When Does Nicky Come Back From Max Novels & Stories

I was not expecting to pick the wrong man to marry even after I had a chance to redo my life. In my previous life, I chose to marry James Howard, my then fiance. But he cheated on me with Verde Sala, a fake heiress, for three years. They even had a child together. For her sake, he broke my legs so that I would hand over my role as the principal dancer to her. This time, I chose to marry Elwood Howard, James’s uncle. I thought that this meant that I had escaped my fate and could fulfill my dreams, but on the day the principal dancer was supposed to be picked, I got into an accident again. After learning about this, Elwood sent Verde to jail, even if it meant offending all of the powerful people in the city. I was touched and thought that I had made the right choice in this life. That lasted for five years until I heard Elwood’s conversation with our son. “Dad, Verde said that you only married Mom so that you could provide a letter of forgiveness as the victim’s family. “Since Verde is out, could you divorce Mom? I want Verde to be my mother.” Upon hearing that, Elwood remembered my trust in him and shook his head. “No. I’ve betrayed your mother by destroying the evidence and giving Verde a new identity to avoid being indicted, so I’m going to make it up to her for the rest of her life. “She will always be my wife. Don’t ever say such things to your mother and make her sad.” The pain from before could not compare to the pain in my heart at that moment. Our marriage was just a scheme to protect Verde? Elwood only loved Verde? And my son was the same? If that was the case, I did not want Elwood anymore. Nor my son.

My twin sister, Audrey Goodwin, was obsessed with romance novels about rich heirs. All she wanted was to marry into money and live like some perfect socialite. She set her sights on the silver-spoon scion in Jezelton, Michael Strickland, who'd been blind after a car accident. Audrey got close by becoming his private nurse. But she got tired of the work really quickly. So, she asked me to cover for her. When Michael finally got his eyesight back and held a huge celebration, Audrey decided to drug him so she could slide right into the role of Mrs. Strickland. I didn't stop her this time. I even went as far as booking her a luxury suite so she could carry out her plan. In my last life, I had begged Audrey not to go through with it. I told her romance novels weren't real life, and guys like Michael were way too powerful to mess with. She had actually listened and canceled the plan. But a little while later, the news broke: Michael secretly got married. It turned out that he'd been with someone else that very night. Just like that, Audrey's big fantasy was gone. She blamed me for ruining her "dream". My parents blamed me as well; they beat me and yelled at me, saying Audrey couldn't marry Michael now because of me. One night, Audrey snapped. She came into my room with a hammer and beat me to death. Now, I had been given another chance. I woke up right on the night of Michael's recovery party.

“Sign it. We’re done. I want you out with your things before the end of the day.” That’s what Sebastian told Rylee when he came home after a business trip. In his arms was Maya Hastings—his first love who dumped him for being poor. Rylee gave up everything for this man and defied her parents, and it was all for nothing. Their relationship lasted only two years, and he threw her away like trash after everything she helped him with. She secretly supported him to build something for himself and made his business successful. Now, she had no choice but to return to her family home and marry the man her parents had arranged for her—Julian Gray, who treated her as if she were invisible. They were only getting married because of the agreement between their families. She didn’t expect to fall in love with him along the way.

He’s the world’s most elusive billionaire. She’s the shattered woman who swears she was once his fiancée. When Lyra sees Caspian Clearance’s face on the cover of Forbes magazine, the world stops, because that’s Mason, the man who promised her forever and disappeared without a trace but Caspian insists he’s never met her. He has no memory of her… or the life they supposedly shared. How can a man forget the love of his life? Haunted by her pain and driven by a storm of unanswered questions, Caspian digs into the mystery, only to uncover a chilling truth: before he was Caspian, he was Mason… a poor man who vanished after a tragic accident but Mason didn’t die. His body is in a coma. Caspian is his soul in a second chance at life, one with power, wealth, and no memory of a broken-hearted fiancée. Now Caspian stands at a brutal crossroads: Return to the woman who claims his heart belongs to her… Or stay in the life that made him untouchable. Love or legacy. Past or power. The truth could destroy them both and remembering… might be the biggest risk of all.

After I discovered that my husband, Leonardo Marchetti, could not let go of his first love, I started teaching our daughter Sofia to call him "Uncle Leonardo." Sofia sprained her ankle at school. In the middle of the night, Leonardo got a phone call. Valentina was crying on the other end. Her daughter Lily had a nightmare and would not stop screaming for a father. Leonardo left without saying a word. I pressed an ice pack against Sofia's swollen ankle and whispered, "Say 'goodbye, Uncle Leonardo.'" Leonardo promised to come to Sofia's school sports day. Then Valentina called, sobbing that Lily had no father to run the three legged race with him. Leonardo walked out without a second thought. I just handed the phone to Sofia and told her to tell her teacher, "Uncle Leonardo says he cannot make it." Every time, Sofia hesitated. Sofia did not understand why I was making her do this. Until one day, Leonardo finally realized how much he had failed us. He put down all his mob business for Sofia's piano recital and swore he would not miss it. Sofia was backstage with the other children. Then Leonardo's phone buzzed. Valentina. I could not hear what she said, but I could guess. Lily was crying. Lily needed him. Lily did not have a father. Leonardo came back. But before Leonardo could begin his excuse, Sofia's voice came from the stage. "It is okay, Uncle Leonardo. You go take care of your other kid. Mom staying here to watch me is enough."

