Straight Punch

Carolina Alves I came to America to write love stories, but my inspiration’s been running on empty. Then I followed an orange kitten onto the subway, through a strange neighborhood, and straight into the arms of a firefighter. Ace Rosario is steady, strong, and just a little sarcastic—and suddenly, I can’t stop writing again. The only question is… am I falling for my muse, or for the man himself? Ace Rosario Oldest sibling, last to get my act together. My family’s always seen me as the drifter, never the responsible one. But I’m determined to prove myself as a firefighter—and the last thing I expected was for Carolina Alves to tumble into my life with her wild hair, her Portuguese rambling, and my mischievous kitten, Goose, in tow. She makes me think love might be the one risk worth taking. The Purrfect Love Story is the heartfelt, playful conclusion to the Ravenwood Series. While it can be read as a standalone, Ace recommends checking out his siblings’ stories first—Man’s Best Wingman, A Bark in the Park, and The Purrfect Wingman—before diving into his own.

I was six months pregnant when my husband's childhood sweetheart showed up on Christmas Eve, pregnant too, demanding her place in his life. Smiling, I welcomed her in. "Come on in. Make yourself at home." In my previous life, I had forced my husband to kick Shirley out. She collapsed from low blood sugar and froze to death that very Christmas Eve. Matthew did not hold it against me. On the contrary, he softened, stayed by my side and took care of me while I waited to give birth. However, when the baby came, despite being an obstetrician himself, Matthew sent our healthy newborn son straight to the morgue. I begged him desperately, but his face was twisted with hatred. "If you hadn't been so petty and dramatic, Shirley wouldn't have died along with her baby!" "You're heartbroken over your son? Then go freeze to death too. Pay for Shirley’s life with your own life." Just like that, I opened my eyes again, back to the moment Shirley arrived on Christmas Eve.

The Horror Game invaded the world. Real players entered the game, and their every move would be broadcast live. My adopted son shoved me—an eighty-eight-year-old woman—straight into a deadly dungeon to save his own skin. One of the comments in the live stream predicted: [What? They’re tossing in such an elderly woman? No way she’s gonna survive the first night!] On the first night, a frost-bitten ghost exhaled icy breath in my face. I shrugged off my thick floral coat, feeling sorry for her. “You poor thing! You must be freezing. Listen to me and bundle up quickly!” The second night, a starving ghost lunged at me with blood dripping down his chin. I sniffed the air, then found a jar of pickled cabbage. “Look at how skinny you are! Come on, let me get you something hot to eat.” On the final day, the last surviving players tied me up, desperate to steal the one ticket to escape. However, before they could touch me, every ghost in the dungeon came storming out, cleavers and rolling pins in hand. “Touch her, and you’re dead meat!”

Aria Blackstone spent three years praying for a miracle. The day she finally saw two red lines, she thought her life was complete. Instead, it ended. Dragged out of her husband’s mansion. Accused of trying to kill another woman’s child. Humiliated. Thrown away like nothing. And on a cold, lonely roadside… Aria lost the baby she had begged the universe for. Her husband never looked back. But someone else did. Aiden Blackstone... Gabriel’s estranged and untouchable billionaire stepbrother. A man who should have hated her. A man she barely noticed standing in the shadows of her broken marriage. A man who carried her bleeding body into his hospital… and into a world she never knew she deserved. With nowhere left to go, Aria must rebuild her shattered life inside Aiden’s mansion, unaware she is stepping straight into the heart of a man who has silently watched her fall apart for years. Gabriel wants her back. Aiden wants her safe. And Aria must choose between the billionaire who destroyed her… and the billionaire who saved her.

The day I went to try on my wedding suit, a stranger stormed into the VIP fitting room and drove a knife into my gut. "Sleeping with my woman, and you dare wear a suit this expensive?" He ripped my shirt into ribbons with a wild grin and threw sulfuric acid straight at me. The knife was buried deep in my abdomen. Pain ripped through me as I collapsed. He yanked my hair, forcing my head up. "Susan Lefebvre is my wife. What the hell are you? Just some filthy side piece hiding in the shadows!" Blood dripped from my fingertips as the truth sank in. The fiancée I'd loved for seven years had been cheating on me all along. "What are you staring at?" He sneered. "Even if I kill you, no one can touch me. My wife runs this city!" Watching that arrogant face twist in triumph, I took out my phone with a trembling, blood-soaked hand and dialed my sister. "Allison," I said, my voice cold and calm. "Come pick me up at the bridal salon. And tell the Lefebvres that the engagement is off."

