A Half Built Garden

<> - Vanessa thought rock bottom was signing divorce papers with Derek Holland, a man with the emotional depth of a teaspoon. Turns out, rock bottom had a basement, and Ryker Holland was waiting for her down there with a smirk and a plan. Ryker, Derek's older half-brother (aka the family's dirty little secret), shows up offering Vanessa a deal: help her make her ex-husband, Derek Holland, jealous enough to come crawling back. In exchange, he secures his position as CEO. But Ryker isn't doing this out of kindness for he is petty and cruel. He would do anything to trample all over Derek, and now he has the perfect weapon. Vanessa, freshly dumped and just desperate enough to play along. And if she happens to enjoy making her ex suffer too? Well, that's just a bonus. As Vanessa sinks deeper into Ryker's twisted world of fake romance, secrecy and family dysfunction, things start getting real. Because fake love? It's a lot easier to control than real feelings. And Ryker has no idea what to do when the game stops being a game. Is Vanessa walking into a trap or building one of her own? Either way, the Holland brothers are going down. One's going to break, and the other's going to enjoy every second of it. _Disclaimer: This story features morally complex, flawed characters with twisted motives. It includes themes of manipulation, deception, and emotional cruelty. Reader discretion is advised.

I was the daughter of the Ashford Pack Alpha — the most beautiful she-wolf in the entire southern territory. Alphas lined up to pursue me, and I couldn't be bothered to give any of them a second glance. Until my best friend dared me: "Sera, I've got a bet for you. Think you can make my brother Kieran fall for you? Win, and I'll give you my mother's healing moonstone necklace. Lose, and you hand over that limited-edition sports car you love so much." Countless beautiful she-wolves had tried to get into his bed. Every last one of them had been turned away cold. The very first night after I took the bet, I saved Kieran from a silver poisoning, and spent the rest of that night tangled up with him while he burned through his heat. For the two years that followed, he grew more and more obsessed with me. On the long conference table in the pack meeting room, he pinned me down against the papers. In every room of his private estate, we left traces of ourselves behind. I gradually fell in love with him during countless intimate moments. Until the night only to overhear his conversation with the pack elder. "Alpha, it's time to announce who will be Luna." The Elder's voice was low and deliberate. "Miss Seraphina has been by your side for two years now. According to pack tradition—" "Enough." Kieran cut him off. "She and I were just having fun." The Elder was quiet for a moment. "And your first love? When you two separated, she asked for two years apart to try other partners. Those two years are up now. Isn't it time for her to come back?" "Yes." Warmth finally crept into Kieran's voice. "It's time for her to come back." That was when I realized — his so-called true love was my half-sister. The person I hated most in the world. For two years, I had been just his experiment while he "tried someone else". I turned and walked away without a second thought. But this powerful Alpha went mad — tearing through the entire wolf world searching for me.

Zelda adalah seorang Mafia terkaya di Negaranya , suatu ketika Zelda mengalami kecelakaan dan mengalami koma . Dan arwah Zelda masuk kedalam Jiwa seorang Pelajar yang telah mati , dia adalah Silvan siswa SMA yang selalu di jauhi oleh temannya karena Silvan adalah anak dari keluarga yang Miskin .

At my eighteenth birthday celebration, my cousin gave me a half-scratched lottery ticket as a coming-of-age gift. When he realized I'd won twenty dollars, he suddenly demanded to buy the ticket from me for two hundred thousand. Something about it felt wrong, and I refused. Then he snapped. Like a man gone mad, he cursed me, wishing me dead, and in front of all the guests, shoved me off the balcony. Dozens of people watched, including my own parents, silently condoning him—joining in, shouting that I deserved to die. And then I opened my eyes… and I was back half an hour earlier. My cousin sneered, tossing the lottery ticket toward me, speaking the same familiar words.

Ezekiel Richard Wright is not only charismatic, handsome, clever, and a world-class architect, but his characteristics and achievements make him more alluring. The CEO, who suffers from sleeplessness, is arrogant, cold, and distant. Chen Xiu Ying, also known as Bella Chen, is a mixed-race woman with an American mother and a Chinese father. Her family is one of China's wealthiest, owning four mansions in Peking and three in Shanghai. She is the daughter of the CEO of Chen Entertainment. She is also the brilliant, stubborn, and acrophobic president of La Bella Fashion Threads Co. What if the worlds of these two CEOs collided as a result of their parents' arrangement? Can they figure out what's behind their phobias and cure each other, or will they trigger each other's fears and end their marriage?

