

To defuse the bomb strapped to the hostage, I had no choice—I cut off all her clothes. My clueless new wife, Dana Poole, blasted it online. She cried as she faced me. "Why not at least leave her underwear on? You were saving her, I get it—but did you have to take everything? Doesn't a girl's dignity matter? With cameras everywhere, how is she supposed to live after this? You couldn't even cover her up?" The backlash exploded. The unit benched me to calm things down. So I stopped caring. I followed procedure, no improvising, no extra effort. Then one day, at the busiest mall in the city, Dana's mom got strapped into a brand-new linked bomb. This time, the whole unit panicked.

"Champion ""Phantom"" Jax did five years for manslaughter. Now she's a street punching bag, with only her girlfriend Mia still by her side. When her coach is held at gunpoint, Jax is forced back into the underground circuit—a betting puppet winning fights that only tighten the noose. Then Mia takes the bullet meant for her and falls into a coma. That coma was the last straw. Jax burns her bridges and steps into the ultimate cage. Tank Voss, the underground king, thinks he's hunting a broken fighter. He's wrong. He's hunting a phantom. And phantoms don't bleed."

Under his disguise as an ordinary odd-job worker, Hugh Lane suffered unending humiliation and witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly of mankind. Now that he had been restored to his former formidable identity, he vowed to make everyone who once humiliated him grovel at his feet!

Ethan mistakenly believed that Scarlett's father had killed his own father, leading him to confine Scarlett in a mental hospital, where she endured torment for two years. Later, Ethan, in an effort to thwart his stepmother Evelyn's scheme, chose to enter into a fake marriage with Scarlett, with a three-month deadline. However, just as Ethan and Scarlett received their marriage license, Ethan discovered the mysterious woman he had slept with, Sophia.

Liam Wayne is minding his own business when the apocalypse arrives and drops his entire residential complex, Greenhill, into a monster-infested forest with no warning and no exit. He awakens a survival system almost by accident, unlocks a point exchange store and the ability to merge spaces, and makes a choice that surprises even himself—he is not leaving anyone behind. He pulls together an unlikely team, a motorcycle queen, a firefighter built like a wall, a surprisingly lethal young girl, and more, exchanges system points for weapons and supplies, and turns a community of ordinary neighbors into something that can actually fight back. Seven days of relentless undead waves.Internal betrayals from the selfish and the desperate. And through it all, the quiet stubborn solidarity of people who decide that survival means nothing if they do it alone. Liam leads them through every wave, every threat, every knife in the back, and carves a path out of the wasteland for every last one of them.

Shaw Group executive Elliot Lowe is pushed down by his father-in-law, humiliated by his wife's sisters, and thrown out like an outsider. Heartbroken, he quits and takes the company's core resources with him, driving Shaw Group the edge of collapse. When the Shaw family comes crawling with pleas and threats, he shuts them down one by one, sues the ones trying to extort him, and watches the family fall apart. On his deathbed, Liam Shaw regrets everything and leaves Elliot the family estate, and Elliot takes over to rebuild it. In a marriage of convenience with charity liaison Joy Jensen, he discovers she's actually an undercover enemy, but she switches sides at the last moment. After betrayal and redemption on both sides, they start over on one simple promise not to leave each other.

Blaze was the revered Warrior Goddess of the Northern Realm. After completing her mission, she attended her sister Anna's engagement party but was looked down upon for still wearing her task uniform. Anna stood up for Blaze, who then used her strength to punish Anna's fiancé and his family. After that, Blaze introduced Anna to the worthy suitor, Zane. One day, Blaze and Anna unexpectedly encountered their parents, who abandoned them years ago. Blaze decided to take action on Anna's birthday, aiming to make their neglectful parents regret their choices for a lifetime.

Blaze was the revered Warrior Goddess of the Northern Realm. After completing her mission, she attended her sister Anna's engagement party but was looked down upon for still wearing her task uniform. Anna stood up for Blaze, who then used her strength to punish Anna's fiancé and his family. After that, Blaze introduced Anna to the worthy suitor, Zane. One day, Blaze and Anna unexpectedly encountered their parents, who abandoned them years ago. Blaze decided to take action on Anna's birthday, aiming to make their neglectful parents regret their choices for a lifetime.

Everyone in Harbor City knew I had a wife whom everyone envied. Not only was she a wealthy heiress, but a celebrated lawyer, untouchable and elegant. However, in private, she was a delicate, devoted wife. I had planned to tell her the truth on our wedding anniversary—that I was the heir to one of Jinmist City's most powerful families—and take her home. However, on her birthday, I walked in on her being pinned to a car and forcefully kissed by her new assistant, with pieces of her torn clothing scattered everywhere. I lost control. The assistant ended up in the ICU, and I ended up in court. To my shock, my wife turned on me in court, falsely accusing me of malicious assault, while saying nothing about the assistant’s attempt. I was sentenced to three years in prison. In the visitation room, I demanded answers, but she remained calm. “You’re my husband. Even if you go to prison, I still love you.” “But Daniel is different. He comes from a poor family. If he’s charged with attempted assault, his life would be ruined forever.” At that moment, my hope shattered. Fine. If she didn’t want the title of wife to the Millers' heir, I’d just have to take it back.

When my parents divorced, their lawyers drafted a custody agreement. My sister and I would live with separate parents, then switch homes at the start of every school year. The handoff happened every August at La Serata, the Moretti family's restaurant. Every year, my parents fought over who got more time with Sofia. "Come to St. Barts with me for Thanksgiving," Mom coaxed. Dad's face hardened. "Sofia is with me this year. She spends the holidays with me." Mom pulled up her calendar. "You dumped her on me for nineteen extra days last year. I get those days back. Every single one." "Two of those days were school overnights. They don't count." Sofia rested her chin on one hand and gave them the helpless smile of a princess burdened by too much devotion. "If only there were two of me." Half an hour later, my parents compromised by booking the trip together. Only then did Sofia glance my way. "What about Emilia?" Dad picked up his water and looked past me. "She's not my responsibility this year." Mom finally met my eyes. "The hotel group closes an acquisition next month. I don't have time for this. St. Gabriel still has rooms in the senior dorm. You'll board there." They had just counted every hour Sofia had spent away from them. When it came to me, they could hand off an entire year without blinking. Under the table, I smoothed the napkin I had crushed in my fist. My phone lit up. [Ms. Harper: Your record puts several top East Coast schools within reach. Westbridge Institute's research scholarship would also be a great fit. Which one is your first choice?] I looked at California on the other side of the map and typed my answer. [Westbridge.] Three thousand miles ought to be far enough to leave my family for good.