The Cost Of Delayed Affection Novels & Stories

I was eight months pregnant when my water broke—the same day as the birthday of my husband’s adopted son. To keep my child from being born on the same day as his adopted son, he forced me to wait until after midnight. He refused to take me to the hospital and locked me in the basement. Adrian Shaw looked down at me. His eyes were dark and hostile. “Elena, you're really good at picking the timing, huh? Of all days, you had to go into labor on Evan’s birthday.” I begged him to take me to the hospital. A trace of disappointment flashed across his eyes, and his voice turned cold. “You’re still trying to lie to me? I asked a doctor. Even if your water breaks, you don’t give birth right away. Some women don’t deliver for three days. “All this scheming is just to secure your position as Mrs. Shaw, so your child can compete with Evan for his birthday and his place. You've really thought this through.” I took a deep breath as despair washed over me. “The baby I’m carrying is yours too! Adrian, I’m begging you. Please, for the child’s sake, save her. As long as the baby is safe, I promise I’ll never show up in front of you again.” His expression darkened. He bent down, grabbed my chin, and replied harshly, “Don’t play games with me. “As long as you stay here quietly until after midnight, I’ll take you to the hospital. Once the baby’s born, you can finally use the child to secure your place and truly marry into the Shaw family.” Later, when my contractions grew unbearable and I cried out in pain, he found me too noisy and took Evan and his mother out to celebrate instead. By the time he remembered me and asked whether I had a boy or a girl, his secretary’s face paled. “Mrs. Shaw is… gone.”

Mina Mendoza never expected her quiet life to end with a blood-soaked stranger collapsing in her bar. Luciano is older, dangerous, and carries the kind of power she knows better than to get close to. One night of helping him turns into a war she never meant to step into, and the mafia world she avoided pulls her in with no way out. But the worst part is not Luciano. It is the man standing behind him. Frankie, Luciano’s younger brother, is Mina’s first love, the boy she lost and never honestly forgot. Now he is caught between loyalty to his brother and the feelings he buried years ago. Mina is trapped between the man who crashed into her life like a storm and the man who still owns a piece of her heart. As danger closes in, Mina must choose whom she trusts, whom she loves, and whom she is willing to risk everything for. Saving Luciano changed her world. Loving either brother might destroy it. ~SNEAK PEEK~ His voice dropped, low and possessive. “Fine. One kiss, then we wait.” I told him I didn’t care. “I want you now.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “Once we start, there is no going back.” I nodded, and something shifted in his eyes. He leaned me back on the bed, hands braced beside me. “Are you sure?” “If I weren’t sure, we wouldn’t be here.” His kiss was deep, powerful, slow, stealing my breath. I arched into him as his mouth traced my jaw and throat, heat racing through me. “I need you,” I whispered, and everything changed.

I married Lucas Wood for five years.In the eyes of everyone else, it was clear that I loved him deeply.Investing, supporting, cooperating, and unwaveringly standing by his side.Making him a rising star in the business world.He also thought I loved him.When he looked at me, there was affection in his eyes, but behind his back, he had the audacity to keep a lover and find a mistress.He told his mistress, "I find her disgusting."I turned a blind eye to it.Only looking at that familiar face basking in the spotlight.I think if that person were still alive.He would shine just as brightly.

Cole Hartness has abandoned me in the snow mountain for a week. By the time the search-and-rescue team finds me, I'm practically on my deathbed. Cole remains high and mighty even when surrounded by the others. "Rach is kind enough to forgive you even though you almost killed her in the snow mountain. If it wasn't for her pleading for your sake, you'd be staying here for another week. "Our engagement banquet shall be delayed. We'll only proceed with it once Rach makes a full recovery." Cole is already prepared for my impending tantrum. After all, he knows that I've been looking forward to the engagement banquet for a long time. But I reply obediently, "Okay." For a few moments, Cole finds himself stunned. "You owe Rach this much! Once she's done recovering, we'll get engaged! Stop being so unreasonable—" "Cole, I'd like to rest for a while," I cut him off before closing my eyes tiredly. What Cole doesn't know is that I've already decided to leave him the moment he makes the decision to ditch me in the mountain. That is, if I can survive the avalanche.

"I can never love a monster like you! Never in a million years!" On a stormy night, a young princess encountered a wounded man by chance and decided to help treat his wounds, then disappeared before he regained consciousness the next morning. Leaving behind her locket. Days later a marriage proposal arrives for princess Daphne, the sweet younger princess of Valencia. However the proposal was sent from King Haines, the lonesome king, rumoured to be a red eyed devil. Scared for their precious daughter's safety, the king and queen send Heather instead, the older disabled princess to the fearsome king's castle. What happens when a fickle minded king meets a vengeful princess, both with a deep hatred for one another? Could there even be a possibility of romance?

