Knife Drop

As the college entrance exams approached, I paid the top student in our class to tutor me. But the day she came over, she brought along her childhood sweetheart and insisted that he join our study sessions. I declined her request politely, and she did not press the matter further. The boy left my house in defeat and was struck by a car, suffering injuries so severe that they left him crippled. He could no longer continue his education and was forced to drop out, taking on grueling manual labor to survive. The girl continued tutoring me nonetheless. We both gained admission to the same university, grew close over time, fell in love, got married, and started a family. But on the night of our wedding anniversary, Sharon slipped poison into my soup and watched impassively as I began to convulse and vomit blood, the crimson stain spreading slowly across the floor. "This is what you owe Harry," she said with cold venom. "Taste what it's like to lose all hope." It turned out that she had harbored resentment toward me for all those years. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day she first came to my house with her friend.

Eidolon Avenue: Where the secretly guilty go to die. One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards. The sequel to Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast (“a great read...powerful and jarring” - Cemetery Dance) returns to the voracious Eidolon as it savors The Second Feast. A narcoleptic man in apartment 2A battles a vengeful past determined to rob him of everything as he runs from the barbaric disaster of a delusional love. A woman in 2B, reinventing herself to please a callous boyfriend, discovers the horrors that wait in the shadows of her self-renovation. The man in 2C, a teacher at the nearby Catholic girl’s school, collapses beneath the brutal consequences of his lecherous desires. An older woman in 2D, after decades dedicated to the church, is cornered at last by the grisly carnage beating at the hollow center of her faith. And a college student in 2E, hungry to escape an ignored life of invisible anonymity, finds herself captured between the pages of a ravenous book. All thrown into their own private hell as every cruel choice, every drop of spilled blood, every silent, complicit moment of cowardice is remembered, resurrected and relived to feed the ancient evil that lives on Eidolon Avenue. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

The day my husband, Caleb Vale, buries his first love, Layla Shaw, he stands in front of me and throws our wedding ring into the sea. For the next 12 years, the breakfasts I bring him go straight into the trash, and the scarf I stay up all night knitting is tossed into the fire and burned to ash. The cruelest moment is when he looks me in the eye and says, "Aurora, if you really want to please me, you might as well go die." But when a mugger comes at me with a knife, Caleb still steps in front of me without a second's hesitation. As he lies dying in my arms, he uses the very last of his strength to force out a few broken words. "Go... I hope I never see you again in my next life." At the funeral, Helena Rogers sobs until she faints. "This is all my fault. I never should've arranged your marriage..." Everyone around us pities him and resents me. They whisper that I'm a jinx and wonder why I'm not the one who died. And honestly, I wonder the same thing. Why not me? After Caleb is lowered into the ground, I climb to the top floor of the building and jump. As I hover on the edge of death, a cold, mechanical voice echoes in my mind. "Binding complete. Wish detected. The system will now send you back 12 years."

On our third dating anniversary, Enzo and I were caught in a cruise ship disaster. I gave him the only life preserver, and I was swallowed by the sea, lost without a trace. Three years later, after finally recovering from my injuries, I rushed back home—only to walk right into his grand wedding with my so-called sister. Bound by a life debt, he had no choice but to marry me—and resented me ever since. He hated that I'd come between him and the woman he truly loved. Even my own parents accused me of being selfish, of ruining my sister's happiness for life. Under the weight of everyone's coldness and rejection, I became desperate and unhinged. … Then, one day, when our family's old enemies came for revenge, he threw himself in front of me and took a knife straight to the heart. Blood gushed out as he used the last of his strength to drag me to safety. "Raina," he rasped, "you saved my life once, and now I've repaid the debt. Just do me one favor—don't come back to haunt me in the next life. All I want is to spend it forever with Selina, just the two of us." My heart tore apart, and I died with that grief. However, when I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day I had crashed their wedding.

Blurb She wanted love. She wanted freedom. But what she got instead was heartbreak in its cruelest form. This is Alessia Marino’s story. Born into a ruthless mafia family, Alessia was suffocating under their rules and expectations. All she ever wanted was a life that was hers—to love freely, to breathe without fear. So she ran. She changed her name to Sienna Johnson, determined to start over and live like a normal woman. And for a while, she thought she’d found it all. A devoted husband, Gabriel. A sweet four-year-old daughter they’d adopted. And a best friend, Sylvia, who felt like the sister she never had. But paradise shattered in an instant. The truth hit her like a knife to the chest—Sylvia and Gabriel had been lovers all along, and the little girl she adored wasn’t adopted at all… she was theirs. Broken. Betrayed. Shattered beyond repair. But fate wasn’t done with her yet. When Desmond Blackwell, Gabriel’s powerful rival, offers her a chance at revenge, Alessia takes it without hesitation. Together, they plot to destroy the man who destroyed her. But the deeper she gets, the harder it becomes to ignore the pull she feels toward Desmond—dark, magnetic, and dangerous. And when the truth about who Desmond really is begins to unravel, Alessia realizes she might be walking straight into a trap… one that could cost her not just her heart, but her life.

