O'block Chicago Novels & Stories

My husband's childhood friend says she wants her crystal beads to soak up some of the good luck in our home. Because of that, he scatters the beads on the floor, making me slip and miscarry. I'm in agony as I lie on the operating table. I call my husband incessantly, but all he does is block my number. I lie in the hospital ward after the operation. I see my husband's childhood friend's social media update—a photo of him worshipfully holding out a certificate while getting down on one knee. It's captioned, "He loves me so much! I said I'm interested in running a business and he actually set up a company for me!" On the day of the branch company's grand opening, my husband's childhood friend wears an expensive custom-made gown. Meanwhile, I wear her discarded goods. I'm barred from even entering the building. I suppress my bitterness and call my lawyer. "Are the divorce procedures done?"

Four months pregnant. I was alone when a rival family came for me.. A searing pain tore through my stomach. I couldn't reach my husband, Don Lorenzo. His phone was off. I woke up in a sterile hospital bed. Three days had passed. And the baby... was gone. That’s when I heard the nurses gossiping. “Heard Don Lorenzo cleared out a block of Fifth Avenue for his mistress three days ago. Had his phone off so they wouldn't be disturbed.” Tears rolled down my cheeks, but my heart was empty. I gave up my career, my whole life, for him. The Don who promised me forever… he shattered that promise just days before our fifth anniversary. Back home, I dug out an old phone and made a call. A number I hadn't touched in five years. "The European tour you mentioned…" I said, my voice hollow. "I'm in. I can be ready in a week."

I'm Bella, the Donna of the Vitoriano Famiglia. The thing is, no one thinks I'm worthy of this position. After all, I'm a former slave who has been rescued by Giorgio Vitoriano, the next Don in line, from an underground auction house. In order to repay him for his act of benevolence, I become the sharpest weapon of his arsenal. I pull off every task flawlessly, be it assassination, infiltration, or purging the family of unwelcome moles. I make it my life's mission to block every source of danger aimed at him, even if it means sacrificing myself. On the day Giorgio becomes the new Don, he places a family signet ring onto my palm. "Bella, I have a new mission for you that requires both of us to carry out for the rest of our lives. Will you do me the honor of accepting it?" Of course, I will. But Giorgio ends up bringing his adopted sister, Liliana Vitoriano, home one year into our marriage. I think it's my time to leave now.

After being reborn, I cut off every line of contact with Maxwell Sutton. He chooses Elmshore University, so I change my application to Stonewick University instead. My goal is to stay far away from him and never cross paths again. When he comes back to the country for holidays and tries to meet up, I fly abroad. I block him on social media and stop replying to his emails. The moment he joins the same company as me, I hand in my resignation. I don't even want to see him from a distance. In my previous life, I was obsessed with him for 20 years, and he betrayed me for 20 years. I was diagnosed with a terminal illness in my 30s. While I took my last breath, Maxwell was busy planning a wedding with his first love. The daughter we raised adjusted his suit like the perfect child, while I died alone in a hospital room. And now, I refuse to live that ridiculous life again.

Tara Lodge isn't who she used to be. Once the picture-perfect daughter of a powerful Chicago senator, now a runaway hiding her identity and the scars from her past. After a night that nearly cost Tara her life, she vanished into a quiet Nevada town, determined never to be found. Until she met the Finch brothers. Jason is wild, and impossible to resist. A one night-stand with him left her breathless...and wanting more. Jeremiah is steady, intense and wickedly charming, slowly pulling her into his abyss. It doesn't help when she starts working as his assistant, and the flames grow fiercer. Torn between two brothers who both want her, Tara is stuck between passion and protection. But her past is catching up. And she'll have to fight to keep the life and love she has finally dared to build.

“King of the North,” he hissed, checking the device. He already expected me to betray him. He’d hated me ever since my twin, Enzo, outed me in middle school. I could still feel the sting of his spit on my face from that day. “Come on, pretty son,” he smiled. “Let’s get you married.” I put on my Ray-Bans. I wasn’t Luca anymore. I was a mask. I walked down the stairs with a fake swagger, hiding the pain in my chest with every dancey step. To unite the fractured syndicates of Chicago, a marriage is arranged. The groom? Silas Vane, the ruthless, cold-blooded “King of the North,” who is 45 and widowed. The other groom? Lucas De Santis, the 22-year-old reckless partying son of the southern boss, viewed as a pawn and a liability by his own father. Silas expects a brat to ignore. Luca expects a monster to fear.

True love never dies. Not even when those around me are trying to kill it. With vampire bounty hunters still out for me, having the Grand Coven accuse me of treason against witches is the last thing I need. No one should tell me who I can and cannot love. Determined not to let anyone or anything get in our way, Lucas and I decide to lay low for a while and let everything blow over with my coven while Lucas hunts for the vampires who tried to kidnap me. But things, of course, don’t go according to plan, and when I stumble upon an ancient evil force hiding out in the underground of Chicago, we realize our forbidden romance is the least of our worries. As we search for a way to defeat unbeatable odds, I start to discover that things aren’t what they seem…including my very existence.

Five years into my marriage to Dante Moretti, the Don of the Chicago Outfit, the entire underworld knew he loved me more than life itself. He’d had a violin—for me—tattooed right next to his family crest, a symbol of loyalty that could never be erased. Until I got the photo from his mistress. A cocktail waitress, sprawled naked in his arms, her skin marred by the dark bruises of rough sex. She had scrawled her name right next to the violin he’d gotten for me. And my husband had let her. "Dante says only being inside me makes him feel like a man anymore. You can’t even get him hard anymore, can you, sweet Alessia? Maybe it’s time to step aside." I didn't reply. I just made a single call. “I need a new identity. And a plane ticket out.”

Alphas from different packs flocked towards Onel, a man who was said to be more beautiful than any woman. He was the last surviving omega who could give birth to a strong alpha son which made him the perfect mate. Out of those who desired him, Onel chose Alpha Blue, his mate, and the alpha of their pack whom he had always loved since he was a child and who loved him in return. But after giving birth to Blue's child, he found out his betrayal and his dirty secrets which led him to escape from his claws along with their child. But Alpha Blue caught him and killed him. Desperate to seek revenge, during his final moment, he begged the moon goddess for another chance. When he opened his eyes again, he was back to the past. And this time, he would make sure that justice would be served on a sizzling platter. No one will be spared from his wrath. Anyone who will try to block his path will pay a heavy price… even if it’s Giovanni Del Fierro, his second chance mate and the Alpha King himself.

To end a bloody mafia war, Isabella Rossi is handed over to the most dangerous man in Chicago as a peace offering. Ruthless mafia king Alessandro De Luca is cold, brutal, and completely untouchable, men fear him, women obey him, and when Isabella is dragged into his penthouse, she becomes his prisoner… his possession… and his temptation. But Isabella refuses to bow, her fiery defiance awakens something dark and obsessive inside Alessandro that he can no longer control. Every stolen glance turns dangerous, every argument burns with tension, and every touch feels like a sin neither of them should crave. What starts as hatred quickly spirals into a deadly obsession filled with possessive kisses, dangerous secrets, and nights so intense they leave scars on both their hearts and bodies. But as enemies close in and betrayal lurks in the shadows, Alessandro will spill blood, destroy empires, and burn the entire underworld to the ground before anyone dares take Isabella away from him.