Nadia Reeves has one rule: If someone is dying, you help them. She should have broken it. Because the man she dragged back from death was Kane Volkov — a name powerful enough to make dangerous people disappear overnight. Now Nadia is trapped inside a world that watches too closely, asks too many questions, and doesn't believe in coincidences. Especially not Kane. He says keeping her close is for her protection. But the longer Nadia stays around him, the more she realizes something far worse than his enemies is hiding beneath Kane's attention: Suspicion. And when old secrets about her father begin surfacing, Nadia starts to wonder if saving Kane Volkov was ever an accident at all. Because in Kane's world, people don't get close without a reason. And the most dangerous thing about Kane Volkov isn't what he might do to her. It's how badly she wants him to stop looking at her like she's the enemy.

Military training had barely started when my boyfriend, Marcus Sterling, succumbed to temptation with the beautiful drill sergeant, Captain Jessica Monroe. Within a week of the new semester, he and the gorgeous Captain Monroe crossed a line. On a 104-degree day, I was punished with 300 push-ups for being two minutes late. Meanwhile, Marcus pinned Captain Monroe down in front of everyone while they cheered him on. When she injured my stomach, which already had an old stab wound, he shielded her eyes and whispered with dark intimacy, "Don't lose focus. She's fine." That same night, alone in my rental apartment, I found a torn condom wrapper under my pillow. After military training ended, I hid beneath the trees and called my father. "Dad, I changed my mind. I want to study abroad."

Selina, a young single mother struggling to rebuild her life, carries the weight of abandonment, financial hardship, and society’s harsh judgment. One stormy night, broken from betrayal and despair, she crosses paths with Darius King, a wealthy and powerful businessman mourning the death of his beloved wife during childbirth. In a moment of vulnerability, their worlds collide, leading to a one-night encounter neither of them expects to matter until Selina discovers she is pregnant again. Determined to stand on her own, Selina applies for a job at King International, desperate for stability. Instead of sympathy, she is met with prejudice from Juliana, the company’s sharp-tongued HR officer. But fate intervenes when Darius himself walks in and recognizes Selina as the woman from that night. Shocked to learn about the child she carries, he is torn between anger, guilt, and an overwhelming sense of responsibility. As workplace tension blends with undeniable attraction, secrets unravel. Darius confronts his pain and the possibility of loving again, while Selina faces jealousy from those who wish to see her fail. When Juliana and others try to push her out of King International, Selina’s resilience is tested, but Darius finds himself standing by her side. Together, they must confront their scars: a man afraid to love after loss, and a woman terrified of being used and abandoned again. Their journey weaves through heartbreak, second chances, and the search for healing proving that love, in its purest form, costs nothing but the courage to accept it. In the end, Selina and Darius embrace not only each other but also a new future one where love is not bound by wealth, grief, or the mistakes of the past, but strengthened by forgiveness and hope.

On the third day of trying to win over Heidi Shilton, she confessed to me. But the affection score floating above her head was still zero. After we got together, she spoiled me nonstop. On our sixth anniversary, she pulled off this huge proposal. Tears burned my eyes. I was just about to say yes when comments suddenly flashed across my vision— [Heidi must be exhausted. Six years pretending to love Rowan just to protect the male lead.] [The stand-in for Andy seriously got too into the role. This is hilarious.] The blood in my veins turned ice-cold. No wonder that score hadn't changed in six years. Then a system alert slammed into my head— [Final stage activated. Mission countdown: 10 days. Failure will result in complete erasure.] Smiling, I pushed away Heidi's engagement ring and wiped my tears. "Sorry. I'm done playing this game."

Matt Simpson meets Tess Holloway on a dating app through with the help of his friend Greg. They (Matt and Tess) go out on a coffee date where they bond after which they fall in love. It doesn’t take long before they get married. It doesn’t take long before tragedy strike. Tess dies a few hours after her childbirth throwing Matt into a deep sorrow. This incident leaves Matt totally devasted knowing how heartbroken he has been all his life after he lost his parents at an early age and also a series of heartbreaks. After some time, Matt decides to give Love another shot but after a few dates, he gives up any hope at getting a shot at love and tries to concentrate on raising his son. Just when he thinks he had forgot about the way Love feels, destiny smiles at him in a such a way that he never imagined. Gradually Matt is thrown into the dilemma of coping with stress of being a single Dad and maintaining a relationship with Karen who has just fallen in love with. He has to decided whether to be a father to his son or give up the custody of his son to Joan (Tess’s Mum) just to be with Karen.