Romans & histoires Icarus Laughed

In the final days before the world collapsed, Ivy Brooks died… betrayed by the very people she trusted most. She had fought, struggled, and sacrificed everything just to survive the apocalypse only to be pushed into death along with her three daughters at the very end by her own husband. With her last breath, Ivy made a vow. If she could turn back time…she would never be weak again and of course protect her daughters. This time, she would stand at the top. When Ivy opened her eyes, she found herself back in time with her still rounded belly of her third baby.... Twenty days before the apocalypse. Armed with memories of the future and a mysterious system in her mind, Ivy moved without hesitation. She hoarded supplies, secured weapons, and took control of every resource she could get her hands on. While others laughed, doubted, and wasted time… Ivy was building her empire along with her daughters. In this life, she would not be prey but will be an hunter. With danger closing in and only twenty days to prepare, Ivy must outplay enemies both old and new, uncover the truth behind the system, and carve out her own kingdom in a collapsing world. Because this time...she wasn’t just going to survive the apocalypse. She was going to rule it along with a man, a love interest from the past before her marriage collapse. He provided everything Ivy needed. Money especially in change of a marriage with her and when the apocalypse started too....he ruled it with her as well as her daughters.

"You are mine, mine alone." He muttered, sending a rush of terror and excitement through her. Her face crumbled into a frown as she tried to process his words. "Yours?" She laughed nervously, trying to conceal her fear, "You don't mean it, right?" She questioned doubtfully, but the seriousness on the man's face said otherwise. She scoffed, trying to project , What's this? It's nothing. It's just a mistake night." The man's piercing gaze caused her heart to skip a beat. "I don't think it is." He replied, his voice firm and commanding. "I've marked you, so you are mine now." Her eyes widened in terror as she realised the meaning behind his words. "The bite...it's just a bite." She said, attempting to downplay it, but deep down she knew that the bite meant more than that. She was aware that once a girl was marked, she was chosen as a mate. Being betrayed by the one you loved and trusted is the most miserable thing. For Lily, being the daughter of a traitor in her pack meant a life of mistreatment and abuse. But nothing could have prepared her for the ultimate betrayal: her boyfriend, the new Alpha, bringing home another woman and declaring her his Luna, forcing Lily out of the pack.With her world shattered, Lily drowned her sorrows in a bar, leading to a chance encounter with the enigmatic and feared Alpha, Logan Knight. A ruthless leader with a dark past and a thirst for revenge, Logan has been searching for his mate for years, scouring packs far and wide. And then fate brings him Lily. Will Lily, scarred by her previous betrayal, be able to open her heart to Logan's charms? 

As the year ended and payday finally arrived, my salary still hadn't hit my bank account. I headed straight to the finance department to sort it out, but Sarah Thompson dismissed me impatiently. "You picked up those coupons last week, didn't you? The ones for "Spend 2,000, save 1,000". You got ten of them, adding up to $10,000. Your salary is $8,000, and that extra $2,000 is a perk." I stared at her, stunned. No one had said a word about this when the coupons were handed out. Worse, they could only be redeemed at our boss's supermarket, where commodities were ridiculously marked up. Items that cost $19.99 at a regular supermarket went for $49.99 there, more than double the price. It dawned on me that the boss was just shuffling money from one pocket to another, which meant I had been basically working for free. I shoved the coupons back at her. "I don't want these. Just deposit the cash into my bank account." Michael Wright walked over with a frown. "What's all the yelling? We gave you an extra $2,000, and you are not even grateful? You're stirring up trouble for nothing. You'd spend your salary on stuff anyway. We're just making it convenient." My voice rose, shaking with fury. "What you're doing is illegal!" He laughed, cold and scornful. "Then sue me. I manage things here. You think I'd be scared by a minor employee like you?" Right then, my phone buzzed with a text notification: [Lisa Matthews, congratulations on securing the Enforcement Officer position at the tax bureau.]

