When I'm Gone I'm Never Really Gone

When I hear my boyfriend, Terence Bowen, is trapped in a house fire, I immediately rush back to save him. However, after dragging him out with all my strength, I realize it's just a dummy. Laughter erupts from the house next door. "Ariana Brock is such a fool! She fell for it again!" Through a half-open window, I spot Terence lounging on the couch, casually scrolling through his phone. He looks completely fine. "That's the 47th prank we've pulled on her. Three more to go and we're done." "Serves her right. She shouldn't have stolen Bethany Howard's scholarship. Bethany is the one Terence actually cares about. That's why he decided to fake a relationship with Ariana to get revenge 50 times over. Too bad the game will end soon." I bend over, gasping for air. All this time, the relationship I've worked so hard to protect is nothing but a game to them.

Lorenzo and Selena secretly love each other, even though it should be forbidden by agents. Especially since Lorenzo was a captain and Selena was a member of his team. No romantic relationship should occur between agents. But Lorenzo was desperate to love Selena and marry her. During their five years of marriage, all was well and they had a son who was hidden from the public. But a new mission gets Selena killed and all the secrets they've been tightly hiding for so long are revealed to the surface. The FBI's elite board was furious and suspended Lorenzo for his misdeeds. Everyone shunned Lorenzo when he was in the most difficult phase of his life because Selena's death brought a threat to his son. Lorenzo was always blaming himself after all the weeks since Selena's death. He secretly investigates Selena's bizarre death case in order to viciously punish Selena's murderer. But when he gets close to the mastermind behind Selena's murder, he meets a woman who looks like Selena who works for his enemy. Lorenzo thought that the woman might be Selena. And as long as he was breathing, he would continue to pursue that woman to prove that she might be his dead wife.

My boyfriend, also my childhood sweetheart, is awakened. He realizes he's the male protagonist in a romance novel, and I'm the female side character. He tells me that I'll never leave him according to the plot. So, he's sure that I won't break up with him. He cheats on me with the female protagonist for two years and does everything a couple should do. It's only when I decidedly dump him that he realizes what a dumb plot he's believed in.

For a year, I’d lived a double life. During the day, I am Lila Montgomery, the heiress of Montgomery Industries. At night, I am just Lila, the woman Ethan was falling for. Or so I thought.“Grace,” he’d murmured in his sleep one night, his arms tightening around me. “Don’t leave again.” That was the first crack in my fantasy. The final crack that ended our so-called relationship was when he accused me of wanting to trap him with a baby. Now just days later, my mother wants me to meet Nicholas Baldwin, Ethan’s uncle. “Might be exactly what you need to forget his nephew.” I ignored my brother’s teasing, walking past him. “I don’t need another Baldwin man in my life.” But seeing Ethan now in person and with Grace by his side… “Nick,” I whispered urgently, “I need a huge favor.” He must have heard the desperation in my voice, “Name it.” “Pretend to be my boyfriend.”

The day Jasper Carter's terminally ill ex, Natalie Klutz, gave birth, his parents—Josephine and Raymond—hired ten bodyguards to keep me, his actual wife, out of the hospital. But I never showed. Josephine clutched Natalie's hand. "She's not getting near you or the baby." Jasper wiped Natalie's forehead. "Relax. Dad's got men at every door. If Emily shows, we'll toss her." Hours passed. Still no me. Jasper finally let himself breathe. He didn't get what my deal was. He was just granting Natalie's dying wish—to be a mom. The second the nurse handed over the crying baby, he smiled like everything was finally worth it. If I came tomorrow and said sorry, he'd forgive me. Hell, he'd even let me raise the kid. What he didn't know? I had just submitted my paperwork. I'd leave the country, join Doctors Without Borders, and ghost him for good.

