There Is No Free Lunch

Fedora Smith was done with love. Finished. Buried. Betrayal had ripped out her heart and torched it—her boyfriend of four years and her best friend of twenty-five caught pants down on the very anniversary sheets she gifted him. And their excuses? “You’re not attractive anymore.” “You took too long to marry him.” Fine. If love was a game, she was rewriting the rules. Now, she runs The Bridal Fix, an elite agency providing fake marriages for a steep price—rent-a-bride services for men needing to fool their families, secure an inheritance, or stage the perfect breakup. Fifteen weddings, fifteen divorces—no strings, no mess. Just business. Until Judah Carlstone. He hires her like the rest—one contract, one wedding, one payday. But Judah asks too many questions. Looks at her too long. And when he smirks and says— "Tell me, Fedora… how does it feel to say ‘I do’ and not mean it?" For the first time in years, she has no answer. Because this was never supposed to feel real.

Two years after we marry, my husband moves his sister and her family into our marital home. The four of them settle down and refuse to leave. So, I quit both my jobs. I laze around at home all day and splurge on various things. I have so many parcels delivered that they pile up by the door. Occasionally, I ask my husband and his sister for allowance. When the management office sends someone to chase for our maintenance fee, my husband breaks down so loudly that everyone in the building can hear him. He asks me whether I've lost my mind—who will support the family if I don't work? How will we survive without money? Am I going to allow our family to starve? So, it turns out he does know that we'll starve without anyone generating income. Why does he and his sister stay at home and plot to take away all my money, then?

I was reborn back to 1975, when the child in my womb was three months old. I did not tell anyone and quietly had an abortion. However, I still wrapped cotton around my belly every day, pretending the baby was still there. In my past life, my husband Declan Huxley's childhood sweetheart Jane Patton and I gave birth on the same day. She had a healthy, ordinary baby boy. But my child looked nothing like us—he was mixed-race, with features of the Valorian people. Declan and I were both locals, so there was no way our son could look like this. Enraged, Declan scolded me in front of everyone, accusing me of cheating on him and having a disgraceful affair with a Valorian. No matter how many times I explained, no one believed me, and I became the shameful woman everyone pointed at. Worse still, Declan reported me and handed in some foreign letters he found at home, which led to me being taken by federal agents and sentenced as a spy. I spent ten years in prison, and when I finally walked out, I was nothing but skin and bones. Meanwhile, Declan had climbed the ranks for his so-called loyalty to the country. He held Jane's hand and brought along my real son, Seth Huxley, then threw 500 dollars at me like it was charity. He said, "Back then, Jane was accidentally deceived by someone else and gave birth to that brat. Unlike you, she has a gentle nature and couldn't endure hardship, so I had no choice but to switch your children. "This money is payment for your ten years and your reputation. You have a criminal record, and I already filed for divorce long ago to be with Jane. Seth also thinks you're not worthy of me, so you better take care of yourself." Seth also looked at me with disgust. "Mommy Jane treats me very well, and she's not like you; she's never been to prison. I don't want a mother like you!" When I learned the truth, the fury was so overwhelming that I had a stroke and died in despair. In this new life, I want to see how they plan to scheme against me when the child is already gone.

Hazel Queen had loved her husband with all her heart for three years. But the one thing she never saw coming was the cold, shocking truth: he wanted a divorce because his mistress was pregnant. Heartbroken and betrayed, Hazel decides to move on and returns to Queen Corp, where she steps into her true role as the powerful female president, worth hundreds of millions. This revelation shocks her ex-husband, Damon Price, who never knew that the woman he left behind was the mastermind behind the famous Queen Corp—the Heiress of the Queen family, who had supposedly died in a fire three years ago.

I am the woman of a mafia boss, Arthur Borne. Ever since we got married, he doted on me endlessly, professing his love for me publicly. The entire time, I believed he loved me deeply and simply could not help but flaunt his love for me to the world. Until one night, I overheard a conversation he had with his men. "I have dealings in both business and the underworld. Enemies are lurking everywhere. The only way to protect Ely is to make Juniper appear as my weakness so she can be Ely’s shield." This entire time, all the pain I suffered for him was nothing but a sick joke… Fine, two can play at this game!

