Shattered Dreams, Lingering Years
On the day Brett Graham threw his big victory celebration, he held my hand and told everyone I was his destiny.
Even though we were already divorced.
He declared to the whole room that he didn't regret his life-or-death decision, especially since his wife had been among the captives.
Too bad the truth was, on that battlefield, the person he was trying to save wasn't me. It was his mistress.
Just as Brett thought his bright future was finally within reach, the name on the military commendation medal turned out to be mine.
Looking down at Brett from the stage, I spoke frankly to the cameras.
"I believe if a peacekeeping soldier, during a hostage exchange with the enemy, only cares about the safety of his lover, it's a true disgrace to the profession."
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Chapter 1
On the day Brett Graham threw his big victory celebration, he held my hand and told everyone I was his destiny.
Even though we were already divorced.
He declared to the whole room that he didn't regret his life-or-death decision, especially since his wife had been among the captives.
Too bad the truth was, on that battlefield, the person he was trying to save wasn't me. It was his mistress.
Just as Brett thought his bright future was finally within reach, the name on the military commendation medal turned out to be mine.
Looking down at Brett from the stage, I spoke frankly to the cameras. "I believe if a peacekeeping soldier, during a hostage exchange with the enemy, only cares about the safety of his lover, it's a true disgrace to the profession."
"Dr. Jenkins, why had we never heard you and Colonel Graham were a couple before this?"
"Was it because you were among the hostages that Colonel Graham acted so recklessly?"
"Colonel Graham seems to be injured. As his wife, do you have anything to say to the public?"
Stepping off the plane, I was immediately swarmed by reporters. A flicker of irony was all that showed in my eyes.
This was my first time back in the country in a year.
I glanced at my watch. It was 10 P.M. Brett had said he'd pick me up at 9 P.M.
Even now, he couldn't keep a promise.
I wasn't sure whether to feel heartbroken or angry.
Luckily, the Special Dispatch vehicle arrived.
"Dr. Jenkins, get in. We'll take you back."
The one speaking was Dominic Mills, leader of the team assigned to protect us medical personnel.
"Thanks, Dominic."
Once I was in his car, my mind finally started to settle.
"Dominic, I owe you one from the field. Not sure I'd be here without you."
"Don't mention it, Dr. Jenkins. I couldn't just stand by and watch so many people sacrifice themselves."
Right. No decent person could stand to watch that many people walk into death.
But Brett could.
He did it all for Yolanda Evans.
Then, I remembered that surveillance footage was still on my laptop. What a show.
Just then, my phone rang.
I knew without looking that it was Brett calling to pick me up.
But there was no way I would answer.
Just thinking of him brought back the scene of him risking everyone, just to save Yolanda.
The phone rang for a long time. I didn't pick up.
Until our car was forced to a stop.
"Dr. Jenkins, I'll check it out."
"I'll go."
I'd already seen Brett's license plate.
"Is this how the Peacekeeping Corps operates now?" I deliberately taunted him.
"Can't we talk about this at home?" He said, his voice suddenly low, clearly noticing Dominic in the car.
"At home? We're divorced."
My face was cold.
"Divorced? Have you forgotten what I said to you on the battlefield yesterday?"
Our eyes locked. Brett suddenly couldn't speak. He looked away, guilty.
"What happened yesterday was an accident. And if we go public with our relationship now, it's a win-win for both of us."
I was silent for just three seconds, but the atmosphere plummeted.
"And, if I smoothly make Colonel..."
His words cut off as my slap landed on his face.
The sound was sharp and clear.
"Brett, did you forget the bullet that whizzed past your ear?"
Now it was his turn for silence.
"You risking your own neck is one thing. But you risked everyone's lives! Do you even know how many nationalities were in that group?"
As I spoke, my heart ached.
"I just made a bad call this time. I was trying to save you all..."
"No, you weren't. You were saving Yolanda!" Saying it felt like a hand was squeezing my throat, the pain intense.
