Life Without Hope: A New Chapter Novels & Stories

I've been married to Sylvia Fuller, a mafia donna, for ten years. I'm there with her in every life-and-death situation. My hands, which are meant for playing the piano, have developed calluses from using guns. They are also stained with blood from the enemies. But when Sylvia turns 28, she falls head over heels in love with Wilson Hink, the young man she's brought back from the slums. Sylvia has hidden him very well… right until the moment I bump into him accompanying her to a prenatal check-up. Mad with jealousy, I demand Sylvia for answers, but she just passes me a divorce agreement in a lackadaisical manner. "Wilson is a man of religion. He can't sire a child without getting married, so I have to give him a legitimate status. Sign this agreement, and I'll give you 40% of my shares." I refuse to give my position away, so Sylvia keeps forcing my hand. In the end, she even kidnaps my younger brother, who's paralyzed from waist down, and drags him to the spot beneath a hydraulic press. "Sebastian Chance, either you sign the agreement, or watch him get crushed. Your choice." I kneel on the ground and beg Sylvia to stop. But soon, I hear the hydraulic press being activated. It doesn't take long before I'm completely covered in my brother's flesh and blood. I end up collapsing onto the gore-splattered ground. When I open my eyes again, I realize I've gone back in time—back to the time when Wilson has accompanied Sylvia to the prenatal check-up. This time, I don't say anything. Instead, I contact a rehabilitation center located overseas before filing for a divorce and leaving Sylvia behind. But once I'm gone for real, Sylvia actually goes crazy.

I'd been assigned overseas for three months, but I wrapped up my work ahead of schedule and flew home early to spend New Year's Eve with my wife. While waiting for a ride, I scrolled through TikTok and came across a video captioned: [Marrying the one you love feels like winning a war.] Then the scene shifted, and my world tilted. The bride slung over the groom's shoulder… was my wife. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But then I spotted familiar faces—her relatives, unmistakable in the crowd. I didn't hesitate. I checked the hotel location tagged in the video and shoved my phone toward the taxi driver. "Change the route. Take me here," I said. "I'm going to catch them in the act."

On the night she’s supposed to become Luna, Seraphine is murdered by her mate, not because he hates her, but because a prophecy forces him to. She dies thinking he rejected her. But the Moon Goddess gives her a rebirth into the body of a witch, the most feared species by wolves. Now she returns to the pack hidden in a new body unknown to her former mate and she’s carrying a forbidden power she never had before. She has one mission: Expose why she was truly killed… and why her mate cried while stabbing her. But every truth she uncovers leads to a darker twist.

It's my first time visiting my girlfriend, Jennifer Hayes' family for the holidays. At the dining table, her childhood friend, Duncan Foley, suddenly slams his cutlery down. "How could you bring a prostitute client home for dinner, Jenny?" The atmosphere becomes awkward immediately. Everyone initially thinks that Duncan is running his mouth because he's had too much to drink, but he continues to ramble in a matter-of-fact tone. "My buddy is a part of the anti-prostitution task force! As if I can get the person he's personally arrested wrong!" As he speaks, he tosses a copy of the public security administrative penalty notice onto the table. My name is displayed on it. The sight leaves me stunned. It's true that the anti-prostitution task force arrested dozens of offenders in the city last month. But I'm the one who gave the signature of approval as the newly promoted chief commissioner…

Alistair Kingsley's secretary, Nerina Larson, calls herself a lucky charm with a dream that she wants to achieve. Apparently, she has used the 500 thousand dollars in the company's account, which is set aside for the employees' year-end bonuses, on lottery tickets. Excitedly, she sends a voice message on the company's group chat. "This lucky charm shall win prizes for everyone! Call me the lucky charm who knows how to manage finances the best!" Alistair claims that Nerina is a very high-spirited and interesting young woman. He even criticizes me for being a stick in the mud. During the final compulsory meeting before the New Year holidays, thousands of employees are waiting for their bonuses so that they can celebrate the holidays happily. But Nerina has the nerve to tear the back-up check I've prepared into pieces in front of everyone. She claims that she has never lost when it comes to luck, so she wants to live stream the process of her scratching the lottery tickets. In my previous life, I called the security guards and had her removed from the stage. Then, I quickly used my authority to send everyone their salaries. That was how I managed to calm everyone down and helped the company avoid going into bankruptcy. With tears streaming down her eyes, Nerina rushed out of the company. "All of my fans call me the lucky queen, and that I'll definitely score the grand prize today! But now, my live streaming gig is all ruined!" On the same night, Nerina dies from hypothermia after drinking herself to a stupor on the streets. With bloodshot eyes, Alistair ran over me with his car repeatedly. "Why can't you just believe her just this once? What if she can strike the jackpot and lead everyone down the path of wealth?" When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Nerina carries a few sacks of lottery tickets onto the stage. This time, I'm the first one to applaud for her. I want Alistair to witness how his beloved lucky charm can bring ruination upon the entire company!

