Novel-novel oleh NOKO

CharisseI crashed into a puddle outside the restaurant. My shoulder slammed into the hard pavement but it was my chest that hurt. My shattered heart. But the rain continued to beat down coldly. No one could tell the mental and physical pain from my Beta’s betrayal. How could they, when the rain washed it all away, making it non existent. My devotion towards that man, my love, my entire life. All of it was non-existent. I, Charisse Pax, never existed!But I am here! The pain is real! As real as the soiled dress sticking to my skin, the damp hair on my face!I gripped myself up. I couldn't just give up like this! That woman will not get my Val! I WILL NOT LET HER! I charged towards the entrance door—.But those burly men anticipated my return like I was the kind of crazy they’d often meet as a fine dining restaurant. Their biceps swung in like a leash and I was thrown back on the ground. “Get out of here!” One of them boomed. “Go on!”But I clambered to my feet once more. I

Charisse Huff, huff. I was moving but I couldn't feel my feet. I was breathless, my heart was racing, but it wasn't because I was moving. It was fear. The fear of getting caught… and knowing the truth. Huff, huff.They say a woman's instincts are real. And I wished they hadn't said it, or I didn't hear it. They also say that a woman is a walking contradiction. I wished I had stayed as Val specifically told me to, but I was also glad that I didn't. I stepped off the last step and Val was already out of the elevator on his long strides out the building. He was still on the phone with the person he called ‘baby’. “...oh that?” Val chuckled as though it was a joke. “That was one of the helpers.”My time froze. I am Val’s maid? No, no, no… there must be a mistake. I must've heard wrong. Val laughed. “You know how clumsy they can get. Can't even handle a mobile. Probably never seen one of them in her whole life….”A bitter taste seeped into my mouth. I may be clumsy. But I know

CharisseI stared at the end-call screen with the name ‘Boss’ on it. Thoughts and memories rushed in. Millions and millions of them. Each trying to make sense of what had happened and what I just heard. Then, I figured it all out. ‘Boss’ is a woman who made Val work overtime that particular night when he came home at nine. She felt apologetic because it had to be done so she called to apologise! Yes, that’s it! It must be it. She probably calls everyone in the office ‘baby’, and she should already be sued for harassment by using such intimate terms on male colleagues. I grabbed the phone off the floor and put it back on the desk, feeling much better. Val wouldn’t cheat on me. He wouldn’t because I’m the only one for him—and he’d said this every time we’re together. And if he’d wanted to cheat on me, he would have already left me. But he’s still here!I laughed at my silliness. Overthinking kills, Charisse. You need to stop doing it, I told myself. And then the buzzing started

DorianI turned away to take the call. “What?” “Hey, is your secretary’s husband called Valentin Egoton?” asked Alfred. I glanced at Charisse who was folding the pink dress, a big smile plastered on her face, and muttered quietly, “Yes. Why?” “He made a reservation for two at Saul’s tomorrow night.” I stepped out of earshot as the restaurateur continued, “He asked for a live quartet and some special decor for his table—.”My jaw clenched in frustration. “And you’re telling me this because?” “That’s a bit too extravagant for a birthday celebration, don’t you think?” I kneaded my forehead to stop myself from yelling at him. “Still don’t get your point.” His tongue clicked in disbelief. “He’s gonna propose, man!”I sighed, holding my temples. “Still don’t get why you’re telling me this—.” “Dude, the name of the woman he gave us isn’t Charisse!” I spun around to take a good look at the amazing woman striding back to her desk, unconsciously flaunting assets she wasn’t aware she ha

CharisseI should’ve emptied all the bins on Saturday like usual. Then, I wouldn't have found the receipt for a diamond ring in the bin in Val’s study. A private person he is, one of the things Val loves about me is my respect for his privacy. I've never entered his study without his permission, and I only go in there when it's cleaning time or trash time. But when Val didn't come home at seven for the first time in nine years, I badly needed a distraction. So I did some light cleaning and cleared the trash. It was a secret purchase for a reason—a surprise proposal. And I had spoiled it. Worse, I began overthinking, going through every detail that he’d done out of routine, starting with him coming home late to not making love to me, and wondering if they all had something to do with him being sick and tired of me. Or disgusted with my slutty and inconsiderate behaviour. “Cancel the meeting at four,” Dorian’s voice pierced through. I snapped back, blinking profusely. “The me

