atul gawande being mortal

On the day of the wedding, Paige took her sister's place as bride and married the wealthiest man in town, Chris Jewell, after her sister was caught cheating. Her mother had warned her. "Don't let it get to your head. Chris only married you as a temporary measure. He doesn't love you.”But dang, post-wedding, Chris handed her a no-limit credit card.Paige understood that she was just filling in for her sister and did not want to embarrass Chris by being frugal. Bling and a fancy villa came next, but Paige wasn't blinded by the glitter.Even when Chris played knight-in-shining-armor against her bullies, she knew the deal.Then, catching her reflection, Paige spotted a baby bump. Was this part of the plan too?

WOLFBANE SERIES BOOK 2 ***It is highly recommended you read book 1, Wolfbane, before starting this one for context and to avoid spoilers.*** *TALIA* You'd think being raised in a brothel would prepare me for anything. You'd be wrong. I never expected to find my mother murdered in cold blood. I never predicted I'd hunt down the killer and take his life in exchange. And I sure didn't imagine the son of my mother's murderer would turn out to be my mate. But I guess this is my life now. Being a werewolf in hiding was no piece of cake, but being a werewolf on the run is even worse… *ALEX* I don't think I made a very good first impression. But to be fair, who meets their mate at their father's murder scene? A murder where she, evidently, is the number one and only suspect. It's disturbing. It's gruesome. But it's fate. And I'll do anything to see the mysterious woman with distinctive blue eyes again… *Content warning: This is a paranormal romance novel with dark themes containing mature adult content, offensive language, and graphic violence, and may not be suitable for young readers.*

With her first mating ball coming up, Summer is unusually nervous. She is scared of not meeting her mate, but at the same time she is scared of meeting her mate. But when she heard that word 'MATE' she was relieved that he was nothing like she thought. But when he doesn't want her to tell her father about their mating, she becomes suspicious. Something isn't right there, and she knows that there's something that she doesn't know from the past. When she is being forced to marry a different Alpha, her mate comes to her rescue and hoping to live happily ever after. But that isn't so much the case when her father won't accept them being mates and does everything he can to stop them from being together. Little does he know that she has plans of her own.

Four Brothers. Four Stories. One Pack. Kai, Konstantin, Dimitri and Nikolai - The Volkov Brothers rule New York, not only as a Russian Mafia family but also as The BloodCrest Pack. Book one follows Alpha Kai, known as the Beast Of New York, Russian Mafia leader and Alpha of the Blood Crest pack - and he's come to claim timid and abused Caterina as his mate. Terrible rumours surround Kai and his pack of bloodthirsty wolves, but as Caterina gets to know her mate better and realises that he is not the monster he is made out to be. So what exactly turned Kai into the beast he's known as? In Book 2 we meet Konstantin, known as The Heartless Beta. He never cared for love or finding his mate as the Beta to the Alpha God. Who needs a mate when you have a pack to protect? However, when scentless, halfbreed Lily stepped into his life, everything seemed to fall into place. What will Konstantin do once he discovers the scentless, half breed wolf is pregnant with his prophesied firstborn and has been his mate all along...And she's being held prisoner by a creature even older than the Werewolf God Xamnir? Book 3 Parts 1 and 2 sees Nikolai and Dimitri both thinking that keeping away from their fated mates during the war is what’s best for them. But is their willpower stronger than Fate? Staring at temptation for so long will only make you crave it more, this is something both Nikolai and Dimitri will find out soon enough.

Van and Chad are best friends. While Chad considers Van his best friend, Van's feelings exceed friendship. She has been secretly in love with him since they were kids, but she can only love him in secret. Besides being best buddies, Chad sees Van as a tomboy, and it seems impossible for him to notice her as a woman. Will Van have her happily ever after with Chad, or will she remain the tomboy who secretly loves her best friend?

“Will you be a good girl for Daddy?” His husky voice dripped with lust. “Yes, please fuck me hard, Daddy." I answered, breathlessly. His hands were all over my body as he pressed into me roughly and I could feel my pussy swelling in response to his hardness. "Good," he whispered against my ear, teeth nipping at my skin. "Because you'll be a damn good whore."He bit down again, pulling away from me long enough to grab one of my wrists and pin it above my head, then began fucking me hard, his hips rolling violently and slamming into mine in time with his movements. •• •• •• Camille Caldwell, tasked by her wealthy father to learn the ropes of business under the watchful eyes of a dear and trusted mentor, Gavriel found herself juggling between being a dutiful secretary and a seductive temptress at night. At first, all she wanted from him was for him to give a good report to her father of her behavior, but as she got closer to him, she couldn’t resist the magnetic attraction that drew her to him. When Billionaire Gavriel Donovan agreed to take the only daughter of his friend under his wing as his secretary, he merely counted it as doing a favor for an old friend, but Camille will have him doing the unthinkable, and he’ll have her pinned beneath him, screaming for more pleasure. Can their forbidden desires survive in a world where their romance is regarded as abominable? Was Gavriel willing to put his friendship and reputation on the line for a girl he was old enough to father? ***** This book unapologetically contains very dark, raw, and mature contents. Do not open unless you'd love to be stuck in a sex-filled, lusty, and romantic world.

