Parting Gift

My live-in husband used my family’s influence to climb all the way to the position of Deputy Fire Chief. Throughout our five years of marriage, he has stood me up on every anniversary by using work as his excuse. This year, he finally agreed to celebrate our anniversary with me. But he only did so out of guilt. He had manipulated me into staying abroad to handle matters for him, which made me miss saying goodbye to my sister while she was dying in childbirth. The dinner was just his way of pretending to be sorry. As our dishes were served, my husband saw a news report about a fire at a top-tier postpartum care center downtown. He immediately ditched me and rushed to the scene. The fire station headquarters was just one block over! And he had specifically taken leave that week. I accidentally answered a call on his personal phone, and that was when I realized why he had been away from me most of the time. This man would not even buy me a cheap birthday gift, yet he had spent a packet to book a stay at a postpartum center for his mistress! I had to see for myself what kind of woman would have him so spellbound. I was determined to make him pay back every single item he had gotten from the Grant family, with interest.

He chose his mistress on our anniversary. He didn't know I was already planning my funeral. For three years, I was the perfect wife. I swallowed the insults from his family. I bore the guilt of our daughter’s death. Everyone blamed me. Yet, I loved Mateo Santiago with everything I had. Until the day I found out the truth. On the same day I discovered I was pregnant again, I learned my husband was expecting a child with another woman: my own step-aunt, Valentina. And worse? I finally discovered that he was the one responsible for our first daughter's death, not me. I didn't scream. I didn't fight. I simply texted him: "Your birthday is in three months. I’ll prepare a gift you’ll never forget." Ninety days later, Mateo Santiago watched my car burn at the bottom of a cliff. He buried an empty casket and cried for a wife he thought he loved. But Isabella Romano didn't die that day. She just disappeared. Five years later, I’m back. I’m no longer the weak, broken woman he married. I am Alessia, the face of a rival empire, and I have a son who looks just like him. Standing beside me is Dante. He is the man who raised me from the ashes and showed me what real love looks like. Mateo wants his wife back. He wants to know if the boy is his.

{TW: DARK ROMANCE, ABUSE, DADDY KINK, PSYCHOTIC, VIOLENCE. This is not your typical dark romance novel, it gets darker with each chapters so if you can't handle it, kindly exit, not all Male leads are heroes some can be your worst nightmare, if you are looking for love you won't find it here} *********************************** "Won't you like to open your gift, Bambi?" It wasn't a question. César Navarro never asked. He commanded. When Anya Esmeralda Torres untied the silk ribbon and lifted the lid of the velvet box, her world shattered. Inside, staring back at her with dead, lifeless pupils, were the green eyes of Giovanni De Luca.....the man whose gaze had made her uncomfortable all evening. Her scream ripped through the silence. "Now his eyes will never trouble you again." He said it like he'd given her a necklace. Like dismemberment was romance. Like murder was love. César Navarro, known in the underworld as Calavera, wasn't just the founder of a billion-dollar tech empire. He was the Skull—mafia heir, executioner, and obsession wrapped in a tailored suit. And Anya? She was his cage bird. His possession. His favorite game. But Anya wasn't born to be caged. She was fire—wild, defiant, desperate for freedom. And no matter how many diamonds he draped her in, she vowed to escape. The question is: can you ever run from a monster who always finds you? Or will love become the cruelest prison of all?

