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
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!"
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."
“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”
After being kicked out of her home, Harlee learned she wasn't the biological daughter of her family. Rumors had it that her impoverished biological family favored sons and planned to profit from her return. Unexpectedly, her real father was a zillionaire, catapulting her into immense wealth and making her the most cherished member of the family. While they anticipated her disgrace, Harlee secretly held design patents worth billions. Celebrated for her brilliance, she was invited to mentor in a national astronomy group, drew interest from wealthy suitors, and caught the eye of a mysterious figure, ascending to legendary status.
On their wedding night, Rogelio wrapped his fingers around Marian's neck and spat at her, "Congratulations! From now on, you live in hell!" The reason for his wrath was that he believed she was responsible for the death of his elder brother. So, he married her but refused to touch her, determined to make her suffer for the rest of her pitiful life! However, due to an unforeseen accident, Marian was forced to sleep with Rogelio in order to save him, and she ended up getting pregnant. Concealing her pregnancy, Marian lived cautiously under Rogelio's watchful eyes. He hated her and relentlessly humiliated her, yet he would never allow anyone else to lay a finger on her— "Mr. Bailey, your wife got into a fight with someone!" Rogelio secretly took action, eliminating that person completely. "Sir, your wife claimed that all of your family's wealth belongs to her!" Rogelio quietly transferred all the shares to her. Unaware of all this, Marian only wanted to escape, but Rogelio pulled her into his warm embrace, whispering, "Mrs. Bailey, where do you intend to go with our unborn child?"