Ethan Blaze survives death by a whisker when his whole family gets wiped out in one particular night by brutal feral creatures. Him being seven years old, he only remembers vague images and scenes of that disturbing night. Being an orphan and the fact that he doesn't have any known relative, Ethan Blaze transverses many foster homes and orphanages. He runs from most of them due to the abusive treatment that he receives or in other cases, becomes such a thorn to the foster parents that he gets kicked out. With time, he became a child no foster care or orphanage was willing to take in. This led to him being signed up in a juvenile correction facility, a place he would never even dream of escaping until he became old enough. As he grows older, his mind develops many more questions of the night when all his family got murdered, when all his life lost meaning. Headset on unravelling the mystery behind the murders, Ethan Blaze sets back home on his eighteenth birthday, when he finally gains his freedom from the juvenile correction facility that had held him hostage for three years. Ethan Blaze discovers that his family's death was more than just an unfortunate misfortune. He also unearths many dark secrets about his family that he never knew of, secrets that also incorporated him.
Ethan POV
Tenesse Juvenile Correction Facility
I sat on the pane of my window as I stared further into the forest that encompassed the whole correction facility under the eerily dark night sky, lost in my own thoughts and fantasies. With my legs dangling outside, I felt the cool chilly night breeze from six floors below crash against my exposed skin bringing about small pimply bumps. It didn't bother me a bit that I was only dressed in my underwear and that every time a cold breeze whizzed by, I shivered. It didn't matter if I would freeze because the sound of night owls, wind whistling past the trees, leaves rustling and the feeling of being in complete darkness oddly brought a tranquil feeling to my crazily troubled mind and soul.
Every night as was my tradition, after all the lights in the facility were switched off, I made it a personal quest not to miss a moment of the serene midnight sensation. I always allowed myself to be swallowed by the night, forget everything about my real life and indulge myself in the fantasies and fictional creations of my artistic mind, take a break from the harsh reality that has grown to become an ordinary affair in my life over the years. I would rather miss a meal and good sleep but not a self-meditation engagement.
I was officially eighteen years, just turned about forty five minutes ago and nothing seemed different at all. It was just like the other previous nights I had spent on this window just wondering why I exist and why I wasn't dead or murdered already.
Happy birthday, yay! , I told myself inwardly then scoffed. Birthdays were ridiculous, they held no particular importance in your life apart from only existing to remind you that you are getting older and closer to your deathbed, reminding you that this was the start of another year of torture. Don't get me wrong, ever since I was born I was all in for birthdays, I believed in birthdays, believed that birthdays should be celebrated just like Christmas was, I always looked forward to celebrating my birthdays with the whole lot of my family. Well, that was until the night of my seventh birthday. After the events that had transpired on my seventh birthday, I always hated birthdays to the core, abhorred them in fact. Every other year on my birthdays ever since, I was reminded of the traumatizing occasions that I so longed to forget. I had tried hard drugs, insomnia pills, pain that was self-induced, psychologists, religious persons some of whom dealt voodoo stuff on me, I had literally tried everything...but I couldn't rub that five-minute memory from my mind. The memory was like super glued- stuck to my head, it was always stuck on replay, like it was on a loop of some sort. My birthdays were my nightmare.
I had tried everything, everything in my power, everything in the scope of my imagination, everything except one thing....
I blinked then turned my gaze to the asphalt pathway that was six floors down. This had to be the only remaining solution that I had left, being finally relieved from my depressed life. I had never attempted to make this kind of decision before, never even thought of it, yet it has always been right under my nose. The pace of my breathing rushed at the prospect of the thought, I could make my eighteenth birthday different if I wished it to, I could take a perpetual break from this horrible life if I wished to, I could reunite with my family if I wished to. I only had to make one big decision, a decision that I ought to have made years ago.
My eyes darted around just to confirm if there was someone watching, confirming because everyone was always asleep at this time and not that I cared if someone watched, no one loved me that much to miss me if I was gone. I would be like a shooting star, passing but still shining, though dim but still flashing. I knew I had left no major footprint of my existence in this world, I knew that I owned nothing except for my body and mind, no one to mourn me. Heck, with my frail body I would take the smallest space in the cemetery. I took a deep breathe then closed my eyes.
With only a small movement, I could be falling to freedom, falling to ecstasy and leaving the life of sorrow behind. I smiled at that thought, the first genuine smile I have ever mastered since eleven years ago, a smile of relief. I could almost see the faces of my family smiling at me in my mind, their welcoming arms stretched out in a warm embrace, my mom crying in literal joy, my dad smiling from ear to ear his eyes wet, my younger twin sisters chuckling while looking at me, my three elder brothers grinning at me, my uncle and aunt smiling contentedly, my grandfather nodding at me encouragingly. I missed them. I could feel a tear trickle down from my eye and on my dry cheek then on my bare chest.
