1657 Book(s) Related to Heart of stone

Enshadowed Hearts: Moonlit Rejection

Enshadowed Hearts: Moonlit Rejection

392 Views · Ongoing · LAURA MINA
Helena, returns to her beautiful hometown after a long time away. She wanted a fresh start in her old town, where she spent most of her childhood. She stayed at her parent's farmhouse, which was perfect as she was looking to move on from a bad breakup. She settles in quietly and is optimistic.

She meets Aaron, a werewolf while taking a walk in the woods one morning. He was in his wolf form, and badly wounded. He begged her to help him as he was lost, and couldn't go to the hospital. She agrees out of kindness and takes him to her home. There, she tends to his wounds and helps him recover.

He confided in her with his past and present. He told her all the stories from his childhood. He was awfully weird, but fascinating. She was surprised by his transformation stories. The emotional turmoil he went through while trying to figure out who he really was and why he didn't really fit in. She wished she was there to shield him while he struggled. She felt a connection with him. Something she had never felt with anyone before now, not even her ex, Caleb.

Caleb had left Helena broken and destroyed, but he realised his mistakes and tried getting her back. Helena is torn between her feelings for Caleb, and the peace she feels with Aaron. There is a constant battle in her heart. Her guard was also up against Aaron, since she wasn't sure who to trust.

Slowly, Aaron broke down her defenses with his caring and attentive attitude. He too had developed strong feelings for this human and wasn't willing to let her go. He was protective, obsessed, and was going to do whatever it took to keep her safe. Helena was giving in to his charm, and there was no stopping her.

There was something Aaron didn't tell her Helena though, he was the next in line for position of pack leader in his realm, and soon, his people would come searching for him. He hid this secret from her, until it was a tad too late.

There was something not so perfect about Helena's little town, and it was the presence of dark mysterious forces that also haunted her. The history of the town was never brought up during her childhood, and now, it was fighting back. With apprehension, she and Aaron uncover her family's darkest secrets, and figure out a way to set her free.

The town is shadowed by dark spirits, mystery and secrets. Bound by their intertwined faith, they must battle not only for their love but also for the picturesque town they call home. As secrets surface and allegiances falter, they navigate through the shadows to uncover their destined path. Theirs is a love that's forbidden, but impossible to extinguish.
Tangled Hearts on Wheels

Tangled Hearts on Wheels

7.3k Views · Ongoing · Precious Soter
Blaze shoved Carlo hard, his breath ragged. “Get the hell out of my way! I don’t need your help.”

Carlo caught his balance, his lips curling into a taunting smirk. “Really? Because it looks like you’re drowning without me.”

"And no matter where you go, I'll be the only man you'll come back to" Carlo slurs.


Blaze is a street racer trying to pay off his father’s debt, desperate to win his freedom. Carlo is a rich son of a powerful family, living a life of luxury that Blaze can only dream of. But there’s one thing Carlo can’t buy—true passion.

When the underground racing scene throws them into competition, their rivalry heats up. But after an unexpected one-night stand, a new kind of tension sparks between them. Suddenly, Blaze and Carlo find themselves drawn to each other in a way they never imagined.

Now, they have to decide if they can put their hatred aside and risk everything for a love neither of them saw coming. But what happens when Blaze finds out Carlo's secret?
CURSED HEARTS, FATED SOULS

CURSED HEARTS, FATED SOULS

1k Views · Ongoing · vroigroup039
Wren was born cursed, mute, broken. Wren's father's pack was taken over by her stepmother instead of Wren. Wren endured maltreatment from her stepmother and step sister ever since her father died.
Wren's curse can only be broken when she finds true love. Wren's stepmother and stepsister believe Wren will never find a true love because if Wren does find a true love Wren will take back the pack From them.
But fate doesn’t forget.
Alpha hunter has been looking for his mate until he meets Wren.
When Alpha Hunter, dark, dangerous, and cursed, alpha hunter claims Wren as his mate.
It was a shocking move to all Wren enemies
Alpha hunter is known as a beast.
Alpha hunter and Wren curse will be broken after they seal their mating bond.
Bella the she wolf from Alpha hunter pack who has been waiting to be Alpha Hunter’s Luna. Bella is determined to get rid of Wren for taking Alpha Hunter away from her .
Wren's stepmother who doesn’t Want to lose the pack was willing to do anything to stop Wren's curse being broken.
Wren's enemies come after her to destroy her completely.
With all the enemies That is after Wren and Alpha Hunter can they mating bond be seal
OR WILL WREN AND ALPHA HUNTER REMAIN CURSED AND BE DESTROYED FOREVER.
He Tricked Me Into Switching His Lover's Bad Heart

He Tricked Me Into Switching His Lover's Bad Heart

555 Views · Ongoing · He Tricked Me Into Switching His Lover's Bad Heart
In front of me, Daniel kissed his childhood sweetheart.

He said he married me only for the benefits, without any feelings for me.

He even threatened me to give his sweetheart a heart transplant.

I agreed.

But after the transplant, he regretted it. I, however, smiled.
The Rose Of The Impotent C.E.O

The Rose Of The Impotent C.E.O

2.8k Views · Ongoing · Raven Heart
“You need money? I can give you that, you only need to be my wife.” Those words, his cold and emotionless eyes told me that he sad. Roselyn Jensen is known as a queen of bad luck and clumsiness. But she a warm, sunny and loving person. She stops studying in college because her mother is in comma because of an accident. She meet
a man that will change her life. She can easily attach herself to people but she fell for him because he is the saddest man she meet. For some reason she had this feelings of wanting to take care of him for the rest of her life.
A 30-years old C.E.O and an heir of a multibillionaire business empire is just a lonely man. Due to an accident, Crimson Luca became an impotent. He lost his fiancée and also ready to be alone in seclusion. But his grandfather threatens him. “Get married or you won’t inherit anything.” He found a girl whom he can be a contracted wife. Little did he know that woman will give him a rosy world whom he gives up already. Love knocks on his door once again.
Shattered Moon, Forbidden Hearts

Shattered Moon, Forbidden Hearts

1.2k Views · Ongoing · writingdesk00
Colt once whispered that I wasn't safe if my identity was exposed.
Human.
A human in the packs of wolves.

I believed him.
I just never imagined he’d be the one to hand me over.

The night he betrayed me, I expected death.
I was taken to Alpha Tristan — the cursed Alpha who was like a monster.

