Elena Grace has always lived a simple life, with two supportive and loving parents, she has never felt anything has been missing from her life – except for the first 10 years. As a child she never thought much about it, but nearing her 21st birthday Elena finds herself constantly being reminded of her missing memories. Delving into the mystery of herself, she finds she isn't alone in the pursuit of uncovering what happened one fateful night over a decade ago, the series of disasters that plague her past, and a life she had long forgotten. Along her path to discovering who she is, and who she once was, she meets a whirlwind storm in the shape of a dark and mysterious man named Dmitri Vasilek. He appears out of nowhere and claims Elena as his, ready to lay his life down for her. As the two continue to entangle themselves together, she discovers his appearance in her life isn't coincidental – and Dmitri just might be the key to uncovering her past self, and many more secrets she never knew laid deep within her. || All Rights Reserved Alice Marie 2022
Looking up at the decaying brown building, Elena heaves a heavy sigh while trying to practice her server smile in the smudged front window. A routine she practices every day and has for the last a year since moving to the great state of New York, and landing herself right in the heart of New Jersey, where dreams come true, they say.
"More like where dreams are crushed," she mutters to herself. Tossing aside her long, thick mane of brown hair that she can never seem to tame, she finally settles on a half-hearted smile and trudges in the diner door.
Genevieve's pudgy form and sweaty red face is already waiting for her at the front desk, profusely checking her watch like the minutes are ticking by like seconds.
"What must I do to get you to be here on time, girl?"
"I still have 2 minutes until I'm supposed to be clocked in, and my uniform is already on. I'm always in the dining room by 3PM, I don't understand how that's being late."
"Didn't your mother ever tell you; you aren't walking in the door at 3PM, you should already be working by 3PM!"
Her mother did the best she could raising Elena, but anyone with or without kids could tell that her mother never wanted the role. Not that she wasn't fit to be a mother, Elena couldn't be happier with the way she grew up and the wild adventures she and her family often found them in because of poorly planned trips or immature hijinks.
Growing up, her mother felt more like her childhood best friend rather than a mother, and she never minded it. But she knew she was also missing out on the mother-daughter things that most other girls were getting from their mothers; the sex talk, putting on make-up for the first time, shaving your legs or all the other stages of life girls go through.
Her mother at times seemed more like a tom boy than a girl, and despite wanting to become a professional make-up artist growing up, Elena inhabited a lot of her mother's quirky traits, always making dating for her difficult. She was born with naturally tanned skin that never seems to burn and long, luscious brunette hair and honey brown eyes.
People often told her she could be a model or actress with her height and beauty, that is until she opens her mouth. The face of an angel but the mouth of a sailor, Elena has always found it hard making or keeping friends, or even pleasing her employers. Genevieve was no exception, she will jump down Elena's throat over the smallest things, like being 2 mins early instead of 20.
Ignoring the already bad start to her shift, she puts on her apron and grabs her pen and paper pad before going out, praying that the dinner rush this night won't be so hectic.
3 hours into her shift and everything seems to be going fine, a few big tippers and a handful of dashers hasn't set her mood back too far. With only 3 more hours to go before she can finally clock out and have the few hours of peace she can enjoy at home, before coming back to do it all over again.
"Elena? Where is Elena?" the frantic voice of Sophie, another waitress, calls out through the kitchen. Elena pokes her head out from the office where she was hiding out and resting. "Oh, thank god. Please, I really need your help, it's only my second week here I can't do anything to upset Genevieve or she'll have my head!"
"Slow down, Soph, tell me what happened."
"This group of guys came in, covered in tattoos and really intimidating, but Genevieve said they are really important clients. I messed up, Elena! I got one of them the wrong drink, and he threw it all over the table and accused me of purposely giving him something he can't drink. I didn't hear him properly and I was too scared to ask him to repeat what he said. Oh no, what am I going to do? He doesn't want me serving their table anymore, he demanded a new server, but everyone else is occupied with 2 tables or more, you're the only one on break right now."
