Johnny Cash

Book two. Please read "Not All That Glitters" before "Not All Who Wander Are Lost."Christmas 2019 in Auburn brought with it a chance for new beginnings. Complicated relationships started to mend and different recoveries were being made. As far as Whitney York and Hollis Bogard were concerned, they knew every hardship they'd face from that point on would be easier since they had each other for support.Fast forward to May, five months later. While making the last minute preparations for she and Whitney's Christmas gift to New York for a week, Hollis gets some disheartening news. If that weren't bad enough, patching things up with her parents was turning out to be a long, winding road. Dalton's prolonged, stressful testimonies to ensure he gets more than a cash settlement from the wealthy prick who put him in a wheelchair after driving drunk is the last straw. As Hollis starts wrestling with her inner demons again, slipping downward is inevitable. Will she confide in Whitney, or risk relapsing?Since disowning her, Whitney stopped hearing from her perfect family altogether. While the lovers are wrapping up in New York, she suddenly comes face to face with Hollywood's latest headliner;Theresa, her famous sister, has died. Urged to attend the funeral, Whitney makes it clear she won't go without Hollis, the very person her parents blame for staying in Maine.Buckle in! Disclaimer: Strong mature content, graphic scenes, drug usage. 18+, please. This novel won’t be for you if you’re not comfortable with any of the above topics.2020 All Rights Reserved (you know how it goes) Please don't attempt to steal any part of my work.

"Hinire kita bilang streamer Alana! Hindi kasama duon ang paluhurin mo ako iyong harapan upang magmakaawang tanggapin mo ako pabalilk!" Lumaki si Alana Demetria sa isang mayaman na pamilya ng mga Buenaventura. Ngunit isang araw ay gumising na lang siya na isang condominium na lang ang tanging natitirang pamana sa kanya. Walang cards, cash at car na mga main essentials niya sa buhay. Buong akala niya ay makakahingi siya ng tulong sa nobyo ngunit ipinagtulakan at ipinagpalit siya nito. Nang malaman na wala ng kahit anong ari-arian ang mga Buenaventura. Idagdag pa na walang tumatanggap sa kanya bilang receptionist dahil mababa lang ang natapos niya. Nagbakasali siyang maging isang live streamer sa isang kilalang app. Unang araw pa lang niya ay naging mahirap na ang mga pagsubok sa pagiging baguhang live streamer. Pero may iilan sa kanyang mga supporter na labis siyang sinusuportahan. Ngunit akala ni Alana ay hanggang sa likod na lang siya ng cellphone mapapanuod ng kanyang mga supporter. Pero unang araw pa lang niya ay may nakapansin na agad sa angking kagandahan ni Alana. Anong mangyayari sa buhay ni Alana na akala niya ay walang patutunguhan? Ito na ba ang simula ng career niya gamit ang taglay na kagandahan? O ito ang simula ng karagdagang hirap na tatahakin niya sa kanyang buhay?

Charlene Davis never imagined that one accidental encounter would turn her world upside down. When she meets Astrid Evans—a woman with her exact face—they both realize a truth neither of them ever knew: they're twins, separated at birth. But before Charlene can process it, Astrid makes her a shocking offer: pretend to be her for a month in exchange for a large sum of money. Needing the cash, Charlene agrees. What she doesn't know is that Astrid is married to Malik Evans, a cold, ruthless billionaire who despises his wife. Thrust into a loveless marriage filled with tension and secrets, Charlene must endure Malik's wrath—while pretending to be the woman he loathes. But something unexpected happens. Charlene begins to fall for Malik, and to her surprise, Malik begins to soften. He sees a different side of his “wife”—gentle, sincere, kind. He begins to fall in love, a feeling he thought impossible after Astrid’s past betrayal. Yet just as Malik is ready to forgive and start over, the truth unravels: Charlene isn’t Astrid—and he’s been fooled again. Heartbroken and furious, Malik pushes Charlene away. Charlene walks away with a shattered heart and a newfound secret—she’s pregnant with Malik’s child. Determined to build a better life for her baby, Charlene chooses to move forward, stronger and wiser. But fate has other plans. After divorcing Astrid, Malik realizes that his heart still belongs to the woman who showed him what real love could be. Returning to Charlene, he begs for forgiveness and proposes marriage—not out of guilt, but out of love. Now, Charlene must decide: Can she forgive the man who broke her heart... for the love they both deserve?