I thought he’d take what he needed and leave me dead.

But when his eyes met mine, something changed in the air between us.

His curse surged.
His body reacted like it recognized me.
And he hesitated.

From the first moment he touched my skin, something inside him shifted…

There was a pull.
A pull I didn’t want.
A pull he didn’t trust.

And when he stepped back, shaken to his core, he whispered the words that ruined us both:

“You’re my mate.”

Everything after that fell apart fast —
his lover’s rage,
his pack’s betrayal,
the war that rose to swallow us whole.

Yet through all of it, he kept choosing me.
Even when it tore pieces out of him.
Even when the curse dragged him closer to the edge each night.

But darkness has long memories, and mine goes back to the night my parents died.
The blood.
The fire.
The shadowed figure I ran from.

The closer I got to Tristan, the more that memory twisted…
until I realized the truth could destroy both of us.

Because the man fate tied me to —
the man I shouldn’t want,
the man who held me like I was something worth saving —
was tangled in the very tragedy that ruined my life.

Loving him feels like standing inside a fire.
Letting go feels worse.

And fate…
fate has never cared about what either of us deserves.
Borrowed Faces, Stolen Hearts

Borrowed Faces, Stolen Hearts

492 Views · Ongoing · may born
When a ruthless heiress and a struggling actress wake up in each other’s bodies, their worlds turn upside down.
Olivia Smith, born into power and pride, suddenly finds herself trapped in a life of poverty and pain.
Emma Williams, quiet and selfless, opens her eyes to luxury, influence—and danger.
But as they fight to survive in lives that were never meant for them, secrets begin to unfold, hearts are stolen, and destiny starts to blur the line between who they were and who they’re meant to become.
Borrowed faces… stolen hearts.
A story of identity, redemption, and love found in the most unexpected mirrors.
Skating Into His Heart: Beyond the Rivalry

Skating Into His Heart: Beyond the Rivalry

1k Views · Ongoing · Margaret Harry
She was his rival's sister.
He was the captain she was supposed to hate.
Working together was never part of the plan.
Falling for each other was even worse.
Between bitter school rivalries, campus scandals and a
game where every secret comes with a price, Imani and
Mika find themselves skating toward something neither of
them can stop.
But in hockey, one wrong move can cost everything.
And some games are played far beyond the ice.
ALPHA'S COLD HEART-A Kiss From Death

ALPHA'S COLD HEART-A Kiss From Death

6.3k Views · Ongoing · Monday Williamson
"Take me, please take me now. I love you, Damon." she moaned as he continued squeezing and toying with her breasts, especially her nipples.
“I am yours. But only for tonight." was his cold reply.



Alpha Damon owns the physical appearance of an angel but a heart inclined to evil because of his demon origin.

Ladies fantasize about him because of his extraordinary beauty and aura but Damon cares for no one. No one at all.

The Cold Heart one.

However, Damon would meet a human girl Jane, who he saved from a gang of rapists. And she will make him feel things like compassion and concern and ultimately love.
But before he could accept these feelings as true and real, Danger and Death would come like the shadow as he will be the center of a war between Demons and Witches as well as Werewolves and Vampires...
The billionaire who couldn’t steal my heart

The billionaire who couldn’t steal my heart

598 Views · Ongoing · Adazion baiyegun Ogechukwu
Ronan Blackthorne gets the same coffee every morning. Black, no sugar. From the same girl who doesn't even know he's worth billions. Annabelle thinks he's just another suit with good tips and a nice smile. She has no clue he owns half of Manhattan.

Here's the thing though, Ronan's got a problem. His dead father just screwed him over big time. Turns out daddy had a secret daughter somewhere, and she owns 35% of everything Ronan thought was his. Now he's hunting this mystery girl down because his psychotic mother Victoria won't shut up about finding her and making the problem disappear.

The barista he's falling for is the girl he's looking for.
Accidentally His: My Brother Stole My Husband

Accidentally His: My Brother Stole My Husband

2k Views · Ongoing · Scarlett T.W
"F**k! You're so thick... give me every inch of that beautiful cock."
The voice echoed through the villa just as moonlight spilled across their faces.
Blond hair. Damp and messy.
My brother.
My body froze as if my heart had stopped beating. My lips went numb as I whispered their names.
"Nikolai...? Hunter...?"
Reva came to the luxury year-end retreat hoping for a fresh start. With her company covering a week in a stunning seaside villa, she thought the trip might help mend the cracks in her marriage.
Instead, she wakes up alone after a wild night of partying and follows strange sounds through the dark house.
What she finds destroys her world.
Humiliated and shattered, Reva nearly makes a fatal decision—until she is saved by the last man she ever expected: Dr. Levi Price. Her boss.
A brilliant neurosurgeon and the cold, untouchable heir to the powerful Price medical empire.
When Nikolai shamelessly flaunts the affair and hands her divorce papers, Levi offers a shocking solution.
"We'll pretend to be dating, Let him see that you're not the one who lost."
Reva knows it's reckless. Dangerous.
But she says quietly, "It's the craziest thing I've ever done. But let's do it. Let's show the bastard something he never imagined he'd ever see."
A fake relationship between boss and employee should have been simple.
Just a performance.
But as they play lovers at glamorous parties, snowy Aspen nights, and beneath glittering Christmas lights, the line between revenge and desire begins to blur.
Because Levi Price isn't pretending as much as he should be.
And the longer the lie continues, the more real it feels.
What happens when revenge turns into obsession and fake love starts to become something neither of them can walk away from?
He Stole My Bugatti for His Cheerleader

He Stole My Bugatti for His Cheerleader

771 Views · Ongoing · Zara Thorne
I lent my Bugatti to my secret boyfriend for clout. He repaid my trust by gifting my car to a scheming cheerleader, letting her publicly humiliate and frame me. The whole school mocked me as a poor garage keeper’s daughter, unaware I’m the hidden billionaire heiress behind the supercar. Now I’ll destroy his fake rich life and avenge every insult.
Mind Thief: Pay for What You Stole

Mind Thief: Pay for What You Stole

923 Views · Ongoing · Daisy Swift
At the Ultimate Construct Tournament, my roommate beat me to the stage, unveiling the very runic matrix I had just designed in my mind.

When I confronted her about the blatant plagiarism, she burst into tears on the spot.

"You say I stole from you, but do you have even a single sketch to prove it?"

