All works

A tale of a great fight in the "valley of gold" for a woman.

My fiancé Javen sent me to a yacht in the middle of a New York storm to finalize a high-stakes merger with Alfonse Wolfe, a billionaire rumored to have ice water in his veins. I did it for "us," shivering in a soaked evening gown and cutting my hand on broken glass just to get the signature that would save Javen’s company. But when I rushed back to the Doyle estate, the manor was blazing with lights for an unannounced engagement party. Javen wasn't waiting for me with open arms; he was standing on the dance floor with Blossom Vega, the daughter of his biggest competitor, announcing their union to the elite of New York. When I stepped forward, dripping blood and water onto the marble floor, Javen didn't try to protect me. He looked at me with pure disgust and told the gathered press that I was a "charity case" suffering from mental delusions. His mother laughed while calling me a cockroach, and his father claimed my family’s lost fortune was a hallucination. To ensure my silence, Javen leaned in and whispered that he would pull the plug on my disabled brother’s life-saving medical care if I didn't disappear. I was hauled away by security and locked in a dark storage room like a stain on his perfect evening. I lay there in the dust, unable to process how twelve years of love could be a calculated lie. How could the man I was supposed to marry use my brother’s breath as a bargaining chip after I had just sacrificed everything to save him? I escaped through a second-story window and went straight to the only predator powerful enough to tear the Doyles apart: Alfonse Wolfe. I didn't just ask for sanctuary; I demanded a marriage license to unlock my mother’s secret trust and protect my brother. Standing in a high-security vault as the new Mrs. Wolfe, I discovered a truth that changed the game. I didn’t just have the money to ruin Javen; the deed in my hand proved I now owned the very land beneath Alfonse’s mansion. "I’m not the prey anymore," I whispered, watching the Doyle stock plummet on my phone. "I'm the hunter."

I, Chloe Kessler, heiress to a global hotel empire, was living incognito, sorting spreadsheets in a Charlotte marketing job. My boring, "normal" life and even my boyfriend, Marky, were part of this deliberate attempt to "learn the real world." Then came the shocking dinner. Marky dumped me, blurting out he' d gotten my co-worker, Jess, pregnant, and they were getting engaged. His subtle perfume? It reeked of Jess' s sickly sweet scent. But the real humiliation hit days later. Marky and Jess, his heavily pregnant fiancée clinging to his arm, cornered me publicly at my favorite coffee shop. Their outrageous demand? Reimbursement for Marky's every dating expense – an actual invoice for their infidelity, delivered with my betrayer's sickeningly sweet smile. My mind reeled. They had betrayed me, now they were trying to extort me for their affair. The sheer audacity, the unbelievable nerve of these two, was stunning. Did they truly not realize who they were messing with? My fury mixed with volcanic amusement. Enough was enough. Their greed was the final straw. I pulled out my sleek, black Amex Centurion Card and dialed my family' s top lawyer. It was time to pull back the curtain on my "normal" life and unleash the full force of a Kessler. And to appease my demanding father, I was about to propose a fake marriage to the last man I ever expected: my family' s fiercest rival.

The Fairmont ballroom shimmered with expensive light. It was supposed to be the happiest night of my life, my engagement party with Sarah, my girlfriend of six years. Everything was perfect until Liam, Sarah's assistant, crashed in, drunk and enraged. "A toast!" he slurred, holding a champagne bottle like a weapon. "To Sarah. A woman I love. Not him. Me. It's always been me." The room fell silent as Sarah rushed to him, taking the bottle, her entire focus on placating the man who had just publicly sabotaged our engagement. She led him away, not sparing a glance for my humiliation. My father's words echoed in my ears: "You have three days." The Hayes family pact loomed – an arranged marriage if I wasn't wed by my 35th birthday. Sarah returned, feigning apology, then accepted Liam's smooth, practiced apology on behalf of us both, drawing a line in the sand with me on the other side. Later, back at our apartment, a pocket-dialed voicemail from Sarah revealed her intimate laughter with Liam, confirming their secret connection. A photo, sent by a friend, sealed it: Liam kissing Sarah against an alley wall, a deep, consuming kiss. The final piece of evidence, burning into my mind. This wasn't just a drunken mistake; it was a calculated betrayal. My six-year future, the one I had fought for, lay shattered by deceit. I picked up my suitcase, the fight drained from me. There was only one path left. "Confirm it," I told my father's assistant. "My meeting with the Chen family is scheduled for tomorrow at noon."

