The Bullet That Missed

I’d just wrapped up a short trip with my daughter, Elara. On the way back, I figured I’d swing by the Hale, our family’s casino, to check in on my son, Cassian. Maybe grab dinner together. I didn’t expect to be mistaken for his latest fling. Correction: not mistaken—accused. Violently. “You think you can just waltz in here like some queen?” she hissed. “I’m the woman Cassian loves! What kind of whore are you? And is this your bastard daughter with him?” She locked us in the basement. No phone. No light. Just concrete walls and the stench of mildew and madness. Then came the fists. She slapped me across the face—again and again—until my skin stung and my ears rang. When that didn’t satisfy her, she pulled a gun and aimed low. The bullet tore through my knee. I bit back a scream, shielding Elara with my body. “You need to die, whore,” she spat. One of her men hesitated, “We should at least tell Mr. Hale first. If we are going to kill these two in his casino.” Lila of course said no. But that man brought Cassian anyway. My son stepped into this dark little room like it was any other Tuesday—until he saw me. His whole body went still. The blood drained from his face. And then, in the smallest, most broken voice I’d ever heard from him, he whispered, “Mom? What are you doing in my basement?”

Just because his first love's younger brother accidentally fell into Shadow River, my Alpha mate, Ethan Horn, forced me, the only Spirit Soother of our pack, to go and rescue him. When I sank to the bottom of the river, I chose not to save him. When the man was pulled out of the river, the healer lamented, "If it were a few minutes earlier, Leo might have been saved. What a pity." Ethan's first love, Serafina Pike, had her wolf soul shut off and soon passed away because she missed her younger brother, Leo Pike. From that moment on, Ethan, who had once loved me, hated me to the core. Without giving me a chance to explain, he slit my throat with a silver blade and ruthlessly sealed my wolf soul. Later, he believed the heresy of the witch about soul sacrifice and nailed me and our young daughter in coffins before burying us alive by Shadow River as sacrifices to resurrect his beloved Serafina. In the end, the woman he deeply loved did not come back to life, and my daughter and I died with endless resentment. When I reopened my eyes, I had returned to the night when Ethan forced me to jump into the river to save Leo. I tied up the specially made rope and asked him for the last time, "Are you really sure that you can bear the consequences after I rescue him?"

"Lift your hand," I said looking at how he held onto his bicep with a tight grip. "Let me take a look at the bullet wound." "No tesoro. I can do this myself," Vittore grumbled and I gave him incredulous look. "Don't start that bullshit with me Vittore. Remove your arm and let me help you or..." I trailed off, not able to say more. I was still in shock but I could do this. "Just... just let me help." "No." I glared at Vittore. "Why are you being so damn egotistic?! Let me help you! Do you know what it was like to find you like... and to..." I couldn't even get all the words out. "Let me help you. Please." Begging wasn't something I'd ever do but I just needed him to let me help him. "No-" "Why?!" I suddenly exploded. "Why won't you just let me help you?!" "Because I don't know how to handle it ok?!" Vittore suddenly exploded, his dark eyes glaring at me. "I don't know how to handle these... feelings. Fuck tesoro you drive me crazy! Don't you see that? You make me question everything I've ever known and... I can't..." I watched Vittore as his expression turned determined. "Fuck it." He leaned forward and pressed his lips on mine.

Love is a painful thing. It causes others to act ridiculous, to take things that they shouldn't, and to trust unconditionally. But what if the love you thought you had truly wasn't what you thought it was and the whole time you were being tricked? Do you stick around or do you break free of that love and move on with your life? And what do you do if you meet your first love again and begin to realize that everything you thought was wrong with your relationship was all a mistunderstanding? What if your first love wants to continue with your love story, but you're too afraid to put yourself in the position to be hurt again? Do you take that step and let yourself drown in the sweetness that you missed so much or do you keep your heart hidden? That is the very choice that Gabrielle has to make when her first love comes crashing back into her life at her high school reunion after a nasty breakup. Of course, she doesn't want to believe that maybe, just maybe, she was wrong and made the wrong choice, but that first love won't allow her to leave that easily. Instead, he chases her relentlessly until she is unable to resist anymore. However, their love isn't simple and there are many obstacles standing in their way. Will they be able to overcome them together or will their resurrected love fall apart at the seams? Read The Heirs Second Chance At Forever to find out!

My mother-in-law gets into an accident and is taken to the emergency room. I call my attorney husband, but he only answers after over 20 missed calls. "What are you on about this time? Gigi has a bit of a problem, and I'm helping her. Stop being unreasonable." I suppress my grievance and say, "Mom's gotten into an accident. Transfer 100 thousand dollars to me." However, he believes Gigi Norris' lies and snarls, "What does your mother getting into an accident have to do with me? Don't even think of getting money from me to provide for your family. Now, leave me alone. I'm busy!" He hangs up, and my mother-in-law dies. Three days later, I see my husband in court. Gigi has been taken to court for driving under the influence, and he's there to defend her. He speaks eloquently and manages to get her off based on a lack of evidence. I lose hope in him and ask him for a divorce once the court is out of session. That's when he panics. "Think about how well my mother treats you! You'll break her heart by divorcing me!" I sneer. I throw the hospital bill and death certificate in his face. The idiot doesn't even know he no longer has a mother!