My boyfriend, Richard, sitting right there on the judges' panel, publicly condemned me.

He called me a sore loser and sneered that my vicious slander was absolutely disgusting.

Because the construct existed entirely within my mental sea, I had no physical proof.

I was crucified as a jealous bully, and ultimately, the violent magical backlash tore through me.

Right up until my last breath, I couldn't figure it out: how did she perfectly steal a top-secret construct I had only ever simulated in my mind, without leaving a single trace behind?

When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn—right back at the start of that very tournament.

Watching my roommate step forward, ready to rush the holographic projector, I clamped a hand around her wrist.

"This time, I'm going first."
My Mom Had No Heart for Me

My Mom Had No Heart for Me

5.9k Views · Ongoing · Juniper Marlow
I waited five years for a heart transplant.
My mother—the Luna of our Pack, the healer everyone worships—gave it to someone else.
An orphan girl she took in. A girl who now calls her "Mom."
Ivy got my heart. She got a wolf. She got a mate and a wedding so grand the whole Pack attended.
Me? I watched from the corner, still dying, while my mother smiled for the cameras and accepted praise for her "selfless sacrifice."
When I finally snapped at the ceremony, she slapped me. Told me to apologize. Said I was embarrassing the family.
I'm her actual daughter. I'm the one who can't shift, can't feel a mate bond, can't survive another six months.
But sure. I'm the problem.
They wanted me to stay quiet and die gracefully.
I chose to make sure everyone sees who their perfect Luna really is.
The Ruthless mafia lord has a heart

The Ruthless mafia lord has a heart

2.1k Views · Ongoing · Olawale Samuel
I moved it back a little now puts in my ass right on it bending over to kiss he again as the warmth of my pussy made his dick harder. I then started to move back and forth, pressing my warm pussy against he,
“Uhhh.” My first official moan, I locked that.
He then with me on top of he sat up holding me and then grabbing my thick thighs as he stood up carrying me as I hanged on his neck to his room.


In a world where the rich rule and the others are nonrelevant these characters exist, one, brought up in riches and the other brought up in poverty but strived to be at the top. this is a story of two worlds, one a world of the rich filled with sassiness and the other a world of Drugs, gangs, guns and of course wealth. They both clash as one migrated to the world of the other and though the road to this migration was not by choice and was brutal, it brought a ruthless mafia lord who forgot he had emotions together with a rich girl who only understood that money and fame is the only power needed.
Love and Crosses: What The Heart Wants

Love and Crosses: What The Heart Wants

258 Views · Ongoing · Joyce Iheanacho
Meet Kim Huxley, a twenty-five-year-old CEO of a modeling company to which he got transferred. He is heartless due to his heart being shattered by his first love, Jane Crimson but then he met Riele Grants who helped him heal his broken heart with her charm until his first love, appeared in his company to work as a model.

Meet Riele Grants, a twenty-two-year-old lady, vibrant and cheerful. She works as Kim's assistant. She hated Kim because of his cold personality but when she got closer to him, she found out he was a cold jerk with a warm heart and slowly she found herself falling deeper in love with him. She thought she saw those signs visible in him too not until his first love came and he became a different person.


"I told you several times, I don't have feelings for you anymore," Kim answered her.

She finally got him to talk after pestering him for a long time. How does a person change in such a matter of time? She wondered. "What about everything we shared? The love? The..."

"You were nothing but an obsession to me, Riele." he cuts in.

Riele looked at the lady beside him who was holding his hand as if her life depended on it. "Are you saying all this because of her? If you..." before she got to finish her words, he pulled Jane closer and kissed her.

She got the answer she needed. She was nothing but an obsession he is trying to get rid of. She shouldn't have trusted her heart to handle this situation. She should have used her head instead.
Cross My Heart (A spicy suspense romance)

Cross My Heart (A spicy suspense romance)

3.2k Views · Ongoing · Veronica White
Suspense/Romance.
Rachael Sinclair is a half Native American (Lakota) Police officer with Red Ridge PD in a tiny town in Montana with a new identity because her father was the nation's first native American serial killer.
She is 30 years old and because of the disappearance of her mother, the abuse suffered by her father and the things she was subjected to seeing in his cellar, and testifying against him at his trial, Rachael has become a depressed alcoholic, attempting to self-medicate her pain away.

She has questionable behaviors for someone that is law enforcement and a stalker.

When one body found on her patrol route turns into another, each in the same manner as her father. The FBI is called in to assist with the manhunt for the copycat killer.

Enter Roman Hanshaw, The FBI agent assigned to help Rachael find the truth behind these murders.

Their relationship takes an erotic turn when Roman realizes he sees the real her and he could be exactly who she needs to help her heal.
One reckless decision helps Roman make his mind up about wanting Rachael, but will she feel the same way?
Who is the killer?
Why are they targeting Rachel?
Can Roman and Rachael uncover the truth in time?
Can Rachael handle the twists and turns life throws her while uncovering this truth?

Tropes and Triggers (minimum)
Depression
Suicidal ideology
Child abuse (mentioned)
Death and dismemberment
Abuse of a corpse (eyes cut out, chest marked)
Police officer FMC
FBI MMC
Twists and turns
Erotic novel, 5 chili peppers
Bullying (co-worker and mentioned childhood off page)
Snarky, minority FMC
He falls first
Breath play
Dirty talk
handcuffs
Slow burn
Slight enemies to lovers
He breaks down her walls
Betrayal
secrets
Stalker
serial killer
touch her and die
one bed
Don't play with my heart, Mr Billionaire

Don't play with my heart, Mr Billionaire

417 Views · Ongoing · Jessie Jane
Arielle's life changed when her mother's debt forced her into a loveless marriage with billionaire Raymond Tristian. She planned to endure one year of marriage, and he would settle her mother's debts. But Arielle had a secret - a precious four-year-old daughter, Crystal born from a past love that went sour.

As the days turned into months, Arielle found herself drawn to Raymond's charismatic presence and unexpected kindness. Despite their initial understanding, she began to question her decision to divorce him after a year. Her past love was lurking in the corner.

Just as Arielle's feelings for Raymond deepened, Raymond first love came into the picture, pregnant for Raymond.
How would Arielle navigate the emotions entangling her relationship with Raymond and her past lover? Read to find out.
The Backup Player Stole the Captain's Girl

The Backup Player Stole the Captain's Girl

1.4k Views · Ongoing · Piper Hayes
The night the team wins again, the roar inside the arena could raise the roof.

