Little Family

Upon my returning from the special ops mission I took on three years ago, I open the door to see my fiancee, Erica Lewis, pregnant and holding a child. "This is your son," she declares as she passes the kid to me. I freeze in shock. My parents chuckle and explain, "You were gone for so long. Erica had to carry on the family name without you, so your older brother decided to help you with it. Isn't that great?" Just like that, I'm forced to be the officiant at the wedding ceremony I spent the last three years eagerly anticipating. I'm expected to stand beside Erica and my brother, Alex Sherman, to watch them exchange wedding rings and to see them kiss each other passionately. They have lied to all our friends and family, claiming that I couldn't have children. They humiliate me in public. They've also spent all of my savings and moved into the villa I bought using the monetary reward I got from the army after completing a deadly mission. Erica and Alex even lie on the bed I'd picked out myself and take intimate photos of themselves to send to me. "Don't be so sensitive. We're just helping you carry on the family name. Our kids are going to call you dad anyway." I give up. "Don't bother. It's over between us, Erica." After that, I call the army on the phone.

When my husband threatened me with divorce for the hundredth time, demanding I sacrifice myself for my sister, I did not cry or make a scene. I simply signed my name on the divorce papers and willingly handed over the man I had loved for ten years to my sister. A few days later, my sister spoke recklessly at a banquet and offended a powerful family. Once again, I stepped forward to take responsibility, bearing all the consequences in her place. When they later proposed that I become a test subject for my sister's drug research, I gladly accepted. Mom and Dad said I had finally grown into someone mature and responsible. Even my cold husband stood by my hospital bed and, for the first time in so long, gently stroked my cheek. He said tenderly, "Don't be afraid. The experiment won't be life-threatening. When you get out, I'll cook you a big meal." However, he did not know that regardless of whether the experiment was dangerous or not, he did not have to wait for me because I was already dying from a terminal illness.

Emma and Luca have spent the past six years apart, during which time their mutual trust has progressively diminished. However, a significant life event has brought them together once more: their parents have orchestrated their marriage. This matrimonial union is strategically devised to unite their opposing mafia families, presenting itself as the most formidable business arrangement of the century. Conscious of the ramifications of defying their parents' mandates, both Emma and Luca acquiesce to the matrimonial contract with apprehension. Yet, beneath the facade of compliance, they each harbor profound sentiments for one another, emotions that have remained suppressed over the years. Will they succeed in transcending their animosity and rekindling their affection before external forces orchestrate their separation? Only time will unveil the outcome.

Napilitan magpakasal sina Anastasia Alarcon at Enzo Padilla dahil sa kagustuhan ng lola ng binata. Para kay Enzo, obligasyon lang iyon—pero para kay Anastasia, ito ang pagkakataon niyang makasama ang lalaking sampung taon niyang lihim na minahal. Akala ni Enzo, pera lamang ang habol ni Anastasia sa kaniya. Kaya sa loob ng isang taon nilang mag-asawa, malamig at maingat niyang itinago ang tunay niyang nararamdaman. Tiniis ni Anastasia ang bawat sandali, umaasang balang araw, mararamdaman din siya ng lalaking minahal niya ng buong puso. Hanggang sa namatay ang lola ni Enzo, at sa ika-pitong araw pagkatapos ng libing, sinabi nito na makikipaghiwalay na siya. She was nearly driven mad by Enzo’s demand for an annulment—at pagkatapos nito, umalis siya upang tuluyang kalimutan ang lalaking minahal niya ng buong puso. Ngunit hindi niya alam, iniwan ng kanilang huling gabing magkasama ang isang lihim: tatlong anak na hindi puwedeng malaman ni Enzo. Pagkalipas ng anim na taon, bumalik si Anastasia sa Pilipinas para hanapin ang anak na nawala noong sanggol pa lang. Ngunit sa halip na asahan, natuklasan niyang ang batang matagal niyang hinahanap ay nasa ilalim pala ng pangangalaga ng dati niyang asawa. Ang kanilang mga anak ang naging tulay upang muling magtagpo ang mga pusong sugatan. Hindi naglaon, lubos na pinagsisisihan ni Enzo ang lahat nang malaman niyang ang babaeng matagal niyang hinanap at pinangarap sa bawat gabing walang tulog ay si Anastasia pala. Determinado siyang ibalik at ipanalo muli ang puso ng kanyang dating asawa—ngunit sa harap ng lahat ng nakaraan, pagkukulang, at mga lihim… kaya nga ba muling magtiwala at magmahal si Anastasia kay Enzo?

The 99th time my fiancé, Draven, hung up on me, I dragged myself to the family's church, my diagnosis of end-stage renal disease clutched in my hand. "Father, I wish to renounce the Rocci family and break off my engagement to Draven Frost." The words had barely left my lips when my parents burst in with my adopted sister, Bianca. My father, the family's Consigliere, didn't hesitate. He slapped me across the face, right there in front of the priest. "Your fiancé is a respected Capo in our world, and you choose to insult him like this!" "You're dragging our family's name through the mud in front of the whole organization!" My mother snatched the diagnosis from my hand, sneering after a brief glance. "Playing sick for attention again, are you? What is it you want this time?" My adopted sister, Bianca, clung to our parents' arms, her voice choked with tears. "I'm so sorry, sister. You can have my place at the gala. Please, just stop making trouble for Mom and Dad!" I wiped the blood trickling from my nose and calmly repeated my words to the priest. "I am no longer a daughter of the Rocci family. I am not worthy of an alliance with the Frosts." "I will be dead in three days. I want this engagement broken before then."