"I'm sorry, believe me, I didn't mean to... "
"Enough!" I forced down the rage, struggling to state the facts calmly. "You heard her secret SOS message to you, and you abandoned the plan, tried to sneak her out alone!"
He said nothing more. Clearly, any excuse was useless against the truth.
I clenched my fist, then let it go, a sense of release washing over me. "You really are crazy about her, aren't you? So crazy you'd throw everything away?"
"Eileen, you're the only one I love." Finally, he responded.
"No, no. You're not getting it. What I mean is, a morally bankrupt, love-struck fool like you being a Colonel makes me sick."
"I know you handled the rescue. But you have to see my side too."
"What do you know? Do you know after you blew the plan, those terrorists wanted to execute everyone? Especially after Yolanda ran first? The feeling of a gun pressed to my head!"
"I'm sorry... " He apologized again.
"But luckily I was armed too. I just never expected, after I fired, the first thing I'd see was you holding Yolanda."
Every word felt like cutting out a piece of my heart.
In our five years of marriage, we'd spent more time apart than together. Yolanda was his childhood friend. I turned a blind eye when they lived together overseas.
Who could have guessed how deep their connection really was?
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8.6
I was the untouchable Mafia Queen, but my reign ended in the blood-soaked depths of a damp dungeon.
My half-sister, Kelsey, drove a rusted, sharpened spoon into my chest, screaming about the unfairness of fate.
In my past life, my father sold me to the ruthless Don Dante Blackwell as collateral to pay off his debts.
To survive, I took a black-market fertility drug, birthed his heir, and clawed my way to the throne through sheer ruthlessness.
But in the mafia world, a pregnant woman isn't a queen; she's a walking target.
I survived countless bombings and poisonings, only to be betrayed and slaughtered by my own family.
Until my last breath, I couldn't understand. I had sacrificed everything to secure our survival in the empire. Why did my blood and tears only earn me a rusted spoon to the heart?
Opening my eyes again, I am seventeen, sitting in my father's drawing room.
Two black velvet boxes sit on the mahogany table.
Kelsey greedily snatches the box containing the fertility drug, her eyes gleaming with feverish triumph.
"I'll take this one, Papa."
She thinks she is stealing my golden ticket to the crown, completely unaware that she just chose a death sentence.
I lower my gaze, letting my eyelashes mask the cold, lethal amusement pooling in my eyes as I take the remaining box.
Inside is the detailed psychological profile of the Don's dead fiancée.
This time, I won't be a breeding mare fighting off assassins. I will dissect the devil himself.
9.3
After a brutal humiliation turns Aria Collins into the campus joke, she decides revenge isn't enough-she wants power. And the fastest way to get it is by stealing the one thing her enemy wants most.
Zane Parker.
The problem? Aria has no idea how to make a guy like him notice her.
So she makes a reckless offer to the four most dangerous boys on campus-the Steel brothers... who are now her stepbrothers.
At dinner, she slides a paper across the table.
"I want sex education."
Reed's slow grin spreads across his face. "You want us to teach you?"
"Yes," Aria says calmly.
"Oh, little sister, you are being naughty." Cole's hands smoothed down my back, over the curve of my ass. "Naughty girls get punished before they get taught." His palm connected with my right cheek in a sharp, stinging slap.
"Suck it, Aria," Kai ordered, his grip tightening on her cock while he gave inside my mouth. "Get it nice and wet. That's your only job right now."
"She's gonna come," Reed announced as he fingered my cunt. "Look at her. Gonna squirt all over the fucking table. Do it, Aria. Come on, your stepbrothers' hands."
Jasper finally released my hair, letting my head fall forward.
He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear. "Well, Aria? Did you like your first sex education lesson?"
I was wrecked, used, humiliated. And utterly, completely owned.
My voice was hoarse from screaming and sucking.
"Yes, Daddy."