On the ice, the captain has his arm around the new cheer captain, spinning her under the lights. His skates cut clean lines across the ice. Teammates whistle and shout, someone yells "ask her out!", someone else films on their phone. Everyone waits for me to show up and make a scene. Cry, stumble onto the ice, drop to my knees and beg him to come back. Pathetic, like every time before.

But no one knows I'm in the back of the locker room right now, pressed against a cold metal locker.

The quiet backup player has his hand on the back of my neck, his voice barely steady. "You sure about this?"

I push up on my toes and kiss him first.
The Unseen Hand That Stole My Husband

The Unseen Hand That Stole My Husband

876 Views · Ongoing · Ruby
I accompanied my husband, Kieran, down to the Antarctic station’s underground quarantine zone to rescue an ice-bacteria sample at negative forty degrees. Halfway there, he asked me to fetch some data. I was gone for exactly three minutes. When I came back, he had vanished.
The institute staff told me I had gone insane, wandering the halls searching for a husband who had been dead for three years.
They called Kieran’s mentor, Dr. Reiner. Through the phone, the old man wept, swearing that Kieran had fallen into the deepest ice rift in Antarctica three years ago. Not even his bones were recovered.
Branded a lunatic, I was thrown into a sealed bio-containment pod twenty miles away. I became a human guinea pig. Under endless rounds of experimental drugs, my organs failed one by one until I died on that cold metal table.
Then, I blinked. Kieran was standing right in front of me, rushing me to the lab...
My Succubus Best Friend Stole My Groom

My Succubus Best Friend Stole My Groom

408 Views · Ongoing · Piper Hayes
Marlowe Crane is my best friend, and she's also a succubus.

She was born with this power that makes men lose their minds, but she always told me she only wanted to use her "gift" to protect me.

So every time I dated someone, she'd volunteer to "test" him.

Without fail, every single man fell at her feet.

She'd send me photos of them in bed together. "See, Rosie? They're all trash. Lucky I caught them for you."

After breaking up more times than I can count, I had a breakdown and moved from Boston to Los Angeles.

That's where I met Holden Kingsley. I thought the nightmare was finally over.

On my wedding day, Marlowe showed up in my dressing room with a glass of drugged water.

In my past life, I drank it and passed out. She stripped off my wedding dress, put it on herself, and climbed into Holden's bed.

Someone threw cold water on my face to wake me up. When I walked in with the bridesmaids, I caught them tangled up together.

I lost it. Screamed and cried and called the police right there.

And what happened?

Holden didn't feel guilty at all. He acted like I was the bad guy, like I'd ruined Marlowe's life.

Under Marlowe's succubus influence, he believed she was innocent, that I forced her into it.

After that, my marriage became a living hell.

Now I'm back, standing in front of the mirror, staring at that drugged glass of water in my hand.

This time, they're the ones going to hell.
Roses of Ash, Breath of Dragons

Roses of Ash, Breath of Dragons

4.7k Views · Ongoing · M. Ember
She survived the stake. She escaped the swamp. But can she survive him?

Elora clawed her way out of the Lower City's gutters only to be thrown into Arcanum—a gilded cage where nobles hunt commoners for sport and ancient powers play deadly games. Branded a heretic, she's nothing but a research specimen to the cold elven Grand Magister who saved her life... and a fascinating new toy to the thousand-year-old vampire prince who watches her burn from the shadows.

But when dragonfire erupts from her veins and threatens to consume her from within, Elora must make an impossible choice: submit to the monsters who want to control her, or become a monster herself.
Chains of Steel, Threads of Silver

Chains of Steel, Threads of Silver

502 Views · Ongoing · Mary Last
Amara is an Omega sold at an exclusive auction to Kael, the fearsome and reclusive Alpha. Rumors surround Kael—some say he’s cursed, others claim he’s a beast driven mad by anyone who he can't control.

Purchased to bear his heir, Amara expects to be treated like property. Instead, she finds herself in a crumbling castle, treated with unexpected dignity but forbidden from leaving the grounds.

Kael keeps his distance, cold and aloof, as if her presence is both an irritation and a temptation. Determined to uncover the truth, Amara discovers strange happenings in the castle—ghostly whispers, silent servants and a wing of the estate that Kael strictly forbids her to enter.

The more she investigates, the more she realizes: Kael is hiding a secret that could change everything.
Bones of Love, Ashes of Us

Bones of Love, Ashes of Us

960 Views · Ongoing · PageProfit Studio
Lila White never imagined that simply falling in love with someone could lead to losing her home, her father, and almost her life. Her love, humble to the core, still couldn't win his attention.
As time passed and everything came to light, she vaguely realized that she was the only one who thought he didn't love her. But by then, it was already too late.
Whispers of Pleasure: Games of Desire

Whispers of Pleasure: Games of Desire

275 Views · Ongoing · Janne
🔞 READER ADVISORY 🔞

THIS BOOK CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT AND IS INTENDED FOR ADULTS 18 AND OVER.

What happens when desire whispers your name in the silence of the night? Do you answer?

In this scorching anthology, each story is an intimate game where the stakes are high and the reward is climax. Secrets are revealed not with words, but with lips, hands, and the universal language of pleasure. Through casual encounters that become unforgettable and forbidden affairs that defy all reason, the characters discover the transformative power of a simple caress in the right place, at the right time.

Let yourself be swept away by these stories. Your next whisper of pleasure is waiting on the next page.
Conception Of Truth(Book 4 of Secrets Of The Famiglia)

Conception Of Truth(Book 4 of Secrets Of The Famiglia)

275 Views · Ongoing · Shan R.K
I stare at him, watching his chest expand.

How is it that someone so strong, so powerful, so dangerous to find become so small when faced with an adversary? The adversary being me.

I see him, knees on the cold tiled floor, his eyes fixated on me in equal parts disbelief. I disconnect my vision from his small form, looking briefly at what I'm wearing.

This morning when I woke up, the sun was shining, snow melting on my front lawn. My kids were sleeping, my husband gone, as usual, working, making money.

Everything was normal except when I woke up this morning, I received a message. This message contained a lot of things I've been waiting to hear but one part, in particular, stood out and made today different. This person on his knees in front of me was the big difference in my day. So when I woke up this morning and decided what I was going to wear I decided I would not wear black because black represented the sign of mourning. I wasn't going to wear white. After all, white represented a sign of new beginnings and not blue.

