When His Eyes Opened Book Novels & Stories

Five years ago, Olivia Derie made a deal with the devil himself. To save her mother from dying from stage-four brain cancer and settle her crushing debts, she signed away her freedom to ruthless Mafia don Vincenzo Moretti. The terms were simple: marry him, give him a child within nine months, and disappear from his life. But Olivia quickly realized Vincenzo’s cruelty knew no bounds. Beneath the cold façade was a man who viewed her as nothing more than a means to an end. When she discovered she was pregnant, the stakes became higher than her own survival. Fearing for her unborn child’s life—especially when Vincenzo made it clear he intended to dispose of her after the birth—Olivia did the unthinkable. She ran. Now she is back thinking she could start all over again with her daughter but the one person she never expected to see again walks back alive to her life: Vincenzo Moretti, But he doesn’t forgive, and he doesn’t forget. Now he’s found her. And he wants everything she took from him: He wants his heir. His wife. And the revenge he’s patiently waited years to exact. Olivia isn’t just his bride—she’s his obsession. Even though she ran, even though she stabbed him and vanished, he’s never let go. Now that he’s found her, he won’t let her slip away again. “When we meet again, Princess,” he whispers, “you’ll learn you were never free. You’re mine—now and always.” ---

For one perfect month, we were trapped in a snow covered town, and I believed my arranged husband finally chose me, that he finally saw me for who I am. Three years later, I learned the harsh reality that the snow never trapped us. He was the one that did. The story he sold to me was all his. Then, the woman he once loved with his life returned ...and with her were secrets that could destroy all of us. But Damon Hayes isn’t the master player. He wasn't the only one who kept the truth buried deep for years. Because I was never just his quiet, and convenient wife. I was more than a doctor who married him for duty. And when this marriage finally collapses as it would soon, it won’t be me begging to be chosen. It will be him begging not to lose me.

"At a time when I needed you most, you ended our relationship. You claimed that I wasn't the one you loved, called me a whore, and said that I wasn't your type from the start. So what do you expect me to do?" "Beg!" Michael responded immediately. "I anticipate that you will plead for mercy." "You don't deserve my plea, Michael. You're not worth my tears..." She was about to say more when Michael forcefully kissed her, making it difficult for her to breathe. "Is that why you sold yourself to Kelvin?" He inquired after releasing her lips. Nora wiped her lips with her knotted hands. She looked at him fearlessly and replied, "Who I sell myself to is none of your concern. As the whore you called me, you shouldn't be keeping track of how many men I sleep with." Her response enraged Michael, and he pushed her and raped her, only to discover that she was still a virgin. If he begs for a second chance, will Nora ever forgive him?

All her life Io she has dreamed of going to the Chinese celebration of Hanami so that she might make friends. She’s ends up finding so much more in a young man named Draco who is the son of the General who runs the town. She is a naïve and gullible young woman who believed that she would never be deceived by someone of such an extinguished background. Draco knowing that he is promised to another courts Io while he fights for his right to choose his own bride. However, through the trickery and conniving wit of his mother who he thought was on his side, he sees everything he worked so hard for fall apart. When Io learns of his betrayal she takes the cue and runs from his truths revealed. When Draco runs off to be with the woman he loves against his families obligations. In a night of peace he and Io reunite only for him to wake up to her fury the next day. Io causes Draco harm by accident. In the weeks to come after they are permanently separated she learns of the child who grows in her womb and goes to tell Draco’s family of the news. His magical mother responds by cursing Io who hurt her child for one thousand years to become the monster that she sees her as. She will not live the life she wants. She will never know love. She will never hold her child. She will die when his mother grants it to be so and at the death of Io all those effected by her anger, will reveal the journeys that were caused by her anger. The reveal of all those effected will change the very world she will no longer get to live in.

At the company holiday party raffle, I'd barely stepped on stage when my superior, Victor Grant, shoved a crumpled slip into my hand. "Special prize for our top sales guy. Go on, open it. Let's show everyone." All eyes were on me as I unfolded it. Scrawled across the paper: [VIP janitor status unlocked—every toilet in the company, three days.] The room lost it—laughter everywhere. Victor crossed his arms, grinning. "Fair, right? Everyone knows you climbed the ranks hooking up with rich cougars. Gotta avoid hard feelings for the others, yeah? While the rest of us take a break, you can get busy. You're not gonna back out, are you?" The crowd cracked up. My girlfriend—and CEO—Rachel Sullivan stood off to the side, watching. Didn't say a word. Everyone waited for me to explode. Instead, I just nodded. Next day, over 300 refund requests hit. Cash flow flatlined. Victor and Rachel begged me to talk the buyers down. I shrugged. "Nah. Don't wanna save the company and make my performance too good. That'd just cause more ' hard feelings,' right?"

