The Pitch Slap

It's my fiancé's grandmother's birthday banquet. My father's adoptive daughter suddenly snatches the gift I've prepared and says loudly, "My adoptive sister is so rude. "She tried to take the gift I prepared for Mrs. Scott Senior and play it off as her own. I'll have my father teach her a lesson when we get home later." The guests start to whisper among themselves and criticize me. In the past, I would've fled. I would never have dared to retaliate. Unfortunately for her, I've been reborn. I swipe the gift from her and throw it onto the floor. "When has my family turned into something for you to brag about? You mentioned having your father teach me a lesson, right? He's just been released from jail after being there for a decade due to theft. Are you going to bring him here?"

During an argument with my fiancé, he lost his temper and slapped me across the face in front of the entire family and guests. That same day, I called off the engagement and blocked him on every last platform so that he could not reach me. No one could believe it. After all, we grew up together. Everyone knew I had been in love with him since we were kids, and we were supposed to get married right after college. He just stood there, looking lost. "Why, Gia? Over a slap?" I held his gaze. "Sì. Over a slap."

Liam Simpson is the Golden Boy of Northwood University hockey. He’s the Captain,a legacy, and he’s 100% straight; or so he thought.He has his whole life planned out, and it doesn't include Jax Miller. Liam and Jax have nothing in common except their jerseys and their burning hatred for each other. Liam plays for his father’s pride. Jax plays for the thrill. Neither of them has ever looked at a man that way before.But when they are forced to share a roof, the walls they built start to crumble with nowhere to hide, the hate starts to feel a lot like obsession. One accidental touch turns into a late night mistake they can’t take back. Now, they aren't just playing for a championship, they’re playing a dangerous game, one that is stronger than any hit on the ice.

Dominic Carrillo is the Alpha of the Manchester ice and the untouchable king of the Carrillo Music Group. For ten years, he’s believed his bond with Aaron Solis was a masterpiece of stability—a fated match built on shared dreams, secret whispers, and the brutal, rhythmic pulse of the Northern Quarter. But beneath the polished surface of their Cheshire glass house, the scent of secrets is beginning to sour the air. Aaron is a master of logistics, but he’s currently orchestrating a high-stakes game of deception. Between dodging Dominic’s piercing gaze and sneaking through the shadows of Manchester with Dominic’s own cousin, Adrian, Aara is walking a razor-thin line. He’s planning the ultimate homecoming surprise—the one thing the powerful Alpha thinks is impossible—while simultaneously navigating the grueling path to siring an heir. But shadows have a way of twisting the truth. When a predatory assistant starts whispering "red flags" and Adrian is spotted lurking in forbidden alleys, Dominic’s inner wolf begins to snarl. Is his mate drifting away, or is the pack being hunted from within? In a world of cold ice and hot blood, the line between devotion and betrayal is as thin as a skate blade. "You were made for me, Aara. You know that, right?" Dominic whispered, his voice a low, possessive rumble that vibrated against my skin. I leaned into his heat, my breath hitching as he pinned my wrists. "I know, Alpha. Always." His grip tightened, his eyes flashing with a primal, predatory hunger. "Then prove it. Keep your hands where I put them and take every inch of me until you can’t remember any name but mine. I’m going to mark you so deeply that even the moon will know who you belong to."

Life is not always bright. Esmeray, a woman who has always believed that there is good in everything, realized that when misfortune struck her one after another. Despite trying to live a normal life, she felt as if the world closed its doors to her; as she fell into despair, the curse she was oblivious of which repressed her peculiarity was broken and she became aware that she possessed a supernatural ability. Her world turned upside down as she found herself living in Mysticuria, a hidden place on Earth where supernatural people reside. She thought that she already fits in despite the peculiarity of the community as she hoped to unfold her identity but it seemed that her special ability is a jinx that could paint its user black and could cause destruction to the world. How will she survive if there is an order to exterminate her? "I have always been a lover of sunshine, an admirer of the light of day, a daughter of the Sun. To see the beauty of the world and its people in the glimmer of daylight made me feel loved. But of course, the thoughts I once believed in came crashing down into a speck of dust. I was unduly blinded by the goodness of every day that I overlooked the cruelty of life; it was already late when I realized that the dark dawns to shade my beautiful world with pitch-black."

Unable to take it anymore, I upload a photo of my husband, Johann Garner, holding hands with his secretary, Eva Ford, to the company's group chat. A long while later, Johann finally replies, "It's just something we do when we're working together. Those who are vile in nature will always view things differently from others." Messages from his colleagues begin flooding the group chat immediately. They all discuss whether or not I'm delusional. But I'm the only one who knows just how skilled Johann is at manipulating others as an expert manipulator. After muting the group chat, I look down at the ring Johann has slipped onto my finger when he first proposed to me. When exactly can I escape from the prison he has built around me?