2906 Book(s) Related to i used to be a boss chapter 4

Serena Hale thought she had finally built a quiet life for herself—one where her past, her family’s mistakes, and her father’s debts wouldn’t define her. But when her father’s financial troubles drag her into a marriage contract with Adrian Vale, a cold and devastatingly handsome billionaire heir, her fragile world shatters.
To the outside world, they are a perfect couple: glamorous, untouchable, and united. In reality, Serena and Adrian are strangers bound by obligation, their relationship defined by rules, tension, and restraint. He is ruthless, emotionally distant, and used to controlling everyone around him. She is quiet, observant, and fiercely protective of the small autonomy she has left. Every interaction is a battle between control and resistance, pride and vulnerability, fear and desire.
As they navigate public appearances, family scrutiny, and the constraints of their forced union, unexpected emotions begin to stir. Their hostility slowly transforms into understanding, and resentment gives way to longing—but every step toward connection is fraught with danger. Secrets from both their pasts threaten to unravel the fragile trust forming between them, and Serena soon realizes that love in this arrangement comes at a high cost.
When betrayal and scandal push them to the breaking point, Serena must decide whether to fight for the life she wants or surrender to the man who has slowly captured her heart. And Adrian must confront the truth: love cannot be forced, earned, or bought—it must be chosen.
Bound to a Man I Never Chose is a slow-burn billionaire romance about trust, power, emotional resilience, and the courage it takes to claim your own life, even when every choice feels impossible.

When the apocalypse came, I became one of the military's failed experiments—defective, useless, a waste of space who only knew how to fix machines.
My so-called brother Kane used the camp leader access I got for him to trade away the comms gear I nearly died to secure for a bottle of whiskey. He drained my bone marrow dry to keep me in the dark, then dumped me out in the wasteland to die.
After that, he pinned every bit of luxury and waste on me—
while my little sister didn't even have the medicine she needed to stay alive.
That night, dragging my crippled body behind me, I reached into the substation.
Kane, do you remember what kind of genes were in those five hundred milliliters of bone marrow?

When "the scentless" Elena thought she would be laid off by her manager, she never expected her new billionaire boss to be her high school crush Charles....

Manager: "Sir, I think there's been a mistake. How is she staying? And I'm not? This isn't right."
"You're right," Charles said, leaning forward over the table. "I'm sorry Elena. I forgot to mention you aren't going to be working here either."
Manager's face set into a smug smirk.
"You'll be joining my team."
There was a simultaneous gasp around the room.

"My fiancé cheated on me with my best friend, and I told him I'd sleep with any man just to call it even. So, will you sleep with me?" I spat.
He took a step back, eyebrows raised."No strings attached? No cuddling, no phone calls, and no matter how good we fk, we leave it at that."
After a one-night stand with the Mafia god, Ace, Aubrey found out she was married to him and no memory of saying yes. But the real shock comes when she learns her ex-fiancé, Xavier—the man who cheated on her with her best friend—isn't just a liar.
He's a drug lord. And a killer.
Now caught between two dangerous men on opposite sides of a bloody war, Aubrey must navigate a world of secrets, lust, and deadly loyalty. Xavier wants her back—not out of love, but obsession. Ace? He says he doesn't do love. But the way he protects her, touches her, claims her… tells a different story.
Torn between the man she thought she loved and the one who just might teach her what real love—and real pleasure—feels like, Aubrey must make a choice.
Would Aubrey choose Xavier who she had loved all her life even after finding out he is a serial killer or would she give the Mafia god a chance to show that he can love her better and fk her better?

My hips work shamelessly, riding his hand as he sucks bruises into my neck. This dirty secret, this indecent proposition so at odds with my buttoned-up life. The light, near-cruel flicks, rip a scream from my throat as I shatter, my eyes rolling to the back of my head, my body locking down in a bone-deep spasm.

I just had sex…with a stranger…in a dirty back alley…


"Be a good girl. Good girls get rewarded."

Bullshit.

Being a good girl doesn't get you jack shit, but a cheating husband and piles of credit card debt in your name—credit cards that he used to pamper his side piece, the mock with I really want to erase from my mind from that bitch: Maybe if you could give him a baby, he wouldn't need to go looking somewhere else."

After years of negative tests, how cruel is it that one reckless encounter with a stranger could succeed where my marriage failed? A strangled laugh escapes my lips, edging on hysteria.


The sexy man with dark eyes leans forward, elbows on his knees. "Who I am doesn't matter," he says, the words echoing in the marrow of my bones. "What matters is that you, Penelope, are carrying my descendant."

"Your…your descendant..?"

On the night of Reeve’s birthday, I drove to his family’s coastal estate with a premium ribeye and a bottle of Pinot Noir, ready to give him a romantic surprise.
But the rug was shifted three inches, and a single drop of dark blood hid in the floorboards. Before I could run, a gun barrel pressed against the back of my head.
The man was impeccably dressed and terrifyingly calm. Upstairs in my bathtub lay the corpse of his pregnant wife.
He ordered me to help him dispose of the body and cover up the crime. My only thought was to stall until my husband got home.
That is, until he spoke—and revealed the root of this massacre. Everything was my husband's fault.