Bethany Cole and Shane Stafford were supposed to get married in two weeks, but Shane was thinking about postponing the wedding again. It was all because his stepsister, Yelena White, had another episode and was crying for him to drop everything and take her to Maldivea to see the ocean. The wedding had been planned for two years, and Bethany had had enough. If Shane did not want to get married, she would find someone else to take his place.

“Ms. Arnold, you really should sign this divorce agreement. Otherwise, I won’t be able to answer to Mr. Fisher.” Jeremy Fisher’s personal lawyer, Cole Stewart, stood in front of Hailey Arnold with an anxious expression. In his hands were a freshly printed divorce agreement, the pages still crisp. This was the thirty-third time Jeremy had asked to divorce her. The first time, Hailey climbed onto the rooftop and jumped. She survived but broke one of her legs. The second time, she slashed her wrist with a small knife, and blood flooded half the bathroom. The third time, she swallowed an entire bottle of sleeping pills and spent three days in the hospital having her stomach pumped. … Every single time, she had used death to force Jeremy to compromise, but this time, she was tired of it.

I'm the scapegoat who was hired by the rich Shelton family to marry into that family under the guise of repaying them for their benevolence. But my wife, Jenny Shelton, hates me for ruining the wedding meant for her and her first love, Jackson Wembley. She has hordes of treasure under her name, and yet she only gives me five dollars every day to survive. I've starved to the point I'm all skin and bones. Jenny, on the other hand, goes through partners like mad. She even drives while under alcoholic influence in order to make her new boyfriend laugh, which results in her crashing into the generator powering in the hospital and causing my mother's death. Later on, Jenny merely throws me a black card. "Wow, you really have the heart to arrange for your mom to live in that small and rundown hospital, huh? Then again, a money-minded person like you is capable of doing everything in this world. "Take this card and get your mom transferred to a VIP ward. Don't think about stealing from this card; I'll always check the bills." But I just throw the black card away and start preparing for my mom's funeral. What Jenny doesn't know is that Jackson had chosen to flee from the altar and abandon her back then. I was just a tool hired by her family in order to comfort her. Now that my mom is dead and I'm done paying back the debt, it's time for me to leave.

Rafael Valentino holds a burning grudge against his former partner. Edgar Marvelo, the scheming man who embezzled millions of dollars and brought their branch of the company crashing down. Edgar disappeared without a trace. The opportunity for revenge comes when Aurora Marvelo, Edgar's only daughter, returns from Paris. Aurora knows nothing of her father's crimes, let alone the hatred Rafael harbors for his family. Rafael demands that Aurora repay her father's debt, not with money, but with her freedom, her choices, even her pride. Now, Aurora is trapped working under Rafael's control. Amidst the pressure and conflict, can the seeds of love grow from the soil filled with vengeance?

On the day we receive our bonus, one of the staff members of the finance department gives me 500 dollars worth of vouchers for the fast food restaurant downstairs. He tells me that my wife, Jillian Dunn, who is also the company's president, specifically ordered him to do so. In utter disbelief, I seek out Jillian and question her. "Didn't we agree that whoever secures the project will get a 50,000-dollar bonus? Stop messing around! I still need to pay for Freya's cochlear implant!" "I'm not messing around with you," Jillian answers seriously. "These vouchers can last you for a whole month. I wouldn't even give them to you if you were anyone else. "Money is tight right now at the company. Besides, Freya has been deaf for more than a decade now. She can survive being deaf for another decade." The next day, Jillian gives one of the interns a sports car that's worth 50,000 dollars. I look at the photo she uploads of her and the intern grinning widely as they sit in the car and give it a like. Jillian must assume that everything is proceeding smoothly since she has signed the contract. However, she misses the additional condition that's printed on the last page of the contract. I dial her rival's number, asking, "Ms. Swan, are you interested in Project Charlie?"