How Did Escanor Die Novels & Stories

I was vacationing in St. Moritz, Switzerland with my mother when Vivian from the Valenti family office sent me a photo. The woman in it lay on the cold marble floor of the estate, her coat stripped away, her body covered in blood. No one stood near her, as if she had already been set aside like a problem to be dealt with. It was hard to tell if she was still breathing. A voice message followed, her tone sharp and controlled. “Elena, don’t assume that marrying the Don and being called Donna means your small-town family can step onto Valenti property.” “The lakeside estate Mr. Valenti just acquired is a family asset. Letting someone like your mother stay there breaks rules.” “I act on the Don’s behalf. It is my responsibility to remove people who should not be there.” “This is what happens when someone crosses a line.” I went still. Then I looked up at my mother sitting across from me. She held her tea, calm as ever. I lowered my eyes and enlarged the photo. The moment I saw the woman’s face, my chest tightened. It was not my mother. It was Luca’s. I called Vivian immediately. “Have you lost your mind? That’s Luca’s mother.” She gave a light laugh, her tone cool and distant. “Mr. Valenti has always been clear. Your mother is yours. His mother is his.” “The Valenti family does not take in outsiders.” “You may be Donna, but that does not mean your family steps inside with you.”

The day I learned the truth about my husband, Duke Alistair, and his adopted sister, Liana, I left. I abandoned my title, my home, and returned to my father's palace. A year passed. Then came news of chaos in the duchy. The servant Alistair sent spoke with desperation, “Your Highness, the Duke and your son are lost to reason. If you don’t return, I fear they will burn everything to the ground.” I looked at the blood I'd coughed onto my handkerchief. I nodded. "Fine. I'll go back." The doctor had already given me my diagnosis. Consumption. I had only a month left to live. So I went back. And I played the part of the perfect duchess. I no longer demanded Alistair's loyalty. I even found him three new mistresses who looked just like Liana and sent them to his bed after he had sent her away for me. I no longer made Damian study the arts of statecraft and not forced him to master his courtly duties. Instead, I supported his ridiculous dream of joining the Expeditionary Force. I took the pain they gave me. I wrapped it in the "understanding" they always craved. And I served it back to them cold. But it drove Alistair mad. He threw out the mistresses. He crushed me in his arms. His kiss was a punishment. He bit my lip, drawing blood. "I sent Liana away! What more do you want from me? How can I earn your forgiveness?" Damian cried and clung to my arm. "I'll never call Aunt Liana 'gentle' or 'beautiful' again! Mother, please. Just stop." They didn't understand. I wasn't making a scene. I just wanted to live out my last month in peace. And then, I wanted to die.

Tyla never imagined that the person she loved could bring her to the brink of death. As a vulnerable Omega working as the Prince's personal maid, she fell in love with Reynold, and after three years of dating, she dreamt of a future together. Her hopes were like a dream come true when she learned that Reynold was her Mate, filling her with joy. Excitedly, she shared the news with him, expecting to see his happiness, only to face rejection. Tyla soon discovered that Reynold was set to marry Loara, the Alpha's daughter, in just two days. While dragging the matter, Loara was fueled by anger and pushed Tyla, causing her to hit her head and bleed. Scared of the consequences, Reynold and Loara dumped her at the edge of the pack territory, abandoned in favor of another pack. As Tyla gasped for breath, fearing for her life, a group of soldiers arrived to rescue her. Among them is Arthur, the Lycan Alpha, who happens to be her second chance mate Now, for a weak Omega like Tyla, what will it mean to have a second chance mate who is a powerful Lycan Alpha? How will she navigate this unexpected turn of events?

I'm the daughter of Don Falcone. After I got back from studying abroad, my family threw a welcome-home banquet, conveniently setting me up to meet the fiancé my father had handpicked for me—Santino Moretti. My father praised the guy to the skies in his letters: he was the heir to the Moretti family, elegant, ruthless, drop-dead gorgeous, and holding half the city’s underground operations in the palm of his hand. I arrived at the Elysium Hotel right on the dot. Just as I was about to take a seat, a hand shoved me hard. A woman's shrill voice pierced my ear. "Livia, what's a Sicilian peasant like you doing here? This is the Imperial Suite. Do you think you even deserve to breathe the air in a place like this?" I recognized the woman. It was Bella, a bitch who had always had it out for me back in college. She was clearly trying to humiliate me. Instead of getting mad, I smirked. "Whether I deserve to be here or not—is that for you to decide?" Bella sneered, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm Mr. Santino's personal assistant. Today, Mr. Santino is hosting the eldest daughter of the Falcone family here. This isn't an occasion for bottom-feeding trash like you." "Be smart and crawl back to your slum." I pulled out my phone and dialed my so-called fiancé. I wanted to ask him if it was a tradition in the Moretti family to let their dogs bark at the front door.