Nobody wants a rejected Omega—or so she has always been told. Cast aside by her fated mate, mocked by her pack, and scarred by betrayal, she hides behind her work as the healer, quietly mending others while her own heart bleeds. She never asked for destiny, never sought power. But fate is merciless. When the Alpha King claims her, everything changes. Ruthless, feared, and untouchable, he binds her to him in a bond that is both salvation and curse. To belong to him means safety, but also danger beyond imagination, for enemies hunger for her downfall. Her greatest wound comes from betrayal—her dearest friend stealing her scent and deceiving the Alpha into believing she is his fated mate. Stripped of her bond and dignity, cast aside once more, she suffers in chains and darkness. But pain shapes her into something new. She refuses to break. The world calls her weak, unworthy, Omega. Yet buried within her is a gift tied to the moon itself, a power that could save or doom the realm. Every trial tempers her spirit, molding her into a Luna no one can ignore. But love and power come with a price. The Alpha King’s devotion is possessive, consuming, and inescapable. To stand by him means surrendering everything—her freedom, her past, even her heart. With war brewing and enemies rising, her destiny demands a choice: remain the broken girl once rejected, or rise as the Blessed Luna, feared and revered by all.

My husband died in a fire trying to save me, leaving behind a mountain of debt and a newborn child. I worked hard to pay off the debt while raising the child, only to unintentionally discover that my husband hadn’t died at all. Instead, he was sleeping with my cousin. “Honey, you’re so clever. You transferred all the company funds and faked your death, leaving that stupid wife of yours to shoulder all the debt. “She’s so clueless that she doesn’t even realize the son she’s raising isn’t hers, that I swapped him out. Once she’s done paying off the debts, the three of us can live a great life together.” I silently sneered, pretending I knew nothing, and continued to raise the child. Twenty years later, my son returned home after studying abroad. The company went public in New York. On the day of the IPO, my cousin appeared arm in arm with my husband, holding a paternity test. “Claire, your husband never died. We’ve been together all these years. Alex is my son. Now that you’ve been his mother for so long, isn’t it time to return him to me?” My husband also presented a divorce agreement. “I built this company from scratch. It’s premarital property. Sign the divorce papers, walk away with nothing, and you can leave now.” I smiled and told him, “I’ve prepared a special gift for you too. I wonder if you’ll like it."

“Shut the fuck up Carter, I don’t give a damn about you.” Mariah spat at him with her eyes blazing and Carter only smiled. “You do give a damn about me sweetheart, your body still remembers her lord.” Carter replied with a smug look on his face. “You are lying, and don’t call my sweetheart” Mariah fired back and Carter stepped a little too close, making the sirens go off in her head. His closeness was doing thins to her body. “With this” He smirked before he smashed his lips against hers, all anger melting out of her body. ______ Mariah had one wish, never to meet Daniel Carter anymore for the rest of her life. After her marriage of barely three months crashed, Mariah picked up what’s left of her broken soul and she went home to Mama. She never wanted to be associated with the Carter name anymore or get involved with the man bearing the name. Five years after Mariah had brought the jewelry line of her grandfather back to life, it was about to be taken away from her. Her grandfather had given the entire company to Daniel Carter as their wedding gift and now she is about to lose the only thing keeping her sane to the same man who took away her sanity in the first place. Daniel Carter had a simple offer for her in exchange for the jewelry line; she had to get married to him again!

They said Dragons are a myth and they don't exist in the real world but it's a lie. Dragons are real and they once rule the human empire but humans are more cunning than them. They tell lies to gain their trust until the Heart of Magic, yield with an infinite power was stolen from them. Dragons believe that it's in the hands of a selfish mortal. The Red Dragon, Astra lead the attack. She was pregnant and her whelps will soon come out. As the battle began, Astra has given birth to a white dragon. They are weak and useless. She can't withstand her pride raising a white dragon of her own so she abandons her child in the wilderness. She left her whelp and destroyed every realm on the planet Earth. The war between dragons and humans was in a rage but because the Heart of Magic is in their hands, they won, and the Red Dragon lost the war. As Dragons became instincts, there was only one who survived and he was Danym, the rabbit slayer, the last prince of the Dragoness Kingdom. He has a gift of magic to be able to blend in the human society. He has one objective, to find the lost gem of all Dragons, the Heart of Magic. On his journey, he met Princess Amira of the Labyrinth Kingdom. She was blind but cunning. She's a wise warrior and a good hunter. These two will soon discover what secrets lie within them. Will Amira still helped him even he had an opposite belief from her, to the King and her people? Will her love for him prevail? Let's follow their journey to find the Heart of Magic and see the world where Dragons exist.