In the sultry shadows of Los Angeles, where power cuts like a knife and secrets shine like jewels, Valentine Hearts captivates the elite with her haunting songs. She is a mesmerizing beauty, enchanting everyone at the Diamond Club, drawing them into her magical world. Among her admirers is Don Arnulfo Vegas, a mafia billionaire with control over all of Los Angeles. His icy stare hides deep secrets, and he is irresistibly drawn to Valentine. Their first meeting sizzles with tension when he sends her a single red rose—beautiful but filled with danger. Valentine knows his playboy reputation and feels the weight of his growing obsession. In a desperate act, Arnulfo kidnaps her, wanting to claim her heart and soul. Their love blooms in secret places, a fresh breath in a smoky world. He shares his struggles, and she reveals her dreams. He is a storm, while she is the calm he desperately needs. Together, they dance on the edge of danger, a fragile light in darkness. But dark clouds gather. Arnulfo’s past is filled with betrayal, and Victoria Giupere, his fierce partner’s daughter, is determined to win him back. Ruthless and cunning, she represents everything Valentine fears. Will Valentine’s love conquer the chaos, or will Victoria’s ambition drive a wedge between them? Can their bond break through his cold heart, or are they doomed to heartbreak in this dangerous game of desire?

On my wedding night, I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after a tampered condom left me in excruciating pain. The surgery took over twenty-four hours, and the story spread like wildfire. My husband, Alexander, let it be known that anyone who managed to photograph me in my post-surgery state would be rewarded with ten million dollars. Overnight, I went from being a billionaire's new wife to the laughingstock of every elite circle in New York. The next day, Alexander's childhood sweetheart Dahlia showed up at my door. That was when I learned the truth: she'd coated the condom with industrial-strength adhesive as part of what she called a "social experiment." She didn't show a shred of remorse. Her tone was flippant and cruel: "It was just an experiment. I mean, how was I supposed to know you'd react like that? Besides, we both know you were never good enough for Alexander. So drop the act." Alexander stood beside her, his gaze cold and dismissive: "If it weren't for the marriage contract, no one would've touched you. You know that, right?" What he didn't know was that the woman he was calling a slut had saved his life more times than he could count.

“Soraya Barata tidak lebih dari seorang gadis polos yang mudah diperdaya!” Kalimat itu selalu terngiang dalam benak gadis berusia 21 tahun bernama Soraya Barata. Bagaimana tidak? Saat ini dia tengah bersedih. Lantaran dikhianati kekasihnya di saat Ayahnya tengah drop dan harus menjalani perawatan di sebuah Rumah Sakit. Bukan hanya itu. Sebastian Danu—kekasih Raya juga merampas kekuasaan perusahaan Barata. Memblokir semua rekening, hingga Raya harus terlunta-lunta mencari uang untuk biaya operasi ayahnya. Bahkan Raya terpaksa menipu seorang pria paruh baya untuk mendapatkan uang yang dia butuhkan. Masa depannya hampir saja berakhir. Untungnya datanglah seorang pria misterius bernama Raiden yang saat ini menjadi malaikat untuk Raya. Walau Raya dan Raiden harus menjalani hidup dengan terus kucing-kucingan dari kejaran anak buah pria yang sudah Raya tipu. Hidup Raya semakin hancur saat dia mengetahui pengkhianatan yang luar biasa dari orang-orang terdekatnya. Ia pun bertekad untuk membalaskan dendam dan merebut kembali apa yang menjadi haknya. Apakah Raya mampu mencapai tujuannya?

Have you seen anyone die in front of you? No? Well, I have, more times than I can count. I seem to have a morbid attraction to . Maybe it's like a superpower or maybe it’s a curse. Particularly the Crimson curse, as I like to call it. You would think that doesn't affect me anymore. You are right to think that because that is what I had thought until a week ago. I guess seeing your parents get murdered in front of your eyes and seeing their blood and life slowly drain out of their body isn't the same as seeing your neighbour die from a heart attack when you were 9.One more thing you should know about me is that I can make you sleep with one touch. My parents both were doctors and put their abilities to best use. My father could heal everyone other than himself and my mother like myself could drop a person to sleep with just one stroke of the hand.Now I am off to Aliam academy for mastering my supernatural ability, apparently for which my mother enrolled me before dyeing. Well, looking at the bright side, there is one boy with violet-blue eyes and curly black hair and I am falling head over heels for him.

My mother-in-law lives alone. One day, her house suddenly catches on fire. It's a life-threatening situation. I call my firefighter husband several times before he answers impatiently. "I don't care why you're calling—can't it wait? I'm fixing Sophie's pipes!" I tell him about his mother being trapped in a fire, but he merely sneers. "How dare you curse my mother just to make me go home? You're insane!" He hangs up without another word. I'm left helpless. All I can do is wait for his colleagues to arrive, but they only come half an hour later. Their expressions shift to horror when they see the blazing fire. "Didn't Captain Scott say his wife was lying?" My mother-in-law dies due to the delay. My husband even misses the funeral because of his first love. I give up on him and ask for a divorce. However, he rips the divorce agreement to shreds and shatters the urn that contains his mother's ashes. "Drop the act—I would definitely go through with the divorce if not for my mother!" I laugh. He doesn't even know his mother is already dead.