All

After an abrupt stampede, Freya was hastily taken to the hospital, yet her mate Kingsley found solace in another woman. For three long years, Freya harbored the hope that her love would thaw Kingsley's icy heart, but alas, her yearning proved to be nothing more than a jest. She observed Kingsley showering the other woman with affection, and now, weary of unrequited devotion, she resolved to depart, vowing to reject him. However, the aloof Kingsley underwent an astonishing transformation, assuming a new persona as he fervently pursued Freya. 

"Tell me you don't want this, Vivianne..." Noah's breath warmed against my skin, his finger dragging against my aching clit, and his eyes locked on me. "I'll stop if you tell me to..." My waist arch, a soft moan slipping off my lips as he pushed two fingers inside me, a smirk curling at his lips.
I should push him away... I should curse him, but I couldn't. My body betrayed me. I wanted him, I hated to admit it. How could my body want the same man who ruined my life?
"No... Noah..." My breath stuttered, nails digging into the bed as desire washed over me.
"Do... don't... touch... argh! Right ther...e... Fuck! Please don't stop..."
"Where, V... Tell me where you want me to touch." He fingers moved inside me, teasing my inside.
"Ri...right there... Fuck!" My hips jerked up, pussy throbbing with pleasure, walls tightening on his fingers... right before my orgasm tore through me... 

When powers clash...
In the mafia world, women don’t reign.
I’m the exception of that rule.
I didn’t choose this life, it chose me.
I have a legacy to protect, a power to snatch, and no one will stop me.
If an arranged marriage is what it’ll take to lead, then so be it.
What I don’t count on is that my chosen husband is a ghost from my past.
Kyle Hunter.
He was once my guard, my protector. Now, he’s after my kingdom.
The road to the throne is paved with thorns, blood, and casualties.
To win, I’ll risk it all. My heart included.
Tropes:
Former Guard x Mafia princess
Arranged marriage
Power struggle
Second chance 

Lucius White, one of Windmere's most prominent men, suddenly learns that he has been married for a year. He slaps a divorce agreement on the table, grabs his total stranger of a wife, Valerie Collins, and drags her to the courthouse.
However, on the very day they plan to divorce, two bolts of lightning strike. The first bolt turns their marriage certificate to ashes. The second bolt crashes the courthouse's network. Unable to separate, they have no choice but to live under the same roof.
One day, Lucius uncovers not one but several secrets about his wife.
He learns that the elusive Phantom Healer Thirteen Needles is, in fact, his wife.
The genius hacker known as Zero? She's also his wife.
The top talisman maker in the mystic arts world? Still his wife.
The legendary grandmaster of ancient martial arts? Again, his wife.
Even the modern medicine prodigy who has brought glory to the country time and again also turns out to be his wife.
Lucius goes online and posts, "My wife has so many hidden identities that I've lost count. How am I supposed to deal with this?" 
That night, Maya Reed slogs through pounding rain to the club where Cole Hale likes to hang out.She pauses outside his private room, wrings the water from her hair, and decides to wait until he finishes before surprising him.Through the cracked door drifts a teasing voice. "Cole, your wedding to Maya is in a week. Got your big surprise ready?""Yeah," Cole answers, his cool voice softened by liquor. "I'm going to give her something she'll remember for the rest of her life."Maya's hand stills in her hair, and a smile slips onto her face before she can stop it.Over the past three years, Cole has cherished her like the most precious thing in his life.Then, another man laughs. "If Maya finds out I've been pretending to be you this whole time, she'll lose her mind.""Please." Someone else scoffs. "As if she'd ever guess Cole has a twin!""Just wait until she finds out she's been sleeping with Cole's brother for three years..." 
After her miscarriage, Sabrina Frye turns into the wife Nester Blackwell has always demanded.
She stops sharing the small joys of her day and the frantic, late-night calls when he doesn't come home.
Even when she is framed in a street scam and taken to the police station, the officers tell her she can leave if a family member posts bail, but she tells them that she has no family.
She calmly spends the next seven days in a cold cell.
A week later, the heavy iron gates of the station open with a metallic clang at dusk. As Sabrina steps down the stairs, a black Maybach screeches to a halt in front of her.
The door swings open, and Nester steps out. Dressed in a tailored suit, he's tall, with near-perfect body proportions. Like always, he looks cold and untouchable. 

