I'll Always Come Back To You

My younger brother, Owen Rivera, and I are playing in Dad's refrigerated truck. Owen wants to grab my ice cream from me, but I refuse to let him have his way. He shoves me forcefully, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the floor, knocking me out on the spot. When I finally wake up and locate him in the freezer, I find out that he's gotten reduced to a frozen statue. The security footage shows that Owen has been screaming the words "Mommy, help me!" hysterically for three hours before his death. After Mom is done watching the footage, she breaks down on the spot. Then, she yanks me by my hair before slamming me against the wall. "What were you doing? You were at the entrance, dammit! Why didn't you open the door for Owen?" With reddened eyes, Dad throws me into the freezer. "Owen was cold and frightened in the freezer! You should have a taste of the same thing too!" The thick and heavy door is slammed in my face. Darkness and a bone-chilling coldness devour me instantly. I curl into a small ball in the corner Owen has just died in. My teeth are starting to chatter, and my consciousness is starting to slip away. I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. I don't feel cold. I'm not cold at all. I will never eat ice cream ever again in my next lifetime.

All the relatives knew I had a "backward cousin." For my birthday, she gave me a grocery-store pound cake. When I ran a marathon, she presented me with a pair of worn-out canvas sneakers. At my graduate school acceptance party, she even sent a funeral wreath of white lilies with a sash that read "In Sympathy," wishing me an early departure to the afterlife. In my previous life, I slapped her so hard she tumbled down the porch steps. My brother took her side and plotted revenge, falsely reporting to the university that I had cheated on my SATs. My admission was revoked. "You're so modern. You know how things work," he sneered. "Plenty of people take a gap year. Just apply again." My father also defended her, cutting off all my financial support. "You've had so much schooling. You're so educated," he said coldly. "Support yourself." Alone in a city eighteen hundred miles from home, I fought to survive. I called my brother and my father again and again—only to be blocked. I delivered food while renting a room and studying to reapply. At my lowest, my hands were raw and cracked from frostbite, scrambling for delivery shifts at four in the morning just to earn a small bonus. Worn down by the cold and exhaustion, I suffered cardiac arrest at twenty-three and collapsed in a snowdrift in that unfamiliar city. No one ever came to claim me. This time, I chose to let it go and accepted the wreath with a gracious smile. To fully integrate myself into this family. After all, what is a moment of pride compared to a lifetime's inheritance?

Aliyah Sanchez, a twenty-seven years old young independent author, after she managed to get out of her first marriage that almost ruined her life, decided to live the rest of her life caring for her happiness, which was her daughter. Giving love another chance was the last thing she would ever do, but that would only last until she met Jeffrey Cooper, a thirty-two years old bachelor and the CEO of a publishing company, who was hell-bent on winning the single mom's heart over. Will Aliyah ever give him a chance?

Eve grew up in a small town. Having a difficult time she runs away trying to escape the ghosts of her past. Ghost don't stay away for long. After meeting a mysterious stranger and all around bad boy she falls back into her old patters. Eventually she's forced to face everything and everyone she ran away from...including her ex boyfriend.

Based on the untrue writings of the Satanic Panic. The Satanic Panic was a moral outcry in the United States over supposed “satanic” influence in media that were warping the youth of America. Claims that playing an elf in Dungeons and Dragons could lead to demonic possession, that playing heavy metal music backwards would reveal satanic messages, and that therapists could uncover repressed memories of satanic ritual abuse, were all too common. Volumes and volumes of material were produced on this fake subject. These texts lead to What Hell May Come, which takes a look at what the world would actually be like if all of the claims of the satanic panic were true. Set in 1986, Jon St. Fond’s life is a living Hell. Deliberately abused and neglected by his parents, the only joy he has in life is an escape into a fantasy land of role playing games. Soon he discovers that his parents are part of a secret occult religion with hidden ties all across the world. As Jon and his friends dig, they learn more of the secret history of the world and discover the power of making deals with creatures from Beyond. However, power has its price, as Jon and his friends quickly discover. One-by-one they begin to become consumed by their own desires and hatreds. Jon learns there is method behind the madness of his life, as his Father begins to bring him closer and closer into the ways of the cult. Ultimately, Jon must make a choice between all the pleasures of the earth and the future of his soul. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Getting falsely arrested feels like a scene from a bad movie for rising star Gloriana Templeton, especially when she discovers the conditions of her release: round-the-clock surveillance by world-class lawyer Griffin Blackwood-Carter. Ignoring her attraction to the sinfully sexy man who crushed her youthful heart is getting harder by the minute! Gloriana belongs to Griffin now, and when he says jump, she’d better ask how high! With a reputation founded on control, he’s determined not to lose his head over this little minx again. But he blazes white-hot every time he looks at her, and it’s burning away his couldn’t-care-less façade!

