There's No Place Like Home

When my mother went into kidney failure and needed a transplant, it was Pauline Maynard—on the brink of death herself—who gave my mom a second chance at life. Just before Pauline passed, she gripped my hand tightly and whispered her final words. "Summer, Ricky is my only son. He's rebellious… and fragile. Please, take care of him. Just three years, please?" I gave her my word. Then I moved into their home and gave Ricky everything he needed—love, comfort, a sense of safety. For three years, I stayed true to that promise. By the third year, Ricky had transformed. No longer the wayward boy he once was, he rose to become the Mafia Don Ricky Lenza. And I was carrying his child. As I busied myself with wedding plans, I overheard something I was never meant to hear—his voice, low and mocking, as he wrapped another woman in his arms. "Summer? She's just pretending to love me for the sake of my mother's inheritance and a stupid deal. A gold digger like her dreams of marrying me? What a joke." A sharp pain pierced my chest, like thorns stabbing deep beneath the skin. On the way to a prenatal checkup, we were hit in a crash. My baby didn't make it. And my mother, sitting in the passenger seat, shielded me with her life. When I woke up, I stared blankly at the date on my phone. Three days left. That would've marked the end of the three-year promise. I realized then—I'd paid my debt to Pauline in full. It was time for me to go.

Di usia yang hampir 40 tahun, pengusaha sukses dan tampan cukup banyak wanita yang wara wiri dalam kehidupa seorang Samudra Abimanyu. Tapi selama ini belum ada yang benar-benar mampu membuatnya terpikat. Rata-rata mereka hanya “mampir” sebentar sebelum digantikan oleh wanita-wanita lain. Tidak hanya para temannya yang menjulukinya playboy bahkan beberapa majalah dengan terang-terangan menyebutkan bahwa dia adalah casanova, mungkin ada benarnya saking seringnya dia gonta-ganti perempuan. Satu pantangan Samudra adalah tidak akan mengencani pegawainya, dia tidak ingin merusak citra dan profesionalitas kerja dengan love affair di kantor. Dan sampai saat ini dia tidak pernah melanggarnya, biarpun tidak sedikit staff wanita yang kepincut dengannya. Bos muda, kaya dan ganteng. Sabrina. Why on earth sosok wanita ini tiba-tiba sibuk mondar-mandir di pikirannya? Semenjak kali pertama interview, sosoknya rajin nongol tanpa diundang ke kepalanya. Seperti tidak ada wanita lain saja, pikirnya sinis ke diri sendiri. Walaupun banyak bergonta – ganti pacar, dia memang tidak terlalu sibuk untuk memikirkan perempuan. Buat dia pacar adalah selingan diantara kesibukan pekerjaan, selingan untuk mencerahkan hari, pelengkap untuk dibawa ke resepsi bukan untuk memenuhi pemikiran. Mendapatkan pacar baru buat dia sama mudahnya seperti membeli jas baru, sekali lirik bisa dipastikan perempuan akan tersipu – sipu kepincut. Tetapi Sabrina lain. Ada sesuatu tentangnya yang menyedot perhatian Samudra. Cantik, yes…tapi lebih dari itu. Gayanya yang anggun tapi terkesan berjarak, ada sesuatu darinya yang menyedot perhatian Samudra. Seperti black hole yang menyedot semua energi dan masa di sekitarnya, Sabrina juga menyedot semua fokus dan perhatian Samudra.

"I don't dream anymore. I have no future, I only have 'now'." * * * For Samantha Covington, these words are her stark reality after her husband Richard's ultimate betrayal. She has become collateral damage to his self-destruction, leaving her a shell of her former self, her once vivid spirit suffocated. A chance encounter with Daniel Sanford, the powerful and enigmatic yet secret Alpha, ignites a forbidden flicker of hope in her, and the dangerously protective instincts in him. Daniel becomes Samantha’s lifeline, his sure and steady presence, the anchor she needs to rise from the depths of despair. But their worlds are intertwined more than they know, and the one man tying them together is the one man determined to keep them apart. Caught between the man who helps her reclaim her worth and a husband who strips it away, she must navigate a treacherous path to secure her heart and her freedom. But Daniel’s dark secrets chillingly echo Richard’s darker lies. Can Daniel earn her trust? Will his wolf respect her freedom? Or will she forge a new path as she leaves Richard in the wreckage of his self-destruction?

The Alpha of our pack decreed that his heir’s mate must be chosen from a decent background. But the next Alpha, Bleiz, chose me as his mate—a slave picked up by a healer. For me, Bleiz gave up his inheritance and endured ninety-nine lashes, blood soaking through his shirt. Still, he smiled at me and said, “Nancy, don’t be afraid. You’re the only one I want as my future Luna.” Later, the Alpha finally relented, agreeing to let Bleiz and me elope, but Bleiz had to leave an heir for the family. Since then, the words Bleiz said to me most often were: “Please wait.” The first time, Bleiz asked me to wait—for him to get another omega pregnant. The second time, Bleiz asked me to wait again, because the first child was a daughter, and the Alpha family wanted a son. Just when I thought I’d finally endured enough, Bleiz and Mona’s daughter—who had just celebrated her 100-day celebration—suddenly developed a high fever and vomited blood. Everyone believed I had poisoned her. When I was stripped naked and thrown into the freezing ice pond in the dead of night, Bleiz stood at the edge, watching. “I told you to wait,” he said, his eyes filled with disappointment. “Why did you hurt my child?” This time, I decided I would wait no longer.