A New Orchard And Garden by William Lawson

Everything was happening so fast and it was starting to exhaust me, I had known it's would be scary, I had known it would be hard, But I had not prepared for this. It was very foolish of me, but I still have a lot to learn. Every time I tried to distance myself from the upcoming horror I was sucked right back in. Every time I try to calm my racing heart, the steady beating rose again, threatening to consume me. Being a princess isn't a joke sometimes we have to risk our lives just to make our people happy... Samantha was stuck between two decisions, Runaway and letting her kingdom collapse or marrying the Dragon Lord. Which decision will she take? Will she see the Wicked Dragon Lord? Why did the Dragon Lord want her? Let find out all this in this beautiful story...

I had loved Kade Cordova for ten years, but our marriage was a transaction he despised. He hated me, flaunting his affair with his lover, Kendall, for the world to see. Then, Kendall framed me for corporate espionage. Blinded by hatred, Kade didn't even question it. He had me thrown into a pre-trial detention center. In the cold visitation room, he gave the guards a simple, chilling order. "Teach her a lesson." They ripped my clothes open and violated me as he watched, his eyes filled with disgust. But that wasn't enough. Kendall faked a miscarriage and blamed me. Enraged, Kade forced himself on me, vowing to use my body as a vessel to replace the child I had "murdered." The final blow came when Kendall went to my ailing mother and cruelly detailed every humiliation, causing a heart attack that killed her. I had lost everything. My love, my dignity, and now my mother. All because of lies I couldn't disprove and a man who refused to see the truth. Standing on a bridge with nothing left to live for, I let go. But I didn't die. I woke up with no memory, saved by a kind stranger. For five years, I lived a new, happy life. Until the day the man who destroyed me found me again.

Arthur Quiller-Couch was one of the 20th century's most famous literary critics, but he also wrote many popular works of his own, including these paranormal tales.

Eldridge Hall was a billionaire CEO who viewed his wife as nothing more than a paranoid, hysterical nuisance. During a violent argument over his "fragile" female friend, they fell down a grand staircase. When Eldridge woke up in the hospital, he was trapped in his wife's body, and she was in his. He thought she would panic and beg to switch back. Instead, Ava put on his bespoke suit, took over his company, and claimed his vast empire without hesitation. Meanwhile, trapped in her frail form, Eldridge was plunged into a living nightmare. His "innocent" female friend immediately framed him, pouring scalding coffee on herself to make Eldridge look like a crazy, jealous wife. His own security guards dragged him out of the lobby and threw him into the freezing rain. Worse, he was summoned by his toxic in-laws, who threatened to cut off Ava's mother's psychiatric care if he didn't secure them a lucrative business contract. Then came the excruciating physical agony. Eldridge collapsed on the bathroom floor, bleeding, convinced his internal organs were rupturing. When he begged his wife for an ambulance, she just looked down at him and laughed. "Stop crying, Mr. CEO. You are not dying, you just got your period." As Eldridge lay writhing on the cold tiles, stripped of his power and dignity, he finally understood the suffocating hell his wife endured every single day. But Ava was already running his life, and she had no intention of ever giving it back.

Jane is a teenager in high school who had always been insecure about her looks thanks to her older sister who was always deemed more beautiful. She thought living under her sister's shadow was the worst thing that could happen to her. Until one day, her luck turned for the worst when the school's biggest jerk and the bad boy Jake decided to force her to become his wing-woman to win Liliana's heart! Not only that, she accidentally bumped into an even bigger jerk, Jake's older brother Aaron who couldn't seem to keep his hands off of her. How will she ever escape these ruthless bad boys?

Seraphina "Sera" Voss, a skilled healer in the Silverwood Pack, faces rejection and shame due to an ancient prophecy. Determined to prove her worth, Sera investigates mysterious attacks on her pack, discovering they are orchestrated by Alaric Draven, the ruthless Alpha of a rival pack. With her friends and siblings by her side, Sera uncovers dark secrets about her past and the prophecy that led to her rejection. As she forms an alliance with a rogue werewolf and battles growing feelings for the pack's Beta, the tension peaks when Alaric kidnaps the Alpha's daughter, Isabella. In a daring rescue mission, Sera's bravery shines, but Alaric reveals a shocking truth about her lineage that could change everything. Will Sera save her pack and finally earn her place as Luna, or will the prophecy's curse doom them all?

