that summer a novel

My life is terrible enough. My dad died robbing a jewelry store. My sister hates my guts. An enforcer shows up out of nowhere and tells us we owe a shit ton of money. My mom? Ran off with my credit card and all her fancy jewelry at her first opportunity. So that leaves me... With no cash and a pissed-off crime boss. Raoul gives me a choice: pay up or belong to him. Now, I’m stuck in his world, living in a fancy apartment, clashing with his bossy rules, and realizing he might not be all that bad, after all.

I was scrolling through reddit when I came across a post seeking advice. The poster said he had HIV but was hiding it from his fiancée. The post had tens of thousands of likes. Intrigued, I clicked to read more. As I went through the details, I realized—why did his description of the fiancée sound so much like me?

“BE my fiancée.” “I will never allow Raymond to stand as a father to my daughter,” Ava declares bitterly, her pain and resentment still raw. Hell No

I had been in a relationship with Zachary Dawson for seven years and engaged for three when, out of the blue, Ruby White, the daughter of his mentor, moved into our home. Sitting casually on the bed that Zachary and I shared, Ruby lounged with an air of nonchalance, her voice playful and teasing. "Zachary, the dental god, sure has a nice bed," she remarked with a smirk. "I can only imagine what it would be like to spend the night with him in this bed." I captured the scene on my phone and sent the video to our family group chat with a brief message: Looks like Zachary might have a new girlfriend Zachary rushed home, wrapping his arms protectively around a tearful Ruby. He pointed at me, his voice seething with anger. "My mentor's dying wish was for me to take care of Ruby! If you can't accept that, then move out!" Honestly, my brows furrowed deeper than the wrinkles on the bedsheets Ruby had sat on. Fine. I didn't need the bed, and I didn't need a fiancé anymore.

Paris Poppy hates the way she looks. At a younger age, she was bullied for it. No one wanted to be her friend nor did any of the boys find her attractive. As Paris grew into a young female, she gave up on all hopes of finding her one true love, believing that no man will ever find her beautiful. Pity, Paris doesn't know her parents had already planned out a life for her. "An emotional romance read that will leave you in tears."

A Cinderella story with a difference. Wearing a mask allowed Ella to be herself for a change, attending the annual Blackwater Manor Masquerade Ball she meets a handsome masked man and like Cinderella, Ella runs before Masks are taken off at midnight. Little does she know the man she had just seduced was Prince Nickolas hiding away in this country estate. Nick is looking for his Cinderella.

When the fire broke out, I called my husband, Hector. He didn't answer. Instead, he ran straight into the flames—to save my sister, Emma. They held each other, clinging to life, while I was trapped in the basement, watching my calls go ignored until all hope burned out. Afterward, Emma played innocent, twisting everything. She told him, "Hector, don't blame Sienna. She didn't leave me on purpose... she was just scared." Her lie made me the villain, and everyone bought it. Fueled by hatred, Hector spat, "She's so vicious—why didn't that fire just take her?" Three months later, the police found my body.

After graduating from NYU, Victory Sinclair had her life all planned out. Well, at least the career part, that is. She has been accepted into one of New York’s leading advertising and media agency and will be joining the agency as a personal assistant to the CEO. Little did she know, a strange twist of fate is about to change the course of her future. An unfortunate accident with Arthur Knight resulted in serious consequences that would alter both their futures. What will Victory do? Would she succumb to pressure or would she follow what her heart tells her to?

Cassandra came from a poor family so her dream in life is to find a rich husband to get out from poverty. During one of their photo shoots, she met Dark, a billionaire who's only pretending to be a low class man in order to find his dream wife. They became friends but what Cassandra didn't expect is her feelings that started to grow for Dark. But despite that, she made a bad move and didn't listen to her heart. And now that she finally entered his world, will she able to win him again? Can she make him fall in love again now that he's being cold and heartless towards her? Can he forgive her and starts over again?

I'm at the supermarket when an old woman I don't know suddenly grips my hand tightly. I instinctively shield my baby bump, but she says, "Someone has placed a swap spell on you. The dead baby is about to be transferred to your body soon." I think she's a liar, but she says, "Hurry up and try to make yourself vomit. You should try to throw up as much of that fish you just ate as you can."