Rules Of Engagement

Gabriel Black and I had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, and when we reached adulthood, our families arranged our engagement. From the day the engagement was announced, I started counting down the days. However, Gabriel thought the whole thing was unfair. “Other people get to fall in love a few times in their lives. Why should I be stuck with just you my whole life? You should date a few people, too. Don’t shortchange yourself.” And he meant it. In the year after our engagement, Gabriel went through seven girlfriends. Every time he changed partners, I would simply smile and say it didn’t matter. After all, I thought he would always come back to me. That was until the eighth girlfriend came along. He brought her to the Black family’s annual banquet. She clung to his arm and called him Gabe. I quietly set down my utensils. Right there in front of both families, I took out the engagement agreement and slid it to the center of the table. “Gabriel,” I said calmly, “you were right. Staying loyal to just one person really is a loss.” Later, I stood before him again, this time with my hand linked with the only son of the Graham family. Gabriel smashed his glass on the spot. For the first time, his eyes turned red. “Erin, what do you mean by this?” I smiled and said, “Didn’t you tell me to try dating, too? Well, I did, and it suits me just fine.”

Friends with Benefits. Fuck Buddies. That's what Nick and Aya are. Enjoying sex without strings attached. Fun, right? One day, they found themselves breaking the rules one by one. Rules they made to keep the "relationship" functional. Before they knew it, someone was falling hard. And fast. And that's when the real fun starts.

At our engagement party, my sister said she saw my fiancee at the hospital for a prenatal checkup. Inga Lane looked at me nervously, then smiled and handed the test results to our parents. “I’m one month pregnant.” Both families were over the moon. I was the only one who could not smile. After everyone left, Inga said, “I’m sorry. I’m pregnant. I was drunk that night. The baby is Xion’s.” I clenched my fists and tried to stay calm. “Then, why did you come to the engagement today?” She leaned toward me and said, “Don’t worry. I’m not going to marry Xion. He has cancer. He doesn’t have much time left. “We grew up together. He’s the only child in his family. I just wanted to give him a child to carry on his family line.”

Willow Grant has spent nearly a decade in Manhattan, building a life of logic, skyscrapers, and safety. She traded the wild air of Redwood Bay for the steady pulse of the city and found a man who offers her a quiet, uncomplicated love. She’s no longer the girl who wept on a cold floor; she is older, watchful, and finally in control. But when a family engagement demands her return to the territory, she discovers that some ghosts don't stay buried—they grow teeth. Seven years ago, he let her run. Now, he’s done waiting. Roman Vale is no longer the boy she once idolized. He is the Alpha of the Vale Clan, a lethal tactician who rules the northern territories with a heart of flint and a gaze of stormy gray. He has spent years in the shadows, expanding his empire and purging anyone who dared touch what belonged to him. He has stayed silent. He has stayed celibate. But he has never let go. From the moment Willow steps back onto his soil, the hunt is on. Roman doesn't want a civil conversation or a polite reunion. He wants the woman who was promised to him in the moonlight. He wants to tear down the walls she built in the city and remind her that no matter whose hand she holds, her wolf only howls for one man. As a dangerous conspiracy threatens the Grant lineage, Willow is forced into Roman’s orbit for protection. But in the corridors of the Vale Compound, the greatest threat isn't the enemies at the gate—it’s the suffocating, magnetic heat of the man who calls her Rosebud while looking at her like prey. The rose has finally bloomed. And this time, the Alpha is playing for keeps.

