Novel & Cerita Withered Roses

Ava St. James has walked down the aisle four times—and buried every “forever” along the way. At seventy, she’s traded vows for vintage champagne and decided love looks best from a distance. Then along comes Marcus du Prée—handsome, grounded, and far too young to be interested. A gardener, he says. Except the roses he tends belong to his estate, and the dirt under his nails hides a fortune he’d rather forget. When Ava’s flamboyant New Orleans clan crashes into Marcus’s refined Pasadena world, sparks fly, secrets bloom, and one improbable romance dares to take root. For the Fifth Vow is a sparkling romantic comedy about late love, Southern pride, and the kind of courage it takes to say “I do” when everyone else says you shouldn’t. Witty, wise, and full of heart, it reminds us that some vows aren’t meant to end—they’re just waiting for the right season to begin.

The night before graduation, my best friend Sophie talked me into confessing to Lucas Sterling, the boy I'd secretly loved for three years. She said Lucas was at the basketball court, wearing a white T-shirt. I gathered every ounce of courage I had, grabbed the bouquet of roses, and rushed over. I came up behind a boy and covered his eyes with my hands. "Lucas, I've liked you for so long!" I felt his body go rigid. He turned around — and the face staring back at me was dangerously handsome, with a wild edge to his gaze. It was Dominic Blackwood. The one person at Westfield High that nobody dared to cross. I spun around to run, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me against his chest. He dipped his head, breathing in the scent of my hair, his voice rough and low. "What did you just say? That you like me?" "Say it again." "If you don't, I'll kiss you right here in front of the whole school."

She was just a girl who wanted her fairytale wedding night. Isabella got engaged to Xavier Gustavo, her long term crush, but she was a poor country side girl, her world is totally different from that of Xavier. Getting into the Guastovo family was not all roses as she thought, she was constantly maltreated and humiliated by the Guastovo's whenever Xavier was absent. The night came, the night that ruined everything for her as she fell victim to circumstances, leading to an unwanted pregnancy two days to her wedding. She was abandoned at the alse by Xavier in front of the press as he couldn't keep to his promise of standing by her, at of humiliation of being gested as the abandoned bride she decided to commit suicide vowing to come back as a wealthy heiress in her next life but was Saved by an unknown…. She's back, no longer as Isabella Santos the poor wretched girl but now as Mrs Bella Houston most popular and wealthy model, she swore to get back at the Gustavo's for hurting her……

On the night before the wedding, New York was washed in cold rain. The rehearsal at St. Patrick's Cathedral had been set for seven o'clock. Under the vaulted ceiling, the white roses, black satin bows, and silver candelabras had all been arranged exactly the way I wanted. But by the time the rehearsal ended, he still hadn't shown up. At 11:17 that night, I finally got a message from him. [Sophia is pregnant. Although the baby isn’t mine, I can’t let her child be born carrying the name of an illegitimate child.] [I went to City Hall with her tonight and made it legal.] [The wedding is still happening tomorrow.] [That piece of paper is just a formality. The person standing at the altar will still be you.] [Don't let outsiders know too much. And don't ruin her reputation.] I stared at those lines for a long time. In the end, I replied with a single word. [Okay.] I don't want the wedding and you.

Marina had spent her life clawing against poverty, illness, and desperation. With her mother and brother gravely unwell and her family barely surviving, she makes a dangerous choice. To become a royal consort. Trading her body and freedom for the power to save the people she loves. It is not romance she seeks, but leverage. King Xanthanius was murdered by betrayal and brought back from the dead by a single, fatal error made during his killing. Immortal but incomplete, half of his life force was stolen, leaving his resurrection imperfect and his existence unstable. Determined to reclaim what was taken, he rules with calculated cruelty and a singular obsession. Restoring his immortality at any cost. When Marina enters his court as a consort, Xanthanius initially sees her as nothing more than a crowd to his space then a disposable pawn, useful for navigating political traps and accomplishing delicate tasks beneath a King’s notice. But Marina is not as expendable as he assumes. Her presence is an untold key to the missing half of his immortality. She is tied to the very power Xanthanius needs to survive. Bound by mutual exploitation, desire, and distrust, Marina and Xanthanius use each other to pursue their own ends until ambition blurs into intimacy and manipulation gives way to something far more dangerous. Because falling in love with Marina may cost Xanthanius the immortality he’s willing to kill for and Marina must decide whether saving her family is worth destroying the man she’s come to care for. #romantasy #darkromance #mistress #ruthlessking #steamy

