Their Troublesome Crush

Cory Sullivan, my ten-year-old son, joins a swimming class organized by his school. A bunch of his fellow students end up pinning him to the drain of the swimming pool. I spot the streak of red in the water and completely lose my mind. I immediately dash over to save Cory, but by the time I do, his face has turned swollen and blue from the suction. Blood trickles from his mouth. He's no longer breathing. Andy Webster, the ringleader of the trio who hurt Cory, arrogantly declares that he won't be criminally prosecuted because he's a minor. "So what if I did it? He started getting on my nerves ages ago! Now that he's dead, no one else can compete with me to be the top in our class." Andy's father, Greg Thompson, condescendingly throws me a debit card. "There's 100 thousand dollars in there. That should be enough to make up for your son's worthless life." Outrage, I demand justice, but my wife, Sheryl Lowe, stops me. "Andy's just a kid himself. Are you going to force someone else's kid to lose his freedom just because your own son is dead?" I stop at nothing in the pursuit of justice, but Andy simply gets sent to a juvenile detention center. That's nowhere near enough for me. Eventually, I lose all hope. I lie down at Cory's grave and swallow a bottle of sleeping pills. Suddenly, my eyes open again. I've returned to the day I took Cory to the swimming pool. I immediately drag him off to take him back home before anything happens, but alas, a young boy still ends up losing his life at the pool.

A video proving that Zachary Groff, the fake scion, has set me up is exposed. Following that, my parents and fiancee, Leta Quinlan, stand firmly by me, offering me love and support. I hand the evidence to them, giving them full trust and authority to handle the matter. They tell me that Zachary died in a car accident after being chased out of the house, and I choose to believe them. But then, in the fifth year of my marriage, I have an unexpected encounter with Zachary, who should have already been dead. He is carrying a young girl in his arms while holding tightly onto Leta's hand. He says, "Leta, if not for you and my parents, I probably would have been locked up by Harvey Groff, that heartless man. "Thankfully, Mom and Dad destroyed the evidence and even opened a jewelry design studio for me. You even sacrificed your own marriage so that he doesn't suspect a thing. "Thank you for everything you've done these five years!" "Let's just say that I am making amends to Harvey on your behalf. I'm just glad that you and our daughter are happy and well." It turns out that the happy family, which I thought I had, is just a massive web of lies spun by my parents and Leta. My parents, my wife, and Zachary are the ones actually living happily as a family, while I am just a fool who spent the last five years being deceived. I no longer want to have love—whether familial or romantic—that is not solely mine.

When I'm trying to save a female patient's life, I use a pair of scissors to cut open her bra. But my fiancee, Scarlett Baxter, uploads a video of me pressing on the patient's chest to the Internet. "I know you're saving the patient's life, but isn't protecting the patient's privacy important as well? Besides, you keep touching her chest! This makes me feel very uncomfortable!" This incident goes viral on the Internet. The hospital I work at chooses to de-escalate this matter by demoting me and deducting my annual bonus. On top of that, I also receive a huge penalty for my actions. I did everything I could to save that patient's life, and yet everyone decided to paint me as a molester. Fine. I might as well not do anything, then. I'm not going to save anyone now. This time, the entire hospital falls into chaos.

STORY IS CURRENTLY ON HOLD TO ENSURE BEST QUALITY OF CONTENT. "Are you a friend or foe?" I whispered as a strong sense of desire flared just by the mere heat I felt coming from his body. "Neither." He smirked devilishly. "My alliance lies with the highest bidder. They say kill, I say how much." "Then are you here to kill me?" I asked trying to remain rational as his intoxicating essence attacks all my senses. "Not in the literal sense." He whispers in my ear. "I plan to hog tie and f**k you til you think you've died and gone to heaven." "Is that a promise?" My core throbs as I imagine all the ways he could please me. "It is, and I always keep my promises." Since birth Amya's life was all planned out for her. Every step, every lesson, every day was spent preparing to be the bride of Vincent Miguel, the alpha of the Blue Moon pack. At least, that was the plan until Mykel Brady came crashing into her life. Now Amya finds herself oddly drawn to the wild and mysterious Mykel. This attraction leaves her rethinking her entire existence and desperately wanting to leave the mundane life she has always lived. Mykel, a wicked assassin whose alliance went with the highest bidder was hired to get rid of Amya, but little did he expect to find himself oddly attracted to her and her fierce and wild spirit. Not one to care for the rules or responsibilities, Mykel finds himself taking Amya away from the life she always knew and introducing her to his world. A world of kill or be killed and darkness. Will the two be able to defy all the odds for one another?

The entire world froze. Overnight, the city plunged to –40 °F. Yet, in the middle of this frozen apocalypse, my mother, my sister and her son moved into the home I bought for my marriage. Even my own husband took my sister’s side. They threw me out into the freezing cold to scavenge for supplies. I came back frozen half to death, and they had not even saved me a bowl of warm soup. Then, my sister shoved me straight off the fifth-floor landing. In that bitter cold, my body hit the ground and shattered like glass. When I woke again, I found myself back in the week before the apocalypse struck. This time, I resolved to cut them all off. I would make every last one of them pay.

My body has a special nourishing effect. However, both of my marriage engagements were called off. My first fiance was a religious man who broke his celibacy to make love to me. He canceled the engagement because he couldn't forgive himself. My second fiance was my childhood friend. He made love to me every night. Then, he apologized to me and said I couldn't satisfy him. When I was about to take my life, I saw them acting out a pure love story at my friend's bedside. "Sophia, I won't force you if you don't want to do it." "For you, I'm fine with keeping our relationship platonic. I don't mind if we never do it. I can hold myself back!" They treat her gently, as if she will shatter with a single kiss. I put the noose away and call my father. "Dad, I'm not against it anymore. You can send me to the son of the Lowell family to treat his impotence."

After my parents died, the family went bankrupt, leaving my brother and me with a large sum of debt. To pay it off, he became a haunted-house test sleeper, while I acted as a corpse on film sets. For five years, we worked tirelessly, not daring to rest a single day—and still, the debt wasn't cleared. By the end of the year, only 13 thousand dollars remained. Gritting my teeth, I signed up as a clinical trial volunteer. When it was over, I dragged 13 thousand dollars in cash, brimming with joy, to show my brother. But I found him frowning, on the phone. "Dad, Mom, Lily's doing well. Have fun abroad," he said. "She's stopped spending recklessly. The punishment ends next year." What? Our parents weren't dead? Our family wasn't bankrupt? The five years of hardship, every ounce of struggle—I'd endured it all as punishment for my love of spending. My smile froze on my face. My stomach churned violently. A mouthful of fresh blood spilled out.

I grew up in a glass tower—protected by badges, blinded by lies. My father, the Commissioner, built walls around me so high I never saw the darkness creeping through the cracks. Not until one reckless night led me into the Inferno Club… and straight into the arms of Chicago’s most dangerous men. Three kings rule the shadows. Each more lethal than the last. Each is determined to claim me. Jaxon shatters me and puts me back together with his hands and his hunger. Maddox weaves riddles and seduction until I forget my own name. Ronan strips away every mask I wear and demands surrender I never knew I could give. They think I’m just another spoiled rich girl playing with fire. But I’ve been burning since the day my mother died—and now I’m ready to show them exactly how dangerous a caged viper can be. In Chicago’s underworld, love is a weapon. And I’m learning to wield it like a queen.

Eliara has always lived at the bottom of the Black Crest Pack. After her stepfather’s death, pack law forced her under the same roof as her two alpha stepbrothers. The future rulers of the Black Crest Pack and billionaire CEOs of the most powerful tech corporation in the region. They strip her of status, turn her into a servant, and remind her daily that she is nothing more than an omega with no protection. When her mother’s mate's bond weakens and illness strikes, Eliara loses the last protection she had. Whatever little status she once held vanishes overnight. What no one knows is that Eliara carries a forbidden secret. A rare healing power her mother warned would get her killed if discovered. The alphas are hiding secrets too. Cursed by the Moon Goddess, they weaken and collapse every full moon, their wolves silent and their throne at risk. When a violent confrontation leaves the alphas dying before their pack, Eliara makes a choice that changes everything. She heals them. The bond snaps. And Eliara learns the truth too late. Her cruel stepbrothers are her destined mates. Before she can escape the consequences of that bond, Alpha Eric Lewis enters the picture. Alpha Eric Lewis, the Alpha General, billionaire, and their greatest enemy steps in with an offer they can’t refuse. To save their throne and erase their debts, the twins are forced to give up the one thing they never wanted but can no longer live without. Eliara is offered as a bride. Rejected by her mates. Married to their enemy. Bound to a man who wants her power and her heart. Now the alphas must chase the omega they broke. Because losing Eliara won’t just destroy them. It will bring their pack to its knees

Heating starts on the 15th, so I give my mom the money to pay the heating bill two days in advance and ask her to pay it for me. But a week passes, and it still feels like an icehouse in my apartment. I am on the phone complaining to my younger brother's wife, Selena Lyons, who lives upstairs. "You are right not to pay the heating fee. I paid, and it made no difference. We're freezing to death here." From the other end of the call, I faintly hear my nephew shouting, "Mom, it's so hot! I want a popsicle!"