Tranquil Pines Torment

Modern

I went to the City Clerk’s office for a routine copy of my marriage license to finalize a trust fund audit. I expected a simple piece of paper, but the clerk’s pitying look told me my entire life was a lie. "The license was never finalized, Ms. Oliver. In the eyes of the state, you are single." The three-hundred-guest wedding at the Plaza and the Vogue features meant nothing. My husband, Gray Cooley, had intentionally filed the documents with a "procedural defect" so he could discard me without a legal divorce. Moments later, an iCloud invite titled "Our Little Secret" popped up on my screen. It was a photo of my best friend, Brylee, holding a positive pregnancy test at our Hamptons estate. Gray’s text to her was the final blow: "Happy anniversary, babe. This baby is the best gift. Once the trust unlocks today, we’re done with the charade." I soon discovered they were even stealing my career, reassigning my architectural masterpiece to Brylee while preparing my eviction notice. Gray's mother called me a "barren mule" in a leaked recording, mocking the infertility I suffered after saving Gray’s life in a construction accident. I wasn't a wife; I was a three-year placeholder used to secure his inheritance. How could the man I bled for treat me like a disposable prop? How could my best friend carry his child while pretending to comfort me through my darkest moments? The betrayal burned until it turned into a cold, hard stone of fury. I didn't cry. Instead, I walked into the penthouse of the Barretts, the Cooleys' most powerful rivals. I signed a marriage contract with Kane Barrett, the man the tabloids called the "Beast of Wall Street." "I want a wedding," I told his father, my voice steady and lethal. "Bigger than the one I had with Gray." If they wanted me gone, they would have to watch me become the woman who owns their world.

Horror

Elara Vance found solace with her guardian, Marcus Thorne, after her parents' death, viewing him as a stable "Uncle Marcus." On her eighteenth birthday, however, her romantic advance on him was met with shocking fury, leading to her banishment to "Tranquil Pines Academy," a place he intended for "c

Literature

Lydia of the Pines by Honore Morrow

Romance

A fierce, sharp-tongued girl returns to a forgotten town shrouded in secrets and mist, haunted by the whispers that lie beneath the pine trees rather than the past she ran away from. Before the forest started calling her name, June didn't think that ghosts or curses existed. Zayden has been burd

Modern

Three years ago He accidentally fell from a building, resulting in a disability in both legs. The doctor said the hope of recovery was slim. I accompanied him to grasp that slim hope. Three years later, he recovered. He's once again a hotshot business tycoon. But he told his friend, "I have alw

Sci-fi

For seven years, my husband Jake, a firefighter captain, made our home a tomb. He blamed me for his high school sweetheart Chloe's death in a wildfire, a fire where he "saved" me only because I was pregnant with his son. His constant accusations and cold silence were a living hell. Then, he annou

Literature

Annie F. Johnston, originally from Indiana, was a noted author most famous for her Little Colonel series. "Little Colonel" , a smash film starring Shirley Temple, was based on this series.

Modern

Another wave of pain hit me, a familiar, gut-wrenching cramp. I was bleeding again. This was the tenth time. Each time it happened, my husband, Liam Stone, would bring a woman home. A woman who looked exactly like his first love. Tonight was no different. He stood in our bedroom doorway, a wom

Romance

For five years, I was Julian Heath's dirty little secret. As the CEO of a tech empire, he was a king, but a rare neurotoxin made him a prisoner. My unique biochemistry was his only antidote, requiring hours of intimate contact to keep him alive. He was convinced I was the one who poisoned him—an ob

Fantasy

My mother was dying, her laughter stolen by a rare disease. A cosmic system offered me a deal: travel to another world, make a man named Ethan Stone love me, and she would be cured. It seemed easy; Ethan was sweet, attentive, and kind at first. But then, everything changed. Ethan became a monster,

Billionaires

Lauren short is an orphaned CEO with a serious identity crisis. As in her nearly identical cousin and her mother's twin sister are constantly trying to take everything from her by pretending to be her and her mom. Her aunt failed to steal her father, but her cousin successfully stole her fiancee. Th

Billionaires

"What? You thought we were sharing a room? You will have our baby through artificial insemination." I watched as she deflated like a pierced balloon. Thrown into a contract marriage by circumstances, Nora Reidy, a 25 year old medical student, finds herself fighting for her life. Some members of her

Modern

When I was undercover in the gang, I disguised myself as a kidnapper and kidnapped the family of wealthy businessman Fu Songchen. I even forced him to strip dance while he delivered the ransom. After the mission ended, I returned to a normal life—delivering food during the day and driving a taxi at

Adventure

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally impor

Modern

The cold, sharp edges of the resin necklace dug into my skin, a constant, physical reminder of Alexander Vance' s twisted grasp. Just hours ago, I, Scarlett Hayes, had almost tasted freedom, only to be dragged back to this gilded cage. He didn't yell, he never did, not at first; his silence was al

Modern

I was dying from a mysterious illness, but my family, including my fiancé King, dismissed me as a drama queen. At my adopted sister Isabel' s promotion party, my body finally gave out and I collapsed, coughing up blood. Instead of helping, King accused me of ruining Isabel's big night. He tore up m