A NOVEL ON STOCKHOLM SYNDROME BOOK 3 OF A THREE BOOK SERIES *TRIGGER WARNING* This book contains scenes that some readers may find disturbing… and also slightly annoying. “Miss. Iris, do you believe she has a point?” she asked and returned to her seat once again. “I don’t think so, her father and uncle deserve to go to jail.” My answer extracted a smile from her like she was proud of my response. “My name is Christine; I am a renowned medico-legal psychotherapist. Been in the business for over twenty years and that is what a case of Stockholm syndrome looks like. In my years of experience, we see situations similar to this but its our job to help the victims realize” “Wow…” I started, really amazed at what she had said and what her work entails. I was only concerned why they locked me in a room with a psychotherapist “it must be difficult at times” I added. “yeah, its difficult every time” she laughed “but today isn’t about me, I have a question for you.” There was a brief pause in between before she carried on “Does Hunter deserve to go to jail?”

"You are just someone who was forced on me and nothing else. An ugly-duckling like you, will never be love by me." His words were like a sharp sword that pierced my heart deeply. He was mentally hurting me. He did not have to act like that to remind me who I was.  ~Months later~ "I deserve this." He said in a tone that held agony.  "But please, don't leave. I'm sorry for everything." His eyes dimmed and his voice cracked. "Please. I need you." His grip only tightened. ~"~"~"~"~"~"~ Linda Foscar has been secretly in love with Daniel Anderson for years. It was love at first sight. So, when she got the chance to spend the rest of her life with him, she instantly grabbed the opportunity. Nevertheless, she forgot that along with roses, are the thorns. In a marriage with full of lies and misuderstandings, how will she fight for her love? -Betrayal does not come from enemies. -Secrets are yet to be revealed. -Two main leads, several rivals. -A blackmailed son, an unwanted bride and a mistress

“I need your help to fake a private jet crash,” I said quietly. “It’s the only way I can ever leave Luca Moretti.” People said he’d given up the Mafia throne for me. They called him the man who traded power for love— the heir who walked away from blood and gold just to marry a waitress from the slums. For years, he made the world believe in us. He built empires under my name. He sent me roses every Monday. He told the press I was his salvation. But love doesn’t always mean loyalty. While I was busy believing in forever, he was building a second home behind my back— one filled with laughter, toys, and twin sons who had his eyes. The night I disappeared, his empire burned. He tore apart cities, bribed governments, and buried men alive just to find me. But by the time he did— I was already gone. And the woman he’d once died for no longer loved him enough to stay alive.

Money can't buy happiness, but it can make you comfortable while you're being miserable.' Heiress Danielle Dawson has it all. A mansion, a fleet of exotic cars, a live-in chef, housekeepers, a fortune that can feed nations, and a dad who indulges her every wish. All these, and she is still empty. But Her father, wanting more power and wealth, out of the blues, arranges her marriage to the powerful Valentino empire's heir, Adrian, who happens to be the same guy she once had a one-night stand with. Danielle, a believer in love marriages, fights it at first but later gives in and decides to let destiny take its course. Adrian Valentino, Danielle's betrothed, comes from a different world; one which was nothing compared to the bed of roses that she is used to, but Adrian need not fret as his betrothed is more than ready to fight his battles and slay his demons; but how can you love someone who doesn't believe in the emotion, and how do you save someone that doesn't want to be saved?

BLOOD AND PETALS PROLOGUE She sells flowers. He spills blood. And he will stop at nothing to make her his. Elena Rossi has always lived quietly among roses and lilies, dreaming of love as gentle as the petals she arranges. She thought she found it in Daniel, the man she planned to marry. Until her wedding day when a dangerous stranger walked into the church and shattered everything. Adrian Volkov is a king in the underworld, a man feared for his ruthlessness and power. But to him, Elena is not just a prize. She is an obsession. A storm he cannot live without. And he will burn the world and anyone in it, to claim her. Torn from the life she knew, Elena resists him, manipulates him, and even runs from him. But Adrian is relentless. His love is dark, his touch both punishing and tender, and his obsession inescapable. When betrayal and bloodshed close in, Elena must face the truth: She doesn’t just fear him. She doesn’t just hate him. She loves him. Petals and Blood is a haunting, passionate tale of obsession, betrayal, and the dangerous kind of love that blooms in shadows.