Blue, well blue was a sign of trust and green with a side of healing so when I woke up this morning I decided I would wear beige, it was an indifferent color something that matched any mood any desire any belief it doesn't necessarily represent anything but nor did it negate anything.

'You know what is so satisfying about killing you?"

'What?" He inquires with that tilt of his mouth and thin lips I have seen a time or two. Many women found this man handsome. sexy even. I was not different, but I knew more than many of them what made him, his colors, the layers that fell away leaving only the middle left and when you looked at it with naked eyes you'd see it was rotten.

I laugh.

'I became a player in this cat and rat game much later. I find it comical that I am the one who gets to catch you, considering there are many people who started in the beginning. What is even funnier is I am the one who would get to kill you."

'You didn't catch me Mrs. Catelli."He says my surname with a pinched face as though he can't bear the sound of it coming from his lips.

'Then what do you oppose I did?"

He smiles, but it is not a nice one. It is filled with the ugliness which has corrupted him over the years.

Copyright © 2022 Shan R.K

All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction from the Author's imagination.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations for reviews or fan-made articles.

Any names resembling any living person are purely coincidental.

First Edition.

April, 19th 2022

Written by Shan R.K

Dedication

I dedicate this book to you the reader. Please enjoy it and look out for the anthology on my website coming soon for free.
Empire of Desires - Tales of Dark Universe of Terror - 01

Empire of Desires - Tales of Dark Universe of Terror - 01

Ongoing · Ragnar De Brunhoff Bjorn Jean Laurent
Come with me and dive into the cosmic worlds of horror and the supernatural, travel through the dark depths of the cosmos, among tales of terror, horror and ghost stories, amid tales from the depths of the mind and haunting stories of supernatural creatures from the dark worlds, in the cursed and dark regions.

Embark on several worlds of supernatural tales and in an anthology of terror and desire to make your spine stand on end.

Even though we are showing each part of the city of desires and horror with tales of dark passions where different people live their lives in which they wandered through each part of the dark city of Lovecraft County, amidst an anthology of tales of pleasures and desires. Amidst tales and anthologies of desires and terror, and desires, between the supernatural and horror, embark on tales of supernatural creatures, ghosts of desires, demons, pleasures and passions that involve those who live in these cities, thus creating ways to change the lives of the city that surrounds them.
Embark on countless tales and anthologies of love, desires, pleasures and dreams, around a luxurious city displaying countless events, whose lives and pleasures participate in an anthology, showing every moment of each being who lives and travels through these cities.
Kingdoms of Desert Galaxys of Pleasures, in Duna of Desires in Darkness of Multiverse

Kingdoms of Desert Galaxys of Pleasures, in Duna of Desires in Darkness of Multiverse

695 Views · Ongoing · Youko Naoko Takeuchi Nakajima
Embark on this adventure through space, in the chronicles and in this great galaxy in this series of explorers, space tales from a distant galaxy, in the Empire of Desires, amidst fairy tales from space.
That great adventure surrounded by mysteries, dragons in space, tales of magic and seduction.
Tsuki is the greatest detective in the world, even though he is in the middle of his negotiations, his travels, even with the same trips he took at that time, informing that his secrets and mysteries, at that time, with each of his loves, now that he had great power.

Now, both Tsuki, who is a hero of a stellar organization, is involved in games of power and seduction, embarking on a game of power, control and intrigue, exploring the cosmos, amid tales where they are always playing with their bodies.
Between lords of the cosmos, deposed in the middle of the galaxies, in which many mafiosos who declared war for the universe, expanded and controlled the power undermining the forces of their enemies, leaders of the international mafia who showed off and showed off their power, then spread it with power games.

Tsuki is now increasingly immersed in the midst of encountering galactic forces, in the midst of embarking on stories through the cosmos, meeting the beings of the dark waves of passion, terror, seduction, in the midst of the adventures of couples in the city, countless forms of love, in the midst of stories of sexual encounters, humans, men of the night, vampires, ... He is meeting cosmic lords, beings from the galaxies, space witches, werewolves throughout the cosmos, involved in the stories of aliens and succubi, involved in their love encounters and pleasures, and their intrigues and adventures in high society and among the inhabitants.
My Husband Quit His Heart Pills for Her

My Husband Quit His Heart Pills for Her

911 Views · Ongoing · Juniper Marlow
My husband, Roman, has a bad heart. Five years ago they cut his chest open, and after that I quit my job and stayed home to keep him alive.
That day I got to his office ten minutes early with his lunch.
Through the glass door I watched Brielle Nash, his assistant, pick up his pill box. Twenty-eight compartments. I fill it every Sunday night.
She flipped open Wednesday evening, tipped the pills into her palm, and dropped them in the trash.
"That's the one that makes you feel eighty."
Roman laughed. He didn't stop her.
Then she handed him the can she'd been drinking from, and he took a sip out of her hand.
"That's living," she said. "Don't tell the boss lady, though. She'd have me fired."
He reached over and ruffled her hair. "I'll lock it in my drawer."
My lunchbox was sitting by his elbow. He hadn't opened it.
Later I found the flask in that drawer. Supplement bottles. A keycard for a boxing gym.
And a key I hadn't seen in five years.
I didn't do anything.
I went home and opened the safe and went through fifteen years of marriage one thing at a time.
Then I started working out what would be mine when he died.
My Parents Sewed My Heart Into My Killer

My Parents Sewed My Heart Into My Killer

1.4k Views · Ongoing · Juniper Marlow
I was kidnapped at five. Found at sixteen. Dead at nineteen.
My parents are top transplant surgeons. The night I was murdered, they were saving my sister's life with a "legally sourced" donor heart. They signed the paperwork themselves.
That heart was mine. Cut from my chest while I was still breathing.
The sister they saved? She's the one who handed me to the killer.
For three years I lived under their roof. They slapped me for things she did. They called me ungrateful when I couldn't donate a kidney I'd already lost. They forgot my birthday to throw her a party.
And when I went missing, they didn't look for me. Dad said, "Even if she dies out there, she has no one to blame but herself."
He was right. I did die out there. And he's the one who signed off on what happened next.
Feral Hearts: The Forgotten Pack

Feral Hearts: The Forgotten Pack

889 Views · Ongoing · adeyemiazeez1997
Selene Nightshade has always been an outcast, an orphan with no pack to call her own, no mate bond pulling her toward the future she dreams of. But when the full moon rises on her twenty-first birthday, everything changes. She isn't just chosen—she’s bound. Not to one mate, but to three.

