I Never Thought Of It That Way

"A great alpha handles pack affairs outside, and chores at home." my mate Luke had posted. I stared at these words. It was a post from my mate, Luke's Instagram. In the picture he was in a vineyard pruning grapes. Chores at home? Luke who would not even help me to clean a table was actually helping someone else. He had left this morning saying he was going on werewolf business, but from these pictures he was at a she-wolf's vineyard in our pack. A bitter smile escaped my lips as I quietly liked the post and put of my phone. Whatever was coming next, I did not know. But I knew it was over.

For three years of marriage, Jeanette Schafer had devoted herself completely to caring for Skyler Weisberg, who was confined to a wheelchair. Yet, Skyler harbored nothing but contempt for her. He hated her touch so much that the last time she accidentally brushed against his legs, he locked her out of their home for 99 days. The day finally came when Skyler's legs had healed enough for him to stand again. Yet, the first thing he did was to drive straight to the airport to pick up his first love. Years of selfless devotion and tender care meant nothing compared to his 'the one that got away'. Swallowing the heartbreak, Jeanette made a call. She whispered, "The contract is fulfilled. I'm filing for divorce." Only after she walked away did Skyler realize what he had lost. But by then, it was already too late.

The day my wife slept with her terminally ill “male best friend” to take his virginity, I left a divorce agreement behind and walked out. Before I left, I commented under their hand-holding photo on Instagram. [Let's get divorced. I wish you and Theo a long and happy life together.] One minute later, she called me. "Logan, how did I end up marrying someone as selfish as you? Can you really let him die without someone to carry on his line?" I sneered and replied that she wasn't my wife anymore, so that wasn't really my problem. She panicked.

When 19-year-old waitress Millie takes a summer job as companion to wealthy Lady Vera Ashington at her Suffolk stately home, she has no idea that a mystery will unfold which puts her own life and her family's business at risk. Unexplained deaths will test her morality. Can the end justify the means? Lady Ashington (Vera) fears a breakdown due to personal regrets. She has one last go at seeking long-term happiness. Having taken Millie as a companion, the two women become friends and enjoy arguing about Vera's wealth and her inability to use it wisely. ‘ Too much cake', is the problem. Millie empowers Vera. She keeps a first person diary, and includes Vera's viewpoint. This diary is the novel. It tells how the talents of two very different women, when harnessed, move mountains. But, Vera's local influence means every good deed, leaves a loser. Millie had not appreciated this and conflicts mount. Things reach a head when a couple in the village, are murdered . The evidence isn't clear. Who would profit from their deaths? Is Vera implicated? Must Millie fear for her life?

Five years into my relationship with a Godfather-to-be, I realized Cicio Russo had fallen for someone else. And I decided that the choice should be his. I laid the options right in front of him: break up with me, or send that someone else far away overseas. Cicio Russo stood outside my windows all night, down there with the coldness of the night cutting through him and fogging his breath. By morning, Cicio told me that he'd decided. His choice was me. Or at least - that was what I was made to believe. Surprise came on the very day of our wedding, a strange little boy ran straight down the aisle that was supposed to be mine to walk. “Daddy,” he cried at Cicio and Cicio’s face of stony indifference, “What about me? You have left mommy already. Are you going to abandon me, too?” The ring slipped from Cicio’s hand and hit the carpet with a muted thud. He turned his back on me and walked away without even looking back. I pulled off the white veil. And I snatched the microphone from the host. “If you take one more step,” I screamed into the microphone, “if you leave, I will give all this up. And you, too. Do you hear me? I will give you up.” He froze. For only one second. Then he stepped away anyway.

