Perfect Life

My best friend, Yara Campbell, got reborn back to the day she was to reunite with the richest family in town, the Waltons. She didn't want to relive her fate as the Waltons' marionette that was trapped in a gilded cage, so she refused to go home with them. That was why she didn't hesitate to push me out instead. As I gazed at Grace Robinson, whose fingers were adorned with diamond rings, and Raymond Walton, who looked like he was made of money, I instantly rushed toward them. There was no way I'd let this golden opportunity slip through my fingers, after all! Five years later, Yara shows up on the Walters' doorstep with a paternity test report in her hands. She then demands that I be cast out of the family. But she's too late. In the past five years, I'm no longer the replacement she had used on a whim back then. Now, I'm the second-in-command in Walton Group. No one in this family can possibly usurp my position from me now.

Ava Lane, my wife of five years, suddenly gets addicted to yoga. Whenever she visits the yoga gym, she'll stay there for the whole day. She often does yoga to the point that she forgets all about the time. As a result, she ditches our daughter, Daisy Statham, at the kindergarten, letting her burst into loud cries out of fear. As I cradle Daisy in my arms, I decide to confront Ava angrily. But she retains a nonchalant attitude. "You were the one who told me that I should train my body because of how weak I am! So why are you scolding me for exercising?" I no longer want to tolerate Ava's behavior, so I leave a divorce agreement behind and take Daisy away. Everyone accuses me of being dramatic, saying that nothing actually happened to my daughter. Ava responds by crying about the whole thing in front of my parents. She thinks I'm completely unreasonable. "If not for the fact that Jordan, a personal trainer, doesn't like my figure, I wouldn't have started learning yoga in the first place! And yet, now he tells me that I can't go for yoga anymore! What am I, his slave? Must I obey his every order?" I just point at Ava's trembling legs while mocking in return, "I can't do anything about how devoted you are to yoga at the end of the day. Once we're divorced, you might as well spend the rest of your life in that yoga gym!"

Cory Sullivan, my ten-year-old son, joins a swimming class organized by his school. A bunch of his fellow students end up pinning him to the drain of the swimming pool. I spot the streak of red in the water and completely lose my mind. I immediately dash over to save Cory, but by the time I do, his face has turned swollen and blue from the suction. Blood trickles from his mouth. He's no longer breathing. Andy Webster, the ringleader of the trio who hurt Cory, arrogantly declares that he won't be criminally prosecuted because he's a minor. "So what if I did it? He started getting on my nerves ages ago! Now that he's dead, no one else can compete with me to be the top in our class." Andy's father, Greg Thompson, condescendingly throws me a debit card. "There's 100 thousand dollars in there. That should be enough to make up for your son's worthless life." Outrage, I demand justice, but my wife, Sheryl Lowe, stops me. "Andy's just a kid himself. Are you going to force someone else's kid to lose his freedom just because your own son is dead?" I stop at nothing in the pursuit of justice, but Andy simply gets sent to a juvenile detention center. That's nowhere near enough for me. Eventually, I lose all hope. I lie down at Cory's grave and swallow a bottle of sleeping pills. Suddenly, my eyes open again. I've returned to the day I took Cory to the swimming pool. I immediately drag him off to take him back home before anything happens, but alas, a young boy still ends up losing his life at the pool.

My roommate beamed with pride as she told me a horrifying secret: she had allowed a wealthy businessman to "remove" her unborn child, claiming he absorbed the baby’s fortune in exchange for a hefty payout. Chills ran down my spine. I urged her to stop meddling with such dark dealings before it destroyed her, but she wouldn’t listen. Instead, she threw herself into it, addicted to helping people "transfer luck" for money. Her luck ran out when she contracted a mysterious disease. When her boyfriend found out, she turned on me, tearfully accusing me of tying her to another man’s bed. Before I could even defend myself, an enraged man ran me down with his car. The next thing I knew, I woke up to find myself back in time. My roommate was leaning in close, her eyes glinting with excitement as she whispered, asking if I wanted to join her "luck transfer" schemes. This time, I wasn’t taking any chances. I noticed the slight swell of her belly and immediately sent a text to her boyfriend: "Congrats! You’re going to be a dad!"

