What Happens To Dorian Gray'S Painting In The Novel?

The wedding had been postponed ninety-nine times. I called the wedding planner and told them to change the bride's name to Ivy Sterling, Charles Hart's childhood sweetheart. "Donna, are you sure?" the planner asked cautiously. "This time, the Don didn't postpone again." I heard the surprise in his voice. My answer was calm. "Yes. Change it to Ivy Sterling." From the very beginning, Charles gave only one instruction for the wedding: "Adjust the decorations according to Ivy's taste." He explained that Ivy had good taste, that she would only serve as a reference for our wedding. But every choice, the flowers, the favors, the entrance music, was made by Ivy. Even my wedding dress. She had said lightly, "A mermaid silhouette suits her better." So I decided to give the entire wedding, steeped in her presence, to them. And I walked away from this farce completely. From now on, let him keep his old dreams. I will go and enjoy my own boundless sky.

A woman escapes an abusive relationship and is accidentally saved by a mafia leader who is hunting the same man. He offers her safety but only if she stays under his control. What starts as protection turns into obsession, loyalty, and a love that could destroy both of them.

Drugged by a mysterious stranger, Jane Terranova, a powerful CEO of JT Telecom, finds herself in an unexpected encounter with Khali Luciano, a charismatic blackjack in a prestigious casino. Bound by the influence of drugs, Jane unwittingly engages in a high-stakes bet with Khali, unknowing that this fateful deal will alter the course of her life forever.

I was a sketch artist acting for the police. On a secret mission, I was discovered by a murderer. My eyes were gouged out, and my body was dismembered, unceremoniously dumped in a garbage bin. On the brink of death, I called my boyfriend, a criminal investigator. However, he hung up on me because he was busy accompanying his first love to a prenatal checkup. A few days later, he received a painting that was a vital clue to finding the murderer, but he thought I was playing tricks on him. In his anger, he tore that portrait to shreds. After he found out the truth, he spent the whole night searching through the garbage to piece it back together.

The day the Thorne family announced our engagement, the New York underworld let out a collective sigh of relief. Because I was set to marry Daemon, the most straitlaced Don in the city, which meant I could no longer be the wild rose who tore up the racetrack. But I resisted with every fiber of my being, finding creative ways to test his limits. During his ten-million-dollar card game with a rival family's Capo, my hand "slipped" and sent a bottle of 1945 Romanee-Conti spilling across the ancient map that outlined their territories, sabotaging the entire negotiation. Daemon, however, just slowly and deliberately wiped the wine from the back of his hand. He didn't even frown as he cleaned up my mess. Then I "accidentally" let my spirited Arabian stallion loose in his immaculately manicured courtyard. The beast went wild, trampling his prize-winning rose garden into mud. But he arrived with his private doctor in tow, crouching before me as his long fingers gently traced the scratch on my arm. "Did the beast hurt you?" Just that one question, and my heart melted completely. "Daemon, I can marry you. But before that, has there ever been another woman who owned your heart?" "I don't share my man. Not in any way." He pointed to his heart, his gaze unwavering as he met my eyes. "Before you, this was empty." After we married, the word on the street in New York's circles of power was this: If you angered Don Thorne, his Donna might plead your case. But if you angered the Donna, you were on your own. Even I began to believe that Daemon, that mountain of ice, would eventually melt for me. Until the day I went to find him, clutching a positive pregnancy test, bursting with joy. Only to hear the family's Consigliere ask him, from the top-floor study, what the best lie he'd ever told was. Daemon chuckled and said casually, "She asked me if anyone had my heart before her." "I told her no."

Amelia Carter never expected her life to collide with Dominic Blackwood — the grumpy billionaire, ruthless CEO, and her brother’s best friend. Once the carefree boy who teased her like a little sister, Dominic has become a man shrouded in power, secrets, and a dangerous edge she can’t ignore. Desperate for a fresh start, Amelia takes a job as Dominic’s executive assistant, stepping into a world of high stakes and cold luxury. But working for Dominic is a battle of wills—he’s as demanding as he is infuriating, pushing her to her limits with biting comments and piercing gazes that stir something deep within her. As days turn into nights and business bleeds into temptation, the line between professional and personal blurs. Beneath Dominic’s gruff exterior lies a storm of pain and passion, and Amelia soon discovers that the man she thought she knew is far more complex—and broken—than she ever imagined. Their connection ignites into a fierce, unrelenting fire, forcing Amelia to confront her own desires and the dark past Dominic hides. But loving Dominic Blackwood comes at a price, and surrendering to him could ruin them both. In a world of power, secrets, and shattered trust, can Amelia break through Dominic’s walls without losing herself? Or will their love destroy everything in its wake? Ruin Me, Blackwood is a dark, steamy modern romance of forbidden passion, emotional scars, and the fierce battle to find redemption in the arms of a man who refuses to be tamed.