Novel & Cerita The Darkness Before Dawn

The day I learned the truth about my husband, Duke Alistair, and his adopted sister, Liana, I left. I abandoned my title, my home, and returned to my father's palace. A year passed. Then came news of chaos in the duchy. The servant Alistair sent spoke with desperation, “Your Highness, the Duke and your son are lost to reason. If you don’t return, I fear they will burn everything to the ground.” I looked at the blood I'd coughed onto my handkerchief. I nodded. "Fine. I'll go back." The doctor had already given me my diagnosis. Consumption. I had only a month left to live. So I went back. And I played the part of the perfect duchess. I no longer demanded Alistair's loyalty. I even found him three new mistresses who looked just like Liana and sent them to his bed after he had sent her away for me. I no longer made Damian study the arts of statecraft and not forced him to master his courtly duties. Instead, I supported his ridiculous dream of joining the Expeditionary Force. I took the pain they gave me. I wrapped it in the "understanding" they always craved. And I served it back to them cold. But it drove Alistair mad. He threw out the mistresses. He crushed me in his arms. His kiss was a punishment. He bit my lip, drawing blood. "I sent Liana away! What more do you want from me? How can I earn your forgiveness?" Damian cried and clung to my arm. "I'll never call Aunt Liana 'gentle' or 'beautiful' again! Mother, please. Just stop." They didn't understand. I wasn't making a scene. I just wanted to live out my last month in peace. And then, I wanted to die.

Buxton Corp's CEO got his ex back. The cost? His pregnant wife vanished without a word. Month One: Calvin didn't flinch. Too busy worshiping his so-called true love. Month Two: His buddies placed bets on when Angela would come crawling home. Month Three: Panic hit. He sent scouts everywhere to find me. Nothing. Not a whisper. After that, "Angela Astor" turned into a curse word in Auremburg. But what no one saw? He missed her so bad at night, it nearly broke him.

Caleb Lawson's childhood sweetheart, Yvette Grant, is pregnant. No one knows who the father is. Caleb decides to claim the child as his for the sake of her reputation. Meanwhile, my child turns into a bastard whose father is unknown. "Yvie has always been obedient—getting pregnant out of wedlock is too cruel a fate for her. She won't be able to accept the criticism and mockery." His simple explanation turns our five-year relationship into a joke. Later, my family bring me to the hospital for an abortion. Caleb stays by Yvette's side, caring for her like she's a precious treasure. By the time he gets home, I've already aborted the baby and left him.

“Ms. Summers, Mr. Quinn has already approved your resignation. He didn’t realize you were the one leaving. Should I let him know?” Hearing the news over the phone, Yara Summers lowered her gaze. “No. It’s fine. Just leave it as it is.” “You’ve been his secretary for four years. He values you the most and depends on you more than anyone. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?” HR kept trying to persuade her, but Yara just smiled.

The most reckless thing I had ever done was turn my back on the Moretti name and leave St. Clair Harbor with Lucian DeLuca when the Commission pushed his family out and he had nothing left. For three years, we lived in a drafty Brooklyn loft and ducked black Chevrolets on winter nights. Then Lucian fought his way back to the East Coast table. Everyone started calling him Mr. DeLuca again,and I became Mrs. DeLuca, the woman he swore he would always protect. Then Clara Voss appeared. She had once saved his life as a night nurse at an underground clinic, and Lucian never forgot it. He bought her a clinic, protected her family, and let her step, inch by inch, into the middle of our marriage. He said he still loved me, but he also said I was spoiled, jealous, and needed to learn my place. So I did. I signed the divorce papers and left New York behind. Mrs. DeLuca was dead. Evelyn Moretti had come back.

