Aliyah is a self-made home renovator who has taken on the task of renovating the Charleston Manor, a home that's mysteriously been on the market for over seven years. She's traveled all the way to Rapid Springs, MI, far away from her home in Santa Fe, and she's left her family behind on bad terms, determined to show them she can be successful on her own. However, once Aliyah arrives in Rapid Springs, she immediately catches the eye of bad boy Neo. Aliyah didn't go there looking for love, but she's drawn to this quiet, stoic man. The feeling seems to be mutual, but will Neo be able to let her into his heart with his past still haunting him? Will he be able to love her without his dangerous world crashing down on them both? Aliyah must decide how deep she'll let herself go for a love that seems destined to cause trouble. Refurbished is created by Kayla Mae Francis, an eGlobal Creative Publishing author.
The screen door slammed behind Aliyah as she ran out to her old '02 Chevy Blazer. She tossed her air mattress and backpack into the back seat's open window and got in. She grabbed the steering wheel with a white-knuckle grip and let out a frustrated huff of air.
"I don't need you to tell me what I can and can't do," she mumbled to herself.
Before she backed out of the driveway, she saw her mother press her hand to the living room window and wiped her cheek. Maybe someone else would have been moved by this sad gesture, but Aliyah just wanted to get the h*ll away. She was not about to be emotionally manipulated. Her dad soon showed up behind her mom, putting a tanned hand on her shoulder to comfort his wife. Aliyah watched for a moment with anger still furrowed between her brows. Even when her dad met her gaze and gave a slight nod--perhaps a silent way of letting her know she should go on--she could feel the adrenaline pumping. She backed her car out of the drive.
The first couple of hours Aliyah thought only about what her parents had told her. She was sick of them underestimating her. Ever since she decided to renovate homes for a living rather than become a nurse or a social worker like her parents encouraged her to do, all she'd heard from them was how she wouldn't see much profit from the way she was working, and if she wasn't going to make much money on her own she'd need to find a wealthy husband. Okay, it was mostly her mother, but her dad didn't usually stop his wife or say anything encouraging to Aliyah one-on-one. For three years they ragged on her for this and she was sick of it.
She ignored their calls as she filled up with gas, as she hit the road. Maybe living twenty-two hours away for a few months would get her parents off her back. They didn't seem to understand that she could take care of herself and that she was happiest living her life as she chose. Her sister, Freida, may have fallen into their scheme, but Aliyah wanted to show them all that she didn't need a man or a "safe" career to be successful.
They called again when she merged onto I-70, but she let it go to voicemail. Maybe she'd listen to the messages at the next stop. Maybe she'd listen to them in a couple of days. But she was feeling too hot-blooded to listen to any more lectures right then.
As she got farther from Santa Fe, Aliyah started to relax a bit. The drive through Kansas was long and flat: just fields of various crops and miles and miles spotted with cows. Aliyah grew tired, knowing she wouldn't make it much farther. She was almost relieved when her phone started ringing. This time it was her sister. She suddenly felt a little nervous to answer, but she slid the green button over anyways.
"Hey," she said cautiously.
"Girl, what is going on? Why'd you have to run off like that? You could have at least waited until I got done with work before you sped off hundreds of miles away to Michigan!"
Oh boy, this was going to be an interesting call. At least she wasn't using her scary big-sister voice.
"Frieda, I'm sorry I left without saying anything to you but I really just had to go. I couldn't wait."
There was a bit of a pause before Frieda responded.
"'Li, I know they're tough on you, but it comes from a place of love. You know they struggled to get to where they are. They just want what's best for you."
Aliyah spotted a fuel station ahead and pulled in. Under the glow of a giant green dinosaur, she finally let go of some tension. She cried for a few minutes as her sister waited patiently on the other end of the line.
Aliyah wiped her nose with a stray McDonald's napkin from the passenger seat and took a deep breath.
"Listen, I know they love me, but you don't understand what it's like to constantly be told you can't do something. You're doing everything they wanted us to do: you're a nurse practitioner, you've got a well-off husband, you've got three kids, you attend church regularly. But that's not...me."
"I'm not saying you have to do what they're telling you to do. I just want you to understand where they're coming from," Freida replied semi-defensively.
Aliyah caught her strained tone and instantly felt angry again.
"You know what? I get it. But you don't. You're perfect. I'm not. I refuse to be. I just want to be left alone. I just want to spend my time in cold-a*s Michigan with the hillbillies and have grand old time. I'm twenty-seven years old and I think I can take care of myself. I understand money, but I'm not looking for a job that's just gonna make me rich. I do what I do because it makes me feel good. Can you say the same about what you're doing? Yeah, you help people, but do you even actually care about them?" Aliyah didn't wait for a response. "Plus, it's not like I'm going to live in Michigan forever. It's just for a few months while I fix this place up. It's not like I'm totally abandoning you. I just need some space. I need to test the waters or some sh*t." She hung up the phone and flung her seat back to recline.
She closed her aching eyes and turned her phone on silent so she couldn't be disturbed by any other calls. It was shortly after 10:30, and she'd been driving constantly for the last 10 hours, so her body was ready for a rest.
She fell asleep for a short time. It was light and dreamless, but her body welcomed the stillness.
Sometime while it was still dark, she was awakened by a sharp tapping on the window.