On our fifth anniversary, Henry Judd—the guy who once swore he'd propose—rented out an entire mall for Cecilia Cheape's birthday. A diamond the size of a pigeon's egg sparkled on her finger. I'd been dumb enough to think it was meant for me. "Cece, I'm gonna give you a birthday you'll never forget," he announced, loud enough for the whole world to hear. Then he yanked the tab off a soda can and handed it to me. "Lulu, those gaudy things don't suit you. You deserve something unique." He slid the can tab onto my finger—his version of a proposal. Cecilia got the dream birthday. I got a piece of trash and a slap of reality. Later, when he found out I was marrying someone else, he got down on one knee with that same ring and begged me to say yes.

A CHRISTMAS STEAMY LOVE STORY... Alone at Christmas time is not an amazing thing! But for newly divorced Starlight Maxwell is the best thing that happened to her lately… Back in Smithville, her hometown, she is trying to move on with her life. At least this was her plan initially… She’s shocked to discover her ex-husband has rented out her childhood home to the person Starlight swore not to see ever again: Elijah Thomas, her high school sweetheart… all grown-up and absolutely gorgeous. Apparently, Starlight’s libido doesn’t care that Elijah shattered her heart eight years ago... With the holidays looming and his presence in her house driving her wild, Starlight strikes a bargain with him: twelve days of no-strings sex. Just so she can get him out of her system. But when the twelve red-hot days of Christmas are over, Starlight isn’t sure she can say goodbye to Elijah…

After two years of marriage, I believed I was living the dream—until the day I gave birth to our long-awaited heir. The house was filled with joy as my husband's family arrived, bearing gifts and ready to bestow a name upon our child, as tradition dictated. But the happiness of the day shattered in an instant when my husband walked in, hand in hand with his childhood sweetheart. In front of everyone, he announced not only our divorce but also his engagement to her, as if I had never mattered. *** "I’m divorcing Stacy," Jason announces, his voice unwavering, "to marry Nicole Cruz, my childhood sweetheart." He points to the woman standing before him who smiles and waves at everyone in the room. My world tilts on its axis. The words echo in my mind, louder and louder until they drown out everything else. What is going on?? "But why?" I whisper, my voice barely audible, even to myself. I'm unable to believe his betrayal. Jason doesn’t even glance at the child in my arms. "Because this has been a long time coming, Stacy. I’ve only stayed this long out of obligation and not love." Important Author’s Note: This is a rewritten version of my book The Alpha’s Betrayal: Reclaiming His Rejected Luna. From Chapter 12 onward, the story takes a new turn with fresh twists and drama. Thank you for reading—I hope you enjoy this new version!

Elizabeth struggled to find her place in the world. After her father and mother’s separation, she found it hard to let anyone into her life and it got worse when her mother suddenly fixed her marriage 2 Years after her divorce. Uncomfortable with the decision, Elizabeth is forced to move with her mother to New Jersey to start a new life with her newly found family that she was totally unaware of. Moving in, Elizabeth is met with Shakar. The egocentric and manners less heir of the Manga(Her stepfather) who already harbored so much hate in him for Elizabeth before he even met her. In a whole new world, Elizabeth Is faced with challenges with a wounded heart of pain that was constantly being tortured by her new brother Shakar. What happens when hatred slowly turns to a beautiful dawn of hope? Will Elizabeth be able to turn hell into her beautiful habitat? Or will she lose herself trying to fix what isn’t broken?

When I find out that Joe Herring—the man I've loved for ten years—is planning a grand proposal, I'm so thrilled I can't sleep a wink that night. But the next day, everyone in the pack is buzzing about how Alpha Joe just proposed to my stepsister, Nora Safford. He comes to me afterward, trying to explain. "It's not even real, Anna. Nora doesn't have anyone in the pack. I'm just doing her a favor. "Don't worry. I'll break it off before the mate-bonding ceremony next week. Then we'll have our ceremony, just like we planned." But over and over, he keeps asking me to compromise for Nora. And when the mate-bonding ceremony finally arrives, he's still with her. So in the end, I let her have him and walk away without a word.