The Almost Gone: Act 2 Novels & Stories

My 8-year marriage was a lie—exposed by our daughter’s prescription. I crashed his wedding, only to find him vowing forever to his “true love.”My marriage certificate? Fake. Worthless. He sneered, “You were just practical.”When I tried to take our 6-year-old and run, he pinned me:“You’re mine—don’t even think about leaving.” He misjudged me completely.I rebuilt my power, built an empire…And when he finally uncovered the truth——when everything he thought he knew wasn't that simple?I was already gone—with a newborn in my arms. Tap for the ultimate “I left him and won” story!

At a company party, Taylor Kennedy plays a game of mouth-to-mouth cookie biting with his female assistant as everyone watches. I blend into the crowd and laugh along. The room instantly falls silent. The assistant bursts into tears and plays the victim. Taylor lets go of her, turns to me, and coldly scolds me in front of the entire company. He berates me for not knowing how to read the room and being a buzzkill. Then, without hesitation, he wraps his arm around the assistant and kisses her deeply as I watch. If this were before, I would've stormed over in a rage and ripped them apart. Then, I would've humiliated her in front of everyone, not caring whose pride I trampled. But now, I feel nothing. Not even as I watch them kiss. Not even though today marks my ten-year anniversary with Taylor.

On my eighth birthday, I begged my mom to video call my dad, who was supposedly working late. The moment the call connected, a version of him from ten years in the future appeared on the screen. My mom held me close and smiled, asking him, "Ten years from now… our Lily has grown up. Was her coming-of-age ceremony a big celebration?" Dad replied coldly, "She kept trying to one-up Sarah's kid, so I sent her abroad. Too bad her luck ran out—her plane went down." My mom's face went pale. On the other end, my dad let out an icy laugh. "Claire, back then, you lied to me. You said if your 'plan' didn't work out, you'd die. I believed you. I gave up Sarah and her child to marry you." My mom's body started trembling. I reached out toward the screen. "Daddy, when are you coming home to celebrate my birthday with me?" Dad sighed and looked at her calmly. "The truth is, I wasn't working late that night. I was celebrating Sarah's daughter's birthday. Now you know everything. What you do next is up to you." Suddenly, a cold robotic voice echoed in my ear: [Host, do you choose to abandon the original world and stay here forever?] I wiped the tears off my mom's face and, barely understanding what was happening, said, "Mommy, does that mean Daddy doesn't want us anymore? Then let's not want him either. Okay?"

I'm the so-called 'Lady of Glory'—yeah, that girl from the Archbishop's prophecy. They said I'd bring endless glory to whatever Family I married into. But at our engagement party, my fiancé—Marco Falcone—swaggered onstage holding hands with his pregnant stripper girlfriend. Then he grabbed my wrist, dragged me forward, and made me kiss her hand. "Lola's the only woman I'll ever call my wife," he said with a smug little grin. "If you still want this marriage, your De Luca money better support her and the baby." I slapped him. Ripped the contract in half. Let it snow confetti. "Please. I can marry someone a hundred times better." Right when I was about to torch the entire Falcone Family, someone stepped out of the shadows. Marco's older brother, Dante Falcone. The one who'd been injured, underestimated, and pushed aside. He locked eyes with me, totally unfazed. "Signorina De Luca, do your words still stand?"

Three years ago, my rich boyfriend, Steven Delaney, went into bankruptcy. He decided to break up with me so that he wouldn't drag me down. As I looked at his broken expression, I steeled my heart and ripped the overseas college application I had just received. "I'll stay with you. Together, we can rebuild your legacy." Everyone told me that I was nuts. Still, I decided to move into a damp basement room with Steven. After that, I took on a job out in the streets that allowed me to earn money the fastest, which was promoting beer to the customers. One day, when I'm delivering beer to the customers, one of them calls out to me. "Hey, this lady looks like you!" There are two screens being shown on a livestream, that's being replayed. The left screen shows me crouching at the doorway of the basement while washing shirts for Steven. It's so cold that my fingers have gone completely red. The right screen shows him all dressed up in a smart-looking suit. He has an arm wrapped around a beautiful and well-dressed woman, and they're both sitting in a luxury car. Steven smiles at the camera and says, "This is my third year lying to my girlfriend about my financial situation. Till now, she still hasn't realized the truth! She really is a pathetic idiot!" The live comments keep popping up on the side. "You really know how to make things interesting, Mr. Delaney! I can't believe you're capable of coming up with the whole 'pretending to be broke in order to test your girlfriend's humanity' act!" "What exactly is that lady aiming for, honestly? She's just someone who sells beer! Does she seriously think she's in a romance drama?" "Oh, this is hilarious! That penniless girlfriend of his is even washing underwear for him! The truth is, the underwear belongs to the Delaney family's household staff!"