Zachary Giorgio Ferrari isang sikat na car racer sa buong mundo. Sa edad na labing anim na taon he is known for being a beast when it comes to wheels. Lingid sa kaalaman ng lahat hindi lamang isang magaling na racer at driver si Zachary sa murang edad. Isa din s'yang tinaguriang notorious assasin agent ng Black Wagon. Pero lingid sa kaalaman ng lahat, isa s'yang mafia successor ng kanilang angkan. Dahil sa isang misyon, namatay ang isang pinaka importanting tao sa kan'yang buhay dahil sa pagsalba sa kan'ya. Ipinangako n'ya sa puntod nito na ipaghihiganti n'ya ang karumal-dumal na sinapit nito. Paano kung sa paniningil n'ya, makikilala n'ya ang babaeng may malaking kaugnayan sa taong ipinaghihiganti n'ya? At paano kung sa unang pagkikita pa lamang nila, ibang init na ang nag uumapaw sa kan'yang katawan at hinangad na maangkin ang dalaga. Paano kung umibig s'ya dito at umibig din ito sa kan'ya ngunit nalaman nito ang pinakatagong sekreto ng kan'yang buhay na isa s'yang mafia at assasin. Paano n'ya tatanggapin ang galit nito ng malaman nito na s'ya ang dahilan ng pagkamatay ng pinaka importanting tao sa buhay ng dalaga.

Chantria Saavedra is the illegitimate daughter of a prominent businessman. It isn't easy because all of her life she feels nothing but indifferences. Her father sees him as a fruit of a mistake. He made her a payment for all of his debt when their family faced bankruptcy. Since Chantria is craving to feel the warmth, love and care of having a family, she wholeheartedly agreed to marry Aziel Navarro, the newly elected CEO of the S&N company… but then, little did she know that being his wife will be the biggest mistake she will make in her whole life.

Matteo I thought I found the one I would spend my life with forever until she pierced my heart cruelly and left me to die. Now, I want revenge. I want to make her suffer. I want her to feel what I felt. But fate has plans for us. Plans, I was not expecting. I began to like her. Just when I think I found a friend, she disappeared. Hera I lost my mother in an accident. Then I began to lose everything. Just when I was on the verge of being thrown out of my childhood home, he came. I call him Matt. But he calls me kid. He has a past, and then, she came back. Sussane I regretted it the moment I did it. But I cannot do anything to undo our past. All I can do is, try to win him back. "Oh God, Matt, I am late for school. I have an exam in fifteen minutes. Please drop me" Hera begged Matteo, who is reading a newspaper while sipping his coffee. "No" he replied without hesitation. She was expecting that he would say that. But she cannot be late to her exam. "Matt, if you don't give me a lift, then I.. Then I...." she began to think of a perfect threat to scare him. Matteo moved the news paper out of his face and gave her a look. Little did she know, nothing can scare him. But her eyes began to shine with mischief, which he began to dislike. "If you don't drop me, then I will kiss you," she said something which he doesn't know would scare him.

"She will come back," she promised. "She just needs time to sort her head out." "Not her heart?" The dry distinction made Charley wince. "I'm sure she loves you," she persisted. "She's just not ready to commit to marriage." If you just give her time, then I— Black eyebrows with a fascinating silken gloss gave her a curious look. "Are you actually standing there, Miss Jones, suggesting that I should wait for Adelina to sort her head out?" Well, was she? Lifting her chin, "If you love her—yes," she insisted. "Then you are a romantic fool because it is not going to happen." He moved suddenly, straightening away from the desk. "There is a wedding arranged for next Saturday morning, and I intend to make sure that it goes ahead." Without a bride? Charley stared at him. "You mean—you're going to find her and drag her back to marry you?" A silly kind of laugh left her throat at the very image of Adelina being dragged by this man down the church aisle, kicking and screaming. ‘No.’ Reaching behind him, his long fingers picked Adelina's letter up again—this time to fold it with slow, neat precision. "I mean to replace her with someone else."I want reparation for being taken for an idiot, and if that means putting you in Adelina's wedding dress and marrying you in her place, then that is what is going to happen."