The Mother I Could Have Been

My wife's gym is celebrating its grand opening, and I drag my buddy along to check the place out with a 9.90-dollar trial class I bought through an e-commerce platform. For the entire time, I never once let it slip that I'm the owner. Right after we finish training, a male coach tosses a price sheet at us. His eyes sweep over us with contempt as he says, "You two look like freeloaders. Our private sessions cost a few hundred each, and we don't offer freebies to people like you." I let out a disbelieving laugh. "We paid for this trial class. How is that freeloading? Go get your manager." He rolls his eyes and makes it seem like he's enforcing a very important rule. "Don't bother looking for the manager. My girlfriend owns this place, and she hates broke losers who try to get free classes." He dials her number right in front of us. His voice sounds both arrogant and pitiful. "Babe, two guys showed up and tried to con us into giving them a free class. They even told me to call the manager. Come over here and show them what's what!"

“Born in blood. Sworn in blood. You enter alive, you leave dead!” He spat and shot Hunter. He walked out of the room with his soldiers without looking back after wiping out a whole family of five. There is a cough in the serene room of the dead…

My mom is 71 years old. Thanks to her arthritis acting up, she's in so much pain that she can't descend the stairs at all. She tentatively calls me and asks if she can rent an apartment that comes with an elevator of its own. But my wife, Lucy Glaser, brings out the household ledger and points at the red numbers on the pages. "Last month, you bought yourself a tie, which is 300 dollars beyond our monthly budget. Yet now you're planning on adding another impulsive expense?" Only then do I realize that I don't even have the freedom to buy myself a tie despite earning an annual salary of tens of millions of dollars. My mom is still trying to explain herself in a humble tone over the phone. "Oh, please don't feel troubled about it, Caleb. I was just asking on a whim. I've already grown used to my old home anyway…" After I end the call, I feel rather stuffy in my chest. What's there for me to feel troubled about? After all, I'm a partner of a top-tier law firm who earns tens of millions of dollars every year. The one who keeps standing in my way is Lucy, who's only a mid-level lawyer yet insists on controlling my finances. She also calls herself the best candidate for the household asset allocation.

Three days before my wedding, Eric Foreman's childhood love returned to the country with her terminally ill mother. She wanted to marry Eric to fulfill her mother's dying wish. I objected furiously to it in my last life, and Eric eventually rejected Naomi Corbin's request. Naomi appeared with her mother's funeral picture in the middle of our wedding and accused Eric of being heartless. Eric got the bodyguards to kick her out, and our wedding continued without a glitch. However, he did not return home that night. Since then, he insisted that we sleep in different rooms. He would rather get drunk than touch me. When I questioned him about this, he said to me drunkenly as his eyes glazed over, "Ayla, every time I look at you, I'm reminded of the look of despair in Naomi's eyes and her mother's dying face… I regret making that decision!" His answer depressed me, and I eventually died from it. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day Eric tried to convince me to give Naomi our wedding. This time, I agreed. I called my family as I watched him leave happily. "I agree to the marriage alliance. We can hold the wedding in three days."

She accidentally got pregnant with his child, and the poor orphan girl became the envied young lady of the Robert family overnight. Robert family, the richest family in N city. "Why do you want to marry me?" Roy Robert said coldly, "I need a wife and an heir, and you are a fit."

My mother-in-law competed with me over everything. When she found out I was trying to get pregnant, she went as far as to use a folk remedy to get pregnant as well. It was a molar pregnancy, but she still flaunted it in front of me. I told her that it was a medical condition that needed immediate treatment or it could develop into a tumor and endanger her life. Nonetheless, she insisted that she was carrying a few gorgeous babies. I convinced my family to forcefully take her to the hospital, but my mother-in-law never forgave me. She pushed me off a balcony out of hatred, killing me. When I opened my eyes again, I found out I had been reborn on the day she first announced her pregnancy.

“Come on, Juliet… it’s time to write a new story.” After years trapped in an abusive marriage, Juliet Pierce finally runs. Alone, with two children and a suitcase full of trauma, she leaves behind the luxury — and George Monroe, the man she once loved — in search of a new beginning. The destination? Manhattan. The plan? Just survive. But everything changes on her first night working as a waitress at Paradise, an exclusive BDSM club where pleasure meets power. Afraid of being recognized, she wears a mask — a shield she desperately needs. And that’s where she crosses paths with Noah Blake: billionaire CEO, relentless Dominant, and co-owner of the club. He sees her. He wants her. He has no idea who she really is… yet. Days later, Juliet applies for a position as Noah’s assistant. This time, she’s not wearing a mask — and he starts putting the pieces together. Juliet wants distance. Noah wants to tame her. “I do love a challenge,” he says. Juliet is everything he never expected: funny, bold, intense — fragile on the outside, but with eyes that reveal how untamed she truly is. He wants her on her knees. She wants to prove she can love without losing herself. What begins as a dangerous arrangement becomes a quiet war between fear and desire, past and redemption. But Juliet’s past is closer than she thinks. And when it resurfaces to haunt her, she’ll have to choose: surrender… or fight for herself — and maybe, for the love of a man who swore he would never love. “It was in that moment I realized I was about to discover: Whether this would be a nightmare… or the best experience of my life.”

She was supposed to heal him, not crave him. Olivia Carter, a divorced physical therapist, thought her new job with the Chicago Blizzard hockey team would be simple—treat injuries, keep her head down, and cheer for her son on the ice. But when the team’s arrogant and devastatingly handsome captain, Xander Hayes, lands in her care, everything spirals out of control. He’s engaged. He’s her son’s best friend. And he’s forbidden. What begins as teasing flirtation turns into stolen touches, midnight encounters, and a dangerous obsession neither of them can resist. But secrets never stay buried—especially in the world of fame, fortune, and ruthless tabloids. When their affair explodes into the public eye, Olivia risks not only her career and reputation, but the one bond she can’t afford to lose: her son’s trust. Will Xander choose his fiancée, his career, and his best friend… or the woman he should never want?

My sister, Laura Ward, died the year we were ten, the year we snuck out of school to play. From that day forward, my mother’s grief turned into a burning hatred for me, convinced that I was the reason my sister was gone. She treated me like a servant, like an unwanted burden, and filled the void by adopting a perfect, obedient daughter to replace my sister. She took everything from me without a second thought — my rights, my freedom, my very existence — and even demanded that I give up a kidney for her precious adopted girl. Alright, Mother, if you want a life, I’ll give you mine! But it was only when my body lay cold, my breath long gone, that she finally turned and looked at me.

He’s his mother’s new husband. He’s the last man Jason should want. And yet… he can’t stop wanting him. Jason returns home after years away only to discover his mom is married to Adler John-Baron, a dangerously powerful politician with secrets behind his perfect smile. Their marriage is meant to be simple: he helps her seek justice for her late husband who was murdered, while he gets the perfect family image for his Senate run, debunking all rumors about his sexuality. As Jason digs into the truth behind his father’s sudden death, what he uncovers could destroy everything. But the real problem? He’s already falling for the one man who should be off-limits. This steamy romance dives into the thrill of forbidden desire, buried secrets, and the brutal cost of falling in love with the wrong person.