Hoping Hoping

"Ivy, you are not good enough for my family. You just seem to be getting more difficult with each passing day, and frankly speaking, you're not useful to me anymore," Leon said, standing in front of her in his half-naked state. ___ When Ivy discovered her fiancé in a hotel room with her cousin, her world came crashing down. They had been planning to get married in the coming months, but he clearly no longer cared. They say patience is rewarded, but in Ivy's case, the opposite seemed true. She had endured his physical, mental, and verbal abuse, hoping he would change, but she was clearly mistaken. Sleeping with her cousin was the final straw, and Ivy decided to walk away. However, when she realized he had taken all of her money and even taken out debt in her name, she found herself facing a race against time to pay off these debts. "Be my surrogate, and you won't have to worry about the loans anymore!" her creditor pleaded. Left with no other choice, Ivy agreed to be his surrogate. But what would happen when he brought in his donor, only for her to discover that it was Leon, her ex-boyfriend?

17 was the year everything shattered. My parents divorced. My lover cheated. My best friend deceived me. Now, all I want is to survive senior year in silence. But silence isn’t possible when your skin suddenly glows with weird runes, the world freezes in arithmetic class, and a recruiter pulls you to The Obsidian Academy school for monsters that shouldn’t exist. I don’t know what I am. But the boys here… they appear determined to find out: A storm-eyed werewolf who saves me but swears I’ll ruin him. A vampire prince who says my blood is his alone. A dragon boy who nearly burns me alive protecting me. A sinfully hot professor who stares at me like I broke his heart in another life. I came here hoping for answers. Instead, I’ve unearthed a curse older than the Academy itself, one that binds me to them in ways I can’t fight. And when passion becomes deadly, treachery bleeds deeper than love. I thought I was human. But the monsters aren’t my foes. The true risk is what I’m becoming.

Moving to another state seemed to be the most logical answer for my problems. My dad got a job as a wildlife tracker and in less than a week we were gone. I'm leaving some things behind, or rather two people. I was conflicted about the relocation, yet I knew that it's what I needed to do. I'll be with my dad until my sister and mom join us later. The past year has been difficult for my sister health wise, so we are hoping for a fresh start. Entering the diner outside Bluehills, I could taste the atmosphere of the place; my senses heightened as I felt on edge. An imposing man approached me right away. He appeared to be the father of five men arguing fiercely over something on someone? One of the guys is screaming: “Mine” and seem to be going insane. Something strange was happening and my dad wasn't telling me anything about it. One quick glance at one of them made my heart race; I felt connected to him, to this town and alive for the first time ever. The nature here was greener and more vibrant, while its inhabitants were large, intense and secretive.

She married Cassian Rourke for money. She left him for love—the love he never gave her. Five years of a contract marriage. Five years of hoping proximity would turn into something real. But on their anniversary, when Lyra finally gathered the courage to confess her feelings, she overheard him confessing his to someone else. So she signed the divorce papers, packed her bags, and disappeared with the secret growing inside her. Two years later, she has built a new life. A quiet house. A beautiful daughter with platinum blonde hair and slate-blue eyes. Peace. Until she rents out her spare room to a tattooed grad student with a familiar last name. Luca Rourke. Cassian's half-brother. The family black sheep. And the only person standing between Lyra and the custody battle Cassian is threatening the moment he discovers Eleanor exists. His solution? Marriage. A fake one, of course. But the Rourke family doesn't play fair. And Luca's hiding secrets of his own, secrets that could destroy everything Lyra's fought to protect. Sometimes the greatest danger isn't falling for the wrong brother. It's falling for the right one.

Natalie Taylor has one goal when she signs up as a companion at Dreams: to make a shit ton of money and get out fast. She's not looking for adventure or hoping for love and romance. But days into her moonlighting job, her quiet determination is shaken when she confronts her biggest problem yet—Levi Van Holt, heir to a mega-billion hotel chain and CEO of a gaming startup. Levi is everything she wants in a man. Gorgeous, wealthy and generous to boot. There's just one problem. He's her new boss... Harbouring a dark secret and nursing wounds from his past, Levi has one rule and one rule only for his companion: no falling in love. But with his desires continually tested, the more time he spends with Natalie, it doesn't take long for both their lives, real and secret, to converge, the lines between illusion and reality begin to blur, and the temptation to break his only rule becomes harder to resist. © 2022 Val Sims. All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author and publishers.