Now that I've been accepted into a prestigious college, my family throws a college acceptance party for me. My older cousin, Jessica Boone, gives me a gift for the occasion—a scratch-off lottery ticket with half the numbers scratched already. But when she finds out that I won 20 dollars from the lottery ticket, she offers 200 thousand dollars to buy the ticket off me. Finding it strange, I refuse her offer. Jessica goes berserk. She starts cursing me out, telling me to go to hell. She even pushes me off the high-rise building right in front of all the guests at the party. The dozens of people in attendance, including my parents, staunchly support her actions and even start remarking that I deserve to die. My eyes open once more—I've gone half an hour back in time. Once again, Jessica mockingly tosses the scratch-off lottery ticket at me and says those familiar words to me.

In our world, fathers sell their half-breed daughters to purebred wolves. If they don’t like you, they will resell you to someone else. And the one who turns out to be the chosen one is lucky, and she will be combined with the highest marriage. And others are destined to belong to the multitude... I was not sold; I gave myself up. Now the big bad red wolf is my master, and I am in his hands. But why does his rival look at me like I’m the juiciest piece of steak? Does he want to buy me out?

Sophia Miller has spent her life cultivating beauty in her tulip garden, a family-owned flower shop nestled in the heart of Eldenbrook. Her mother’s legacy lives on through her prized “Midnight Flame” tulip, a rare and radiant bloom that symbolizes hope and resilience. But as land developers close in on her beloved shop, Sophia faces losing everything she’s worked to preserve. When Alexander Kane, a reclusive billionaire and tech visionary, wanders into her garden, Sophia sees him as just another customer with deep pockets and shallow intentions. But Alexander isn’t there for tulips—at least, not entirely. Desperate to salvage his company’s struggling renewable energy project, he believes Sophia’s unique flowers may hold the key to revolutionizing biofuels. Drawn together by unexpected chemistry, Sophia and Alexander find their lives entwined in ways neither of them could predict. As Sophia shares the secrets of her garden, Alexander begins to question the cost of his ambition. But when she discovers the truth about his hidden motives, their budding romance is uprooted, leaving betrayal and heartbreak in its wake. In a race against time and corporate greed, Alexander must decide: protect his billion-dollar empire or fight for the woman who taught him to see beyond the numbers. Can they find common ground in the soil of their shared dreams, or will their love wither before it has a chance to bloom?

Ezekiel Richard Wright is not only charismatic, handsome, clever, and a world-class architect, but his characteristics and achievements make him more alluring. The CEO, who suffers from sleeplessness, is arrogant, cold, and distant. Chen Xiu Ying, also known as Bella Chen, is a mixed-race woman with an American mother and a Chinese father. Her family is one of China's wealthiest, owning four mansions in Peking and three in Shanghai. She is the daughter of the CEO of Chen Entertainment. She is also the brilliant, stubborn, and acrophobic president of La Bella Fashion Threads Co. What if the worlds of these two CEOs collided as a result of their parents' arrangement? Can they figure out what's behind their phobias and cure each other, or will they trigger each other's fears and end their marriage?

Neriah's perfect life was a lie. Her husband's loyalty was a facade, shattered when she discovers his illicit affair with her own sister. The ultimate betrayal: her sister just gave birth to her husband’s child, a replica of the man she loved. But that was only the beginning. A brutal accident nearly claims her life, and in the depths of her recovery, her husband's true intentions are revealed - a press conference announcing her death, a twisted attempt to erase her existence. Consumed by a thirst for vengeance, Neriah finds an unlikely ally in Denver, her husband's sworn enemy and half-brother. A proposal is made: a contract marriage, a union of convenience, with one rule - DO NOT FALL IN LOVE. . As the stakes rise, Neriah and Denver dance to the tune of vengeance, but they must confront the ultimate question: Will their hunger for revenge consume them, or will they succumb to the one thing they cannot afford— Love?