Katniss Sings Hanging Tree

Ayla, my wife had just returned home from a business trip when I received a call from the hotel she had booked there. The hotel receptionist sounded a little embarrassed as she explained, “Hello, is this Ms. Jewell’s husband? I’m calling from the front desk. I see that we forgot to bill you for some incidentals. It looks like your room used all eighteen condoms from the amenity kit. I apologize for the oversight. The total comes to 35 dollars. Can I get a card number over the phone to close that out for you?” My mind went completely blank. Hadn’t my wife gone on that business trip on her own? Why would she have used condoms? Suppressing my inner turmoil, I gave Ayla a call. “Honey, the hotel just called. They said there was a little issue with your room. They asked me if you had someone staying over with you?” She sounded clearly exhausted as she replied with a weak voice, “Oh, right. A lady couldn’t find a hotel room, so she crashed with me for the night.” I chuckled and asked her to rest. After hanging up, I drove directly to the hotel. “35 dollars, right? I’ll pay it in person.”

My brother, Theo Sorento, died in a plane crash on his way back home just to celebrate my birthday. They never found his body—only wreckage. Ever since, my parents forced me to kneel in front of his grave every year on my birthday, demanding that I repent for surviving when he didn’t. Then came my eighteenth birthday. I realized someone was following me. Panicked, I sent a few messages asking for help. Just then, Mom called, not to check on me but to lash out. “I know exactly what you're doing. You’re just making up excuses so you don’t have to kneel in front of your brother’s grave! You’re a liar. Why wasn’t it you who died instead of him? You’re a walking curse!” Before my phone was smashed under a boot, the last thing I heard was the cold click of her hanging up. Then, I was cut up into pieces, and what was left of me was tossed across the city. My father, the lead forensic pathologist on my case, didn’t even recognize me. Later, Theo returned alive with his wife, whom he had eloped with eight years ago. When they found out the pile of rotting flesh was me, they all went insane.

Three years into our marriage, Rylan Shaw brings another woman home. "Maeve, you should learn from the younger ladies. Stop acting like a block of wood all the time." With a calm resolve, I shatter our wedding photo and hand him the divorce papers I've long prepared. "Let's get divorced, Rylan. I'll step aside for her," I declare. His friends insist that without him, I'll starve on the streets. Rylan believes the same. "Once she's suffered enough out there, she'll realize how lucky she was to be Mrs. Shaw." But a week passes, then a month—and I never return. That's when Rylan begins to grow uneasy. Panic and restless nights consume him. One evening, drunk and desperate, he pounds on the door of my new apartment. "Maeve, if it's money you want, I'll give it all to you…" The door swings open to reveal an unfamiliar man—bare-chested, pajama pants hanging low, fresh scratches streaking his abdomen. Jonah Archer arches a brow, dissatisfaction flickering in his eyes as he asks, "Mr. Shaw, what madness brings you to my wife's door in the middle of the night?"

After experiencing a devastating rejection, Eleanor found herself struggling to piece together the fragments of her shattered life. Accused of inadvertently causing her mate's father's death by administering herbs as a treatment, she was heartbroken when her mate chose to disbelieve her, imprisoning her and replacing her as his Luna. Despite giving birth to twins, she was forced to part with one of her children. In a state of irreparable heartbreak, Eleanor managed to flee the pack with her remaining child. Seven years later, she gained renown as a successful fashion designer and model. When Killian, her former mate, reappears in her life, will he easily recognize her as the once-vulnerable omega, Eleanor, whom he had mistreated? With a heavy curse hanging around Killian's pack, he embarks on a perilous journey to win back Eleanor's trust and unite their separate offspring. Will she ever find it in her heart to forgive him ? Turns out she was not only Killian's second chance mate but also the key to breaking the curse. Faced with a choice between forgiveness and uniting her twins, will Eleanor find it in her heart to rebuild a fractured family with Killian? In this gripping tale of love, betrayal, and redemption, Eleanor navigates a treacherous path where the stakes are high and the price of forgiveness may be their very survival…

“It's good to see you.” Armando's tone was rusty as he whispered in her ears. “It's not every day, I get to see such beauty.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It's a pain in the ass to see you.” Leonor was struggling against the chair she was strapped with thick ropes. “I was not born with enough middle fingers to let you know how I truly feel.” She spat. __ Armando, a heartless, ruthless, Italian Mafia King who is as cunning as a fox, as dangerous as a mastermind criminal, the leader of his gang, and a brutal loan shark continues his risky adventurous life. He holds Lenore captive, until her brother can pay back his debt, but deep down, he hopes for the opposite. Leonor is a beautiful young girl who lives a peaceful lifestyle. One that guarantees her safety and peace until the mafia leader captures her. Something about Armando intrigues her. The charisma and the danger of hanging with a bad boy keep her wanting more. Will she fear him like others do, or teach him that there is more to life apart from being brutal? And will he ever learn to love? However, there is a personality clash which would later result in constant fights and the need to be heard. WARNING: The contents of this book is extremely matured.