After my physical examination, I'm about to leave the pack infirmary located in my cousin's territory when a heavily made-up healer suddenly grabs my arm. She hisses, "Stop right there! You think you can break something in the infirmary and just run away? No way!" I look at her unfamiliar face and blink, feeling utterly confused. "What did I break?" She points to the crystal potion bottles on the shelves and wrinkles her nose exaggeratedly. "You reek, and your stench has contaminated all the potions, making them unusable! Alpha Xander bought these at a high cost, and all of it is worth 500 thousand dollars. There's also compensation for causing me emotional distress—that's another 200 thousand. "Altogether, that's 700 thousand dollars. Will you pay by cash or card?" My scent is a mix of violet and amber. It's noble and cool, like a winter dusk. Of course, not everyone loves this scent, but "contamination"? Please! I can't fathom why the infirmary in Xander's territory is operating like a scam. I laugh out of anger and say, "I'm Alpha Xander's cousin. I don't pay a single cent in his territory. If anyone has a problem with that, they can speak to me personally." But the healer only rolls her eyes. "You bitch, trying to use such lowly tricks to get my Alpha's attention? You wish! If you don't pay up today, I'll strip you naked and throw you onto the street so that everyone can smell how foul you are!" She has no idea who she's threatening. I take a deep breath and quickly contact my Beta. "Tell Xander—either banish this healer from the pack, or I'll banish him."

Celia Johnson, my boss's sister-in-law, joined the company as the finance director and announced that all reimbursements must strictly follow the standards. I spent an entire week running around for the company and finally closed a five-hundred-thousand-dollar deal. Because the client had used two extra packs of paper towels, the per-person amount for their meal ended up eight dollars over the limit. Celia folded her arms, glanced at the reimbursement form on my desk, and sneered. "Five hundred and eight dollars?" "Yes. Last night at The Peak Restaurant, where we closed Richard's deal. Zack was there too," I explained patiently. "Eight dollars over the per-person limit. Not reimbursable," Celia said coldly. I tried to reason with her. "This was a special case. The client is high-level, and the deal amount is large, and Zack personally said it would be fully reimbursed last night." She returned the reimbursement form to me. "I don't care who said that. Don't think closing a five-hundred-thousand-dollar contract lets you ignore company rules. Reimbursements must all follow policies. Everyone will follow them to the letter." I took a deep breath. I knew arguing with her head-on would get me nowhere, so I called Zack directly. Zack said, "I did say it would be reimbursed, but I never said company rules could be ignored. It's just five hundred. And you still get commission from closing the deal. You young people need to have perspective." I stopped arguing. I turned around and refused the delivery containing the hard copy of the five-hundred-thousand-dollar cooperation contract, smiling as I explained, "Company rules say all cash on delivery packages must be refused. "Also, today is my last day here. Starting tomorrow, I work for Richard's company. As the client, I will be setting the rules this time."