The very first thing I do after I come back to life is find a pig and get married to it. In my past life, I was on the brink of getting engaged to my lover of ten years, Anthony Warner, who was a regimental colonel. In order to celebrate my engagement, Hannah Larson, my cousin, gave me a bracelet, and since it was a thoughtful gift from her, I wore it all the time. Yet, on our engagement day, Anthony didn't just call off our engagement, but he also berated me, calling me a tramp and a homewrecker who destroyed his relationship with Hannah. I was completely at a loss and tried to defend myself, but Hannah suddenly stepped forward and burst out crying. "I know my family and educational background surpass yours, but you can't just ruin my relationship with Anthony out of jealousy, Natalie! Anthony and I have already made a lifelong commitment to each other, so please just let it go!" Anthony turned and led Hannah away. They then got engaged shortly afterward. I was left standing there, becoming the subject of gossip from my relatives. They called me a shameless home-wrecker, and their scorn extended to my parents, who were shamed for raising such a child. They eventually took their own lives from all the rumors, and I couldn't bear the pain of losing them, so I ended myself, too. I suddenly open my eyes and find myself returning to the day Hannah presents me with the bracelet.

On the day of our engagement, just because Madison Calder wants to eat the ravioli my fiance Nicholas Olsen made, he decides to leave without hesitation. I can't help but try to stop him, but he slaps me across the face. "It's just an engagement party—we can have another one. What if Maddy starves?" Even my brother Brandon Lewis scolds me for being unreasonable. "You're older than Maddy. Can't you be more understanding?" I say nothing more and choose to let go and leave. They think I'm just throwing a tantrum and ignore me. They even clear their schedules just to take Madison on a vacation. It isn't until half a month later that they think to contact me, only to discover I have already joined a classified government weapons research program that will last ten years. Moreover, I have decided never to come home again. They completely panic.

WARNING: THIS NOVEL CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT, VIOLENT SCENES, AND STRONG USE OF WORDS. Through a game of escape, Melissa Davis sniffed what she didn't intend to eat. Now her teeth ache. _______________ When Melissa received a call to come back to the City, she thought it was because of the crime she committed in Germany, however, on her arrival to Mexico, Melissa realized her father had arranged for her an engagement to the Heir of the Shark Mafia family, her family rival. To cancel the engagement, Melissa desperately came up with a hideous plan and made a deal with a Mafia UnderBoss, to whom was her hell… her nightmare… her torture, and… her misery. With Donald Don by her side, will Melissa ever achieve her aim? What more does Melissa not know about this young, handsome billionaire she strikes a deal with? . . . "With my blood on your contract, the deal is sealed and it's irrevocable, Melissa." Now the game begins! UPDATE SCHEDULE: THREE CHAPTERS WEEKLY

In the third year of Lyra Hawthorne's engagement to Ryder Calloway, he found himself a beautiful grid girl named Nova Voss abroad. The day before Valentine's Day, he deliberately brought Nova to see Lyra and demanded to break off the engagement. "Nova and I share the same interests. A simp like you will never understand the thrill of racing." Lyra refused to accept it and asked, "Does it have to be today?" He laughed. "Do you need to check the calendar to call off an engagement?" She nodded and didn't argue any further. A month later, she entered the same race he did. What he didn't know was that she had understood the thrill of racing long before he ever did. Later, she got married on his birthday. With reddened eyes, he asked, "Does it have to be today?" She smiled as well. "Of course. You do need to pick an auspicious day for a wedding."

My boyfriend, Liam Sterling, has a female friend, Lyra Kensington, who’s always been far too comfortable crossing lines. On our anniversary, she gifted him an alarm clock, leaning in to whisper loud enough for me to hear, “For timing. I’m afraid he won’t last.” At our engagement party, she sauntered over with a self-satisfied smirk and handed him a box of extra-small condoms as her engagement gift. The day finally came when Liam proposed to me. But just before we were supposed to register the marriage, Liam dropped the truth: “Lyra needs a nominal father for her baby, but I will marry you in eight months.” No one doubts that I would be as devoted as ever to wait another eight months. After all, I’ve already spent seven years by his side. But at that very night, I accepted my family’s plan abroad and vanished from Liam’s world forever.

A set of twins who set their gazes on the same man, two men who set their sights on the twins, and a rivalry that threatens to undo them.Aimee and Karla know their rules for life keep them safe, but suddenly they come across the men who make breaking the rules well worth it.Will the rule be broken?The Harper Twins is created by R.C. Wynne, an eGlobal Creative Publishing Signed Author.