Picked Synonym

I'm hospitalized after a car accident that nearly costs me my leg. Meanwhile, my fiancé is too busy in the room next door taking care of his first love. She's only faking a sprained ankle. From that same room, I hear Johan Rivera's mocking voice. "Raelyn? She's just a pawn the old man picked for a political marriage. She's not even good enough to be your stand-in." In that moment, something in me finally breaks. I watch the news coverage of a rising business star who's surrounded by reporters and flashing cameras. He's also my childhood friend who has pursued me for ten years. I calmly send him a message. "Christian, does your offer for a contract marriage still stand?"

I was reborn. Right back to the day I adopted Peter. The wind cut sharp, baby cries slicing through the cold. That's when it hit me—this was the day Stuart Pete, my oh-so-loving husband, dumped his illegitimate child right in my path after work. He knew me too well. The second I picked the kid up, he'd spin it into an adoption, making the boy ours. Last time, I fell for it. This time? I walked away without a second thought. Later, I heard the kid got pneumonia from being left out in the freezing cold—fever so bad, it wrecked him for life. I laughed until my stomach hurt. What I didn't see coming? Peter was reborn too—about to experience the life he was meant to have.

As I took my newborn daughter from the nurse, I heard the voice of the baby in the next bed echoing in my head. “Don’t take her, Mommy. I’m your real baby!” The doctor and nurses did not seem to hear a thing. I thought I was hallucinating due to my fatigue, so I continued nursing my baby girl. “How dare you cry, you burdensome wretch? I’ll pinch you if you keep crying!” The baby’s grandmother picked him up and walked outside, but the voice came again, crying, “The mean old lady is taking me away. Mommy, look over here quickly! Look at the birthmark on my left ear!” I froze. My first child, who had died in an accident, had a birthmark on his left ear.

“Are you married?” I bit my tongue at the question that I have been dreading since I saw him in the boardroom. “Answer me!” His angry yell startled me. I couldn’t fault him for being mad. How do I begin to explain it? If I tell him the truth, we will lose the deal and if I continue with the lies, he will see me as a cheating woman. Either way, I am going to lose so I picked the better choice for me and for my company. “Yes, I am married.” ***** For Maeve Fitzgerald her night with Alessandro Marchesi was pure passion and the best night of her life that can only be one night. For Alessandro, it was so much more. Maeve was sure they will never cross paths again but fate has a different plan and it’s about to change her life forever.

When my grandpa fell gravely ill and needed treatment abroad, the elders in the family decided to choose a junior to accompany him. They picked my cousin, but my mom tearfully pleaded with me to take her place. "You're a doctor. Caring for your grandfather is second nature to you. Bianca is an orphan, frail and delicate. She can't handle such a grueling task." To save her distress, I agreed to go in Bianca Pittman's stead, embarking on a five-year stay abroad. When my grandpa finally recovered, I boarded a flight home, eager to reunite with my family. But as I landed, a post on my mother's social media froze me in my tracks. [My daughter is getting married! Thank you all for your blessings!] But I was her only daughter. I couldn't help but wonder who she was referring to.

Imagine being raised as a regular human girl only to find out you are so much more, and the survival of the world rests in your hands. Divina's destiny is to save the world, but she is in no condition to save anyone. She is broken, a shell of who she once was, after her mate, Warrick Ryker, the future Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, rejects her to fulfill his responsibilities to his pack. He is forced to accept the chosen mate that his father hand picked to be his Luna. He rejected Divina to protect her from certain death, but watched her die at the hands of his father anyway. For two years he thought she was dead. Two years she suffered, feeling excruciating pain, every time he betrayed their partially severed bond. Her destiny is to save the world, but first she must save herself.

"What do you think you are doing?" Luna shouted looking at the man in front of her who was pointing a gun at her father. "Luna, you have to come with me." Arthur spoke as he tilted his head towards her. "Leave him, I will go with you." Luna said as tears escaped from her eyes. "Your daughter is smart," Arthur spoke looking at her father. Walking towards Luna Arthur picked her up on his shoulder whilst she kept on shouting, "I can walk on my own." and hit his back. "We never know, kitten." he pushed her inside the car and then sat next to her. {Luna, A 21 years old College Going girl, who was financially struggling caught the eyes of the most powerful mafia, Arthur. at first glance Arthur became obsessed with her and swore that he will make her possession.}

“I hate you!” I picked up the flower vase from the center table, and lifted my hand to throw it at him. But before I could do so, the man from behind gripped my hand, and collected it from me. “Are you going to sign the divorce papers?” he brought out a gun, and cocked it. “Or would you rather lose your life?” ****************** Sometimes, saying 'I do' could be the beginning of true marital bliss. And other times? It could be the beginning of endless suffering and torture. Abby had only ever wanted a man for herself, and when Claude showed up, he was everything she could ask for, and even more. But sometimes, even criminals wear innocent faces. What happens when Abby learns that the man whom she loved was responsible for the explosion that claimed the lives of her parents and best friend?

I used to be that girl in the mafia—envied, untouchable. Orlando Leone, the big bad Don everyone feared, had eyes only for me. I took a bullet for him. After that? People whispered I couldn't have kids. He tried to shut them up by knocking me up—ninety-nine tries. Try number ten? His shiny new secretary texted, all confused over a decimal. He bailed on me. By thirty, she crashed his sports car while shopping. Claimed she couldn't park. I was left freezing in a bathtub. He said he loved me, but when it counted, he always picked the girl who played dumb and helpless. That's when it hit me—his love was never really mine. And by the time I disappeared for real, he lost his mind looking. Too bad. Me and that promise? Already buried at sea.

I thought I was doing the right thing when I ran away from home to be with my mate, Dominic Hearst. He told me he loved me, and that I was the best thing that has ever happened to him. I believed him. Even when his actions weren't matching his words, I still believed him until the real truth came out that I'm nothing but a substitute Luna. Dominic rejected me without blinking. So, I picked myself up and left. Now, I'm willing to go back home and face my reasons for running away, head-on. But there are consequences and lots of surprises that I never imagined their existence. The Lycan king is feared far and wide. But I'm in for a surprise when the powerful King melts for me and shows how much he wants me, not just by words and action, but also submission and orgasms.