On Thanksgiving, my husband Steven Mandel showed up with another woman. Not just anyone—Fiona Osborne, his first love. She had Alzheimer's and only remembered him. And yeah, he said she was moving in. Steven's eyes were ice. "Erica, I stayed away from Fiona out of duty. But I'm not wasting what time I have left without her." Happy 50th anniversary to me. No gift—just a slap-in-the-face love confession. Maya, my daughter-in-law, tried to talk some sense into him, bless her. Then Anton—my own son—cut in. "Mom already kept Dad away from Fiona for years. She's tied ME to you for half my life. Now Dad just wants to take care of the woman he loves—what's so wrong with that?" Steven stepped in front of Fiona like some kind of hero. "Anton's right. Erica, I let you play the wife role for decades. Now, I want to be with the woman I truly love. "If you can't handle that, let's just get a divorce." I stood there, frozen. I'd walked away from a powerhouse law career for this family after we had Anton. I thought I had given everything, and in their eyes, I would be a perfect wife and a perfect mother. But today made it clear—I was never enough. No matter how much I gave, it was never going to be enough. I turned to Maya. She was crying. "You wanna get divorced together?"

My mate-to-be, Ethan, said he had some urgent work come up right before our planned full moon trip. He bailed. I was missing him like crazy, so I immediately drove for over ten hours to his city. I hadn’t told Ethan I was coming. There I was, flowers in hand, standing outside his mansion, ready to give my destined mate a sweet surprise. But then I caught the mixed scent of Ethan and another female werewolf. The scent was sickeningly familiar. Amber Collins. Ethan’s ex-mate. I fought back the burn in my nose, my eyes already red, and pushed the door open. And what did I see? Them, sharing a glass of red wine, cuddled up, practically on top of each other. When Ethan finally noticed me, he jerked his arm away from Amber, walked stiffly over, his voice laced with panic. "Scarlett, why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

“You are already divorced, Maya. You signed the papers two months ago. You just didn’t read them.” For eight years, Maya Mason endured a loveless marriage of convenience to billionaire Mason Hargrove, three miscarriages, endless sacrifices, and quiet devotion, only to discover betrayal on their anniversary…. Her husband’s affair with her best friend Selina, who’s now four months pregnant with his heir. In one devastating afternoon, Mason reveals he tricked her into signing divorce papers, strips her of her project, and lets Selina claim everything. Maya drops her rings, resigns, and walks away, owning forty-nine percent of the empire he thought was his alone. Enter Alexander Voss, Mason’s charismatic rival and the man who once saw Maya’s true worth. As Mason scrambles to chase the wife he discarded, Maya builds a new life, and a new future with the one person who never underestimated her. A steamy billionaire romance of betrayal, divorce, revenge, redemption, and a scorching second-chance love that proves some hearts are worth fighting for, after they’ve already been broken.

Gabriel Black and I had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, and when we reached adulthood, our families arranged our engagement. From the day the engagement was announced, I started counting down the days. However, Gabriel thought the whole thing was unfair. “Other people get to fall in love a few times in their lives. Why should I be stuck with just you my whole life? You should date a few people, too. Don’t shortchange yourself.” And he meant it. In the year after our engagement, Gabriel went through seven girlfriends. Every time he changed partners, I would simply smile and say it didn’t matter. After all, I thought he would always come back to me. That was until the eighth girlfriend came along. He brought her to the Black family’s annual banquet. She clung to his arm and called him Gabe. I quietly set down my utensils. Right there in front of both families, I took out the engagement agreement and slid it to the center of the table. “Gabriel,” I said calmly, “you were right. Staying loyal to just one person really is a loss.” Later, I stood before him again, this time with my hand linked with the only son of the Graham family. Gabriel smashed his glass on the spot. For the first time, his eyes turned red. “Erin, what do you mean by this?” I smiled and said, “Didn’t you tell me to try dating, too? Well, I did, and it suits me just fine.”

Everyone knew I was hopelessly in love with Hendrick Sam, willing to sacrifice my dignity for him. In the two years we were together, he would drop everything and leave me in the hospital whenever his “one true love” called. People mocked me, saying, “Chloe, you must really enjoy being a doormat.” I just smiled and stayed silent. Later, when he was on his deathbed, he asked, “Chloe, did you ever really love me?” I turned my back on him. Because it was never him I loved, it was his heart.