Wow A Flicker Of Hope

At my son's tenth birthday, I unexpectedly gained the power to read minds. Standing before the candles, he made his wish. "I hope I score a hundred on my finals." Before I could commend his maturity, a second wish slammed into my ears. "I don't like Dad. I want Mr. Shaw to be my dad.'' My hands froze halfway through a clap.

For years life for Krystal Dunn has consisted of medication and needles with no end in sight. After another failed treatment, hope for a life outside the hospital's walls evaporates completely. Krystal must face the cold reality of death with open arms. But just as she welcomes the darkness, Krystal is transported to another planet to participate in a secret event. An event that will end with her being made to mate whoever chooses her. Let the Harvest begin.

On New Year, my childhood friend, Maverick Kirk, asks for the passcode of my new home. Initially, I thought he wanted to give me a housewarming gift. But when I open the door, I'm stunned to see more than a dozen people gathering in my home. As Maverick smiles and approaches me, he makes sure to shoot me a look. "What are you doing here, Chloe? You're in luck—we're having a family dinner!" I just look very confused in return. Before I can even ask Maverick any questions, his girlfriend, Bianca Bennett, adopts a passive-aggressive tone instantly. "Is your childhood friend extremely charismatic? I'm curious as to how she managed to coax your home's passcode out of your mouth!" Maverick's expression turns grim instantly. "Chloe didn't coax it out of me! In fact, she got down on her knees and begged for it! She claimed that she didn't have anywhere else to live after she got into a big fight with her family and got kicked out of her home! You know how big of a softie I am, Bianca. I didn't think much about it when I gave her the passcode." Bianca's expression becomes one of disdain afterward. "Regular women aren't as shameless as her, you know. Maybe she's done the same thing to countless men just to obtain what she wants behind our backs." Maverick gives her a thumbs-up immediately. "Wow, you really are smart, babe! Previously, Chloe had stripped naked and begged me to buy her her favorite bag! I told you what happened afterward last time." Bianca covers her mouth and starts giggling. "Oh, so that was her, huh? She really is shameless!" The sight of Maverick's despicable face pisses me off to no end. So, I rush over and slap him right away. "Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you make my home your own while slandering me on the side! Now get lost!"

I met Oleg in junior school, and we clicked right away. Despite our fathers being rival mafia bosses, we never fell apart. But my feelings for Oleg changed with age. I felt frightened because I was torn between the comforts of friendship and the thrill of something more. My dad was very homophobic, so it was even more difficult to express how I felt. I was faced with wanting to be truthful but endangering our families’ fragile peace So, my feelings stayed hidden, and I was just happy to be with Oleg. Yet I couldn’t help but hope that Oleg would feel the same. Perhaps he was too scared to say anything. That hint of hope was what gave me the courage to take action. And I did but things went terribly wrong. our worlds collided and exploded. It left us with nothing but hatred and resentment between our families. If I could turn back time, I would be content with the friendship we once shared, not the hurt and anger which we now have. We parted ways with hatred in our hearts,a wound that never healed,years later,our path crossed again......

When my best friend died, his wife, Mia Lewis, was eight months pregnant. Mia said she didn't want her baby growing up without a father. I owed my best friend my life. He saved me, literally pulled me from death's door. So I stepped up, marrying Mia and raising their son as my own. Mia loved her career, so I quit mine. Traded my job for diapers and school runs. For seven whole years, I cooked, cleaned, folded laundry, and handled the housework. Rain or shine, sickness or health, I was there—every single day. Mia, though? She stayed cold, distant. Her warmth only surfaced in the bedroom—and even then, it was a flicker, never a flame. Just soft sighs and breathy murmurs, like she was playing a role she couldn't wait to finish. Afterward, she would quietly check the condom, as if she couldn't trust me. Then came New Year's Eve. A snap. A tear. A broken condom. Her fury struck like a thunderclap. She locked me out on the balcony, left me standing in the freezing rain, soaked to the bone as the wind howled like a wounded beast. Teeth chattering, I shivered as I watched the door like a dog, waiting to be let in. Then I saw him. Our boy, Ethan Bailey. Six years old. My son, at least in name. He came running with an umbrella in his hand. For a second, my heart leapt. 'Maybe, just maybe…' But he didn't even look at me. Just walked past in silence and handed the umbrella to the nanny heading out. Right then and there, something inside me cracked. I knew it was time to go.