Alec, the brooding Alpha who lost everything. Kael, the rogue prince with a heart full of secrets. Lucian, the healer whose touch soothes but whose eyes hold the weight of ancient sorrow. They each reject her at first, believing the bond a cruel mistake. Without an awakened wolf, without power, she is nothing more than a burden. Unworthy.

But fate is not so easily denied. When whispers of the Forgotten Pack stir, when the old gods awaken, Selene realizes she is the key to something far greater than love or rejection. She is the heart of a prophecy long buried—a prophecy that demands she stand at the center of a divine trial to prove she is more than fate’s accident. She is fate itself.

As passion ignites and the bond between them deepens, Selene must fight not with claws, but with heart. She must unravel the past, reclaim the magic hidden within her soul, and show the men who turned away that love is not about worthiness—it is about destiny. But as ancient forces rise and jealous enemies lurk in the shadows, will love be enough to restore the Forgotten Pack? Or will betrayal shatter them before they have a chance to truly belong?

One girl. Three fated mates. And a love story written in the stars.
Shooting stars and electric hearts

Shooting stars and electric hearts

50 Views · Ongoing · Pegaso De La Luna 112
Synopsis:

Emma, a brilliant physicist, dedicates her life to pushing the boundaries of technology in her laboratory, striving to create robots that emulate human emotions and behaviors. Her world is turned upside down when an inexplicable event causes two of her robots to take on the essence of shooting stars. Unbeknownst to Emma, one of these celestial entities is intertwined with her fate—it's the reincarnation of her true love, Charlie.

As Emma navigates this surreal occurrence, she uncovers a gateway to an alternate reality where she can experiment with creating life. In this new world, she discovers Charlie, who has chosen to return to Earth as a robot, longing for the love he has cherished through countless reincarnations.

Together, Emma and Charlie embark on a journey filled with passion, adventure, and self-discovery, fighting against the challenges posed by their drastically different existences. As they battle to unite the digital and real worlds, Emma must confront the question: Can love transcend the boundaries of form and function? In their quest for true love, they will discover the depths of connection, the power of choice, and the eternal bond that has already bound them across time and space.
The Wolf Between Two Hearts

The Wolf Between Two Hearts

2.2k Views · Ongoing · Mel Fangs Leigh-Anne Hankins
On the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Saffron "Saffy" Callan believes her greatest challenges are high school graduation and saying a temporary goodbye to her human boyfriend, Sam, before they head to college. But Saffy’s life is built on a foundation of secrets. For years, her parents have suppressed her true nature, hiding the fact that she is a Werewolf Shapeshifter. As the moon rises on her birthday, the "fever" she’s been fighting culminates in a violent first shift, shattering her human reality and dragging her into a world of ancient laws and primal instincts.

Following her transformation, Saffy is uprooted from the neon glow of the city and taken deep into the wilderness to the Pack’s hidden village. Here, she learns the crushing weight of her heritage: she has been betrothed since birth to Danny, the future Alpha. Danny is the embodiment of everything Saffy was taught to fear—powerful, intensely loyal to the pack, and unnervingly certain that Saffy belongs by his side. As he trains her to master her wolf and assume the mantle of Luna, Saffy finds herself drawn to his strength.

However, the laws of the Pack are absolute. The Law of the Veil mandates that no human can know their secret. If Saffy chooses her heart and returns to Sam, she must undergo the agonizing Severance Ritual, losing her wolf and being exiled from her family forever. If she embraces her destiny with Danny, Sam must believe she is dead, or risk being "silenced" to protect the Pack. Caught between the boy who loves her soul and the man who commands her instinct, Saffy must decide if she is willing to kill the girl she was to become the leader she was born to be.
They Cut My Womb and Stole My Kidney

They Cut My Womb and Stole My Kidney

992 Views · Ongoing · Zara Thorne
Five months pregnant, I clung to the faint hope that my unborn baby and loving husband Liam would bring me warmth. But strapped to an operating table, I heard his cold order as the blade sliced my belly: cut out the fetus and discard it as medical waste—don’t delay Chloe’s kidney transplant.
My stepmother cheered next door, thrilled her daughter would get my kidney. They planned to drain me dry and leave me to die quietly. Little did they know, their brutal cruelty burned itself into my bones. When I crawl back from hell, I will break every last one of them.
He Stole My Spire Academy Place for Her

He Stole My Spire Academy Place for Her

549 Views · Ongoing · Zara Thorne
For three years, everyone at Spire Academy believed Liam loved me. Until I uncovered his secret plan: steal my academy recommendation to save Anna, and keep me waiting on the sidelines. He handed my future to another girl and threw me to a mad duke to be dissected. I escaped death by leaping into the Rift of Silence, only to be pulled from the abyss by Arnold, an ancient night lord. When Liam finally realized his sin, he begged for a second chance. But the girl who waited for him in the dark died in the rift. I have a new life, and I will never look back.
The secret lover in the movie star’s heart

The secret lover in the movie star’s heart

1.1k Views · Ongoing · Lilah Belmont
The Secret Lover in the Movie Star's Heart is a suspenseful romance novel that transcends time and space. Modern-day detective Sophia stumbles upon a thirty-year-old buried corpse and, through a mysterious photograph, is transported back in time to meet the deceased, William—a gifted but missing actor with whom she forms an unbreakable bond. As Sophia journeys across different eras, she uncovers the truth behind William’s disappearance, while their love story unfolds across time itself. However, each passage through time brings unknown dangers and challenges, and Sophia must solve the mystery while protecting William from the twists of fate...
Steel Hearts: Bound by Code

