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For three years, I was Keagan Steele's passionate secret, the "Wild Rose of Beverly Hills" who finally tamed the city's coldest billionaire. I thought our love was real, a quiet world built away from the glitz. Then I overheard him call me a "placeholder," a three-year experiment until his true love returned. That true love? My vicious stepsister, Alba. He abandoned me after a car crash, choosing to save her while I bled in the wreckage. He watched as my stepmother beat me with a horsewhip, even suggesting she use it to break my spirit. He even broke my wrist to give Alba a locket that belonged to my dead mother. When a falling light fixture threatened Alba, he dove to save her, taking the hit himself. His body, shielding hers, was the final, brutal proof: I was nothing. But as I lay broken, a chilling thought took root. If I was going to be the villain of their story, I might as well play the part. And this time, I would burn their world to the ground.

A touching tale of companionship and redemption, that challenges the age-old 'blood is thicker than water' adage. Silas Marner, a weaver, is cast out from his religious community and arrives in Raveloe, where he is feared because of his mysterious nature and brooding manner. When he is left an unwanted child to care for, his love for the child grows, and the unlikely pair find kidness from the community towards them does too.

In my previous life, I was tortured to death in a damp cellar, my bones snapped one by one. It was all because of my sister, Katrina. She had convinced me to run away to Sunstone Ridge, only to leave me bleeding in a hunter's trap with a shattered ankle. "You will always be a worthless coward," my mother had sneered, blaming me for missing my Awakening ceremony. My family treated Katrina like a precious princess, but abused me like a stray dog. When I was finally captured and tortured by a monster, my mother and brother did nothing to save me. Katrina even smiled as she abandoned me to the wolves, stealing the perfect life that was supposed to be mine. Until the very end, I didn't understand why my own flesh and blood hated me so much. Why did they always blame me for her mistakes? Opening my eyes again, I was back on the day I was sixteen, right before our supposed escape. I checked my shoulder and found my fated wolf birthmark blurred into an ugly smudge with herbal paste. Katrina was reborn too, and she had already acted to steal my fated Alpha mate. But this time, I didn't follow her into the woods. Instead, I locked my door, faked a severe illness, and waited for our father to come home. This time, I would let her walk into her own trap, and I would take back everything.

Evelyn had to give up her lover, Damian, who had been with her for more than five years to marry her best friend and half-sister. She must be willing to separate for the wishes of her stepmother's extended family. Damian did not accept Evelyn's decision and tried to approach her again. Evelyn rejected Damian and then approached the man who had been close to her. As it turns out, this marriage has something to do with the past between the three of their extended families which is very tragic. Can Evelyn uncover who is responsible for their past? Can Damian accept the reality he has to go through?

Revolutionary for the time in encouraging children to think like children, the adventure of Princess Irene and Curdie, the boy miner, was to influence generations of writers, including Chesterton and Tolkien. Overflowing with fantastic ideas and images to delight the young and allegory to inspire their morality The Princess and the Goblin has remained one of the most exciting tales for over 100 years. Irene lives in a castle on a mountain under which there is a labyrinth of tunnels inhabited by Goblins. Also, within the hillsides, is a group of miners digging for precious metals. When the Goblins try to kidnap the Princess and flood the mines it is up to Curdie, the boy miner, and Irene's great-great-great grandmother to use their wit and resource to defeat the wicked plan. 'I for one can really testify to a book that has made a difference to my whole existence, which helped me to see things in a certain way from the start; ... of all the stories I have read, it remains the most real, the most realistic, in the exact sense of the phrase the most like life. It is called The Princess and the Goblin, and is by George MacDonald...' —G. K. Chesterton

The Story of Seville by Walter M. Gallichan

"Fuck, Princess, you're driving me wild," Silas growled, his voice thick, almost desperate. His hand tightened in my hair, urging me on, but his words steadied me. "Don't stop, just like that." "Imogen," he rasped, my name a warning and a plea But his hand stayed steady in my hair, not forcing but grounding me. "Easy, Princess," he murmured, voice rough but soothing, even as his body shook with his release. "You've got this." "Fuck, Imogen," he said, voice low and warm, a smile tugging at his lips. "You're incredible." ************** When love turns toxic, desperation takes over. Imogen's marriage to wealthy Perry was supposed to be a fairytale, but behind the glamour, she's suffocating. Caught in a web of lies and infidelity, Imogen's last hope is a romantic trip to Rome. But when she catches Perry cheating, her world crashes down. Enter Silas Moretti - mysterious, charming, and passionate. As Imogen's secret affair with Silas ignites, she finds herself trapped between two worlds: one of luxury and lies, the other of forbidden desire and danger. When murder entwines their lives, Perry becomes the prime suspect. Imogen's dark secrets surface, and Silas promises to help. But as their romance intensifies, Imogen realizes she may have traded one cage for another. Will she escape the deadly trap of her own making, or will her quest for revenge consume her? Dive into this twisted game of love, lies, and betrayal, where nothing is as it seems, and the line between freedom and captivity blurs. Can Imogen break free, or will she become the next victim?

