Zero Days Ruth Ware Novels & Stories

Son of a wealthy southern plantation owner, Vince Hart, is a well known womanizer. When he is caught in a compromising position with his lover he is forced to make a choice- leave Vivian's reputation ruined or marry her. He chooses marriage, and for a while he and Vivian enjoy marital bliss, but dark clouds are gathering on the horizon as the Civil War is brewing. Called to serve, Vince goes off to war and adventure, leaving his wife and unborn child home alone. What will he return to, if anything?

My mom always said, "I've never played favorites. "You and your brother mean exactly the same to me." She said it so often I almost believed it. Growing up, anything my brother had, I had too. If he got a new pair of sneakers, so did I. If he signed up for coding classes, I was enrolled in the same ones. Even this year, when we came home for the holidays, my mom smiled as she handed each of us a neatly-packaged designer shopping bag. "I picked these out for you two at the store. One for each of you, exactly the same. "These outdoor brands are expensive, you know. A single jacket costs thousands. I'd never buy one for myself, but I don't mind splurging on you two." I took the jacket. It was well-cut, structured, and looked high-quality. A small warmth stirred in my chest. However, when I tried it on, the collar felt oddly irritating against my skin. Frowning, I pulled back the lining to check. There was a ring of yellowed sweat stains around the label, and tiny flakes of dandruff were caught in the Velcro. A faint musty smell lingered on the cloth, mixed with the stale odor of cheap tobacco. It was sour and impossible to ignore.

Before my wedding, my future sister-in-law diagnoses me with cervical erosion. She insists it's because of my promiscuity. My boyfriend arranges for my sister-in-law to operate on me without my permission. After the surgery, I find that my womb is missing. I'm furious, and I want to know what's happened. However, my boyfriend berates me. "It's perfectly normal for Kate to make a mistake since it was her first surgery. You're her sister-in-law—stop making a big deal out of a small thing!" I refuse to settle the matter privately and call the cops. That's when my boyfriend secretly murders me via poisoning for the sake of his sister's future. When I open my eyes again, I find that I've been taken back to before the surgery.

My Alpha fiancé, Andre Ackhurst, and his brother, Easton Ackhurst, are identical twins. They have the same looks and scent—no one would be able to tell them apart if not for their starkly different personalities. After a savage pack war, Andre dies, and Easton lives. But when Easton takes over as Alpha, he insists on inheriting both lines of the family—he claims to want to care for me, his sister-in-law. When his girlfriend, Callie Wentworth, learns of this, she berates me for shamelessly seducing her boyfriend. That night, I head to my in-laws' room, wanting to ask them to talk Easton out of his ridiculous idea. However, I hear my mother-in-law say, "Andre, Easton is the one who died on the battlefield. Why did you impersonate him and say you're the one who died?" "Easton" sighs. "Callie is an Omega, and she's weak. Her body won't be able to take it when she learns Easton is the one who died. I have to love her for life on Easton's behalf. "Yes, it's unfair to Jane. However, I'm sure she'll stick it out because she's already carrying my pup. Besides, I'll secretly care for her. She's so kind and considerate—I'm sure she'll understand why I've done this." I'm in disbelief after hearing this. Finally, I understand that my fiancé didn't die. He merely pretended to be his brother so he could comfort another woman. During breakfast the following morning, I tell my in-laws my plan. "Thank you for helping me move past Andre's death. I've thought things through, and I've decided to abort the pup. I'm going to start afresh." As soon as the words are out of my mouth, "Easton" suddenly shatters the bowl he holds as he feeds Callie.

From the runway to a gilded cage, Cali was the world's most untouchable supermodel, until her own mother traded her like a pawn to settle a debt. Now, she is the captive bride of the city's most lethal Mafia CEO, a man who bought her soul with a signature in blood. He expects a trophy to silence and command, but he's about to learn that Cali's sarcasm is as sharp as a razor and her defiance is a fire he can't extinguish. In this dark game of obsession and power, he may own her contract, but taming the woman behind the fame might just be the one war he's destined to lose.

