"No-please-don't do this!" Seraphina sobbed, her voice cracking as she clung to her eldest brother's wrist. "I-I'll be good. I'll do whatever you say, just don't-" A sharp crack echoed through the room as his palm struck her cheek, sending her crashing to the marble floor. Pain exploded across her skin, but it was nothing compared to the terror clawing at her chest. From above, his voice was cold. Unmoved. "You will marry him." She shook her head wildly, crawling backward until her spine hit the wall. "He's a monster," she whispered, her breath shuddering. "He's not human. Please, don't make me do this. I'll die." Her second brother crouched in front of her, grabbing her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him. His lips curled, eyes void of warmth. "Then die." Her breath hitched. "But you will die as his wife." The door behind them creaked open. Heavy footsteps. Her father stepped inside, his expression unreadable. "Lock her in this room," he ordered. "She will not step out until her wedding day." Sera thrashed as hands seized her, dragging her toward the massive iron doors. "No! Please-Father, please!" But he didn't even look at her. The last thing she saw before the door slammed shut was her brothers standing side by side, indifferent as she was thrown into a fate worse than death. Then darkness. And the only thing left was the suffocating truth. She was a sacrifice. A bride to the Sinister, a devil himself. #A STANDALONE BOOK

**SAMPLE ONLY - READ ON KU, EBOOK, OR PAPERBACK** US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GV177BWC UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GV177BWC AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0GV177BWC CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0GV177BWC 𝐇𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫. 𝐈𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭. Emerald Sawyer has always been my home. She saw something in me when everyone else saw a hockey goon who could barely read. When the world called me stupid, she called me capable. Her faith built me in ways my father's cruelty never could. Now I'm Hayden "Haymaker" Sawyer-the league's most feared enforcer. My violence goes viral. My fists pay the bills. Every hit, every fight, every autograph, every deal-I told myself I was doing it all for her. Somewhere along the way, I stopped seeing what it was costing our marriage. I let my agent handle the business so I could focus on the game. I ignored the threats and harassment. The fans who hated her simply for being mine. When Emerald tried to show me how cruel it had gotten, I told her it didn't matter. That I would always keep her safe. I was wrong. The losses piled up. The fans turned vicious. My temper snapped, and with one ugly moment, I pushed away the only person who has ever truly loved me. Then, while I was smiling for the cameras, my wife was brutally attacked by a fan wearing my jersey. Now I see everything too late. I want blood from every single person who touched her. And the deeper I dig, the clearer it becomes that none of this was random. My agent, Rick Fox, has been pulling the strings for far too long. I'll do whatever it takes to bring down the people who came for my wife, earn back the woman I love, and prove that this time, I won't fail her again. Because Emerald Sawyer is my home, my heart, my everything.

New York city, In the sterile white walls of a hospital room, Victoria Blackwell's world collapsed with a photo of her husband of five years - Henry Blackwell with another woman. She was more shattered when her son - Jude Blackwell chose that woman as his new Mom. Heartbroken, Victoria decided to give up both the marriage and motherhood. She faked memory loss, demanded a divorce, and walked away - determined to rebuild her life from the ruins. After Victoria's departure, Henry was stunned. The woman who once loved him unconditionally had transformed into someone unrecognizable - confident, composed, and untouchable. Now, Henry is desperate to win her back. Jude clings to memories of his mother's warmth and begs for her return. They both want her back. But Victoria has learned one thing the hard way: sometimes love isn't enough-especially when it costs you yourself.

The man I married broke me. Not because he didn't love me- but because he couldn't stay when grief moved in. Three pregnancies. Three losses. One marriage that shattered under the weight of everything we couldn't fix. And somewhere in the silence, in the distance I didn't know how to cross, he made a choice that broke what little I had left. If only I had known how fragile love could be. This is a story about loss that doesn't heal cleanly. About love tested in the quiet. About betrayal that doesn't come from hate-but from weakness. Sometimes heartbreak doesn't arrive all at once. Sometimes it happens slowly, while you're still trying to hold everything together.

They first met as kids - and he hated her from the start. She was just trying to survive, but to him, she was the girl who didn't belong. When their paths collide again years later, the sparks between them are impossible to ignore. Now, he has to decide: can he let go of the grudges of the past, or will his childhood resentment cost him the one woman who could change everything? Book 2 in my Grovelling Central Series, but can be read as a standalone. PLEASE note, this was the second book I ever wrote and it is rough. Read at your own risk, or enjoy one of my newer books. THIS WILL BE REMOVED ON MAY 9TH. AFTER A MAJOR EDIT, THIS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON KU.

Sophie believed love was simple, predictable, and safe - until Lucas, her fiancé - the man she had trusted with her heart, started drifting away. Between glittering galas, family pressures, and the return of an old flame, Sophie found herself sidelined from her own life - and even her own wedding. Lucas thought love could survive on desire and loyalty alone. But when Sophie disappears, leaving behind a silence that shatters his world, he realizes the truth: love must be earned every day, with honesty and presence. In the months that follow, both are tested, changed, and haunted by what they lost - until a single, impossible moment offers a chance at redemption. Can love survive the fractures of betrayal and reclaim the hearts it almost lost?

Sara Hale thought her marriage to Lucas Hale could survive anything - until Natasha, Lucas's alluring ex, reappears, stirring insecurities, emotional chaos, and a desire that refuses to stay hidden. Amid the glittering skyline of New York, high society, and relentless press scrutiny, Sara and Lucas must navigate jealousy, trust, and slow-burning passion to protect what truly matters. As secrets unravel and longing simmers, they face heartbreak, temptation, and the choices that will define their future. A story of second chances, unbridled desire, and enduring love - proving that some flames, once ignited, never die.

He made me his ol' lady. I thought it was because he'd finally seen me as more than my brother's little sister. Until I heard him talking with his ex, I didn't realize he was with me out of guilt, that he'd promised to protect me. So I ran and didn't look back...until I had to go back to find him waiting for me.

Celeste The discarded Empress, that was what I'd become. Not being able to birth a heir does that to you. Now I had to see my husband take concubines, breaking his vow to me Gabriel A weak Emperor, that was what I'd become. In my bid to save my Kingdom, I lost my wife and now I had to win her back.