What Is This Feeling So Sudden And New

There's a saying that circulates among anglers: "If a dead fish still takes the bait… reel in and leave." The day I went fishing with my dad, we ran into exactly that. What unsettled me was not the fish. It was the look on my dad's face: an excitement that felt completely wrong. Then a message flashed across my livestream, and a chill ran down my spine. [Get out. Now. Your dad is about to trade your life for the one who died in this river a year ago.]

The housekeeper, who was always punctual, was late today. "Madam, I'm so sorry… dinner isn't ready yet. Please don't be upset with me…" "But this time, there was no helping it. I waited downstairs for over half an hour, and no one swiped in. I even called Mr. Gregory, but he didn't answer. That's why I'm late." My hand froze mid-motion as I was changing shoes, and a frown creased my brow. "Lydia," I said, "didn't I have Richard give you the access card?" Lydia Pendel froze, her face blank. "Access card? Mr. Gregory never gave me one." "Never?" I repeated. "Yes," she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead, her voice careful. "All this past month, I've been sneaking in whenever another resident opened the door, or calling Mr. Gregory so he could let me in. "Today, Mr. Gregory didn't answer at all, so I was stuck downstairs, feeling helpless…" That was strange. Because over the past month, the electronic lock on the front gate had clearly recorded swipes from that backup card.

For the 23rd time, I'm left standing at the altar as Jace Larkin hurries off because his foster sister, Celine Keaton, threatens to end her life again. The guests mock me, saying that we'll never tie the knot and attending our wedding will bring bad luck. I tune them out, holding on to Jace's promise that he'll come back and marry me. I buy his promise yet again, only for him to prove me wrong one more time. After I clean up the mess and pacify the angry guests, I reach home in the middle of the night. While passing the study, I hear Jace's voice. "Cece's always been mentally unstable. Of course, I have to stay with her. Regina will never leave me, even if I postpone our wedding a hundred times." Sorry, Jace, but I'll have to disappoint you this time. Blinking back tears, I unlock my phone and text my childhood friend, Clement Halloway. "Let's get married in three days."

Samantha was broke and desperate. Her brother had the perfect solution. Go work for his best friend. But why the hell would Sam want to work for Ares Beck after he spent his whole life bullying her? And better question, why is he so desperate to have her as his PA that he would tell Ben to have her apply in the first place?

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.

Three years ago, Roman Reed was the boy I would have died for. Then he broke my heart and disappeared, leaving me to piece my life back together while I climbed to Hollywood stardom. Now I am the nation's rising star, and my mother has finally found her happy ending with a tech billionaire. But when I walk into our new Malibu estate, the man standing there is not a stranger. It is Roman. My ex-lover. My new stepbrother. At Northcrest, he is the Blacklisted King. Cold, ruthless, and feared. He hates my fame, he hates my face, and he tells me to stay out of his sight. But under the same roof, the air between us changes. He watches me from the shadows. He judges my red-carpet gowns with a dark possessiveness that feels like a threat. He warns me, "Do not start something you cannot finish, Scarlett." The paparazzi wait for me to slip. My parents watch our every move. As the hate begins to melt back into the fire that once burned us, the biggest scandal is not my past. It is the man I am living with.

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.

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.

"Hatred is still an emotion, sweetheart," I murmured, stepping closer. "That means you still care." Forced into a marriage with the man who despises her family, Isla vows to resist him. But Dante is a man who always gets what he wants, and what he wants… is her. As secrets unravel and enemies close in, Serena finds herself trapped in a dangerous game of power, revenge, and an undeniable attraction she can't escape. Because in Dante’s world, love isn’t gentle. It’s a war. And Serena is about to learn—when the Don wants something, he takes it.