Water Street Butcher

Serena Vaughn was once the invisible wife of Damien Blackwood, a ruthless billionaire who only treated her as nothing more than a trophy. When he humiliates her one too many times, she walks away, ignoring the world’s bets that she’ll come crawling back. But Serena isn’t broken, she’s a dormant storm. Months later, she resurfaces as the CEO of a revolutionary tech empire, her brilliance was undeniable. The same society that mocked her now clamors for her favor, including a Nobel-winning scientist, a Wall Street titan, and Hollywood’s biggest star all scrambling to be the new man in her life. But Damien isn’t ready to let go. When he corners her, demanding to know if her child is his, Serena’s icy reply shatters him. “That’s none of your business, ex-husband, step aside!” Now, the war is on. Old enemies circle like vultures, but Serena is no longer prey. One by one, they fall, until only one question remains. How far will a broken man go when the woman he discarded becomes the queen of his ruin?

I was setting up a weekend shopping list on the tablet my husband had just replaced for our home system. A notification popped up. He had forgotten to log out of a shared, encrypted family calendar— one I didn’t recognize. There was only one unfamiliar profile photo. I tapped it. A list titled “My Little Princess – Personal Notes” filled the screen. My Little Princess doesn’t drink alcohol—only mineral water or herbal tea. No late nights. She needs absolute quiet to sleep. She gets anxious easily—keep fresh white lilies in the house and her favorite vanilla chocolates on hand. I scrolled slowly, my expression unreadable. The final entry was bolded. Highlighted. “Next Wednesday: take my Little Princess to choose her wedding crown.” I closed the screen. Then I picked up my phone and called my husband. “Love,” I said gently. “Does your Little Princess prefer a classic European bridal crown… or something more traditional? I thought I could help you choose.”

I grasped in horror as l saw my hands turning into claws. Alot of hair also forming on every part of my body. I touched myself to feel that l nolonger have two legs but four. My hands had also formed into legs. Panick invaded me.l don't want to become anything else. I regretted not taking my mum's advice of not coming near the woods. May be if l had stayed home obediently this wouldn't have happened. I felt my new body move on its own until l reached at the river. The water sat there silently and in there l saw what l have become.A beast.l saw a lone tear coming from my glowing eyes. I got away from the river sat down the tree nearby. My body returned ito its human form. I cried and screamed loudly; No am not a beast. Am human: Am not a beast. This isn't me! I screamed. It's you Daciana. It's what you really are. A voice came from from behind the tree.

Felicia Lawson thought college would be her escape but nothing prepared her for Ian, her sister’s husband or for Jake, the charming upperclassman who made her believe in something real again. While Felicia battles guilt and longing, her roommate Zara hides secrets darker than love, a mafia lineage that’s about to pull her into a marriage with a dangerous don. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “You’re going to marry me, little sunflower.” Zara’s eyes snap open, the water sloshes as she jerks against my grip, but the chain on her ankle rattles like a laugh. She can’t go far. She can’t go anywhere. “Fuck you,” she spits, voice raw from screaming at the ceiling all night. “I’d rather die.” I smile, It’s small but polite, the kind I used to give people who betrayed me right before I buried them in the ground. “That can be arranged but first..” I curl my fingers inside her, “ you’re going to come on my hand, then you’re going to say yes.”

After dating Asher Bennett for ten years, he finally proposes to me. He puts a blindfold on me, claiming that he wants to give me a surprise. But the moment I step into the room, I feel a bucket of cold water being splashed onto me. "When are you going to wake up from your fantasies, Claire Sutton? Why would I even marry you in the first place?" With trembling hands, I take off the blindfold, only to see Asher sitting on the couch while drinking some alcohol languidly. "See? I told you she'd come! Whoever's the loser of this bet, you'd better pay for the drinks!" Upon noticing my silence, Asher says mockingly, "Hey, Claire! You're not getting any younger, you know! So, you might as well just marry some random dude at this point to avoid growing old all by your lonesome!" The moment his words fall, his friends all laugh at me while looking at me in disdain. But when I follow Asher's instructions and marry another man, why is it that he regrets letting me go?