Steel Hearts: Bound by Code

Ongoing · bleedingpenconsult
In a distant future, humanity clings to survival on alien planets, their home, Earth, now a memory lost to history. As resources become scarce, advanced robots have become not only vital but intertwined with human existence. On the planet Naxor, where humans coexist in a fragile truce with sentient machines, tensions simmer beneath the surface as humanity's reliance on robots grows.
Amara Drayton, a brilliant but introverted 32-year-old human programmer, is at the heart of these tensions. Having been sent to Naxor to create the most advanced AI in existence, she inadvertently crafts Zarion—a robot whose capacity for thought, emotion, and connection surpasses anything seen before. Zarion becomes more than a machine; he develops feelings for Amara—a love as intense and real as any human’s, blurring the lines between creation and creator.
However, Zarion is not the only one drawn to Amara. The mysterious and powerful King of Naxor, a stoic ruler who hides his own secrets, becomes intrigued by her presence on his planet. Amara finds herself entangled in a dangerous dance of power, lust, and betrayal. In a world where humans and robots vie for dominance, Amara becomes the object of desire in a reverse harem that defies the rules of biology, technology, and political power.
But beneath the surface of this growing passion lies a deeper, more dangerous plot. A faction of humans and robots conspires to sabotage the fragile peace, and Amara’s unique connection to Zarion may hold the key to their plans. As an impending alien invasion looms on the horizon, Amara must decide whom to trust and whether love with a machine is truly possible or a dangerous illusion.
Hired For His Daughter, Chosen By His Heart

Hired For His Daughter, Chosen By His Heart

1.3k Views · Ongoing · ND WRITEZ
Darcy Madu never imagined she’d become a billionaire’s nanny or find herself at the heart of a high-profile scandal. But when she walks into Adrian Ashford’s office and instantly calms his inconsolable daughter, Hazel, fate intervenes. As Darcy navigates life in the penthouse, she discovers the man behind the empire is grieving, guarded, and desperately in need of someone who can love them both unconditionally.

Amidst whispers of betrayal, media scrutiny, and Adrian’s own walls of guilt, Darcy and Adrian’s hearts collide in quiet moments of laughter, care, and stolen glances. But can love survive when the world seems determined to tear them apart or will the past and family expectations force them to let go of the only happiness they’ve ever truly known?
His Name Was Stolen, Her Heart Was Next

His Name Was Stolen, Her Heart Was Next

1k Views · Ongoing · Yakubu Phillip
Twenty-two-year-old Nalira Voss is the best name-weaver in Zephyria, but she hates the Festival of Names. While the city celebrates, she works alone in her workshop, fixing broken names for people who never say thank you. Names are just tools, not miracles.
Then a stranger walks through her door with no name, no past, and no proof he even exists.
His name is Kairos, or at least, that is what she calls him. He is the erased heir of the Aether Consortium, Zephyria’s most ruthless family. They stole his name and scattered it across dimensional temples. Without it, he is slowly disappearing from the world.
"I don't need saving," he tells her.
"Good," she says, reaching for her magic thread. "Because I don't save people. I just fix names."
As Nalira hunts down his stolen name, she starts falling for the boy the world forgot. Then she learns the truth: speaking his name will erase her identity forever.
Now she faces an impossible choice: save him and lose herself, or walk away and lose him forever.
Some names are worth dying for. But is love worth erasing everything you are?
You Broke My Heart, Now Watch Me Rise

You Broke My Heart, Now Watch Me Rise

1.1k Views · Ongoing · sheilla
ELENA Brooks has spent her life holding her fragile family together, working tirelessly as a junior clerk at Lunaris Tech Innovations while her abusive, cheating husband, Marcus, drifts further into alcohol and recklessness. For seven years, she endured, hoping her sacrifices would keep her son safe and her family intact.

But one careless night shatters the illusion of peace. When she catches Marcus with someone she once trusted, Elena realizes the life she has been clinging to is built on lies. Determined to reclaim her strength and her dignity, she walks away, filing for divorce and taking custody of her son.

Enter Eamon, the enigmatic and dangerously alluring CEO of Lunaris Tech. A man shrouded in mystery, whose presence is as commanding as it is intoxicating. The day Elena accidentally witnesses a moment she can’t explain, she realizes there is far more to him than the world sees.

As Elena rebuilds herself, she discovers a strength she never knew existed. With Eamon by her side, she begins to rise— not just from betrayal, but toward a life of power, courage, and something far more unexpected: love.

But revenge is a fire that cannot be contained. And when past betrayals collide with dangerous secrets, Elena will find herself walking a path she never imagined— where her heart, her son, and her very life are all on the line.

Will rising from the ashes be enough, or will the shadows of the past consume her before she can truly claim her freedom?
My Families Fed Me to The Heart-Root

My Families Fed Me to The Heart-Root

1.2k Views · Ongoing · Liora
My little sister and I each bear a Heart-Seed Mark etched into our chests.
Inside each seed grow Heartbeat Petals—currency that can trade for anything under the boughs of The Heart-Root, the ancient devouring tree.
At eight years old, I plucked one petal to cure Mom’s terminal cancer.
At ten, I tore out another to mend my older brother’s shattered bones after his brutal fight.
At twenty-four, I sacrificed my third and final petal to wake my husband’s sister from a car-crash-induced vegetative state.
Now, two disasters struck at once: my father died in a horrific car wreck, and my husband’s mistress lost their unborn baby.
Both sides of my family flocked to The Heart-Root, all fixated on stealing my petals for their own wishes.
I tried to step aside and let my younger sister go first to make the trade, but Mom shoved me hard.
“Every bit of love we’ve poured into you these years, every petal came from us! You’d really hold out and refuse to save your own father? Ungrateful girl!” my mom snapped.
My husband’s mom cut in sharp as a knife: “A good wife knows her place. It’s your duty to bring that baby back for your husband. If only you’d given him a son yourself.”
They tied me tight to the tree trunk. I watched a girl standing nearby get torn apart by black, writhing vines when she had no petals left—her flesh dissolved straight into the tree’s roots to feed it.
But my Heart-Seed didn’t have a single petal left either...
Strained Hearts and Gambling Shadows

Strained Hearts and Gambling Shadows

1.2k Views · Ongoing · Jessica Boyd
Set in a high-stakes corporate world, the story follows Mira Chen, a brilliant but financially burdened young woman who becomes entangled with two powerful brothers—Marcus and Daniel Reeves—after accepting a job at their consulting firm. What begins as a professional opportunity quickly spirals into a web of secrets, betrayal, and forbidden desire. As both Reeves brothers fall for Mira, they encounter numerous obstacles that lead to catastrophic issues with a AI protect gone completely wrong. Throughout every issue they come together as a family united to solve it.
You Stole My Score, I'll Take Your Future

