Blood and Roses.

Ava Martin thought she had already lost everything when her mother - the only family who truly loved her - died suddenly. But heartbreak doesn't come alone. Within days, she catches her fiancé in bed with her stepsister and is forced to confront betrayal that shatters the last pieces of her trust. Before she can recover, Ava is summoned by the father who abandoned her years ago. What awaits is not reconciliation but another cruel twist - her family has sold her to pay off their debts. Her buyer? Alessandro Moretti. To the world, Alessandro is the powerful CEO of Moretti Holdings, a man whose empire commands respect. In the shadows, he is whispered about as a ruthless mafia don - cold, merciless, and untouchable. Love has no place in his world of blood and loyalty. But when the feared mafia godmother takes an unusual liking to Ava, Alessandro is pressured into marrying her. What begins as a transaction quickly spirals into a dangerous game of fire and ice. Ava's defiance sparks something Alessandro thought was long dead, while his dark world threatens to consume her completely. Can the fiery strength in Ava's heart melt the walls Alessandro has built around his, or will their bond be drowned in betrayal, blood, and roses?

Chapters

Chapter 1

Ava could see her world crashing down before her eyes, tears flowed down her eyes as the doctor words echoed in her head.

"I'm sorry, we lost her" The words rang like a bad nightmare she could not forget.

To the hospital staffs, they lost just another patient but to her she lost her lifeline - Her mother, the only person who had kept her going, she had begged Janet - her boss for a loan, something she did not believe she could do, especially not after Janet's endless bullying.

She could still remember Janet laughter as she went on her knees pleading, she even went as far as to beg her scumbag of a father and yet... She was gone... Like she wasn't here yesterday... Like she wasn't the woman she talked to last night.

She could feel the pain in her heart, her world has ended and no one could see it - they didn't care. She clenched her chest as she squatted on the floor.

Indistinct chatter floated into her ears but she wasn't there, she was with her mother.

The smiling woman who handed her cookies when she was young, that strong woman who fought for her rights when she was forced to get a divorce, that woman that left her father without looking back. That woman that always told her. "Ava, you are a great child". Gone...Just like that.

In her subconsciousness, she caught sight of the nurses rolling her mother out of the room all covered in a white cloth. She rushed over to her side yanking the cloth off her face.

"Mother, mother" She called with choked voice. "Please don't do this, Mom don't leave me" She cried out.

"Poor child" she barely heard a passerby say.

"Mum" She sobbed.

"Ma, you have to take it easy" A nurse said coming over to her and pulling her in her embrace.

"Mother" Ava bent down to plant a kiss on the forehead of her mother's lifeless body. The coldness she felt rudely reminded her that the only person in the world that do care is gone - dead forever.

She turned to look at the nurse who held her and nodded at her.

"Thank you ma" She said her eyes following the strecher used in carrying her mother to the morgue.

"You have to be strong child, even if it's for your mother" The old nurse said and she nodded wiping her face with a tissue.

She had to be strong, her mother had no one else except her. Casting a glance at the stretcher, she nodded at the doctor and walked out of the hospital trying to convince herself that it did not hurt but... no it hurt so bad.

Her tears flowed down her eyes like a river. The bitter taste of the tears served to remind her of the death of the only person she had left. Her heart felt hollow and she found herself craving solace.

Heading to the bus station, she boarded a bus going to her fiancée apartment, he was the only one who could comfort her of her loss.

She pushed the door open and looked around the house not seeing him. She walked towards the bedroom and she could hear noises coming out of the bedroom... More like moans.

She shook her head refusing to believe what she was hearing, her tears that had just ceased found their way out of her eyes.

With her heart in her mouth, she pushed the door open and she could feel her already broken heart shattering again when she saw her fiancee, Shane in bed with...Clara her stepsister.

"Shane" She shrieked, eyes wide open before bolting out of the room.

Her legs burned as she ran far away looking for somewhere to let her emotions out. Looking backwards, there was no signs of Shane coming after her. She laughed - a heart wrenching sound.

"Did I really thought he would come after me?" She let out a sad smile.

She looked around her and it was in a pack, sitting down she saw little children running around with their parents then the memories she tried her best to lock away came rushing.

A small petite girl dressed in a pink princess gown running around with her father chasing after her, she could still remember the contented smile on her mother's lips.

A family filled with love and warmth was what she had till her mother discovered her father had been cheating, way before Ava was born and then that sweet family was torn apart replaced by the most hated smile of her step mother.

She did not realize she was crying till she felt a tap on her legs. Looking down she saw a little girl looking up to her.

"Big sister, why are you crying?" The girl asked.

