Russian Roulette: One Life

"I'll leave the decision-making to our children. Girls, do you want 100 million dollars, or your mother?" On the day our parents get divorced, Mom looks at us with tears in her eyes. My older sister, Camila Walker, kneels before Mom while looking very emotional. "I want to stick with you, Mom! I don't want money—I just want you!" As she looks at me, she smiles confidently, as though she's won something. In my previous life, Camila didn't hesitate to choose Dad, who had inherited 100 million dollars. But he lost all of his fortune to gambling to the point that he had to sell Camila just to pay off his debts. Left without a choice, she was forced to take her own life. As for me, I chose to be with Mom, only to find out that the "poor security guard" she had married turned out to be the richest CEO in the city. Thanks to the marriage, I became the spoiled and pampered heiress whom the entire city envied. Camila thinks she's stolen my good luck. Little does she know that I died in my previous life as well.

“You taste so fucking good, baby”, Nikolai groans roughly, “So fucking good,” and then he drags his arousal against my centre, forcing me to feel every inch of him. Fuck, he was big. Like really big. I'm talking Antarctic blue whale big. “Feel what you do to me, Solnyshko” he growls roughly against the sensitive planes of my neck. I feel his teeth graze my neck, and a ragged breath escapes me. “You drive me crazy, every time I see you, I can’t fucking think straight. Is this what you want? For me to lose my goddamn mind.” *** Sold by her father to save himself, Ava is forced to walk down the aisle towards a future she never wanted. Just when she thinks her fate is sealed and the universe is against her, An unexpected stranger walks into the ceremony claiming her as his. Nikolai Volkov is the enigmatic head of the Russian Mafia. A figure shrouded in mystery and power and a person not to be messed with. To him Ava is the key he needs to uncover the tragedy that claimed the life of his brother. When Ava finds herself head first in the middle of two mafia families she must decide if she can trust the man who sets fire to her soul with just a single touch or if she's willing to continue being a pawn in a much bigger chessboard.

“Louder,” he said while watching me like a predator ready to strike, “I-I belong to you,” I stuttered while swallowing the lump formed in my throat. “To?” he gritted his teeth, “Nikolai Vasiliev,” *** Nikolai Vasiliev, the most feared and respected don of the Russian mafia. He was known as the ruthless king of the mafia whose world revolves around blood and lust. Love is forbidden to him as he promised himself not to love again. Juliana Mitchell, a brave, stubborn, hardworking and beautiful woman leaving her normal life, dreaming to find her happily ever after. All her life she was constantly reminded that she’s useless and ugly compared to her younger sister which made her doubt herself all the time. One encounter with the Russian don changed her life completely, pulling her into a web of lies, manipulation and pure torture. She’s ready to do anything to get away from his clutches but the question is, Will he let someone walk away from him the second time?

Maurine Elizabeth Lopez is a young, innocent girl who has been deceived by the man she loves. Bullied by her stepsister and betrayed by her stepmother, she finds herself sold to settle a debt. Mikhail Esteban Rostova, a notorious and cold-blooded Russian mafia boss, takes her. Everyone assumes that Mikhail will dispose of her as he pleases. However, to save her life, Maurine pleads for mercy and deceives Mikhail, leading him to believe that she is in love with him and willing to do anything for him. She knows she cannot afford to die without exacting revenge on those who have tormented her. Mikhail believes her and spares her life. However, he insists that she marry him and bear his children. With no other options available, she reluctantly accepts his proposal, recognizing that marrying a cold-blooded Russian mafia boss might be her only chance for survival. This time, Maurine is determined not to let anyone deceive or bully her. She plans to use Mikhail to achieve her revenge and nothing more. After she is done with him, she will dispose of him before he will dispose of her. However, dealing with a powerful man was not as easy as she imagined it would be. Since Mikhail is willing to murder and flip the world upside down if ever she ran away!

“Tell me you hate me,” Mikhail whispered, aggressively pressing the side of my face against his expensive wooden table. I inhaled sharply, fighting back the moan in my throat. “I…” I wanted to force the words out, because I did. I hated him with every fiber of my being, with every drop of the blood in my veins. At the same time, I didn't. I had never put a label on the other thing I felt for him. He would never feel the same, and he would scorn me. “Say it, Marlowe. Say you hate me.” He dared, thrusting hard into me and stealing my breath. “Oh my God,” I cried out, pushing my ass backwards to meet his thrusts despite myself. “You can't say it, can you?” He laughed scornfully. “I… hate you.” I managed, inhaling sharply. He tugged my hair, fucking me harder. “No, you don't.” I couldn't argue, because an earth shattering orgasm snuck up on me and blinded my thoughts. When I recovered, I realized he was not completely wrong. *** *** *** Marlowe had a simple, happy life up until her late teens when she was about to go to college. Her father was murdered in cold blood and her mother fell apart. She was left to take care of herself and her mother, and all her dreams were shattered. She is kidnapped and sold to someone she once knew and was in love with. Mikhail Romanov. He is an entirely different person now. But Marlowe is an angel and she can melt the hardest of hearts. They fall in love with each other, but with this romance comes a revelation of secrets that shatter Marlowe and all that's left of her is a woman that is filled with hatred and anger, and desperate for revenge.