I was born a fragile omega, but my gift of prophecy made me the Saintess of the Northern Packs. The Council of Elders demanded I choose a mate from the Alphas of the great packs. The Alpha I chose was destined to lead the North to victory and be crowned the Alpha King. I chose Alpha Kane without hesitation. He'd saved my life once. On the day of our bonding ceremony, I blushed and trembled as he sank his teeth into my neck. But the moment we were bonded, his true love Scarlett, his childhood Beta, went mad with jealousy. She tried to poison me, and for her crime, the Elders exiled her. She died on the road. And I? I used my prophecies to help Kane win the war, to put him on the throne. After his coronation, he plunged a silver blade into my heart. He murdered me. "Why didn't you save her?! Why didn't you save her?!" Only then did I realize. He'd hated me all along. I opened my eyes again... and I was back. Back on the day I had to choose my Alpha mate. He stood before me, arrogant as ever. He didn't lose his mind until he found out I chose a cursed Alpha. I watched him kneel, begging for my forgiveness. But this life, there would be no prophecies from me. Let’s see how he survives the war now.

Just before her husband and son have her locked in a psychiatric ward, Nora Yates wakes up—reborn, wide awake, and done playing nice. Two men who never truly loved her? Who used and discarded her? Fine. She’s cutting them out for good. When she signs the divorce papers and walks away, the world cheers—including the internet. Oddly, the only one upset is her adoptive sister, the mistress. “Come on, Nora,” she pouts. “I only borrowed your husband and son for my birthday. Was that really worth all this drama?” “You’re lucky to have a husband and son like that. You should count your blessings.” Nora lets out a sharp laugh. “Then consider this ‘blessing’ my personal gift to you. After all, trash belongs in the dumpster.” She walks off without a second glance—glowing, untouchable, and ready to run the world. Soon, her business is booming. Suitors line up. The woman they tried to destroy becomes the woman everyone wants to be. Years later, now a titan in her field, she sits down for a high-profile interview. “Ms. Yates,” the reporter asks, “it’s rumored that Mr. Luther, CEO of Luther Corp, is your ex-husband. Do you still keep in touch?” Nora smiles politely. “Sorry. I’m a widow with no children.” Then she turns to the camera, smiles straight through the lens—at the ex-husband and son losing their minds behind the scenes—and adds, “Just remarried. Baby girl on the way.”

BOOK ONE of COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE: After being rejected by 5 mates, Gamma Lucianne pleaded with the Moon Goddess to spare her from any further mate-bonds. To her dismay, she is being bonded for the sixth time. What’s worse is that her sixth-chance mate is the most powerful creature ruling over all werewolves and Lycans - the Lycan King himself. She is certain, dead certain, that a rejection would come sooner or later, though she hopes for it to be sooner. King Alexandar was ecstatic to meet his bonded mate, and couldn’t thank their Goddess enough for gifting him someone so perfect. However, he soon realizes that this gift is reluctant to accept him, and more than willing to sever their bond. He tries to connect with her but she seems so far away. He is desperate to get intimate with her but she seems reluctant to open up to him. He tries to tell her that he is willing to commit to her for the rest of his life but she doesn’t seem to believe him. He is pleading for a chance: a chance to get to know her; a chance to show her that he’s different; and a chance to love her. But when not-so-subtle crushes, jealous suitors, self-entitled Queen-wannabes, an old flame, a silent protector and a past wedding engagement threaten to jeopardize their relationship, will Lucianne and Xandar still choose to be together? Is their love strong enough to overcome everything and everyone? Or will Lucianne resort to enduring a sixth rejection from the one person she thought she could entrust her heart with? *** BOOK TWO: The Rogues Who Went Rogue BOOK THREE: The Indomitable Huntress & the Hardened Duke