Living with my aunt and her family was meant to be a temporary, quiet arrangement just helping out and keeping to myself. On the first day of the new year, while everyone else was out celebrating, I stayed home, enjoying the rare silence and catching up on sleep. But when we ran out of water, I reluctantly stepped outside to fetch some, and that’s when I saw him. He stood by the gate of the house next door, effortlessly commanding attention with just a glance. A smirk played on his lips, and a flicker of amusement danced in his eyes behind his blue-ray glasses. At that moment, he was impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, I felt disheveled and barely awake, my hair was a mess and still shaking off sleep. But he didn’t seem to mind. There was something about him an air of mystery that made me wonder who he was and why he was there. Before I could look away, he spoke, “Hi.” Caught off guard, I managed a quick, “Hi,” while trying to pull myself together. “Can I know your name?” he asked. I hesitated but replied, “I’m Clara,” and kept walking. “Can I have your number?” he called after me. “Just as friends.” I almost refused but reluctantly agreed, entering my number into his phone. “There,” I said, handing it back. “I’ll call you,” he promised with a smile, as I turned to leave. What began as a chance encounter soon became an inexplicable connection. He had secrets, but there was something about him that saw through me, understanding things no one else did. The man I met next door wasn’t just a fleeting stranger,he became the reason I started questioning everything I thought I wanted.

Diana is just a young omega wolf; a visiting pack, lead by two Alphas were on their way to sign a treaty with her pack. She had lost hope to find her mate, but what she didn't expect was to be mated to an Alpha, let alone two. Will she be able to live up to the standards of a Luna, or will she crumble at the challenge? Will the three of them have a bond that is unbreakable or will it be too much to handle?

Molly's life was perfect. She was married to her high school sweetheart, surrounded by her friends and family and she was looking forward to the future. But that all ends one tragic night when her whole world is turned upside down. That fateful night leads to Molly and her best friend Tom holding a secret close to their hearts but keeping this secret could also mean destroying any chance of a new future for Molly When Tom's oldest brother Christian meets Molly his dislike for her is instant and he puts little effort into hiding it. The problem is he's attracted to her just as much as he dislikes her and staying away from her starts to become a battle, a battle that he's not sure he can win. When Molly's secret is revealed and she's forced to face the pain from her past can she find the strength to stay and work through the pain or will she run away from everything she knows including the one man who gives her hope for a happy future? Hope that she never thought she would feel again.

For five years, Elara was the "peasant" wife, the woman who gave her kidney to save Shawn’s life, only to be rewarded with his cold indifference and his family’s verbal abuse. She was the dutiful housewife, hiding her true identity as the world’s most feared cybersecurity genius, and the secret heiress to a global empire. She stayed for love. She stayed for the hope of a family. But hope dies in a cold swimming pool. When Shawn pushes a pregnant Elara into the water to save his mistress, he not only breaks her heart, he kills the only thing she had left to love. Waking up in a hospital bed with an empty womb and a frozen heart, Elara is done playing nice. As Shawn prepares to discard her for his mistress, he’s met not with a weeping wife, but with the arrival of five of the most powerful men in the world—Elara’s brothers. Now, the "peasant" is the predator. While Shawn’s empire begins to crumble under a mysterious cyber-attack, he finds himself desperately chasing the woman he once despised. But Elara has already moved on to a man who never had to be taught her value.

Her marriage wasn't perfect. Infact, it wasn't anywhere close to being perfect. But she always had hope and tried to make things work. She had expected it to last forever, no matter how bad it was. But her hope came shattering down when he dropped the divorce papers on the table right in front of her. "Sign them." He had said coldly. That was five years ago. Now Alexandra was back, as the CEO of the fast rising clothing and apparels company, Velvet Vixen. This time, she came for revenge on the man who had broken her heart into several unmendable pieces. But she wasn't alone anymore. "Mommy, we saw a man who Jace looks like." She was back with two tiny accomplices in tow. Liam wanted to be the father of his kids and change back to the old times. Would he be able to accomplish his mission of making Alexandra fall in love with him again? Would Alexandra give in to this man who had once broken her heart and all the promises he made to her before? Would Jace and Jade accept their unknown father back?