Hugh Glass

On the day my twin sister, Alexia Cavanaugh, and I turn 22, I collapse and find out that I have late-stage cancer. Ignoring the doctor's advice to be admitted, I walk out of the hospital. All I want is to spend one final birthday with my family without a single worry. But when I arrive at the party, a server stops me at the door and tells me the venue has been reserved exclusively for Alexia. Outsiders aren't allowed in. Through the glass, I watch as my brother holds a cake and my father places a birthday hat on Alexia's head. Even my boyfriend is there, smiling as Alexia makes a wish. I stand there for half an hour, gripping my phone, before my boyfriend finally answers my call. "I was just at the hospital. I—" He cuts me off. "Ophelia, you've always been healthy. It's Lexi's birthday today. We should talk later." Isn't today my birthday too? My mother died giving birth to me. The doctor later explained that I deprived Alexia of nutrients before birth, which left her frail from the start. And just like that, everyone decided I should always step aside for my twin, who was born five minutes before me. I ball up the report with my cancer diagnosis and toss it in the trash. I'm done letting their favoritism hurt me. I've never received their love anyway, so I choose to leave for good.

"Sign the papers, Zack. Three years was the deal. I’m done being your sanctuary." Zack stared at the man who had dragged him out of the dirt and taught him how to breathe again. Nathan Durand, the crown prince of the Cocolink syndicate, stood like a monolith of ice, his silver eyes devoid of the heat that usually scorched Zack’s skin in the dark. "Is it because of her?" Zack’s voice was a jagged glass fragment. "Because Madeline is back?" "It’s because you’re a liability," Nathan snapped, his jaw tight enough to crack bone. "I need a partner who carries a blade, not a ghost who jumps at shadows." THE BLURB Broken. Sold. Silent. Zackary Moreau spent a decade rotting in a basement, a secret prisoner of a man who used his rare bloodline as a laboratory experiment. When he finally breaks free, he doesn’t find liberty—he finds Nathan Durand. The lethal heir to the Cocolink mafia empire is everything Zack should fear: possessive, violent, and cold. But Nathan offers a bargain Zack can’t refuse: three years of marriage in exchange for a name that keeps the world at bay. Saved. Owned. Obsessed. For three years, they lived a lie that felt dangerously like a life. Nathan turned the shivering boy into a man of the syndicate, protecting him with a brutality that bordered on madness. But as the contract’s end date looms, the shadows return. Rival bosses want Zack’s blood, and a woman from Nathan’s past is back to claim the throne. On the eve of their anniversary, Nathan delivers the final blow: he wants a divorce.

My boss, Walton Frazier, loves tricking me into wearing tight shirts and having the top three buttons undone before forcing me to entertain the female clients. Then, he drops hints to said that I'm young and have a great physique, only to wait with bated breath for the clients to start touching me. His excuse is that he wants to test the clients' characters to see if they really are worthy to work with. As soon as the clients fall for the trap hook, line, and sinker, Walton will rush out toward them in a righteous manner and slam his wine glass onto the table. After that, he'll start lecturing me as though I've done something awfully wrong. "Is there not a prideful bone in your body? Do you want to hit your sales target that badly that you're willing to forsake your pride as a man?" Walton chooses to trample all over me just so he can build his manly and righteous persona. This time, he specifically prepares a suit with a deep V-line that's made of light material. Then, he forces me to toast to a client with an extremely rich and powerful background in that suit. He even threatens to dock off three months' worth of perfect attendance pay if I don't do this. When I notice the familiar cold-looking yet striking face at the main seat, I can't help but smile. If my older sister, Mable Cobb, were to see me toasting to her in this kind of outfit, I have a feeling she'll clean out the trash for me and make me the boss of this company by tomorrow.

