Never Too Late: A Novel

Serena Judd is a mess when she's taken to the hospital after being harassed by a freak. As she waits in the corridor for her turn to see the doctor, she sees Justin Farrow with his arm around a young woman. He's coaxing her gently. With a raspy voice, Serena looks at Justin, the guy she has been on and off with for years. "Didn’t you get my text?" "It's Candice's birthday, so I can't upset her. Besides, who knows whether you actually ran into a freak?" He frowns, looking disdainful. "Were you violated?" Serena's blood runs cold at his words. She tenders her resignation the following day, but Justin isn't bothered. He says, "She's more obedient than a dog. She'll come back to beg for forgiveness without me even saying anything." This time, however, Serena leaves without hesitation. … Half a year passes. Justin sits in his car and dials a number he's already committed to memory. As soon as the call is connected, he says tensely, "I miss you." All he hears is a snort. "Why are you disturbing me in the middle of the night with a love confession, Mr. Farrow? You should be asleep." Justin snarls, "Where's Rina? Tell her to answer the phone!" Wilson Quade looks at Serena, who's lying beneath him, her eyes gleaming with desire. He smirks devilishly and says, "We're busy, Mr. Farrow."

Lucia gave her heart to a family that was never truly hers. She raised his kids, rebuilt his company, and loved a man who chose someone else the moment she returned. So she walked away. Now the stepmother they took for granted is the woman the powerful CEO regrets losing. “I didn’t leave because I was weak… I left because they didn’t deserve me.”

My sister gets into an accident and needs an emergency blood transfusion when I'm six months pregnant. After a round of tests, my blood is the only suitable one. I'm exhausted and too skinny after being tormented by morning sickness. I have to say no. However, my family forces me to do it. I have no strength to resist; I can only beg my husband for help. To my devastation, he stands by and watches me coldly. "It's fine for you to donate some blood since you're so healthy. Queenie isn't the same as you—she has a bright future ahead, so we can't let anything affect that." I pass out after the blood donation. The first thing I do when I wake up is make an appointment for an abortion.

On the day of my seventh wedding anniversary, my husband's lover gave my son a pet cat. My pregnancy made me allergic to cat fur, and rashes appeared all over my body. Sensing that it might lead to a miscarriage, I told my son to return the cat. "I'm keeping it!" my five-year-old son, Zachary, protested. He pushed me and said, "I hate having you as my mom! I want Aunt Lynn to be my mom!" My husband, Quinton Locke, tore into me. "Why did you have to develop an allergy now, out of all times? Is your jealousy blinding you to the point where you won't even consider your son 's feelings? You're being unreasonable!" He carried Zachary up and left with the cat. They had eschewed me in favor of Lynn Shelbert, Quinton's lover and the 'apple of his eye'. I collapsed on the ground, watching as blood began to soak my pants. At that moment, I knew I had suffered a miscarriage. I felt an unimaginable pain while I was in the hospital. My husband and son went traveling with Lynn, resembling a happy family of three. Lynn sent me a message. [Do you know why Quinton married you even though he's hopelessly in love with me? Well, I wanted a son and a daughter, but I didn't want to bear the risks that come with pregnancy. It's a shame you had a miscarriage.] Despair engulfed me that very instant. I hired a lawyer to prepare the divorce papers and took a flight back to my hometown. My sole wish was to never see Quinton and Zachary again.

When Scott Williams broke Cassie Newman’s heart, the last thing she wanted was to be the lady everyone talked about. The world-famous wedding planner who helped couples live their dream marriages, yet couldn’t save her own. The unfortunate woman who became the tabloids favorite gossip. She disappeared, shocking everyone, ran to a new city, changed her name, and started over, living her life, trying to bury the horrible past as she enjoyed her new marriage and new family. But just when things seemed perfect, Scott returned, acting as if he would die if she didn’t give him another chance. Now, he is determined to ruin Cassie Newman’s marriage. But will she let him?