The day before my mating ceremony, my mother caught my soon-to-be mate Derek in a passionate embrace with my step-sister Scarlett. The anger triggered my mother's heart attack need a transplant surgery immediately Fortunately, I was compatible with my mother for a heart transplant. I decided to give her my heart and use an artificial one instead. Faced with the enormous cost of the surgery, Derek, my coward of a mate, vanished. I went to beg my step-sister Scarlett, who had married an elderly but wealthy Alpha Marcus, for help. She claimed she didn't have enough cash, yet the next day she was showing off her new enchanted moonstone necklace. In my darkest hour, Alexander Stone appeared. He was the most renowned healer and Marcus’s son，the future Alpha. He covered all the costs and offered to perform the surgery himself. When I woke up, Alexander's face was filled with regret. He told me my mother had suffered a sudden rejection reaction during surgery and passed away. He pulled my tear-stained face to his chest, declaring his love and begging me to let him care for me for eternity. Seven years into our mating bond, I accidentally overheard his conversation with his beta: "So you gave Sarah's heart to Scarlett instead, right in front of her mother? That was brutal, even for you." "What could I do? Her heart matched Scarlett's perfectly." "But we had already found a suitable donor heart! Scarlett only needed to wait half a day. Why were you so impatient?" Alexander sighed, his voice heavy with emotion: "I couldn't bear to see Scarlett suffer, not even for a second."

She left cash on his pillow. He's been hunting her for eighteen years. Now they're neighbors—and she's carrying his baby. Evelyn Hart's revenge plan was simple: hire the hottest escort money could buy, have one night of mind-blowing sex, and finally forget her cheating ex-husband exists. What she got instead: Sebastian Creed. Six-foot-four of sinful perfection who made her body sing in ways she didn't know were possible. She left ten thousand dollars on the bed and ran before dawn, convinced she'd never see him again. Six weeks later, reality hits like a freight train. The "escort" is actually a billionaire. He owns the mansion next door. He's been obsessively searching for her since the night he saved her from a car crash when she was fourteen. Oh, and she's pregnant with twins the doctors said she could never have. Sebastian isn't just her neighbor—he's her stalker, her savior, and apparently, her fated mate. Because plot twist: he's a werewolf. And the supernatural bond between them is turning her inconvenient attraction into a soul-deep craving that's impossible to fight. Now he's breaking into her house at 3 a.m., showing up uninvited to her OB appointments, and making it very clear that the one night she paid for was just the beginning of forever. But their twisted love story is about to get deadlier. Sebastian's dying father wants him to claim a werewolf throne. His ex-husband wants her land for a billion-dollar deal. Werewolf royalty wants her dead for contaminating the bloodline. And Evelyn? She just wants to survive pregnancy, figure out how to be a queen in a world that thinks she's prey, and maybe—maybe—learn to trust the alpha who's been obsessed with her since she was a teenager.

"You need financial freedom. I need a bride. One signature—and your debt’s gone." *** Kira Navarro thought she had everything under control. Maayos ang trabaho, may konting ipon, at kahit papaano'y nakakaraos sa buhay. Dahil sa sobrang pagod at stress, napa-oo siya sa mga kaibigan na mag-unwind sa bar. Hindi niya inakalang ang simpleng gabing ‘yon ay mauuwi sa isang mainit na encounter kasama ang isang estranghero—na hindi niya alam, ay ang bagong CEO ng Salvatore Holdings, kung saan siya nagtatrabaho bilang architect. Kinabukasan, halos himatayin siya sa gulat nang makaharap ang lalaki sa opisina—ang cold and ruthless CEO na ngayon ay boss niya. Pero hindi siya pinansin. Parang hindi siya kilala. Parang walang nangyari. Pagbalik niya sa ospital kung saan naka-confine ang ina niyang may sakit sa puso, dumating ang mas masakit na balita—wala na ito. Cardiac arrest. Gumuho ang mundo ni Kira. Wala na ang ina niya. Nabaon siya sa utang. At nanganganib pa silang mapalayas sa inuupahan nila ng kapatid niya. Desperada siyang humingi ng cash advance sa HR, pero tinanggihan. Wala na siyang ibang malapitan kundi ang taong ayaw na ayaw sana niyang lapitan—si Anthony Salvatore. Pero sa halip na tulong o sermon, isang kontrata ang inabot nito. Pakakasalan daw niya si Anthony kapalit ng limang milyong piso at pagbabayad ng lahat ng utang nila. Sa harap ng mundo, asawa siya ng CEO. Pero sa loob ng mansion, parang boarder lang siya. Hanggang kailan niya kailangang tanggapin na papel lang ang ginagampanan niya sa buhay ng lalaking unti-unti niyang minamahal?

