Ring Pull Smoke Bomb

On our fifth anniversary, I came across the Instagram page of a stranger named Serena Reed. The girl lay sideways on a hospital bed, her bandage-wrapped hand intertwined with a man's larger hand. On the man's ring finger was a moonstone ring, with Vincent Carter's name and my own name clearly engraved on the band. Below the photo, the girl had written: "It's just a tiny scratch, but he was so worried he insisted I stay in the hospital. Being loved like this feels incredible!" An hour earlier, Vincent had apologized to me over the phone. "Nina, there's an urgent matter with the patrol team. Don't wait for me for dinner. When I come back, I'll bring you a gift." He was not coming home for our anniversary because he was with another woman. I silently melted down the moonstone ring and sent it to Vincent as a gift. Then I packed all my belongings, including the pup in my womb, and left the Shadow pack quietly, never to return.

Blurb Smoke. The same scent that long to the bed sheets the night I died, only this time when I opened my eyes the smoke wasn't from fire but from the Alpha's cigar and the reflection in the mirror wasn't mine. Pale skin and golden eyes, a frail Omega trembling under the dim light of the room stared back at me. “Lyra?” A voice snarled. “You still exist?” His hatred sliced through my soul and I winced and touched my stomach. I had died carrying a child once, I won't die again.

Aria Anastasia was working under Zaiden Storm for two years. One day when she was given to work overtime, she got into the cabin of her boss only to find him sitting on a chair while two other men were taking a dead body. Zaiden had a gun in his hand and Aria learned that he was in the mafia. Zaiden threatened her to keep it a secret, which she found hard since she never hid anything from her mother or her best friend. She tried to keep the secret of her boss, and later starts to know Zaiden personally, learning more of his secrets, including his donation to the orphanage, old-aged homes, and hospitals built where free treatments were provided. He was a nice person under the facade of his cold, mysterious self. She started to fall in love with Zaiden while he also started liking her, realizing he was habituated with her presence. Soon, a villain entered, who would try to harm Zaiden in the office, but Aria would save him every time. Zaiden learned that the person he killed for the mafia purpose, Jack Levi, his father Luke Levi was trying to kill Zaiden and an office employee was helping him. Later Luke tried to harm Aria, but he felt a fatherly affection for her. When he implanted a bomb to kill Aria, Luke saw Amora, Aria’s mother, and realized that Aria was his daughter. He felt guilty and tried to stop the bomb along with Zaiden. Aria was rescued by Zaiden and they express their love for each other. Amongst the cute love scenes between Aria and Zaiden, one-day Zaiden proposed to Aria, and she accepted his proposal and they live happily ever after.

On the night the family manor was set on fire, my husband Don Luciano Cacciola whisked Loretta Peri away. "Be a good girl and wait for me here, Tati. I'll send my men over to pick you up soon." As soon as he left, the explosions buried around the villa were set off instantly. That's when I sent Luciano one last text. "Luciano, we're even now." Rumors had it that Luciano had gone mad after that incident. As he gripped the burned ring, he purged the entire mafia family on his own. After that, he kneeled before my grave for three long days. When Luciano found out that there was a possibility of my surviving the explosion, he decided to give away half of his family fortune just so he could track me down. Three years later, Luciano stares at the woman, who's toying with a pistol, with red-rimmed eyes at the family's negotiation table. "Tati… Is that you?" I pull the trigger in response, causing a bullet to ricochet past Luciano's ear. "You got the wrong person, Mr. Cacciola. I'm here to take your life." As I watch Luciano kneel by my feet and press a kiss onto the tip of my high heel, I can't help but laugh. This time, it's my turn to choose.

It was my sixth year with the Mafia Don. On the night of my birthday, he came home with a young, beautiful stranger by his side. Everyone thought I would break down or fall apart because of his betrayal. Instead, I smiled, my fingertips brushing lightly over the diamond ring on my ring finger. What they didn’t know was that I had come for revenge. Six years ago, he killed my father and my fiancé. So, I remained by his side, waiting for the right moment to send him to hell. How could I have fallen for him?

