Until Death Gives In: He Was My Doom, and Still My Home
The daughter of the Winslow family and the mafia leader of the Yates Group were born as enemies, their families locked in a feud that spanned generations. And yet, somewhere in the clash of blades and pride, love took root.
On the day they first met, Lucien Yates should have killed Mira Winslow. Instead, he shifted the aim of his gun and spared her-saving the proud, untouchable daughter of the Winslow family before him.
She could have run after being saved. Instead, she chose to fall-straight into the depths of his gaze.
For three years, they lived together in secret. Mira was the only light in his endless night.
And for her, Lucien allowed himself a dangerous fantasy-a grand wedding in Silvera, where their love could finally break free from the chains of their families' hatred.
At the height of their love, she was willing to abandon her family name for him. And he was willing to stand against the entire underworld for her.
On his thirty-second birthday, Lucien saw it with his own eyes-Mira handing over a hundred-page document to the head of the Winslow family. Soon after, the Yates Group suffered a devastating blow.
The pain tore through him, drowning everything else. He couldn't believe that the woman who had shared his nights... had betrayed him.
Mira knew nothing. The moment she stepped outside, she was taken.
Iron chains clamped around her ankles. Seawater flooded her throat. The executioner let out a cold laugh. "This is Lucien's order."
Until her final breath, she believed it was the man she loved who had sentenced her to death.
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Chapter 5
"A warrant?" Lucien sneered, "Do you really think you matter that much?"
He said nothing, yet two bodyguards immediately stepped out from the hallway with guns raised, their dark barrels aimed straight at Julian's forehead.
"Right now, I could kill you with a single shot," Lucien said as he stepped closer, his eyes cold, "and no one would come after me. This is Silvera, not a Northhaven police station."
Julian didn't move, he simply shifted to shield Mira completely behind him. "As long as I die here today, Interpol will freeze all your global assets tomorrow. Can you afford to take that risk?"
The air froze.
Lucien stared at the way Julian shielded Mira, a storm of fury surging in his chest.
"Fine." He suddenly smiled and ordered the guards behind him, "Don't hurt Mira, as for this man, shoot him…"
Before he finished speaking, Mira stepped forward and spread her arms to shield Julian, "No, Lucien, don't hurt him!"
Julian pulled her back behind him and said firmly, "Mira, stay behind me."
Their bodies pressed close together, as if bound by life and death.
The last trace of reason in Lucien's eyes snapped.
She was protecting him.
Using her life to protect another man.
"Pull her away!" he roared.
The bodyguards stepped forward and dragged Mira away.
She struggled desperately and cried out, "Julian, go, don't worry about me!"
Julian didn't move at all and met Lucien's gaze, "You can't cage her heart, she hates you."
Lucien burst into laughter, almost unhinged, "Then let her hate me. As long as she's alive under my watch, hatred is fine."
Lucien snatched the gun from a guard and aimed it directly at Julian's heart.
Mira suddenly broke free from the guards with unexpected strength and lunged at Lucien, her beautiful face streaked with tears.
"Lucien… I won't run anymore… I'll never run again, don't kill him, please don't kill him…"
Lucien's heart exploded with sharp pain the moment he heard her broken words.
He looked at Mira as she clung tightly to the arm holding the gun, as if terrified that Julian might be harmed in any way.
He remembered so many things.
He remembered Mira's bright smile from before.
He remembered the times he nearly died in gang conflicts, and how Mira had stood in front of him without regard for her own life.
He remembered their countless intimate moments, her shining eyes, and the words, "I want to marry you."
All of it was a lie.
Every bit of it.
Lucien suddenly seemed to lose all strength, his heart convulsing with pain as the urge to kill Mira consumed his thoughts.
But he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Lucien stared at Mira's tear-streaked face and said word by word, "If I see you have any contact with him again, I'll have him sunk into the sea."
The moment Mira heard the words "sunk into the sea," her blood seemed to freeze.
The world in front of her twisted instantly.
