As I Lay Dying Novels & Stories

BLURB Maya Blackwood has spent five years as the perfect wife to a man who doesn't love her. But when a terminal diagnosis gives her only six months to live, Maya finally finds the courage to demand what she's never had: one month of being Alexander's real wife. Alexander Blackwood has spent those same five years resenting the arrangement that tore him from his true love, Isabelle Chen. Now that Isabelle has returned to claim him, he's ready to file for divorce—until Maya makes him an offer he can't refuse without risking a scandal that could destroy his family's reputation. Thirty days. One month to discover whether a loveless marriage can become something real before time runs out. But as Maya and Alexander begin to truly see each other for the first time, secrets, lies, and the manipulations of those who want them apart threaten to steal even this brief chance at happiness. And when Alexander finally learns the devastating truth Maya has been hiding, he must face an impossible question: Is one month enough time to fall in love with someone you've already lost?

My mother, Eleanor Leigh, is pregnant with fraternal twins, but we aren't developing well. The doctor recommends terminating my younger sister, Juliette Vance, whose chances of survival are slim. Since Dad, Thomas Vance, suffers from azoospermia and can never have children again, I, Julian Vance, become the pampered, only child of the family. For my first birthday celebration, Mom and Dad gift me a house and a vehicle. Every day, they dress me up like a porcelain doll and specifically enroll me in ballet classes to elevate my poise. They even carry me everywhere I go, terrified that I might fall and end up with a scar. I only learn I'm a boy in elementary school when I get laughed at for entering the girls' restroom, and later learn it in a science lesson. Because of my classmates' constant bullying, I break down in tears, begging Mom not to make me wear dresses anymore. However, she, who is usually so gentle with me, suddenly flies into a rage and slaps me hard across the face right in the middle of the street. "What's going to happen to your sister if you don't wear dresses? It's your fault for being born a jinx! You killed your sister! "If you hadn't stolen her nutrients, she would be alive and well right now! Our family business would be booming as well. You'll either be our daughter for the rest of your life, or you can go to hell right this instant!" It turns out Juliette and I are the children Mom and Dad begged the heavens for, and while Juliette's a lucky charm, I'm a jinx. I wear long hair and dresses because I'm Juliette's body double. I sprint away in tears, only to be sent flying by a car running a red light. As my consciousness slips away, I wish with all my heart to go back to when Mom first found out she was pregnant. This time, I'll be the one to be reduced.

My cousin, Leroy Huff, is bringing his new girlfriend, Jodie Collins, home for the first time ever. At the dining table, everyone chats with each other animatedly. Suddenly, Jodie stares at my face intensely before pretending to be shocked. "Have I seen you before, Isabelle? You're a member of a high-class escort group, aren't you? I've seen your price list on the group chat's photo album before. I think… you were charging only 200 dollars per night, right?" After she's done speaking, she pretends to cover her mouth while looking all pure and innocent. All noise and chatter fade away instantly. My relatives turn to look at me in disdain. "She looks so prim and proper at first glance, but to think that she's actually involved in such business…" "You bring nothing but shame to the Huff family! Don't ever tell anyone else that you know us!" Enraged, my dad smashes his wine glass. Meanwhile, my mom just wipes her tears away quietly. But I dab my mouth with a napkin slowly before shooting Jodie a half-smile. "It's normal for you to think of me as familiar-looking. After all, I'm a member of the vice squad. Last month, I just arrested you after a stakeout."

“I have some trash to take out.” Hailey’s faint smile didn’t reach her eyes as she turned towards her best friend.“Will you help me, Iris?” Iris pouts in confusion, she had no idea what Hailey meant. “ Trash?What are you talking about?” “You can help me take out my trash right?” Hailey remained persistent. “You’re my best friend Iris…you’ll help me, won't you?” What Iris didn’t know was that Hailey wasn’t talking about garbage, she was talking about betrayal! ******************************** Betrayed by the two people she least expected;her husband and her best friend. Trapped in a loveless marriage, poisoned in secret, and discarded like she was nothing. Hailey thought her story had ended in cold blood and regret. But death wasn't the end,it was only the beginning. Reborn with the knowledge and scars of her past life,she has only one mission; take back her life and destroy theirs. This time,she won't be the naive woman who lost everything…she'll be the mastermind pulling the strings.And when revenge comes, it won't just be sweet…it will be devastating! Yet, fate has its own cruel twists, and as Hailey reshapes her destiny, she finds herself caught in a battle of love, betrayal, and power that could cost her everything once more.

Lorenzo and Selena secretly love each other, even though it should be forbidden by agents. Especially since Lorenzo was a captain and Selena was a member of his team. No romantic relationship should occur between agents. But Lorenzo was desperate to love Selena and marry her. During their five years of marriage, all was well and they had a son who was hidden from the public. But a new mission gets Selena killed and all the secrets they've been tightly hiding for so long are revealed to the surface. The FBI's elite board was furious and suspended Lorenzo for his misdeeds. Everyone shunned Lorenzo when he was in the most difficult phase of his life because Selena's death brought a threat to his son. Lorenzo was always blaming himself after all the weeks since Selena's death. He secretly investigates Selena's bizarre death case in order to viciously punish Selena's murderer. But when he gets close to the mastermind behind Selena's murder, he meets a woman who looks like Selena who works for his enemy. Lorenzo thought that the woman might be Selena. And as long as he was breathing, he would continue to pursue that woman to prove that she might be his dead wife.