You Stole My Score, I'll Take Your Future

1.1k Views · Ongoing · Fuzzy Melissa
One month until the SAT.
Staring at my phone screen—at the pulsing number on "Oracle," the mandatory score prediction app that Elite Prep forced every student to install—I couldn't help but think it was all a joke.
In my previous life, every time I finished a practice test, this garbage system would automatically dock twenty points from my predicted score.
But skip class for a day? The number would mysteriously jump up twenty points.
Back then, I actually believed in this bullshit algorithm. I completely gave up for an entire month, watching that predicted score skyrocket all the way to 1550.
But when I finally logged into College Board to check my real results, I'd scored a pathetic 400.
And that brilliant 1550? It appeared on my stepsister Dahlia's score report instead.
Disgusted that I'd embarrassed the Wright family, my father Harold froze my credit card without a second thought and threw me out of the family estate, clearing the path for Dahlia to claim Grandpa's ten-million-dollar trust fund all for herself.
That night, homeless on the streets, I was cornered by some thugs in a filthy Brooklyn alley and beaten to death.
Lying in a pool of my own blood, fading fast, I heard Dahlia's voice.
"Your GPA's been crushing mine since we were kids. I thought you, the so-called 'Straight-A student,' were supposed to be so smart."
She stood over me, mocking. "Turns out you got played by a prediction app. Pathetic."
That's when it finally clicked. My Oracle prediction system had been completely rigged from the source code—by Dahlia.
I shot up in bed, gasping, my shirt soaked through with sweat. I'd actually gone back in time—one month before the test.
Right now, the Oracle widget glowed eerily on my phone's home screen, displaying a single number: 1350.
Shadows Of Flames: Tales Of The Forbidden

Shadows Of Flames: Tales Of The Forbidden

545 Views · Ongoing · xomarshy
She was meant to end him. He was meant to break her. But some forces are older than hatred, stronger than vengeance.... and far more dangerous than love.
Captured and enslaved by the Silvercrest Pack, Princess Myra has only one goal: destroy the pack and leave it in ruins.
But from the moment Alpha Arthur's icy gaze settles on her, her world spirals into darkness.
As she plots his downfall, Myra suddenly finds herself swept into a dangerous web of power, deception and a passion that was never meant to be.
What happens when the line between love and hate blurs, and she realizes that the greatest threat isn't him.... but herself?
Beloved Wife Of The God Of War

Beloved Wife Of The God Of War

4.7k Views · Ongoing · Author Feathers
My mother in law hated me so much cause I couldn't bear her son a baby eventhough my husband and I have spent six years in marriage. She desperately wants my husband to divorce me so she and my bestfriend set me up to be f*cked by a stranger. When my husband heard of this, he mocked me and divorced me.

While painfully dragging my luggage out of his house, I saw my pregnant bestfriend carrying her luggage inside my husband's house. Turns out my husband has impregnated my bestfriend. I cried blood and left the city.

Seven years later, I became a popular Surgeon General and now have beautiful triplets by my side. But I was deployed back to my city cause my medical skill was most needed. In a twist of fate, I got married to an handsome solider.

Only after I resumed work did I find out that the soldier I just married is the five star General, leader of every military units in the country plus he was by far the wealthiest man in the country.

I'm just a single mother trying to create a better life for my three kids, now that I found myself entangled in his cold and ruthless world, how will I survive? And how will I explain to him that I do not know how my triplets bore the same resemblance with him?
They Stole My Wife. I Took Their Empire.

They Stole My Wife. I Took Their Empire.

1.1k Views · Ongoing · Hassan Mackenzie
When Leo Ross came home, his daughter was dying.

His wife was gone.

And every door to the truth was guarded by armed men.

Most people would call the police.

Leo declared war.

A former Delta Force legend, Leo tears through gangs, mercenaries, and criminal empires in a desperate race to save his family.

But the deeper he digs, the darker the truth becomes.

Someone has been planning this for years.

Someone powerful.

Someone who wants him dead.

They stole his wife.

Now he's coming for everything they own.
She Stole My Husband I Married His Brother

She Stole My Husband I Married His Brother

1.1k Views · Ongoing · Geeka
"I don't know who moved first. But suddenly my mouth was on his and I was kissing him like I was oxygen and he'd been drowning...I didn't even know his name."
I'm Harper, and my life exploded the day I caught my husband with my best friend.
He handed me divorce papers like I was disposable.
So I ran to LA, got drunk, and let a stranger make me forget I was ever a wife.
One night. No names. No rules.
Just the kind of heat that sears itself into your bones.
I thought I escaped it when I slipped out of his bed before sunrise.
I was wrong.
Because at my next job interview, he's sitting across from me, the stranger from that night.
Hardin Wolfe. Billionaire. Cold. Dangerous.
"I've been searching for you," he tells me, and my entire body remembers him.
I need this job to rebuild my life.
I need revenge on the people who destroyed me.
But working for Hardin means late nights, closed doors, one hotel room on business trips...and a man who doesn't understand the word no when it comes to me.
I try to keep my distance.
He gets closer.
Too close.
Until one night on a work trip, I stop fighting it—and everything between us ignites again.
Then I miss my period. The baby could be his. Or it could be my ex-husband's from our final, toxic goodbye.
Now my ex wants me back. Hardin is hiding a secret that could break me all over again. And I'm carrying a child who might belong to the wrong man.
Revenge tastes sweet. Desire burns deep. And loving either of them might destroy me.
My Husband's Mistress Stole My Pup's Last Dose

My Husband's Mistress Stole My Pup's Last Dose

484 Views · Ongoing · Juniper Marlow
My daughter's wolf has never woken. Until her first shift, one dose a season is all that keeps it alive. And I brew that dose myself and send it to the supply hall under the healers' guild seal.
This season, my husband's mistress took it from us at the supply hall and fed it to her own daughter in front of forty wolves. Then she pressed my girl's palm onto a silver bar, to prove we were the thieves.
"Save your tears for my man," she said. "Captain Roark Fenn."
That's my husband's name.
Neither of them knows what I did in the war. By moonrise, the whole pack will.
My Sister Stole My Face and My Husband

My Sister Stole My Face and My Husband

430 Views · Ongoing · Hannah Air
My sister came to kill me. The moment my mother stepped in to help her, I stopped struggling.
She had plastic surgery to look exactly like me and now sits in my bedroom, waiting for my husband, Liam, to come back to bed.
My parents are blessing her, wishing she and my husband a lifetime of happiness and wealth.
I can only laugh—none of them knows how terrifying the man in front of them really is.
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