Our Missing Hearts: A Novel Novels & Stories

My mother-in-law, Emma Grant, and I return to the country in advance during Christmas Eve. We originally plan on giving our respective husbands a huge surprise by showing up at Grant Manor. But the moment we arrive at the front door, we find out that the entire manor is painted in pink. A rich lady quickly blocks our way. "This is a private Christmas Eve party, you know! Not anyone is allowed entry! Besides, I don't recall having invited you here! Get lost now!" Emma frowns at her. "What a joke! Why do I need your permission to come here?" The lady shoots Emma a dark smirk in return. "Do you have any idea who the owner of this manor is? It belongs to my husband, Edward Grant! "In fact, Edward's the one who specifically threw this party just for me! Since you're dressed like a slut at this age, that just means you're planning to use this opportunity to seduce my darling husband!" My mind begins buzzing loudly. Isn't Edward Grant my father-in-law, who married into the Grant family as a live-in son-in-law? How could he be this lady's husband instead? Then, the lady catches sight of my phone's lock screen, which is my wedding portrait with my husband, Caleb Grant. She roars, "Oh, I see! You two are a pair of shameless minxes! It seems you've found out that my adoptive son, Caleb, is about to get engaged with my daughter tonight! That's why you're here to cause chaos, right?" Emma and I swap glances with each other in confusion. It turns out that both Edward and Caleb have been cheating on us this whole time. But then again, these two men are living off the Grant family! What makes them think they have the right to have side chicks on their own?

10 RULES OF OUR ‍ LOVE. BLURP. Lola is an only child who has no memory of her childhood. She lives with her friend Kira and works as a mechanic apprentice. Although her parents are poor, and her father crippled, she does her best to pay the bills. Andrea is the son of the richest man in Canrany. He is the hottest and most wanted bachelor in the world and a hard hearted jerk. What happens when these two fall in love, but an unforseen secret forces them to stay apart from each other? The only way they can be allowed to love each other is to create 10 RULES for their love. What is this great secret? What are these rules for their forbidden love? Do they stand by it or give up their love? Find out in this jaw-dropping story of love, betrayal, and redemption.

For another girl, Lex Hamilton—my fiancé of several years—dumped me in the middle of nowhere and left me to fend for myself. Three years later, he showed up with her to bring me back. "It's been three years," he said. "Even a dog would've learned its lesson by now. I did this for your own good. If you don't fix that attitude of yours, don't expect to ever become my wife." They thought I'd crumble. They thought I'd beg, cling to him, and unload all the pain and humiliation I'd carried for the past three years. Instead, I smiled. "Sorry, Mr. Hamilton. I'm already married."

My dad is a fan of tough love parenting. When I was a kid, there was a time when I obtained full marks on two subjects. But he told me, "Your grades don't mean anything in life. If you were a true man, you'd leap down five floors without batting an eyelash." Some time later, I was awarded for my act of bravery. But Dad scoffed in my face. "Not even a hair is harmed on your head. Why should you be awarded anyway?" I thought Dad wanted me to go through more training in life. On Christmas Eve, he ditched me on a snowy mountain under the guise of wanting me to go through more training. He didn't give me a tent or a lighter. Later on, Dad even brags about his parenting method to his relatives and friends. "A real man should survive and thrive in a desperate situation! I told Julian that he can forget about being my son if he can't even make his way back to the summit!" But the red dot on the GPS tracker installed in his phone hasn't moved for the past three hours. The truth is, I've already frozen to death in the mountains. Trapped in my fist is a crumpled, torn scrap of paper. Meanwhile, my soul is currently floating above the dining table while watching Dad brag about his tough love parenting.

"What the fuck—” I started. He looked up at me. His lips were wet, swollen. He licked them slowly, like he was savoring the taste. “Keep your hands where I left them,” he said. My jaw clenched. My knuckles went white against the bedsheets. I didn’t speak. I just watched him. He lowered his mouth again, slower this time. His tongue circled the tip, then slid down the side. I felt every second of it. Every inch. He paused halfway down and looked up at me again. “You like this too much.” My throat tightened. I didn’t answer. “Bet you’ve never let anyone make you beg.” *** Callum Kesington isn’t just a billionaire CEO. He doesn’t believe in love. He believes in control and power.But when his estranged brother resurfaces through a cryptic call, dragging him into a trail of files, threats, and old betrayals, everything he's built starts to crack. Remy Beckett, a rising star in the culinary world, is no strang to love but one man has him unraveled. A single dinner at Remy’s restaurant ignites an attraction that shakes Callum’s carefully guarded world. He’s never wanted a man before. Never craved the scrape of stubble against his skin or the heat of rough hands pinning him down. But Remy? He’s all Callum can think about. A shadowy attack leaves Remy bleeding in Callum’s arms, and suddenly, this isn’t about desire. It's about survival. Someone wants Remy dead, and Callum’s brother is at the center of it. Now, Callum must confront the ruthless empire he built, the family who betrayed him, and the truth he’s been denying.