"Because she is sad" She heard a voice behind the girl, she looked up to see a lady approaching them.

"Then if I give big sister my lollipop, she won't remain sad again right?" The girl asked her big eyes searching for an answer.

"Yes" The lady smiled at the girl.

"Big sister" The girl called and stretched out a lollipop.

"Thank you" Her voice came out choked as she took the lollipop. Standing up, She turned to look at the lady with a light smile.

"Thank you" She whispered.

"I don't know what you are going through but you have to be strong" The lady advised and patted her back.

Ava nodded and squatted at the girl's front.

"Little girl what's your name?" She asked.

"My name is Lora"

"A beautiful name, big sister has to go now" She said and when the girl nodded, she turned and then she walked away.

Ava walked down the streets with no destination in mind, her stomach rumbled reminding her she had not eaten since morning and she skipped work - Though work was the last thing on her agenda right now.

Raising her head, she caught sight of her mother holding snacks across the streets with a wide smile on her face beckoning her to come take the snacks.

Ava face lit up into a smile and she absentmindedly walked passed through road her eyes fixed on her mother.

The honk of a car brought her back as a black car sped past her almost colliding with her, she raised her head and her mother was...Gone.

She heard people cursing at her and the dam of tears that had opened in her since morning came rushing again. Why... Why was she gone?. She asked herself.

Sitting on the floor by the roadside, she raised her eyes and her eyes collided with the occupant of the car eyes.

A man - eyes cold, Dark, emotionless but behind it, there was something else, something darker. Something she couldn't name.

What was that?

Continue to next part

He is power, control, and consequence. She is everything he never planned for. Lucien Blackwell rules his world through silence and precision, dismantling threats before they speak his name. When betrayal from his own family forces him to tighten his grip, the last thing he expects is her-a florist whose calm presence unsettles him more than any enemy ever has. As unseen eyes close in and his shadow stretches across her life, she refuses to be protected through ignorance or distance. Instead, she chooses awareness, agency, and a place beside the danger. Because some things don't survive darkness. They bloom within it. Blooming Under His Shadow is a slow-burn romantic suspense about power, choice, and the risk of loving a man whose world was never built for light.

Mafia Modern Romance

8.0

HIS PLUMPY QUEEN HER BULLY

8.0

"I..hate you" I croaked out brokenly, struggling and failing to hold back the tears spilling in waves from my eyes. "Awwww, is my fat queen crying?" Brandon jested mockingly, laughing as if he had just said something funny. His friends echoed his laughter, making the tears spill even faster from how embarrassed I was. Shaking my head, I turned away from his crude handsome face, but was held back by his hands, gripping my hair painfully. I screamed as he slammed me against the wall, feeling the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. He grabbed my hair roughly, pressing my face harshly against the wall. "You don't walk out till I am done with you," he gritted out, pressing his body against mine. "Please.... Stop, please..." I cried out. "Do I make myself clear?" Brandon snapped, his other hand gripping my waist tightly. I could feel his hard hot body against mine, and his nails digging painfully into my waist. "Yes," I whispered, "please let me go." He pressed harder against my body, his hands on my waist tightening. I could feel his hot breath against my neck, and despite my situation, my body was shamelessly reacting to him. Loud snickers alerted us to the fact we were not alone. Brandon released my hair, leaning away from my body, before pushing me forward. I stumbled, nearly falling to my feet. "Now run you fat bitch," he yelled, before laughing with his friends. I hightailed it out of there, crying my eyes out. Being fat wasn't a problem, her mother always told her, never failing to remind her how beautiful she was. But for Christy Morris, being fat was a curse. Especially since college and her arch enemy Brandon made it so. Forced to babysit her bully and enemy baby sister, Christy's life takes an unexpected turn. For the worst or better, was still what she was yet to find out. Find out Christy and Brandon's story in this thrilling novel filled with... Romance. Unexpected twist. And dare I say.... Love.

Mafia Modern Romance

7.6

Kaitlynn and her two children

7.6

Top DEA agent Kaitlynn Bruce woke up to a heavy, chemical lethargy, only to realize she was trapped in the body of a weak, abused war widow. Before she could even process her new reality, she heard her sister-in-law counting cash, selling her unconscious body to a local thug for a measly two hundred dollars. The thug dragged her new seven-year-old son, Cason, into the bedroom. "Mommy!" When the boy reached out, the man brutally kicked his small body into a wooden doorframe, leaving him gasping and bleeding on the floor. Memories flooded Kaitlynn's mind. Her predecessor was a pathetic doormat whose husband's military pension had been bled dry by these greedy in-laws, leaving her children to starve and suffer endless abuse. But as Kaitlynn looked at the bleeding boy's dark, unnervingly alert eyes, a chilling piece of DEA intelligence clicked in her mind. Cason Richmond. The name, the town, the abusive aunt—it all matched the classified files of the "Director of the Hive," the most ruthless and feared cartel puppet master in the criminal underworld. How could this battered, starving child be destined to become the ultimate monster she used to hunt? The original widow's tragic death was supposed to be the catalyst that pushed this boy into total darkness. But Kaitlynn Bruce was not a victim. Adrenaline burning through the drugs, she cracked the thug's neck with a brass lamp and choked the sister-in-law against the wall. Looking down at the boy who was supposed to become a global nightmare, she made a vow. She was going to rewrite his script, even if she had to burn the whole world down to do it.

