Skull Kid

The day I found out I was pregnant, they threw me in the cold room. Ninety-nine calls later, Sandro Vaitti finally picked up. "The Family made that call," he said. "It was Genny's birthday. She got a fever because of you. This is your punishment. Just wait—once you're out, I'll marry you." Sandro's favorite line? 'Just wait.' His mafia family hated me. He swore once he gave them their precious heir, he'd cut ties and choose me. I bought it. Waited two years. Waited while he hooked up with Helga Cicili and had a kid—Genny. Then came the kicker: A daughter can't carry the Family name. He had to have a son with Helga. And yeah, I believed him. Again. Waited another year—until Helga got pregnant with his golden boy. I thought, 'Finally. Done waiting.' Then plot twist—I was pregnant too. Day before the wedding. Felt like fate. Didn't even get to tell him. They locked me up. Cold room. I curled up, shaking, barely breathing. When the door creaked open, I knew— I was done. Done waiting. Done begging. I'd leave. And I'd take my baby with me.

Christy thought her boyfriend was just nonchalant and unromantic person, but a text and a photo sent by an anonymous changed everything. That was when she realised, she was never the one in his heart, but he had been leading her all along. This shattered her completely, and she couldn't get over being hurt and her trust brutally bruised. In anger, she made his grandfather who was in his mid-sixties fall in love with her. "You don't mean it, Christy right? My grandfather is too old and weak for you, I know you are mad at me for cheating and deceiving you, end this wedding, I will marry you" Franklin proposed, his face creased with frustration. His grandfather Winchester said "Kid, our wedding is already fixed" Then Christy raised her eyebrow and said "What makes you think marrying your grandfather because of you?" Franklin retorted "If I didn't cheat on you, would you have?" Christy beamed and then said in response "If you had not cheated on me, I would have been blind and still stick to you, but you opened my eyes and I realise the man for me, and he is your grandfather, I love him and I will marry him" "My girlfriend can't become my step-grandmother!" Franklin yelled aggressively.

I was the top bounty thief in the organization. The best they had. After turning in my final score, I announced on the spot that I was done for good. Then, I stood in my studio, blending paint. A single photograph was pinned to the wall before me. Black Viper filled the doorway, the light behind him casting his face in shadow. "What's it like," he asked quietly, "pretending to be an artist?" He stepped further inside. "Does paint smell better than blood?" I placed the palette knife down and wiped my hands slowly. "I'm done. I walked away." "Old Fox didn't approve of it." "That's not my concern." Black Viper crossed the room and tapped the old photograph on the wall. "Are you certain?" I did not want to look. I told myself not to. However, my gaze shifted anyway. A young boy stared back from the photo. "The blind kid?" I had spent ten years searching for him. "Where is he?" I moved toward the wall, reaching to rip the picture down. "One last job," Black Viper said, pressing his palm against the photo. My hand stopped in midair. "What's the target?" "The final lot at next month's auction that the Gilbert Group will be holding. "It's called Mermaid's Tear."

I’m raising someone else’s kid. My sister’s daughter, and where I thought I’d never make it as a single father bachelor, I was wrong. This little girl has my heart. And only her. Until a stray dog happens upon my place and we’re forced to call a vet. And a beautiful woman showed up. I didn’t believe in fate. But it seems to believe in me. The beautiful woman who helped us out with the dog shows up again later on a blind date across the table from me. And I’m sold out for her before I realize what’s happening. Pulling back is my only hope for survival. After losing my sister, I’m far more protective of me and her little one. But it’s a losing battle. No way I’m going anywhere, until I’m forced to. It would seem I have a kid of my own in the world. Maybe this is the breaking point where I can walk away from the all-consuming passion of my new romance. Because I’m good with giving my time, my body, and all of my money. But to her? I’ve accidentally given all of me.

Her hands had gotten as far as his neck before he'd pulled back, eyes blazing with lust. "I'm going to leave before I forget who you are and take you right here, against this wall." "And who am I?" she'd asked out of curiosity. He'd said "My Princess", kissed her forehead while unwrapping her legs from his waist then left so fast that she hadn't had time to say anything else --------- She's back. After spending two years in London, Alexis is back looking more beautiful than ever. Ray tried to forget her when she was gone but his efforts were all in vain. So now that she's back he'll do everything in his power to make her fall in love with him. There's only one tiny problem. Her boyfriend. Alexis thinks Ray is a nuisance. And a stalker. A hot, sweaty, sexy, stalker. Every time she turns around he's always there, ready to annoy her. She could ignore him. But he isn't the scrawny kid she used to know. He's all grown up now and she can't get over his new look. What to do?

