Sea Of Ruin

Lia Carter’s dirty secret: She wants her stepbrother, Rubben Carter. 6’2 of muscle, scars, and control. The man who’s supposed to protect her. Instead, he ruins her. With one look. One touch. One word. Little sister. He doesn’t know what he does to her. How her pulse races when he’s near. How her body betrays her every time his jaw ticks. He’s forbidden. Untouched. Off-limits. She’s drunk. Reckless. Done pretending. One whisper of his name and he’s there — close, hot, dangerous. She’s helpless under his gaze. She wants him. She can’t. But desire doesn’t care about blood or rules. *Will Rubben give in to the girl he should never touch?* *And when their parents find out… who will survive the fallout?*

On the first day I take my daughter, Layla Gibson, to an elite kindergarten, I'm told that Layla hasn't been admitted to the kindergarten at all. I call my husband, Maverick Gibson, on the spot. After all, he's the one in charge of enrolling Layla in the kindergarten. How is it possible for her to not fit the criteria to be accepted into the kindergarten? In an upset tone, Maverick tells me that the kindergarten has gotten it wrong. "I'm sorry, darling. Our company's assets have yet to reach the minimum requirement that's needed for the kindergarten to accept Layla as a student. "I was worried that you'd be saddened when you found out about this, so I didn't say anything about this. This is my fault for not working hard enough. Because of me, Layla lost to her peers in terms of education." After ending the call, I call my dad, who's actually a board member of the kindergarten. At the same time, I have my lawyer draft a divorce agreement. I'm interested to see which bastard child has taken Layla's spot, which has already been reserved by my dad a long time ago.

At the company's annual meeting, my promotion opportunity goes to an intern instead. I confront Mitchell Wilson, a manager, only to be publicly humiliated. "The industry is in a slump, yet you have the best sales performance in the entire company. Who knows how you get your clients?" I drank until my stomach bled and ended up in the hospital in the middle of the night. I have forced a smile while serving arrogant, sleazy executives. Yet, none of that feels as humiliating as this moment. My ex-boyfriend looks at me gloatingly while holding the intern's hand as they plan a celebration party. Before leaving, he mocks me, "Yvette is the Saccone Group heiress. Once her evaluation period ends, she will go back to inherit the company. Who do you think you are?" I frown in confusion—I am the Saccone Group heiress.

In the final stages of a terminal illness, my family abandoned me and threw me into a horror game. [Another one here to die. I bet she won't last the first night.] [Just listen to that cough. I'm scared she'll die right inside my phone.] On the first night, the head nurse made her rounds, prepared to execute any player whose heartbeat was abnormal. My heartbeat remained steady only because my body was too weak to fluctuate—and I even helped her sew up the tear in her uniform. "Miss, your clothes are torn. You'll get cold. If I mend it for you, you won't be cold anymore." On the second night, the surgeon swung his scalpel, determined to cut away anything imperfect. I handed him a wrist guard I'd made myself, watching his trembling hands. "Doctor, your talent shouldn't be buried by pain." … On the final day, the ultimate Boss gave me a choice: leave with a healthy body, or stay and perish with these strange beings. Back in the real world, the parents who had abandoned me were suddenly in tears, begging me to come home and split the money. I smiled and said to the creatures inside the instance, "I choose to trade my life… for a home for all of you." The next second, a burst of golden light erupted from the system. [Congratulations, player. You have triggered the one and only hidden ending—Divine Redemption.]

I slept with my brother's best friend. And I didn't even know who he was. --- The first time I saw Rafael De Luca, he was a stranger by the pool with sin in his smile and hunger in his icy blue eyes. He kissed me like I was air and he'd been drowning. Then I learned his name. My brother's best friend. The heir to the De Luca empire. My family's sworn enemy. I should have walked away. Instead, I let him ruin me. One night of passion. One whispered "my little sunshine" against my skin. One secret I took with me when I disappeared without a trace. Now I'm back. Six years later, Rafael is colder than ever, Chicago's most feared mafia prince, and the man I'm being forced to marry. He doesn't know why I left. He doesn't know about the five-year-old secret waiting at home with his father's blue eyes. And he definitely doesn't know that one look from him still sets me on fire. "You're mine now, sole," he whispers against my lips on our wedding night. "And I'm going to find out why you left. Every. Damn. Reason." He thinks he's in control. He thinks he's the one ruining me. But Rafael De Luca doesn't know the truth yet. I didn't just sleep with my brother's best friend. I gave him a son. And when he finds out, this monster who wears obsession like armor will have to decide: Destroy me for my betrayal... Or surrender to the passion that could save us both.