Elena holds back the groan she feels trailing up her throat and slaps on a smile. "Sure, I'll take over, come sit down and have a rest. I'll take over the rest of your tables, leave yourself logged into the system though."
Sophie mumbles her thanks over and over as she takes a shaky seat where Elena was just napping. Putting her apron back on, she tries to spot out the table before getting there to see just how difficult these customers are going to be.
She feels her blood run cold when she finally spots them, there is no way that can't be the table she is talking about. A group of four men sit in a booth, each one of them having more tattoos then the next, all sharing an equally pissed off and agitated look.
"Well, this should be fun."
Straightening her back and chanting the mantra over in her head; three more hours, three more hours, keep it together just three more hours, she calmly makes her way over to the table, slamming her paper pad on the table to grab their attention. It's clear they were just being difficult with Sophie because they could tell she was new, and they seem like powerful people. What else do powerful people do when they're bored.
Step on those weaker than them, or their case, bully them.
"Hello gentlemen, I'll be your server for the night. Can I start anyone off with drinks or are we ready to order?"
She is met with a deafening silence and dares a peek over her notepad. The man closest to her with a lip ring and pale grey eyes is looking her up and down, not being shy about it either, and the two other men opposite of him are doing anything they can to not look at her.
It's the man in the middle that is giving her intense chills down her spine and the sudden urge to run as fast as she can in any direction. He seems to be covered head to toe in black ink, each design more intimidating than the last, his deep blue eyes piercing through her.
The moment their eyes meet, she finds it hard to pull away, and feels almost as if he is silently trying to tell her something with how intense his gaze is.
One of the men on the left of her speaks up and breaks whatever trance she has fallen into. "We'll take four double rum and cokes, miss."
Not needing to write that down, she nods her head and scurries off towards the bar, wanting to get away from the group as quickly as possible so she can breathe. Once she is behind the bar, she takes a few deep breaths and gets to work on the drinks, careful not to mess anything up and testing each one with a straw before walking back over.
"Have we decided on anything to eat?" she asks, setting the drinks down and taking her notepad out again.
Once again, she is met with silence, this time all the men looking to the one man in the middle, as he continues to grill her.
"We're still deciding," he finally answers, a smooth, thick Russian accent rolls off his tongue and sends shivers down her spine.
Elena shakily nods her head and scurries off again, this time running straight to the kitchen in the back. She takes another few gulps of air and reaches for the pitcher of water they keep out for servers and kitchen staff.
"Hey, you okay?" Will, the line cook, calls out to her with a concerned look.
She manages a smile and nods her head. "Yeah, I'm good, just a long day."
He frowns and throws down his tea towel, walking up to her to examine her face more closely.
"We've worked together awhile; I can tell the difference between an exhausted Elena and a scared one. I'm aware of the customers you have at your table, Sophie told me everything. Are you sure they aren't giving you trouble? I'll be cooking their food; I got no problem going out there and taking their order."
Elena tries to laugh off his hostile request, but she is tempted to take up his offer. She can't shake the chill from the look that man was giving her, the intensity alone is something she has never seen in a person.
Like he was being reunited with a long-lost love or relative. Wracking her brain, she tries to think of ever meeting a man like him and she can't recall ever meeting someone with nearly as many tattoos as him anyway.
Shaking it off, she composes herself and walks back out there, hoping they are ordering something small and quick so this transaction can be over and done with.
To her surprise when she gets back, the three other men have left and only the one with the pretty blue eyes remains. He is looking intently at what seems like a candid photo of something when she approaches, clearing her throat to grab his attention.
"Will you be dining alone from now, sir?" she asks, hating how her voice still trembles despite trying to calm herself earlier.
Why does this man make me so nervous?
"Do I look like a man who would be dining alone?"
His accented voice and blunt question catch her off guard, but before she has the chance to even be confused, he reaches out and grabs hold of her hand, tugging her just enough for her to fall into the booth next to him. With little effort, he tugs on her skirt and pulls her closer to him.
"I'll be dining with you."
