When Did John Steinbeck Die Novels & Stories

Clara Sterling, the richest woman in the city, successfully got a divorce and the custody over her daughter. I married her right away. Five years into our marriage, I've already quit my job and focused on becoming a great father and husband at home. Everything changes when Clara's ex-husband, William Sawyer, returns to the country abruptly. That night, my stepdaughter, Sarah Sterling, moves my things from Clara's room to a guest room. "You're my stepdad, so you can't sleep with my mommy. I can't make Daddy sad. You should leave our home!" The maids make fun of me. Meanwhile, Clara raises an eyebrow at me. "It's completely normal for Sarah to take her biological father's side. Don't take her words to heart. You're my husband now, anyway." I just hum in response as I pack up my luggage silently. Clara tries to climb into my bed late at night, only for me to turn her away. "Our marriage contract will come to an end in two days. Once the time comes, let's get a divorce."

“You were only ever a replacement for her.” Those words destroyed Serena Cole’s marriage long before the divorce papers ever arrive. When Serena agrees to marry billionaire Damian Cole, she knows she can never compete with the memory of the woman he truly loved. Still, Serena accepted the cold marriage because her family needed saving, and because somewhere along the way, she began falling in love with her husband. Their unexpected pregnancy changes everything. For a brief moment, Serena believes they finally have a chance at becoming a real family. Until Damian’s first love returns. Old feelings rise and doubts grow. The man Serena trusted slowly becomes cruel enough to break her completely. Abandoned during the darkest moment of her life, Serena leaves the marriage believing she lost both her husband and her baby forever. But years later, Damian comes face to face with a little boy who looks exactly like him. Now the woman who once chased after his love has stopped looking back and Damian realizes too late that he destroyed the only family he truly wanted.

Scarlett was supposed to walk down the aisle in white silk, glowing with love and a secret growing inside her. Instead, she walked out of a hospital with shaking hands, a shattered heartbeat, and a womb that would never feel the flutter she had been so excited to announce. Her fairytale didn’t just crack. It detonated. On the same day she should have become a wife, she became a woman drowning in betrayal—betrayal delivered by the very man who had once fixed her broken-down car and promised her a forever. While the world demanded answers from Daniel Cross, the perfect fiancé on camera, Scarlett hid in a borrowed guest room, wearing a stranger’s dress and a grief no one could soothe. But heartbreak has a way of sharpening bones.

I was the top engineer at the National Deep-Sea Research Center, and the only person in the world with experience in deep-sea rescue. When my sister’s submarine malfunctioned and was stranded ten thousand meters below the surface, I hung up on her distress call. Then I calmly walked into a police station and turned myself in for leaking classified research. A few minutes later, my father called. His voice was frantic and furious. “Your sister is missing. Where the hell are you? I’m ordering you to get to the site immediately and save her, or you won’t see a cent of the family inheritance!” I calmly pulled the blanket over my head and said into the phone, “I don’t have time, and you’re interrupting my sleep.”

Warning!! This book is Dark. Depraved. Addictive. When You Make A Deal With The Mafia pushes boundaries with unapologetically erotic content. Expect dangerous power plays, brutal passion, and kinks like—BDSM, degradation, rough encounters, and raw, unfiltered desire. Enter only if you crave the thrill of surrendering to the dark She was sold to the mafia to pay off her father’s debt. Now she’s undercover in a criminal empire and falling for the man she was supposed to hate. Adriana never asked to marry Matteo De Luca, the ruthless Don of the Diavoli, feared across New York. But when her father’s gambling debt lands her on the auction block, Matteo makes a chilling offer: The debts are gone, in exchange for her hand in marriage. What she doesn’t know is that Matteo has been watching her for years and he’s not just after revenge against his estranged father, the Don of the rival Colombo family. He wants Adriana’s body, mind, and loyalty. When Adriana uncovers that Matteo’s father is trafficking women under the cover of his drug empire, she makes a dangerous choice: go undercover to take him down. But the deeper she falls into the world of blood and betrayal, the harder it is to tell where the lines blur between duty and desire. As war breaks out between the families, Adriana must decide: Is Matteo the monster she always feared or the only man who can save her from the hell she’s in?

Joseph Larkin, my husband, who has been missing for seven years, suddenly comes back. Not only does he bring another woman back, but he is also asking me for a divorce. Joseph says, "Mabel risked her life to save me. That's why I have to marry her to repay her. If you know what's good for you, you'll tell everyone we're already divorced." Looking at his haughty expression, I calmly say, "But I've already married someone else." Joseph laughs disdainfully. "Who are you trying to fool? Everyone knows you only have eyes for me."