My mother had always favored my younger sister, Alora Caine. In the previous timeline, Alora had acted first and selected the spirit deer that was far more compatible with me. I had no choice but to settle for a carp that had not yet taken human form. One day, the spirit deer suddenly went berserk and nearly killed Alora, turning her into a laughingstock within the school. Meanwhile, my carp came across a rare opportunity and transformed into a lucky carp beloved by everyone. In a fit of madness, Alora drove a blade into my stomach. When I opened my eyes and saw Alora choosing the carp without hesitation, I immediately knew she had also returned to the past. Little did she know that the carp’s transformation into a lucky carp had never been a matter of luck. I had gone to great lengths to set it down that path.

I was the pack's chief healer, but my fiancé Domine was just an ordinary warrior from the neighboring pack. I didn't care about that because I believed in the guidance of the moon goddess. I worked hard to earn money, bought a house, and supported us both. But just a week before our Mating Ceremony, I discovered that Domine wasn't some ordinary warrior, but actually the Alpha of neighboring pack. He hid his identity to get close to me just to seek revenge for his first love. Three years ago, his first love secretly entered the forbidden zone and ate poisonous fruit. I fought with all my might to save her life, but she framed me for intentionally poisoning her and causing her to lose her wolf. Domine believed her. He even promised to publicly extract my heart’s blood during the ceremony to supplement Ella's strength and turn me into a complete cripple. He even stole my father’s life-saving medicine to make scented candles for her, which caused the death of my only relative. After discovering the truth, I didn't hesitate to turn around and leave. But Domine, who harbored a deep hatred for me, completely broke down. He knelt in the snow for three days and three nights, begging me to look at him just one more time.

"Alex... help… please…" I tried to whisper, but no sound came out. I saw them, Alexander had his arms wrapped around Sophia, who was clutching him like her life depended on it. She was pressed against his chest, her face buried in his neck, and she wasn't letting go. "Don't look at her," Sophia whispered loudly. "You'll only make yourself sick with guilt. This isn't your fault. She did this to herself by being dramatic." That's when I heard the scream. "Oh my God! Mrs. Sterling!" Rosa, one of our housemaids, came rushing into the dining room. "Mrs. Sterling, what happened to you?" Rosa dropped to her knees beside me, her hands fluttering over my body like she didn't know where to start. "You're bleeding! There's so much blood everywhere!” I was bleeding? I couldn't feel anything below my waist anymore, but when I managed to glance down, I saw the dark stain spreading across my dress. "Mr. Alexander!" Rosa shouted, her voice cracking with an anger I’ve never seen in her before. She looked ready to commit murder. Did I look that bad? “Your wife is dying! How can you do this to her? How can you stand there holding another woman while your wife bleeds to death on the floor?!" Rosa snarled. "Rosa, lower your voice," Alexander snapped, but I could hear something different in his tone. Uncertainty. "Take Ivy to the hospital and stop making a scene, or you'll be looking for another job." Rosa shot back, tears streaming down her face. "¡Sos un bueno para nada! What kind of man are you?" I was going to die. Right here on my dining room floor, wearing my mother's blood-stained dress while my husband comforted another woman.

She gave him everything, her love, her light, her life. Aurora healed Rowan’s broken soul, stood by him through darkness, and asked for nothing in return. But instead of love, she was met with hatred, indifference, and pain. Rowan’s heart belonged to Vivian, the woman who vanished without a trace, and he blamed Aurora, his fated mate, for her disappearance. His love for one blinded him to the truth of the other. Now Aurora is gone… and Rowan is left with nothing but guilt, madness, and the ghost of the woman who loved him more than life itself. Will he ever forgive himself, or is this his punishment for destroying his own destiny?

The ninety-ninth time my mate, Valeria, the pack's Alpha Female, blocked our mind-link, I dragged myself, ravaged by Soul-Decay, into the Hall of Covenants. The cold marble steps bit at my bare feet, each one sending a lancing pain through my chest. In the final stages of Soul-Decay, I'd lost my healing abilities. Even the simple act of walking was agony. "I'm here to request a severance of my mate bond." The covenant official took in my pale, gaunt frame, his gaze softening with pity. "Sir," he asked quietly, "don't you have a pack to support you?" I've been invisible to my parents ever since my father brought home my adoptive brother, Silas, when I was ten. And while Valeria was my mate, it was in name only. We had never held a public marking ceremony. She rarely brought me to pack gatherings. Most of the pack wouldn't even recognize me. I wiped away the blood welling at the corner of my mouth. "That doesn't matter anymore," I told the official. "A dying wolf needs no pack."