Title: Scumbag Billionaire
Author: Harper Kingsley
Story Landing Page: https://kimichee.com/novel-scumbag-billionaire


He could tell he was naked by the pain of sunburn covering his entire body. His legs screamed when he tried to move them

His entire body felt as if it were covered by a tight leather suit that was shrinking with every minute that passed. It felt as if too deep of a breath would cause his skin to split.

He couldn’t even groan. His throat was so dry it felt torn in places. He could taste the metallic flavor of blood.

Ames didn’t want to move, with how much it hurt, but he knew he had to. If he didn’t save himself, he would die here.

He didn’t have much strength and he could feel it becoming less as he lay on the sand. The energy was being sucked out of him as the sun baked him alive.

It was agony. Every move he made was like a scalpel peeling off his skin. And below the flesh was screaming nerves.

If he didn’t have the memories of the hospital, of the sickness, of the dying… he might have given up. Might have laid back down in the hopes of passing out and dying in his sleep.

But he’d died once.

And however he’d gotten to this place, he would see what happened next. He was no stranger to pain. He could take this much and more.

He just wished he didn’t have to.

It was the dream–the delusion–of a body that didn’t hurt that kept him moving. Crawling up the beach, away from the water to the tree-line and the desperate hope for shade to bring him some relief.

He crawled. And crawled. And crawled.

And he would have cried if he had tears. But he was so … Read the rest “NOVEL: Scumbag Billionaire 003”

Title: Scumbag Billionaire

Author: Harper Kingsley

Story Landing Page: https://kimichee.com/novel-scumbag-billionaire


It was hot. That’s the first thing Ames realized. The horrible, all-encompassing heat.

Then he recognized the slapping sloshing sound around him: water.

He tried to groan, but his throat hurt too much. When he weakly shifted he lost his balance and slipped off the board he hadn’t realized he was resting on.

He splashed into the water. Gasped. Panicked. Swallowed a mouthful of salty ocean water. Began to drown.

Lights flashed behind his eyes. Or maybe it was the darkness cutting away the light.

He weakly tried to kick his legs, but his body was too exhausted by sunstroke.

He passed out.

And found himself in memory. Back in the hospital where he had so recently died after saying his final farewells to his tearful family and friends.

Everything had had a haziness to it from the painkillers. It had reached the point where there were no longer limits to the amount he was given. He’d held the button in his hand and could control things for himself, a little bit or a lot. It didn’t matter because he was going to die anyway.

He’d pushed the button enough to take the edge off the grinding agony. But he’d held off enough that he could coherently say his goodbyes.

It had hurt to see his mother sobbing against his father’s shoulder. Neither one of them had thought he would die first. Barely 29 years old, but so ravaged by cancer that there was barely anything left of him.

Ames had managed to smile at them. Had spent his last precious moments offering them comfort rather than focusing on the fact that he was really dying.

Some bit of him had felt resentment, but he hadn’t allowed it to show. … Read the rest “NOVEL: Scumbag Billionaire 002”

Title: Scumbag Billionaire

Author: Harper Kingsley

Story Landing Page: https://kimichee.com/novel-scumbag-billionaire


CHAPTER ONE

There’s so much water.

It’s everywhere.

Salty and terrible.

Almost worst than the blazing heat of the sun. The light so bright and encompassing. Burning away his skin one reddened layer at a time until he wondered when he would be left as nothing more than bones.

Floating forever on the ocean. Or withered down and swallowed by the waves.

His mouth was so dry. Surrounded on all sides by water, but so thirsty his lips stuck to his teeth and his tongue felt too big for his mouth.

He was dying. He knew it and couldn’t stop it.

His death was an inevitability at this point. So far from the shore that land was nothing more than a half-remembered dream to his sun burned mind.

This was the end of him.

These were the last moments of his life.

And thinking back… he felt regret for all the time he’d wasted. Enjoying his moments but not treasuring his hours. This was all he had left.

Floating far from shore. So thirsty he couldn’t feel hungry. So hot that all he knew was burning misery.

These were his lasts moments.

Floating lost. Hopeless. Knowing he wasn’t going to be found.

TBC…

6. After being let out of the hospital, a tabloid journalist fell in love with a princess.

Love was nothing Whitney had ever thought about.

She wasn’t beautiful, smart, or funny. She was tenacious, but considering the reaction that usually got her, she didn’t think it was necessarily to her benefit.

Her prettiest feature was her hair. It naturally tousled itself into looping curls and was a soft brown that urged hands to touch. At least, people were always touching it or asking to touch it.

Sometimes it was awkward. Sometimes it was weird.

With Flora, it was wonderful.

Princess Floriana Della Bonadeci, second daughter of Crown Prince Darius Mekiah Bonadeci of the small kingdom of Kharvis. Beautiful, gentle, and for some reason interested in Whitney.

And while the commonsense thing would have been to reject the princess’ attentions, for once Whitney refused to be sensible.

She wanted the whirlwind romance. The sweet kisses that would eventually have to lead to a bittersweet goodbye.

Because Flora was as high above her as the birds sweeping through the sky, wings widespread, impossible to hold in place. Because a bird needed to fly.

And Flora, beautiful Flora, was as tied to her homeland as those birds were tied to the air above. Someday she would have to go home. And Whitney would have to stay behind.

Because Whitney was a journalist for a trashy tabloid that nobody respected. Because it had only been chance that let the two of them meet–their arms brushing as they both tried to use the same hospital vending machine–and chance was what would part them.

Because Flora’s father was going to be a king. Someday soon from the way she spoke of her grandfather. And when that happened, Flora would be propelled into the public eye, and

Read the rest “6. After being let out of the hospital, a tabloid journalist fell in love with a princess. #HarperWCK”

I make wishes on the stars all the time. It doesn't seem like a waste to me. Because in the forming of a wish--an idea--a concept of what can be is created. And until a wish is formulated, it's nothing but stardust and fantasy.