"Do you really think I paid a million dollars for you to come here and mop the floor?"" My master, Alpha Devon said. He settled onto the couch, one hand resting on the cushion while the other playfully gestured for me to approach.


I am Aray, just 18, a possession of the most formidable alpha. "To me, you're nothing but a breeder, " his words sliced through me. I had long known that my love for him was hopeless and foolish. However, I was naïve to think that was the end of the story.

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone)From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense.In A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4 in the Keri Locke mystery series), Keri Locke, Missing Persons Detective in the Homicide division of the LAPD, follows a fresh lead for her abducted daughter. She winds her way through a twisted underworld, and step by step, she gets closer to finding her daughter.Yet she has no time. Keri is assigned a new case: a dad calls from an affluent community and reports that his teen daughter vanished on the way home from school.Shortly after, ransom letters arrive. Twisted, filled with riddles, they make it clear that there is little time to save the girl. They also make it clear that this is the work of a diabolical killer who is toying with them.Keri and the police must scramble to find the kidnapper, to understand his demands, to decode the letters, and most of all, to outwit him. But in this master game of chess, Keri may find herself up against a foe even she cannot understand, and for the missing girl—and her own daughter—she may just be too late.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, A TRACE OF CRIME is book #4 in a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)Book #5 in the Keri Locke series will be available soon.

For Renata, the world of the rich is a place where she will never belong, as everyone, without exception, as self-centered, mean, rude, overbearing, cheating and wicked.
When she leaves the country, she starts working for one of the biggest companies in the world, and although she hates herself for feeling this, she can't keep the bold Italian out of her thoughts, she can't control her heartbeat let alone the butterflies in her stomach every time he's around.
She tries not to want him for 3 reasons:
1 - He is rich.
2 - He is her boss, and
3 - She finds the behavior of this Italian tycoon very suspicious.
The more she tries to stay away, the more he insists on getting closer.
Between them, which will speak louder: love or reason?

Amanda Rousso married Kenneth Chavez for the thought that all her problems when it comes to finances will solve everything, but she is wrong because the moment she said yes to the fixed marriage, her soul was already buried six feet under the ground.

She never thought she would become a pawn in Kenneth’s twisted game, and trapped her in the marriage filled with broken vows and lies. Throughout 5 years of being together, she was able to learn how to love him and obey him, but Kenneth was so abusive and couldn't accept her because, for him, Amanda is the reason why his first love left him. In order to avenge her, she must endure all the cold treatment.

In the darkest moments of her life, Amanda decided to escape, and she stumbled into the arms of Damon Vera, the king of Mafia society who was feared by everyone. Damon pledged to protect her, but with one condition. She will marry Damon.

Now, Amanda must decide. Will she marry Damon to spare her life and run away from her past that keeps hunting her or get entangled in his life and power as if she stepped into another level of prison?

I've been with Michael for five years, stood by him as he clawed his way up from nobody to mafia boss.

He promised me we'd get to city hall and make it official once he made it to the top, and today's supposed to be the day we finally register our marriage.

He's already postponed our registration eight times before because of his first love, Yvaine Price.

This is attempt number nine, and I'm not giving him a tenth.

I have been tormented by a strange illness for ten years, with blood draws and surgeries being commonplace.
My mother always encouraged me, saying, "Nian Nian, bear with it a little longer. The pain will be over soon. Mom and Dad are doing this to save your life."
Hoping to be cured as soon as possible, I gritted my teeth and endured ten years of painful treatments, even if it meant living like a lab subject.
That was until I accidentally overheard my parents’ cruel conversation:
“Increase the blood draw even more. It doesn’t matter if she dies—she was only picked up to save Ying Ying. As long as she has a breath left, she owes it to us.”
At that moment, I finally understood: I was never sick at all.
The decade of daily treatments were nothing but a way to use me to extend the life of their biological daughter.

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)ONCE LURED is book #4 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with the #1 bestseller ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download, with over 500 five star reviews!Women are turning up dead on a lone stretch of highway in Delaware. Some go missing for an inexplicable length of time, while others are turning up dead, their bodies left out for display in bizarre and mysterious ways. When a pattern is discovered, it becomes clear to the FBI that a twisted serial killer is on the hunt—luring girls in devious schemes—and that he won’t stop killing, ever.The FBI, desperate to crack the case, urges Special Agent Riley Paige to take it on. But the brilliant Riley, still reeling from past cases, has finally found peace in her home life, and is determined to help her daughter April get back on her feet. Yet when the murders become too disturbing, too urgent—and when her former partner Bill implores her—Riley finally realizes she can’t say no.Riley’s hunt leads her deep into the unsettling world of hitchhikers, of drifters, of women that no one else cares for. When she discovers that several women are being kept alive and that there is still time to save them, she realizes she will stop at nothing, obsessing over the case and driving herself to the brink. Yet Riley realizes her own life is falling apart, and her own fragile psyche can barely handle the strain. In a frantic race against time, she will have to plunge deep into the killer’s mind to save these women—and to save herself—from collapse.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE LURED is book #4 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.Book #5 in the Riley Paige series will be available soon.

"Oh, it's you. My useless wife."
"You should've seen it coming. Our marriage stopped working a long time ago."
"You're useless as a wife, Ivy. You've never supported my career. And after all this time—you're still not even pregnant."
Kim Evelyn—known to those closest to her as Ivy—never imagined her third wedding anniversary would turn into a nightmare. Her husband, Rico, didn't just betray her—he brought his mistress into their bed. The pain and humiliation scorched her heart, leaving her no choice but to walk away from the home that once symbolized their love.
But Ivy's escape led her into a night that would change everything. Beneath the glimmering lights of an upscale bar, she met Joshua Miller—a dangerously charming man with a captivating smile and an offer too tempting to resist.
"Help me get revenge on the man who betrayed me—my husband. Can you do that?"
"I'll help you get your revenge—but in return, you'll have to treat me the same way you did last night."
Revenge. Sweet, calculated revenge.
But there was a catch: Ivy had to surrender herself to a game far more seductive than anything she'd ever imagined. As vengeance ignited and passion flared, the line between game and reality began to blur. Dark secrets loomed. Hidden dangers stirred. And Ivy was forced to make an impossible choice—move forward and risk losing everything, or retreat into the scars of her past.
Can Ivy take control of this wicked game? Or will she end up the pawn—consumed by desire, ambition, and a betrayal more dangerous than the one she fled?

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.” --Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone) From #1 bestselling author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense: CAUSE TO FEAR (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 4).When a body turns up floating beneath the frozen Charles River, the Boston Police summons its most brilliant and controversial homicide detective—Avery Black—to close the case. It doesn’t take Avery long, however, to realize that this is no isolated murder: it is the work of a serial killer.Other bodies begin to turn up, all of them sharing one thing in common: all are trapped in ice. Is it all a coincidence—or the signature of a particularly deranged killer?As the media converges and Avery suffers pressure from her bosses, she struggles to crack the inexplicable case, too bizarre even for her brilliant mind. At the same time she tries to keep her own depression at bay, as her personal life spirals to a new low. And she does it all while trying to enter the mind of a psychotic and elusive killer.What she will find will shock even her, and make her realizes that nothing is what it seems—and that the worst darkness may sometimes be closest to us.A psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, CAUSE TO FEAR is book #4 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #5 in the Avery Black series will be available soon. “A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side, so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

Ava Clarke had her parents killed in a terrible car accident, and today, after many years and at the age of 20, she has decided to move to the small town of Mystic Heaven, the same place where she was born and lived with her family before they died.
The young girl got a job babysitting an eight-year-old girl, the daughter of a very wealthy man. Ava thought this would be an ordinary job, but she realizes that there is something very strange and wrong with the Fell family.
Lucius, Elara, and Damien are peculiar people, and she realizes that they are very different. She lives in the big mansion with this family and discovers that she feels a strong sexual attraction to Lucius Fell.
Ava didn't imagine that she was falling in love with a centuries-old vampire, she was falling in love with a completely immortal man.
She's a human girl living in a house with the strongest and most dangerous creatures in the world. What could happen?
Lucius is a 300-year-old vampire who lives in a mysterious old mansion in the town of Mystic Heaven with his only daughter Elara and younger brother Damien.
The vampire has an enchanting beauty, and his life changes when a beautiful young human girl moves in with him.
What will Ava do when she discovers that she is living with vampires? What will she do with her love for Lucius Fell?

Just a year after losing her mother, she was sold out by her stepdad to repay a loan he took from the cruel alpha, her supposed mate.
All she ever wanted from him was love, all she cared for was his attention but he never gave her any of that instead he tormented her, and he treated her like she was nothing.
To him, she's only but a breeder who'd be discarded after she births his heir, but then she did the unthinkable.
If she can't have his love, then he will never have an heir.
Set to make him lose the way she did, she fled in the night leaving him shattered by dawn.
Years passed and they crossed part again, now he wants her back, he needs his heir to secure his throne. Will she let go of the past grudges and accept his love now that he's willing to give it? Or will she stick with his brother who was always there for her even when he abandoned her?
Find out in Sold to be the Cruel Alpha’s Surrogate.

After witnessing the cold death of her parents in the hands of a dangerous Mafia boss, Elizabeth vows to take revenge. With the assistance of a friend, she finally meets the Mafia boss, but becomes entangled in a secret sexual relationship with him.

Adam Mich, the infamous Mafia boss, finds himself insanely attracted to Elizabeth, whom he initially selected as a wife for his brother. But once she steps into his world, letting her go becomes impossible.

Despite their pact, they fall deeply in love with each other while desperately denying their feelings.

Will Elizabeth's plan for revenge be fruitful or futile? What will happen when the truth about her parents' death, her revenge plan, and Adam's feelings finally come to light?

A cruel heartless Mafia boss and a girl who despised criminals after what they did to her family.

Elena lived a peaceful life with her two cats and worked as a doctor. After the death of her parents, she had no one to rely on. Her relatives cut ties with her, and her father's company was taken over by her uncle.

She was driving late one night, unable to sleep as usual, when she accidentally drove into a dangerous area. Gunfire erupted, and a wounded stranger forced his way into her car at gunpoint, demanding she drive him to safety.

It was already too late for her when she realized what she had gotten herself into.

What happened when she found out Angelo was actually Pierce Diego, the most feared mafia boss in Chicago?

What happens when she discovers she was targeted by his mafia rivals because they thought she was his weakness?

What happens when he forces her to marry him for her to survive?

Then a dark secret is revealed, Elena had her own demons and danger was lurking around every corner.

Will she let him in and let go of the past or will she choose the path to destruction?

“Be my wife.” His lips graze the shell of my ear as he murmurs.
I’m just one of thousands of homeless people in this city, I have no right to refuse.
My husband. My tormentor.

The most notorious man in the city offers me a job.
Act as his dead wife.
Adrian Volkov isn’t the type of person who takes no for an answer.
He commands with an iron fist and all his orders are met.
When he approaches me with the offer, I have two options.
Go to prison or put myself under his wrath.
I choose to have a roof over my head. What’s so hard about acting, right?
Wrong.
The moment I step into his wife’s shoes, everything spirals out of control.
My only way of survival is through Adrian.
Or is it?

I'm Susie, an apprentice train mechanic living in an abandoned train car, just wanting to save money for a stable life.

At a Halloween party, I drunkenly brought home a man covered in tattoos. For self-protection, I used my most practiced double-loop knot to tie him to my metal bed.

I thought he was just an ordinary muscle-bound guy, never imagining he was the most feared mafia godfather on the entire East Coast—Matt Loren.

I nervously fluffed his pillow, warmed milk for him, and even spoon-fed him cheap pasta, hoping he'd spare my life once untied.

When my friend came to visit, she mistook him for my "tied-up boyfriend" and warned him to treat me well.

Not only did he not correct her, but he played along, performing an act of deep affection in front of my friend.

"You tied me up for a day and night—how do we settle this score?"

The man cornered me against the wall, his burning breath against my ear.

He gripped my waist, his voice low and dangerous: "My shirt costs $8,000, your monthly salary is $1,800. Since you can't pay it back, you'll repay me another way."

I trembled with fear, but he smiled and slipped his burning palm under my skirt: "It's simple—finish what we didn't complete last night... our bondage play."

I thought untying the ropes would be the end, never realizing it was just the beginning of my downfall.

When the knots symbolizing freedom were untied, they were replaced by an invisible cage woven from his power and desire, trapping me completely.

"Susie," he pinned me beneath him, his eyes filled with bottomless possessiveness, "the game begins now. You tied me for one night, I'll tie you for life."

Emma Carter, thinking she had her future figured out, decided to propose to her boyfriend, Ryan but was humiliated and heartbroken when she caught him in the arms of another woman. While running away from the scene of betrayal, she ran into a handsome man named Liam Stone whom she never knew was her ex’s powerful billionaire boss. She boldly slips the engagement ring onto his finger, but to her greatest surprise, Liam played along and even offered her an irresistible deal: keep up the charade, and I’ll give Ryan a taste of his own medicine.
What started as a game of revenge soon feels dangerously real but just as Emma begins to believe in love again, Ryan surfaces with a shocking threat that could destroy everything.
As secrets unravel and dangerous obsessions come to light, Emma and Liam must decide—are they willing to fight for each other, or was this romance always destined to be a lie?

A broken heart, a deception of seeing every hope falling apart, can sometimes lead to an unexpected change of mind, it can change you into someone you never thought you could be.

Indeed, Kinder Houston experienced one of the pains she never thought could exist after being abandoned by the one she considered her soulmate, her brother's best friend.

Daniel brancöft willing to preserve his friendship was forced to break up with her, the one girl who ever succeed to steal him a smile.

Both consume by the pain, they will be led to one opposite life.

Kinder with the wish to build a stronger personality will opt for the police.
But the pain didn't always lead to something pleasant.

Oppositely, Daniel will become one of the fearest men in the mafia.

Now they are forced to be gathered most uncommonly again, after ten years of absence.

What would happen to our protagonists?

The very day she came back into her home country, she heard the most absurd news. "Your sister is getting married with Mr. Stephenson".
"What did you say?" She couldn't believe it. At the engagement party, she was shocked to see her sister getting engaged to her fiancé.
"Daniel, remember this, I dumped you! Did you hear that? I dumped you, not the other way round."
.....
Who could have guessed that after being betrayed by her fiancé and sister and being labelled as a home wrecker, someone would still want to marry her?
"Don't you want to get revenge on your fiancé for what he did?" Nathan Clemon asked Hilda.
"What has that got to do with you?" She snapped back.
"It has got everything to do with me. I am the only person who could help you achieve that whiles giving you the happiness that any woman would wish in this world."

Reunited, I became the “perfect wife” Julian had always dreamed of.
I didn’t ask where he was when he didn’t come home.
When his “one that got away” came to our door to provoke me, I greeted her with a polite smile.
I even caught them in the act, and instead of screaming, I thoughtfully closed the door for them.
The Elara who used to break down in hysterics over his infidelity was dead.

The woman standing here now was nothing more than a shell, existing solely for her daughter.
Finally, Julian began to panic. He knelt in the pouring rain, begging me to curse him, begging me to still love him—or even hate him.
But as I looked down at him, I didn’t just feel nothing. I felt sick.
"Julian, I don't hate you."
I just find every second spent with you utterly disgusting.

"You have no choice; either be my luna and serve me well. Or I'll kill your mother and sell you on one of these auctions to the highest-bidding Alpha." He said with no mercy or remorse.

"I.."
Before she could say a word; he pushed he to the bed and started taking off his shirt. "Good because I want to mark you and fuck you... Now."

Her crush turned into her nightmare. Her kidnapper became her savior. Her mother's betrayal sealed her fate.

When college student Lena Adams is humiliated by her crush and then kidnapped to be sold at a supernatural auction, she never expects to be rescued by the most dangerous man in the room—Kieran Volkov, the Alpha King of werewolves.

Months later, when her mother announces her engagement to a mysterious wealthy man, Lena is horrified to discover her soon-to-be stepfather is none other than the werewolf king himself. But when her opportunistic mother steals his gold and flees, Kieran demands Lena take her place as his bride.

Imagine waking up to find that your one-night stand is now your boss. For Dorothy, a young woman who always dreamed of true love with a handsome man, this becomes her startling reality. She always wanted a beautiful and pure-hearted romance , she never expected to lose her virginity in a fleeting encounter with a stranger, driven by unexpected personal needs. Trying to move on, she lands a job at a prestigious company named the Weiss Company owned by Oliver Weiss who is known to be cold and arrogant, not ready for commitment, only for Dorothy to discover that the CEO is the same man from that fateful night. Caught between her longing for love and the need to stay professional. Does he remember her? Will this twist spark romance or bring heartache and complications? With her career and emotions at stake, Dorothy must uncover what awaits—love or coldness—

" Chill man," my best friend Liam said.

"How do you expect me to chill man, I just found out I am very crazy about her, I was so ignorant that I let her go and the worst part is I am getting married to that bitch next month," I said in frustration.

"Oh come on man, you agreed to marry that bitch yourself Alex, no one forced you," Liam said.............................

"Yea I know but I thought if I proposed to Skyler, she's gonna get furious and try to apologize to me," I replied not sure if that made any sense.

"Well that was stupid because you are the one meant to apologize man, but you let your arrogance and wealth get to your head and that made you lose your love. you need to fix this," he said and walked out of my house, I saw his car drive off.......

I know you guys are wondering what happened, well I will tell you the story... Well, I am Alexandra Montero, CEO of the Montero group of companies and the richest billionaire in town.

In my last life, my boyfriend's childhood best friend handed out jars of homemade sunscreen on the boat ride to the island. I'm a marine bio major — one sniff and I knew the mix had something in it that could drive the island's feral hogs into a frenzy. I told everyone to throw them out.
They did. But Brynn didn't look at the group. She looked at me. Eyes red, jaw tight. "You just can't stand seeing people appreciate anything I do, can you?" She turned and ran into the woods alone.
We searched for her all night in a storm. By morning we found her body at the bottom of the cliffs.
A week later, at her memorial bonfire on the beach, every person who'd gotten hurt during the search turned on me. My boyfriend ripped off his bandage and showed his stitches. "If you hadn't humiliated Brynn in front of everyone, she'd still be alive."
Someone said I should burn for what I did to her.
Then hands on my back. The fire. I burned alive on the sand while seventeen people watched.
I opened my eyes. Salt air. Engine noise. I was back on the boat — the morning of the trip.

Sophia and I fought over who would wear that emerald ring to change our fate.
In my first life, I claimed the emerald ring, thinking I would become a billionaire heiress.
That was until late at night, when I accidentally opened that underground iron door and he strangled me to death with a piano wire: "Your pathetic wailing isn't her at all."
Given a second chance, I backed away and let Sophia take it.
A few days later, she died in the ice cellar with her tongue severed. Right before she died, she let out a blood-curdling whimper: "A true devil is hiding behind that door!"
Waking up for the third time, we trembled in sheer terror as the ring was offered to us once again.
Just who exactly is the daughter he is looking for?

SEQUEL TO OUR VOWS DON'T MEAN A THING

Mia Evans is trapped in a loveless marriage to her husband Gabriel Evans. All opportunities for her to put her cheating husband in the past had flown out the window the moment she had delivered her baby.

Harvey Regal finds it difficult to hold onto one relationship. His parents had the perfect ending and his pursuits for that very feeling and commitment have left him unsatisfied and bored.

The first birthday after we finally made up.

Shen Linze sent me a menu and told me to cook everything myself.

He invited all his close friends, plus the girl he was chasing, saying it was a birthday party for me.

On the long dining table were the stir-fried dishes I’d spent three hours rushing to make.

Shen Linze picked up a piece of sweet and sour spareribs and carefully held it to the girl’s mouth.

“Yaoyao, have a taste. I asked Su Qingyan to make them specially—they’re all your favorite dishes.”

The girl sitting in the main seat didn’t react at all.

Shen Linze put down his chopsticks and told the servants to wheel out a custom-made multi-layer cake.

“Do you like it? I designed this just for you. It has the place where we first met, your prettiest smile,
your favorite flowers, your favorite color purple, the wedding you’ve always wanted, and the initials of your name: ZY…”

Three months ago, I’d seen that exact cake design in Shen Linze’s office.

After he finished the design, he brought in several top pastry chefs from abroad and spent three months making it.

My birthday was coming soon, and I’d thought the “ZY” on the cake stood for the last characters of both our names.

I never knew it was just my own foolish wishful thinking.

I had a childhood arranged marriage with the Mu family. My unreliable dad just tossed me a New York address and told me to go inherit the company there.

They only broke the news to me after my plane touched down in New York: I could take over the family business only if I went through with the marriage.

I followed the address, only to be led winding through the streets by the men at the gate and taken to an abandoned construction site.

Along the way, the man guiding me feigned sympathy: “The Mu Group went bankrupt two years ago. They sold their house and company to pay off debts, yet still owe a fortune in loan sharks. Debt collectors hound him every day, and he always brings them here to talk. He works an office job by day and fights in underground boxing matches for cash by night—his life is nothing short of miserable.”

Hardly had he finished speaking when I heard the harsh clanging of steel pipes. A devastatingly handsome man was grappling with a dozen men, a steel pipe gripped in his hand.

His features were sharp, his jaw clenched tight. Blood trickled down his cheek from his temple, mixing with dust, carving out an air of broken ferocity about him.

Hell no—they’re picking on my future husband right in front of me?

The guide tried to say more, but I, a die-hard sucker for good looks, grabbed a steel bar beside me and charged straight in.

The brawlers froze for a split second at my sudden appearance, then plunged back into the fight.

Mu Qingye threw every punch with reckless brutality, and I, a multiple-time taekwondo champion, was no pushover either.

Once we’d chased the debt collectors off, I tossed the steel bar aside and watched Mu Qingye lean against the wall, gasping for breath.

His clothes were frayed and faded, and the bandage on his right leg was soaked through with blood, a glaring, vivid red.

He sat on the ground, lifted his eyelids to glance at me sideways, his eyes as cold as ice.

I stared at his outrageously handsome face, my heart racing wildly: “I’m Meng Shixia. Do you remember me? I—”

“I don’t know you.” He cut me off abruptly, staggered to his feet by leaning on the wall, and shot me another cold glance. “Stay out of my business.”

After the mysterious decease of her parents, she faced backlash and discrimination from her stepbrother, Hazel's only hope is the promised inheritance given to her by her grandfather, but that too becomes a fallacy as she is sold as a bride to a ruthless crippled Mafia Boss.

Despite all negotiations by her to end this doesn't work and in the end, she gives in but what happens when the past she never knew catches up with her, and now, she must pay the price of a sin she never had an idea about?

Top designer Emma Carter catches her boyfriend cheating with her best friend.
In the fallout, she marries the legendary business tycoon Liam Hayes, a man rumoured to avoid women entirely.
As he loosens his tie and walks toward her, her pulse stutters.

Where is his vow of abstinence? *
All I see is a hungry beast that’s just been awakened. *

Adalina lives with her very protective older brother Zarakai and his four best friends, they helped raise her after their parents died. Now she is eighteen and she doesn't know how to turn her feelings off. After being rejected by Austin, she turned to Jace who loves her more than he should considering the age gap. Now Austin is back in town and Jace doesn't like sharing. Adalina wants Jace and Austin. Maybe even Tyler and Spencer too. Will the four men learn to share her, or will she end up heartbroken?

A love story where pride makes it hard to listen, and prejudice harder to acknowledge feelings. A young college student (Rose) who seeks nothing but perfection, tries to avoid the pain we taste once in love, acting like she has philophobia. She meets a guy (Sam) who'll come into her life like a thunder, surprisingly but doesn't leave as easy nor as quickly, instead her world flips upside down, making her question everything she once stood for.

This story is about a controlled marriage that goes wrong, the naive protagonist decides to lose her virtue with a stranger, but not satisfied with making a mistake once, she decides to do it a second time, being with two strangers, finding out on her wedding day that the man she will marry is the one she was with the second time.

To complete the problems she gets pregnant, not knowing which of the two would be the father, but what she does not know is that both men are brothers.

Affected by her broken family, Amy Hood found it hard to hold faith in a relationship. However, the desire to be a mother drove her to make a crazy decision.
She decided to get a cute baby from some stranger.
She picked an outstanding one and spent an unforgettable night with him.
This was supposed to be a one-night stand for both of them.
But never in her wildest dream, Amy had expected life would bring her back to him,
Derek Shepherd, Her New Boss.
If things could get any worse, it's when he started to force her to step into this dangerous relationship.

"It's the night before you and Taylor's wedding, and you expect me to go to his bachelor party, break in - of course carefully - and make sure he doesn't have sex with a stripper?"
"Yes."
"You are crazy!"
Yes, Mary thought her best friend Amaya Peterson was really crazy, which actually showed that Amaya Peterson had no confidence in the man she was about to marry!
In fact, even Amaya Peterson didn't understand why she should marry a man who was going to cheat on her on the eve of the wedding? Why marry a man who didn't love her enough and couldn't even please her?
She had no choice but to push herself into a completely unknown fate!

CALI
Drrrhhhhh! My alarm blared, shattering the silence of my small room. I shot upright, heart racing. Today was no ordinary day it was the day of my interview at B&S Incorporate, the company that could finally change everything for Edward and me. I had dreamt of this moment for weeks, yet now that it was here, a nervous flutter danced in my stomach. I couldn’t afford to be late. Not today.

I leapt out of bed and darted into the bathroom. The cold water on my face jolted me fully awake, washing away the last traces of sleep. I brushed my teeth swiftly, tied my hair into a neat ponytail, and secured it with a red ribbon the same ribbon I wore during my first presentation at college. It felt like a charm, a tiny talisman for luck. I threw on a simple white gown and slid my feet into red slippers, a splash of color against the plain fabric.

Once dressed, I opened my file and carefully arranged my CV, certificates, and other documents, placing them in my red bag. Each paper felt heavy with hope and expectation. One misstep today could cost me the opportunity I had worked so hard for.

The kitchen was next. I cooked cheese and macaroni, a quick breakfast for both Edward and me. I poured a portion into a flask for him—he had a doctor’s appointment later, and he hated missing meals. I ate quickly, swallowing each bite as if it contained my future. When I was done, I gently knocked on Edward’s bedroom door.

“Edward,” I called softly.
“Huuhh…” he mumbled, burying his face in his pillow.
I tapped him lightly again, then harder when he didn’t respond. His head popped up, eyes squinting against the morning light.
“We are on holidays, sis, for crying out loud!” he groaned, rubbing his eyes. Then he suddenly realized he’d shouted and covered his mouth. I fought back a laugh, but the morning urgency left no room for play.

“Don’t you know you have an appointment with the doctor?” I asked, exasperation creeping into my voice.
He bowed his head, muttering, “Okay…” then quickly smirked and ran back into his room, locking the d

"You think I'm the devil for wanting my wife's baby sister spread open and begging. But you came here, Felicia. You texted me back and you ran here. You let me finger fck you against a hotel wall like a desperate little whre while Eva's probably acting like the perfect wife at home."
Felicia Lawson thought college would be her escape but nothing prepared her for Ian, her sister's husband or for Jake, the charming upperclassman who made her believe in something real again.
While Felicia battles guilt and longing, her roommate Zara hides secrets darker than love, a mafia lineage that's about to pull her into a marriage with a dangerous don.
"You're going to marry me, little sunflower."
Zara's eyes snap open, the water sloshes as she jerks against my grip, but the chain on her ankle rattles like a laugh. She can't go far. She can't go anywhere.
"Fuck you," she spits, voice raw from screaming at the ceiling all night. "I'd rather die."
He smiled. It was small and polite, the kind he used to give people who betrayed him right before he buried them in the ground. "That can be arranged. But first…"
Massimo curled his fingers inside her. "You're going to come on my hand," he said calmly, "and then you're going to say yes."

“Be my wife for eighteen months, and I’ll save your sister, or I’ll walk out here and let her die! Don’t forget, I am your god on earth".This is not a coincidence. Who still believes in coincidences? Definitely not Sarah, but she has no choice but to taste an unfair share of it.

Sarah’s entire life takes an unexpected twist when she crosses paths with Derrick Duke, which leads to an irresistible night of passion. To her, it was just a means to get what she wanted to save her family, “no strings attached,” but fate and the universe served her a cruel meal

when tragedy began to haunt her family. A tragic accident ties Sarah's destiny back to the powerful Duke family, locking her into a deadly world of powerful secrets and forbidden desires. Little does she know that the man she loves and the devil she unwillingly helped are two opposites of a coin. But to save her family, Sarah agrees to Bobby Duke's ridiculous offer with choking terms and conditions. Now what

happens when she realises she just helped the devil? What happens when things begin to go the opposite way? What happens when she finds out the stranger she had a one-night stand with and fell in love with is the brother of the same devil after her life?

I was sobbing on the floor of my apartment, terrified after surviving a monster attack, but my boyfriend just yawned into the phone and told me to take a Benadryl. "People fight in the city constantly, Lila. Stop being dramatic," Ezra sighed, annoyed that I'd woken him up. He hung up on me. I sat there in the dark, clutching my knees, realizing the man I loved thought I was crazy. But the 500-year-old Fae Prince who ruled my law firm didn't think I was crazy. He knew exactly what I was.

Alexander Sterling—my cold, terrifying, billionaire boss—had just slaughtered a nightmare creature in an alleyway to protect me. When his memory-wiping magic failed against my skin, he didn't dismiss me. He cornered me. He touched the crescent birthmark behind my ear, his eyes widening in ancient recognition. "Your life as you knew it ended the moment you saw me tonight," his voice was a lethal purr.

The next day, while my toxic boyfriend was lecturing me about professionalism, Alexander sent a single command: Pack your bags. You're moving into my building. I had no choice. The Fae council wanted me dead because my bloodline could destroy the barrier between worlds. But Alexander claimed me instead. He sent a talking stone gargoyle to my fire escape to watch over me, and when Ezra tried to gaslight me again, the gargoyle nearly ripped his head off.

When Alexander's black luxury car pulled up to my shitty apartment, I stepped inside. He touched my skin, peeling back the magical glamour, revealing a breathtaking, ethereal palace hidden in the middle of New York. "Welcome to the Fae domain, little Anchor," he whispered, his massive wings unfolding behind him. "You don't need that pathetic human boy anymore. You're mine to train now."

"You're trembling," he said softly.
I was unable to talk. Then, slowly I felt his fingers move up my thigh. They moved under my dress, brushing past the soft skin. I shivered. His fingers slid higher, between my legs.
I inhaled sharply. Without asking, he located my panties and pushed them away. He ran his fingers along my slit, slow at first. I bit my lip, trying to stay still. He circled my clit once, twice, then dipped lower. A finger slid inside me without warning.
"You saw what you are not supposed to see baby doll, but I will pretend you are smart enough to know better."
He added another finger, stretching me.
"Look at me," he said.
I lifted my eyes.
"I want to see your face while I ruin you."
His fingers moved faster, curling inside me, hitting that place again and again. My moans spilled out now, uncontrolled. I forgot the mission. I forgot everything but his hand between my thighs.
And did I mention, Luis is still in the room!
He leaned in, his mouth close to my ear.
"You're nothing but a toy," he whispered. "And toys don't get to feel this good unless I allow it."
I was scared, but my hips moved with him. I hated him. I feared him. But I couldn't stop the way I moved against him...


Zita Antonio is in deep trouble. Her gambling father has bitten off more than he can chew, and her mother is slowly dying by the day.
On her way back from her shitty job at a café downtown, she's kidnapped by unknown men and brought to their boss. They blindfold her so she cannot see.
This mysterious man is one of her father's many creditors but he might just be the most dangerous.
He gives her three options:
Pay back the millions her father owes, die with her family or become his pawn.
Of course she chooses the option that seems simple. Pawn.
However, this might just be the most dangerous of them all.
This mysterious man wanted her to retrieve a valuable document from the mansion of Dario Giovanni- the most powerful man in all of Europe.
And to do it? Well she first had to seduce her way in…

I gave up my dream offer to Cambridge just so I could follow my heavily bullied childhood sweetheart to Princeton.

Yet, the day before we were supposed to submit our applications, I overheard him and his teammates laughing heartily:

"Man, you deserve an Oscar," one of them snickered. "You actually got the Vanderbilt heiress to drop Cambridge just by playing the victim?"

"To cause a rift with my family for me, and to serve as my shield against adversity—what a foolish heiress, impossible to shake off," Carter sneered to his friends.

"Once I drag her to Princeton, I can finally date Lily without her getting in the way."

I didn't storm in.

I quietly shredded my Princeton forms and submitted my Cambridge acceptance.

Carter seemed to have forgotten one crucial detail: without my family's money, he wasn't a tragic prince. He was just a stray dog.

"I'm already engaged." I heard Richard say almost in a roar. Everywhere went silent.
"I'm engaged," there was a slight pause, as if he was searching for the words. "To Stacey Smith," he finally revealed, with that familiar smug voice I despised.
Wait!!
D-did he just say Stacey Smith? Like me? Stacey Smith?
I stood still, frozen with shock, trying to piece together the words in my head, to confirm what I thought I heard.


Stacey Smith has been working quietly as a Secretary at Desmond Pictures for about a year, slowly but steadily building her résumé to kickstart her dream of becoming a movie Director but her mundane life is turned upside down when her arrogant, playboy boss who she hates suddenly proposes to her.
Billionaire Richard Desmond would rather lie that he is engaged than lose an investment deal. Then comes his perfect victim, Stacey Smith, his Secretary who he has never really noticed but coincidence had made her perfect for his agenda.
Afterall who wouldn't want to be engaged to the hottest billionaire in LA.
But things get more complicated as dangerous alliances are made, contracts are formed and obsession grows in plain sight all at once. Would they be able to work together for their mutual benefit despite the constant obstacles thrown at them or would the secrets they both hide rear up and destroy what might have been?

To the outside world, they look like American Royalty, giving to charities, feeding the homeless, rebuilding the city. But behind closed doors is a constant battle for dominance between two Bosses, cultures, and hearts. Ruthless People is a romantic crime fiction set in modern day Chicago, following the life and marriage of Melody Nicci Giovanni and Liam Callahan–rivals by blood and leaders through fear. Their marriage was arranged by their fathers in hopes to end years of bloodshed between the Irish and the Italians. Liam, next in line to lead the Irish, believes he’s getting a simple-minded wife, one he can control, one who bends to his every need . . . the complete opposite of Melody. Bred to be a Boss, a world-class marksman, master of disguise, with no mercy and no fear. Twenty-four years later, she has achieved more than any man could even dream of, killing anyone who steps in her way. She knows exactly what type of man Liam is, and she would rather die than give up the power she has spent her whole life building. But with no other family left, she must not only learn to work with Liam, but the whole Callahan clan. The Mafia of the past is evolving, and with rival bosses gunning for them, Melody and Liam will have to figure out how to work as one to take down those who stand in their way, all while keeping up appearances. Power, Family, and Respect are everything.