To cheer up their depressed adopted daughter, Ashley Reid, my parents don't dare to treat me nicely. They've even locked me in a pitch-black room more than 700 times, just to put a smile on her face. At first, they feel guilty toward me. But eventually, even my older brother, Liam Reid, who used to care for me the most, treats it like it's all perfectly reasonable. When Ashley's depression finally starts to ease, I work up the courage to kneel and beg them to seal off that room for good. But at her birthday party, simply because I'm wearing the only T-shirt I own, she starts tearing up and asks my parents if I don't like her. My parents and Liam rush to comfort her and, yet again, lock me away in that dark, endless room. "Summer, you're her elder sister. You have to be more considerate of her feelings." "If you hadn't insisted on wearing something so tacky for her birthday party, she wouldn't have gotten so upset." "You've gotten used to it after all these years, right? One more time won't matter to you." I curl up in the corner, gripping my hair, unable to say a word. Three days later, they finally let me out. They remind me not to upset Ashley again. But I just stare at them blankly. "Sorry, who are you?"

Three years ago, Roman Reed was the boy I would have died for. Then he broke my heart and disappeared, leaving me to piece my life back together while I climbed to Hollywood stardom. Now I am the nation's rising star, and my mother has finally found her happy ending with a tech billionaire. But when I walk into our new Malibu estate, the man standing there is not a stranger. It is Roman. My ex-lover. My new stepbrother. At Northcrest, he is the Blacklisted King. Cold, ruthless, and feared. He hates my fame, he hates my face, and he tells me to stay out of his sight. But under the same roof, the air between us changes. He watches me from the shadows. He judges my red-carpet gowns with a dark possessiveness that feels like a threat. He warns me, "Do not start something you cannot finish, Scarlett." The paparazzi wait for me to slip. My parents watch our every move. As the hate begins to melt back into the fire that once burned us, the biggest scandal is not my past. It is the man I am living with.

I woke up, and I was 28 again. I had twin heirs, and my husband was Santino, Veridia's most feared Mafia Don. He sat at the head of the Commission of the Five Families. His sharp profile was a fixture on the cover of the underworld's most exclusive magazine for several consecutive issues. Even the oldest Valerian families were lining up to offer him their daughters. All the women in Altoria envied my good fortune. But the first thing I did after waking up was pick up the divorce papers, the ink still fresh, and handed them to his childhood sweetheart, Jessy. "My lawyer will handle the divorce. The properties and assets are yours. Santino is yours. The children are yours, too." Sitting across from me, Jessy couldn't believe it, her eyes wide with shock. "Are you crazy, Alessia? Is this some kind of trick?" "How could the woman who has been Donna for six years give it all up so easily?" I lowered my gaze, my tone calm. "Since they all prefer you, I figured it was time to step aside." "Just have Santino sign it and press his signet ring into the wax seal." "Once the divorce is final, I'll leave Veridia for good." This time, I would not make the same mistake. I would never again be a Donna in name only.

"What will you say to me to get the obstruction off you?" His cold voice said to me in the dark. "Please, stranger, get me stripped with your teeth." I heard myself saying. That was what he wanted to hear, his hand found my panties, and I felt his fingers crawling into my pussy. He grabbed me there, and I cried in pleasure. ...... What led to this? Making out with a man I've never met before in my life in a club? A heartbreak. One thing got me away from my reasoning and left me as I am. It got me ruined, and my bitchy self took control over me, just to get over my ex. The man I was with, Kennedy, fuck his last name, was just the right person to get me out like I wanted. His gaze.... desire inside me. His hands.... fire on me. ....... Jane wanted to get over her ex-boyfriend for cheating on her, so she went to the club to get wasted, and she spent a night with a stranger. The stranger's face and perfection began to haunt her dreams and day. What confused her most was that she didn't know whether she did anything with the stranger apart from touching and grinding. How should she react whenever she sees the stranger whose mere look at her, dominates her thinking? What will she do when she has to see him almost every day of her life when he is the new HR manager in the company where she works? Has he forgotten about her as much as she forgot his face? Let's see.....

Samantha was broke and desperate. Her brother had the perfect solution. Go work for his best friend. But why the hell would Sam want to work for Ares Beck after he spent his whole life bullying her? And better question, why is he so desperate to have her as his PA that he would tell Ben to have her apply in the first place?