She tried to win him back. The kidnappers did not get the memo. Nora Hale’s life used to read like one of her bestselling novels - perfect husband, dream career, book tours- she was living her best life. Now, after two years of crippling writer's block, looming deadlines, and a husband who has packed his bags, her story has hit a brutal plot twist, and Nora is desperate to have the happy ending she’s used to writing. Naturally, she does what any logical, emotionally sane woman would do – plan a dangerous trip to Paris to rekindle the spark with her husband (and maybe spark a new book while she’s at it). The plan? Simple. The outcome? Absolute chaos. Between real criminals, fake ransom notes, French police, and one soon-to-be ex-husband, Nora’s romantic rescue mission quickly turns into an international disaster. But somewhere between the mayhem and macarons, Nora and her husband rediscover something they’d lost – the spark that started it all. Now if only she can keep him from finding out the truth behind the worst (and best) idea she’s ever had before the credits roll. Because in love and fiction… sometimes the best stories are total disasters. Billionaire romance story.

"Stop... Don't! I'm already at my limit!" I'm on my knees on the floor, tears streaming down my face, while a shirtless man stands in front of me with a leather whip in his hand. His voice stays gentle, but his movements never slow. "Babe, we're only halfway there." After I come back from the dead, I spend 80 million dollars hiring the most expensive male model in all of Navarro to spend the night with me. With that kind of money on the table, the service absolutely lives up to its price. He pulls out every trick I've never tried in my life. The next morning, I'm sitting astride him, using him as my morning workout, when suddenly there's one more person in the room. My husband, the Don of a mafia family, Leone Vieri.

I become paralyzed after trying to save my wife. Seven years later, she holds a knife to our young son's neck and forces me to donate my kidney to her male best friend. She says I'm worthless now that I'm already paralyzed—what does it matter whether or not I have my kidneys? What she doesn't know is that I already lost a kidney many years ago when trying to save her. Now, she's taking away the only one I have left!

At 22, as the Santoro heiress, I'm choosing a husband out of the three Guerra brothers to honor the marriage pact between our families. I pass on Aurelio Guerra and choose the eldest brother, Cesare Guerra, the one with the burn scar on his face, leaving everyone in the Mafia reeling. Everyone knows I put aside my pride as a perfumer for Aurelio and shrank myself until I barely exist. For him, I even leaned on the Santoros' muscle to build his power base. In my last life, I married him, just like I'd always wanted. With the Santoros behind him, he became the youngest Don in the Mafia. After he was established, he hooked up with my stepsister, Maeve Santoro. Together, they stole the new perfume I created, "Reverie", locked me in the lab, and set the place ablaze, reducing me to ash. Now that I've been reborn, I decide to drag those two cheaters to hell myself. But then Aurelio comes back too, carrying the memories of our last life.

My name is Greta Ellsworth. In my past life, my best friend, Poppy McKellen, and I both married into the Lockwood family. They are a prestigious household with a long-standing legacy in alternative medicine. Poppy marries the eldest son, Bruce Lockwood, while I marry the younger son, Owen Lockwood. Poppy gives birth to three children with Bruce. They each grow up to be prodigies in medicine. Meanwhile, I have only one daughter with Owen—Wendy Lockwood. Sadly, Wendy struggles with even the most basic math and isn't very bright. Owen's pride takes over, and he is left feeling utterly embarrassed. Years later, I take Wendy to a medical symposium. When she shyly whispers, "Dad," the crowd erupts in laughter. Enraged and humiliated, Owen stabs Wendy to death. Before I can react, he turns my way and strikes me down as well. When I open my eyes again, I realize that both Owen and I have been reborn. I take in the scene of our families' matchmaking event once more. This time, Owen reaches for Poppy's hand and says, "I like you. Will you marry me?"

Tony and Dillon have just entered 2011 and the next year of their love and lives. No matter what the world has in store to throw at them, they will make it through just fine regardless. The Second Symphony is the next book in the line of eight that will show how close two people can become. Walk with both Tony and Dillon again as they grow together while at the same time grow into individuals. Love, even an unconventional one like theirs, has the potential to weather any storm.