"I'm coming" I whispered "Finally, I am coming home"
Home is wherever family is, my family was in paradise and I longed to join them there. In a matter of seconds I will join them, I must join them, I couldn't bare anymore , I couldn't continue to carry the whole load of the physical and emotional torture I have put up with since eleven years ago. It was time I let go and join them.
I saw my father beckon towards me with a smile.
My mom mouthed 'come here my son, we miss you'
I couldn't stop the tears that now trickled uncontrollably from my eyes, I sobbed silently in joy. My family was right there in the warmness of the ethereal light, waiting for me to step unto their threshold and towards them. I just had to make the step.
" I'm coming" I whispered then opened my eyes to take one final look of the facility that has been my home for three years, more like a prison and I was a captive. I would not miss anything or anyone.
I took another deep breath, closed my eyes then slowly slanted forward....
When Pegatron Technologies develops a Brain-Computer Interface technology (BCI), its popularity instantly blows up. The BCI has the ability to link any living thing with a brain to a special computer, with additional functions of remote control and unlimited access to memories. As such, a large number of institutions ranging from national governments, military to privately owned companies, place their bids to acquire the new-age technology. However, despite the shocking amount of cash they offer, the billionaire and scientist heading Pegatron Technologies, Robert Jenkins, refuses to sell it. He genuinely believes that some individuals only want the technology for evil principles, contrary to what it was invented for – aiding in neurosurgery. His blunt stance does not abide well with a portion of the bidders. Consequentially, his whole family begin getting death threats from anonymous persons. Robert Jenkins doubles up his household security detail but though vetted, they do not really have his trust. His family’s security is paramount and despite the perilous moments they undergo, his ultimate wish is to keep it safe. He decides to make that one phone call to an old friend. Trained proficiently in martial and medical arts ever since he was young, Michael Lee is suddenly brought out from the mountains. With an overly mysterious background, he is to act as the bodyguard to Charlotte Jenkins, the billionaire’s daughter. His stint in the city sees him uncover multiple threats and treacheries in Pegatron industries making him a person of value.
"You're my wife in name only, on paper only. My heart and love will never be yours." Edward made it clear to Daisy that she was nothing to him. They were both victims of family greed -- the marriage was arranged for them. Six years passed. She remained quiet, gaining a reputation in the army as a tough-as-nails colonel. When she walked into his life again, Edward fell in love with this woman, unlike any he had known. She surprised and delighted him. But will Daisy take him back? Can their son keep them together? Can the rift between them be healed? Pick this one up and find out!
Kara Martin was known as Miss Perfect. She was a beauty with good personality and successful career. Unfortunately, her life changed at one night. She was accused of adultery, losing her job, and abandoned by her fiance. The arrogant man who slept with her did not want to take responsibility. He even threatened to kill her if they met again. What's worse, Kara was pregnant with twins and she chose to give birth to them. Four and a half years later, Kara returned to work at a large company. As the secretary, she would frequently face their notorious CEO. Kara thought it wouldn't be a problem, but as it turned out ... the CEO was the father of the twins!
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."
"Lucien, let's get a divorce," I said in a peremptory tone that was long overdue, the most decisive farewell to this absurd marriage. We had been married for exactly three years-three years that, for me, were filled with nothing but endless loneliness and torment. For three years, the husband who should have stood by my side through every storm, Lucien Sullivan, had completely disappeared from my life as if he had never existed. He vanished without a trace, leaving me alone to endure this empty, desolate marriage. Today, I finally received his message: "I'm back. Come pick me up at the airport." When I read his words, my heart leapt with joy, and I raced to the airport, thinking that he finally understood my love and was coming back to me. But his cruelty was far worse than I could have ever imagined-he was accompanied by a pregnant woman, and that woman was Carla, my closest and most trusted friend. In that moment, all of my previous excitement, all my hope, and all of our shared laughter and tears turned into the sharpest of daggers, stabbing into my heart and leaving me gasping for air. Now, all I want is to escape from this place that has left me so broken-to lick my wounds in solitude. Even if these wounds will remain with me for the rest of my life, I refuse to have anything to do with him ever again. He should know that it was his own hand that trampled our love underfoot, that his coldness and betrayal created this irreparable situation. But when he heard those words, he desperately clung to this broken, crumbling marriage, unwilling to let it end-almost as though doing so could rewind time and return everything to how it used to be. "Aurora, come back. I regret everything!" Regret? Those simple words stirred no emotion in me-only endless sadness and fury. My heart let out a frantic, desperate scream: It's too late for any of this!
The dream of everyone with regards to marriage is to be able to find that special someone and settle down with them. Even arranged marriages grant you an opportunity to meet your partner briefly before the wedding. How will you feel about waking up in the morning with someone sleeping next to you who is not just anyone but your legally married partner yet with no memory of how that had happened in just a few hours of going out the previous day? This is the story of Jason Haward and Julia Harrison, two strangers trapped in a marriage they never planned. The quest to find out why led to the unfolding of a mystery which made them realize they are both living a lie. To find out more, read this amazing story of love, betrayal, revenge and murder.
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"