Dr. Alessia Russo's life is spiraling out of control. Drowning in debt and desperate to help her imprisoned brother, the brilliant ER physician makes a decision that will change her life forever. One moonlit rendezvous in a shadowy alley catapults her into the dangerous world of the Bratva, where loyalty is everything and one wrong move could be her last. Enter Nikolai Zhukov, the enigmatic and ruthless boss of the Russian mafia. With eyes that pierce her soul and a touch that sets her skin ablaze, Nikolai offers Alessia an irresistible proposition: become his personal doctor, no questions asked, in exchange for more money than she ever dreamed possible. As Alessia navigates the treacherous waters of the criminal underworld, she finds herself drawn deeper into Nikolai's web. By day, she saves lives in the ER. By night, she tends to bullet wounds and knife fights, all while trying to keep her moral compass intact. But Nikolai is no ordinary crime lord. Behind his cold exterior and calculated moves lies a man with hidden depths and unexpected vulnerabilities. As the heat between them intensifies, Alessia realizes she's not just risking her career and freedom – she's in danger of losing her heart to the very man she should fear most. With enemies closing in and loyalties tested, Alessia must choose between the safe life she's always known and the exhilarating, perilous future Nikolai offers. In a world where passion and danger collide, can their forbidden love survive? Or will the price of entering Nikolai's world prove too high for the good doctor to pay? "Code Black: A Bratva Billionaire Romance" – a heart-pounding tale of love, loyalty, and the thin line between right and wrong.

Suddenly Zeva Adelia, a freelance photographer, got a client who expressed his interest in her after spending a day together on the first day they met. However, without clarifying what their relationship was and only introducing his name as Zero, the next day Zero immediately returned to his country. He left only a trail of his handmade sketch of Zeva's face and a tiny letter asking Zeva to keep her heart's loyalty to him only. Strangely enough, by only communicating via chat, even without video or phone calls, Zeva feels that Zero has succeeded in conquering her heart. Then, can Zeva undergo a status-less relationship and a long-distance relationship with Zero? How long can Zeva endure waiting for Zero to come back for her? Also, how much does Zeva trust Zero's loyalty to her, when there's another girl like 24/7 beside Zero?

My husband, Malcolm Thorpe, has low sperm motility. After 33 rounds of IVF, I finally got pregnant. On delivery day, I start hemorrhaging, and the medical team calls for an emergency C-section. Malcolm signs the consent form, then rushes straight back to his childhood sweetheart's birthday party. But instead of starting the C-section, the surgeon says, "Ms. Jacobson, the electronic medical record lists you as single. This consent form isn't valid." I stop breathing for a beat. The happy marriage I believe in turns out to be a sham. Later, Mom and Dad rush in and sign the consent for me. But by then, the baby is gone. The asphyxia lasted too long. After surgery, I scrawl my name on the cremation consent with shaking hands, then dial a number without thinking. "Samuel, are you free now? Meet me in front of City Hall."

When my daughter, Lily Gage, has a parent-teacher meeting going on, she requests that my wife, Melody Hutton, and I attend it. Yet, Melody doesn't inform me about the meeting. Instead, she takes her secretary, Benjamin Carter, to the meeting. After the meeting, Melody explains that she doesn't have the heart to interrupt me, seeing as I'm too busy with work. In order to maintain the peace of this family, I decide to endure Melody's shenanigans just this once. But one day, Lily has gotten into a fight with another student at school. By the time I arrive, I witness Benjamin dealing with the situation with Lily in his arms. After asking Lily's teacher for more information, I find out that Lily has actually changed an emergency contact. Apparently, she has filled in Benjamin's contact information in the father's column. Also, Melody has given her permission for Lily to make the change. At that moment, I've lost all interest in staying in this family. That night, I bring up divorce in front of Melody. She just smiles mockingly at me. "So, you want to get divorced just because Benjamin's an emergency contact now?" "That's right."

Lyra Mae Miracle considers her life perfect just as it is. Amazing friends, decent enough grades, the best family, and an annoying brother with his equally annoying friends. But when the past that she's worked so hard to forget comes back to bite her, she learns that her life is far from perfect. With a downhill spiral of her life, she finally learns to accept help from those who want to. She blocked people out because of her past, even if it was unconsciously. But she can't let the past take control of the present. So she's going to end everything. Set the line, and accept reality. All to obtain what she would most definitely consider, a perfect life. But nobody and nothing is perfect, and imperfections is what makes perfection. Perfectly imperfect.