At the party celebrating Ryan making partner, his childhood friend, Jenna knew I was deathly allergic to peanuts, yet she deliberately put peanut syrup in my drink. I drank it, Within seconds, my throat began to tighten, constriction seizing my windpipe like a closing fist. Panic flared in my chest as a suffocating wave of heat rushed to my face. Desperate, I grabbed my emergency allergy spray from my purse. Instead, a harsh minty sting sprayed into my throat. She had swapped my medication with a mint spray. I turned pale and collapsed onto the hardwood floor, clawing at my neck, gasping for even a shred of oxygen. Jenna laughed so hard that tears welled in her eyes. "Wow, Isabella Moretti. Someone get this girl an Oscar for that performance. I’ve been a nurse at the top hospital in Chicago for five years, and I’ve never seen anyone throw a tantrum like this over a splash of syrup." I crawled toward Ryan on my hands and knees, biting my lower lip until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. "Ryan... please... call 911... I can't breathe..." Ryan looked down at me."Stop pretending, Isabella. Nobody drops dead from a little drink. Jenna is a medical professional. If you were actually in danger, she’d be the first to know." With that, he turned his back on me. I stopped begging. Using my final shred of strength, I triggered the phone's emergency SOS. A silent distress signal and my live GPS location immediately shot straight to my father.

“oh I forgot you're here for the big announcement”. Nathan laughed “you’re joking if you think father will hand over the company to you Logan. I mean we both know you don't have what it takes”. Logan Carter is one of the sons of Arthur Carter— a popular billionaire. Nathan Carter is Logan’s stepbrother. Even though Logan is already a billionaire, he competes with Nathan on who becomes the next president of their father's company Carter Enterprise. When Arthur Carter announces that any of his sons who gives him his first grandchild will become the next president of his company, Logan's jaw dropped in surprise. He had sworn never to get married because of his last heartbreak. Now he did not just have to get married, he had to have a child too. When his friend David suggests that he could hire someone to have his child without getting married to her, he reluctantly agrees. David introduces Tara to Logan Carter at the Nighttime bar where Logan offers to hire Tara as the surrogate mother of his child and his contract fiancee. With the condition that she moves in with him for the baby’s sake and to authenticate their relationship in the eye of his family. Tara is a twenty five years old stripper who is beautiful and still a virgin. She only gets into the stripping business because she desperately needs to earn a living and cannot find a better job. Her beauty and sensuality has earned her the admiration of many men. Will Logan be able to maintain the professional boundaries that their contract demands and also keep his oath never to get married or will he fall for Tara’s charms?

The day after my mom used 880 grand from selling our family restaurant to buy a house for my cousin, my girlfriend of five years dumped me. "Evan," Ruby Lawrence said while she sat across from me. "Let's break up." My hands trembled. "Why?" "I waited for you for five years." Her eyes welled with tears. "You said once the restaurant was sold, we'd have the down payment for a house in Seahaven. Where is it now? Where's the money?" I tried to explain, but she cut me off. "In your parents' eyes, you're not even as important as your cousin. So tell me, who's really their son? I'm 28, Evan. I can't keep waiting." She grabbed her bag and walked away without looking back. My phone buzzed. My mom sent me a photo of her and my cousin at his new house. That was followed with a voice note. She sounded joyful. "Your cousin finally achieved his biggest life goal. We can relax now." I stared at his smug smile in the photo. I laughed until tears ran down my face. I exited the 'Clark Family Forever' group chat and blocked every single relative. 'Since you all choose him, then from this moment on, your reputation or loyalty will have nothing to do with me. I only wonder if you'll think of the son you abandoned when that precious nephew of yours, who you poured all your resources into, throws you out of your own home.'

The day the Royal Academy's screening results came out, the twin Alpha heirs — Julian and Damien — stood in front of me. Each of them was holding an application form. "Ivy. Have you decided whose name you're putting on that form?" In my previous life, I chose Julian for love. I gave up my direct admission to the Royal Academy and stayed behind in the pack with him and Celeste — his childhood-friend Omega who'd failed the screening — to help them train for another year. I thought that was what it meant to go through hardship together. That was love. But the pack laughed at Celeste — an Omega who thought she could get into the combat track at the Royal Academy. She couldn't stand the gossip, ran off alone, and was killed by rogue wolves. Julian threw me into the silver pit — the pit our pack used to execute traitors. Silver burns a wolf's flesh like acid. "If you hadn't been so desperate to cling to me, I could've focused on protecting Celeste. She wouldn't be dead!" "Ivy Hale — all of this is your fault. You ruined us." He poured silver down my throat. I died thrashing in agony. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day the screening results were announced. This time, I slipped my arm through Damien's and gave the brightest smile I had. "Let's apply to the Royal Academy together." Julian let out a quiet, relieved breath and turned to go find his Omega. He didn't see the way Damien's hand tightened around mine — or the obsession and ambition he couldn't quite hide behind his eyes.