Dark seawater, a cold iron anchor, Selena's mocking smile…
She curled on the ground, trembling violently as tears streamed uncontrollably, "No… don't…"
A sharp pain struck Lucien's chest as he almost bent down to help her.
But the next second, he saw her tear-filled eyes turn toward Julian, as if seeking protection.
She was crying for him.
Hatred overwhelmed the fleeting concern.
Lucien ordered coldly, "Throw Julian out."
The guards dragged Julian away as he struggled and shouted back, "Mira, wait for me, I'll come back for you!"
Mira tried to speak, but Lucien hoisted her over his shoulder.
Lucien strode to the bedroom and threw her heavily onto the bed. He leaned over her, bracing his hands beside her head, his eyes bloodshot like a beast as he said, "Listen carefully, if I ever see you have any contact with him again, I'll throw him into the sea and feed him to the sharks."
Tears slid silently down Mira's face as she said, "Lucien… I hate you…"
There were countless cruel words in the world, yet none hurt as much as those three words, "I hate you," leaving Lucien on the verge of tears.
He suddenly stood up and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
In the hallway, he leaned against the wall and punched it hard, his knuckles beginning to bleed.
Outside, Selena stood in the darkness, almost consumed by jealousy, watching Lucien compromise for Mira again and again felt worse than death to her.
She had already turned Mira into a "traitor," yet Lucien still couldn't bring himself to kill her.
Selena let out a vicious smile and dialed the core members of the council, saying, "Mira must die."
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7.6
Cierra Monroe never meant to steal her mother's life.
One veil. One signature. One wedding meant to save her family....But lies spoken at an altar don't disappear.
Dominic Vance remembers the girl who stood beside him. The way she trembled. The way her eyes lingered.
And when the truth comes out, he doesn't let her go.
What starts as a secret turns into obsession.
What feels like protection becomes control.
And love quickly turns violent.
Cierra is hunted, locked away, and forced to choose between men who all want her for different reasons.
Her boyfriend fights for her freedom.
Her protector betrays her trust.
And her stepfather decides she belongs to him.
Blood is spilled.
Guns are raised.
Promises are broken.
And Cierra learns too late that some vows never end... even when they were never meant to be real.
Because not all that glitters is gold.
Sometimes... all that glitters is my stepdad.
7.5
"I'm going to fuck all of Vincent's memory out of you," he murmurs.
"You're Carter's woman now."
★★★★★
At just 21, Lyla Rose thought she had it all; a loving husband, a powerful mafia family, and a future she believed was secure. But everything comes crashing down when a medical report reveals she's infertile.
Vincent Ricci, her ruthless mafia husband, can't tolerate that one imperfection. In a brutal, heartless move, he divorces her and replaces her with Maria, the fertile woman who can give him the heir Lyla never could. But that's just the beginning.
Refusing to be discarded so easily, Lyla struggles to let go. But when Vincent plans to lock her away in a basement, everything changes. Carter Ricci, Vincent's cold, calculating uncle, steps in. He takes her to his penthouse, promising to protect her, cherish her, and vowing he's nothing like his nephew.
But Carter has his own dark secrets. And once they're revealed, everything Lyla thought she knew about him will be shattered.
When Vincent realizes the mistake he's made, regret consumes him and he comes to take her back. But Carter has no intention of letting her go. He's claimed her, body and soul.
Now Lyla must choose: Will she return to the man who shattered her, or stay with the one who trapped her in a web of lies and manipulation?
And can Carter really hold onto the woman he took through deceit, or will his dark past destroy everything they've built?
★★★★★
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✔️ Ex-husband's uncle
✔️ Mafia x secrets
✔️ Betrayal & forbidden love
✔️ Innocent x ruthless
✔️ Age gap
✔️ Dominant x submissive
✔️ Dark obsession
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8.7
At my father's wedding reception, my new stepmother demanded I give her the sapphire necklace my mother left me when she died.
I told her no. So she had her enforcer throw me to the floor in front of two hundred guests.