Cold and proud to all, Beamon Slade, Northarch's strongest Alpha, reserves his gentleness solely for me. Everyone knows that I'm his Luna. But today, his first love is infected with deadly wolfsbane and on the brink of death. He hands me a herbal pill that can seal memories and temporarily remove the mate mark. "Eiro won't last another three days, Swan. "Could you give me three days to fulfill her dream of becoming a Luna through a symbolic marking ceremony? I won't hurt you. This pill temporarily severs the bond and makes you forget me. "When the ceremony ends three days later, take the antidote and you'll remember everything. We'll get back together." Looking at his calm, gentle expression, I silently swallow the pill without hesitation. He has no idea, but I crafted the pill with my own hands. There's no such thing as an antidote. Three days from now, I'll completely forget him. All our embraces, vows, marks, and his past gentleness will vanish with the wind.

I'm attacked after the murderer who took my sister's life is released from prison. He pins me to the forest floor, allowing me to scream and shout until I run out of strength. As the fireworks explode above me, blood pools around me. Two months later, my husband becomes his next victim. I burst into manic laughter when I see the torment he has to suffer.

At the end of 2044, a start of new technological development took place, the cyborg mechanism. A world filled with the hazards and threats of global destruction started, along with the start of the war with an unknown alien species. The story starts after 89 years, in modern India, the protagonist is a 12-year-old, poor, spectacle-wearing, goofy-looking person trying to find a way to change the way the world sees him. He finds a way to do it, with a help of a system that he accidentally acquires while researching. Will he accept the system and its pledge to make his wish come true and save the world? Let's see. __________________________________________________________________________ Contact Email:gginokelvin26@gmail.com Instagram: gino kelvin Discord: Gino Kelvin#3569 https://discord.gg/QgGpErQf _______________________________________________________________________________

"How did you manage to sleep at night Reid, the fact that you lied to me?" I saw the shock in his luminescent eyes, the face of the man I love, yet chose to hurt me. "Becca.....I planned to tell you, believe me, I do" he retorted with the cracking in his voice, and that moment I felt the breaking and twisting in my heart. "You're a pheromone machine and your count of women you played with is higher than the number of capillary vessels in your entire body, I refused to be on the list" The pain is evident on his gorgeous face, he gazed at me, I could sense the nagging feeling inside of me, however, I pushed the thoughts in the back of my head. "Becca, you got it all wrong, the predicament you have between me and Liz is nonsense!" he snapped, the intensity of anger in his voice was tormenting. "I've seen enough Reid, you changed women more frequently than a leopard changed its spots, pity me for thinking that you and I can be happy, this is the last time I'm allowing myself to be stupid." Becca lost her family in a tragic accident years ago, trying to cope with the sadness of being alone, making her parents proud in any way possible. Nothing matters and bothers her except work, until her new boss Reid Alonzo start provoking her with his handsome face and arrogant attitude. How can she manage to ignore the sight of a man that can make her fall in love and live a happy life? What if she finds out that Reid Alonzo has an ultimate secret involving the lost of her family, and the reason he wants Becca in his life is all about guilt? Can Becca say "Her No" to love?

When the world ends, Lilly James awakens. After a cataclysmic event fractures Earth and shatters the veil between realms, Lilly a seemingly ordinary woman who discovers she is the last tether holding the balance between divine order and infernal chaos. Hunted by celestial beings and demonic lords alike, Lilly is thrust into a war that has raged for eons in secret and now exposed and burning across the remains of the world. Caught in the eye of this divine storm are four men, two gods and two demons, sworn enemies from rival factions, each drawn to Lilly for reasons that go beyond destiny.     •    Kael, a fallen war god with a rage that could burn empires, hides a tortured honor behind his blade.     •    Theron, a stoic god of time and decay, holds the secrets to the apocalypse—and to Lilly’s past.     •    Riven, a charming demon prince of desire, masks deadly ambition with silken words and stolen touches.     •    Draven, a shadow-born demon of vengeance, silent and cold…except when he’s near her. Each of them needs her. Each of them wants her. But their desires might tear her and the world apart. As ancient prophecies unravel and her own powers begin to awaken, Lilly must navigate a brutal new reality where love could be her salvation or the catalyst for humanity’s final ruin. The gods demand devotion. The demons crave possession. But Lilly? She was never meant to bow. She was meant to rise.