I marry the same man seven times, and he divorces me seven times for the same woman.
He does this so he can go on vacation with his first love as a supposedly single man while also protecting her from being the subject of scandalous gossip.
The first time we divorce, I attempt to take my own life to force him into staying. Despite being sent to the hospital in an ambulance, he didn't even bother to visit me.
The second time we divorce, I humble myself by applying to be an assistant at his company, all for the chance to see him more.
By the sixth time, I had already learned to quietly pack up my belongings and move out of his house.
At first, I was hysterical, but then I began to concede, and eventually, that grew to numb acceptance. Yet, time and again, he would remarry me on our previously agreed-upon date, only for history to repeat itself.
Finally, one day, after I hear that his first love is returning to the country again, I voluntarily hand him the divorce agreement.
Just like before, he promises to remarry me again on a certain date. But he doesn't know that this time, I'll be leaving for good. 
A week before our wedding, my fiance, Jacob Murphy, says he must marry his first love, Megan Lawson, before we can tie the knot. Her mother has just passed away, and her mother's final wish was for them to get married.
"Megan's mom had always hoped for Megan to marry a good man. I'm just trying to fulfill her dying wish. Don't overthink this."
Meanwhile, my company is slated to launch a new jewelry collection, Eternal Love, on our wedding day.
"It's only a few hundred thousand dollars. It's more important that Megan honors her late mother's wishes," he snaps. "If you really care about the money, you can look for another groom."
Once I hear his cold-hearted remarks, everything becomes clear. I then turn away from him and call my family.
"I need a new fiance, Alex," I told my brother, Alexander Robinson. "Can you introduce me to someone else?" 

I dive into the ocean to save Preston Gale. After doing CPR on him in front of everyone, the wedding that is meant for my cousin, Roxanne Shaw, somehow falls to me instead.
On our wedding night, Preston prefers to drown himself in alcohol rather than spend the night with me.
I'm foolish enough to think that if I keep at it, he'll come around eventually.
Three years later, Roxanne returns, holding a child who looks so much like Preston that it stops my heart for a second.
Only then do I finally understand that while I spent that wedding night alone, he was with her.
"Rox, I know these years have been hard on you. I'll make it right. I'll make sure Lexi gives your place as Mrs. Gale back to you," Preston says.
I tell him I'm pregnant, too, hoping it might change something. However, it doesn't.
He coldly tells me to abort it, before forcing me onto the operating table, ending two lives at once.
When I open my eyes again, I'm back on the day Preston fell into the sea.
Soaked through, he's lying there, and I scream Roxanne's name into the crowd, my voice cracking with desperation. 


{Follow me on IG: KaiKitto / author_KaiKitto /for updates.}
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{Warning: R-18, Dark Romance}
"Someone, please save me!"
"Who are you asking for help, dear?" He smiled, bringing his face closer to mine, sending a wave of terror through me.
"Don't do this. I am your sister," I pleaded, my voice trembling. I didn't want to stoop to his level.
"No, my dear. You could never be my sister. This is my revenge, and you are my enemy. You will pay for your sins," he growled, freezing me with fear.
"Please!"
“You think you can hate me just because you discovered you're more powerful? Having two useless wolves inside that shabby body won’t save you, sweetheart.” 

Davina Bryson has always longed to be with her fated mate and live a peaceful life with him. However, her parents, Bryson and Elena, have other plans, to use her as a pawn to gain power.
They want her to be selected as the Alpha prince's chosen mate, bringing them closer to the royal family and paving the way for their ultimate goal of overthrowing them. She knows that her parents don't truly care about her, she's merely a tool for their ambitions.
She meets her destined mate Orion Lycaon, the cold-hearted king of the Lycan Empire; he's unwilling to accept her. But a prophecy foretells a war that threatens the supernatural world, and fate demands their union.
As they navigate their complicated destinies, Davina must confront her own strength and resilience, while Orion must confront and learn to accept her. Their bond becomes the key to winning the war and ensuring their race's survival.
But can she thaw Orion’s icy heart? Will he accept her for the war's sake? And will her parents allow their union or obstruct it?
Fate, power, war, and love collide as they fight for their future and the survival of their race. 