He looked right through me. Alpha Damon, my fated mate, saw only a cursed, scentless servant unworthy of his notice. His rejection was a cold blade to the heart. Then, blood and chaos shattered everything. A rogue attack broke the curse binding my true Alpha power, revealing the wolf he’d scorned. Now, he sees me. Now, he wants me. The pursuit has begun – fierce, desperate, possessive. He tries apologies, demands, even force, driven by the bond he denied. But I am not the broken girl he remembers. He will learn that earning forgiveness from the Luna he brutalized means bowing before the power he dismissed. The chase is on, but this time, I set the rules.

The night before my wedding, I found out I was pregnant. That same night, I found out my fiancé had already chosen another woman to give him his first child. Adrian DeLuca, heir to a mafia empire and the man who once swore I was the only woman he would ever love, came home carrying her perfume on his clothes and told me, as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world, that it was only a medical arrangement. His dead friend’s widow needed an heir, and after I had failed to give him one through sixty-six rounds of IVF, he had decided this was the best solution for everyone. I said nothing. I let him go on preparing the wedding. I let him believe I would still walk down the aisle and become Mrs. DeLuca. But while he was planning our ceremony, I was planning my disappearance. On our wedding day, the estate would still open its doors. The guests would still arrive. The ceremony would still begin. But the bride Adrian DeLuca betrayed would die there. By the time he learned the truth, that I had been carrying his child all along, I would already be gone under a new name, taking his heir somewhere he could never reach.

I was once the Alpha's adopted daughter, but I took the fall for the man I loved and spent three years in the Pack prison. Then I had his pup before we were ever mated. This was the ninety-ninth time I'd asked for a mating ceremony. He swept his arm across the desk and sent everything crashing to the floor. "You really think you deserve to be mated to me? You've done time. You're nothing." "I've been too good to you. You've forgotten your place." But he was the one who'd promised. He said once I had the baby, we'd have the ceremony and be mates. He slammed the door on his way out. He didn't come home for three months. He cut me off completely. The power and water were shut off. My pup Lily had a fever that wouldn't break. I had no choice. I carried her to Pack headquarters to find him, and that's when I heard him talking to Serena. "Babe, when are you finally going to leave that trashy Ivy? We're the ones who actually went through the ceremony. We're the real mates." His voice went all soft and indulgent, and it made my skin crawl. "I want to cut ties with her too. It's her fault — she couldn't give me a son." "She's done time. How could she ever be worthy of me?" But he seemed to have forgotten — the reason I was locked up in the first place was because I took the fall for him.

My family's mall was running a major New Year's Eve event. My father, the chairman, sent me to oversee the floor as a shareholder. That night, the crowd built past capacity, and a stampede broke out. I was at the bottom of a pile, suffocating. My boyfriend, an executive at the mall, was reaching past me. He was lifting my best friend out of the crowd. She didn't have a scratch on her. He cradled her and disappeared down the corridor. The comms earpiece on my headset stayed on. His voice came through it. "Vivian, are you okay? How could you listen to her? How could you let her drag you somewhere this dangerous?" "Don't worry about her. She’s built tougher than you—she can take it. But you... You’re too delicate to be marked by scars." They got Vivian out. I had a broken rib and was admitted in critical condition. After the dust settled, I asked Cole why he hadn't prioritized me. He looked me in the eye. "Mall events are managed. Look at you. You're fine. This is my promotion window. You're my girlfriend. If I had pulled you out first, that's favoritism. Don't make a scene. Go check on Vivian. She was scared half to death." I tightened my fist under the blanket. I called my father. "Dad. The stampede at Hartline Mall. I'm calling the hearing myself."

Isabel Queens chose love over her legacy. She wanted a fairytale ending with her Prince Charming, Leo Hunters, even if it was going to cost her everything. Her perfect marriage to Leo crashed when he started maltreating her, abusing her, cheating on her and finally requested to open up their marriage. Isabel was scorned. The man she abandoned her family for and walked away from her legacy ended up stabbing her in the back in the most brutal way possible. She was twisted with revenge, vowing to get back her pound of flesh. Thus, she accepted to open up her marriage and made sure he witnessed her getting banged by three hot male billionaires. What started as a means to get back at her selfish husband ended up with her getting tangled amid three close friends, who were best of friends and business partners; Ares Blackville, Marcos De Santos and Harvey Smith. Will Isabel get carried away by their attention and choose one of them or give in to what she felt for three of them?

“Some desires aren’t meant to be resisted, only enjoyed.” **** DDD: Daddies Dirty Desires is a playful collection of steamy short stories filled with bold fantasies, teasing power plays, and adults who know exactly what they want. Fun, flirty, and dangerously addictive—these tales prove that dirty desires are meant to be enjoyed, not denied.