Ride The Storm

Anita," her angelic voice calls to me. Thunder rumbles in the distance. Her soft, delicate hands caressing my face, sparkling green eyes grounding me from the dark past I wish I could forget. "You're safe, it's okay." I bring my hand up, running my finger over the mound of scar tissue. The constant reminder of that night. The raised bump covers the bullet fragment embedded in my sternum. She takes my hands as more thunder rumbles and tears roll down my cheeks. "Breathe Anita," she says in a soothing whisper. My lungs were burning with the need for air and it was then that I realized I'd been holding it. I take in a gasping breath and recall the first time my eyes met her green eyes. My sister had been lifted off me and my eyes opening had startled her. The first time she touched me gave me strength to hold on. I held her hand tight, trying to tell her what happened, but couldn't get enough breath to form words. Sitting in the present going through the same as I had five years ago. "They were all found, Anita. They can't hurt you anymore. It's just a storm. All the doors and windows are locked, the alarm is set. It's just you and me." "Will you keep the light on tonight, please?"

Warning! Contains explicit sexual content. For mature reades only! Lilly is young. Lilly is sweet. Lilly is the clumsiest PA that has ever existed. But I have my own thoughts of how she should be corrected. A short story!

Lauren, a young woman who has been mistreated by her stepmother and sister after her mother's death. She is a hardworking individual who is looking for a peaceful life, away from the chaos and drama of the wealthy. Lauren's life takes an unexpected turn when she goes on vacation and meets Kaizer, a famous bachelor, and CEO who is in need of a fake girlfriend to avoid an arranged marriage. Kaizer proposes a deal to Lauren, offering her a way out of her current situation in exchange for pretending to be his girlfriend. Lauren is torn between her desire for a peaceful life and the opportunity to escape her stepmother and sister's mistreatment. She must navigate the complications of a contractual marriage and the challenges of living in the high society world. As Lauren and Kaizer's relationship develops, she must also confront her feelings toward him and decide what she truly wants. The story will explore themes of family, love, and self-discovery as Lauren makes difficult choices and ultimately chooses what is best for herself.

“I thought you wanted to sleep, my Queen,” Lorcan whispered. “I changed my mind,” Niamh kissed Lorcan again, deeply, hungrily. “Besides, you owe me a wedding night.” “I stand reminded,” Lorcan bowed his head. Looking up, he grasped Niamh around the waist and turned to lay her beneath him, kissing her passionately. *** Niamh had dutifully fulfilled her obligation to marry King Lorcan of the Elven Realms, only to watch her new husband ride off to battle the very next day. But he was lost in battle, and she was left to face her new role as Queen among haters, admirers, and potential suitors… and a traitor. Despite the challenges she formed new alliances, treaties, and friends, and, once the King was found, they built an unshakable love while facing turmoil. Once free to leave, what choice will she make? Will the love they formed be strong enough to endure more than time? Rising Storm in the Elven Realms is created by Heather Dilts-Baiano, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

As the top phone service sales representative, I unexpectedly received a malicious complaint. I expect to be given a fair resolution, but nothing of the sort happens. The director calls off my imminent promotion and has an intern take my place. I'm indignant and want to resign, but I accidentally overhear the intern acting coquettishly toward the director. "Daddy…" The director is the general manager's husband, though. Everyone in the company knows they're DINKs. Where would he have gotten a daughter from? I chuckle and shred my resignation letter. Behold my wrath and revenge!

I was pregnant. On my way to deliver documents to Tristan Goldberg, a flash flood struck. Desperate, I dialed his number, praying he’d answer. After a few rings, the call connected. But instead of Tristan, a woman’s voice answered. "Tristan, whose number is this? Do you want to answer it?" There was a brief pause, and then Tristan’s voice, cold and indifferent, cut through. "It’s just my maid. Ignore it. Hang up." And just like that, the call disconnected. Staring at the torrent rising around me, my pulse quickened. I texted him, begging for him to send a rescue team. Minutes passed as the waters climbed to my waist, churning and relentless. Then, a message from Tristan finally appeared. Tristan: [What kind of ridiculous story are you making up now?] Tristan: [Emily, do you think you're eighteen, playing these childish games? I want that document in my hands within thirty minutes, or we're getting divorced.] A surge of terror shot through me as I looked up, catching sight of a heavy branch snapping loose and crashing down. In an instant, everything went dark.

"You're not having me!" I snapped at his face. "Oh, my little sinner." He licked the bottom of his lips with a sinister smirk on his face. "You're already tied to my bed."

Yvonne Sunderland married Zach Frank, who had been with her for ten years. In the second year of their marriage, Zach passed away due to a plane accident. But when Yvonne turned forty-three, she met her supposedly dead husband! Before she could even ask any questions, disaster struck. An avalanche suddenly struck. During the critical moment, Zach was buried under the snow in order to protect her and that woman. His final words were, “I’ve repaid you all of your favors with my life. If I can redo my life, I don’t want to marry you and would rather meet her first…” When she opened her eyes again, Yvonne found herself back to the first year she married Zach.

When a hurricane comes, my husband, the leader of a rescue team, takes away everything we've stored at home so he can save his true love. I plead, "Leave some for me. I'm pregnant." He shakes me off. "How can you be so evil? The windows at Lottie's home have already been blown away. Don't tell me you're going to sit by and watch her die! She's not like you—you're not afraid of everything. The hurricane will be over soon, so you won't need any of this stuff." After that, he leaves without another look back. What he doesn't know is that there's also a crack in our home's windows.

Have you ever lived a life that looked perfect—but felt like nothing? Felt yourself slipping away every day… yet still couldn’t call that life your own? Well, Serena Beckett has. The perfect daughter. The perfect wife. Invisible in her own story. Born into a wealth she was never allowed to claim. Married into a life she didn’t choose, but ended up loving endlessly as she thought she could finally have a thing of her own. Until the night her husband walks in with a stranger… and divorce papers. That night, something breaks in her. And something far stronger takes its place. Serena doesn’t crumble. She doesn’t leave. Not until she decides who she really is—beyond the Beckett name, beyond the lies, beyond the mask she’s worn for far too long. Is she the girl her family tried to tame? The wife Eliot thought he could throw away? Or someone neither of them ever saw coming? And when Eliot finally sees her… Will it be too late?