Ava is on the run for a crime punishable by death: killing a dragon. As a human-dragon hybrid, Ava has never doubted the godlike dragons’ dominance. Her life has been sheltered beneath their stained-glass wings in the city in the sky—until she murders one. Hunted, she flees to the human desert below the floating city. Yet she’s not alone. Though he doesn’t know the crime she’s running from, Vito, the dragon Ava serves, refuses to abandon her to the harsh world of humans. Paired to be her master and she his caretaker, their friendship has always meant more than titles. The desert holds no sanctuary for them. The long-suffering ground dwellers are tired of having their water supply monopolized by the dragons above and want all dragon-kind dead—including Ava and Vito. Surrendering to the dragons isn’t an option with Vito by her side, and the rebellion has offered a tempting deal. They will keep Ava alive and hide her crime, but only if she reveals the weaknesses of dragon-kind and the secrets of her city. Ava must choose between her life and everything she once called home—including Vito, the closest thing to family she has left.

All the werewolves claim that I'm born lucky. After all, I, a lowly Omega, get to become the mate of a powerful Alpha named Kael Dwyer. Only my five-year-old daughter, Lyra Dwyer, keeps staring at me with the eyes that seem to be able to discern everything. When Kael's mistress, Seraphina Ashwood, uses the spring water blessed by the Moon Goddess while wearing my robe after moving into the pack house, Lyra wakes me up in the middle of the night. "Mother, why exactly are you still staying with an Alpha that reeks of betrayal?" Stunned, I ask, "What did you just say?" Lyra sighs in return. "In my previous life, I had lived till I turned 25 years old. I watched you endure everything for the rest of your life. "Can you please hear me out this time and reject the bond between you and that Alpha dad of mine? Once you're done, I'll introduce you to an actual fated mate. He's more handsome and powerful than Dad. Most importantly, he's devoted to you and only you."

He's the beast, she's the prey. But she's bound to own his heart. Betrayed and humiliated, Chloe Hathaway, heiress of the Hathaway Empire, was deceived by the two people she loved most—her best friend and her fiancé. Publicly rejecting her fiancé on their wedding day, Chloe exposed their betrayal, only to have him vow revenge by linking her family’s company to a money laundering scheme. On the brink of losing everything her family had built, Chloe sought a savior and found Ethan Holmes, a potential investor with a chilling proposal. Years ago, she had dismissed him as a mere street rat. Now, he offered salvation with a humiliating twist: she would be his plaything for a year. Torn between her pride and the need to save her family, Chloe agreed, plunging into a world where Ethan sought to dismantle her remaining arrogance. Yet, as he set out to humble her, unexpected feelings began to stir within him. What happens when the beast starts to fall for the prey? Can love blossom amidst revenge and humiliation, or will their past actions forever shadow their future?

Blaze shoved Carlo hard, his breath ragged. “Get the hell out of my way! I don’t need your help.” Carlo caught his balance, his lips curling into a taunting smirk. “Really? Because it looks like you’re drowning without me.” "And no matter where you go, I'll be the only man you'll come back to" Carlo slurs. **** Blaze is a street racer trying to pay off his father’s debt, desperate to win his freedom. Carlo is a rich son of a powerful family, living a life of luxury that Blaze can only dream of. But there’s one thing Carlo can’t buy—true passion. When the underground racing scene throws them into competition, their rivalry heats up. But after an unexpected one-night stand, a new kind of tension sparks between them. Suddenly, Blaze and Carlo find themselves drawn to each other in a way they never imagined. Now, they have to decide if they can put their hatred aside and risk everything for a love neither of them saw coming. But what happens when Blaze finds out Carlo's secret?

I enjoyed playing scratch-off tickets. I felt restless if I did not scratch one for a single day. After becoming familiar with the shop owner, I always scratched first and paid later. One day, the scratch-off ticket I took revealed a million-dollar prize. The shop attendant, Chloe Byrne, snatched the ticket from my hand. “You never paid for this scratch-off ticket! Taking it without asking makes you a thief! But look, I’m in a good mood right now, so I can’t be bothered to argue with you. Just get out of here.” Her straight-up robbery act nearly made me laugh. “I scratched this ticket! You saw the big prize and decided to claim it as your own. That makes you the real thief.” Chloe was shameless and would not back down. “I don’t care who’s a thief or not. This ticket is mine, and nobody’s taking it from me!” Seeing her like that, I made a call. “Lucky Mart on Spring Street has been stealing customers’ winning tickets and refusing to pay. Revoke their license effective today.”