9.6
She was sold as a broodmare. He was a warrior with no memory. Together, they'll burn down the world.
Lyra has been called many things: half-blood, mongrel, dirty blood. Rejected by every pack she's approached, she's given one final chance-as a bride to Ronan, the cruel Alpha of Red River Pack. But when her wedding night becomes a nightmare, she stabs her new husband and flees into the frozen wilderness.
Stellan remembers nothing. Not his name, not his past, not the ancient tattoos covering his body. He only knows that when he sees a terrified woman falling from a cliff into an icy river, he must save her-even if it kills him.
On the run from a vengeful Alpha and his army of hunters, Lyra and Stellan discover an impossible bond growing between them. The moon has chosen them as mates. But Stellan's memories are returning, and with them, a devastating truth: he's not just any wolf. He's the Alpha of the North Star Pack. And a half-blood can never be his Luna.
Now Ronan's brother has sworn revenge, an ancient prophecy awakens, and three packs prepare for war. Lyra must prove that bloodlines mean nothing-and that the most powerful bond of all is forged in ice and fire.
He lost his memory. She lost her freedom. Together, they'll find everything.
8.3
"Strangers in the dark can change your life in the light."
Evelyn never meant to uncover the truth.
But one question won't leave her mind
What's really on those tapes?
What begins as curiosity drags her into a world of secrets, danger, and a man who is everything she should fear.
Lucas is darkness wrapped in temptation.
Ruthless. Dangerous. Untouchable.
He warns her away.
He gives her a chance to run.
But Evelyn doesn't.
Because there's something about him that pulls her closer even when every instinct scream to escape.
He's the villain everyone fears.
And the one she can't stop craving.
In a world where nothing is safe and desire is a weapon, Evelyn must decide:
Run from the monster...
or fall straight into his arms.
Because something can be both delicate and violent.
And loving Lucas might be the most dangerous choice she'll ever make.
8.5
I woke up in the tangled black silk sheets of the Mafia Don's bed, my skin still burning from his ruthless touch in the dark.
The heavy door burst open, and his pristine wife, Bianca, looked at my bruised collarbones with visceral hatred.
Instead of having me killed for soiling her husband's bed, she offered a devil's bargain.
"You will take my place in his bed. You will be a shadow in the dark."
In my past life, I foolishly accepted, thinking her money would pay for my dying mother's hospital bills. I didn't realize the untouchable Mafia Queen was barren and just needed a disposable incubator. After I endured the Don's violent possession and birthed the Moretti heir, they cut off my mother's medicine. Then, they dragged me to a remote warehouse and suffocated me with a wet mattress to bury their dirty secret forever.
Until my last agonizing breath, I didn't understand why my absolute submission and suffering were rewarded with such a brutal, meaningless death.
Opening my eyes again, I was back on the morning after the Don first claimed me.
I knelt on the Persian rug, weeping tears of fake gratitude as Bianca handed me the cash. But the moment my escort looked away, I didn't take her fertility herbs. I bought a bitter root from an alley witch to keep my womb empty. This time, I won't give the Don a child. I'll become his darkest obsession, and use his lethal power to burn this entire family to the ground.
8.1
Alice Monroe has always lived quietly. Between the late nights diner shifts and early morning classes,her world is small, ordinary, and safe. She doesn't have time for distractions especially not the kind that comes wrapped in tailored suits and gray eyes.
Brian carter is used to getting everything he wants as the ruthless billionaire CEO of cross enterprises, people fear him ,envy him and obey him. But the moment he locks eyes with an innocent diner waitress whose innocent eyes disarm him, Brian finds himself craving something he's never had , someone untouchable .
She wants nothing to do with men like him powerful, dangerous ,the kind who burn everything they touch. Yet fate keeps pulling them together. His world is full of secrets and ruthless,hers is fragile and simple. They should never collide.
But he can't stay away .
And she can't deny the fire he awakens in her.