Meet Rylee Parks. JV Cheerleader, kick-ass bowler - and she is in love with her best friend's brother. Meet Aiden Reed. A varsity Football player, he can drink Ireland under the table, and would do anything to protect the friend he sees as a brother. This is Rylee's first year of University and her last year of fawning over a boy who will never look at her the same. But what happens when Aiden is finally woken up to the realization that Rylee won't stay the small and innocent girl she always has been, and his time with her is quickly running out?
Isla Thatcher has given up everything she has ever loved: her looks, her confidence, and her passion for dance. The day a drunk driver takes her mother is the day her beautiful life turns bleak, and to make it all worse, she gains a personal bully. Ace Huxley, star hockey player and captain, has rigid good looks and he will do anything to pick on Isla Thatcher and remind her that her life is miserable. There has never been a particular reason why, but anyone would find someone as mysterious as her weird. But what happens on the day they are reunited, but only one can recognize the other? Isla has regained her confidence and is ready to take life head-on with everything she has missed, but she never expected she would also be given the chance of a lifetime - to bully the bully!
Noel Ashford is the only child of Scott Ashford, famed law attorney of the small town of Bisbee, Arizona. Life for the two is rather simple. Until the day her father brings home a stray criminal in the form of a 6-foot devil, by the name of Harken Lewis - who makes it his everyday mission to uproot Noel's simple life and welcome her to the dangers of his. At the loss of her mother at the age of 10, Noel has depended on herself in the absence of her father, counting down the days until she can leave her small town and finally start living her life outside of her shut-in home. Harken Lewis has lived his 18 years in and out of juvie and foster homes, never knowing the meaning of a home, never allowing himself to be tied down. Shacking up with his lawyer and her daughter is meant to be a means to an end, a pit stop on his journey to greener pastures. He doesn't expect to find the one thing to shake his resolve and shatter everything he thought he knew about himself. Stick a shut-in hermit and an adrenaline junkie delinquent under the same roof, what do you get? Disaster.
Nathanial Galloway, head of the biggest Irish mobster family in New York, soldier and war hero. The economy is thriving, and his family is on top of the world. He has everything at the tips of his fingers, and is steps away from obtaining the immortality he always joked about having in the war. But he still can't fight the nightmares that haunt him at night. The gruesome scenes that play behind his eyes every time he tries to close them. He can't find anything to silence the demons he befriended in the war, and took home with him even five years after. Grace Miller is all to familiar with the demons you don't choose to befriend. Her life has been plagued since the day the war came to her little home in Venice, taking from her, her brother and father. Her mother is stolen from her not long after, before they have the chance to reach their freedom on the American border. Grace is thrust into a life of survival, and fights tooth and nail to achieve the freedom her family handed to her to carry on and find. She does what it takes to get close to her goal. Only a step away, she has one more task she needs to complete. He wants to escape his head. She wants to escape her life. They just might be the key the other one is looking for, but fate has a funny way of playing with those or try and tempt it. A story of love, betrayal and family. || All Rights Reserved © Aubrey Wolfe 2020
*Originally named Changing Her Fate on other platforms* Chloe Brass works her entire life for a goal she never achieves, dying at the young age of 25 after working herself to death - quite literally. On the verge of her last breaths, she prays that if she is given a second chance, she will not take advantage of her life and waste it again. Her prayers are answered when she wakes up in the body of 21-year-old Athena Rose, a successful model and heiress daughter to a wealthy fortune. It seems all her prayers have been answered, and life couldn't be any better. It It seems everything she could ever want is at the tip of her fingers; but all good things must come to an end. While trying to live the life she always dreamed of having, Chloe is quickly learning why even Athena couldn't stand her own life, and tried to harm herself to get out of it. With new goals in mind, Chloe sets out to change her previous fate, and get revenge for the former soul of her new body. All Rights Reserved © Alice Marie 2022
