50 Shades Darker

My mom has been brainwashing me with her "quid pro quo" rule. Apparently, I must work hard in earning money just to get whatever I want. A round of doing the dishes earns me 50 cents. Mopping the floor once grants me one dollar. If I get a full score in my exams, that'll be five dollars. In order to buy a pair of white sneakers that I had had my eye on for a long time, I spent three months picking up trash from the streets. I lived like a maid who was paid on one-time services in this home. When I was a high school senior, I fainted during my homeroom period due to long periods of malnutrition. Even though my doctor suggested to my mom to pay attention to my nutrient intake, she began calculating the costs in front of my sick bed instead. "Your hospitalization costs 300 dollars. On top of that, you have a 200-dollar medical bill to settle. All of these costs will be reflected on your wedding gifts in the future, Emily." But when I turned my head, I saw a student sitting on the bed being fed chicken noodle soup by her own mother. Said mother was so heartbroken by her daughter's illness that she kept shedding tears as well. At that moment, my outlook on the world, that I had been maintaining for 18 long years, finally crumbled into dust. It turned out that not all children needed to work hard just to feel their parents' love. After getting discharged from the hospital and returning home, I finally sobered up the moment I noticed the sneakers that my younger brother, Arnold Baird, wore that cost several thousands of dollars. Then, I tore the family portrait into pieces and didn't hesitate to fill in the university that was located the furthest from home when it was time for me to submit my post-graduation details. Ten years later, my mom calls me on the phone. She starts crying to me how Arnold has swindled her out of her pension. Apparently, he's even sold the house just so he can elope with his girlfriend. Not only is my mom alone now, but she doesn't have a place to stay as well. I just smile as I throw her a piece of rag. "You want to live with me, huh? No problem. You'll earn 50 cents for every window you wipe. You can earn your rent like this."

BLURB: Elena Rivers only wanted to survive senior year quietly but one wrong seat next to Ryan Blackwood, the school’s most feared and untouchable boy, changed everything. He’s dangerous, untamed and hiding secrets darker than his tattoos. Elena is soon pulled into obsession, lies, and forbidden attraction that could destroy them both because loving Ryan Blackwood isn’t just risky… It's deadly!

My roommate, Keith Kavanaugh, calls himself the "Holy Son of Frost". On the very first day we meet, he insists that the air conditioner in our dorm room must stay on until October, and the temperature can never go above 50°F. He claims, "A mystic says I'm the Holy Son of Frost, so I have a rare physique. I can only live in cool environments of 50°F at most." He even starts live-streaming, and his "special condition" instantly attracts a huge following. Meanwhile, I'm sitting right in front of the AC vent, so I'm shivering all over from the cold. I quickly turn the temperature up, but he immediately turns it back down and even locks the remote in his cabinet. "We're all educated college students here. Why are you so selfish?" he questions. Faced with his unreasonable accusation, I hold back my anger and try to reason with him. "We're in the north region. The weather here is cool enough in September. There's no need to set the AC this low. But if you insist, I can switch spots with you…" Keith cuts me off impatiently, "Are you crazy? Who sleeps right in front of the AC vent? What if I get sick from it? No one else has a problem. Why are you the only one making a fuss? Let me warn you—I'll melt from the heat. If you make me uncomfortable during my stay, I'll have you kicked out!" I realize there's no reasoning with him, so I plan to contact the dorm counselor to switch rooms. But Keith beats me to it! He goes to her first, records a video, and even posts it online. He accuses me, a local student, of being selfish and bullying him, someone who is from out of town. Just then, a new post suddenly appears on the campus forum. The poster writes, "My roommates are too wasteful. One guy washes his hair every day, and he even uses running water. He even takes a shower after every training session! Meanwhile, I can wash my whole body with just one damp towel. "And the worst part of this is that they want to kick me out after I made an itemized bill to split expenses. These cheapskates are always taking advantage of me. I'm looking for a high-quality dorm to take me in." My eyes light up instantly. He's the one!

I receive news of my husband being hospitalized after accidentally eating mushrooms causing hallucinations. I ignore the pain in my sprained ankle and limp to the hospital. When I enter the hospital ward, my husband sidesteps me. Instead, he excitedly throws his arms around the young woman behind me. "You're finally here, honey! I missed you so much!" The young woman gives me a challenging look. Then, she wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him, her face red. They cling to each other and act all lovey-dovey like there's no one with them. After a while, my husband seems to realize I'm there. He scratches his head in embarrassment, looking like a young man who's just fallen in love. "Mom has done a good job in maintaining her appearance, honey. She doesn't look like she's 50 at all."

