Too Late, I Married Up

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?

On the day of the earthquake, my sister Elena shoved me off the third floor, then burst into tears and said she had only been trying to save me. Everyone believed her. The only person who stood on my side was Nicolo, the youngest mafia boss Sicily had seen in decades. He lifted me out of the rubble, then proposed to me in front of everyone and said that from that day on, anyone who touched me would answer to him. Two months later, I was pregnant. Nicolo bought an entire island and planted it with my favorite irises for our wedding. My father spent a fortune on a one-of-a-kind gown made just for me. Everyone said I was the most envied woman in the family. Then I went into labor, and both of them disappeared. My father said the family had a deal on the line. Nicolo kissed my swollen belly, murmured that he would be back soon, and promised to bring gifts for me and the baby. Right before I was wheeled into the delivery room, an anonymous video landed on my phone. Nicolo was wearing a groom's suit. Elena stood beside him with a hand resting on her pregnant stomach. She was wearing my wedding dress. Her arm was looped through my fiance's as if she had won him fair and square. At the end of the clip, my father asked in a lowered voice, "If you and Valentina stay married only on paper, what happens to the child she gives birth to?" Nicolo was quiet for two seconds before he answered. "Valentina grew up with everything. Elena spent her whole life carrying the stain of being illegitimate. Her child will not grow up the same way." So all that tenderness had never been for me. It had all been for Elena. Fine. They could have each other.

"Is this what you wanted? On your knees, getting fucked by the man you should be calling 'Daddy'?" In the mirror, I'm on all fours. He flips my skirt up, one hand crushing my throat, the other slapping my ass raw as his massive cock slams into me without warning. I'm trembling so hard I can barely hold myself up. But he won't let me fall. "Ass up." He bends me over, his hand a firm pressure on my back. Lorenzo Vitale. The most feared mafia godfather in New York. He never gives an order twice. ** On my birthday, my boyfriend betrayed me for power—fucking Lorenzo's adopted daughter behind my back. They drugged me, sent me into a BDSM club to become Lorenzo's plaything, tried to destroy my reputation. What they didn't know? Twelve years ago, Lorenzo adopted the wrong girl. I'm the real mafia princess. Now he's begging for me back. But I've already fallen for the man I should be calling Daddy. I fantasized about being fucked by him—a forbidden desire I had no right to feel.

At the dinner table, my wife's best friend suddenly speaks to her in Lytian. "Three years ago, you married Julian in a grand wedding just to help Jace get Julian's letter of forgiveness. Over the years, I've seen Julian fall more and more deeply in love with you. Yet, you're still lying to him. "You gave him sterilization pills but passed them off as his depression medication. Aren't you afraid that he'll fall apart if he finds out the truth?" My wife, Erica Inman, briefly shows a conflicted expression on her face. She then gives a bitter smile and says, "A child unwanted by their mother has no reason to be born. As long as Julian doesn't stand in the way of Jace's happiness, I will keep my promise and stay by his side for the rest of his life." No one knows that I've learned Lytian to keep up with Erica. I stand in the living room and look at the fresh kiss mark on my neck. As I glance at the medication I take regularly for my depression, my whole body turns cold. It turns out that all of Erica's affection toward me was fake. What I thought was my salvation turns out to be nothing but a carefully planned deception. Since that's the case, I'll do my part to make sure they all get what they want.

In the chaos and quiet of her 30s, a woman reflects on the loves that shaped her, the heartbreaks that undid her, and the tender spaces in between. Through fleeting romances, almost-loves, and the weight of expectations—family’s, society’s, and her own—she navigates a world where connection is currency, vulnerability is rebellion, and self-discovery never comes easy. Told with wit, warmth, and raw honesty, this novel is a journey through modern love: messy, magical, and sometimes maddening. It's about the people who entered her life, the ones who left, and the version of herself she’s still becoming.

I brought my son, who was around a year old, to visit my parents’ graves, only to run into my childhood friend’s mother. She asked me whether I had returned because I was no longer angry. “Yelena, you’re finally back! You must’ve returned to marry Niel. “I’ll make sure your wedding goes smoothly this time. I won’t allow any random person to ruin it!” Niel Stalner was my childhood friend and ex-fiance. During my engagement party, Cloud Stalner, his foster sister, had barged in while wearing the same gown as I did. She also said that she would kill herself if Niel refused to leave with her. The guests burst into a ruckus, and in the end, I was left alone in the venue. Everyone criticized me, and Niel’s family abandoned me. Eventually, I left the country like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs. I smiled at Neil’s mother, Iris, and pushed the baby stroller forward. “Iris, are you seriously telling me that Niel hasn’t married Cloud yet? Anyway, Michael, say hello.”

“Don't tell me you have forgotten what happened last night?” she asked as she moved closer to the bed with a flirtatious smirk. “We had a good time together. Last night was fun.” She leaned close to him, her eyes staring deep into his black orbs. Being in this close proximity with him, her heart was beating, but she won't show how nervous she was. The white towel she was wearing reveals the top of her breast, and Richard's eyes flickered towards it. He gulped down as he found himself drawn to her. Their proximity made him feel an internal heat within him. Her lips are so tempting. He has never felt this way for any woman for the past five years. Who the fuck is she? “It seems you want more of my sweet body, Mr. Presley. Last night wasn't enough, was it?” she said with a sexy smile. She could see the effect she had on him and it kind of made her relaxed. Richard was snapped out of his lustful illusion by her words. What did he just hear her say? Did something happen last night?  …. After the tragedy that befell Annabelle because of the Presley family, she returned for revenge. For her revenge to be successful, she must make her cold hearted ex husband marry her and also make him fall in love with her. Will she succeed with her plan?

A company trust building trip turns into a trip home to the company’s CEO Micha Moran. He takes the group back to the ranch he grew up on. While there he finds that Sophia is also a farm girl and she proves to be much more to him then he planned on when a deal between them for two weeks could turn into forever. A true statement was you can take the person off the farm but not the farm out of the person. Sophia proves this to herself and to her boss who doesn't stay her boss for very long. They have everything the other wants in a partner. As they build their life together from the foundations of the farms they grew up on everything else finds its place easily.

After losing his wife in a tragic accident, Flynn Rourke is left to raise their two children alone, struggling to cope with grief and single parenthood. But when Veronica Santos enters his life, her warmth, kindness, and compassion spark a glimmer of hope. As they grow closer, Flynn begins to heal, and his children find a new sense of joy. Will Veronica's love be the balm Flynn needs to mend his broken heart, or will the scars of his past prove too deep to overcome? Let's find out what happen. Try to read my story Cleaning up his Heart. Hope you enjoy it. *ΧοΧΟ* CrisLee

My husband finally thinks about me three years after my death. The reason? His childhood sweetheart's leukemia has relapsed, and she needs another bone marrow transplant. He comes to my place, wanting to make me sign a donor agreement. However, he finds that the place has long been vacated. He asks a neighbor about it. "Are you talking about Kristen? She's long dead! I heard it was because someone dragged her away for a bone marrow donation when she was already sick. She died a few days after returning home." My husband refuses to believe that. He thinks my neighbor and I have conspired to lie to him. He says impatiently, "If you see her, tell her I won't pay the medical bills for that child she's been raising if she doesn't come to see me in three days." My neighbor shakes her head when she sees how stubborn my husband is. She mutters, "The poor child has already starved to death, though…"