Action Mafia Modern

9.0

Protected By The Enforcer: My Ex-Husband's Regret

9.0

The rejection letter from the private security school arrived on a Tuesday. It stated clearly that the single slot allocated to my son, Danny, had been filled by another boy. My husband, a high-ranking Capo, had signed away our son’s protection to make room for his mistress’s bastard. He sneered at me, calling Danny "soft," and sent him to an unguarded cabin in the north to toughen up. Three days later, the Russians took him. When the courier arrived, there was no ransom demand. Just a package containing a shred of blue cotton with a green T-Rex, soaked in black, stiff blood. Tom didn't shed a tear. He poured a scotch, stepped over me as I wept on the floor, and blamed me for coddling the boy. Overwhelmed by the silence of a house that would never hear my son's laughter again, I swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills to escape the pain. But the darkness didn't last. I woke up gasping, my heart hammering against my ribs. Sunlight hit my face. "Mommy?" Danny stood in the doorway, wearing his dinosaur pajamas, whole and alive. I looked at the calendar. It was May 15th. The day the letter arrived. The grief in my chest calcified into cold rage. I knew about the skimming. I knew about the fake widow status. I knew exactly how to bury my husband. I picked up the phone and dialed the one number no wife was ever supposed to call directly—the Enforcer. "I have evidence of treason," I said. "And I'm bringing the proof."

Mafia Modern Romance

8.7

Sleeping with My Best Friend's Alpha Father

8.7

I wasn't supposed to be here. Girls like me don't belong to Alpha parties. I came as a favor. As a waitress. As the poor best friend nobody notices. Until he noticed me. Fresh from the shower. Bare chest. Water sliding down hard muscle. Eyes like a predator that already chose its prey. My best friend's father. The Alpha King. He helps me with my dress when the zipper gets stuck. His fingers brush my skin. My breath stutters. The air changes. He looks at me like he knows me. Like he owns me. Then the party turns ugly. Hands grabbing. Drinks forced to my lips. Laughter is too loud. And just when everything almost breaks He comes for me. Carries me out like I'm something precious. Something is his. That night shouldn't have happened. But the moon was high. My body burned. And when he whispered "mine" against my ear, I forgot every rule I ever lived by. I woke up in his bed. In his scent. In his world. I'm about to lie to my best friend... say I'm already home... When I hear her voice outside his bedroom door. "Dad? Breakfast's ready." Dad. Oh God. The Alpha King isn't just my mistake. He's hers. And now he says I'm his mate.

Mafia Modern Werewolf

7.8

The Betrayed Wife's Ruthless Mafia Comeback

7.8

For five years, I was the flawless wife to the heir of the De Luca empire, securing billion-dollar acquisitions to prove my worth. But my husband, Alessandro, still paraded his mistress in our home, publicly humiliating me as a "cold spreadsheet" while she sneered in triumph. It didn't stop at infidelity. When I dared to cut off her credit cards, Alessandro decided to teach me a lesson. He allowed his mistress to secretly file down the metal clasp on my horse's saddle right before a massive public equestrian event. My leg was completely shattered in a horrific, agonizing fall in front of hundreds of elite guests. While I lay bleeding in the dirt, my husband didn't even glance my way. Instead, he rushed to hold his mistress, shielding her eyes from the gruesome sight. Later, pretending to be unconscious in the infirmary, I overheard him ordering his guards. "Get rid of the saddle. It was just a lesson to remind her who's in charge." He didn't just want me humiliated; he wanted me crippled and broken. As the sterile smell of the hospital hit me, a horrifying realization set in—I was two weeks late. I was pregnant with his child. The thought of my baby growing up in this ruthless, toxic family made my blood run cold, and the last spark of my love turned into absolute hatred. The obedient wife died on that dirt track. I quietly contacted his family's biggest rival and activated my secret scorched-earth protocol. It was time to burn his empire to the ground.

Mafia Modern Romance

Blood and Roses.

Chapter 1

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