To save her dying mother and crush the stepfamily that ruined her reputation, brilliant corporate strategist Elena Vance signs a deal with the devil. Alexander Blackwood: the ruthless, devastatingly handsome billionaire known to the world as the "Ice King." The rules of their one-year fake marriage contract are simple: no feelings, no attachments, total obedience in public. But before the ink on the contract can even dry, an explosive secret shatters their arrangement. Elena is revealed to be the anonymous mother who secretly carried the hidden heir of Alexander’s late brother. Just as Alexander traps Elena in his golden cage to claim his nephew, a deadlier truth emerges: the child has a secret twin brother, stolen at birth and held by Alexander’s ultimate corporate rival. Bound by a contract but torn apart by secrets, Elena and Alexander must play a deadly game of deception. Can the Ice King protect his new family, or will the fiery passion exploding between them melt his empire to the ground?

My mate’s sister, Selene, was with pup when she leapt from the highest tower of Blackrock Keep. Before she died, she sent me one final whisper through the pack bond. “Lyra saw him.” From that day on, I became the greatest sinner in Stormcliff. Everyone believed I knew who had driven Selene to her death. The elders demanded the truth. My father-in-law, the aged Alpha, knelt before me. My mother-in-law, the elder Luna, clutched my legs and begged until her voice broke. But I said nothing. For two years, I carried the secret alone. Darian, my mate, did not exile me. Instead, he stayed by my side, gentler than ever. I thought he still loved me. Until the day I gave birth to his pup. That night, he locked me inside the cold stone dungeon and brought out the Soul Recollection Device. Every wolf who had used that device either died or lost their mind. As the silver needles pierced into my skull, Darian stood before me with bloodshot eyes. “If you won’t speak,” he said, his voice cold and shaking, “then I’ll tear the truth out of your soul myself.” He thought I was protecting Selene’s murderer. But when he finally saw the truth I had buried for him, Darian went mad.

A gasp escaped past her lips when she felt his tongue licking her skin where her neck meets her shoulder. Her heart drummed in her ears. Her chin quivering and her body trembling. A jolt of electrifying jolts ran down her body as his lips gave soft feathery kisses on her neck. She was a nervous mush in his arms. "Sweet," He rasped in his deep baritone voice. She stiffened, even more, when his nose caressed her jawline and he inhaled her scent. She was squished against his hard muscular chest and all she could feel and inhale was him. His big veiny hands, his muscular steel-like arms around her waist, and his sinful lips. "Your scent...mhmm... so f*cking addicting," a growl reverberated from his chest. "S...stop," She stuttered. "Shss..." The rough pad of his thumb caressed her lips.

Aria Holt knows she's walking into a trap. When Damien Cross offers her a job at his tech empire, she knows exactly why—eight years ago, her father's company killed his sister and destroyed his family. This is revenge. She takes the job anyway. Her family's name is a curse everywhere else, and her father is dying. She'll endure Damien's cruelty if it means survival. But Damien doesn't just want to humiliate her professionally. He wants to break her, piece by piece, until she feels every ounce of pain he's carried for eight years. He'll control her days, invade her thoughts, and prove that he holds all the power. Except his plan begins to unravel. Behind closed doors, the punishment turns into obsession. The cruelty shifts into desperate need. And Aria—quiet, guilty Aria—starts pushing back in ways that shatter his carefully constructed walls. When the truth about the accident finally surfaces, Damien faces an impossible choice: complete his revenge and destroy the woman he's fallen for, or let go of the only thing that's kept him alive for eight years.

This is a story, Of a deal that turned ugly. 𓍯 Beryl It was just business until it wasn't until he hired someone to kidnap my best friend. One thing you should know about me, I live for my family, and nobody hurts my family and lives. Whoever has her better be prepared. 𓍯 Killian It was a simple case, kidnap her and keep her alive. Until her friend fucked everything over. She's a pretty little thing who thinks she is the worst in the business. If she's the best then I'm her absolute nightmare. One thing you should know about me, I'm ruthless when it comes to my work. _____________