She was hurt. She was bullied and made fun of. And the only hope that kept her going was finding her mate. She has always been weak. Weak to the world. Why?Because she was a lantern. She didn't have a wolf. That's what everyone thought about her.When she found her mate, he wanted her to be his slut and not a wife.She might be an omega, but it doesn't mean she will take disloyalty and betrayal lightly. So she did something that no one in history ever did.She rejected an Alpha."I, Alexis Clark, reject Brandon Sterling, the alpha of Black mist pack, and consider myself a free soul until I decide so."; Were her last words before she left that torturous place and became a rogue.A rogue that everyone was fearing and finding.Why? Because she was the rogue that has become one of the biggest problems of almost all the packs in the country.She was Alexis Clark. A rogue that rejected an Alpha, stealth food, kill other rogues, and more than that was living with humans and studying with them.What will happen when her case is given to the world's most dangerous alpha, Sebastian Sinclair, who has taken it upon himself to punish this rogue.The one who hated rogues and omega to a level that was beyond understanding. Why? Because his mate was an omega, who betrayed him with a rogue before dying.How will Alexis tackle this alpha, in whose College she was studying and living under hiding for almost a year?What will Sebastian do when he finds out the new girl he had been talking to is none other than the rogue omega that he had decided to kill?"To love you with all my might was my only wish, but you were the only one who gave me endless suffering. So today, I promise myself to not fall for anyone."; A simple saying that both Alexis and Sebastian had vowed upon.Will they be able to find their love amidst all these problems? 


In Noelle Liddell's past life, she obeyed her brothers' every command. Yet they exploited her and stepped all over her pride so they could dote on Xenia Quigley, their fake sister. Noelle is their birth sister, yet she ultimately dies after being kicked out of her home.
After being reborn, Noelle follows one principle—she stops being such a Good Samaritan, and she's not going to forgive or make up with her brothers. They can go do whatever they want as long as they leave her alone.
Her eldest brother, Donovan Liddell, wonders why his health has deteriorated recently. It's because Noelle doesn't bring him his medication and supplements anymore.
Her second brother, Frank Liddell, wonders why his company's firewall keeps acting up. It's because Noelle doesn't maintain it anymore.
Her third brother, Carl Liddell, wonders why the development of the new drug is going so slowly. It's because Noelle isn't testing it anymore.
Her fourth brother, Blake Liddell, wonders why the scripts he's getting are so horrible. It's because Noelle isn't writing them anymore.
Her fifth brother, Wyatt Liddell, wonders why his prosthetic limb is so terrible. It's because Noelle isn't producing them anymore.
Her sixth brother, Lucas Liddell, wonders why his team lost. It's because Noelle quit.
The six men grovel at Noelle's feet and beg for her forgiveness. "Come home, Nelly. Blood is thicker than water—we're a family!"
Noelle sneers. "You only know that you're wrong after everything's gone to shit. Sorry, but I'm not going to forgive any of you!" 


Three years ago, I had my positive cancer diagnosis in one hand as I consoled Anderson Graham, whose eyes were red and teary.
"It's just cancer. I can beat this."
However, he continued crying until he was almost out of breath. He hugged me so tightly that I thought my bones would crack.
"Yvonne, promise me that you'll beat this. I'll wait for you to return so I can marry you!"
In order to live, I had to remove most of my stomach.
Every single day, I was faced with handful after handful of pills and never-ending chemotherapy.
Three years later, I'm finally healed and can return to Anderson's side.
During my return party, his female best friend chuckles as she raises a glass.
"Andy was as celibate as a priest while you were overseas. I kept a close eye on him every single night and made sure nobody else was in his bed.
"I practically tattooed the words 'Do Not Touch' on him to make sure nobody else would go for him!"
The noisy room suddenly becomes so quiet that I can hear a pin drop.
I do my best to ignore the prickling ache coming from my chest.
With an equally bright smile, I raise my glass and reply, "Should I give you an award for keeping his bed occupied, then?" 