The company had been losing money for two consecutive years. That year, with our biggest client suddenly going out of business, we lost nearly ten million dollars in receivables. On New Year's Eve, I sent out a company-wide apology email after much deliberation. The email stated, "At this moment, I regret to inform that we can only increase each employee's monthly salary by 20 dollars this year." An intern named Ingrid Little took a screenshot of the email and posted it online. In no time, her post started trending. The entire internet criticized me for being fake and pretending to be poor. They said that my shameless act was a blatant insult to my employees' hard work. "20 dollars doesn't even cover commuting!" "Why hasn't this garbage company gone under yet?" Ingrid replied to each comment with the same line: "I don't care about the money. I just feel insulted. I'm quitting tomorrow." The next day, I walked into the office with bloodshot eyes and turned on the company-wide broadcast. I announced, "Since some people believe I've insulted their dignity, you may submit your resignation immediately. However, you will no longer be entitled to the year-end bonus of 20 thousand dollars." Everyone gasped in disbelief. Ingrid turned completely pale, and some workers even rushed into my office impulsively. "Boss, this has nothing to do with me! I stand with the company!" After all, my company had increased salaries for 37 consecutive years and given an average raise of over 2,000 dollars each time. They wouldn't find a company like mine elsewhere.

Mom and Dad keep claiming that I'm their firstborn, so they need to love me with all their hearts. Already, they're saving up for my college funds and keep taking me on vacations abroad just to explore the world. This time, I've gotten a full score on my exams. My parents decide to take me and my four-year-old sister, Amelia Orson, on a trip. Worried that I might mind Amelia's presence, they even specifically explain to me that no one is capable of taking care of Amelia in their stead, so she has to come along. I accept the explanation immediately. But Amelia falls sick right before the trip. There isn't any cough syrup left at home, so I use my pocket money to buy some imported cough syrup and feed Amelia with it. I thought I'd get praised for my efforts. Instead, Mom rushes over to induce vomiting for Amelia. With red-rimmed eyes, she scolds me, "How dare you feed her medicine without checking the source! Do you have any idea how lethal that is? When I was young, I almost died from a dose of misused medication fed by my own sister! How dare you try to harm Amelia, you wretched child!" After that, Mom tells Dad to bring out his suitcase so that she can lock me up in it. "You want to go on a trip because you've scored full marks in your exams, right? Fine! Have all the fun you want in the suitcase!" What they've forgotten is the fact that Dad often uses this suitcase on his business trips, so there's a TSA-approved lock on it. I can't even open the suitcase from inside.

Lorenzo Machado. Sean McGrath thinks he's in control. He thinks he's untouchable. He's wrong. The moment I saw him, I knew I wanted him. He just doesn't know it yet. I've never lost a game, and this one won't be any different. Seven dates, that's all I need. Seven dates to break down the walls he's so desperate to keep up. (Sean.) I don't chase women. Women chase me. I take what I want, and I never stay enough for them to think that I'm theirs. But then he came. Lorenzo Machado. Mafia Boss. A man feared by many. And now for some twisted reasons, he wants me. I hate him. I hate how he looks at me, like he knows something I don't. I hate how he follows me, shows up like he owns the damn world. I hate that for the first time, someone is chasing me. I don't know how to run from him. And worst of all? A part of me doesn't want to run.

When the college admission notice arrived, I suddenly developed a high fever and was bedridden. My sister encountered a kidnapping on her way to help me collect the notice, and her life was uncertain. My parents hated me deeply. After tearing up my admission notice, they forced me to give up my studies and work in a factory. Later, I experienced a kidnapping as well. After narrowly escaping, I hid in an abandoned factory and sent them a message for help. My dad called me and shouted at me without restraint, “Lena, are you even human? How could you play such a joke on us on Jessica's memorial day!” “Do you have any idea how much your mom and I wished it had been you who died back then?” In my last moments before death, their insults echoed in my ears. I was tortured and killed, turned into a monster, and my body was thrown into a stinking ditch for three full days. Even my father, the most experienced forensic expert, couldn’t recognize me. When my sister returned home with the guy she eloped with years ago, my dad had just restored my appearance through technology. They knelt before my decaying corpse and cried until they fainted.