The Ruins By Scott Smith Novels & Stories

Evelyn tried to open the door and pulled it hard but all her efforts were in vain. "Tsk... Tsk.. Looks like this bird didn't like her cage." Sebastian said while putting both his hands around her. Defeated, Evelyn turned her face and started looking at him, but finding him so close to her, she pressed her forehead against the door. "Pl-please let... me go." She said suppressing her hiccups. The teeth started grinding with fear. "Please...." "Hmmm....Why don't we make this time useful?" He whispered while he was close to her ear. Feeling his breath on her earlobe, she shivered again. Evelyn pushed him with all her strength, which caused Sebastian to take a few steps away from her and started laughing like a madman. "You... you... are you crazy?" He started laughing more on this and then he became silent at once and started looking at her with his cold eyes which were devoid of any emotion. "No my dear. I am not crazy. My reality is just different from yours." Saying this, he smiled sarcastically and then moved towards her. Evelyn immediately ran to the left. There must be another way in such a big house. "You can't escape from me. Not until I want to." He was enjoying this game now. Evelyn's fear had begun to provide him with a different kind of tranquility. He slowly put his hands in his pockets while whistling and started walking in the direction where Evelyn had run.

When Chloe Samson married her childhood sweetheart, CEO Tom Hayden, at twenty, she thought she'd found her forever. But forever shatters fast when April Sunday—Tom’s enigmatic childhood friend—accuses Chloe of a violent assault and has her committed to a mental hospital. Now, trapped between the sterile walls of the institution and the crumbling illusion of her perfect marriage, Chloe must piece together the truth. Is April lying? Is Tom hiding something? And how much of her own past can Chloe trust? To survive, Chloe must confront betrayal, untangle buried memories, and find the strength to escape—not just the hospital, but the life she thought she wanted.

“Be my Luna, marry me or die.” That was the first thing Alpha Rael Kade said to me. I was buried alive by my husband after I caught him screwing my best friend and my so-called sister. Now I'm in the arms of a man who kills without mercy but touches me like I belong to him. He says I'm his mate. He claims I was fated to be his, and when he’s close, I forget how to say no. But power comes at a price, and the humans who tried to destroy me are about to learn I don’t kneel; I bite.

Marked by Fate Fate binds them. War breaks them. Love might just destroy them. Baylee is different—haunted by a scream that can shatter souls, burdened by powers she never asked for, and tethered to a destiny that never felt like her own. She’s raised in love, protected by a family who would die for her. But the shadows of a brutal past cling to them all. And the future? It’s darker. Crueler. Waiting to strike. Fate never forgets what it marks. She and Caden are forged in blood and fire—child soldiers trapped in a war that steals their innocence and chains their souls together. In the wreckage, they cling to each other—bruised, broken, but still breathing. Love blooms not in safety, but in survival. A bond born in blood, long before fate made it law. They’ve survived everything. Grown stronger. Deadlier. But as their bond flickers to life, it doesn’t soothe. It burns. It confuses. It hurts. And neither of them is ready for what it awakens. Marked by Fate is Book 3 of 5 in The Blood Moon Saga.

One contract. Two broken hearts. Zero chance of walking away. My life shattered in a single night. Betrayed by my fiancé, drowning in my family's debt, with nowhere left to turn. Then he appeared. Damien Cross. Billionaire. Bastard. The most dangerous man I've ever met. His offer was simple, marry me for one year. Save your family. Ask no questions. I should have said no. Should have seen the trap. But desperation makes you reckless, and I signed my name next to his at 3am in a Vegas chapel, our hands shaking with rage and champagne. The rules were clear: Separate bedrooms, No feelings, When the contract ends, we walk away But... We broke every single one. Now I'm trapped in his world of glass towers and cruel games, where every touch is a weapon and every kiss is a war. He looks at me like I'm his to own, like he'd burn down the world to keep me. I hate him. I crave him. I'm addicted to the chaos we create. But contracts expire. Lies unravel. And when I discover the devastating truth about why he really married me, I'll have to choose, walk away with my heart intact—or stay and let his obsession consume us both. He warned me not to fall in love with him. So, he should have warned himself.

Rafael DeLuca is a man forged in blood and betrayal. Once the rightful heir to a powerful mafia empire, he lost everything when his family was slaughtered in an act of treachery. For years, he rebuilt his power from the shadows, rising as the most feared mafia strategist in the underworld. Now, the time for vengeance has come, and his enemy’s greatest weakness is within his grasp—Sophia Romano. Sophia has spent her life in a gilded cage, unaware of the sins that stain her last name. Sheltered and untouched by the violent world her father commands, she believes she is destined for an ordinary life. But when she is kidnapped by a man as dangerous as he is captivating, her world shatters. Rafael is her captor, her tormentor, and her only protector in a world far darker than she ever imagined. What begins as a calculated act of revenge soon turns into something Rafael never anticipated—obsession. Sophia’s innocence should make her easy to break, yet her quiet defiance ignites something primal within him. He tells himself she is only a pawn, a means to an end, but with every glance, every forbidden touch, she threatens to unravel his carefully crafted plans. As hidden truths come to light and past betrayals resurface, Rafael is forced to make an impossible choice: will he sacrifice the one woman who has become his greatest weakness, or will he forsake his vengeance for a love that could destroy them both? In a world where love is as deadly as betrayal, Rafael and Sophia will have to decide—will their obsession ruin them, or will it be the only thing that saves them?

After getting betrayed by people she thought she could trust, Lyra must now find a way to help her dying brother.

Amara never wanted this life, but working under **Leonardo DeLuca**, a ruthless mafia boss, leaves her no choice. He’s obsessed with her—dangerously so. When his enemy, **Dante Russo**, sets a deadly trap, Leonardo falls for it—only to realize *Amara was the target all along*. But Amara isn’t just a pawn. *She’s about to play the player.* As secrets unravel and obsession deepens, she must outsmart both men before she loses more than just her freedom—she might lose herself. ---

Sierra Morgan once believed in fairy tales—until her prince turned into a nightmare. After surviving a brutal marriage and rebuilding her life from scratch, Sierra emerges as a fierce, self-made billionaire. But just when she starts to taste freedom, a secret pregnancy, a ruthless ex, and a dangerously charming rival CEO threaten to pull her back into chaos. Now, with enemies circling and her heart on the line, Sierra must choose: run from her past—or rise and conquer it? In a world where love is a risk and power is survival, can she win it all without losing herself?

Five years ago, Celine Russo ran from New York and never looked back after her boyfriend, Salvatore Moretti, destroyed her family’s empire and sent her father to prison. He tried to explain but she refused to listen. With her stepsister’s voice in her ear and betrayal in her chest, Celine disappeared from his life forever. One month later, she discovered she was pregnant with his child. Now, years later, her daughter is dying. A congenital heart defect. A donor heart waiting. Three weeks to raise millions she doesn’t have. Desperate and out of options, Celine returns to the one man she swore never to see again. The man who ruined her family. The father of her child who doesn’t know she exists. Salvatore agrees to pay for the surgery, but on one condition. For six months, Celine will become his fiancée. Living in his home. Wearing his ring. Playing the role of the devoted future wife in public to secure a powerful alliance with a rival mafia family. But as old wounds reopen and dangerous truths surface, Celine learns that the story she believed for five years was built on lies. Her father’s betrayal runs deeper than she ever imagined, and the man she hated may have been the only one trying to save her. Now the past is catching up with them. And this time, it’s not just her life on the line.