The day Noelle Jensen marries the man she loves, he goes bankrupt.Throughout their five-year marriage, she works 20 hours a day. Even their son helps collect bottles to scrape together enough to pay off their debts.On their son's birthday, the two of them stand outside a hotel in heavy mascot costumes in the sweltering heat. They hand out flyers, drenched in sweat.That's when a staff member walks by and sneers. "Hey, you two pathetic flyer pushers—looks like luck's on your side today. Mr. Yarrow's beloved is celebrating her son's birthday here, and the kid loves the mascots you're dressed as. Do a little dance, and he'll give you ten thousand dollars."Tempted by what feels like a fortune, they step into the grand, lavish banquet hall.But the moment Noelle looks up, she feels as if lightning strikes her on the spot. Sitting at the head of the table, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, is none other than Hector Yarrow, her husband! 
Story Of a Mysterious Professor, a girl full of life and Mr Stranger. ** "Now you'll just follow my command." As he told me, I nodded my head meekly, sitting on the desk. "Professor wants his favourite student to stand up and come to him." As he commanded, I stood up and sauntered to him. My heartbeat is accelerating with every step which I'm taking toward him. "Now remove your top for your professor, my favourite student." As he ordered, I flushed, moving my eyelashes down. "Do it fast, Princess. I'm waiting." As he spoke, I moved my eyes up at him shyly. He pointed his finger at my top. I held the hem of my green top and pulled it over my head, gazing at his handsome face sheepishly. "Now give it to me." As he said, I instantly gave my top to him, and he inhaled my scent from the top, closing his eyes. "Your scent is exquisite, Princess." He whispered after opening his eyes. He kept my top on the table. "Now this." He pointed his finger at my bra, asking me take it off. I blushed hard before taking my hands behind and unlocking it. This is really increasing my excitement. As I removed it, he moved his eyes down at my twins and then up at me. "You're really beautiful, Princess." He complimented me, touching my heart. He pulled out his hand, and I gave my bra to him. Then like this, I pulled out my jeans and undies too and gave them to him. This is arousing my desires more. He is gazing at my body like he's gazing at the stars. "I like you like this. You are so beautiful, Princess. For me, your body is perfect from every corner." I smiled at him. 


The heroine is the youngest daughter of the Alpha King, and was originally a little princess held in the palm of her hand, but everything changed on her 10th birthday. Alpha's child was supposed to shift on her 10th birthday, but sadly, her Wolf never showed up and she became a disgrace to the Alpha family, a punching bag, bullied by school bullies while being rejected by her own Mate. She decided to leave the Pack at the age of 15, after leaving, she learned that she was a rare fighting golden Wolf, and then she met her second companion, the strongest Wolf king of the Shadow race, Lycan. 

Avery Langford finally gets pregnant after five years of marriage and 99 rounds of IVF.She carries the prenatal report home, ready to share the joy with her husband, Damien Whitlow, only to freeze outside the study when she hears him bantering with his friends."There are things Avery never knew. I faked her infertility report and made her go through 99 IVF attempts. The baby she's carrying isn't mine—it's Julian Whitlow's. And the truth is, the woman I've loved all along is Serena Langford."The shock hits Avery like a bucket of cold water, and Damien still keeps talking."Next week at our fifth-anniversary dinner, Grandpa will announce me as the heir. That's when I'll make sure everyone knows Avery's been sleeping with that bastard, Julian!"Avery trembles with rage, her whole body shaking. She crumples the report in her fist, pulls a number from her blocklist, and types, "Julian, I want to discuss a big deal." 

Lila Hart spends five years pining after Damian Cross. He tramples her dignity, sets her up, and ruins her reputation.
She fakes her death, vanishes, and lands at a world-class research center, where she rises to the top as a leading researcher everyone courts.
Damian drops to his knees, desperation in his eyes. "I finally see it, Lila. You're the one I love the most. Please give me one more chance."
She says, "The Lila Hart who loved you is dead. We're strangers now."
Rhett Draven is the golden heir to a family that stands at the pinnacle of Evermere's high society. Again and again, he's drawn to Lila's grit, decisiveness, and beauty.
At the party, he treats her like something priceless and reserves her for the grand finale. Her new alias brings the house down.
Rhett watches as admirers crowd around her, laughter and light conversation filling the air. Jealous, he slips to her side and murmurs, "You said you'd make it official. When do we tell the world?"
Lila gives him a soft kiss, hooks a finger under his jaw, and beams. "Is this enough?" 