He ripped the chain from my neck, shattering my mother's gemstone on the marble floor. When my childhood maid, Arlene, tried to protect me, he kicked her so hard her head cracked open against a stone pillar. My father, a New York mob boss, saw the whole thing and did nothing but laugh with his new bride.
Any love I had for my family bled out on that floor with Arlene.
That night, I found Damien Flynn, my father's sworn enemy. I was supposed to be my father's greatest asset-a virgin daughter to be sold for an alliance. I decided to burn that asset to the ground.
7.1
Astrid waited for Joshua all night as she usually did... And the first thing she received, instead of a cold greeting, was the divorce papers.
"Why?" were her only words when she saw the agreement.
Joshua looked at her indifferently. "It's enough. It's a waste of time to continue this marriage. In the first place, if it weren't for my grandfather, I wouldn't have married you... Sign it!" he shouted. Astrid, her eyes filled with tears, hurriedly took the divorce agreement and put it in her mouth. "I don't want a divorce!" Astrid cried. Joshua didn't respond, he just looked at her and walked away. After all, it was difficult to get into the heart of someone like Joshua. She stood firm in her decision. She had married to take care of her mother's health... Until she lost her too, leaving her with nothing left to hold on to. "He doesn't feel anything for me," she said, wiping her teary eyes. "In the future, I will never appear in front of him again." She took her luggage and, accompanied by a heavy snowfall, disappeared along with her footprints in the snow. She left behind only her signature on the divorce agreement. With a trembling body, she escaped. Five years later, a little boy reminded her of the person she tried to forget.
9.4
I spent the night with a stranger...
Who got me pregnant...
And turned out to be my boss...
Whoops, sorry, did I say "boss"? I meant a MOB boss.
To be fair, I didn't know he was my boss when I slept with him.
I thought he was just the kind stranger offering me a place to stay.
But one night in Misha Orlov's hotel room got me way more than I bargained for.
It got me champagne that tasted like starlight.
Satin sheets as soft as a dream.
And a man with silver eyes who showed me how it felt to come undone.
And then, in the morning...
He was gone.
That's I needed to get my life together anyway.
After all, my ex-not-quite-husband (it's a long story) just emptied all our bank accounts and disappeared, taking my home and my money and my job with him.
So I'm starting from a blank slate.
I find myself a new apartment.
A new job.
And I put both Misha and my husband behind me.
At least, I thought I did.
Until Day 1 of orientation.
When I learn that Misha Orlov is my new boss.
That's bad enough.
What's worse is what came next.
A car crash.
A doctor's appointment.
And two pieces of unsettling news.
Congratulations, the doctor says. You're pregnant.
Congratulations, Misha says. You and I are getting married.
9.0
"You and your baby are mine whether you want it or not."
Renata Neroni's life was shattered the moment she discovered her boyfriend and stepsister's betrayal. In a rare lapse of judgment fueled by grief and alcohol, she spent a single, anonymous night with a stranger, unaware that she had just surrendered herself to Domenico Veronesi, the most formidable figure in the global underworld.
That night left Renata with more than just a memory; she was pregnant with the heir to a mafia empire.
As her father, desperate to free himself from the debts, prepares to marry her off to a man nearly his own age, Renata finds herself trapped. Her only escape arrives in the form of Domenico himself. Asserting his claim, he interrupts the arrangement and brings Renata to his secluded estate.
Within the fortified walls of the Veronesi estate, the man known for his cold, merciless exterior reveals a singular obsession: the protection of Renata and their unborn child.
However, Domenico's readiness to provide is met with a wall of ice.
Despite his efforts to provide for her, Renata's resentment initially hardens into a wall of silence.
To her, Domenico is simply another powerful man attempting to control her fate. However, as she is forced to navigate the inner workings of his life within the mafia world, she begins to see the man behind the fearsome reputation.
Renata discovers the deeper layers of Domenico, a loyalty and a hidden vulnerability regarding their child, and the fear that once defined her begins to dissolve.