Leena has it all: a degree, a good job for an important company, and a fiance who she's been with for four years. According to everyone, she’s done everything perfectly, and now she has become a person who does things in order, a person who always strives for success, even if that means living a somewhat boring life. However, her whole world is flipped upside down when she witnesses a crime and is kidnapped on the spot. But the man she is taken to stirs up something in her despite his dangerous air. Now with her perfect life in jeopardy, why isn’t she scared? And why does she find the man she was taken to so alluring? Will Leena abandon the ideal life that so many people strive for and find her place in a world of danger and instability? Everything I Never Should Have Wanted is created by Kayla Mae Francis, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.
He told her to call him Daddy. Not because he earned it, but because he fucking owned her. The moment she signed that contract, she stopped being a woman with dignity and became his filthy little plaything. His holes to use. His mess to ruin. He didn't just fuck her, he rewired her. Stripped her clean of boundaries and filled her with sin. Every punishment made her scream. Every game dragged her deeper into his twisted world. And the way he praised her... Good girl. She should've run the first time he said it. But Daddy doesn't let his toys leave. He breaks them until they beg to stay. ** Mia's life changed the night she let a stranger ruin her. One night. She never expected to see him again. Until she walked into her new job... and her boss turned around. Ace.Her one-night sin in a thousand-dollar suit. Only this time, he wasn't asking her to be his assistant. She was to be his wife.
PERMISSION IS TAKEN FRIM THE ORIGINAL, BE WARNED!! Do you believe in Myths? Just when she thinks it can't get any worse, it does. Lucy lost everything four years ago in a rogue attack. She's been abused, starved, rejected, and broken. As her eighteenth birthday approaches, strange things start to happen, things that only happen once every century. She finds friendship in the most unlikely place and escapes to find her true self with the help of the most dangerous Alpha. Warning: This werewolf trilogy is not intended for anyone under the age of 18 or anyone who doesn't enjoy a good spanking. It will take you on adventures around the world, make you laugh, fall in love, crush your heart and possibly leave you drooling.
On the day of their wedding anniversary, Joshua's mistress drugged Alicia, and she ended up in a stranger's bed. In one night, Alicia lost her innocence, while Joshua's mistress carried his child in her womb. Heartbroken and humiliated, Alicia demanded a divorce, but Joshua saw it as yet another tantrum. When they finally parted ways, she went on to become a renowned artist, sought out and admired by everyone. Consumed by regret, Joshua darkened her doorstep in hopes of reconciliation, only to find her in the arms of a powerful tycoon. "Say hello to your sister-in-law."
Julia and Evan were the perfect couple-or so she thought. But everything changed when Evan abruptly ended their relationship, leaving her heartbroken and unable to tell him she was carrying his child. Years later, Julia has built a life for herself and her son, Andy, while Evan has risen to unimaginable wealth and success. Their paths cross again at a chance meeting, but Julia soon discovers Evan has moved on with someone else. Julia is done with the pain. She's fought battles alone, raising a son who deserves the truth about his father, even if Evan doesn't deserve her forgiveness. When Julia told Evan years ago she had something to say, he didn't listen. Now, it's time for him to listen. But is it too late to reclaim what he lost? "We should break up," he'd said, the words cutting through her like glass. The pregnancy test in her pocket stayed hidden, just like the child they would never share. Now, it's Evan's turn to hear the truth-and to face his deepest regret.
In order to fulfill her grandfather's last wish, Stella entered into a hasty marriage with an ordinary man she had never met before. However, even after becoming husband and wife on paper, they each led separate lives, barely crossing paths. A year later, Stella returned to Seamarsh City, hoping to finally meet her mysterious husband. To her astonishment, he sent her a text message, unexpectedly pleading for a divorce without ever having met her in person. Gritting her teeth, Stella replied, "So be it. Let’s get a divorce!" Following that, Stella made a bold move and joined the Prosperity Group, where she became a public relations officer that worked directly for the company’s CEO, Matthew. The handsome and enigmatic CEO was already bound in matrimony, and was known to be unwaveringly devoted to his wife in private. Unbeknownst to Stella, her mysterious husband was actually her boss, in his alternate identity! Determined to focus on her career, Stella deliberately kept her distance from the CEO, although she couldn't help but notice his deliberate attempts to get close to her. As time went on, her elusive husband had a change of heart. He suddenly refused to proceed with the divorce. When would his alternate identity be uncovered? Amidst a tumultuous blend of deception and profound love, what destiny awaited them?
Bailey seems to be never destined to fit in, a little geeky, but under it all, a hidden beauty that so many seem to miss, but still not what her pack Alpha is looking for in a fated mate... so he is determined to reject her and make her life hell. Bailey, knowing her life will likely never be the same focuses on what she can control, her future, and heads off to study; becoming a teacher. Asher is the Beta of Autumn Valley Pack, a neighbouring pack. A broken man having suffered the loss of his mate after a rogue attack, Asher is slowly crumbling. Falling to pieces. A shadow of his former self, and not a man that anyone wants to be around anymore... Until, Autumn Valley Pack require a new teacher, and Bailey finds herself there and pushed together with the Beta. Is there a connection building or is that in their imaginations? And what will happen when Bailey's mate comes back to claim what is his?