‘He was going to reject me.’ My stomach twisted violently. Why had I thought this was a good idea? My palms grew clammy around the ring, my mind screaming at me to retreat, to salvage what little dignity I had left. ‘What kind of person pulls a stunt like this?!’ My own voice taunted me mercilessly. ‘This is it, Claire. Game over.’ But instead of the anticipated rejection, Giancarlo reached out—his hand brushing mine, sending a jolt up my arm as he plucked the ring from my fingers. The motion was fluid, deliberate, like he’d done it before—and then… “I do,” he said simply, his voice steady as he slid the ring onto his finger yh with mad confidence. ~~~ Claire Bennett’s perfect Valentine’s Day proposal ends in a disaster when she catches her boyfriend with another woman. In a fit of rage, she forces an engagement ring onto the finger of the first man she sees—a suave and mysterious passerby who shocks her by playing along. But Claire’s spur-of-the-moment fiancé isn’t just anyone. He’s Giancarlo Fiore Caruso—her ex’s boss and the ruthless CEO of her company. A fake engagement, a trip to the Maldives, and an undeniable connection soon turn her spur-of-the-moment decision into something she can’t control. Sparks of desire fly despite their stark differences, and attraction simmers just beneath the layers of deception. But will Claire’s impulsive decision mark the beginning of something real—or a recipe for heartbreak?

My boyfriend is a forensic artist. He was forced to make a harrowing decision to save his first love. At the killer's demand, he created a portrait from a photo—he never realized that the young girl in the photo was me in my childhood. Two weeks later, the police investigate a grisly bomb explosion and dismemberment case. The victim's identity was unrecognizable, and the investigation dragged on for days as the authorities desperately searched the blast site, looking for my remains. After three days and nights, they finally recovered enough of my remains to reconstruct my face. When my boyfriend unknowingly brought the shattered fragments back to life with his art, he was confronted with a horrifying truth—one that drove him to the edge of madness.

Amelia Prescott needs a paycheck, not a death wish. But when a desperate nanny agency drops her into a snowbound mansion with a brooding Russian mobster and his unnervingly silent daughter, she discovers that danger wears expensive suits—and keeps juice boxes in the pantry. Dmitri Volkov doesn’t trust strangers. Especially not ones who talk too much, smile too easily, and make his daughter laugh for the first time in a year. But the storm outside isn’t the only threat coming, and protecting what’s his might mean letting someone in—for the first time since he lost everything. A glitter bomb romance where chaos meets control—and hearts learn how to speak again.

Trapped on a billionaire’s private island. A hurricane raging outside. And a passion neither of them saw coming. When fierce environmental scientist Juniper Hale is forced into a reluctant partnership with Adrian Blackwood, a powerful tech mogul who sees the world in numbers and profits, sparks fly and not the good kind. Their partnership is a ticking time bomb, she’s prepared for battle, not romance. Their clashes turn into a war of wills, but when a deadly storm leaves them stranded together, their hatred transforms into something far more dangerous. Secrets from Juniper’s past threaten to unravel her, while Adrian’s empire teeters on the edge of destruction. In a game where trust is a currency neither is willing to spend, will they survive the terror… be consumed by it?

So this is how the mate bond feels. A rush of energy, a pull like gravity tightening around us, and an almost maddening awareness of the other person. I wasn’t about to let it sway me though. Sure, the man in front of me is ridiculously perfect, but I wasn’t some love-struck fool who’d drop everything at the first spark of fate. I had a life, plans, and a fiancé waiting for me upstairs. I raised an eyebrow, forcing myself to stay calm even as my heart raced. “Take a number and get in line, sweetheart,” I said coolly, flashing the engagement ring on my finger in front of his gray eyes. “I’m otherwise occupied right now.” …Five years later, when I pushed the door open, my mate remained motionless on a leather couch, his piercing gaze boring into me with a cold detachment that sent shivers down my spine. He leaned back, the casualness of the gesture at odds with the intensity in his eyes. His arms rested lazily on the backrest, but there was nothing relaxed about him. His body was coiled tight, like a predator ready to pounce, and the air between us crackled with tension. “Is my number finally up?” he asks, his tone laced with bitter amusement. “My dear mate.” The words sting, but I can’t deny the truth in them. He is my last chance.