Isabella Cohen had better things to do than listen to her father go on and on about her getting married to the latest man who had impressed him, as if her father wasn't fucking his assistant every Thursday and Saturday. So, when she was given the choice to either marry Ethan Hawthorn (the biggest asshole on the planet with an even bigger ego), or be disowned, you better believe she packed her bags, transferred money to her secret account and took the first plane from New York to Italy. Stephan Ferrari was bored. Now you might think being head of the Italian Mafia was exciting and full of adventure, but you would be wrong. Stephan had killed all his enemies, partied for a week straight at the best clubs in Italy (which all belonged to him) and fucked women of all types, yet he will still left with an empty feeling inside. So, when he got report that the leader of the American Mafia's daughter was seen at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, well he may have found his new Queen. And if he could ransom said queen to toy with the Cohen family, then that was an added bonus

You know that feeling when the player of the school suddenly picks interest in you? "What do you want?" I faced him. He was really getting on my nerves by being around me. "Great question, Theresa,"he said looking straight at me. "Could you please not call me that?" "Be my date to Lucas's pool party this Saturday," he dropped. Shocker! When Luke Henderson decides to bother Tess Harvey, he didn't know what he was getting himself into. Tess's life is full of so many drama but poor Luke isn't aware. Abandoned by everyone she trusted and loved, Tess Harvey lived a difficult life. She actually got consoled by an unexpected trio. Years later, she diligently works hard to put past incidents behind her but old memories and acquaintances interfere with it. She suffers from anger issues and this interferes with her work at a point. Being hurt by the people she trusted the most, she found it hard to open up to anyone. She doesn't even wanna be loved. A story filled with suspense, thrill, dose of comedy and tears.

One tragic accident. One life lost. One love that should never exist. Amariz solene never meant to kill Thalina, Alaric’s fiancée. Yet in a heartbeat, she becomes the object of his rage and the source of a forbidden desire neither can resist. Her mother sends her to work at a prestigious company, unaware that it belongs to the man whose life she shattered. Amari walks into her new job oblivious, unaware she’s stepping straight into Alaric's world, binding her fate to the man who despises her most. Alaric sees her arrival as fate, a chance to punish the woman who destroyed his world. But as he watches her carry her guilt quietly and face each challenge with grace,his hatred begins to crumble, finds himself drawn to the woman he should hate. Every stolen glance, every secret encounter ignites a dangerous passion that threatens to consume them both. To love each other is betrayal. To let go is heartbreak. And in the shadow of tragedy, they must decide: will their hearts be destroyed by the past, or can they risk everything for a love born from grief?

I never imagined that my scholarship to Nocturne Academy would lead me straight to my mate. At eighteen, I was supposed to focus on my studies, carve out a future beyond the limits of my modest upbringing, and leave behind the life I once knew. But then I met Elias Grey—my enigmatic professor, the man fate has tethered me to in ways I can’t begin to fight. He's everything I shouldn’t want: older, untouchable, born into privilege, and bound by expectations that would crush a weaker man. As the heir to the Grey legacy and the son of Nocturne’s powerful dean, Elias knows what’s at stake. But how do you turn your back on something that feels inevitable? The pull between us is undeniable. But desire alone isn’t enough—not when Elias faces relentless pressure to marry Claudia Castille, the woman chosen to secure his family’s influence. Caught between obligation, longing, and fate, Elias and I must decide: How far are we willing to go to hold onto something everyone tells us we can't have?

The admissions office calls and says my daughter's admission fee has been paid, asking when I'll come to handle enrollment. I'm completely stunned. My daughter, Natalie Steward, is top of her class. She's already guaranteed a spot in the city's best high school, Dream High School, with no admission fee required. Upon questioning my husband, Arnold Lewiston, he claims the admissions office must've made a mistake. He says, "I just wanted to surprise you, so I pulled some strings with the principal to get her into the accelerated track. You should talk to the teachers and make sure we get the best homeroom teacher so I can look good." As soon as I end the call, I slam the accelerator and head straight to the admissions office. On my way there, I call Lynn Warrens, my best friend who works in the State Department of Education. "Help me check under whose name Arnold paid the admission fee for his illegitimate child. I'm going to withdraw them from the school!" I say.