CharisseI miss you, Val…. “Baby.” I opened my eyes and Val was right in front of me.That smile. The tenderness in his gaze. It used to give me comfort and peace. Now, all I felt was hair-rising fear. I jolted back. “Val! I–I didn’t mean to doze off! The beef stew will be ready in three minutes—!” Hurry and get him food, or he’ll punch your stomach again! My mind screamed. But as I turned to dash into the kitchen, an iron grip came over my wrist. Immediately, I cowered. A chilling fear seized me. I waited for the blow to my stomach—. “Ssh, baby,” he whispered, pulling me forward. The first touch of his arms stiffened me. Then, as they wrapped around my back to engulf me into his embrace, something swarmed up my throat, threatened to burst through. I didn’t know why I was feeling disgusted. This is Val. The man who loved me more than anyone could and would. The man who would do anything to keep me safe. So I should feel safe, loved and protected. But the ominous feeling rema

[Juliette’s POV]For our second anniversary, Ralph gave me a surprise that completely threw me off my chair. He threw a huge and grand wedding for that special person who’d been a mother to me, right in the place where he first decided to officially—and sincerely—marry me. Today, a year after the groom’s secret proposal, is the day of the wedding between Agatha and Demitri—a.k.a. Stalker. Honestly, I’m still trying to get used to that man and his constant glaring. You would think that having the Mafia King as a husband would help in that department. It didn’t. But it was because his wife was Agatha, who had been like a mother to me. “Kitten,” Ralph’s reflection in the mirror was grinning with amusement, “what’s wrong now?” “Oh, I can’t tell you.” I huffed and turned to face the man lounging in our bedroom armchair.I’m fully dressed, but he looked like he was watching me undressed. An elbow propped on the armrest, the side of his head resting casually on his knuckles. “Why not?

[Juliette’s POV]He’s mad. Crazy. Why would anyone be jealous of the forest? It’s not like I’m going to make love to it! “Ralph!” I hissed a half-hearted warning, my thighs soaked in pleasure, trembling and begging for more. “I can have favourite things—.” A greater pleasure burst from my lips in a high gasp. His tongue drove in deeper, stroking the folds, urging more juices so he could drink more of the sweet nectar whilst French-kissing my swelling lips with a passion and hunger that was flattering me crazy. “I’m your favourite thing…,” came his dangerous low tone. He lifted my thigh to open me up some more so his entire mouth covered mine, and he could claim everything. I braced against the old tree trunk to lift my butt and offered everything I had to the beast. “Nothing else,” he murmured before pushing his face deeper into my core and devoured me completely. “Yes!” I cried through a stretched throat, my body brimming with so much rapture, my lungs held back, fearing th

[Ralph’s POV]“We need to keep the cuffs on,” boomed the uniform. I halted and frowned, my question in my gaze. And the uniform lowered his voice. “For his safety mostly.” I stared appalled at the door. “What did he do?” “Tried three times. Found three times. Fork. Straw—.” “Anything stabable, huh?” I exhaled wearily. “Yeah.” He pulled the door open and the man once called the business king was sitting there, in the prison uniform, cuffed to the table. Gone was the shine of wealth and power. What remained was the man himself: an ordinary human who's walked the earth for sixty over years. The second he saw me, his eyes lit up as though I was his old friend. He tried to get up and give me a hug but the cuffs wouldn’t let him. “Jerry!” He started to get teary as he lowered his voice, “I thought he got you too!” I halted. “I’m not Jerry—.” He urged me to sit.I swallowed the guilt and obeyed, Jerry or not. They said he had lost his mind, and I didn’t dare to breathe a word of