Have you ever had an affair? Because me I did it, I know it's wrong but why can't I forget that night? The way how he claimed me and made me feel even weirder when it came to bed. Athena Escarra is a promising young lawyer who loves her work more than anything. She's been married to her husband, Oliver Smith, for six years and would never indulge in an affair-until she met Alessandro Sinclair. Alessandro Sinclair, a prominent CEO of the Sinclair Company, is your everyday rich man who has casual flings and moves on-until he met Athena Escarra. He found himself irresistibly attracted to her and would do anything to have her again.

Aubree pushed Ezra down the grand staircase, crippling the only man who silently protected her. She thought she was finally escaping his control to be with her true love, Foster Newton. But she had no idea it was a vicious trap meticulously set by Newton and her sweet, innocent cousin, Brandi. Once Ezra was driven out of New York in despair, Aubree's life became a living hell. Her father completely disowned her. Brandi smoothly took over her home and her millions in inheritance. "You were just a stepping stone for us, Aubree." That was the last thing Newton sneered before leaving her to die. Lying on the freezing floor, her warm blood pooling in her palms, Aubree finally saw the horrifying truth. She had destroyed her own family and ruined the one man who genuinely cared for her, all for a pair of greedy parasites. Endless regret and suffocating hatred consumed her fading consciousness. Why was she so blind? Why did she let them manipulate her into destroying her own life? Then, her eyes snapped open. A violent wave of dizziness hit her. She looked down at her pale, flawless hands. There were no deep cuts. There was no sticky blood. She was back. She had miraculously returned to the exact night she pushed Ezra, just two hours before his private jet was scheduled to leave forever. Hearing her father's furious roar outside her bedroom door, Aubree didn't cower. She wiped the smeared makeup from her face, her eyes turning dead cold. This time, she was going to make Ezra stay, and she was going to send those leeches straight to hell.

When Claire agrees to play her cold-hearted boss's girlfriend for a weekend, she never expects a fake romance to turn into a nine-month marriage contract worth millions. She becomes trapped in the world of the ultra wealthy and her abusive ex resurfaces to blackmail her with millions. She also falls in love with her cold-hearted boss, leading to an affair that gets her pregnant. But the reason for the contract marriage is no longer necessary. What happens now that Claire has no reason to stay married to her cold boss?

This Crime & Mystery Collection by Richard Marsh includes: Crime and the Criminal The Datchet Diamonds The Chase of the Ruby The Twickenham Peerage Miss Arnott's Marriage The Great Temptation The Master of Deception A Duel The Woman with One Hand The Coward behind the Curtain A Woman Perfected Violet Forster's Lover

Jacqueline -- Volume 2 by Th. Bentzon

Maureen is a girl who has always been protected by her brother. They loved each other like every sibling. Their parents rarely had time for them so her brother was like her parent to her. Anyone who messed with her had her brother to contend with. Her brother turned eighteen four years before her and he became distance and uncaring towards her. Then suddenly came her eighteenth birthday. His wolf started acting weird and insisted Mauren was his mate. From then on all hell broke loose.

"Do you think I'm beautiful?" Anderson's back stiffened. Undoubtedly, she was beautiful. After a while, he said uneasily, "Yeah." Clarissa moved closer to him. She whispered in his ear and she thought that her voice was very low, "If I want to sleep with you, will you agree?" He narrowed his eyes slightly and said with meaningful eyes, "You have to pay the price for sleeping with me. Are you sure?" "Money? I have money."Clarissa laughed,"Aren't they looking down on me? I'm going to find someone who is much better than him. I want to piss them off!" She then put her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. It was a torrid night. The next morning, however, he handed her a copy of the marriage application she had signed. -------------------------------------- Clarissa Chapman, one day, when delivering condoms to a hotel room, she found her client was her... fiance? She caught her fiance and half-sister in bed! Only then did Clarissa realize that her six-year-relationship boyfriend had cheated on her! What's more ridiculous? Her father said it was because she wasn't attractive and her sister's more deserving of him. Dumped her douchebag fiance, she bumped into her Mr. Right by a one-night stand! Wait... why was this man looked exactly like the Billionaire CEO - Anderson Jordan on TV?! Anderson was of many things, handsome, considerate, and loyal. She'd never imagine a gorgeous like Anderson would fall in love with her, until that day... Her nightmarish family found her, trying to drag her to the miserable past...again...