Three years after our breakup, I ran into my ex-girlfriend, and she had her new boyfriend by her side. "Hey, isn't that Henry the expert?" Diego Stanley taunted with a smirk. "Three years post-breakup, and you're slumming it here playing with clay?" I furrowed my brow, ignored them, and carefully moved the Victorian-era porcelain musician figurine onto its preset base in the display case. When I wasn't biting, he reached out to grab the figurine from my arms. "What's this junk you're treating like gold? Let me take a look." Cynthia Wyatt frowned, her voice laced with that familiar arrogance. "Henry, I've given you three years to shape up, and you're still the same loser? Come on, hand over that clay doll to Diego. Don't kill the vibe. If you play nice, I might even reconsider our old engagement." As Diego's hand neared the figurine, I dodged quickly and barked, "Hands off! It's a historical artifact!" Diego got pissed off and shoved me hard. "Some flea market find, and you're acting all high and mighty?" In the ensuing scuffle, I lost my balance, and the figurine slipped from my grasp, crashing to the floor. That sealed their fate. This entitled pair was about to go bankrupt trying to fix it.

"Benjamin! I swear, I never cheated on you. I am a pure woman. I never let anyone touch me. Please, believe me." Charlotte was on her knees, begging her husband to believe her Innocence. But he only looked at her with anger and disgust in his eyes for her. "Do you think I am a fool? If you didn't cheat? If you are that innocent? How come you are pregnant? Is that the reason why you didn't let me touch you in four months of our marriage?" Benjamin yelled at her, hatred dipped from his eyes for Charlotte. "I don't know anything! But please, believe me. I never cheated on you." Charlotte cried, trembling with fear. "That's it! I can't live with an unfaithful woman. I am divorcing you. Get your ugly face out of my sight and never show me your face again, you slut." Without listening to her pleas, Benjamin slapped the divorce papers. ---------------- Charlotte was full of life. With so many dreams in her eyes, she was looking forward to having a bright future. Until an arrogant man laid his eyes on her. And everything changed in her life. She was forced to marry the man she hated the most. When she thought nothing worse could happen to her, she found out that she was pregnant. But how? She was still a virgin and she never let any man touch her?

Sienna Langford thought she had the perfect marriage—until her ruthless CEO husband, Adrian Hawthorne, shattered her world with five cruel words: You’re past your prime, Sienna. Heartbroken and discarded after being handed divorce papers, she begs for another chance, but he replaces her with someone younger. With nothing but a broken heart, she vanishes—taking with her a secret Adrian never knew: his unborn children and enrolling in an elite acting school. Three years later, Sienna returns as Sienna Monroe, the mesmerizing lead in a global blockbuster. The first time Adrian sees her again? She’s larger than life on the silver screen, captivating millions—including him. Now, the man who once cast her aside is desperate to win her back. But Sienna is no longer the woman who begged for his love. She’s a star, a mother, and untouchable. Leo Castille a co-star begins to have an unhealthy obsession for her and is ready to do everything good or bad to get her. Admits all of this, she learns about something that changes everything. Adrian is terminally ill. she faces an impossible choice: walk away forever or give her heart to the man who broke it. Either way, this time, she holds all the power.

While Adrian was out negotiating a partnership, Vivian slipped nuts into my food — the one thing she knew I was deathly allergic to. I broke out in blisters all over during the negotiation, making a scene in front of everyone. But Vivian didn't care. She pulled me aside and sneered, "You, Luna, spoiled as you are, just stay there and be a pretty face. Leave the real business to me and Adrian." I lost my temper and slapped her hard across the face. The next second, Adrian appeared in front of Vivian, pulling her into his arms. The look he gave me was pure reproach. "You're the Luna — is this how you treat your own pack members? Vivian didn't do it on purpose. Why are you making her life difficult?" Vivian pressed herself against him, eyes wide and glistening. "Luna, I know I'm clumsy. You're not really going to hold a grudge over something so small, are you?" That night, he didn't come back to our hotel room. I sat on the bed and waited until dawn, tears streaming silently down my face. Through the mate bond, I could feel exactly where he'd been — with Vivian, the entire night. He'd already betrayed me. Numb with heartbreak, I picked up my phone and called Alpha’s father.

“Run. For when the moon rises so do the monsters.” Blood trickled down my legs as I managed to keep my foot in front of the other in an attempt to run. Who would imagine that running away from being engaged to an old Alpha would lead right into the clutches of my fated lycan king? And that right there would lead to my death or...? Now I'm hunted, claimed and I might just end up ruined.