Kiss Her Once For Me A Novel

I had argued with Tiffany Jensen at the construction site over a 15-dollar BBQ plate, and the fight had spiraled out of control. Clutching my throbbing head, I watched as she stuffed the freshly cashed paycheck into her pocket. "Are you ever going to let this go? You just want me to pay for your meal, don't you? You're always complaining about headaches and dizziness. I think you're just lazy!" I wanted to tell her about the flashes of luxury that kept appearing in my mind, images I could not explain. However, the words stuck in my throat as another wave of vertigo hit me. By the time I steadied myself and caught up to her, she was already climbing into a black Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Their mocking voices drifted out through the car window. Someone said, "I thought your little 'real-life experience' would be fun, but this is it? You even argued over a meal." Another person laughed along. "Tiffany, Mr. Jensen's about to have a heart attack over this. Now that he's finally agreed to let you date Ethan Parker, just dump this loser already. Are you planning to support him for the rest of his life?" Tiffany replied without hesitation, "He's a nobody who doesn't even know who he is, and he thinks he deserves someone like me?" It turned out that after I lost my memory, I had become nothing more than a pawn in a wealthy heiress' rebellion game. I turned to leave, my heart sinking. Just then, an unknown number flashed across my phone screen. I answered without thinking. "Mr. Shaw, this is Alfred Wright, your family's butler. You've been missing for five years! Your grandfather is dying, and he wants to see you one last time." I glanced back at the car disappearing into the distance and said, "Alfred, come pick me up."

My fiancee fell in love with a broke student she's been sponsoring. She insists on breaking off our engagement no matter what. She turns a deaf ear to all the advice friends and family give her. My father gets so worked up that his blood pressure skyrockets. Meanwhile, my mother comes close to fainting and almost ends up in the hospital. My family becomes a laughingstock among the elite overnight. But no one realizes that we're already discussing countermeasures. My mother pulls out her phone. "Why don't we set you up with the most beautiful woman in Seabrook?" My father says coldly, "End the partnership. Cut off the one-billion-dollar support fees to her family." My lips curl into a smile. "Mind if I handle both myself?"

My girlfriend keeps saying that she comes from a poor family, but she gives her childhood sweetheart a yacht on our anniversary. I text her to ask about this, but all she does is berate me. "Who do you think you are? How dare you stick your nose into my business! I'll give anyone whatever I want. My money, my call. Get lost!" Unbeknownst to her, I'm covered in blood on the other end of the line.

Carla Jones' life came crashing down when she caught her boyfriend cheating, she loses her career, her home and her mental health was in jeopardy. She runs back to her hometown to escape from all the mess only to reconnect with the seemingly normal Steve Ephron who she had rejected in high school because he was ambitionless. How would Carla react when the very man she didn't like turns out to be the umbrella who shelters her from the wind and storms of her life? Her very own silver lining in the darkest days.

When Steven Baxter, the heartthrob of the school, admits that he loves action movies the most, my childhood friend, Lisa Thornton, has my limbs strapped to four huge drones. During the flag-raising ceremony on Monday morning, the drones lift me high up in the air in front of the entire school. The students' laughter is deafeningly loud. The videos they take quickly go viral, too. I only get to return to the surface once the drones finally run out of power and make their descent automatically. With a wide grin on her face, Lisa unties me from the drones. "Steven loves action movies, so we had you cosplay the main character from the most popular Tom Cruise movie. "We grew up together since we were kids, Dominic. Surely you don't mind, right?" As I sit on the ground, Steven pulls Lisa into his arms before he starts guffawing at me. Tears soon streak down his face from all the laughing. "I can't believe you actually peed yourself!" "Ahahahaha!" I get up to my feet and walk away. From then on, I don't return to Lisa's side. But Lisa soon loses her mind. "We've known each other for ten years! Must you really do this to me?"

When I return to the day I discover my husband, David Stone, is cheating on me, I immediately switch shifts with my colleague. In my previous life, David had been fooling around with my best friend, Roxanne Lane, in his car when they got into an accident and were rushed to the hospital. When I received the news, I hurried there at once and saw them tangled together, naked, in the aftermath of the wreck. My colleague operated on them, and both of them survived. However, the shock was too much for me, and I passed out. When I woke up, David sent me divorce papers, demanding that I leave the marriage empty-handed. Citing his affair, I demanded half of his assets. In response, he sneered, "Me? Cheating? Where's the evidence?" That was when I remembered that I had fainted before taking any photos. The hospital's surveillance cameras happened to be down that day, leaving me without a shred of proof. I lost the case and walked out with nothing. On the day of the divorce, broke and numb, I stumbled out of the courthouse and was hit by a car. Now, the moment I open my eyes again, I'm back on the day David and Roxanne are taken to the hospital.