[Juliette’sPOV]“Where’s Tommy?” I said to the man in the shadows—the business king to the world, Papa to me. He stepped into the light, and I almost couldn’t recognise him. Gone were the charm and wit he’d carry in his gaze and pose. In place was disorientation and grief-strickened madness. The man standing before me was extremely furious, and very, very crazy. “Where’s the devil child?” he asked, his whisper fearful, until a smirk spread on his lips. “Show me yours, and I’ll show you mine, you filthy bitch of the devil.” At that, his gun shoved to my left. And a click sound punched the air. Ralph had his own gun up, aimed and ready. Panicked, I broke the first rule and showed Milo’s face. A maddening cackle jarred the air like a loud gunshot, and Ralph, his gun still firmly in place, hissed to his side, “Damn it, Julie! Keep him inside!”I hastily obeyed, roughly tucking the baby’s head behind the bullet proof vest, hissing back with a good reason. “If he doesn’t see the face,

[Juliette’s POV]I could’ve sworn I saw him. Right at the curb across the street. I even met his gaze and he wanted to talk—. My phone buzzed in fierce urgency that I had to answer. As soon as I tapped the green button, Ralph’s voice exploded even before the device arrived at my ear. “Where are you?” He growled. “Just finished a meeting with the architects for the Art and Cultural Centre. Why—?” “Where’s Milo?!” He was shouting. And I jumped into the backseat of the limo. “At home, why?” “Get home now!” He barked. “Jerry’s dead!”“What?!” My blood froze. “It–it can’t be….” I just saw him!“Your father put a bullet in his head. At his house.” I was still incredulous. “But, how—why?! When?”“It just got on the news. Multiple gunshots. The neighbours heard it and called in the cops.” Behind Ralph, orders were flying around, scraping for information about the missing Harold Lux. “I’m on my way back,” the deep voice huffed. “We’re going back to the safehouse until he’s found. And

[Juliette’s POV]Three months later…. He sank in slowly, filling me up gloriously. His huge and powerful desire stretched my insides to his shape, and I opened up to take in more of him. “You feel so fucking good, kitten,” he panted against my ear, his voice at its hoarsest. “See how you rub against me… even though you’re wet and slippery….” He was right. The friction felt wonderful. “Ralph!” I gasped, clutching him closer, flattening my breasts against his hard muscles, rubbing his nipples with mine. Grunts of pleasure burst from his throat. “Fuck, kitten… that feels good—.” He lifted slightly and let gravity slammed him back in. And a strong sizzle clenched me up, squeezing him. “More!” I whispered fiercely. “Please, baby!” He lifted off me, his face above mine, his brown eyes glowing in golden danger as he pulled back an inch to ram into new depths. “Fuck!” Raw pleasure exploded from my lips. “You love it, kitten?” He snarled, lifting my leg high to kiss the back of my ri

ROSECarefully, I picked up my iPad and the impatient phone and turned towards the exit of the office. I thought to answer the call once I’m outside, but it stopped buzzing. So I moved cautiously towards the elevator, when it arrived just as I halted to push the button for it. The doors opened and my handsome Alpha King appeared, worried as hell. ‘Why didn’t you answer my call?’ he demanded.I rolled my eyes. ‘Because I’m getting through a door with this.’ I pointed at my huge belly. He was about to carry me like a bride when I slapped his hands away. ‘Stop it!’ I hissed. ‘You want everyone to know?!’ ‘Wheelchair. If you ever missed my call again.’ He stepped aside for me to enter the metal carrier. ‘Alright, alright…’ I chuckled. ‘So how was it?’ He asked, glancing at my iPad. ‘Did she approve it?’ ‘No.’ I sighed. ‘It’s too extravagant. The actress specifically asked for more grounded styles. She wants people to relate more to acting than her beauty.’ And Keithen scoffed. ‘Goo

ROSEI rolled myself onto him, loving the way my skin rubbed against his, feeling his warmth and heartbeat against mine, as well as the vibrations of his chuckle. He swept the sticky damp strands off my face, hooking some around my ears, then combed the rest to the back of my head with his fingers, and all the time, I had my eyes closed, savouring the moment. And he chuckled some more. ‘You want another round?’ he whispered. My eyes burst open, and his arms squeezed my bare waist as he laughed. ‘I’m hurt, cub. You look like a car was about to hit you.’ I shifted closer to his face—my breasts scraping his hard chest, and he grunted a little—and kissed him on the mouth hard, delivering all my passion, all my apologies. Immediately, his mouth opened and he shifted to push me forward, so that his tongue could dive in a little more, consuming me breathless. Just as the familiar desires stirred inside me, I pulled back, tore my lips from his and captured his face with both hands, tryi