After my family went bankrupt, my fiancé, Thaddeus Blackwood, firmly broke off our engagement and chose Vivienne Winters instead. It was Sterling Knight who helped me clear my debts and arranged my father's funeral, rescuing me from financial ruin. For the next three years, he remained steadfastly by my side. Just when I believed I had found my salvation, I overheard a conversation between Sterling and his friend the day before our wedding. "Do you really plan to marry Arabella Frost? Aren't you afraid she'll eventually discover that you orchestrated her father's death and her family's bankruptcy?" "Vivienne has already married Thaddeus," Sterling replied. "I might as well marry her. And if she finds out, so what? I paid off her debts and gave her father a proper burial. I've done right by her." Only then did I realize that Sterling had deceived me too. From beginning to end, I was the only one truly invested in this relationship.

When Isabelle's mother, an ambitious socialite, marries for the fourth time, she introduces Isabelle to her new stepfamily. To Isabelle's horror, her new stepbrother is none other than Logan Sinclair—the very boy who tormented her during high school. Seeing him again rekindles all the old fears and resentments. To make matters worse, Isabelle is soon hired as Logan's secretary at Sinclair Enterprises, the megacorporation run by Logan’s father. Isabelle braces for the worst, expecting her nightmare to continue. But instead of cruelty, Logan is calm, professional, and oddly protective of her. Isabelle is torn. The wounds of her past run deep, and the humiliation she endured at his hands isn’t easily forgotten. Can people truly change? Or is Logan just playing a long game, trying to manipulate her emotions once again?

Cyril is a sophomore student who is just like any other teenager. Just recently before their freshmen year ended, he had admitted a secret to his clubmates, thus making him the bullies' target. This resulted in him losing his friends and be left with one true friend, Hera. Everything seemed chaotic already until they became classmates with a supposed to be senior student named, Kode. The older guy, on the other, is a loner. He has repeated the year level for 2 years already because he doesn't want to attend school anymore, but his parents force him to. However, after a long drive home from the prom party at the end of the school year all of their lives completely changed, though, they were unsure if the change was for better or worse.

On her way to Nashville to try her hand at a singing career, Alyssa Collins meets Logan Ambrose, her soul mate in every way. Not only is he a great singer and guitar player, he has a down-to-earth personality to die for. Soon, he proposes and they make plans for the future, but everything changes in an instant. A month later, she wakes from a coma only to learn that her life has changed forever. Lost and distraught, Alyssa tries to make sense of her life. Needing to make a change, she puts her singing career behind her and finds herself in law school. Ten years later, she is a lawyer and she takes a job in New York with a prestigious firm. When Alyssa goes to New York for a political fundraiser, something happens that changes her life again. With more questions than answers, can she find it in herself to go on with her life … if tomorrow never comes?

On the day of my wedding, the video I had painstakingly prepared was suddenly replaced with intimate photos of my fiancé and my foster sister, Lindsey Remmington. Within minutes, it hit the top of the trending list. Overnight, I, a celebrated actress, became the abandoned bride of a wealthy family and a public laughingstock. Just when I thought I'd reached rock bottom, Connor Presley, the heir of Elluel City's most powerful family and the boy I'd grown up with, returned from abroad. In front of flashing cameras, he knelt with a diamond ring and proposed, silencing every rumor and every sneer. After we married, we appeared inseparable, our affection the picture of perfection. The only flaw was his infertility—his condition made it nearly impossible for me to conceive. For three long years, I underwent countless rounds of IVF. At last, I became pregnant. Connor was overjoyed. To celebrate, he threw an extravagant party in honor of our long-awaited child. But in the middle of the revelry, one of his closest friends, drunk and unguarded, muttered in Russian, "Connor, you've gone too far. Just because Lindsey was afraid pregnancy would ruin her figure, you put the zygote into Rachel's body and let her carry the baby for you two? If she ever finds out the truth, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Connor's expression didn't waver. "This was Lindsey's only wish. I had to grant it," he replied coolly. "Besides, having a child with Lindsey has always been my dream. Only her child deserves to be the heir of the Presley family. The days ahead are long—I'll make it up to Rachel, eventually." I stood frozen, my body trembling uncontrollably. That night, I made an appointment for an abortion. When Connor stormed into the hospital, raging like a madman, I looked up at him with chilling calm and said, "I understand Russian."