I was reborn. The universe spat me back to the year of my SATs, eighteen again, right when Noah Ritchie confessed his love for me. Turned out, it was the last year he'd ever love me. That was the year he met her… the one who'd actually own his heart. For Carla Davidson, he didn't hesitate to confess his love to me, not out of sincerity, but to distract me from my studies. Because of him, I missed my shot at a top university and barely got into a second-tier one. He even staged a car accident to keep me from attending an academic competition, just so Carla could win first place. When Carla suffered from severe blood loss in an accident, he convinced me to donate so much blood that it permanently damaged my health and left me unable to bear children. Later, Noah was forced to marry me, but he spent every day brooding over a photo of Carla. And when he learned she was getting married, he abandoned me without a second thought, choosing to die for love. But in this lifetime, I'm wide awake. I won't love him again. I'll be selfish. I'll live for myself and no one else. So when Noah looked at me with his usual arrogance and asked, "Tiffany, will you be my girlfriend?" I met his gaze calmly and shook my head. "No."

In exchange for a modeling career and wanting to chase her dreams, Beauty Acuesta agreed to substitute her sister as a secretary at Monde Corporation. However, she soon realizes the job is not as easy as she thought, and the office work is quite chaotic. Fresh from a cheating breakup, Beauty realizes she missed out on many opportunities due to her ex. Beauty then unexpectedly encounters Drew Mondragon, the man who rescued her from hell that night, not realizing his true identity as her sister's boss, the CEO, and owner of Monde Corporation. Drew Mondragon, a member of the Royal Mondragon family, is a billionaire known for his short temper and perfectionism, tempered by his kind heart. When his secretary filed for an extended leave, a substitute was provided, and her name was Beauty. Drew had met Beauty before, and that night was unforgettable. Beauty had captured Drew's heart. Shockingly, Beauty is a headache! She's obviously out of Drew's standard, but somehow, Drew wants to keep and protect her. And whenever they get close together at work, the intense attraction between them escalates like fireworks. Beauty dreams of becoming a supermodel, and Drew wants Beauty to be his wife. One heart desires to chase a dream, while the other craves a family. Can love conquer ambition? Or will the Billionaire be able to keep his Beauty forever? Matured content 18+ This is under The Mondragon Billionaire's Boys Club, a stand-alone series. C.M. LOUDEN

Two weeks before our wedding, Jonah Alston suddenly wants to postpone it. He says, "Sasha says she's having her first exhibition on that day. She'll be alone during the opening, and I'm worried she'll get stage fright. I have to help her. We're just going through the motions with the wedding, anyway. What does it matter whether it's a day earlier or later?" This isn't his first time postponing our wedding for Sasha Lester's sake, though. The first time he did it was because he claimed she missed having homecooked food after undergoing surgery. He'd flown abroad to care for her for two months. The second time was because he said she wanted to head into the mountains to get inspired. He'd gone with her out of concern for her safety. Now, this is the third time. I hang up and look at Austin Everett, my childhood sweetheart. He sits across from me, looking leisurely as he taps his emerald-embedded walking cane on the marble floor. I ask, "Do you need a wife?" On my wedding day, Sasha holds up her glass and waits for Jonah to clink it with his. However, his eyes are red as he watches a livestream—it's the wedding of the scion of Everett Group, the country's largest property development company.

“Do you intend to replace her?” I shook my head frantically. I didn’t care how much he loved her. I wasn’t her, and I didn’t want to be involved with a vampire… “P-Please, h-have mercy, I—” “You’re being so sweet tonight,” he said, his voice husky. “Usually, you would have swatted my hands away… Have you missed me so much?” He was insane. He had to be. I had never met him before in my life, yet he was gliding his hands all over me, taking a firm hold of my breast like some horny teenager and licking my neck as if I would get in the mood. ******* Trinity is a 21 -year -old human, and a psychologist. She had a whole life, a boyfriend, parents, and an enviable job. Until she was kidnapped from the human world by a vampire... In her past life, she has never seen a vampire, she fears and begs him to let her go home. Lucianus, a ruthless, arrogant vampire nobleman. Even as a vampire king, centuries ago his wife was killed by humans. He hates humans, but when he met Trinity, he took her back to the castle and regards Trinity as his own blood slave due to the same appearance as his wife. But what would happen if Trinity was not the vampire's wife? Will Lucianus let Trinity leave or torture her?

Paano ba dapat aminin sa isang kaibigan na mahal mo siya? O paano mo sasabihin na higit pa sa bilang magkaibigan ang pagtingin mo para sa kaniya? "The more you hate, the more you love." Ito ang naging motto sa buhay pag-ibig ni Aziz Dimitri Tyson, matapos niyang makilala ang babaeng kinaiinisan niya sa lahat. Ngunit hindi naman niya inaasahan na ito rin pala ang magyayanig sa tahimik niyang mundo. Sasha Edmonia, ang pangalan ng babaeng bumihag sa torpe nitong puso. Bagamat na love at first sight siya rito ay pinili na lamang niya na itago ito sa sarili at maghintay ng tamang pagkakataon upang maipagtapat ito sa kaniya. Naging kampante ito sa kaniyang sarili na hindi nalalamang marami na siyang nasasayang na oportunidad upang mas lalo pang mapalapit sa kaniya. He missed the right timing. Dahil sa kakahintay niya ng right time ay may iba ng nauna sa kaniya. Magagawa pa kaya ni Aziz Dimitri na maipagtapat sa dalaga ang tunay niyang nararamdaman? O magpapaubaya na lang ba siya para sa iba?