When I prepared to marry my boyfriend, his mother gifted us a brand-new house. But to my surprise, my future sister-in-law—who'd married into the family ten years before me—just up and moved into my new home. She stood there like she owned the place and announced, "Why should you get the new house? Both our husbands are sons of this family. How can they play favorites like this?" The truth is, when she got married, my future in-laws had given them a house of equal value too. It's just that ten years had passed, and their once-new home had simply grown old. My future mother-in-law just wiped her tears, clearly torn, but she didn't say a word. So I smiled and agreed to switch houses with my future sister-in-law. But she didn't stop there. "I've taken care of Mom for ten years," she said. "I spend no less than five thousand dollars on her every year. That's fifty thousand over ten years. You two should split that cost with us—just give me twenty-five thousand." The truth was, my future mother-in-law had spent those ten years helping them raise their kid, even draining her own pension into their household. I turned to look at her. Still, she said nothing. What they didn't know was that James Carter and I hadn't even filed our marriage license yet. They'd shown their true colors way too soon. As far as I was concerned, I wasn't setting one foot into that family anymore. And I swore that I'd turn their whole house upside down.

One night of passion. One ring. Two brothers It was meant to be one last night of freedom before a lifetime commitment to a man she knew nothing about. One night to forget all her sorrows and have fun. But a night of fun turned into a mistake she could never undo. It turned into a night of sin. Because the man who set her body on fire last night was her soon to be brother-in-law. And he’s not done with her. Now, she wore his brother’s ring, but he wore her secret like a crown. If she won’t come to him willingly, he’d gladly make her remember who made her scream.

On the anniversary of my mother’s death, my girlfriend told me she had to work overtime. However, her first love later posted something on social media: [Thanks to Camelia for coming to celebrate my birthday with me!] My chest tightened and my hands shook as I called her to demand an explanation. She replied calmly, “It’s Grayson’s 25th birthday today. It’s important. I didn’t want to miss it.” That was it. I let out a bitter laugh and looked down at the cancer diagnosis report in my hand. It was alright. I would be dead soon anyway.

Years after the ministry of the Disciples of Christ, men began losing faith and darkness plunged back into the hearts of men. The taste for power, the glory of strength and riches became god over men. Drunken with the rhythm to restore balance to the dying world, the Drokan clan and other groups rose to power all in the name of making the world a better place. In the chaos of the world, Elroy; a handsome young man, on his way in search of answers to his life finds himself in an obscure situation in the Western plains. Having lost his memories and captured, he is rescued by his child hood friend, Mira. After which both fled to the west-southwest plains were Elroy is introduced into Mira’s group, “Seekers squad”, from then dark secrets began unraveling as well as the terror of Elroy’s past.

‎ ‎He was born in blood, forged in betrayal, and crowned in darkness. She was broken, discarded, and ready to disappear. But when Kane Salvatore, the demon of Beltforte Dominia, drags Castelle Quinn back from the edge, their collision sparks a war. In his arms, she finds her prayers answered—brutal salvation. At her side, he finds freedom from his curse—the peace his demons never let him taste. For Castelle her heart craves darkness, and the demon—Kane— tastes like salvation. ‎Together, they will burn the world that tried to destroy them — and rise from the ashes, king and queen of ruin. ‎ ‎The only woman he has ever craved to own and possess. The Queen of his heart that satisfies his every need. ‎ ‎"Beautiful," he murmurs. The sight of her—bent over, wrists tied, ass raised, trembling—was a masterpiece.  ‎ ‎He nudges her legs further apart, admiring the way she opens for him. She's on full display—raw, submissive, exquisite. He pinched her inner thighs, watching her squirm, feeding on her whimpers.  ‎ ‎Then, he strikes.  ‎A sharp slap directly to her swollen clit making her scream. The sound alone could make him cum.  ‎ ‎He chuckles darkly. It unsettles her—and that’s exactly the point.  ‎He grabbed the flogger, trailing its strands over her back, down to her legs. With a swift motion, I bring it down hard. The crack fills the room. Her body jolts, red lines blossoming instantly on her skin.  ‎ ‎Again on her ass. Again on her clit.  ‎She shatters.