Warning: 18+ This novel contains explicit adult content, strong language, manipulation, graphic violence, blood, and mature situations. Read at your own risk or pleasure. He remarried her best friend… while she was still calling him her husband. Madden Callista thought the worst thing in her life was the darkness creeping into her vision. She was wrong, it was the darkness living in her marriage. She loved Daelan Grey with a blind, unshakable faith. When he slid documents across the table and told her they were “just business,” she signed them without hesitation. When he reassured her with soft kisses and steady hands, she believed him. When he promised forever, she gave him everything, her trust, her wealth, her name. She never imagined those signatures were erasing her. The day Callista walked into the grand wedding hall, she thought she was surprising her husband. Instead, she walked into a nightmare dressed in white. Daelan stood at the altar exchanging vows with Elysia. Elysia, her old best friend. Elysia, who once laughed with her over coffee, she now wore the smile of a thief. When she screamed that Daelan was her husband, whispers rippled through the crowd. Cameras turned but Daelen didn’t deny her. He simply lifted a file for everyone to see. “We divorced five years ago,” he announced, voice cold and measured. He had rewritten her entire existence. She's no longer the CEO of the brand Avenior but now a NOBODY. “Kiss me at my husband's wedding,” She whispered in a stranger’s ear, her breath reeking of alcohol. (A drug lord)

My father was the most feared Don in all of Sicelia. He ran every illicit arms deal and casino in the underworld, his name alone sent shivers through the Mafia world. He worried that, as his only heir, I might fall for the wrong man. So he ordered every family to send a representative, and I would choose my marriage partner by lot. I drew Bernardo Vito, heir of the Vito family. It was an arranged marriage, but I still wanted to meet him in person. To keep up appearances before the evening banquet, I stopped by a haute couture boutique. The moment I stepped inside, my eyes landed on a deep crimson velvet gown. Just as I reached for it, a sharp voice pierced the air. "I want that dress she's holding. Wrap it up for me." Before I could even react, a clerk snatched it from my hands. I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to stay calm. "I saw this dress first, and I was ready to pay. Is this how you treat your customers?" The woman laughed, as if I had just told the world's funniest joke. Her gaze roamed me with contempt, and she sneered: "This dress is worth five million dollars. A country bumpkin like you can only look. "Me? I am Bernardo Vito's favorite assistant. In this city, nothing I want is ever taken from me!" I could not help but laugh. Bernardo Vito? The very man I had drawn in the marriage lot? I pulled out my phone and dialed. "Bernardo, your favorite assistant just stole the dress I had my eye on. What are you going to do about it?"

After being released from my three-year sentence, Zoe Sanders finally found me in an underground fight club. The moment she saw me, she grabbed me by the collar and punched me across the face, her eyes burning red with fury. "Henry Goldman, who gave you the nerve to disappear like this? "And what the hell have you done to yourself?" I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and laughed carelessly. "One punch, one hundred thousand. "If you’re still angry, feel free to keep going. I could use the money for this year’s rent." Her fists trembled uncontrollably, but her voice softened. "Come home with me... apologize to Ronald Green. "He’s always been kind-hearted. He already forgave you for framing him." Her gaze swept over the scars covering my body, something unreadable flickering in her eyes. "Look at yourself. Covered in blood like this... what’s the difference between you and a stray dog digging through garbage?" My body stiffened. Then I turned and walked away. What she did not know was this: In prison, blood and violence were the only ways I learned to survive. "Don’t forget," she shouted after me, "I’m still your fiancée!" My footsteps stopped. How could I forget? Three years ago, on the night of our engagement, Ronald drugged me and sent me to a black-market auction. I was stripped of all dignity and sold like merchandise. That night, I became the laughingstock of the entire city. And the person who signed the papers that sold me… was my fiancée herself.