Due to an accident, my wife and I lost our lives in a massive fire. When we open our eyes again, we find ourselves back on the day we registered our marriage. In our last life, everyone thought we were the perfect couple. Little did they know that my wife, Queenie Lloyd, refused to consummate our marriage. Right before my death, I found out that I was nothing but a replacement for her first love. Queenie had intended to remain chaste for him for the rest of her life. After being reborn, neither of us speaks of the past. By an unspoken agreement, we get a divorce that very day and go on to live separate lives. Eight years later, she attends an industry summit holding her childhood sweetheart's arm. She's now a rising star in the business world. I am dressed in plain clothes. When she notices me, she walks over with a champagne glass in hand. "Mr. Lawrence! Even if you still have feelings for me, you didn't have to disguise yourself as a waiter just to approach me. Are you still trying to convince me to get back together with you?" she sneers. I ignore her and smile as I wave at someone nearby. My son runs over to me and tugs on the corner of my shirt. "Mommy said she's tired, Daddy. She wants to know when you're coming to pick us up," he tells me. Upon hearing this, Queenie's face stiffens immediately, and she almost drops her wine glass.

Sherry Hart never imagined the family business would crumble in her hands. With nowhere else to turn, she strikes a desperate deal with Enzo Blackwood, cold, calculating, and dangerously handsome, the elusive billionaire known for his ruthless business tactics and a heart as cold as his empire's towering glass walls. Enzo doesn’t make deals without control. In exchange for saving Sherry’s Fashion House, he demands 5 years of her life as his Personal assistant. Bound by a contract neither can break, what starts as a transactional arrangement soon sparks fiery clashes as Sherry challenges Enzo's authority at every turn. At the very moment she vows to guard her heart, Sherry resolves to keep their relationship strictly professional. But she's pulled deeper into Enzo’s high-stakes world, where hidden enemies lurk behind designer suits and whispered threats. Enzo reveals a side she never imagined: fierce, protective, and willing to fight for her. But the moments when Enzo shields her from harm, exposing a fiercely protective side concealed beneath his cold demeanor, leave her truly shaken. As secrets unravel and desire blurs every line between them, Sherry faces a dangerous question: Can Sherry trust the man who holds both her career and heart hostage, And when desire turns into obsession, will Enzo risk everything for the woman he swore he could never love or is she just a puppet in Enzo’s ruthless game?

“You really think a chrome leash makes me yours?” Timothy’s voice was a jagged shard of glass, his pulse thrumming frantically against the cold metal of the Blackwell collar. Kan leaned in, the scent of expensive bourbon and gunpowder clinging to him. He captured Timothy’s chin, forcing those defiant lavender eyes to meet his own. “It doesn’t make you mine, little ghost. It just keeps you still long enough for me to show you why you’ll never want to leave.” Behind him, Gideon’s shadow fell over them both, heavy and suffocating. “Careful, Kan,” the enforcer rumbled, his knuckles still stained with the blood of the men who’d tried to stop them. “He’s a reaper. He doesn't want a home. He wants a body count.” One Ghost. Two Predators. No Escape. Timothy Gal is a shadow. A high-level operative for the Nash Rebellion, he’s spent his life as a nameless tool in the war-torn Sopttyi District. He doesn’t feel, he doesn’t miss, and he certainly doesn't belong to anyone. But when a routine surveillance mission in Saati Town goes south, he catches the eye of the two most dangerous men in the Blackwell Mafia. Gideon Blackwell is the muscle—a man of controlled violence and territorial hunger. Kan Nelblack is the mind—a predator with a silver tongue and a taste for absolute submission. They don’t just want Timothy’s secrets. They want his soul.

What can a woman do when her husband lost his memory and was now in love with another woman? Three years ago, I lay in a coma for a year after a car accident. When I woke up, not only didn’t my husband remember me, but he loves another woman, Ashlyn.  But I didn’t give up on us. Two months ago we got drunk, and we slept together for the first time in two years. But the next morning, Jayden was angrier than ever. He was convinced that he was drugged which was just another scheme of mine to win him back… I can’t forget the image of him staring at me with no emotions in his eyes and hands me the Divorce Agreement. Then I find out I was pregnant. The tiny life growing inside me made me stronger. Now it’s been three years and slowly each day got better. I started a little firm as a marketing and financial advisor, putting my education to use. My business partner, Phillip, has been helping me grow the company and we have grown very close. Phillip was so overwhelmed with emotion today since we are signing our biggest deal; his lips are on mine before I can stop him. When I turn around, the man standing at our glass door, glaring in at me and Phillip, is my ex-husband Jayden Brennan himself. Is there jealousy in his eyes? What does he want now?

