The Summer That Changed Everything Novels & Stories

The moment I find out about my pregnancy, a notification from Twitter is displayed on my phone. Apparently, it's a tweet posted by my husband, Don Romano Caliendo's childhood friend, Teresa Fiorino. "Thanks to your sperm, I get to have a child of my own during the last stage of my life." The accompanying photo is a pregnancy test that clearly states that the sperm donor is Romano. I leave a question mark in the comment section. In just half a minute, my phone begins ringing loudly. Romano's angry voice bursts from the loudspeakers immediately. I've only heard him adapt such a tone whenever he gets mad at others during family meetings. "What did you mean by that comment, Selene Gardo? Teresa is dying from cancer! All she wants is to have a baby to keep her company before she breathes her last! Don't you have any sympathy for her at all?" Before I can put down my phone, my Twitter homepage gets refreshed. This time, Teresa has uploaded another photo. It features a luxurious deluxe-style apartment, where the floor-to-ceiling windows showcase the breathtaking cityscape of Brindleport at night. The caption reads, "Thank you for giving me a home so that I don't feel lonely in my final days." In a corner of the photo, Romano can be seen crouching on the floor while piecing a baby cot together. His side profile shows how focused he is on the task. As I wipe my tears from the corners of my eyes, I silently caress my flat belly, which has yet to show any changes. I'll take you far, far away from here, my dear baby.

We spent years of our lives, trading insults at work and glaring across the office. Turning every coffee and lunch break into a battlefield. Nancy Gilbert and Alaric Wealth are two incompatible coworkers with different dreams, different directions but in the same environment. One day, a cruel video blows up Nancy’s world, leaving her shattered and all alone. Alaric finds this as an opportunity to get closer to her as he helps her overcome the situation. They start getting closer after that and everything is perfect until Michael, comes back with a plot twist for their happy ending. It is later discovered that Nancy’s hatred for Ric was because he failed to recognize her. And Ric’s torments were his punishment to her cause she broke a promise. By the end of this book, you will discover the romance was never between Nancy and Alaric but between Michael and Alaric. Or maybe, you’ll discover I just lied. You’ll just have to read to find out.

She was just a girl who wanted her fairytale wedding night. Isabella got engaged to Xavier Gustavo, her long term crush, but she was a poor country side girl, her world is totally different from that of Xavier. Getting into the Guastovo family was not all roses as she thought, she was constantly maltreated and humiliated by the Guastovo's whenever Xavier was absent. The night came, the night that ruined everything for her as she fell victim to circumstances, leading to an unwanted pregnancy two days to her wedding. She was abandoned at the alse by Xavier in front of the press as he couldn't keep to his promise of standing by her, at of humiliation of being gested as the abandoned bride she decided to commit suicide vowing to come back as a wealthy heiress in her next life but was Saved by an unknown…. She's back, no longer as Isabella Santos the poor wretched girl but now as Mrs Bella Houston most popular and wealthy model, she swore to get back at the Gustavo's for hurting her……

All it took was a single sip of my new roommate's welcome milkshake on the first day of college for everything to spiral out of control. My mom suddenly decided to transfer the one million she'd originally set aside for my living expenses to her instead. My brother even planned to give her the luxury car that had been intended as my go-to college gift. I was so blindsided by their irrational actions that I rushed to stop them, only to be scolded in return for not knowing how to treat a classmate with kindness. When my roommate said she wanted to break into the entertainment industry, they poured every last resource into launching her career. It drove the company into bankruptcy. In the end, they all jumped to their deaths. Meanwhile, I suddenly fell gravely ill for no apparent reason, left barely clinging to life. It wasn't until my final moments that I learned the truth—the milkshake had been tied to a Usurpation System. After I drank it, everyone around me began treating her with unconditional devotion. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment my roommate handed me the milkshake. This time, I took it from her. However, I held the straw up to her lips instead of drinking it.

After the video exposing my sister Issa Acosta’s plot against me was revealed, my parents and my fiancé, Henry Nolan, stood firmly by my side, making me feel loved and safe. I confidently handed over all the evidence to them, trusting them to handle it. However, they told me that after Issa was kicked out of the house, she died in a sudden car accident, and I believed them. That was until five years into my marriage, when I accidentally saw Issa—the woman who was supposed to be dead. She was holding a little boy, clinging tightly to Henry’s hand. "Henry, if it weren’t for you and my parents, I’m afraid Zoe would’ve thrown me in prison. Thankfully, my parents destroyed the evidence and even opened a jewelry design studio for me. To avoid suspicion, you even sacrificed your own marriage. Thank you for everything in the past five years.” "Think of it as me atoning to Zoe on your behalf. As long as you and Bear are happy, that’s enough for me." So, what I thought was a happy family was nothing more than a giant lie—a scheme concocted by my parents and Henry. My parents, my husband, and Issa were the real family, and I? I was just the fool who had been deceived for five long years. Whether it was family or love, none of it was real, and I don’t want any of it anymore.

