John and Ellie Bradley have the love everyone wants to have, except there is one problem, Ellie is sick. John has to balance his ill wife, job, and in-laws who want to run the show. As John cares for Ellie in what the doctors say will be her last days, he reflects on their marriage and a love of a lifetime.
John POV
"You are not listening to me, John. Ellie is sick. She is too sick for you to take home. It would be best if you put her in a long-term care facility. She needs round-the-clock care until she dies," Dr. Joshua Newbern says to me sternly.
I look over the wall of awards. He probably knows more than I do, but I know my wife, and I will be damned if I put her in a hospital to die alone.
"I said I am taking her home with me," I say.
Josh stares at me. I think he is stunned that I am refusing to do what he wants. "Listen, John; I have known you and Ellie for twenty years. I mean, we all went to high school together. I remember the day you two got together like it was yesterday. I have been here every step of the way for her. I am begging you to listen to me," Josh pleads with me.
I shake my head. "I am taking her home, Josh, and that is final. That is what she wants to do, and that is what we are going to do," I say.
"She will not live long outside the hospital, and you know that, right? Will she consider staying a few more weeks?" Josh asks me.
"Ellie is headstrong and a fighter. You have no idea what she is capable of, and neither do I. She wants to go home, and that is what we are going to do. Please make the arrangements and discharge her," I say.
Josh takes a deep breath. "You will need home health, a nurse around the clock, and someone to sit with her. She cannot be left alone. How are you going to do this and be a cop?" Josh says.
"I will figure it out. I will hire someone to stay with her. My insurance will pay for a nurse. We will work it out," I say.
"John, I understand why, but I do not agree with it," Josh says.
"No, you do not understand. Your wife is healthy. My wife is dying. She is a beautiful young woman, and she is going to die. I want her to die where she wants to die and not in some damn hospital or long-term care facility with people she does not know. Ellie wants to go home, and I will make her last days perfect," I say.
Josh starts scribbling on papers. "I will write the orders for everything she needs. John, if it gets bad, I want you to call me immediately, and I will come to her," Josh says.
"Thank you for everything you have done for Ellie," I say. "Everybody loves Ellie. There are a lot of people who will help you with her. I do not see her living long outside of the hospital, and there are no treatments left for her," Josh says. "I understand perfectly. It is what she wants," I say.
I walk out of his office and down the hall. I take the elevator up to the fifth floor. I want to cry, but I cannot right now. I have to have my brave face on when I see Ellie. I get off the elevator and walk to her room. When I reach room 5523, I take a deep breath and then go into the room. Ellie looks up and smiles at me when I walk into the room.
"Is Josh going to let me leave this horrible place?" Ellie asks.
I sit down on the side of the bed. "Of course, he is going to let you leave. We are going home as soon as he writes all the orders for you," I say.
Ellie touches my face and smiles. "Thank you for not making me stay here, John. I want to go home and see my animals," Ellie says.
"Oh, I thought you wanted to go home to be with me," I say to her.
"Yeah, I guess you are a bonus. I need you too, but you don't have a fur coat or a wet nose," Ellie says.
I have always said she loved her animals more than me. I know she misses all of them. Her rescue dogs and cats mean the world to her. She has been in the hospital for three weeks this time. Her best friend comes over every day to help feed them while I am at work. Ellie has the heart of a saint. I think that is why I do not understand why someone so special has to be so sick.
The nurse knocks on the door. "Mrs. Daniela Bradley, I have your meds," she says. "Ellie, please, it is Ellie," she says softly. "Sorry, Ellie, I have your meds. Dr. Newbern will be by with your prescriptions to take home and your orders," the young nurse says. "Thank you," I say to her.
Ellie takes her meds. I sit on the side of the bed. I know she will be sleeping soon. The pain medicine always knocks her out. She hates it, but without it, she does nothing but screams. It is unfair for someone who could dance the night away to be confined to a wheelchair. She cannot walk anymore. She cannot brush her hair without half of it falling out. I look down at her nails. Her nails were painted every day, and now they are brittle and cracked. Her beautiful glowing skin is replaced with scales from the treatments. No matter how she looks to everyone else, to me, she is the most beautiful woman on earth.
Ellie reaches out to hold my hand. "I love you almost as much as my animals, John," Ellie says with a smile on her face. I laugh. "I love you too," I say. I hold her hand until she falls asleep. I need to make some calls to get the house ready for her. Her health has deteriorated so much over the last three weeks we will need a hospital bed and a shower chair. I need a nurse for when I work to stay with her. I will give her everything she needs to live out the remainder of her life in our home. I want to make sure she has everything she needs.
I kiss her on the forehead. I love you always, my Ellie.
Chloe Walker is starting over in a small town after a terrible breakup with her long-time boyfriend, Jackson Talen. She comes to Shadow Creek to stay with her brother, Cane, who works for bad boy billionaire Axel Arden. Axel Arden is a hot bachelor billionaire with a reputation for leaving women with broken hearts and the son of Vincent Arden, Alpha of the Shadow Creek Wolf Pack. Will Chloe be his mate and his little, or will she be the one to break this daddy dom billionaire's heart?
The Imperial Wolf Series Kate lives with her father, who is a rogue wolf and a drunk with a serious gambling problem. He has sold all of their possessions for gambling money or to cover his debts to the pack casino. When the Alpha's henchmen come to collect his latest debt, he has nothing to offer but his daughter. The Alpha's henchmen take his daughter to serve the Alpha and work off her father's debt. What they do not know is she is a descendant of a line of wolves with special abilities. Is Kate an Imperial Wolf? What happens when the Alpha's son takes a special interest in Kate and her uniqueness?