Mercity's richest man, Adam Alvarez, has been comatose for three years. His wife, Celine Tate, cares for him throughout. But when he wakes up, she finds a flirty text in his phone. His first love is back in the country.
His friends, who have always looked down on Celine, laugh about the matter. "It's time for the ugly little duckling to get kicked to the curb now the swan is back."
Only then does Celine realize Adam has never loved her. She's nothing but a poor joke.
So, one night, Mr. Alvarez receives a divorce agreement from his wife. The reason for the divorce—there's something wrong with his health.
Adam goes after Celine, his expression dark. That's when he discovers her standing under gleaming lights, looking gorgeous in a long dress. She's suddenly become a medical expert.
When she sees him, she smiles. "Are you here to see an andrology specialist, Mr. Alvarez?" 

My husband's little sweetheart is threatening to break up with him again. He’s drowning in misery, drinking so much that he landed in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer. Half dead, he mutters, "She’s the only one who dares to mess with me like this."
Then he grabs my hand and asks, "Honey, you’re a woman too. How do I get her to forgive me this time?"
It’s true. He’s cheated so many times, but this Vivian is the only one he actually cares about.
My phone buzzes—it’s a message from Vivian.
"Mrs. Carter! Please keep your husband in check! As a woman, don’t you have any pride left? Tell him to stop bothering me!"
I let out a sarcastic laugh and, just like always, ignore her.
On Eric’s fifth day in the hospital, he blew up my phone with calls. His mood was a mess as he yelled at me, "I’m in the hospital! Why haven’t you come to see me? Do you even care about your husband at all?"
I stayed calm. "I’m afraid if I show up, you’ll fall for me all over again."
........ 
"Give birth to my baby, and I'll give you everything you want."
In order to raise enough money for her mother's surgery bills, Amelia Warren spends a night with a stranger. At first, she thinks she won't see him ever again, but her accidental pregnancy intertwines her fate with his.
Amelia rejects that suggestion immediately. "This is my uterus. I have the right to decide whether or not I want to give birth to this baby."
The man stops her in a domineering fashion. "You have no say in this matter!"
Michael Sutton, the famous business mogul in Southport, is a noble and prestigious man equipped with extremely brutal methods. No one dares to defy him at all.
Rumors have it that he's cold, distant, and isn't interested in the fairer sex at all. Some even whisper of his inability to sire children of his own. That is, until the paparazzi snap photos of him accompanying a woman to a prenatal check-up.
"Darling, you must be tired from all the walking. I'll carry you into the room."
"Darling, you must be thirsty, right? I'll feed you some water."
The so-called cold and distant man transforms into a henpecked husband right in front of the cameras, leaving everyone shell-shocked.
…
Before Amelia meets Michael, she's stuck in a hopeless situation. Her dad is a gambling addict, and her mom is very ill. Before she can even graduate from university, she's already saddled with heavy debts. She envisions her life of despair to remain like this for as long as she draws breath.
That is, until she meets the ever-so domineering yet devoted Michael, who loves her with all his heart. That's when everything changes.
Some people mock her for her low status, saying that she's not fit to be a part of the upper crust. They even think that she has no right to stay by Michael's side and speculate that she must have seduced her way to this position.
Michael states, "The moment I laid my gaze on Amelia, I fell in love with her at first sight. I was the one who kept pestering her until she agreed to marry me."
A certain higher-up in the government also pipes up, "Please take good care of Amy, my dearest daughter-in-law." 


Oliver Jefferson, the king of the business world, vows not to marry. But one day, a new chapter of his life begins when he's forced to marry a younger wife!"Mr. Jefferson, Mrs. Jefferson trashed the Westwood residence."Oliver asks, "Does she feel better now?""No…""Send a few people over to help her, then."…"Mr. Jefferson, Mrs. Jefferson got into a fight with someone and landed them in the hospital."Oliver asks, "Is she happy with that?""No…"He continues with his work. "Let her continue, then."…One day, when Oliver finds that his wife has gotten into another fight, he flies into a rage. "You're asking for it, Grace!"Grace Gulliver complains, "You weren't like this in the past, hubby!"He points at her stomach. "You weren't pregnant before, were you?"The nerve of her, getting into a fight when she's seven months pregnant! It scares the living daylights out of her opponent and also Oliver, yet she's delighted that she's managed to win a fight without even lifting a finger! 