It's not what you think. Two social worlds collide with words, feelings, behaviours and ideas most unexpected to bring an even more unpredictable end. Lacey Atkins leaves school for a tear and comes back wanting nothing more than to be left alone. Alone in a classroom, Tom Wade sees Lacey and soon comes to want nothing more than to be with her. Her weird and unusual ways all make him the more curious and drawn in.

Lavish London mansions. A hand-painted Rolls-Royce. And eight dead friends. For the British fixer Robbie Chase, working for the Russian's President most vocal critic meant stunning perks – but also constant danger. His gruesome death is one of 14 that retired British Agent QUINTUS NOONE has linked to Russia – but the UK police shut down every last case. QUINTUS NOONE'S investigation reveals the full story of a ring of death on British soil that the government has ignored.

Everyone in the social circle of Kingsford said I was nothing more than a lapdog raised by Charles Mankin. I was always at his beck and call. I did every filthy, ludicrous thing for him under the sun. When he street raced, I rode shotgun. When he drank himself senseless, I made him hangover soup. When he chased girls, I prepared protection for them. Over time, everyone knew: Charles had a dog who never ran, never bit back, no matter how hard he kicked. They all said I must be madly in love with him. Even Charles started to believe it. So he pushed further, more freely, more cruelly, crossing lines as if they never existed. Then came my twenty-fifth birthday. He, in a rare stroke of mercy, said he'd celebrate it with me. But instead, what he got was the news that I was leaving the country. He went berserk, charging through the airport like a man possessed. I peeled his fingers off my wrist one by one, smiling like I'd never been happier. "Don't be stupid," I told him, still smiling. "That was never love." That night, Charles smashed apart his family home like a rabid dog.

I've been in a secret relationship with my stepbrother, Caesar Kane, for eight years. He promises he'll marry me after graduation. As graduation approaches, he tells me he's tired of me and has found someone younger and prettier. I throw away the ring he gave me and cut up my wedding dress. All of his friends place bets on how long it will take before I come crawling back to him. Caesar has always treated me like I'm his property and declares with complete confidence, "Give it three days tops. She'll come crawling back in tears, begging me to take her back." So I accept the invitation from a prince from my Farbourne University prep program. I follow him to Snowcall, leaving behind the stepbrother who clearly doesn't care about me anymore. Caesar finally cracks and calls me. "Miranda, enough with the drama. Come home." A man's low, amused chuckle comes through the phone. "Pro tip—you shouldn't wait around if you want to win your woman back. Someone else might sweep her off her feet." Caesar practically snarls into the phone. "Put Miranda on the phone!" The man leans down and kisses me. "Sorry, we wore each other out pretty thoroughly just now, and she's out cold. Give me a second to wake her up properly."

I'm undressed and bound to a testing table when my family comes to pick me up. A thick, sharp needle pierces into my neck. A drug is administered into my blood, and the pain almost makes me lose consciousness. Behind me, I can feel a man's cold hands stroking my skin amorously. Before me, several people are staring at me. They point at me and treat me like an educational instrument. I tremble in fear and curl up on the testing table in pain. Three years ago, my brother sent me to Mykorra's war zone to stand up for Yvette Sanders. Those were the three most insulting and torturous years of my life. They burned away my hope for kinship but not my desire for survival. As the hands roam lower on my body, I bite my lip so hard that I almost draw blood. As the hands start to go overboard, someone knocks on the door. "Wendy Sanders, your brother is here for you."

Ariana Torrey has been Brian Lodge's simp for three years. She casts aside her dignity and principles for him. But to Brian, she's only a plan B or even a zero. She's someone he can cast aside at a moment's notice. The whole of Gleaston knows Evelyn Granger is the one Brian loves. Ariana is nothing but a cheap substitute. On the day of their wedding, Ariana is abducted and tormented for three days and nights. However, Brian refuses to pay the ransom, even marrying Evelyn at a wedding that's supposed to be his and another woman's. Only then does Ariana wake up to reality. When she's reborn on the day of her engagement to Brian, she experiences him leaving her behind to go to Evelyn, who's threatened suicide. Everyone waits to see Ariana make a fool of herself. To their dismay, she doesn't shed a tear or kick up a fuss. Instead, she calls off the engagement, claiming that Brian, the CEO of Lodge Co., can't get it up. The news of this spreads like wildfire, stunning everyone. Meanwhile, Brian turns and pins her to the wall. "Is it fun playing hard to get, Ariana?" "Has anyone ever told you you're full of it, Mr. Lodge?"