Still Life Louise Penny

A tragic misunderstanding that ruined a promising love story…. When Darla gets kicked out of the Gomez Mansion, a place she worked as a maid, she is devastated but even more hurt when she finds out that it was her beloved that had her kicked out, Daniel Gomez. Overcome with grief and fear for her unborn child's safety, Darla fled the city. Daniel, perplexed by her sudden disappearance, searched far and wide for her, but to no avail. Five years passed, and Darla rebuilt her life as a successful voiceover artist and brand influencer. Returning to the city with her daughter, Raya, she is determined to move forward, but Daniel is resolute in his pursuit. This time, he will never let her go and is ready to make her his… for a lifetime.

I never called my stepbrother, Victor Rossi, "brother." I loved him. In my previous life, I forced him to marry me, and we became the most infamously miserable couple in New Hampston's mafia circles. On Monday, he threw me into a lion's cage after starving the beast for three days. On Tuesday, I tied him to a spinning wheel and forced him to play Russian roulette. He hated me for tearing him away from the woman he loved. I hated him because we had grown up side by side, yet even after ten years of marriage, he could not forget the woman from the fishing village. Even in bed, wrapped around each other, we hurled the cruelest curses at one another. When the cruise ship went up in flames, Victor gave me his chance to live. He shoved me onto the last lifeboat, his voice gentler than it had ever been. "This life was exhausting. I don't want to fight with you anymore. Live well. In the next life, let me go." I watched the fire swallow him along with the ship. The deep sea buried everything. The light in my eyes went out with it. I threw myself into the freezing water and ended that absurd, painful life with my own hands. When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the moment I forced him to marry me. In this life, I would not destroy us both. As I watched him kneel before me, defiant even in the face of death, I did not drive away the woman he loved as I had before. "I will let you have her." Under Victor's stunned gaze, my eyes reddened as I spoke softly. "This time, I am the one who does not want you."

“I know you want me in jail, but I want you in my bed.” Every man and woman Ángel meets disappears. Their severed finger arrives first, like a pretty little Christmas gift, wrapped in silk and presented in box filled with silent promises from his stalker. Castle, Mafia heir. Executioner. Obsessed beyond reason. He doesn’t send threats. He sends bodies. Because no one touches what belongs to him. No one tastes what he’s claimed. And if they try? They bleed for it. At sixteen, Ángel Di Cristina lost everything. His father—an FBI agent—was closing in on the Mafia when a brutal massacre left his parents dead. But that night, one masked man went rogue. He killed his own allies, marked Ángel with a scar, and disappeared. For years, Ángel hunted him. And now, he’s closer than ever. But Castle doesn’t play by rules. He never had. What he wanted, he got. He bends Ángel, fills his whole life with the thought of him. He whispers filthy things against his throat while pressing a knife to his pulse. Run? Hide? Fight? Useless. Because Castillo doesn’t just want to own Ángel. He wants to ruin him. And the worst part? Ángel is ready to let him.

During the annual awards gala, I stepped out to use the restroom. When I came back, my year-end bonus was gone, canceled for allegedly assaulting a new coworker, Elan Crowe. In my first life, I desperately tried to prove my innocence by showing my fitness tracker’s movement data, proving I had been in the bathroom. Calder Roane, the department head, flew into a rage. "Everyone in the department saw you hit him. And you still want to deny it?" I struggled and explained frantically, but in the chaos, I accidentally fell down the stairs and died on the spot. In my second life, I took medical leave and skipped the gala entirely. I never expected that just past noon, the police would surround my home. "Lyra Vale, you’re suspected of intentional homicide. You need to come with us." Elan’s enraged family had then rushed forward and stabbed me repeatedly. I died again. In my third life, I ran to the city plaza, started a livestream, and rapped on camera, turning every viewer into my alibi. That night, the police still came. "The evidence is conclusive. Please come with us." At the station, they pulled up surveillance footage. It clearly showed me sneaking into the gala hall, arguing with Elan, then picking up a knife and stabbing him straight in the back. I was completely stunned. Three days later, I took a bullet. After endless rebirths, I finally laughed in anger. This time, I stormed straight into the gala hall, pressed a knife across Elan's throat, and said, "This is a kidnapping."

From the time I could count coins, my parents hammered one lesson home—if a boy did not start saving young, he would never have enough to win himself a wife. They opened a bank account in my name, vowing that money would only ever flow in, never out. And so, every birthday bill and crumpled allowance found a home in that card. I kept funneling every hard-earned paycheck into that same old account even after I moved to the city to chase my own future. At that point, that habit was done more out of reflex than reason. However, I was blindsided by acute kidney failure after years of working myself to the bone. Suddenly, that money was not just savings—it was my lifeline. My dad's voice trembled on the phone. He claimed he had forgotten the password and urged me to just take out an online loan for now. I hauled myself to the bank, my feet still shaky from my dialysis treatment. I clutched my ID, determined to file a loss report and reset the password myself. The teller's words froze me in place. "Sir, this account was emptied six months ago." Panic surged through me. I demanded a full printout of every transaction. The statement of the most recent transfer glared up at me from the paper, stating, "Wedding fund for our precious daughter, Natalia Callahan, plus the down payment for her luxury car."