When Melody's father's company went bankrupt, she was forced to enter an auction to pay off nearly 50 million in debt. She was bought for the price he needed by a rich but old man. Even though she was afraid, she couldn't do anything without giving herself away. Five years ago, Apollo Luxerio one of the youngest billionaire in Asia slept with a woman he didn't know. He sent to look for it everywhere but his men could not find her. Until one day, he saw someone who looked exactly like the woman he was looking for. Fearing that the girl might run or hide again, he went straight to the girl's father to negotiate a marriage. Will Melody agree to the marriage her father wants? What will she do when she finds out that Apollo is the father of her twin children? Will she learn to love him even if she knows the reason why Apollo wanted to marry her?

After a tragic accident erases her memory of the last five years — including her marriage — a woman wakes up believing she’s still engaged to the man she loved in college… not the husband who would die for her. But what if she fell in love with her husband for a reason she no longer remembers? And what if the truth about their love story is darker than she thinks?

Rejected by my mate who loved my sister more than me, my father resolved to auction me to the highest bidder to save our family’s face. To everyone’s surprise, and my own biggest fear, HE showed up in flesh and blood. Alpha Salvatore Arturo, the mafia alpha rumoured to possess demons in his stead. “50 million.” He says, and the entire hall falls silent. I am bound in shackles and dropped at his feet. “You’re mine, Omega.” He says, as he touches my chin. “Now, you would join me and bring all of Winter Clove to its knees.” He is the embodiment of darkness, sin and destruction in a body, yet, when I look into those brooding dark eyes, his wolf calls to me. “Mate.” Would I, a mere slave for his sexual satisfaction, be able to tame him? Or would he sink me into a darkness, steeper than anything I’ve ever known?

Jason Reed had been my boyfriend for seven years. He suddenly disappeared, and the last place I was able to trace him was Melvaris. That night, I received a video call. In it, a man holding an electric baton yelled, “Bring 50 million dollars as ransom to the industrial zone. Otherwise, don’t expect him to return alive.” Jason was beside the man. He was covered in blood. He pleaded desperately, “Clara! Save me! They promise to let me go if we give them the money!” Without thinking twice, I did as I was told. However, when I arrived, I was drugged and knocked unconscious. In the end, I was tortured to death. What hurt the most was not that. Jason took one-third of the ransom I had prepared. Then, he returned to Caldovia and married Hannah Blake, the student who had received financial assistance from my family. But when I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day he went missing.

She was meant to inherit an empire. Instead, she became a prisoner in her own home. Grace Wellington, a gifted piano prodigy and heiress to the Wellington fortune, has been missing from the public eye for nearly a decade. People say she’s living abroad in peace. But the truth was that she’s been locked away, hidden by her own stepfamily, slowly fading into silence as the world forgets her face. Her inheritance depends on one rule: marry by 26 and get 50% of her father’s estate. Have a child, and she gets 85%. But as her birthday nears, her stepmother and stepbrother conspire to steal her identity and fortune, using a beautiful stranger to play her role. But Grace isn’t the fragile girl they once controlled, not anymore. Now, she’s ready to reclaim her name, her life, and her voice. But the deeper she digs, the more dangerous everything becomes, especially when the man she loves is being seduced by an impostor.

When Mia is abducted by Axel Morino—the heir to a brutal mafia dynasty—she’s thrust into a world of violence, luxury, and dangerous desire. Trapped between his soft touches and the cruelty of his darker side, Mia must play along to survive. But as feelings blur with manipulation, and secrets about Axel’s family curse unravel, she realises the most dangerous thing in his world… might be falling for him.Trust is a luxury. Love is a risk. And Mia is running out of choices. But Axel’s world is darker than she ever imagined, haunted by a curse that’s ruined generations before him, and stalked by the threat of his own father’s cruelty. Everyone in this game is dangerous. Everyone has secrets. And the closer Mia gets to Axel’s heart, the more she realises she might be the one secret that could destroy them both. Love was never supposed to be part of this. Survival was the only plan. Now? She’s not sure she wants to leave. If you're enjoying this book please let me know and leave a review! Head to my profile for my other book Bloodlines of Fire and Fate!