. Vincent found my journal—the one where I wrote about him, about what he did to me, and about who he truly is. Now he’s not just keeping me locked up. He’s hunting me. They call him “The Fox” for a reason. He’s patient and waits. When he catches what he’s after, he never lets it go. I can feel him watching me even now—through my bedroom window, from across the street, in the shadows where I can’t see him but I know he’s there. My father thinks making that deal saved his life. He doesn’t realize it destroyed mine. Vincent said he’d keep me until the last day of my life. I’m starting to think that day is coming soon.

How can you be pregnant when I never touched you? Alfred yelled, giving me a resounding slap that sent me to the ground. I held my cheek while glancing up to look at him with teary eyes... wondering how he could make such a vile accusation against me, after taking my virginity forcefully. I knew he never loved me even though I was his mate, but I never thought, he would stoop so low and accuse me of doing such a thing. Unknown to me, I was truly carrying another's man's child, and he was none other than the shape-shifting hybrid Alpha... Aziz Duncan. ...

"Up until now, my life made sense. Up until now, I had been sheltered away from a world where murder was acceptable and debts were payment. Now, I was exposed to that world, and the lies, secrets and favours were my new currency. The rules were easy to follow and even easier to manipulate. But the last thing I expected was to be thrown in the deep end, fighting for everything I loved." Emiliana was moving on from what she lost, her safety, security, and the love. But what happens when her bodyguard comes back and shows her that the life her family had protected her from, is the life she fits into?

“This place is huge. Don't you ever get lonely?" “I do,” he grinned. “That's why I can't wait for you to marry me and move in.” I laughed, shaking my head. "You're crazy.” “Crazy about you and I don't even know why.” *** She wants a green card. He wants revenge. But it seems they'll get more than they bargained for.