Object Madness

"I'll cut to the chase. I'm the villainess in this story." Everyone in this wealthy, elite family adored my poor, fragile adopted sister. My older brother Damien would snap, "Don't scare Bella. Her weak heart can't take it." My other brother, Magnus, would add, "Lend Bella your nightgown, all right? It's wasted on you." Even my fiancé said, "This is nothing more than a marriage of convenience. My true love has always been Bella." In my last life, I humbled myself endlessly to please them. What did I receive in return? They sent me to a mental asylum and I died in agony. Then I came back to life on the day of my engagement party. A voice echoed in my mind and made its announcement. [The Madness Reward System has chosen you, Marceline Blanc. Any unhinged behavior will earn rewards worth hundreds of millions of dollars.] I grinned and sent the pompous, ten-tier cake crashing to the floor. "I'm done with this shitty family. Goodbye, you miserable bastards."

The day Yancy Shepherd died, Benedict Page poisoned our dinner. His eyes were wild, and bloodshot, as he watched me writhe in agony. There was a madness in his gaze, but worse was the hatred, a disgust so deep it twisted his face into something unrecognizable. "If it weren't for you forcing your way into our lives, Yancy wouldn’t have died from heartbreak. You ruined us! It’s all your fault!" A photo slipped from his trembling hand and landed at my feet—Yancy at twenty, looking radiant, her smile as bright as a blooming flower. I collapsed to the ground, my strength fading fast like a rose withering in the final grasp of winter. Helpless, I waited for the darkness to claim me, consumed by despair and bitter regret. Why hadn’t I listened to the system and killed him when I had the chance? But when I opened my eyes again, everything was different. I stood watching Benedict flee our engagement ceremony. My brother moved to chase after him, but I quietly raised a hand, stopping him. This time, things would be different.

“Who the hell typed this contract, Liam? I see typos.” “What typos? I wrote every damn word myself.” “Then you must’ve been typing while Evelyn was suck–” “Shut the fvck up, Olivia! Just sign it, or forget about ever seeing my babies again.” “They’re my babies too, you asshole! Would you sign if some psycho shoved this shitty contract in your face?” “Then don’t sign. Your loss. Get the fvck out of my office. Call me only after you sign, or you’ll regret it.” --- I thought giving birth would be the happiest day of my life. Instead, it became the day my whole world shattered. While I was still weak and bleeding in that hospital bed, my husband walked in… not with flowers, not with comfort, but with a hard blow to my stitches. That devil set a trap far worse than our marriage itself. And no matter how much I hated him… a part of me still burned whenever he touched me. Was this love, madness, or the devil’s contract I could never escape?

"You think I'll let you go, sweetheart?” He caught the gun from her effortlessly and spun her in his arms, holding her captive once again as he chuckled into her ear, tilting her chin up with the barrel of the gun. “I clipped your wings for a reason. There’s no way back once you enter my world.” *** When an unfortunate incident in the family brings Matsyaa Rathore into the land of the royals, the last thing she expects is catching the eye of the notorious crown prince and becoming his untamed fantasy. His obsession has turned her life into a nightmare. Control slips out of her hands and she finds herself trapped in twisted games of power. To end this madness, she does everything to resist him, challenge him and fight him. Just about all she must not be doing. They say Ranvijay Singh Raghuvanshi is God for his people, and this time, the ‘God’ wants Matsyaa—all for himself. Amidst building tension and deep-rooted hatred, will Matsyaa be able to free herself from the dangerous royals, or will Ranvijay capture her for the rest of her life in his mystical lair?

One tragic accident. One life lost. One love that should never exist. Amariz solene never meant to kill Thalina, Alaric’s fiancée. Yet in a heartbeat, she becomes the object of his rage and the source of a forbidden desire neither can resist. Her mother sends her to work at a prestigious company, unaware that it belongs to the man whose life she shattered. Amari walks into her new job oblivious, unaware she’s stepping straight into Alaric's world, binding her fate to the man who despises her most. Alaric sees her arrival as fate, a chance to punish the woman who destroyed his world. But as he watches her carry her guilt quietly and face each challenge with grace,his hatred begins to crumble, finds himself drawn to the woman he should hate. Every stolen glance, every secret encounter ignites a dangerous passion that threatens to consume them both. To love each other is betrayal. To let go is heartbreak. And in the shadow of tragedy, they must decide: will their hearts be destroyed by the past, or can they risk everything for a love born from grief?