My back hits the cold glass of the penthouse window, the city glittering a thousand feet below us. Sebastian’s hand is at my throat—not tight enough to hurt, but enough to remind me who I belong to. “You were talking to him,” he says, voice low, dangerous. His other hand is braced beside my head, caging me in. “You smiled.” “It was just—” “Don’t lie to me, Ocean.” His thumb brushes the hollow of my throat, and my pulse jumps so hard he feels it. “You’re mine. Every glance. Every breath. Every inch of you.” I should be furious. I should tell him I’m not his property. But then his mouth is on mine—rough, consuming, tasting like the whiskey he hasn’t let go of since the gala. I moan before I can stop myself. That’s all the permission he needs. His hand slides to my waist, fingers digging in as if he’s afraid I’ll vanish. The heat between us ignites like dry kindling. It’s dangerous. It’s too much. It’s everything. When he finally pulls back, his eyes are dark enough to drown in. “One year,” he murmurs. “That was the deal. But you… you’re making me want forever.” And in that moment, I know the worst truth of all— If Sebastian Velez decides to keep me, I won’t even try to run.

On my birthday, my adopted sister, Sophia Norris, frames me for soiling her dress and causing her to not be able to attend the banquet. My older brothers, Gerald and Gary Moore, immediately demand that I give my gown to Sophia. Otherwise, they will cancel the birthday banquet. Furious, I point at them while screaming, "I didn't ruin her dress at all! She was the one who splashed red wine onto it! "Also, I will never give my gown to her! My best friend designed it for me!" As soon as my words fall, Gerald commands the bodyguards to tear the gown from my body. At the same time, Gary picks up a wine glass and dumps red wine onto my face. "It's bad enough that you constantly bully Sophia! Today, her crush, Zachary Green, will be attending the banquet too! Do you have any idea how long she has prepared for this day to come?" Gerald adds, "A vile woman like you doesn't have the right to be born, let alone celebrate your birthday!" After that, a few bodyguards drag me into the basement. Immediately, pitch-black darkness swallows me. I have severe asthma. Breathing becomes insanely difficult for me as seconds tick by. I keep screaming loudly and calling for help, but all I hear is laughter coming from the banquet upstairs. It isn't until the banquet is well underway that Gerald and Gary remember that I exist. But I've already died in the cramped basement.

Everyone in New York knew that Don Lorenzo Capone loved his wife dearly. At the height of our love, he shielded me from a bullet that went straight through his chest. The hospital issued eleven critical condition notices. I cried myself hoarse at the door of the emergency room. "Lorenzo, don't you dare die on me, or I'll instantly find a pretty boy to marry and have children with!" He survived the ordeal, and the first thing he did when he opened his eyes was to marry me. After the marriage, he ruled over New York's largest underground empire with an iron fist, but never allowed any woman to get close to him. On our third wedding anniversary, I went to his private dock to give him a surprise. There, I saw him holding a pair of twins, teaching them how to shoot. The man who could kill without batting an eye was looking at the children with eyes full of affection. The children's mother was Elena Tribbiani, the daughter of an arms dealer who was his equal. "Lorenzo, what if Vivian finds out?" Lorenzo dismissed it casually. "A fragile porcelain doll like her is only fit to be displayed in a glass case. Only a she-wolf like you is worthy of bearing my family's cubs." It turned out, what I thought was true love was merely a carefully-woven lie. I did not confront him. Instead, I sent a text message to an FBI special agent. "Agent Smith, I have a list of the arms deal you’re investigating."