Fiona Stone was relentless, she was the typical good girl who sought after validation and she was also a perfectionist. Everything was going smoothly for her until when a new CEO came to the office, Keith DuPont. She was star struck by him and fought a battle of loving and hating him at the same time. The duo started out on a tough path after Fiona bumped into him at a coffee shop and spilled coffee over his favorite suit. Keith decided to take revenge by increasing her workload and making her spend extra time at the office with him. Meanwhile, he was still in pursuit of who murdered his father two years ago. He found himself falling in love with Fiona slowly while trying to uncover the murder mystery. Read on to find out what happens when Fiona discovers his secrets and what fate has in store for them.

Gabe and Myra have been together for years now. They are relationship goals. Everyone says they will end up married and last forever. They have always been the “it” couple. They are so in love that nothing could ever come in between them, or so they thought. Gabe and Noah have been the best of friends for twenty years now. They were more like brothers then just best friends. Their moms had even grown up together, so it was like one big happy family until well it wasn't. push them all too far? What could break apart these best friends and this unbreakable couple. Love can turn to hate so easily when lies and heartbreak come into play. When it's all said and done can any of them survive this? Who will betray who? Can they be forgiven? Or will this

Valeria Monroe has spent her life chasing perfection- top grades, a flawless reputation, and a future meticulously planned by her parents. Nothing has ever distracted her from success. Until now. A chance discovery threatens to shatter the pristine world she's built and suddenly, the truth feels more dangerous than a lie.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

CONTENT WARNING: /This novel contains mature themes, explicit sexual content, strong language, and adult situations. Reader discretion is advised./ She was born to lie. He was born to enjoy it. Vivienne Moreau is a fox. A beautiful dangerous fox in a corset. A thief. A con artist. A seductress. She robs nobles blind, strips them of gold-and sometimes their trousers-just for fun. She sleeps with them to make the theft more... satisfying. Seduction? Her weapon. Theft? Her art. Lying? Second nature. Trust? Never. Love? That's for fools. Chaos? Her favorite toy. This is her last job. One château. One golden horse worth more than she's ever dreamed. One chance to vanish forever. Rich and alone. Her plan is simple: pretend to be a maid, steal the treasure, disappear. Easy. Simple. Foolproof. Then she meets Duke André Rousseau. Calm as glass, handsome, harmless-looking-but mad, bored, terrifying... and completely insane in a way that smells like obsession. He knows she's a thief before she even steps across the gates. Every lie she plans, every trick she schemes, every insane impulse-he sees it. And he decides to play. He doesn't want her arrested. He doesn't want her caught. He wants her undone. To watch her spin, unravel, claw, scream-his predator turned prey. Vivienne thinks she's the hunter. That she's untouchable. That she's in control. She isn't. She's his game. His obsession. His chaos made flesh. And in this war of greed, madness, and teeth-bared games... someone will break. Maybe her... Maybe him... Maybe both.

I was Sarah Miller, a junior architect, on the cusp of a life-changing promotion, meticulously crafting a future I believed was mine. But then, like a phantom limb ache, the terrifying memory hit: my "father," David, barging into my review, screaming baseless accusations of kickbacks. In my first life, this was only the beginning, the calculated unraveling of everything I held dear. My entire "family"-David, my "mother" Susan, "Grandma" Carol-systematically dismantled my reputation, framing me for identity theft, driving me into mountains of phantom debt. Their biological daughter, Jess, the "roommate" I thought was a friend, gleefully joined their schemes, twisting the knife. I was relentlessly doxxed, blacklisted from my profession, and ultimately met a brutal, senseless end in a hit-and-run. I died, my last conscious thought a haunting question: Why? Why did the people who raised me orchestrate such a relentless, professional campaign to destroy my life? The sheer depth of their calculated malice went beyond mere familial dysfunction; it foreshadowed a sinister, hidden truth far more profound than I could have imagined. But now, I'm back. It's the very same morning, the same inescapable dread, but this time, the grim knowledge has become my power. I remember every trap, every lie, every betrayal they planned. They believed they had broken me irrevocably once. They're about to discover that their carefully constructed world of deceit, built upon my stolen identity, is on the verge of spectacular collapse. Because this time, I'm not just surviving; I'm fighting back to expose every single one of their fraudulent secrets, and to reclaim the life that was always rightfully mine.