Monica's Engagement Ring From Friends

Three years later—they came back. Alpha Marcus knelt before me, his voice trembling. “Come home with us… please?” Liam knelt through the night. “Nina, I regret it. Forgive your brother…” Cole came straight from the battle field, soaked in blood, his eyes red and wet. “Look at me. Just pity me one more time, will you?” I said nothing. Because my heart had already died during those three years. Later, another Alpha stood at my side. I was the only one in his eyes. I smiled. Those people I used to know only dared to watch from afar. They didn’t even dare to come close.

Betrayed by the people she trusted most, Ava Lin’s perfect life shatters overnight. From losing her mother under mysterious circumstances to being tormented by her stepmother and stepsister, Ava learns early that love in her world comes at a price. But nothing prepares her for the ultimate betrayal,catching her fiancé in bed with her own sister just weeks before their wedding. Humiliated and heartbroken, Ava makes a reckless decision that changes everything: a contract marriage to a stranger. What she doesn’t know is that her new husband is Elias Ward,a powerful, cold-hearted billionaire with secrets of his own. Thrown into a world of wealth, power, and hidden enemies, Ava finds herself entangled in a dangerous game of revenge, lies, and unexpected passion. As she rises from the ashes of betrayal, those who once destroyed her will stop at nothing to bring her down even if it means exposing deadly secrets buried in her past. But when love begins to bloom in the most unexpected place, Ava must decide,will she continue fighting for revenge, or risk everything for a second chance at love? In a story filled with scandal, heartbreak, and justice, one woman’s pain becomes her greatest strength… and her ultimate weapon.

It's 11:30 pm. Home alone, I decide to order some takeout. When the map shows the delivery guy is zero miles away, I receive a call from him. I pick up, only to hear unsettling silence from the other end. I hang up, annoyed. The next moment, the guy texts me, "Sorry, I'm hearing-impaired and unable to speak. I called to notify you to pick up your food as soon as possible. I can't explain things over the phone, and I apologize for that." Then comes another text. "You must've been waiting for a long time. I've left your order at your door, so please pick it up as soon as you can." Just as I prepare to open the door, I see bars of live comments—reminiscent of livestream chats—floating right before my eyes. "Don't open the door! That dude isn't a delivery guy at all! He's a murderer!" "He called you to check if you're a woman living alone!" "Seriously, why are all thriller story protagonists always so dumb? The delivery guy is obviously suspicious, yet she still wants to open the door."

Elena Sterling gave Mark everything, her brilliant business mind, her unwavering loyalty, her entire life. She built his billion-dollar empire from nothing while he slowly erased her from the story. Now, after years of being the perfect wife and mother, she's become invisible in her own home. Mark flaunts his mistress while their children wish Veronica was their real mother. When Elena discovers Mark's plan to divorce her, claim she's mentally unstable, and steal custody of their children, she realizes the man she loved never existed at all. With nothing but the clothes on her back and a fierce determination to survive, Elena takes a job as a night cleaner at Knight Industries. There, she catches the attention of Arthur Knight, a mysterious billionaire CEO who sees the brilliant woman hiding beneath her broken exterior. As Elena transforms from discarded wife to unstoppable force, she uncovers Mark's darkest secrets and begins planning the perfect revenge. But when Arthur offers her something she never thought she'd have again—real love—Elena must choose between the safety of starting over and the satisfaction of bringing down the man who destroyed her. Just when Elena thinks she's finally won, Mark makes one last desperate move that could cost her everything she's fought to rebuild... But Elena Sterling didn't survive this long to lose now. Will Elena reclaim her power and find true love, or will Mark's final betrayal destroy her chance at happiness forever? In this explosive tale of revenge, redemption, and second chances, nothing is what it seems and everyone has secrets worth killing for.

Aria Lin was once the perfect socialite... Obedient, elegant and married to the city's most powerful CEO. But on the night of their 5th year anniversary, he made her signed over her company to him and then killed her. But fate? It gave her a second chance at life and she had decided to make him pay for every single betrayal. Right at the moment of his grand proposal, Aria did the unthinkable. She walked right up to her brooding assistant and kissed him right on the lips. Cameras flashed and the crowd gasps, but Aria? Didn't mind them at all. This right here? Was her statement. And her quest for freedom and revenge has begun with an impromptu kiss and a contract. Or has it? When her supposedly brooding assistant turned husband ended up being more possessive than her ex?.

Luna Elena Frost was never chosen, only assigned. Bound to Alpha Alaric Ashbourne through a cold contractual marriage, she endures three years as a Luna in name only. He never comes home, never defends her, and never looks at her, while his heart belongs to another woman. At his grandmother’s funeral, Alaric publicly dissolves their marriage, humiliating Elena before the entire pack. In that moment, she finally understands the truth. She was never wanted. But the Moon has not abandoned her. A forgotten night resurfaces. Her long-silent wolf begins to awaken. And secrets buried within her bloodline start to surface, drawing danger from every direction. Cast out by the pack that once used her, Elena must flee, survive, and uncover her true power. Only then does the Alpha realize his mistake. By the time he turns back in regret, the Luna he rejected may already be gone forever.

