Would've Could've Should've

CONTENT WARNING: This story contains themes of non-consensual encounters, emotional manipulation, and intense dark romance. Reader discretion is advised. Blurb: One stolen thing. One dangerous mistake. Now, she belongs to him. She didn’t know the fire she was playing with… until it burned her. He’s a devil in an Armani suit—a cold, calculating billionaire whose empire is built on blood. To cross him is to sign your own death warrant. But she never meant to steal from him. She didn’t even know what she was taking. And yet, in his eyes, she is the ultimate betrayal. She should’ve been broken, discarded like all the others. Instead, she became his obsession. Trapped in his dangerous world, she’s torn between hating him and craving the fire he awakens in her. The deeper she falls, the darker his secrets become—secrets that could cost her more than just her heart... they could cost her very soul. In his world, love isn’t salvation. It’s a death sentence.

"I know I don’t deserve a second chance. I know I’ve hurt you in the cruelest way. But I regret it, truly regret it. I've spent five years searching for you, hoping to atone for my mistakes. I... I still love you." My heart raced. Part of me wanted to believe him, wanted to surrender to the words I had longed for. But I couldn’t just forget how he had shattered me. "Love?" I let out a small laugh. "You’re talking about love after what you did to me? After you made me feel like nothing more than a replacement? I’ve moved past the days when I cried over you, when I questioned my self-worth just because you chose another woman. You want me back? But what if one day you find another reason to leave me?" "No!"

Blurb: Nicolas Pov: I’ve built my life on control, power, and ruthless decisions. I never wanted to rely on anyone—especially not her. Isabella is young, full of hope, and entirely too naive for this world. I didn’t expect her to become someone I couldn’t ignore. But here she is, stepping into my life, challenging everything I’ve worked for. She doesn’t belong in my world, yet she makes it harder to push her away. I’ve lived in shadows long enough to know better, but something about her light makes me question everything. Still, the world I live in is too dangerous, and trust is a luxury I can’t afford. Isabella Pov: I never imagined this life. Married to a man who is more scarred than I could have ever known, his world of darkness and danger closing in every day. I didn’t sign up for this, yet here I am, holding my ground. Nicolas might think I’m naive, but I see the man behind the mask. He doesn’t know how to love, but I refuse to let that stop me. I won’t run, even if I’m constantly surrounded by threats and lies. This world doesn’t scare me, but what Nicolas won’t let me see—his pain, his demons—that’s what I’m fighting to understand. I didn’t come into this to save him, but maybe it’s time he lets me in.

I'm no longer a human, my life is over. I've left everyone I love. I've gone rogue from the CIA. My only hope is my handler. She is tough enough to face my monster. If I lose control, she won't hesitate to take me out. But I'm not the only predator out there. Someone's hunting her. She needs my protection. But if I don't get my animal under control, I may be her biggest threat yet.

My husband is poor. We've already been married for three years, but I've covered all our expenses during that time. Even when I'm interested in a cheap bag when we go shopping, he says it's too expensive. He tells me not to buy it. Later, I discover that he gives his first love a four-million-dollar diamond necklace for her birthday. It turns out he's not broke and heavily in debt—he's the heir to an affluent family with a net worth of billions of dollars.

I've hada crush on the single dad next door, ever since I was thirteen years old. Theo Graham is charming. Sweet. Absolutely gorgeous. But, I'm not a little girl anymore.I shouldn't want him.l can't have him.! should know better than to want my best friend's dad.My best friend, Theo's son, who may or may not have had feelings for me on and off for the past eight years. Wanting my best friend's dad was the one secret that was never supposed to come out.Except now, he wants me too.

I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it has an underlying truth. You can try but one's heart is never to be put into words. "Are you saying that I'm pestering you?", she asked chuckling lowly. Had it been somebody else she would've fired them right away? As of now, her grip only tightened slightly on the little spoon in her hand while he slowly opened his cat-like eyes and avoided her gaze. "Torturing would be a better word," he whispered in hopes of staying alive so he could go home and cut his tongue for being so sharp. What was wrong with him? "Glad you understood my intentions." An arrogant boss lady whose mood flips like a switch every day who runs from the idea of love. A cute Barista leading a second life as a camboy who wishes for nothing but love. What could be a better combination?

The day Eve Jones came back to town, Zac Gibson did not come home all night. The next day, I saw a post on her social media, showing a photo of two hands tightly intertwined, along with Zac’s peaceful, childlike sleeping face. When he finally came home, he threw divorce papers at me and said, "You’ve been standing in Eve’s place this whole time. Now that she’s back, it’s time for you to move on." It did not matter anymore. I was not going to live much longer anyway. Whoever wanted the title of "Mrs. Gibson" could have it. Later, I died. But Zac cried at my grave, kneeling, promising he would never hold anyone else’s hand again.

As the Alpha's daughter, all my life I've been told that I had to be quiet, demure, and obedient for my future husband. A husband my father would choose. One that would secure alliances and benefit his business deals. If my father planned to sell me to the highest bidder... then I was going to make sure that what the buyer received was broken. When the infamous Maximilian Thorn and his pack crashed my wedding, I thought I was saved by fate. It turns out, fate had other plans.

“He’s not yours,” I said, each word slicing through him like glass. Valentine stared at me, stunned, like I’d slapped him. Maybe I should’ve. That would’ve been easier than this. I thought I’d buried the past the day I ran—pregnant, heartbroken, and alone. Valentine Hale was the love of my life… until he shattered it. He never knew I was carrying his child. He never tried to find me. I raised our son alone. But fate doesn’t forget. Now I’m back in the one place I swore I’d never return to. And Valentine? He’s here. He’s looking at me like he still feels it. Valentine- She was human. Off-limits. But I touched her anyway. Loved her. Marked her. Then I walked away before the pack could find out. Before I destroyed us both. But now, Vivian’s back—with a kid who smells like me. But now I bear a secret, a curse from my father the previous alpha and I cannot risk their lives. I need to protect them. I need them. I feel it in my blood. He’s mine. She’s mine. They both always were.