When Zirelle woke up next to a half-naked stranger in a room dripping with luxury, she had no memory of how she got there—just a surge of panic in her chest and a towel wrapped around her body. The room was too pristine, too extravagant, and far too distant from the broken, desolate life she knew. Her first instinct? Run. But not before stealing his gold, his wallet… and the mysterious silver necklace hanging around his neck. She thought she was escaping to safety, back to the familiar chaos of her world. Instead, she ran straight into carnage. Returning home, she found her parents slaughtered and her own pack baying for her blood. As for the necklace she stole? It’s no ordinary trinket. And the man she stole it from? He’s not just wealthy or dangerous—he’s deadly. What Zirelle doesn’t know is that he’s far more than he seems. He’s the key to the truth she’s been running from her whole life. She thought she had left him behind. But by stealing from him, she’s unknowingly invited an even greater storm into her life. Now, he’s coming for her. And he won’t stop until he finds her.

"Are you going to kill me too?" Olivia muttered weakly. "No little pet, I have other plans for you," the deep voice replied. Pedro's gaze was sinister as he grabbed her by the throat "You owe me now, Olivia." "W-what do you want from me?" she asked, trembling in fear, she looked up to meet the menacing figure of Pedro Ramirez. "I want your loyalty, your obedience, your body," he whispered seductively with a glint of determination in his eyes. Olivia thought she had found love and security with Luciano, but on her birthday, her world turned into a nightmare. With her family brutally taken from her and her own life hanging by a thread, she is rescued by the enigmatic Pedro Ramirez. Little does she know, she has traded one dangerous man for another. As Olivia is drawn deeper into Pedro's world of power and violence, she becomes fixated on seeking vengeance for her family's murder. But as she becomes entangled in the dark and seductive world of the mafia, Olivia realizes she may have gotten more than she bargained for, and the line between love and hate becomes dangerously blurred. Can she navigate the treacherous world of the underground and carve out her own path of retribution, or will she become another pawn in Pedro's deadly game?

After my friend Josh Yates fell deep into gambling, he showed up one day wearing a wide, excited grin, insisting on taking me to Macoria. "I just won big," he said. "My treat. We're staying at the most luxurious hotel." However, the moment we landed, he led me straight into a private room buried deep inside a casino. "The truth is, I lost 7.5 million," he admitted. "If I can't pay it back, they'll sell me off to the Mykar Borderlands… "However, the woman who runs this place is looking for a man with a crescent-shaped birthmark. If they find him, all debts are wiped clean. "You've got one on your stomach. I saw it when you were showering. I'm sorry, man… I really don't want to die." Four men pinned me down on a sofa. That was when I noticed a child's drawing hanging on the wall. I had made it for my mother before I was taken from her. She cherished it, said she would keep it for the rest of her life. An icy smile tugged at my lips. Josh, Josh… this time, you really did place the right bet, I thought. Too bad the winner would not be you.

When my husband, Lucius Croft, and I were on a flight that was heading toward our honeymoon destination, his childhood friend, Belinda Todd, suddenly appeared before us while pregnant. She claimed that she had bought an economy-class ticket and that she wanted to go on a vacation with us. Not only did Lucius not reject Belinda, but he also wanted me to give my first-class ticket away to her. I turned his suggestion down. So, he helped Belinda occupy the first-class seat next to us. When I realized that an old lady was the owner of that particular seat, I did everything I could to convince Lucius to return the seat to her. Unexpectedly, Belinda was so mad that she got off the plane right away. On her way home, she got into an accident, which killed her and her unborn baby. Lucius attended her funeral calmly. But on the day I was supposed to go into labor, he tied me up in the car and staged a car accident on purpose. "This is all your fault! If it wasn't for you, Belinda never would've died! You deserve to make it up to her with your life!" I could only watch the car drive into the tree in total despair. All I saw was a huge explosion and tongues of flame around me before I completely lost consciousness. When I open my eyes again, I see Belinda standing before me with her belly jutting out. This time, I no longer stop them. What they don't know is that the inconspicuous-looking old lady is actually a member of the esteemed Howard family, also known as the global business powerhouse. She's also the grandmother of the richest man in the world, Ethan Howard.

The first day I return to the country, my future mother-in-law, Sophia Damer, smacks a check against my face and says, "Here's five million dollars. Leave my son alone. The Simpsons cannot accept a gold-digging nobody like you!" Before I can even explain myself, the young woman in a white dress hiding behind her says, "Please don't do this, Sophia. If this young lady treats Jay well enough, I don't mind caring for him with her, too." I chuckle. So, Sophia and Crystal Richmond, my half-sister, think that I'm the evil mistress who tried stealing her man away from her, when Jayson Simpson was my boyfriend the entire time. And yet, Crystal still thinks that she's the legitimate one instead. However, seeing that Crystal still doesn't know who I really am, I pick up the check without even looking at it and stuff it into her V-neck dress. "Nice acting. Here's your reward." Then, I take out a black card and fling it onto the table. "Here's ten million dollars, lady. Tell your son to stay away from me and stop bothering me. I find him disgusting! "Oh, and by the way," I say, pointing at Crystal, who is still being shielded behind Sophia's body. "Might I remind you that this young woman you're protecting is just the bastard kid my dad brought home last year. "If you're thinking of using her to get close to the Richmonds, I'm afraid that you're barking up the wrong tree!"