When Jolaade's world is shattered by heartbreak and loss, she never expects to find love again. But then she meets Zach, a charismatic and successful billionaire actor who sweeps her off her feet. As they embark on a whirlwind romance, Jolaade must confront her dark past and learn to trust again. But Zach has secrets of his own and so does she, and their love is put to the test when their secrets and pasts threaten to tear them apart. Will Jolaade and Zach fight for their love, or will the shadows of their pasts destroy their chance at happiness? Dive into this emotional rollercoaster of a romance to find out. Get ready for a heart-stopping, pulse-pounding ride into the depths of love, lust, and redemption.

Not even three years into their marriage could Gabriella Carrington capture Henry Toussaint's heart. Instead, following the return of Henry's first love, all Gabriella receives is a divorce agreement and a brutal slap from reality. "Will you still leave me if I'm pregnant?" Gabriella asks, in which Henry affirms adamantly. It was what it took for her to finalize the divorce and let her dreams die. Only, Henry seems to want a second chance now that she has finally given up.

Five years into their marriage, Sierra Bell never imagined her own husband would ask her to share him with another woman. "She's important to me. I want you to accept her," were his words. He even made a promise to her. "As long as you agree to this, you'll always be my wife. No one can take your place." She had met him at her lowest point. He married her, cherished her, and indulged her in every way. She always thought that no one could ever love her more than him. But now, she realized that everything was just a colossal joke. - John Henderson never expected the delicate canary he had raised to ask him for a divorce. He didn't stop her. He let her go, sure that she would eventually fail on her own and come back begging. But Sierra, soft in name and stubborn in nature, would never look back no matter how hard or painful the journey. He couldn't help but ask, "Can't you just give in for once?" Later, Sierra finally gave in. Right after that, she vanished from his world completely. John, who had never known fear, suddenly found himself terrified. Much later, she reappeared, arm in arm with another man. John, eyes red, cornered her behind a door, half-crazed. "Sierra, you really are heartless!"

I once thought I had the most dangerous yet the most perfect love in the whole world. My lover, Dante Costello, is the Underboss of the Costello family. He carries himself with grace and nobility. Everyone fears and respects him, yet he only shows his gentle side to me. I used to think that the man who keeps lurking in the shadows and has once left humiliating marks on me while gazing at me with cold eyes is his brother, Luciano Costello. Luciano is a Capo who lives in the shadows. He's also a madman whose hands are stained with blood. Everything changes when I smell the unique scent of gunpowder and blood that only Luciano has from Dante's custom-fitted suit. Only then do I realize that I have never just belonged to one man all this time. During the day, Dante plays the role of my perfect lover. He showers me with jewelry and deadly romance. At night, Luciano transforms into a devil who satisfies his twisted, possessive urges in the roughest way possible. Both brothers have set up an elaborate trap to lock me up in this gilded cage and admire my struggles from afar. When I find out about the truth, I don't cry or bleed over it. Instead, I'm filled with eerie calmness. The brothers want to watch me break down. Instead of doing that, I'll ruin them. I flutter effortlessly between the brothers, using their only weakness against them. Apparently, both of them think that they are the only hunters in this game. This time, it's my turn to weave them a trap.