"The rapist is marrying the slut. Good for them." Some people were saying behind my back. I just looked down at my hands not daring to face anyone. My parents weren't looking at me. But I saw them crying a while ago. Today I'm getting married so I'm surrounded by hundreds of people yet I feel soo lonely. My groom is a rapist they say. He raped his mother's friend 6 years ago. Today, he'll be my husband after an hour. I'm soo scared. If only I hadn't committed that sin... ### I wore my Sherwani and looked into the mirror. Like always I look like a handsome good-looking young millionaire businessman who any woman can drool over. Any guy would kill for a fate like this but in my case I would kill to get rid of this fate. It was a mistake...no a sin that I did which I'm being punished for. How much longer do I have to be punished? *********************************** Naila Aziz was a bubbly, too innocent for this world girl who had her perfect world turned to hell because she fell in love with the wrong guy and lost the most important thing that she needed in this world to survive....her purity. She's coined as a slut and mocked by the world....but is she really? Kaif Alam is the most handsome young businessman that every girl dreams of but circumstances turned him into a cold hearted, aggressive, man who has created a impenetrable wall around him. He's coined as a rapist and hated by the world.....but is he really? Are these too really what the world think they are.... Or there's more to the story? Find out and follow Naila and Kaif's journey as they go through self-doubts, insecurities, pain, fear, heartbreak, pleasure and finally.....

My name is Sarah Holloway, and I'm the best warrior in the Snowlight Pack. I've been telling everyone in the pack that my mate hails from another pack, and that he's died in a battle. That's why I have no choice but to raise my daughter, Nora Holloway, on my own. No one knows that Nora's biological father is Alpha Larry Grayback of the Snowlight Pack. Seven years ago, after I accidentally spent a night with Larry, he warned me to never vie for the Luna position. After all, the Snowlight Pack's Luna should never be a shameless and power-yearning she-wolf like me. Since then, he forbids me from becoming his mate. Heck, not even Nora is allowed to call him "daddy". For so long, I've endured Larry's outrageous demands. When he misses Nora's birthday once again, I turn in the application to leave the pack so that I can leave with Nora permanently. Larry, who has always been calm and composed, suddenly loses his mind. He rushes into the admistration center and demands where we are. But this time, both Nora and I are never coming back.

Cami Roux Balmaceda has been attracted to Auden Silverio, the son of a family acquaintance. It was never simple for her to express her feelings for him. Cami Roux Balmaceda is twenty-three years old and a fourth-year psychology student. Cami has a heart problem, but her personality is far from it. She is courageous and living her life to the fullest. The doctor told her that she has a fixed amount of time. As she turned twenty-four, her parents set an arranged marriage to the person she had a deep affection for – Auden. They are well aware of Cami's feelings for Auden. They wanted what's best for their daughter, and they went to great lengths to make it happen. Auden didn't have a choice but to go along with the plan. "It'll only be a few years before she's gone," he reasoned. Over time, he realizes that he is falling in love with her.

At the celebration where Lorenzo Alvarez is crowned the new mafia boss, his men arrange a few performances. A dancer in a backless top and short skirt twists around the pole under the lights. "Don't look," he murmurs, covering my eyes with his hand. "This kind of cheap entertainment isn't worthy of you." His men jump in immediately. "Lorenzo still spoils Ms. Valenti after all these years. That kind of devotion is rare. We're so jealous." "A man as loyal and single-minded as Lorenzo is hard to find." I rest a hand on my belly, planning to tell him tonight that I am pregnant. But when I return from the restroom, I see the same man who had just held me in his arms leaning back in his chair while the dancer straddles his lap. Lorenzo slips his business card and a thick fold of cash into the waistband of her skirt. He laughs, relaxed and unbothered. "Isabella is wonderful, sure, but life needs a little passion. This ragazza is just something new. A bit of fun. "Keep your mouths shut. Don't go running to Isabella and upset her. Otherwise, you'll have a problem." Cold rushes through me. I do not approach or confront Lorenzo. I simply take out my phone and answer the email I have been avoiding for days. "I agree to participate in the confidential experiment."

At the bachelor party the night before the wedding, the truth-or-dare penalty was brutal—show the most hidden photo on your phone. Gina, Peter's so-called "girl bro," lost. She just grinned and cast her screen onto the big TV. A marriage license filled the screen, stamped by the county clerk. Names: Peter Cooke and Gina Draper. Date: yesterday. The room went dead silent. I stared at Peter's drained face. Gina didn't flinch. She patted his shoulder. "Oops. Guess you found out. Joey, don't take it seriously. Just a dumb bet. I wanted to see what the county clerk's office looked like, so I dared Peter to register a marriage with me." She leaned in, eyes on me like I was the joke. "You're still getting your wedding tomorrow. The vows, the ceremony. I just borrowed your fiancé for a stamp. Don't tell me you're jealous of his buddy." Peter jumped up and pulled me in. "Babe, listen. You're the only one in my heart. It was just a joke." He pulled out the diamond ring, dropped to one knee. "I'll file for divorce first thing tomorrow. It won't mess up our noon wedding. Invites are already out. Don't make this a scene in front of my friends. Once we're married, all my money's yours, okay?" I smiled. He had no clue how any of this worked. Didn't even know divorce came with a thirty-day wait. I didn't take the ring. I pulled out my phone and blasted a group text canceling the wedding.