Rocco Falcone, who is the Falcone family's Don and my so-called husband, hangs up on me for what feels like the 99th time. Having been diagnosed with leukemia, I haul my ravaged body into the family lawyer's office. "I'm here to file for a divorce," I said. … When Rocco hears about it, he barges in with my family ten minutes later. The moment he enters, he slaps me. "Did you use the emergency line just to ruin Sofia's big night? Are you out of your mind?" Lily Marone, my mom, snatches the diagnosis right out of my hand and skims through it. She chuckles dismissively. "Did you fake being sick just to get attention? How many lies have you told since you were a kid, Claire?" Sofia Moretti holds Rocco's arm with tears in her eyes. "Forgive me, Claire. I shouldn't have taken the position. Please stop hurting yourself and Rocco." I wipe the blood from my mouth and turn back to the lawyer. "I have no family left. Please hurry with the divorce paperwork. I need it settled before my cremation in three days."

Jacob is a struggling teenager trying to adapt and fit into his new life and school after the death of his family caused him to move across countries with his uncle and cousin, Kenny. He was forced to attend an elite all boys boarding school with Kenny, after his uncle somehow secured him a scholarship. Jacob accidentally walks in on Daniel, a notorious bad boy and bully, getting a blow job from a junior. Daniel seeing him and taking interest in the new kid at school, decides to bully Jacob into keeping his secret. Jacob trying to protect his uncle’s job and his spot at the school gives in to Daniel’s constant bullying which led to him doing things for him and his favorite teacher, Richard he never thought he would do. Jacob falls in love with Nathan years later and they were about to be married when he suddenly bumped into Daniel at the flower shop. He’d changed so much and he seemed kinder than he’d remembered him. Memories and feelings came rushing in and Jacob’s head became filled with so many questions. “Will he ever be able to forgive Daniel for everything he did to him?” But more importantly. “Has he really moved on from him?”

I was a slum kid who fell for Damon Vitale, New York’s most feared Godfather. For five years, I was his. I took nine bullets for him. He’d kiss my scars as I bled out for him. Hold me close. Clasp the queen’s necklace around my throat. Then, once I healed, he’d fuck me senseless, with a passion that felt like forever. I thought we’d spend our lives together. I thought he would marry me. But on our 999th night together, he told me he was engaged. To Bianca, a mafia princess from a rival family. I swallowed my tears. He just grabbed my chin, blew smoke in my face, and laughed. "You didn't really think you could marry me, did you, Nora? Let's be clear. We fuck. That's it. You're not a partner. You're a piece of art I collect. A pet I own." A pet. That’s all he ever wanted for me. Instead, I picked up a burner phone. [I'm taking your offer. Three days. Get me the hell out of New York.]

“He’s not yours,” I said, each word slicing through him like glass. Valentine stared at me, stunned, like I’d slapped him. Maybe I should’ve. That would’ve been easier than this. I thought I’d buried the past the day I ran—pregnant, heartbroken, and alone. Valentine Hale was the love of my life… until he shattered it. He never knew I was carrying his child. He never tried to find me. I raised our son alone. But fate doesn’t forget. Now I’m back in the one place I swore I’d never return to. And Valentine? He’s here. He’s looking at me like he still feels it. Valentine- She was human. Off-limits. But I touched her anyway. Loved her. Marked her. Then I walked away before the pack could find out. Before I destroyed us both. But now, Vivian’s back—with a kid who smells like me. But now I bear a secret, a curse from my father the previous alpha and I cannot risk their lives. I need to protect them. I need them. I feel it in my blood. He’s mine. She’s mine. They both always were.

Elara Hart resides in a gilded prison. She agreed to marry Adrian Kingsley, a man who sees emotions as a liability and his wife as a required transaction in order to save her dying father. In the hopes that her patience would eventually break the billionaire's heart, Elara puts up with the chilly quiet of their London house for a year. However, Elara's hope is dashed when she learns two things on the same day: that she is carrying the Kingsley heir at last, and that Adrian has already completed the legal paperwork to dump her as soon as the kid is born. She is a throwaway container for him and a minor inconvenience for his mother. Elara does the unthinkable as she realizes she is imprisoned in a home that just wants her womb. She vanishes without a trace. Dr. Elara Hart is now a much more confident woman than the shy young lady who asked for an appointment seven years ago. She is a well-known doctor and a fiercely protective mother to Lucas, who has Adrian's steel-gray eyes. The balance of power has changed when Adrian returns to her life through a chance meeting. Too late, Adrian understands that love can not be controlled, but Elara is no longer available. He must realize that in this struggle of wills, some hearts can not be won back once they have been broken.