The Hand Of Midas

Mom and Aunt Denise Taylor fell off the balcony in the midst of their heated argument. Dad rushed in just as they hit the ground, each with a broken arm. Without hesitation, he left Mom behind and hurriedly took Denise to the hospital instead. Later, Mom filed for divorce. Dad's face twisted in anger as he yelled, "Enough, Nicole! So what if you broke an arm and can't hold a scalpel anymore? What's the big deal? Dee is a genius designer. If she had lost her hand, her life would've been over! Of course, I had to save her first!" Watching all this in my ghostly state, I couldn't help but laugh. Did Dad really think that Mom had only lost the use of her hand? Mom didn't just lose her hand. She lost me. After all, I had severe heart failure, and the only person who could perform the life-saving surgery was Mom, the medical master herself. But none of that matters now, because I'm already gone.

“In a world of ruthless mafia rivalries, the Italian mafia, La Famiglia De Luca, has been embroiled in a brutal five-year war with the Mexican mafia, La Mano Roja (The Red Hand). Desperate for an advantage, Capo Ivan De Luca forges an unlikely alliance with the feared Russian Bratva, led by the powerful Pakhan Sergei Morozov. But at a steep price: his daughter's hand in marriage to the Pakhan's ruthless grandson, the future Pakhan. Meet Mikhail Morozov, a half-Russian, half-Cuban mafia heir with ice in his veins and blood on his hands. He rules with silence and steel, trusting no one and loving none. Raised in brutality, Mikhail believes emotions are liabilities and mercy is weakness. And Donatella De Luca, the sharp-tongued and fiercely independent second daughter of Capo Ivan De Luca. With a quick wit and sharp mind, she navigates the complex world of the De Luca famiglia with confidence and poise. When the Pakhan chooses Donatella as the bride, a complex web of loyalty, power, and forbidden love is set in motion. Will Donatella’s strength be enough to tame the devil, or will Mikhail cold heart consume her?”

I was just a student who couldn't afford tuition. For five years, I was also the secret lover of Mafia Don Dante Costello. Publicly, I was his personal art restorer. In private, he spent his nights making me his, holding me close and kissing me breathless. Then his family arranged his engagement. To Isabella Rossi. A princess from a rival family. At their engagement party, Isabella stabbed the back of my hand with a shard of broken glass. He made me apologize. To her. For making a scene. Fighting back tears, I bowed my head to Isabella. When Isabella lost a bet and had to play Russian Roulette—one bullet, six chambers—he made me take her place. My hand shook as I raised the gun to my head. "You saved my life once," I told him. "Now you can have it back." The moment I vanished from his world, the ruthless Mafia Don who had everything under control...completely lost his mind.

Georgia Pearce is a typical teenage girl, anxious to find her place in the world when she encounters Hayden Ryder, the enigmatic new student at her school. She is captivated by his beauty and aura despite his fierce temper. At first, he seems to despise her but is then inexplicably drawn to her too. What Georgia doesn’t know is that Hayden has a chilling secret, a beast that lurks within him. Ignoring the signs, she falls deeper in love, unaware of the danger she faces. Mysterious deaths begin plaguing her town as Hayden’s behavior grows more unpredictable. Could he be the one to blame for all the killings? Georgia’s need to protect herself is overwhelmed by her instinct to stay by his side. She refuses to give up on him, believing that her love will be enough to tame the monster inside Hayden. Is she just naïve, or more capable of protecting herself than anyone realizes? Does Georgia’s love for Hayden prevent her from seeing a simple truth, that loving someone like Hayden walks hand in hand with her doom?

.Steve was a billionaire that loves his job and cherished his wife, but he lost his wife to the cold hand of death during childbirth, and few days after the death of his wife, he employed Saraphina as his kids nanny, and has having an affair with his personal assistant, and he two housekeeper that was crushing on him, Let's read on and enjoying the fun and the potentials In this story.