I woke up to the familiar rumble of thunder, the bruised purple sky mirroring the dread in my stomach: exam day. It was all happening again, precisely like last time. Last time, Kevin, my earnest ex, held us back for Brie, the school' s queen bee, who, ever the drama, insisted on a "critical influencer photoshoot." We were late, of course. But the real disaster wasn't just missing the exam. Later, at a supposed peace offering, Brie handed me a coffee. It was laced with tree nuts, my deadliest allergen. I died. Kevin and his "Elites" lied, claiming I was distraught and ate something by accident. Brie played victim online, painting me as the bully, while my mother' s quest for justice shattered her life. Having lived through that betrayal, that humiliation, that fatal setup once, to wake up here again on this exact morning felt like a second chance – not just at life, but at cosmic rebalancing. Why was I back? This time, I wouldn't say a single word. Let them wait. Let them miss their exam. Let them ruin their own lives. My future at MIT was already secure. Theirs, however, was about to unravel, with me watching from the sidelines.

Samantha Thomas is no ordinary agent. Known for taking on the most dangerous assignments, she works in the shadows, doing the jobs others can't—or won't—do. But when she receives an invitation to her old friend Carey's wedding in Coronado, she sees an opportunity not just to reconnect, but to confront her past. Coronado isn't just any destination; it's the hunting ground of her deadliest targets—and the home of the Arthur brothers, Owen and Alex, men she has tried to leave behind. As Samantha balances her mission with the haunting memories of a life she's tried to escape, a brutal attack leaves her vulnerable, spiraling her into a web of betrayal and danger. Owen Arthur finds Samantha's room in shambles, blood pooling on the floor, and realizes she's gone. Determined to find her, he dives headfirst into a deadly game of cat and mouse, where the lines between friend and foe blur and the stakes are higher than ever. Samantha must navigate a world where love and loyalty are luxuries she can't afford. But what happens when her next target is closer than she ever imagined? And what will she do when the one person she's been avoiding becomes her only chance at survival? In a world where trust can be deadly, Samantha must decide: will she embrace her past or fight for a future she's never dared to dream of?

Her impression of him when she first met him was that he was someone weak and foolish despite being so tall; someone born to be bullied. Who would have thought that everything was just a mere act! He was as bad as the ones who bullied him. No, in fact, he was worse than them. Strong like a tiger, cunning like a fox and deviously charming like the devil himself… How did someone like her fall in love with him? No, how did someone like him fall in love with her? She was just like a naïve little bunny with a gentle beauty and brains to study or that… was what he thought all along.

Dwayne is next in line in the Alpha title. He rejected his mate because she was just a human. But as soon as she accepted his rejection his whole world crumbled. After a month they met again but it was not a simple encounter it turns out that his human mate is connected to the royalties of werewolves. Would he be able to chase her back? Or end up regretting it for the rest of his life?

She was always the good girl. Until heartbreak made her reckless. Elena Sinclair thought marriage meant forever. But five years in, her "forever" has become a gilded cage of pain and betrayal. She's the wife who couldn't give him a child. The barren disappointment. And for that, her husband offered her a cruel compromise... an open marriage. One that gave him the right to find someone who could carry his heir. The next day, he brought a pregnant woman home. The same woman who was first introduced as his cousin. The humiliation doesn't end there, his mother lashes out... hurling insults and even fists, while her husband turns a blind eye. Not once has he defended her. Not once has he shown her love. She's nothing more than a placeholder... a name on a marriage certificate. The cruelest part? She loved him. She loved him long before the vows, long before the lies... so deeply it blinded her to who he really was. Now, to make him jealous, she turns to the one man she should never touch: Jaxx Moretti, her husband's younger brother. The dangerous one. The black sheep of the Sinclair family. The man who once made her high school years hell... and now has every reason to destroy her husband's legacy. What starts as a twisted game soon ignites into something raw, addictive, and completely forbidden. But Jaxx isn't just her escape. He's everything her husband isn't. Because the deeper she sinks into Jaxx's bed... The harder it becomes to crawl back out. Content Warning: This book contains mature themes intended for adult audiences (18+), including explicit sexual content, toxic relationships, manipulation, and emotional trauma. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

