What Does Bastian Name The Empress Novels & Stories

My request to transfer back to the headquarters was once again rejected in my sixth year on the frontline. The official reason was that spouses were not allowed to work in the same hospital, supposedly to prevent workplace romance. The reason failed to convince me. I secretly returned to Kingsfield, hoping to get an answer from my superior. … Outside the office, I overheard the conversation between him and my husband, George Durand. My superior started, "You have been keeping Ivy's application on hold over the last five years for Mia, but Ivy is hitting the age limit next year. This is her last chance to be transferred back." George's expression did not change. "That position has to go to Mia. Ivy can stay where she is. Mia has a promising future. She can't lose this opportunity." My superior argued back, "Staying at headquarters is Ivy's dream too. You manipulated me into sending her to the frontline, and then you kept blocking her transfer requests. "As for Mia, she failed her assessment. Without your protection, she would've been dismissed long ago. Are you really going to keep covering for her?" Anger contorted George's face. "Everyone knows Ivy is my wife! Nobody will pick on her! Unlike her, Mia doesn't have a special background. She won't survive the battlefield. I'll take Mia under my wing and train her personally. Nobody is touching her without my permission." I called the lawyer with tears in my eyes. "Please prepare the divorce papers for me," I said. "As soon as possible." I let five years of my life go to waste, only to discover that George had found another woman. Since there was no more love between us, I would stop clinging to him.

I've been married to the prince of the underworld for ten years and have endured countless life-or-death situations by his side. My hands, once trained to play the piano, are covered in calluses from holding guns and stained with blood. But at 28, my husband ends up falling for a young woman from the slums. She's as delicate and pure as a chamomile. She's his well-kept little secret—until I run into them at the woman's prenatal appointment one day. I storm up to him, demanding an explanation, only for him to nonchalantly hand me divorce papers. "Sonia is a devout follower of the church and can't have a child before marriage. I must make an honest woman out of her. Sign these, and you'll get 40% of the company's shares." I refuse to do as told, so he corners me. In the end, he has my crippled younger brother tied up and forced under a hydraulic compression machine. "Sign the papers, Maeve, or watch your brother become a human mince pie. The choice is yours." I fall on my knees and beg him to stop. As the machine turns on, my hands fly to my aching lower belly, and I scream as I lose consciousness. When I wake up again, I'm back in the hospital, in the same spot where I ran into my husband and his mistress at her prenatal appointment. This time, I don't confront him. Overnight, I make arrangements with a sanatorium abroad, get divorced, and run away from home. Yet the moment I truly disappear, my husband loses his mind.

Amara is a healer trying to mend her own broken heart. Damon is a future Alpha paralyzed by guilt and bad choices. Valerie is a villain willing to destroy everyone to keep what isn’t hers. Marcus and Elena are the parents who see the truth and wait for their son to catch up. Liam is the rival who offers Amara a different future. And Maya is the human heart of the story proof that love doesn’t require fangs. Together, they form a story about second chances, painful choices, and the question at the center of every fated-mates romance.

Leo Vance's quiet life as a struggling artist is about to be irrevocably altered. When his mother, Eleanor, announces her engagement to a formidable multi-billionaire, Leo is thrust into the glittering, ruthless world of New York’s elite. Arthur Volkov is a man whose old money Russian empire is vast and feared, and his two identical twin sons, Dmitri and Ivan, are known to be just as dangerous. Weeks before this life-altering news, Leo had a single, unforgettable night with a mysterious stranger. The passion was undeniable, a raw, masculine intensity that left him shaken and ashamed, but he fled, convinced it was a one-time, sinful fantasy. Imagine his horror when he discovers his one-night stand isn't just a celebrity, he's Dmitri Volkov, the cold, calculating heir to Arthur's legacy. The forbidden attraction, further complicated by his own denial of his sexuality and the step-sibling proximity, is instantaneous and potent. But it's not just Dmitri who sees him; his identical twin, Ivan, charming, seductive, and equally possessive, also begins to stake his claim. Leo is terrified of the consequences, knowing that if his mother discovers their affair, it will ruin everything. He desperately wants to reject the life, the lust, and the two men who are dismantling his self-denial. He longs for an escape, but the Volkov twins are unwilling to let him go. They want him all to themselves, a shared obsession that traps him in a gilded cage.

For someone who nearly dies because of an accident that wipes the memories of her 23 years of existence - the only thing that Sammia Avileigh can do is to depend on everything that her family told her. With the help and support from them, she did her best to live a normal life. She follows everything that her parents told her about who she was, what she likes, what she does, what she wants, what's her favorite, how she dresses, what she hates, and what she's not good at. A year later, she finally recovers, she's happy with her life despite forgetting those memories that define her. But her almost perfect life turns upside down when she saw a strange note on the empty abandoned room on the back of their house. 'Aliano Silvanus Rivvero, you need to kill him. Remember that.' What does the note mean? Why does she feel like it is connected to her? And if that's the case- why would she kill the man she is bound to marry? The man that she really likes, according to her parents? They say a memory can be a star or a stain, and Sammia Avileigh didn't know that the latter defines her lost memories. And that's, what they will never let her know...