With the death of the werewolf, Professor Ericson, his best friend and Wizard, Francis, and Golden Lake University's Vice Chancellor, Dr. Giovanni, during the ‘Vestige of the Aptest’ contest, Harold Girard and his friends anticipated a regular and ordinary new session awaiting them. Unluckily, a day into the new session, they noticed they're being shadowed by two strange and extremely queer individuals. Not wanting troubles for themselves, they behaved as naturally as they could manage. For a few weeks, they were able to keep up with the stalkers but when Golden Lake's very own sport is introduced and gets underway, things instantly get out of hands and the trio get tossed into a mess perhaps, hotter than they could handle.

(Fiorella Santelli) I was the wife of the Devil, the Italian Mafia boss Lorenzo Razzo, his betrayal, and constant infidelities made me run away from his side, carrying with me a great secret something that will unite us forever, but in my attempt to be free again, I fell into the hands of a man who conquered me, I joined my life to his hopes for a wonderful future together, which never came. Darian MacGregor of the Irish Mafia became a possessive husband, the shadow of my every move, his desire for me knew no bounds and has no limits, my life became a hell from which I would never escape. Until Lorenzo found me, his obsession to get me back would start a great war between these two powerful men, they will stop at nothing to get what they want, but I am just an object of their desire. The innocent young woman that Lorenzo once knew no longer exists, in a few weeks I became his wife and now he is my lover.

Can New Beginnings Heal Some Old Wounds for Amora? What happens when she finds comfort and love in a person she least expected? What will happen when Tawny realizes that the person making Amora happy is way closer to home? What will she do when she finds her best friend, who's like a sister to her, in bed together with the woman she loves? Follow Amora and Tawny as they struggle with love, betrayal, and the death of someone very close to them both. Could this push them further apart or bring them closer?

WARNING: MATURE CONTENT Tisha Stewart, a twenty two year old girl gets her life turned upside down in just one day. She loses her wealthy father to the cold hands of death, she learns that her fake friend who stole her boyfriend is her step-sister, and to top it all, she is forced to spend the night with an old sleazebag to pay off her late father's supposed debt. Spencer Grant is a handsome billionaire who avoids being in the spotlight. When a business rival attempts to set him up and spikes his drink, Spencer books a hotel room and orders an escort. In a twist of fate, Tisha ends up in Spencer's hotel room. She needs a place to hide and he needs a woman to pass the night. Spencer mistakes Tisha for the escort he ordered and they spend a passionate night. When he wakes up in the morning, Spencer finds Tisha gone. Not only is there no trace of her but the evidence of her innocence stares him right in the face. Now Spencer is determined to find this mysterious girl who has not only stolen his heart but whose face now haunts his dreams. THIS BOOK CAN BE READ AS A STANDALONE

During my graduation trip, my friends and I go on a road trip to the plateau. That's when I get afflicted with altitude sickness. As dark spots begin to form in my vision, I realize that my anti-sickness medication, which can definitely save my life, has been swapped for ibuprofen instead. I'm about to start demanding answers from the group when my fiance, Zayden Lowry, stops me. "Sorry, Noelle. I've given your imported medication to Erica. You should take some ibuprofen and try to ride out your sickness for the time being." I clutch the box of ibuprofen, already finding it difficult to breathe. "So, you're just going to make me wait for my death after taking ibuprofen, huh?" Zayden frowns deeply at me. "How could you say that? Erica is frail, but you shouldn’t curse her like that! "This trip is meant for us to enjoy Mother Nature's beauty, not an opportunity for you to show off your expensive medication! "My mom is right. You really need to change that spoiled temperament of yours. If not, I won't be able to afford your expenses, seeing as you're the frail type who collapses over the slightest inconvenience." I no longer pay Zayden any attention. Using what's left of my strength, I send my dad a text. "Dad, send someone here to take me home. Also, you can terminate the collaboration between our company and Zayden's."