ROSEI’m a werewolf, aren’t I? Okay, not entirely. Just half wolf, half human. But that still counts, right? There’s still some wolf inside me to make this work! This has to work! Concentrate. Focus, Rose. Think of the gate. I could be at the beach, or the back alley. Does it relocate to the same place twice? Or does it choose a new place each time? ‘Rose, are you having a headache?’ asked Joy. I opened my eyes and evaluated my best friend for a while. Then, I made up my mind. ‘Joy.’ I grabbed her shoulders. ‘I’m about to tell you something that nothing in Science can ever explain.’ ‘O…kay?’ I could see the wheels of her mind churning to come up with the plausible reason for my sudden strange behaviour. ‘Is it Harry Potter kinda something?’ I nodded firmly. And she mouthed ‘O’, with a knowing gaze. But behind that gaze, I still caught her disbelief. ‘It’s alright to not believe me. Just promise me that you won’t tell a living soul.’ I was staring at her so hard, I could almost

RICHARDA video showing Richard in his midnight blue shirt with his arm stretched across the desk. The files shifted and a sketch of a female figurine in a puffed up flowy gown with petals in her hair and on her lashes and lips. Richard was flabbergasted. He turned back to the CEO, his mind churning furiously to come up with the best excuse to save his ass. ‘When Rose brought me that design, I thought to myself: this is something that ambitious Annie would use. It’s extravagant and flamboyant. Wouldn’t it be nice to distract her with this, so my precious gem can focus on levelling up her skills? She can’t be stuck in the B.A.D. crap all the time.’ Richard felt deflated. His world was crashing down into dust. ‘Y-You set me up.’ The CEO laughed heartily. ‘You flatter yourself too much, Richard. Set ups are for my equals. This is just a test. But you scored full marks.’ The young rising star slammed his palms on the desk and glared at the CEO—the woman who had previously doted on hi

ROSE‘... the winner of this styling face off is—.’ The emcee’s eyes rolled left to right repeatedly as he read the card. His brows knitted as a mutter of disbelief spilled from his mouth, ‘Annie from B.A.D.’ My insides sank to the deepest parts of my spirit. ‘YES!’ Annie shrieked out victoriously. With a smugful grin, she cast a look of condemnation in my way. ‘I told you she’s a fake! She can’t style at all! Extraordinary—ha!’ That was… … unexpected. I thought I had a good chance. I really did read Miss Jewel’s comments wrongly. ‘Oh! The main judge has something to say!’ The emcee shoved Annie aside to make way for the retired supermodel, Jinda Avengelistford, who gracefully took the centrestage at an astounding height of six feet. ‘Based on the styling standards, Miss Annie has met every single one.’ She turned to the head of B.A.D.’s styling team and flashed a warm smile. ‘It was exciting—your unexpected. There is still a difference between professional and personal styling.

KEITHEN ’CUT!’ The director’s frown was as clear as the blue sky outside. I could tell that he’s been trying to hold it in. But the shit’s about to explode. ‘Rum.’ He forced a smile. ‘Are you sure you’re not unwell?’ I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said this: ‘I’m fine.’ ‘Then what’s the problem?!’ The older guy grabbed his hair, about to go crazy. I stared at the line of the script that was shoved into my view. Instantly, the clog in my throat grew real. As real as the reality I’m about to face in an hour’s time. ‘Maybe Rum’s upset that this is all going to end for him soon.’ I looked up and a pair of kind eyes smiled back at me. Sherry patted my shoulder as that sweet smile turned into a sympathetic one. ‘I bet he misses all this. Don’t you, boss?’ I chuckled dryly and looked down again. ‘I’m not your boss, Sher. I’ve said it many times.’ That’s it. No matter how hard you try. You can’t fight reality. You just can’t. You can stay hidden around her. It won’t ma