Ever since she was two, Elara Vane became her twin sister's personal blood bank after the girl was diagnosed with a rare genetic defect. Doctors predicted her sister wouldn't live past eighteen, so her parents and brother doted on her, putting her first in everything. They even blamed Elara, accusing her of "stealing" her sister's nutrients in the womb, claiming it made her sickly. In her past life, no one in the family loved her. Only her fiancé, Dante, truly stayed by her side. But Elara never expected Dante's love had its own agenda. Until her sister accidentally fell off a cliff and needed a full blood transfusion. Dante signed the consent form without hesitation, sending her to the operating table to be the donor. As her blood drained and her consciousness faded, Elara swore that in another life, she would never be her sister's blood bag again! The next time she opened her eyes, she was back to the day after her engagement to Dante...

TRIGGER WARNING!!! YOUR MORALS WILL NOT SURVIVE THIS BOOK!!! This story contains themes of obsession, possessiveness, stalking, emotional manip-ulation, and psychological control. It is unapologetically intense and unsettling in all the right (and wrong) ways. Be guided. *** Eight years ago, Shannon watched her stepbrother get handcuffed and taken to jail for a crime she committed. He took the fall for it without hesitation. Not because he was noble. God, no. But because obsession looks a lot like love when you're seventeen and scared. After that night, she never went to visit him in prison, nor did she reply to any of his letters. She buried him with the past and went on to live a peaceful life without him. But the past never forgets. Eight years later, when she was living a simple, peaceful life, had a decent job and a husband who loved her deeply, Shannon's past came knocking at her door. Strange things start happening... Doors left open. Favorite things mysteriously re-placed. Eyes she can't see but feels always watching her. Everyone says she's paranoid. Everyone says He is still in jail. No one believes her when she says she had a STALKER. Her judgment is already upon her because, now, HE is out of prison. And the first place he goes is her doorstep, because he says she owes him her life. And he's come to collect what's his. How far can Shannon run from a man who never stopped loving her in the most ter-rifying way? A man who'd kill anyone, even her husband, just to make her his? HIS NAME IS KENAI... The Stalker You Never Want To Have. *** If you enjoy slow-burn stalker dynamics and morally gray characters, this one's for you.

"I loved that I fell for you but I hated that I was your second. That second which always comes after first!" Lilian Evans got married to Richard Tucker after his first wife died. She couldn't keep her heart in place despite his rude and ignorant behaviour. Things got a little overboard and now she was stuck at a point of no return. How would Lilian unfold her life in chaos with the responsibility of being a mother? "Touching others' belongings without consent! You know that is bad manner, right?" Lilian turned in the direction of the voice only to find her husband standing there in the ebony rich suit, his tie a little loose as he gazed right into her soul. "Oh... Yeah, sorry. I was just-" "Your room is at the end of this hallway, closer to Aid's," he said, taking off his coat and not minding to let his bride complete her sentence.

My sister was the golden child, the pride of our family, but she had a rare blood disorder that required treatments costing thousands every month. To keep her alive, I became her personal blood donor, working nonstop to pay for her care and delivering food all day and night. But one day, she nearly died from hemorrhaging after trying to abort a pregnancy. That’s when I learned the child she was carrying belonged to my boyfriend. When I confronted him, he didn’t even flinch. Instead, he dragged me to the operating table himself. “You were born to be her blood bank. Dying for her? It’s the best thing you’ll ever do.” I was left there, bleeding out, my life slipping away with every drop. But as death closed in, something changed. The people who once hoped I’d disappear—the ones who used me, betrayed me—they all began to unravel, losing their insanity.

"At seventeen, Lizzie Thornton left her hometown of Fair Haven to pursue her musical dreams—and to run from Trent Younger, the boy who broke her heart. Now a successful singer, Lizzie returns to Fair Haven nine years later. When she runs into Trent at her brother’s wedding, she discovers he’s no longer the shy boy she left behind. He’s a sexy, confident man who knows what he wants—and what he wants is her. When a night of passion results in unexpected consequences, Lizzie must grapple with prior heartbreak and with accepting that she still loves the one man she could never forget. Trent Younger grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, and he fought tooth and nail to establish himself as one of the most successful restaurateurs in Fair Haven. Yet he’s never forgotten Lizzie Thornton, the girl he adored, the same girl who left him to pick up the pieces of his life after tragedy struck them both. As Trent uncovers the layers of Lizzie’s guarded heart, he realizes that he doesn’t just want her in his bed. He wants her in his life—forever. Yet even as love rekindles, their pasts threaten to drive them apart. Unless they confront their demons, Lizzie and Trent may jeopardize a love that has already withstood the test of time."