The Answer Is No

He looked at me, his piercing eyes cold and sharp. “What do you want?” he asked, his tone irritated. “Cat got your tongue?” Fear gripped me, but I couldn’t back down. Not when proving my love was on the line. My hands trembled, but I managed to speak. “Hunter Steele...” I swallowed hard, my voice barely above a whisper. “Will you... will you marry me?” His brows furrowed, and he tilted his head slightly. “What?” ANYA BLAKE ____________________________________ I can’t remember the last time I willingly let a woman get so close. To me, they were a necessary evil....useful when needed, and avoided afterward. But when a young woman, trembling yet determined, stepped in front of me and asked the most ridiculous question I’d ever been asked, I felt something I hadn’t felt in years: a spark. And when I kissed her, it awakened something in me—a feeling I hadn’t known existed. Her innocence intrigued me and I wanted to be the one to claim her, to mold her......to make her mine. HUNTER STEELE

Even on my hundredth proposal, Isabelle Cole still turns me down. We've been together for seven years. For the previous 99 proposals, she said her childhood friend isn't married yet, and she can't bring herself to break the promise they've made. Staring at the ring in my hand, I finally can't hold it in anymore. "If Ronald never gets married, are you going to keep him company forever? What am I to you?" Isabelle's expression turns gloomy in an instant. She snatches the ring and throws it into the river. "Ron and I made a promise when we were kids that we'd get married at the same time. How can I just abandon him? "And besides, is that piece of paper really all that important, Lucas? We've been together for seven years. What difference would it even make?"

"How did you manage to sleep at night Reid, the fact that you lied to me?" I saw the shock in his luminescent eyes, the face of the man I love, yet chose to hurt me. "Becca.....I planned to tell you, believe me, I do" he retorted with the cracking in his voice, and that moment I felt the breaking and twisting in my heart. "You're a pheromone machine and your count of women you played with is higher than the number of capillary vessels in your entire body, I refused to be on the list" The pain is evident on his gorgeous face, he gazed at me, I could sense the nagging feeling inside of me, however, I pushed the thoughts in the back of my head. "Becca, you got it all wrong, the predicament you have between me and Liz is nonsense!" he snapped, the intensity of anger in his voice was tormenting. "I've seen enough Reid, you changed women more frequently than a leopard changed its spots, pity me for thinking that you and I can be happy, this is the last time I'm allowing myself to be stupid." Becca lost her family in a tragic accident years ago, trying to cope with the sadness of being alone, making her parents proud in any way possible. Nothing matters and bothers her except work, until her new boss Reid Alonzo start provoking her with his handsome face and arrogant attitude. How can she manage to ignore the sight of a man that can make her fall in love and live a happy life? What if she finds out that Reid Alonzo has an ultimate secret involving the lost of her family, and the reason he wants Becca in his life is all about guilt? Can Becca say "Her No" to love?

I chase after Dean Wagner for five years while Graham Ashford chases after me for seven. When Dean marries Emily Caldwell, I finally say yes to being Graham's girlfriend. Graham is over the moon. He treats me like I'm everything to him, like he'd do whatever it takes just to make me happy. But Graham doesn't believe in marriage. Even when our daughter turns four, he still hasn't married me. He won't even let her call him "Dad". One night, I overhear him joking around with his buddies. "Your daughter's already four. You still aren't bringing your wife and kid home to meet your parents?" Graham taps his knuckles on the table and laughs. "You know why I got with Nora and had a kid with her. I just want to make Emily jealous. "Nora's easy to fool. She won't ever leave me, even if I never bring her or the kid home." He thinks he has me all figured out, but he doesn't. I turn and leave without a word, then plan to leave him for good. A man like that doesn't deserve my love. And he sure as well doesn't deserve to be my daughter's father.

At my daughter's high school graduation party, she greeted me with a bouquet containing her wish list. "My dearest Mom! "My life truly begins at eighteen! "This is the first step toward rebuilding my social image and starting an entirely new life! "Thank you, Mom, for supporting me completely!" The list tucked into the bouquet included the newest phone, tablet, laptop, and earbuds. Together, the smaller items cost more than five thousand dollars. But the final line, printed in bold red letters, stabbed into my eyes like the point of a knife: Helena Abernathy must give Chloe Collins a house free of charge. The property will be for Chloe's exclusive use, and no one else will be permitted inside. I stared at the bouquet, while the soul that had died unjustly in my previous life trembled inside my body. Last time, I carried that bouquet home and tossed and turned all night. In the end, I still tried to discuss it with my daughter. "Chloe, about the house... I truly can't afford it right now." "Could we possibly..." Chloe was silent for three seconds before accusing me through tears. "I knew it! You never loved me. You only love yourself!" My photograph, address, and workplace were posted across social media. Then came the online attacks, the doxxing, the red paint splashed across my door, and the suspension from my job. When I stood on a rooftop, unable to endure the abuse any longer, the people below kept recording and shouting: "Jump! If you aren't guilty, why would you jump?" This time, I looked down at the bouquet in my arms and smiled. I didn't want the list. And I didn't want this daughter anymore.

Noah Singh, heir to the powerful Singh Corporation, thought he had control over everything, until a stranger walked into his life. Kai Bennett, recently adopted into the family, seems innocent and obedient, but he harbors secrets, obsession, and a possessive streak Noah never expected. When Mr. Singh announces Kai will stay with Noah, tensions ignite. Noah believes Kai is an escort, and Kai uses the misunderstanding to subtly test boundaries, learning Noah’s triggers, manipulating situations, and planting the seeds of obsession. Kitchen run-ins, hallway encounters, and late-night tensions turn their forced cohabitation into a slow-burning, dangerous game of control and desire. Jealousy flares when Kai joins the male student council, and Noah can’t hide his territorial instincts. Yet even as Noah suspects Kai’s manipulations, he can’t resist him. Their relationship develops in secret, until Noah’s ex, Mia, resurfaces, scheming to reclaim him, forcing Kai away. But distance does not weaken Kai’s influence, he continues to shape events from afar. Two years later, Kai returns, more dangerous, more cunning, and immediately recognized by Noah. As their obsession escalates, external threats including a manipulative girlfriend and family interference push their boundaries to the edge. Lies, deception, and power struggles test their control, loyalty, and desire. When a staged attack exposes hidden truths, Kai’s life hangs by a thread, revealing shocking secrets about his identity and family connections. Yet even facing betrayal, danger, and manipulation, Noah and Kai’s bond proves unbreakable. In the end, the soft, innocent boy is gone. In his place stands a master of psychological games, possessive, obsessive, and utterly devoted. Together, Noah and Kai overcome every obstacle, claiming both their love and the family legacy while proving that obsession, when fused with desire, can be a force impossible to resist.