This book is part of a sub-series that is associated with Her Sweet Revenge, but is not a sequel series. || What would you do if your life was snatched away from you, before you had to chance to live it? Would you cease the chance when the opportunity arises; or succumb to the darkness? Tristan Burke is sentenced to 10-years in prison, at the young age of 14-years-old. Accused of a set-up murder, he is saved by a stranger, and given a second chance. Little did he know, that second chance came with a price, which landed him right back where he started. 10-years later, Tristan is released and now faces an entirely new society, carrying with him the demons and trauma he gained from his time spent alone inside. Now, 24-years-old, he must try to function with the growing anxiety and shadows that threaten to consume him Until he meets her. A simple brush of her skin is enough to chase the shadows away. She is a wildflower among roses. He finds comfort unlike anything he has felt before between her arms. She is a heaven send, gifted to him to banish his demons. Can he become the Prince Charming he thinks she deserves? Or will he let the darkness overcome him? || All Rights Reserved © 2019 Aubrey Wolfe
For as long as Emily can remember, she has wanted to overcome her shyness and explore her sexuality. Still, everything changes when she receives an invitation to visit one of the town's most prestigious BDSM clubs, DESIRE'S DEN. On the day she chose to peruse the club, she noticed three men, all dressed in suits, standing on the upper level, near the railing. Despite her limited vision, she persisted in fixating on them. Their towering statues belied the toned bodies concealed by their sharply tailored suits-or so she could tell. The hair of two of them was short and dark, and the third had light brown-possibly blond-hair that reached the shoulders. The dark, crimson background incised their figures, exuding an air of mystery and strength. They stood in stark contrast to the unfiltered, primal energy that pulsed through the club. Shocked by the desires these men aroused in her, she was disappointed to learn that they were masters seeking a slave to divide and conquer. She couldn't afford the fee, and she also realized that they were outside her league. Emily hurriedly left the club, feeling disappointed and depressed, unaware that she had also caught the group's attention. A world of wicked pleasure, three handsome men. Over the years, they have lived a life of decadence, their lavish lair serving as a stage for their most sinister desires. But despite the unending parade of willing subjects, one woman sticks out. A mysterious stranger with white porcelain skin and a killer body, a slave, a name with no address, the first lady to attract their eye and they will go to any length to obtain her no matter the consequences.
On her wedding day, Khloe’s sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. She was sentenced to three years in prison, where she endured much suffering. When Khloe was finally released, her evil sister used their mother to coerce Khloe into an indecent liaison with an elderly man. As fate would have it, Khloe crossed paths with Henrik, the dashing yet ruthless mobster who sought to alter the course of her life. Despite Henrik’s cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"
When Corynn mustered up the courage to tell Elliot about her pregnancy, she unexpectedly found him gallantly helping another woman from his car. Her heart sank as three years of effort to secure his love crumbled before her eyes, compelling her to leave him behind. Three years later, life had taken Corynn down a new path with someone else, while Elliot was left grappling with regret. Seizing a moment of vulnerability, he pleaded, "Corynn, let's get married." Shaking her head with a faint smile, Corynn gently replied, "Sorry, I'm already engaged."
22-year-old Evelyn Carter is attempting to start over in California while avoiding her past. She will be embarking on a new career path as a private school teacher. She is smart, attractive, and doesn't put up with nonsense. Who wouldn't notice her? However, what happens when she attracts the attention of someone unwilling to let her go? Who wants her and nothing else after falling in love at first sight? A 25-year-old billionaire CEO and single father, Lucian Carrington. He takes what he wants and he is also a very dangerous man. All it needed was one look at a stunning woman to realize she was HIS, even though he doesn't believe in relationships because they always end. Preview: Miss Carter, you will be mine. I say firmly. "Release my arm, Mr. Carrington, before I force you to." She says, seeming to smile at me. I give her a sly smile. Squeezing my wrist with her other hand, she twists it uncomfortably. I gave a painful hiss. "Don't underestimate me, Mr. Carrington." "This is the only time I will allow you to walk away from me, Miss Carter." She glared at me as she turned. "Mr. Carrington, I am no possession of yours." I was left standing there when she opened the classroom door and left.
Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"