The Unbreakable Walking Stick

When California's War Lords and Nevada's Diff’rent Strokes ended their decade-year friendship, my world came crashing down along with my unshakable loyalty. Like many other people, I had lost just more than my lifelong friends and allies but also my husband who abandoned me..... Dante ‘Merciless’ D’Angelo. We were now people with different missions and goals, strangers to one another as we pledged our loyalty to our mafias until he found my most well hidden secret, our son. Now he comes back into our lives with many secrets and promises... But all that matters now is my choice. Him or the mafia?

My fiancé dumped me the moment he found out about my rare blood type. "That condition of yours? Yeah, it'd just drain my wallet." I was spiraling when Vincent showed up—like some knight in shining armor, pulling me out of the wreckage. He didn't care about my blood type. We barely dated before he proposed, and for a while, married life felt perfect. Until a year later, when I overheard him talking to a doctor. "Vincent, you already took 400 milliliters of Sophia's blood last month, and now you want another 200? Are you insane? Even if you love Emma, you can't just drain an innocent woman dry for her!" "A little more won't kill her. Stop overreacting." My head spun. My whole body went cold. That's when it hit me—our perfect marriage had been a lie from the start.

At the wedding I've spent months planning, my usually stoic fiancé, Anthony Scott, is about to run off with his assistant, Erica Jones. To top it all off, she is wearing a wedding gown. Out of nowhere, his younger brother, Christopher Scott, grabs my hand and plans to pull me straight to City Hall. He disregards my panicking eyes. "Let's get married," he says, as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Then, the stage decorations suddenly collapse, revealing a room full of guests mocking and laughing at me. The two men who once swore to love me forever do all just to make Erica smile. The three of them clink glasses and drink a love toast on stage, completely lost in their own moment. "The wedding you planned was way too outdated. You should thank Erica for turning it into a bachelorette party!" "The real wedding will be this Sunday. Isn't Erica's idea amazing?" Anthony and Christopher were confident that I wouldn't dare leave them. But I quietly pick up my phone and type a message. "Let's set the wedding date for this Sunday, Levi."

It's close to impossible for a naturally disabled person to find love. Yvette Snyder was born weak of hearing; even her own mother detests her. After getting married, her affluent husband, Xavier Lane, and the people in his life mock and humiliate her. Then, her husband's ex-girlfriend comes back into his life and publicly announces that she wants to take back everything that should've been hers. She even goes so far as to stand before Yvette to say smugly, "I bet you won't know what it's like to be loved by someone—not in this lifetime. Has Xav ever told you he loves you? He used to say it to me all the time." Only then does Yvette realize how wrong she's been. But it's too late. Her love has gone down the drain; she shouldn't have married someone who doesn't love her. She decides to let go and return Xavier's freedom to him. But Xavier's the first to object. "If you want to get a divorce, you'll have to do it over my dead body!"

Every time Havi saw her return with faded lipstick on her lips, a question arose, 'Who messes with her lipstick?' The question kept popping up even though he knew the answer. With his thumb, he rubbed her lips and said, "If only you let me be the one who messed up your lipstick, you can be happy, Kate." "Come on. You're drunk now, Havi." He smirked then slowly closed their distance, "Yeah, I'm drunk in you." As sh*t as it is, Havier's first love at the tender age of 18 years old, falls to a woman who is so difficult to love.

Jasmine became a human-robot dead to emotions, the night her parents were murdered in cold blood right in front of her. She was a killer, the type that tempts a man with her body, entices him with her siren-like voice, and then drives a blade into his chest sending him to his Creator. When her uncle and the only family she had is killed by the Governor she sought out to get him in the only way she knows how to, but her plan falls through as she discovered he wasn't in the least interested in her body. In between being his assistant, sharing a floor with him, and wondering why he had such a cold blank look that made her shiver, he slowly was beginning to work his way into a piece of her anatomy she could swear she had tossed into a dumpster - Her heart. Now Jasmine must choose between revenging her uncle's death or try figuring out if there was more to the hardcore desire she felt for a man she was supposed to hate with her being.

“I need to become the devil to destroy that demon,” she whispers, her body still broken, the evidence of his madness all around her. Of all betrayals, Marion Storm never expected her end to come at the hands of her husband. Once hailed as the Ice Queen of Biotech and CEO of the billion-dollar Icarus Industries, she now lies bleeding on the marble floor of her burning mansion, her empire reduced to ash. Richard took everything: her son, her reputation, her company, and now, her life. But fate intervenes. Her last desperate message is answered. By Jude Creed. Arrogant. Brilliant. Her rival. Her nemesis. And now… her savior. With nothing left but a broken body and shattered heart, Marion swears vengeance on every person who played a part in her downfall. Even if it means crossing lines, burning bridges, and becoming something darker than all of them. But even ice can melt. And Jude? He’s determined to melt her. As the line between their deal and desire blurs, Marion is forced to confront a terrifying truth: time is running out. Her enemies are more powerful, danger is in every corner, and secrets are on every page she turns. Who can she trust? And Jude? He may just be the one thing left holding her together. Will she let him love her, or will her thirst for revenge burn him down with the rest of them?

The nanny, Polly Jackson, pushes me down the stairs when I'm seven months pregnant. I suffer from major blood loss and go into premature labor. Before I can question her about it, Zachary Campbell brushes me off with a lame excuse. "Polly didn't mean it. You and the baby are fine, so don't be so petty about this." I get out of bed to move around. I'm at the bathroom door when I hear Zachary and Polly's conversation. "Are you sure that wretch can stay alive, Zachary? Switching it out won't be that easy if it dies." "Don't worry about whether Daisy Jameson's baby can live, Mom. Either way, mine and Danielle's child will be the Campbell family's sole heir." I pretend I've never heard this and raise my son for 18 years. During a banquet held in honor of a share ownership transfer, Polly suddenly shows up with my mentally impaired daughter. She cries, "Mason is my grandson! It's high time he's returned to his rightful place after being raised by the wrong family for so long!" I'm unfazed. I even laugh at her words. "Fine, then!"

My husband's parents are dead. He says I'm now his sister's mother figure and need to care for her like she's my daughter. I work myself to the bone to feed her and pay for her expenses, but she's not happy with that. "My classmates drive to school and have trips abroad, Lorey. Can't you work a little harder?" She takes my car away and treats me like a maid. That's still not enough for her, though. When she finds out that I'm pregnant, she threatens to take her life. "You said you would care for me like I'm your daughter. I won't let you give someone else what's supposed to be mine!" I curse her in my heart. Who gave her the nerve to act like this?

I have to admit that my husband's true love is a charming and charismatic woman. After she returns to the country, my husband, who always says he knows nothing about being romantic, racks his brains to think of ways to please her. Even my son wants her to be his mother—he says it to my face, too. To my husband and son, I'm only worthy of cooking and cleaning for them. Later, an autistic little girl tugs on my shirt and says firmly, "Zach might not want his mommy, but I do!" It's only then that I realize flowers can bloom in parched land. When I'm finally living the life I want, my ex-husband and son come to me, telling me they regret their actions… My ex-husband calls and says Zach misses me. I answer, "I'm not his mother anymore." Then, he says he's made a mistake—he's realized that I'm the one he loves. The man beside me kisses the back of my hand, sounding jealous as he says, "Do you think you deserve to be with her when I've yet to win her heart?"