Penguin Classics Thus Spoke Zarathustra

The day before the wedding, my fiancé James's childhood sweetheart had a severe depressive episode. Threatening to take her own life, she demanded the destruction of the wedding gown my grandmother had painstakingly made for me before her passing. To calm her down, James locked me in a room and stayed by her side, helping her cut the gown into shreds. Amid the mess, he spoke indifferently. "Be reasonable. It's just a wedding gown. Do you want to see her die?" Later, James's hot uncle approached me, asking me to carry on the family lineage. I nodded in agreement. But James, with reddened eyes, confronted me. "Are you really going to have his child? Have you completely given up on me?" Covering my slightly rounded belly, I replied, "Be reasonable. It's just a child. He’s your uncle. Do you want to see him with no heir to carry on the family name?”

"This doesn't make sense," I whispered, my hand on the door knob. "We can't tell mom and dad," he whispered back into the darkness. "You can't be my mate!?" I hissed back, "You're my brother." "I'm not going to resist the sparks, April," he growled, "or the pull, and feeling of want... Do you hear me?" "W-what?" "I want you so bad it hurts," he whispered. It was like my lips moved and spoke for me. "Then take me." His warm lips smashed onto mine, finding them in the dark. Sparks lit the tiny closet up, and suddenly I knew where he was, almost as if we were in a room full of light. I could see every move he made, and I wanted him to make a move on me. I kissed him back with force and longing. My first kiss is with my brother. My mate

When I become pregnant with Ryan Hurst's child—at the same time his so-called first love, Kate Davis, do—he doesn't hesitate to claim hers, while ignoring mine. My child is thus branded an "illegitimate child". Ryan, the eldest son of the powerful Hurst financial empire, looks down at me with eyes like frost. "Kate is a real socialite. She can't have her reputation tainted by… this," he says coldly. It turns out that our seven years of marriage were nothing but a lie. The day my adopted family, the Kleimanns, forces me to get an abortion, Ryan is in another country, playing the doting partner at Kate's side while she gives birth. When we meet again, I will have already burned the bridge between us with my own hands. What none of them know is that behind Kate's polished smile lies a festering rot. And as for me, I am the sole heiress to an old and powerful aristocratic bloodline.

A past that was haunting her like a ghost, a career that was as good as over, a family that wasn't left behind and a man she did not expect to come to her with a strange offer. "We have a long list of deals to settle among us sweetheart." An anonymous phone call and a strange letter was about to change her world forever. After a series of tragic misfortunes, Alissa Evans, once a top fashion designer, is left with nothing. And thus when she is given an opportunity to change the course of her life - She decides to take. But that opportunity is a Contract Marriage with the most cruelest and venomous mafia known to the world - Logan Stalza. Will she take this opportunity? Will she marry the man whose hands are painted with death? And why is he so diffrent than what she remembered as her university crush. This story is about the tragedy of Alissa Evans, the mistakes of Logan Stalza and his best friend who wants to kill Alissa so badly. This is a Story of Revenge. ------ Book #1 In The City Of Fate Series

“Did you get a boob job?” He asked casually, pointing at my chest with an amused smile playing on his lips. “Your breasts look bigger than before…” *** Briana Quin has never had it easy, she worked multiple jobs and endured the worst treatment in order to survive, thus earning the nickname; the queen of side hustles. She was a hard worker and a beauty to behold, using her smarts to push through her hardships. But her life takes a drastic turn when she's hired to marry a billionaire as a replacement for his runaway fiance. Due to her striking resemblance to the international model, Briana is thrust into a world far different from the one she’d known, a world that was more lavish, calculative and filled with new surprises. One wrong move could ruin everything she’d worked for, as the life of her sick brother is threatened if she doesn’t comply. Will the queen of side hustles be able to pull off her role as an enigmatic billionaire wife?

Olivia Fordham was married to Ethan Miller for three years, but that time could not compare with the ten years he spent loving his first love, Marina Carlton. On the day that she gets diagnosed with stomach cancer, Ethan happens to be accompanying Marina to her children's health check-up. She doesn't make any kind of fuss, only leaving quietly with the divorce agreement. However, this attracts an even more fervent retribution. It seems Ethan only ever married Olivia to take revenge for what happened to his little sister. While Olivia is plagued by her sickness, he holds her chin and says coldly, "This is what your family owes me." Now, she has no family and no future. Her father becomes comatose after a car accident, leaving her with nothing to live for. Thus, she hurls herself from a building. "The life my family owes will now be repaid." At this, Ethan, who's usually calm, panics while begging for Olivia to come back as if he's in a state of frenzy …

"Chloe, when you were younger, our family arranged a marriage for you. Now that you're almost recovered from your illness, would you be willing to return to Kingston City and marry?" "If you still don't agree, I'll talk to your father and cancel the engagement." In the dimly lit room, Chloe could only hear silence. Just as the person on the other end of the line thought they would not be able to convince her, she suddenly spoke up. "I'm willing to go back and get married." Her mom, Felicia, froze, clearly surprised. "You... you agree?" Chloe's tone was calm. "I agree, but I still need a little time to wrap things up in Marina City. I'll be back within two weeks. Mom, please go ahead and start preparing for the wedding." After a few more words, Chloe hung up the phone.

"Gemma, we agreed on ten years. That time is up now. I'd like to leave with Kira." "You know he never liked her," she added quietly. In the quiet of the coffee house, Josie Carr spoke with a bitter expression. She had lived with Graham Holloway for ten years—ten long years, and still, she hadn't managed to thaw his heart. It wasn't love that brought them a child—it was a night of drunken confusion. He'd pushed her onto the bed, dazed and careless, and Kira came from that. Afterward, he gave her a villa and agreed to let her keep the baby. His only condition was simple: the child must never call him father. Publicly, Graham remained a single man. "I will never marry you. Don't hold out hope. "I'll pay child support, but don't expect me to acknowledge her. That child doesn't exist to me."

I was a semi-retired actress, joining a divorce reality show with my billionaire husband. "I want a divorce." Facing the camera, I spoke calmly. Off-camera, Hector Sinclair frowned as he reviewed the scene with me. "You need to show more emotion when you say it. That’s what will get people talking, stir up discussion, and drive the views. "Otherwise, who’s going to believe you really want to divorce me? They’ll just think you’re acting again. “Use your head. I can’t guide you every step of the way." Yeah. To outsiders, I was nothing more than a pretty face—vain, shallow, and talentless. Meanwhile, he was a shrewd and cultured businessman, commanding a fortune worth billion. No one believed I would willingly give up the title of Mrs. Sinclair, not even Hector himself. However, he had no idea that this time, I meant it.

"You actually thought I would choose you Athena?" My mate Leo snickered taunting me as Emma stood next to him smirking. My heart crumbled hearing his harsh words. This could never be the same man I gave my virginity to last night, no he wasn't so cruel...or was a blinded by my love for him? Leaning to my ear, Alpha Leo then whispered to me, "Last night meant nothing to me." And at this tears streamed down my face. "I almost feel pity for you." Emma laughed. "I won't reject you Athena, instead I'll have you feel pain for being so naïve to think I'd ever accept you as my mate. I'll let you feel how my mate and I make love." My Alpha and mate spoke distastefully while leaving me trembling in fear and in pain.