“This time”, he said quietly “you won’t walk away untouched.” He walked away. Two years after her father is convicted of murdering Holly Voss, Keira Reed arrives at Blackthorn University on a scholarship, hoping for a chance at a normal life. Instead, she is forced to confront the past she tried to escape when she comes face to face with Adrian Voss, the son of the woman her father was accused of killing. As Keira struggles to navigate a world dominated by wealth and legacy, she begins receiving anonymous messages from a source known only as Judas. The information she receives suggests that her father may have been framed, and that the truth behind the murder was deliberately hidden. Her search for answers leads her into a web of buried secrets tied to powerful families and a secret society that operates from the shadows. The deeper she investigates, the more she realizes that the case against her father was only part of something much larger. Caught between suspicion, danger, and a growing connection with Adrian, Keira must decide how far she is willing to go to uncover the truth. Because at Blackthorn, power protects its own. And some secrets were never meant to be exposed.

One divorce. One hundred dollars. One hell of a mistake. Katherine West had it all, until her husband, George, dropped a bomb on their five-year anniversary: He’s gay, he’s in love, and she’s evicted. Left with a frozen bank account and a shattered heart, Katherine decides to go out with a bang. She spends her last hundred dollars on the most dangerous-looking man at The Gilded Lily, hoping for one night of friction to erase five years of lies. It worked. It was the best mistake of her life. Until the next morning, when a court order forces Katherine and George to live together for ninety days of marriage counseling. George has lost his fortune and moved them into his mysterious new lover’s penthouse to save face. The door opens, and Katherine meets her new landlord: Killian McLeroy. The man she hired last night. The man her husband calls the love of his life." Now, Katherine is trapped in a house of glass with the man who knows her body, the man who stole her husband, and a secret that could burn all of Manhattan down. Ninety days. Two enemies. One bed. Let the games begin.

At 28 years old, Aubrielle Allison Caballero returns to Andalucia carrying a name that commands power, fear, and influence. Born into the province’s most dominant political dynasty, her future was meant to be written in government halls—but Aubrielle chose a different path. Determined to become a doctor, she comes home hoping to rebuild her life on her own terms. Now 29, Emilio Fidel Valencia has transformed into a respected and formidable leader. Once a quiet boy watching from the sidelines, he now stands at the forefront of a town determined to rise from years of political control. But behind his strength lies a past deeply scarred by the Caballero name. When fate forces Aubrielle and Emilio back into each other’s lives, unresolved emotions ignite beneath layers of pride, anger, and unfinished history. What begins as tension slowly becomes something far more dangerous—a love neither of them planned, yet neither can deny. As political ambitions clash and long-buried truths threaten to surface, they must choose between loyalty to their legacies and the undeniable pull of their hearts. In a province ruled by power and haunted by the past, love may be the only thing strong enough to change everything.

Alpha Fabian's first reaction to learning I was his fated mate? Rejection. But drunk at the bonfire festival, he couldn't fight the pull of fate. He marked me. Marking a rejected mate came with a price. His power weakened. Forced into a bond with me, he despised me. For two years, I bled for him. I did 100 impossible things, just hoping for a single glance. I snuck into forbidden lands for rare herbs. I negotiated with enemy packs. I fought on the front lines for him in pack wars, always coming back covered in scars. But the one he truly loved was my adopted sister, Gloria. Even my own parents, the pack's Beta, hated me. I was their lost daughter, raised by rogues for fifteen years. But they only had eyes for their perfect, obedient adopted girl. Then, on my 100th task, I nearly died in the Valley of Shadows. When I woke up, I had amnesia. I was done chasing a cold mate and a family's love I'd never have. And when I finally walked away, Fabian discovered the truth. It was never me who couldn't live without him. It was always him.

When Carmen finally had the opportunity to submit her work at an art gallery alongside thousands of other women, she didn’t think twice and instead forged ahead to try her luck. Luck was definitely on her side because she was called into the office of the CEO of the gallery where he made her a mouthwatering proposal, become his wife for a year or two for a million dollars. Andres' need for a wife surpasses any other thing going on in his life at the moment and when he saw Carmen, he knew he had to make her his wife, even for a short time. She fit perfectly into what he needed her for. Upon agreement, the dream marriage Carmen was hoping for seemed to be more of nightmares and secrets when trials and backstabbing keeps showing up. She finds out the truth about Andres’ wealth and even worse, her new best friend wasn’t what he actually seemed to be. Will the love she was beginning to feel for him overshadow her sense of responsibility and keep on with Andres? Will Andres decide to trust her with his secrets in order for them to be able to fight the people who keep showing up to destroy not only their marriage but them as a whole? Will their love be enough?