Jack Saunders wanted one last hurrah before taking the mantle of DS Oil & Gas, the billion-dollar company that his father founded. His friend, Owen, let him borrow his mansion on a tropical island so that he could throw a final party before “marrying” the business that would dominate the rest of his life. He brought his secretary, Brandy, hoping that he could kindle a relationship that would last through the long days and nights of running a company. However, while the party was great, the gold digging woman he brought was not, and Jack resigned himself to a lifetime of loneliness. That was until he took a walk down the beach and met her. A woman who didn’t recognize him from the tabloids and only saw him, the man behind the money. Of all the women Jack had ever met, there was nobody like Emma LaRue. With one pretend marriage ceremony, she would change his life forever, and become the only one he ever wanted to give his saltwater kisses to. This novella is the first half of Saltwater Kisses written from Jack’s point-of-view, with a few bonus scenes thrown in as well.

In 1940 Hitler gifted a Mercedes car to the then monarch of Nepal, Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Dev. The story revolves around this historical fact; however the main plot of the novel is the romance between a Nepal princess and a man from Kerala, a South Indian state. Both these characters are real people. The man from Kerala is the protagonist of the story. He was in Kathmandu in 1989 to pursue his post-graduate studies. One of his classmates at Tribhuvan University was a princess, a relative of the then monarch, King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. One day she showed him the Mercedes car, which at that time had been abandoned by the royal family and was resting at the Nepal Engineering College compound. The protagonist was a bit skeptical of Hitler's motive in gifting the car to the Nepal king, but since the princess could not give him a credible reason disregarded the matter. After about 22 years the protagonist and the princess come together and travel to Mt. Everest to unearth Hitler's motive in gifting the car to the Nepal king. On the scary and freezing slope of the highest peak in the world they come to know about many unknown facets of Hitler and the main reason behind the fall of the Nepal kingdom. Along with that they also come to know about their past lives, which was scarily excruciating, at the same time thrilling. It is this revelation about the past lives of the protagonist and the princess that binds the story together.

The weather is -4 degrees Fahrenheit in Snow Park. The menstrual cramps are too much for me to handle, so I can only crouch beside the snow paths in order to rest. The new beautiful ski instructor, Sandy Hatfield, who Owen Schultz has hired, skid to a stop all of a sudden. The flurry of ice and snow gets splashed onto my face as a result. "Oh my, the snow quality here really is amazing! Unlike a certain someone, whose health is weaker than that of an average child…" Sandy takes off her snow goggles before flipping the bird at me tauntingly. "A dainty maiden like you should just go home and enjoy the heater. Don't take up precious space on the snow paths!" Unable to take it anymore, I grab my ski pole and try to strike Sandy with it. The next thing I know, Owen comes skidding in my direction on his snowboard and quickly shields Sandy from me. In doing so, he knocks me to the icy ground. He frowns at me, his voice colder than the icy winds. "Sandy is a professional athlete. What she did is a professional ski move. Can you stop being unreasonable?" As I slump on the ground, I find myself staring at a pink turtle cushion hanging from Sandy's hip. That was a cushion I’d sewn for Owen over three sleepless nights before this trip, with a safety charm hidden inside.. Back then, Owen thinks this charm is childish-looking and embarrassing, so he has tossed it into the boot without looking at it. Sandy follows my line of sight and feels the turtle cushion near her hip. Then, she brushes the snow off the charm with a scowl on her face. "Owen told me that this is a piece of garbage that's taking up space at home. So, it serves as my cushion now. I don't think even old ladies are prone to making such lame crafts nowadays, right Brooke?"

My daughter, Jillian Hamilton, viewed me as a love rival since she was a kid. Every time my husband, Kelvin Hamilton, and I attempted to engage in bedroom activities, she'd rush into our room to split us up. "You slut of a mom! Stop seducing my dad!" When Kelvin placed some food on my plate, Jillian wept loudly while climbing up the rooftop. "I'll jump off the building right now unless you stay away from Mom, Dad!" Even when I was putting on makeup, Jillian would mock me incessantly. "No matter how much you doll yourself up, an old hag like you can never compete against me." Later on, Kelvin got caught cheating on me with another woman. I was worried that Jillian might get bullied by her new stepmother, Maisie Ferrera, so I did everything I could to fight for her custody. But Jillian splashed me with sulphuric acid hysterically. "You can forget about separating me and Dad! Dad can only be mine!" Noting how pitiful I was, the omnipotent being decided to give me a chance to get reborn. This time, I give up on Jillian's custody without hesitation. "From now on, I just want to stay as far as I can from Jillian!"