At a dinner party, Tessa Yates hears Zachary Gomez say, "Tessa is indeed pretty. I only pursued her because of her resemblance to Wendy. I've been trying to find traces of Wendy in her over the years."
Only then does Tessa discover that she's nothing but a stand-in. That night, she dials a number she hasn't called in a long time. "Hi, Dad. I'll return home for the marriage alliance."
Later, Zachary sees the woman he's been dreaming of for days—it's at the engagement party for Tessa and Stephen Jacobson. He loses his mind.
…
On the day Tessa objects to the marriage alliance and runs away from home, Stephen stands before the window and lightly swirls his wine. The look in his eyes is unfathomable as he says, "You'll obediently return to me one day, Tess."
Rumor has it Stephen is cold, aloof, and uninterested in women. Tessa believes that to be true. It's only after she gets to know him that she finds out just how wild he is underneath his stoic appearance. 

I had loved a man for five years, and hated him for just as long.
He took the money meant for my mother's treatment, and I leaked his company's secrets, bankrupting him overnight.
For those five years, we were locked in a fierce rivalry, a constant battle where everyone saw us as mortal enemies destined to destroy each other.
But the truth was, we hadn't been in contact for a long time.
When we met again, he had long since rebuilt his empire. Standing under the spotlight, facing a throng of persistent reporters, his words and demeanor were impeccably flawless.
A reporter suddenly brought up the past: "Back then, you mentioned a loved one you wished to spend your life with, even planning to marry at twenty-eight. Now…"
His fingers, holding the champagne flute, paused slightly. Then he lifted his gaze, a faint smile spreading in his eyes, clearly audible throughout the room: "Getting married soon." 

I have to admit that my husband's true love is a charming woman.
Upon her return, my husband, who claims he knows nothing about romance when he's with me, comes up with various ways to please her. Even my son keeps clamoring to my face that he wants his father's true love to be his mother.
To them, my only worth is in cooking, cleaning, and caring for them.
Later, an autistic little girl tugs on my clothes and says firmly, "Zachary might not want his mother, but I do!"
Only then do I realize that a rose can still bloom in a dessert. When I finally turn my life into what I imagined it to be, my ex-husband and son regret their actions.
My ex-husband calls and tells me Zachary misses me. I say, "I'm not his mother anymore."
My ex-husband says he knows he made a mistake; he's suddenly realized I'm the one he loves.
The man beside me kisses the back of my hand. He says jealously, "What makes you think you're worthy of her love when even I've yet to win her heart?" 

Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé.Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now—billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn’t mind. I’d crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one?Wrong.One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That’s when it hit me—he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn’t even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup.So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster—my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise.Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol.Enter him.Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I’d met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes.It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised.But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life.And, as it turned out, the best decision I’d ever made.Because my one-night stand isn’t just some random guy. He’s richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with.And now, he’s not letting me go. 
"Young lady, whose bastard is that inside you?"
"Don't you know any shame? Is this how I raised you?"
The living room was warm, yet a cold sweat broke out across my back. I stroked my swollen belly, looked at their outraged faces, and suddenly let out a low chuckle.
"You really don't know?"
Father crushed his cigarette butt savagely into the ashtray, sparks flying up before dying. "How would we know what shameful things you've been up to out there?"
"The kidnappers," I said softly, my voice like a snowflake landing on a hot iron plate. "Don't you remember? That year the kidnappers took both me and Liza. They wanted a 500,000 ransom. You only scraped together half, saying 'save the real child first.'"
My parents' faces instantly froze, like the surface of a frozen lake. They even seemed to forget to breathe.
"Later, you took Liza back. The kidnappers kept me for three more months." I touched my belly, fingertips registering a faint flutter of movement inside. "Did you really think I escaped on my own?"
But none of that mattered anymore. Because I was going to die.