My husband doesn't love me or our daughter. It's been six years since she was born, but he's never held her. The doctors say he has an emotional disorder, and that he doesn't know how to express the way he feels. But when his true love returns, he smiles at us for the first time. He even brings our daughter a gift. I think it's because he's finally seen sense… until she and I see the photo he uses as his phone's wallpaper. In it, his eyes are crinkled as he smiles. He has one arm around a little girl whose front tooth is missing, and he holds his true love's hand with the other. My daughter tugs on my hand, and her eyes redden. "Mommy, do you think we should leave? Should we give Daddy three final chances? Let's leave him if he still doesn't want us after that."

God is always fair, but the world is never fair. Sometimes to defeat bad people, you must become a bad one yourself. His bloody hands rested on his knees which were spread apart. His head was bent and he looked perfect for the job. I just offered him my hand."I don't need your help. I can get up on my own."I raised an eyebrow at him and connected my hand with his. I attempted to pull him up. But, he didn't budge. I tried again, but no luck. This time, he growled. "Stop it and get lost. Leave me alone." He pointed his finger at me. I immediately caught hold of the finger and attempted to snap it, but he was quicker than me. He caught my hand which was holding his finger and twisted it so that my arm was strangling my own neck and I was pressed against his chest. We broke into a fight and in the end, we both were breathless and I was straddling him.

Every story, every experience... Have you ever wanted to be the character in that story? Cadell Marcus, with the system in hand, turns into the main character in each different story, tasting each different flavor. This is a great story about the main character, no, still a super main character. "System, suddenly I don't want to be the main character, can you send me back to Earth?"

His lips brushed my palm and every time his hot breath hit my skin, it set my nerves on fire. “What the—” I whispered, breathless. And then, with deliberate slowness, Sevastian slipped my ring finger into his mouth. My eyes widened in disbelief, my heart hammering against my chest. His teeth scraped my skin before sinking into the flesh, just enough to make me twitch from the sharp pain. I gasped, both from the sting and the bite I got from him. My entire body tensed as he bit down harder, marking me not with ink or metal, but with flesh and teeth. When he finally released my hand, my skin throbbed, the faint mark of his bite was visible against my finger. I cradled my hand, staring in disbelief at the mark he left behind. “This,” Sevastian murmured, his voice low and sharp. “Is my mark and ring.” His tone carried an edge, dangerous yet confident, as if the words were meant to bind me. “The symbol that you are no longer Celestina Valeztina-Savelli.” His lips ghosted over my skin, and my chest tightened as he whispered the next words. “...but Celestina Valeztina-Ortega.” His next words were a soft snarl, dripping with ruthless certainty. “My property, my wife.” He added, while locking his gaze on me. There was no hesitation in his eyes, no flicker of remorse, only that same ruthless determination that chilled me to my core. I tried to pull my hand back, but he didn’t let go. "You’re insane," I whispered, my voice barely audible, trembling despite my best efforts not to show it. “Yes, I’m insane,” he replied with a hint of mischief in his voice, “And I can drive you crazy…” He paused, letting the tension hang in the air.

A sharp pull by my wrist bought me back to the wall. I hold my breath for a moment. "what the hell" I cussed. "Shh, baby girl" he exclaimed. I cringed with the endearment he used. He brought his face near to my face. His breath is fanning all over my lips. It raised my heartbeat to a different level. It must be heard by him also. His smirk face saying it all. His eyes are gazing my lips and he started closing the small gap we have between our lips to be mingled into one. Sensing his intentions I closed my eyes & moved my face to the left. He stopped right away & increase the gap between us which I really appreciate but the hold of his hand on my wrist is very tight. It started paining me slowly. "Now listen to me very carefully, we might be lawfully wedded husband & wife. But you are nothing to me. I have only married you because of my doll" he said rudely to me. I forcefully release my hand from his hulk like grip which resulted into breaking my bangles & a piece of glass cut into my hand. It hurt me like hell. There must be a big cut in my hand. Ignoring the pain in my hand. I showed my other hand finger towards him and said "even I was not interested in this marriage. I am kind of forced into this" Which I am not, my subconscious mocked me. But I won’t give him that satisfaction. Although I was not forced but I had no other option than to accept this marriage. _______________________ This is the story of Payal Mehra and Kabir Khurana who are bound by vows in the sacred bond of marriage which was not in their to do list. But yet they are.