[WARNING: MATURE CONTENT] BDSM. NO CHEATING! My wedding was a day I looked forward to the most throughout my teen. I couldn't contain my joy at the prospect of marrying the man who had been the object of my affection for such a long time—my future husband. But who would have thought I was merely a naive girl believing we shared similar emotions? My entire world came crashing down when my wedding night turned out to be the most horrifying night of my whole life. **** "Untie these cuffs!" I was in so much pain that I couldn't move, nor could I bear it any longer. "Why on earth would I do that? We aren't yet finished here." His tone was hostile. “What?” I was shocked beyond belief. He reached out and grabbed me by the restraint he had used to tie me up and pulled me closer to himself. Then he stroked my cheeks soothingly while staring me dead in the eyes. “Oh, honey. We have not yet had our first night!!"

Clara is the maid of billionaire Edward James, who is known as a genius in technology, handsome and rich. He was blind because of an accident in childhood. When they first met, she made a terrible impression on him. From then on, he made it difficult for her with unreasonable requests. But Clara completed all the assigned tasks. Not only that but many times she also made Edward James mad with her clever personality. Along with that, Edward James also felt attracted to Clara because of her resilience and brightness. They had feelings for one another. This is also when Clara realized that the object of the night with her a few months ago was Edward. She is pregnant; he finds out, and it forces them to have a wedding. Married for a few months, Clara miscarried because of Edward’s inattention. From there, their relationship fell apart. The difference between the two’s life views and irreconcilable misunderstandings led them to divorce after a year of marriage. After the divorce, Clara went abroad to study. Five years later, she returned with a child who called her mother and a master’s degree in economics. She and he met again and continued their unfinished predestined relationship.

Harrison Monroe has been secretly in love with his best friend, Rhett Langley since they had an "experimental" affair between their junior and senior year of high school. They agreed to remain best friends and not let anything change between them, but everything changed for Harrison. Now older and leading their own lives, Harrison is yet to forget that steamy summer they spent together. When he gets asked to be Rhett's best man in his wedding to a woman named Rebecca, Harrison is put in an awkward position and goes through a journey to put his personal feelings aside and support his best friend. Then comes the bachelor's party where Rhett pulls Harrison away and they share another steamy moment. Harrison asks himself if it was only the alcohol in his system or if Rhett truly has romantic feelings for him as well, and with the wedding just around the corner, he's too fearful to ask. Now Harrison has more questions than answers and has to decide whether to swallow his pride and let Rhett marry a woman he may not truly love or take his chance at his own happily ever after and object at the altar in front of everyone.

For eight years, I was the ghost in Lorenzo Valenti's empire. By day, I was his executive assistant, the engine of his criminal enterprise. By night, I was the most submissive bird in his gilded cage, and the nameless body in his bed. I loved him with a devotion that bordered on madness, a foolish flame I'd nurtured since I was a scholarship student pulled into his orbit. I believed my quiet love could one day melt the ice around his heart. I was wrong. The day his unforgettable first love, Isabella, returned, the man I knew vanished. The rare smiles once reserved for me were now all for her. My presence by his side was erased, replaced by hers. Even when she framed me, he believed her without hesitation. He chose her, again and again. I submitted my resignation. He signed it without looking. He thought I'd crawl back, broken and begging. He was wrong. While he was busy playing house with his "cuore mio", I was quietly packing away my life, preparing to vanish from his world forever.

Barry Ocason, extreme sportsman and outdoor travel writer, receives a magazine in his mailbox and opens to an ad for an adventure in the Bavarian Alps. Initially dismissing the invitation, which seems to have been meant specifically for him, he soon finds himself involved in a larger plot and seeking answers to why an individual known only as the elephant man is terrorizing his family. Barry and his daughter Kristen, who survived a twin sister taken from the family at a young age, travel from Juneau, Alaska to the sinister Spider Festival in Rio Tago, Brazil, before he ultimately answers the call to Bavaria, where the puzzle begins to come together. Amid tribulation, death, madness, and institutionalization, a document emerges describing a scientist’s bloody bid to breed a theoretical “third twin,” which is believed to have the potential, through its connection with its siblings, to bridge the gulf between life and afterlife. The godlike creature that soon emerges turns out to be Barry’s own offspring, and she has dark plans for the world of her conception that neither her father nor any other mortal can stop. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing