Then We Held Hands

Maddy thought marrying her fated mate and flying to Greece to start a new life would fix everything. All she wanted was a perfect life with De-Shawn—far away from Alpha Rowan J. Grey, the man she discovered was also her mate. That was impossible. A werewolf could only have one fated mate—unless one died. Second-chance mates don't happen while both are still alive. Yet here she was. Both of her mates are alive. “Let’s go to Greece,” De-Shawn said the night he slid the ring onto her finger. Maddy wasn’t sure, but running felt safer than staying. Because Rowan couldn’t be her mate. He was married. He had children. Worse—he was her godmother’s husband. She escaped to Greece, hoping distance would weaken the bond forming between her and Rowan. Hoping marriage would save her. But It didn’t. Her fated mate destroyed her life; he killed their unborn pup, stripping her of everything she owned, and forcing her into a conservatorship. Left with nothing and on the verge of spending six years in rehab as a mentally ill patient, she turns to one person. One person she shouldn’t turn to, one person from whom she should stay far away.

“I’m going to fuck all of Vincent’s memory out of you,” he murmurs. “You’re Carter’s woman now.” ★★★★★ At just 21, Lyla Rose thought she had it all; a loving husband, a powerful mafia family, and a future she believed was secure. But everything comes crashing down when a medical report reveals she’s infertile. Vincent Ricci, her ruthless mafia husband, can’t tolerate that one imperfection. In a brutal, heartless move, he divorces her and replaces her with Maria, the fertile woman who can give him the heir Lyla never could. But that’s just the beginning. Refusing to be discarded so easily, Lyla struggles to let go. But when Vincent plans to lock her away in a basement, everything changes. Carter Ricci, Vincent’s cold, calculating uncle, steps in. He takes her to his penthouse, promising to protect her, cherish her, and vowing he’s nothing like his nephew. But Carter has his own dark secrets. And once they’re revealed, everything Lyla thought she knew about him will be shattered. When Vincent realizes the mistake he’s made, regret consumes him and he comes to take her back. But Carter has no intention of letting her go. He’s claimed her, body and soul. Now Lyla must choose: Will she return to the man who shattered her, or stay with the one who trapped her in a web of lies and manipulation? And can Carter really hold onto the woman he took through deceit, or will his dark past destroy everything they've built? ★★★★★ TROPES YOU’LL LOVE ✔️ Ex-husband’s uncle ✔️ Mafia x secrets ✔️ Betrayal & forbidden love ✔️ Innocent x ruthless ✔️ Age gap ✔️ Dominant x submissive ✔️ Dark obsession ✔️ Lies & twisted romance

On our wedding day, my bride insists on wearing an old, beat-up watch with the million-dollar wedding dress I buy her. I call off the wedding on the spot. She looks at me in shock. "You called off the wedding just because of a watch?" I take out the divorce agreement and tell her to sign. "Yes. Because of that watch." Everyone calls me crazy. They cannot believe I would end a ten-year relationship over something so worthless and file for divorce in front of everyone. Dad walks up and slaps me across the face. "Get on your knees, you disgrace." My mother-in-law shrieks that I have ruined her daughter's future by returning her like damaged goods. I look at the watch on her wrist, which is stopped at 3:07, and I smile. Then, I phone my assistant. "It's time. Release everything. I want a divorce."

When Edna Crossby ditches the marriage registration for the fifth time, I block her contact number and social media accounts on the spot. If she's in any of the social gatherings, I turn down the invitations right away. I'd rather take the long route than walk past the cafe Edna frequents. If she attends a team-building session, I take the day off without hesitation. Even when Edna shows up on my doorstep with gifts in hand on Christmas Eve, I pretend that I'm not home at all. I don't answer any calls from her. I don't respond to texts she sends me. Just like that, I completely fade away from Edna's world. In the past, Edna used to be the focus of my life. My emotions fluctuated all the time because of her. When Edna flakes out on me for the fifth time, I finally snap out of my lovesick stupor. I don't want to live life like this anymore. Rather than getting abandoned time and again, I might as well live my life on my own happily.

Blurb "I don't love you, Aryna. Only my grandma does." His voice rang through the deafening silence, "Gina is the one my heart wants. You're only here to fill a void and that's only for a while until I finally make things right and claim Gina as mine." My heart dropped to my stomach. "Come to think of it, you can't even give me an heir, meanwhile Gina is pregnant with my child." As if it wasn't enough, Ryan pressed on, breaking me in the worst way ever. How could he say this to me after everything? Was this all he could pay me back after saving his life there years ago? My face fell? How do I tell him I was pregnant with his child too? **** She saved his life. He gave her his last name... but never his heart. Aryna thought marrying Ryan was the beginning of her forever—until the man she loved treated their marriage like a debt to repay, not a promise to cherish. For three years, she stayed silent, hoping, loving… waiting. Until the day she finally had news worth celebrating—she was pregnant. But Ryan left her alone on their anniversary to rush to Gina, his “sick” childhood best friend. Again. Heartbroken and betrayed, Aryna makes a choice that shocks everyone—she walks away. But some debts don't stay buried, and some secrets refuse to be ignored. As Ryan begins to see the cracks in Gina’s perfect facade, he realizes the woman he truly needed was the one he pushed away. With a shattered marriage in the balance, Aryna must decide: will she give Ryan a second chance—or is love, once broken, gone forever?

The Job: Save the career of the man she hates. The Boss: Her arrogant and damaged step-brother. The Rule: One month on a bus and no crossing boundaries. °°•°°•°°•°° Anya Sharma is a professional hater because she gets paid to ruin reputations. As a top music critic, she has spent years dragging Kai Rhodes for his lack of talent and his massive ego. She does not do it for fame but for the money she needs to fund her secret charity for immigrants. It is a noble cause fueled by a very dirty job. But after a career-ending car wreck leaves Kai broken, his manager offers Anya an offer she cannot refuse. She must join the tour and play his loyal assistant while writing a story to save his image. If she succeeds, her charity gets millions. If she fails, she loses everything. Trapped on a luxury bus for thirty days, Anya expects to find a monster. Instead, she finds a man who looks too good in the dark and knows exactly how to push her buttons. They're supposed to despise each others guys, but the tension between them is a live wire ready to snap. Anya thought she was the one in control until she found things she wasn't supposed to find. She thought he was the one she was saving until she realized he was the one setting the trap. Kai knows her secrets and she is starting to love his. But the contract ends in three days and only one of them is getting out with their heart.. and life, intact. PS- Do not read this if you want a sweet and normal romance. Read this if you want to watch a professional hater get wrecked by the one man she is legally supposed to avoid.

Running away is easy. For Dyanne Collins, it's by far the easiest thing to do—perhaps even instinctive, but running from her problems can only get her so far. After her father passed away, she left everything behind, and now, ten years later, she is back where it all began Working directly for Alexander Morgan, the man she had been in love with before she abruptly ended things and moved away. Dyanne's plan: 1) Work in Morgan's company for two more years, 2) Pay off her debt and run away again, 3) and for no reason, fall for her ex-lover, Alexander Morgan. If she could do it back then, she could again. How long, though, can she run? How long until she faces all that has been holding her back? How long can she keep the secrets and questions of her past from coming back to haunt her? “It's going to be nothing serious, I can do it,”, but sometimes serious can sneak up on you in ways you never expected.

Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé. Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now—billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn’t mind. I’d crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one? Wrong. One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That’s when it hit me—he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol. Enter him. Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised. But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life. And, as it turned out, the best decision I’d ever made. Because my one-night stand isn’t just some random guy. He’s richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with. And now, he’s not letting me go.

The ninth bonding ceremony between me and the Alpha King, Thorne Ravencrest, is finally here. Yet once again, I failed to become his Luna Queen. Not because he broke his promise, but because I'm not qualified enough. The Elders made it crystal clear that every Luna Queen recognized by the Moon Goddess throughout history must cultivate 365 Moonlight Flowers using their own blood essence. But every year on the eve of the ceremony, no matter how careful I am, there's always one flower missing. This year, I nearly drained myself completely and barely managed to grow the right number. Ecstatic, I go to find Thorne, wanting to surprise him. Through the partially open door of the throne hall, I hear his Beta say to him, "Alpha King, Sera's been waiting for you for eight years now. Are you ever going to bond with her?" Thorne shakes his head. "I promised Willow we can't bond this year either." His Beta hesitates. "What if Sera actually manages to grow enough Moonlight Flowers?" Thorne goes silent for a moment, then claps his hands. A shadow wolf appears and melts into the darkness. Before long, a shadow wolf returns with a Moonlight Flower clamped in its jaws. He tears the flower into shreds and lets out a sigh. "Sera has plenty of blood. Forget one year. She could keep cultivating for another ten years and still be fine. "But Willow's been poisoned with wolfsbane. I'm all she has left, and she wants me by her side in her final days. "I can't bear to refuse Willow, which means Sera will just have to wait a bit longer." I bite my lip hard, barely able to believe what I'm hearing. So the Moonlight Flowers that kept mysteriously disappearing were all destroyed by him. Becoming Luna Queen has been my dream since childhood. But if he never intended to bond with me at all, then it's time I leave him.

Synopsis: After discovering her husband cheated on her, Ella Bronx completely woke up from her fantasy of this marriage. Accepting her best friend's invitation, she planned to indulge herself for a night... but her fate was unexpectedly tied to an even more unexpected man, her unfaithful husband's uncle, Collins Arma. To make matters worse, he seemed to have a misunderstanding of her, thinking that she was an evi! woman who wanted to frame him with ulterior motives. Ella puts this matter behind her for the time being and wanted to divorce her husband, Dave Scott, as soon as possible, but was strongly opposed by him. She wanted to get back the job she had given up for marriage and love, but as Dave interfered, no company was willing to accept her, but she still received an offer from a company - Collins' company. How can she get out of this toxic marriage and let Dave and Scarlet, Collins' cunning ex-lover, get the punishment they deserve? And in this process, when she and her husband's uncle both found themselves attracted to each other, how should they face their feelings?