"I didn’t know I was marrying two people. He wore the suit, but she pulled the strings. The day I walked down the aisle, eyes locked with the man I loved, I thought I had found peace. I thought I was finally leaving behind the noise of my childhood, the ache of loneliness, and the years I spent praying for a love that would choose me, only me. But no one told me that some men never truly leave their mothers. They marry, yes,but their hearts remain tangled in an invisible umbilical cord, one that stretches past vows, past bedrooms, past boundaries. I moved into our new home, only to find that the walls had ears, hers. We lived in separate flats, but it never truly felt like my space. My marriage was a room she walked into, uninvited but ever present. Her opinions dripped into our arguments, her eyes followed me from behind lace curtains, and her voice echoed in decisions that should have belonged to me and my husband. At first, I kept quiet. I told myself it was cultural. Respect. Family. Then I told myself it was temporary. Then I stopped telling myself anything at all, because nothing I said made a difference. This is not a story of hate. It’s a story of love, tested by bloodlines, boundaries, and a battle I never asked to fight. This is my truth. The marriage I thought was mine. The home that never really felt like home. And the rules I never agreed to, but had to live by, simply because… I was under her roof".

**"This isn’t just any party, it’s your wedding."** The words hit me like a truck as I stood frozen in disbelief. **"To Angelo Rizzo."** My stepbrother’s voice was cold, detached. My heart pounded in my chest. **"You’re joking, right?"** But one look at his face told me he wasn’t. **"You’re the payment for my debt to the Cosa Nostra."** His betrayal was a knife twisting in my gut. --- Attending a party with my stepbrother, I was prepared for an ordinary night. Instead, I was thrown into a nightmare. Without warning, I found myself standing beside Angelo Rizzo—a man as feared as he is cold—as his bride. My stepbrother owed the Cosa Nostra money, and I was his only way out. With no escape and no choice, I now wear a wedding ring tied to a man I fear. Three hours later, my world has turned upside down. There’s no running from Angelo, no hiding from the life ahead. My only hope? To survive being married to the infamous Angelo Rizzo.

Two years ago, Fabiola Cruz walked out of Alessandro’s life without warning, taking his heart and vanishing into the shadows. Now, he’s no longer the reckless man who once whispered forever into her skin. He’s Alessandro Armani, a ruthless billionaire kingpin feared across continents. He’s a feared Mafia Don with ice in his veins and blood on his hands. Love is a weakness. And Fabiola? She’s the ghost who made him ruthless. So when fate throws her into his world again, working as a waitress in a club, desperate to pay for her daughter’s hospital bills and pay her father’s debts. One night, thugs cornered her, and it's Alessandro who saves her. And he’s not interested in forgiveness. He wants her to be his mistress. And pawn. As past secrets resurface and enemies circle like wolves, Fabiola and Alessandro find themselves trapped in a game of lust, lies, and betrayal. Fabiola wants out of the business once she’s done, because of her daughter, but Alessandro calls her out. “Amore mio,” he smirked, his eyes gave me a thorough stare down. It was slow and deliberate. My heart was a high-speed train. I could feel my face burning, turning a shade that betrayed everything I was trying to hide. “When I said you were mine, I meant it.” He said. He stood and closed the gap between us. I tried to leave. “Stop!” and I froze. “Look at me.” It was an order, and I did exactly that. He gave me his evil half smile. “Fa,” he paused. “Bi,” another pause. “Ola,” he rasped. “You know you will always be mine,” he paused as if to let that sink in, with his laser icy blues staring right into mine. “Right?”

After graduating from a socialite training course, my sister swears to marry into a wealthy family. To create encounters with Pierce Holden, the prince of the upper crust, she drives my car, wanting to tailgate him and run into his car. I slam the brakes and tell her the Holdens aren't fools. We can't afford to pay for Pierce's car, even if we were to give up everything we have. Later, Pierce throws a lavish wedding that stuns the country. My sister goes crazy with jealousy, saying that she would've been the bride if not for me stopping her back then. Out of resentment, she rams her car into me and kills me. When I open my eyes again, I find myself in the front passenger seat. My sister smirks confidently, her gaze fixed on the expensive car ahead of us. "I'm sure Pierce will be enchanted by me once he sees me. I won't need to drive a dump like this once I get together with him." This time, I don't stop her. She puts the pedal to the metal, making the car crash against the sports car worth a fortune.