Everything started when the oh-so-hot macho entertainer danced in front of the beautifully sizzling Tamara Davis on the night of her best friend's bridal shower. She wasn't the bride, but the man was intent on pleasing her all night! The next thing she knew, the supposed just-for-fun night out with her friends turned out to be a night of the blazing fire she shared with this sexy male stripper when the two of them ended up on the bed, and they brought each other to their own kind of paradise. Tamara thought that whatever was left on that night would remain that night. She was wrong, though. Fate intervened, rekindling their flame when they unexpectedly met again one sunny day. And she discovered that the man she had sex with was about to become her new boss!

The story revolves around Olivia, the abandoned daughter of an Alpha. She is treated badly and has to run away from the pack when the ill treatment became too much. Her life changes when she mistakenly hides at the evil forest and she is taken by a werewolf, Augustus. He had been cursed and unless he finds Olivia in each lifetime, he would live like a wild animal in the bush. Olivia tried all her best to run away from him but all attempts proved abortive and at the end of the day, Augustus told her that for every time he has to find her and be with her, if not, he would be condemned to a life of loneliness and doom. At the end, Olivia stayed with Augustus and fell in love with him after rejecting him for several months. Augustus took Olivia back to his pack and she was shocked to see that he was the revered Lycan king. She is extremely happy and at the end of the day, her status is elevated and even people from her pack can see her from afar. The Story focuses on love, dominance, commitment and power.

Victoria Lindsey's life is turned upside down when her father, Senator Lindsey, arranges for her to marry Stefan Zoric, a wealthy and handsome young man. Initially, Stefan makes it clear that the marriage is only for show, but as they spend more time together, they begin to develop real feelings for each other. However, their happiness is short-lived as Victoria discovers that Stefan's family is involved in some shady business with the help of her father. Can she expose their evil acts? At the expense of what? Will Stefan support her?

It all started with a night. He was a widower looking for a way to release his stress. She was a waitress who had just lost her job. She was also looking for a way to release her stress. They met in a bar and things led to a steamy night. What's next? How will they react when they wake up next to each other? Where will it lead, when they meet each other again in a place where they least expected to meet? ----------------------- "What are you doing here?" Richard asks her, surprised. "Why are you here?" Lilian asks him, surprised. "I am the CEO of this company and this is my building", he answers. "Oh shit, I am here because of some work", she replies. "Well . . . in that case, how about we recreate the steamy night that we spent together once again? I really cannot get you and your body out of my head", he says coming closer to her. "Oh really? Then how about we have a quickie right here and right now on your desk?", she asks with a confident smile. ------------------------------------- Richard Matthews is a widower, billionaire and CEO known for his ruthless ways of treating women. He never had even the slightest respect for the female gender, because of what his wife did to him. Lilian Johnson is a small town girl who came to the big city with so much hopes and dreams. Life was not easy for her, as she had to go through so many obstacles to get to where she was now. What's next for these two? What does the future hold for these two, when they haven't made peace with their past?

While enrolling my son in an elite school, the administrator suddenly tells me my marriage certificate is forged. "According to our records, your marital status is listed as single." "But I've been married to my husband, Chandler Leighton, for seven years!" Behind me, other parents waiting in line burst out laughing mockingly. "Did she just say Chandler Leighton? She must be dreaming." Amid their ridicule, I leave and head straight to the city hall for a confirmation. And as a wife of seven years, my marital status in the system is stated as "Single". A cold dread washes over me as I press. "Who is Chandler Leighton's legal wife?" The clerk flatly spats out a name, "Heather Hammington." It was that name again! I rush home, ready to confront Chandler, but pause just outside the door when I hear voices inside. "It's been seven years, Mr. Leighton. Do you still have no plans to grant Mrs. Leighton a legal status?" After a lengthy pause, Chandler finally answers, "Just wait a little longer. Heather lost both her parents… I'm the only one who can help her, so she needs this title." "What if Mrs. Leighton finds out?" "Danielle loves me too much to leave, even if she finds out. Once Heather has established her foothold in the business industry, I'll make it official with Danielle and give her a true marriage certificate." He sounds so certain, unaware that I'm standing just outside the door with tears streaming down my face. "You'll be disappointed, you liar." I take out my phone and dial a number I haven't called in years. "Mom, I accept the Atwoods' marriage arrangement."