A Ruin Of Roses

"You will not wear that to my pool party, okay?" He was so close now, I could practically inhale his breath. "Why?" "Because I'm your brother and I say so." I scoffed involuntarily. "Yeah, right. You mean my stepbrother, whom I don't and will never accept as my stepbrother?" "Whether you like it or not, we are stuck together. And although I do not like it either," he stepped closer, his body pressed against mine and causing my heartbeat to increase erratically. "I would prefer not to add to my suffering by watching you flirt with some other guy." I swallowed, confused and conflicted. Does my stepbrother want me or not? Which is impossible, because seven years ago in high school, I was so convinced Liam Shedrach hated my existence. Why the sudden change after he found out we would be step siblings? Did anything change? Will the pretense to keep up the loving siblings appearances even last for long?

My fiancé is the heir to a mafia empire. For seven years, I believed our love was the one true thing in a world built on lies. Then, on the night of our engagement party, I found him holding another woman — my own half-sister, the daughter of our family’s oldest enemy — whispering words that shattered everything: "I regret everything. Come back to me, and I’ll call off the wedding." I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry. I made a phone call instead. Three weeks later, on what should have been our wedding day, I erased my identity and vanished from his world. But not before making sure our wedding would be one he — and every family in the underworld — would never forget.

At the end of the altar stands the groom, the man I’m meant to marry beside the groom stood my mate.

Seven months pregnant with our heir, I was on the front lines, fighting for my Alpha mate, Ethan. I’d just secured a thirty-million-dollar territory for our pack and rushed home, eager to surprise him with the news. But as I neared the council room, the broken sobs of his adopted sister, Tessa, stopped me cold. "A low-born Silver Wolf like Sophia... she's not worthy of being our pack's Luna." "Ethan, we're the ones who are fated to be together. Mark me... please?" My blood ran cold. I expected Ethan to shove her away, to defend my honor. Instead, he caressed her cheek, his voice a soft, gentle murmur that cut me deeper than any blade. "Just give me a little more time, Tessa. On the next blood moon, I'll sever my bond with Sophia." My world shattered. I fled, only to be cornered and brutally murdered by Tessa. She framed my death as an attack by a rogue wolf before tossing my body from a cliff. It wasn’t until the news of my death reached him that Ethan finally broke. He fell to his knees at the edge of that same cliff, his agonized howl echoing into the night. "Sophia… I was wrong. Please, just come back to me."

Thalia's antisocial life worsen when her mother remarried. She'd married non other than the Alpha King who killed her father, whose kids were bullies. No amount of sobs could save her from this fate than to accept it but ended up as their toy. Dorian was the first to submit. “I'd never bully her, she's now our sister” “I never knew she had so much fire in her” Draven said with lust and Dracula didn't disagree with his brothers. Now she was stuck between her three handsome brothers, revange for her father and her own hybrid trait.

Aurora Claramay. She was called ‘ The Villainess Rose ‘.The only daughter of a grand duke, well-protected by her three brothers. Some say that she’s the villainess in this story and some don’t. Her cold and distant-like personality attracted many suitors while her elegance, gracefulness, and perfection are ladies' idols. Many say that she’s unattainable and beyond one’s reach. On the other hand, rumor has it she’s cold-hearted, merciless to those who betrayed her, and non never received her trust. Aidan Wyatt. He called by many as ‘ The Light ‘ who shone as bright as the sun and beamed as the dazzling moon. Just as the reputation had known by all, he is a well-respected person, justice for the wronged, people called him a monster on the battlefield and a hero who brought peace for the empire. An archduke who ruled both the south and the east. Countless offers came before him, marriages, alliances, partnerships, etc. However, being the first knight in command during the battlefield and a great strategist, was not a groundless rumor. Being quick-witted as well as sly as a fox, he manages them effectively. Fate brought them together one night, where the full moon shines brightly, where all the trees and flowers danced together with the wind and where fireflies even fairies decorated the starry night. However, many agreed that they’re both like chalk and cheese and sometimes fight like cats and dogs and maybe, just maybe some butterflies in their stomach. Will love be born between these two or will thorns be piercing both hearts?

"I knew he was trouble the moment I walked into our shared house. The way his hands gripped my waist when no one was looking, the way his voice dipped when he said my name, it wasn’t just wrong, it was dangerous. He wasn’t just my stepbrother, he was my undoing." **** All Evie Hayes wanted was to finish her college degree in peace, far from the chaos of her past. But when she moves into her stepfather’s house near Ravencrest University, she finds herself stuck with Ryder Kingsley, her stepbrother and the school’s golden boy. Ryder is everything she’s sworn to avoid, arrogant, infuriatingly handsome, and completely off-limits. When late-night arguments turn into stolen touches, their forbidden connection becomes impossible to ignore. But in a world where secrets don’t stay hidden, someone’s bound to uncover the truth. And when they do, Ryder and Evie will have to decide if the risk is worth the ruin.

The company held a management meeting, and my husband's secretary was standing at the door, checking everyone's identity. Every person who entered the conference room was greeted with a bright smile—until it was my turn. Then came a derisive snort. I frowned and handed over my badge from the Cybersecurity Department, but he didn't even bother to look. "Skye, Mr. Fraser only pitied you enough to make you a manager. Don't tell me you actually think you're something special?" I didn't respond. Instead, I turned around and dialed the CEO's direct line. "Someone just said this position was yours to grant out of pity. Is that true?"

I thought my biggest problem was falling for the wrong man. Turns out, the real mistake was getting trapped between two brothers who would burn the world down just to hurt each other. One became my past. The other became my cage. Now I’m stuck inside a life built on secrets, obsession, and violence—where every choice I make seems to drag me deeper into him instead of farther away. I’ve tried fighting him. I’ve tried hating him. God help me, I’ve even tried resisting the way my heart reacts whenever he looks at me. Nothing works. And the more I learn about him, the more I realize one terrifying truth: People close to him don’t survive for long.

Sloane "The Black Rose" Volkov is the most efficient cleaner for the New York Syndicate—until she is ordered to eliminate Julian Vane, a high-level fixer who knows too much. But Julian isn't a stranger; he’s the man who saved her life ten years ago before disappearing. When the hit goes wrong, they are forced into a lethal "fake marriage" to stay alive, hiding in plain sight within the very lion’s den that wants them dead. As the line between their ruse and their reality blurs, Sloane must decide if her loyalty belongs to the family that raised her or the man who is teaching her how to feel again. In a world of silver bullets and silk sheets, the only thing more dangerous than their enemies is their desire.