When Tessa Shoreman read Henry Jennings' cancer report, she immediately paid her hard-earned money of sixty thousand to the hospital. She had saved the money from working part-time while she was in university. However, she was worried the money was not enough, so she held back her fear as she sold a kidney to the black market to get more. As she walked to the ward door with a heavy bag filled with cash, she heard shrill laughter coming from inside. "That cheap woman, Tessa Shoreman, got tricked by us again. Haha!" Tessa's hand gave pause right when she was about to push the door open. What did he mean by saying she was tricked? Tessa looked through the glass on the door to see inside the ward. When she left, the man looked extremely weak, but he was now sitting up lazily in bed. Henry had a cigarette in his mouth, and he was blowing smoke rings nonchalantly. He did not look like a cancer patient at all. "It's been two years, and that woman still has no idea." "If she hadn't beaten Serene to first place, Henry would never have left behind his life as a rich heir and planned such an elaborate scheme to become a working-class man living in a cheap rental home. The way that cheap, penniless woman looks at Henry is so amusing." "We agreed that the punishment ends when Henry and Serene get engaged. It looks like time is almost up. We've probably punished her 108 times in the past two years." "The first time was lying to her that Henry didn't have a suit for a job interview. She worked tirelessly for 72 hours straight before she earned enough money for one, but that suit was given to the domestic help to use as a cleaning cloth. The second time was tricking her into believing Henry had a high fever. She forfeited during the finals of a scientific research competition to race home and take care of Henry in the hospital…" "Sigh. Too bad it's coming to an end. I'm going to miss entertaining myself with her."

Matagal ng inaasam ni Elise na mapansin siya ng kanyang ultimate crush at ang makaahon sa hirap pero nais niya itong gawin sa sarili niyang pagsisikap pero paano niya gagawin iyon kung pasan niya sa kanyang balikat ang mga kapatid at mga magulang na ini ire pa lamang ata siya ay nakalista na ang mga obligasyun at mga dapat niyang gawin. Tama, isinilang lamang ata sila para maging sunod sunuran at cash cow ng mga ito. Hindi man lamang niya magawang makabili ng kahit polbos o lipstik para naman masulyapan ng kanyang kababata. Eh paano naman mangyayari iyon gayung wala na ata siyang panahon kahit na ang huminga. Siya lahat mula sa gawaing bahay hanggang sa pagtatrabaho para may pagkain sa lamesa. Batugang ama, sakitin pero chismosang ina at mga pasaway na kapatid yun ang kalbaryo niya. Pero ang tadhana ni Elise ay nakatakdang magbago ng mabalitaan niya na ang kanya palang yumaong lola at ang lola ng kanyang binatang crush ay matalik na magkaibigan. Perahas may iniwang kasunduan ang dalawa at iisa ang sinasabi doon. Na ipapakasal sila ng kanyang crush sa takdang panahon. Labis ang naging kaligayahan ni Elise dahil sa wakas may pagkakataon na siyang makasama at mapakasalan ang man of her dreams. Si Kenzo Madrigal. Hindi akalain ni Elise na ang kanyang pinapangarap at ang lalaking laman ng kanyang mga panaginip ay siya palang magdudulot sa kanya ng bangungot at malalim na sugat sa kanyang puso at kaluluwa. Ngunit sa kanyang bangongot niya ay may sumulpot na guwapong prinsipe na nakalahad ang mga kamay at gusto siyang tulungang makaahon sa bangongot. Paano ba aabutin ni Elise ang kamay ng lalaking iyon kung ito ay walang iba kundi si Kevin Madrigal ang kapatid na panganay ng kanyang dating asawa?