After seven years of marriage, Cecilia Summer inherited a fortune worth billions. But while handling the paperwork with her lawyer, she was told that her marriage certificate wasn’t real. She could only inherit the entire fortune in her own name. After digging further into the details, the lawyer mentioned a name she never expected to hear. “Mr. Leedon’s wife is listed as Lucy Garnett, not you. Miss Summer, you’re… unmarried.” Everyone in Summerville knew that she and Marcus Leedon had been engaged since childhood. She was his everything, his treasured possession. When they got married, Marcus gave her the wedding of the century. He made a public promise: “I, Marcus Leedon, will never betray Cecilia!” But the marriage certificate bearing Marcus Leedon’s and Lucy Garnett’s names was issued the day after the wedding.

My younger twin sister, Emma Lawson, is everyone's favorite because she is sickly. A snowstorm traps us on the mountain and the rescue helicopter arrives with room for only one more. I have terminal cancer and am ready to let Emma take my place. Then she suddenly clutches her head and cries that she feels dizzy. My whole family rushes to her side and together they push her into the cabin. My husband, Leon Ziegler, touches my fractured arm and says, "Sarah, you'll have to wait for the next helicopter." My daughter, Daria Ziegler, even throws a snowball at me. "Aunt Emma is sicker than you. Stop trying to take her spot." Only when the helicopter takes off do I see Emma pressed against the window, smugly sticking her tongue out. She has been lying the whole time. When I am finally rescued, the doctors tell me I have three days left to live. I decide to trade everything I own for a small piece of my family's affection.

When I went for my prenatal checkup, I filled in my mafia husband Enrico Salvatore's information in the spouse column. However, the doctor told me, "The system shows no record of you ever being married. You're unmarried." I froze, unable to believe it. "How is that possible? We got married five years ago. Please check again." The doctor pulled up the system records again, and only one line appeared on the screen: [Marriage Registration: None.] At first, I thought the hospital had made a mistake. Then, I overheard Enrico talking to one of his men. "Isabella's the only one in my heart. I'll give her everything else she wants. But Luisa gave me a daughter. For the sake of the family's bloodline, I have to register our marriage and give her that status. Isabella can never find out about the registration." At that moment, I finally understood. The small wedding five years ago was nothing but a cover. We never registered. There was no legal marriage. Even the child I was carrying had no legal standing. It was all an elaborate lie he had crafted. Since none of this ever truly belonged to me, I would just leave.

At my coming-of-age ceremony, I confessed my feelings to Uncle Daniel, who wasn't blood-related to me. Yet, he sent me overseas to study. Later on, I was diagnosed with brain cancer. The headaches were brutal. Left without a choice, I turned to him for help. Yet, his first love accused me of being wasted abroad. Said I got into stuff. Claimed my pain were just withdrawals. He believed her and dragged me back home. He locked me up in the family's abandoned villa atop the mountains, guards watching me around the clock. With treatment delayed, my headaches grew worse. It was a complete nightmare. One night, I couldn't take it anymore. I quietly slipped out of the window and jumped. One year after my death, he finally remembers me.

After I was reborn, I dumped the cheating bastard and married his older twin brother. But as it turns out, I still picked the wrong man. In my past life, I married Maxwell Vaughan, the younger twin. Not long after our wedding, he started sleeping with Kelly Sloan, the maid's daughter. For her, he set the house on fire while I was sleeping. I woke up burned beyond recognition. Amoura, the world-famous lingerie brand, dropped me overnight. Just like that, my modeling career was over. This time, I chose Charlie Vaughan, the older twin. We were in sync and deeply in love. I thought I'd finally made it, that I'd rise to the top and become the supermodel I was meant to be. But the night before my Amoura runway show, my face was burned again. Charlie uncovered the truth quickly and had Maxwell arrested. For a moment, I thought I'd made the right choice this time. Six years later, I overhear something I was never meant to hear as Charlie tucks our sons, Declan and Dylan Vaughan, into bed. "Dad, Uncle Max already took the fall for Kelly. So why did she have to leave the country? Couldn't she have stayed here with us?" "Yeah, Dad. We still want Kelly to be our mom. We hate that freak!" Charlie pulls Declan and Dylan into his arms. His gaze softens with sorrow, then hardens with quiet resolve. "I already betrayed your mom once for Kelly. I'll spend the rest of my life to make it right." A rush of emotion surged through me, the pain cutting deeper than the fire ever did. For six years of marriage and eight years of love, I've been nothing more than a joke. Only now do I see it—Charlie loved Kelly all along, just like Maxwell did. Our marriage was nothing more than a matter of convenience. Even Declan and Dylan call me a freak and wish Kelly were their mother. If that's how it is, then so be it. I'm done with all three of them.