Maria Dominic gave her husband everything—her love, her loyalty, her very soul—only to be discarded like yesterday’s news. Betrayed and abandoned, she never expected the man who would put her back together to be Luca Avancii—her late brother’s best friend, a man as lethal as he is untouchable. Luca never forgot the girl who used to chase after him and Johan, nor did he expect to find her on her knees, begging at another man’s feet. Maria was his. She always had been. And now? He’ll make sure she knows it. What starts as a marriage of convenience quickly becomes something much more dangerous. As Maria fights to heal from her past, she finds herself caught in the crossfire of a world ruled by power, secrets, and an ex-husband who refuses to let go. Luca built his empire with blood and fire, and he will burn the world to the ground before he lets anyone take Maria from him. But as old enemies resurface and the past refuses to stay buried, Maria is faced with an impossible choice: save the man who has become her world, or risk losing him to the deadly game of power that threatens to consume them both. A scorching romance filled with passion, betrayal, and ruthless devotion, this is the story of a woman reclaiming her strength and the man who would tear the world apart for her. WARNING: 18+ THREAD CAREFULLY.

In order to coerce me into getting married, my grandpa dials my number 20 times in a row so that he can annoy me into flying back to the country. "There's a curse running in our family. If a family member doesn't get married by the time they turn 25, they will definitely suffer from a fate worse than death!" I can hear how anxious Grandpa is. Although it's another one of those excuses that I'm so sick of hearing, I still choose to yield to his wishes. I complete my master's thesis defense a month in advance just so I can surprise Grandpa with my presence. One week later, I fly back to my home country. Shockingly enough, a stranger stops me from entering my own home. "Unauthorized people aren't allowed entry. People like you have no right to meet Mr. Gardner Senior. Leave now, or else don't blame me for being rough with you!" I take off my sunglasses to make out the man's features. He turns out to be Jake Ferrell, Grandpa's bodyguard. The thing is, Jake should be loyal to me, so why is he threatening violence against me right now? Then, I watch as Jake opens the door of a limousine, which is parked outside the manor. He holds an umbrella with one hand as he bows slightly to the owner. "Please get out of the car, miss," he says respectfully. Through the car window, I can make out the features of the young woman sitting inside the car. She happens to be Rosalie Gardner, my best friend—the very same woman who has gotten expelled from college because of her laziness and has managed to land a job in Gardner Corporation thanks to my recommendation.

When I'm done putting my daughter, Alani Carter, to sleep, I suddenly come across a social media post. "My husband, who's always been uncaring about the household matters, suddenly decides to be more engaging and helpful recently. What's the reason behind his change in behavior?" The comments in that comment section cut to the chase immediately. "Oh, there's no doubt about the answer. Either he's having an affair behind your back, or he wants your money." As soon as I leave a like on the answer, my husband, Michael Carter, who has never cared about Alani before, suddenly asks me, "What sort of homework does Alani have today?" That's when I notice the parents' group chat on my phone, where Demi Miller's mother, Yvette Miller, has tagged Michael there abruptly. "Mr. Carter, what's tonight's homework?" He has responded to her immediately, "Give me a moment. I'll send you the list later." I glance at the time. It's already 10:30 pm. We've been married for so many years, and yet Michael has never responded to any of my WhatsApp messages on time before. I secretly tap on Yvette's profile picture, only to find out that her social media feed is filled with coincidental meetings with Michael. Apparently, she has met him coincidentally at the amusement park, at a bookstore, and even at a family restaurant the three of us have frequented. When I pick Alani up from the kindergarten in the next evening, I happen to overhear Yvette telling another parent, "Alani's dad sure has a heart of gold! He even helps me take care of Demi! "Whenever I ask him questions regarding Demi, he's able to answer me on the spot. Parents who care this much about children are a rarity these days!" I continue the topic smilingly, "Isn't that right? Michael has never attended a single parent-child meeting related to his own daughter, and yet he's quite skilled in helping others raise their children." After that, I find myself a secluded corner, where I dial my lawyer's phone number immediately. "Have you prepared the divorce contract? I want him to leave this marriage without a single cent to his name!"

On a storm-soaked night, twins Aiden and Rowan Hale open their front door to find a stranger bleeding on their couch. He calls himself Kai; injured, handsome, and disoriented, but the moment Rowan sees him, something in him breaks. He knows that face, or he thinks he does. To Aiden, Kai is gentle and harmless. To Rowan, he resembles a presence from his past; someone powerful, dangerous, and never meant to return. When Kai insists he remembers nothing, the twins are pulled into a web of uncertainty. Secrets resurface. Loyalties strain. And as Aiden grows closer to the man Rowan fears most, one question consumes them: Is Kai truly a broken man with no memory… or has something far darker come home?