Jasmine falls into bed with her boss after her husband asks for a divorce, but there's a lot more to sleeping with her boss than she expects. Her boss is an old God who uses his hotel to enslave women. Jasmine and her best friend are trapped in an ancient liar full of men looking for a good time. How are they going to get away from the Lotus?
Alpha Kai has no intention of choosing a mate. He prefers taking a different woman to his bed every night. Things are going great for the Dark Moon Wolf Pack until he gets a call from Alpha Jake from the Red River Pack. He has a problem with two of his warriors and needs to relocate one. Alpha Kai can always use another warrior. The new wolf Beta Finn has a wife, Alaska, and she is the woman of Alpha Kai's dreams. Alpha Kai wants Alaska to be his mate, and he will stop at nothing to have her.
To secure a treaty and bring peace, the Fairy Council demands a marriage between a hidden fairy princess and the vampire prince. Fairy Willow is displeased with the situation, but vampire Prince Lazarus is compassionate and quickly wins her over. The two quickly fall in love as he lavishes her with kindness, but their union is not without its opponents. Her joy is slowly fading away, but Prince Lazarus is prepared to safeguard his new bride and her family.
What happens when a vampire and a wolf are destined mates? Chaos and a wild romance begin when two lovers step into a whirlwind relationship. Love, Marriage, and of course a little drama among the vampires.
Katie was forced to marry Dillan, a notorious ruffian. Her younger sister mocked her, "You're just an adopted daughter. Count your blessings for marrying him!" The world anticipated Katie's tribulations, but her married life unfurled with unexpected serenity. She even snagged a lavish mansion in a raffle! Katie jumped into Dillan's arms, credited him as her lucky charm. "No, Katie, it's you who brings me all this luck," Dillan replied. Then, one fateful day, Dillan's childhood friend came to her. "You're not worthy of him. Take this 50 million and leave him!" Katie finally grasped Dillan's true stature—the wealthiest man on the planet. That night, trembling with trepidation, she broached the subject of divorce with Dillan. However, with a domineering embrace, he told her, "I'd give you everything I have. Divorce is off the table!"
With a contract, they got married in a flash. He doted on her, loved her, and made her the envy of all women in the world. When she took the pregnancy test sheet and stood happily in front of him, he handed over the divorce papers. She didn't ask him for an astronomical compensation,and left without any property. Five years later, when she and her fiancé were choosing the wedding dress arm in arm, he suddenly showed up. He dragged her to his side and said possessively, "Baby, my son said, he doesn't want a stepfather."
On the day of their wedding anniversary, Joshua's mistress drugged Alicia, and she ended up in a stranger's bed. In one night, Alicia lost her innocence, while Joshua's mistress carried his child in her womb. Heartbroken and humiliated, Alicia demanded a divorce, but Joshua saw it as yet another tantrum. When they finally parted ways, she went on to become a renowned artist, sought out and admired by everyone. Consumed by regret, Joshua darkened her doorstep in hopes of reconciliation, only to find her in the arms of a powerful tycoon. "Say hello to your sister-in-law."
She was hurt. She was bullied and made fun of. And the only hope that kept her going was finding her mate. She has always been weak. Weak to the world. Why? Because she was a lantern. She didn't have a wolf. That's what everyone thought about her. When she found her mate, he wanted her to be his slut and not a wife. She might be an omega, but it doesn't mean she will take disloyalty and betrayal lightly. So she did something that no one in history ever did. She rejected an Alpha. "I, Alexis Clark, reject Brandon Sterling, the alpha of Black mist pack, and consider myself a free soul until I decide so."; Were her last words before she left that torturous place and became a rogue. A rogue that everyone was fearing and finding. Why? Because she was the rogue that has become one of the biggest problems of almost all the packs in the country. She was Alexis Clark. A rogue that rejected an Alpha, stealth food, kill other rogues, and more than that was living with humans and studying with them. What will happen when her case is given to the world's most dangerous alpha, Sebastian Sinclair, who has taken it upon himself to punish this rogue. The one who hated rogues and omega to a level that was beyond understanding. Why? Because his mate was an omega, who betrayed him with a rogue before dying. How will Alexis tackle this alpha, in whose College she was studying and living under hiding for almost a year? What will Sebastian do when he finds out the new girl he had been talking to is none other than the rogue omega that he had decided to kill? "To love you with all my might was my only wish, but you were the only one who gave me endless suffering. So today, I promise myself to not fall for anyone."; A simple saying that both Alexis and Sebastian had vowed upon. Will they be able to find their love amidst all these problems?
Life was perfect until she met her boyfriend's big brother. There was a forbidden law in the Night Shade Pack that if the head Alpha rejected his mate, he would be stripped of his position. Sophia's life would get connected with the law. She was an Omega who was dating the head Alpha's younger brother. Bryan Morrison, the head Alpha, was not only a cold-blooded man but also a charming business tycoon. His name was enough to cause other packs to tremble. He was known as a ruthless man. What if, by some twist of destiny, Sophia's path were to intertwine with his?
Rena, forced to flee to escape a marriage to a man as old as her father, made a spontaneous decision to marry Kellan, a stranger whose skills in homemaking were only matched by his financial acumen and his gentle demeanor. As their marriage unfolded, it took on a comforting predictability, with Kellan consistently showing himself to be reliable in every emergency. This sense of security crumbled when Rena uncovered Kellan’s true identity and the hidden motives behind their union. Enraged, she initiated a divorce and disappeared. Yet, it was not long before Kellan found her once again...