I had been hanging around with Mark Anderson for eight years. People in his circle said I had become addicted to loving him.To what extent had I become addicted?I had become addicted to the point where I didn't hesitate to get rid of any woman who got close to him.In the end, Mark sent me to rehab.Others went to rehab for smoking, drinking, or gaming addiction.But I went to rehab for Mark.Later, I did successfully overcome my addiction to him, but he expressed regret over it.

I died on the day I won the Global Medical Doctorate Award. Fresh from celebrating the sixteenth birthday of my younger sister, my parents, brother, and my fiancé finally returned home, but it was three hours after my death. My family photos were beaming with happiness on social media, while I laid in the suffocating basement drenched in blood. Before I died, I had struggled to slide my tongue across my phone screen in a desperate attempt to call for help. My parents and brother had blocked my number. Only my fiancé answered my call. The moment his voice came through, he snapped, "Winona, Winnie's sixteenth birthday is important. Stop trying to hijack attention with your pathetic excuses. Enough with the theatrics!" It murdered my last spark of survival. In that electronic death rattle, my heart flatlined. The 100th time they chose her. The 100th time they abandoned me for her. But it was also the last time. They thought I had ran way to get their attention again, and that if they taught me a harsh lesson, I would come crawling back pathetically. But not this time. Because I didn't leave home. I had been lying in the basement of my house.

It's my husband, Niall Luther's birthday. I take my son to the hospital to visit Niall since he's working late; I want to surprise him. However, we get into an accident on the way there. When I rush to the hospital with my bloodied son in my arms, I see Niall holding his first love's daughter. He coos at her and says, "This might be a small wound, but there's a risk of infection if it isn't handled well!" His first love, Chelsea Blanc, gives him a chiding look. "You treat Lulu so well that I'm getting jealous." Niall wraps an arm around her. "It's only because I love you. You're the one I love the most." I pull out my phone and call him. He keeps his arm around Lulu White and rejects my call. So, I text him, telling him our son is injured and has been taken to the hospital where he works. I tell him he needs to attend to our son. However, he berates me for lying. I have no choice but to take my son elsewhere for treatment. Before leaving, I see Niall kiss Chelsea tenderly and tell her he wants to take her to an amusement park. That's when I know he and I are over.

My cousin, Kaylee Langford, pushes me down the ski slope when there's an avalanche. My boyfriend, Atlas Ferguson, lifts her into his arms and leaves. He seems to have forgotten that I'm buried underneath the snow mountain. He leaves me stranded at the valley for seven days. He's furious when he finds me. "You should be glad nothing went wrong with Kaylee's arms. Otherwise, the only way you could atone would be to die on this mountain! Our wedding is canceled—we'll have it once you realize what you did wrong." He thinks I'll cry or kick up a fuss, but I merely nod and say, "Okay." He doesn't know that I've made a deal with the Moon Goddess. In six days, I'll be giving up the things that mean most to me—my love for Atlas and my memories of him. Once that happens, I'll forget everything about him and start afresh somewhere new. What does a wedding matter when the Ember Sloane who loved him is now dead?

On the day Andrew Selwyn is elected as the pack's Beta, we promise to have our bonding ceremony a month later. Seven days away from the ceremony, he suddenly decides to pursue his first love, Lucy Grimm. He wants to make up for the time they had lost apart. If he gets back together with Lucy, he hopes I will give them my blessing. If he can't win her over, he'd let go of his obsession and return to complete the ceremony. He'd spend the rest of his life loving and protecting me. Gazing at his sincere expression, I smile and say, "Alright. As long as it makes you happy, I won't stop you." The moment he turns and leaves, I can no longer hold back my tears. All along, Andrew's heart belonged to someone else. Later, I contact my best friend, Selena Jones, through the mind link. "My bonding ceremony has been canceled," I say flatly, my voice thick with helplessness. "Didn't you want me to lead the research team at your institute out of town? I'll do it. When do we leave?"