"Unfortunately for you, there is no going home. You're mine now, to do with as I please." Fate seems to be throwing problem after problem at nineteen year old Makayla Delgado. Her own parents are not who she thinks they are, and now on top of that, they want to send her away. As if that's not enough, she is kidnapped by sexy, mysterious Damon Cucinelli who doesn't seem to care that her father has a lot of money and could be dangerous. All she knows about him is he f**ks her really well and he has held her hostage in his enormous house. What happens when the lines start to get blurred for her and she finds herself falling for her father's worst enemy, and who will she choose if it comes down to it?
"The MAFIA?!"
I shriek, my hands balled into fists at my sides, and stand up from where I'm sitting on the couch. Usually, I would have never used this tone of voice with my parents.
But then again, usually, we would also not be seated in our living room-which now, come to think of it, is not what a lawyer and therapist can normally afford-talking about something I have always thought just an urban legend.
"Calm down, Kay. Yes, we agree that that was not the best decision on our part," dad says calmly...way too calmly, and places his hand over mum's, who nods at me like she has been doing all night. There is no way she just agrees with all the bullshit he is spewing.
"But right now, they don't know about you, and we plan on keeping it that way."
I laugh, a hollow dry sound, and drag my fingers through my hair. Who the fuck are they?
"Okay. They don't know about me, great. What's going to happen to me if-when they kill you guys? What are you going to do?" I choke out, my voice cracking at the very end.
"It will not come to that, Makayla. And for your own safety, we are sending you far away from here. You're growing up, and it's about time you learned to be respons-"
"Oh, bullshit! Growing up my ass. When it comes to what I want, it has always been you're not old enough yet, so what has suddenly changed?" I yell, and slap my palm against the sofa.
Their wide eyed, disbelieving expressions tell me that I have their attention, and I clench my jaw to try and level my breathing.
"This is not about me. You're just trying to protect yourselves. You know that by getting rid of me, you're making yourselves invincible right? Because then you'll have nothing to lose. They'll have nothing to blackmail you with, right?"
Mum shakes her head and stands up to come to me, but dad grabs her hand and stops her.
"Kay, you should know...we did not know-"
"So why the hell am I the one paying for your ignorant bad decisions then, huh? Why is it me who has to go and start over, like I am the one who made the mistake? I am not just a fucking liability you know!" I scream at him, and I watch as his face changes from sympathetic to annoyed.
I know I am acting out of line, but can they blame me? This information is too much to process all at once.
Did he expect me to just smile and say it was all fine after finding out that they are criminals who now want me to just uproot my life because of their life choices?
And, they must think I'm really stupid if they believe I don't know that the only reason they're telling me all this now is because there is some kind of problem.
"It doesn't matter what you think we are doing here. You have tonight and the morning to pack a few bags. I'll give you three credit cards of clean money for the start. Everything else, we shall send over when you settle. Hugo will take you to the airport, and there will be a plane waiting for you there. You will leave Manhattan, and there will be no further discussion about this," he says with an authority to his voice that he has never used with me, one that says he means every word.
"You can't make me leave, dad." I grit out with way more confidence than I actually feel, but he does not even flinch.
"I hope I will not have to. And, the sooner you understand that everything we did-everything we are doing is for you, the easier this will be. I'm tired... I'll go and rest now," he says dismissively, turns on his heel and walks away.
Mum stands up and follows him, glancing at me over her shoulder with tears in her eyes.
"I never asked for any of this! Don't try to pin your shit on me. You can't make me leave. I hate you both. I fucking hate you," I scream into the empty living room, tears falling freely down my cheeks.
Great, now my makeup is ruined. I want this to be a bad dream, or for my normal, ordinary, boring parents to appear at the top of the staircase and yell April Fool's and then we can all laugh about this, but it's all too real, because a) I'm wide awake and b), we're in the middle of fucking May.
My knees buckle, and I fall to the floor and rest my head against the cool leather of the couch with resignation.
The mafia? What next...is someone going to tell me the illuminati is real too? Or werewolves?
And...they are just sending me away without any sort of explanation other than 'you would not understand'. What about my dreams? My goals? My friends? My scholarship at Yale-the only thing I have that is really, truly mine, that nobody has just handed over to me, what about all that? And if something is wrong, how do they expect me to just leave and stay away knowing that they are probably not safe back here?
"Fuck!" I breathe out, and hug my legs to my chest.
And then it hits me. I don't have to leave. They cannot make me if they don't know where the hell I am. Manhattan is littered with hotels, and all I have to do is switch out every couple of days.
I go upstairs to my room, slam my door extra hard for good measure, and pull out the wad of allowance money I have stashed under my mattress since junior year. I count the bills and stuff them into a bag together with a couple of clothes.
If I run out, I could just place a random call or something, but they would have probably abandoned the whole sending me away idea when that happens. Anyways, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
I climb out through my window, run across the backyard and duck out of the small gate that leads right into an alley behind the house. When I am a few blocks down the street, I order an Uber and then turn off my phone as soon as it arrives.
"The Silver Springs hotel, please," I tell the driver with a smile, and lean back on my seat.
Mum and dad are right about something. I am growing up, and I have to start acting like it. They need to stop controlling my life, and I need to stop fucking letting them.
Carlos has landed the jackpot with his new job at Logan's porn company. Or so he thinks. Logan has an old score to settle, and Carlos just happens to be the missing link in that puzzle. After a calculated romantic getaway where Sparks fly and feelings combust, will the truth settle easily on either of them?
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
Elin spent twenty years deeply loving her husband, finally marrying him just as she'd always dreamed. But reality shattered her illusions—he wasn't the man she believed. Instead, he callously destroyed her family, crushing her heart beyond repair. At her lowest point, Ruben, equally betrayed that night, approached her steadily. "Marry me, Elin. I'll help you take revenge." Yet, after their wedding, she quickly discovered he was dangerously unpredictable. "I made a mistake. Let's divorce..." Ruben slid his arm possessively around her waist, whispering a chilling promise, "Only in death."
After three loveless years, Neil's betrayal deeply wounded Katelyn. She wasted no time in getting rid of that scoundrel! After the divorce, she devoted herself to career pursuits. Rising to prominence as a top designer, skilled doctor, and brilliant hacker, she became a revered icon. Neil, realizing his grave mistake, tried in vain to win her back, only to witness her magnificent wedding to another. As their vows were broadcast on the world's largest billboard, Vincent slid a ring onto Katelyn's finger and declared, "Katelyn is now my wife, a priceless treasure. Let all who covet her beware!"
"Ahh!" She was in a moaning mess. She did not want to feel anything for this man. She hated him. His hands began to move all over her body. She gasped when he pulled down the back chain of her dress. The chain stopped at her lower waist, so when he zipped it off, her upper back and waist were exposed. "D-Don't touch m-ummm!" His fingers rolled around her bare back, and she pressed her head against the pillow. His touches were giving her goosebumps all over her body. With a deep angry voice, he whispered in her ear, "I am going to make you forget his touches, kisses, and everything. Every time you touch another man, you will only think of me." - - - Ava Adler was a nerdy omega. People bullied her because they thought she was ugly and unattractive. But Ava secretly loved the bad boy, Ian Dawson. He was the future Alpha of the Mystic Shadow Pack. However, he doesn't give a damn about rules and laws, as he only likes to play around with girls. Ava was unaware of Ian's arrogance until her fate intertwined with his. He neglected her and hurt her deeply. What would happen when Ava turned out to be a beautiful girl who could win over any boy, and Ian looked back and regretted his decisions? What if she had a secret identity that she had yet to discover? What if the tables turned and Ian begged her not to leave him?
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”