"Three years ago, standing at the altar under the admiring gaze of hundreds, Gabriel declared that he would love only Catherine, unwaveringly, for the rest of his life. Three years later, after receiving a diagnosis of infertility, he heartlessly threw divorce papers in her face and cast her out onto the streets with nothing. Three years ago, Catherine, in her kindness, saved a girl who was about to be sold into a brothel, taking her in as a beloved younger sister. Three years later, watching the very girl she once saved walk down the aisle on her ex-husband's arm, standing in the same place she once stood, reciting the vows she once made, Catherine could only muster a bitter smile. She gently touched her flat stomach, where an unborn life, a gift from heaven, was beginning to form. She vowed to herself that she would leave Gabriel far behind, but... 'Catherine, you are mine. Divorce or not, you will forever belong to Gabriel.' 'Catherine, be good. Stop causing trouble, okay?' 'Catherine! If you dare to leave, I will break your legs!' 'Catherine, stay with me, I beg you...'"

Alex Carter was supposed to be my protector, my ex-boyfriend whose job it was to keep me safe. But his heart, his entire world, orbited Chloe Davis, his childhood sweetheart and a rising social media influencer. Then came Chloe's fiancé's yacht party, a night I' d lived through eight times before, where masked men stormed the deck and dragged us both below. The kidnapper's satellite phone rang, and Alex' s voice, frantic and raw, filled the small cabin. "What do you want?" he demanded. The voice on the other end was gravelly. "A choice, Mr. Carter. We only have room for one return passenger. Your call. The influencer or the other one." There was no hesitation, not a single agonizing second. "Let Chloe go. Take the money, just let her go." The words hit me harder than any bullet, crushing me with the weight of my own worthlessness as I was untied, dragged to the edge of the yacht, and pushed into the icy water. I had died eight times before, each "favor" Alex cashed in to rewind time, always for Chloe. But the ninth time, as darkness consumed me, a cold, sterile light bloomed behind my eyelids. `...DESPERATE PLEA FOR SELF-RELIANCE DETECTED...` `...OVERRIDING OPERATIVE CARTER'S AUTHORITY...` `...ACTIVATING HIDDEN PROTOCOL...` `[SELF-RESCUE PROTOCOL: ENGAGED]` I wasn't just being revived; I was being granted administrative access to my own mission file, my own life. This time, I' d save myself.

I stood before the double doors of the master suite, my hand hovering inches from the polished brass. As a surgeon, I was trained to steady my heart before a cut, but the silence in the Alexander estate felt like the heavy, oppressive pause that always preceded a scream. I pushed the mahogany door open to find my fiancé, Authur, tangled in Egyptian cotton sheets with a woman named Jasmine. The air was thick with the scent of expensive cigars and a floral perfume that wasn't mine—a brutal reality check just twenty-four hours before the merger meant to save my family from total ruin. Authur didn't look guilty; he looked amused, coldly telling me to close the door because I was letting in a draft. When his parents unexpectedly arrived, I was forced to hide his mistress and pretend our "intensity" had ruined the room, donning his discarded shirt to look disheveled just to protect the Lawrence family stock price. The humiliation only deepened on our wedding morning when Authur issued a sadistic ultimatum over the phone. "Wear your scrubs to the altar—the ones covered in blood—or I'll watch your father's company go belly up by lunch." He wanted to turn our wedding at St. Patrick’s Cathedral into a public execution of my dignity. I walked down the aisle in shapeless navy cotton and crimson stains, enduring the horrified gasps of the elite who labeled me an "insane gold digger." Authur stood at the altar, reeking of whiskey and malice, certain he had finally broken me and turned my professional oath into a circus act. But as the priest began the vows, I looked at the man who thought he owned me and realized I wasn't his victim—I was his surgeon. I had the footage of his debauchery ready to play for the world, and as we shared a punishing, hateful kiss for the cameras, I knew the real war had only just begun.

Five years after the death of her husband, Penelope Hampson meets Jeremy Gilbert at a party, and the attraction between them is just so intense. Seven months later, things had moved really fast between them and Penny is so much in love with Jeremy... And Jeremy loves her too—well, at least he says he does. But the problem is that Jeremy could not.... Or would not ask her to marry him. He seems to want the whole relationship package—Except the responsibility. ------------------ The thirst that kisses could not quench.... Was Jeremy right? Should Penny give in to his demands. The attraction between them had now grown into a throbbing, scorching flame of desire. She could no longer be satisfied with just those passionate, disturbing kisses. And Jeremy was a man. He wanted more —much more —than kisses.