We Built

John Anderson, a well-known basketball star just experienced heartbreak from his six-month girlfriend, Kate Collins. It took another month for John to forget about the misery his former girlfriend had caused him. And it was then that he met Julia Avery, his new neighbor, a woman who was nice and respectful, decent, and valued her family for that month. It happened pretty fast that John fell madly in love with his new neighbor all of a sudden. We all have troubles in life, as well as the past will come after us here in the present and future. Will we let the past pursue us endlessly, or will we embrace it?

When we were only kids, Sam Harris and I made a promise we'd marry each other if we were still single when we turned thirty. Well, my thirtieth birthday has come and gone and I'm still as single as ever. And as far as I know, so is Sam. But it's been ages since we've seen each other, and after what he did to me our senior year of college, I wouldn't put his ring on my finger even if he begged me to marry him. Never mind his devilish good looks. Or the fact that the playboy partier is a doctor now. Nope, I'm sticking to my guns with this, and when I go back to my hometown of Silver Ridge for the first time in years, I won't pay him the slightest bit of attention. Well...until he convinces me to go out for drinks to catch up. I knew it was a bad idea the moment I agreed to it. And then he brings up our childhood promise. It might be fun and games to him, but it's not to me. Because as much a I don't want to admit it, Sam has always been my first choice. And I don't want to be nothing more than his backup plan.

She was abandoned on her wedding day. He was the stranger who gave her his name. But in a marriage built on secrets, how long can love survive before the truth tears it apart?

**Evelyn Karamazov** I’ve spent all twenty-three years of my life immersed in the world of the mafia, groomed to rule with an iron fist. But power in our world doesn’t come without a price, and that price is marriage—a union built on strategy rather than so-called love. It’s the last thing I want, but in this life, sacrifices are the currency we trade in. And if I have to choose, I’ll sacrifice to the devil I know rather than the angel I don’t. But make no mistake, a sacrifice is still a sacrifice, and it demands its due. **Killian Bandini** Sixteen years—that’s how long I’ve waited to exact my revenge. Sixteen years to drown in nightmares, consumed by guilt and the unyielding desire to set things right. My father is dead, and now the Bandini empire is mine. The time has come to collect what is owed, and God help those who wronged me, because they will pay with blood. ★ What happens when the most lethal, most infuriating man to ever walk the earth crashes your wedding, puts a bullet in your would-be husband’s head, and holds everyone at gunpoint just to ensure you marry him instead? Killian Bandini doesn’t ask; he takes. But if he thinks I’m some meek bride to be bartered and controlled, he’s dead wrong. I may have to marry him, but I sure as hell won’t make it easy. He’s come for blood and power, but he doesn’t know that I’m not just a pawn—I’m a queen, and this game has only just begun.

********** I lay helpless, tears streaming down my face, as Angelo ravished me. His pleasure was all that mattered. Afterward, I lay still, exhausted, covered in the scent of sex. Angelo caught his breath, his eyes cold and detached. "Today is our last night together," he said. "I want to end this marriage." I felt punched in the gut. "You're willing to throw away everything we've built?" I asked, my voice trembling. "It means nothing to me," Angelo spat, his eyes filled with hate. "I'm done with you, Annika.” ******** Annika's world is shattered when her husband, Angelo, cheats on her with his ex-girlfriend, Lissa, and demands a divorce, ending their four-year marriage. But there's a shocking twist: Annika is pregnant with Angelo's child, a secret she keeps hidden until the divorce is finalized. When Annika reveals her pregnancy, Angelo denies the child, and Lissa pressures her to abort the baby. But Annika refuses to give up, and with the help of Jonathan Blackwood Jr., she escapes to Los Angeles to start anew. Five years later, Annika has transformed into a successful CEO, fashion stylist, and entrepreneur. She's also a proud mother of twins. But her newfound success is fueled by a burning desire for revenge against Angelo and Lissa, who destroyed her life. When Annika confronts her past at a fashion exhibition in Germany, she's faced with a choice: forgive Angelo and Lissa for their betrayal or make them pay for the pain they inflicted. Will Annika choose revenge or redemption?

Hi, my name is Anika Henderson. I'm 18 and this is the story of my life in 2424. We are slaves to vampires The vampires are our Masters and we have no choice but to follow their commands. We are like insects, even insects are better than us because they're free. I just turned 18 and I'm being sent to the Lord of all vampires, a pure blood, to join the competition of who gets to be his whore/food. I refuse to be any of that, but you can't tell a king no without getting hurt right? Read on as Anika faces the competition with so many girls of class and status or both.

We were immortals. The Forever Knights. I was a shapeshifter. Collared with a special pendant to be summoned by our alpha. She tried to steal it. But the last thing she expected was for me to turn the tables as soon as we were out of view of my party guests. But she was a thief, a liar, and an imposter. The only thing I wanted to steal from her was what remained of her dignity. And perhaps teach her that I'm not a simple man to steal from. With me there's always a consequence. And she'll pay this one with me between her pretty thighs. We'll see who's the thief then, Little Valkyrie...

Kai Tanaka is Seattle’s best rescue swimmer, the man they send into black water when the storm decides to take a life. He’s built for cold, built for chaos, built to bring people back. Until one rescue goes wrong. A body disappears. The footage goes missing. And Kai becomes the quiet scapegoat the Coast Guard can sacrifice to keep the institution clean. Suspended and watched, he’s barely holding on when Luca Reyes drags his name into the light. Luca is a true-crime podcaster chasing the truth behind that same night, because his younger brother was on the boat that never came home. Luca thinks Kai is hiding something. Kai thinks Luca is feeding off tragedy. Their first meeting is sharp and ugly. Then Luca is nearly killed for asking the right questions. Kai pulls him from the wreckage and realizes this isn’t internet noise. Someone is laundering bodies through the sea, and they’re using Kai as the fall guy. The only way to keep Luca alive is to disappear with him to an off-grid cabin on the San Juan Islands, where the wind never stops and secrets sound louder. Forced proximity turns into hunger. Suspicion turns into heat. And the closer they get to the truth, the more they realize the storm isn’t the worst thing chasing them.

On my wedding anniversary, I came home to rose petals and champagne. Instead of romance, I found my husband in bed with my sister—wearing the couture gown I designed for her runway debut. He called my designs "boring" and revealed the fashion house I built was actually funded by her secret investor money. The child we adopted? Her biological son with my husband, who she abandoned to chase Paris Fashion Week. I walked out in nothing but the lingerie prototype from my latest collection. In a snowstorm. Straight into an exclusive fashion week after-party where I met him: a mysterious man who mistook me for a model and offered me a drink that tasted like freedom. One night later, I owed him $100,000. Three months later, I discovered I was pregnant. And when I showed up to my job interview at the biggest fashion conglomerate in the industry, ready to prove my designs could save their failing luxury brand, the CEO sitting across from me was the same man from that night. He remembers me. He wants his money back. And he's offering me $5 million if I can take his brand from fashion week laughingstock to top five in three major shows. I took the bet. I just didn't tell him about the baby. Or that my ex-husband's textile company supplies the fabric for every major fashion house—including his.

"This marriage was just to please our parents, my heart belongs to someone else" He whispered to the woman with so much pain in his voice. “Can we just get the wedding over with?” She asked the man.  "We can't disappoint or embarrass our parents, you know," She said again.