Afford Artinya

Valentine Stephens never believed in fairy tales, but during times as dire as these, one takes what he can. With her brother's life hanging by a thread and medical bills she could never, ever afford to pay, she makes an impulsive decision to marry Adrian Sebastian, the ruthless CEO and business tycoon, who needs a wife for only one purpose: to inherit his grandfather's billion-dollar fortune. The arrangement is simple. One year, no feelings or complications. Hard, cold Adrian makes his intentions clear from the start. He doesn't have faith in love, and Val is merely a pawn used in his game. Val's college experience is transformed into a nightmare when her billionaire husband is exposed, and she becomes the target of gossip, jealousy, and scandal. she's betrayed by her best friend, and stalked by an unknown enemy hell-bent on destroying her. His half-brother, Damian, is eager to get his hands on his inheritance and will do whatever it takes to destroy the marriage. And just as Val is beginning to believe she knows Adrian, she finds out a secret that shattered all she knew about him. Adrian hadn't chosen her at random. He had known her the whole time. And the real reason he married her? It is a secret so dangerous it was capable of killing them both. Trapped in a lie, Val is presented with an ultimatum: walk away and forfeit everything, or fight fire with fire against the man who holds her heart and liberty in his hands. But what if the biggest enemy she will have to fight against is the man she is starting to fall in love with? Find out in the book.

The night Alpha Kieran Steele turned down Aria Blackwood as his mate in front of the whole Crescent Moon Pack, she believed her life was ended. She spent three years establishing a new life as a renegade hunter, pursuing dangerous werewolves that pose a threat to human settlements, after being expelled and humiliated. She has vowed never again to participate in pack politics and is stronger and more deadly. However, Aria is forced to cooperate with the same pack that sent her away as a string of vicious killings shakes the supernatural society. Even worse, she is compelled to date Kieran, the guy whose rejection almost crushed her and who now maintains that their mate bond was never really severed. For the past three years, Kieran has been regretting his decision every day. He has seen his pack disintegrate from the inside out as a result of pressure from pack elders to turn down his "weak" mate in favor of a political alliance, and he still has nightmares about Aria's damaged eyes. He needs the one woman who has every reason to despise him now that the bodies are piling up and a rogue alpha is endangering all he has vowed to defend. Aria and Kieran must face the falsehoods that destroyed them and the fiery heat that still burns between them as they pursue a killer who appears to know every move they make. However, the adversary they are seeking has a perverse link to their history, and a scheme that will force them to choose between their emotions and their pack. Can two shattered souls create a link that is strong enough to withstand betrayal, violence, and the ultimate test of fate in a world where second chances are scarce and trust is a luxury they cannot afford?

My father-in-law said he wanted to experience "how the young folks have fun these days," so I took him to my wife's newly opened upscale cocktail bar for a quiet drink. I’d just finished ordering him a custom cocktail when a man from a booth across the room swaggered over, glass in hand. His eyes scanned the drink menu on our table, and a condescending smirk twisted his lips. "Only ordering the cheapest well drinks?" he sneered. "Brought the old man here to enjoy the free air conditioning? Trash like you belongs in a dive bar. Who even let you in here?" Anger burned in my chest. I stood up, my jaw clenched. "We're paying customers. What's it to you?" But before I could say another word, his face darkened with pure rage. He snatched the half-finished beer bottle from our table and smashed it on my head. "My girl owns this place!" he snarled. "Even if I crack your skull open, I can afford the payout! You filthy pauper—either get on your knees and lick my shoes dry, or get the hell out of my sight. You're an eyesore." The beer dripped down my face. My hands trembled with fury as I wiped it away. Then, a cold calm settled over me. I opened my phone, switched to the camera, and went live. "Alright, everyone," I said into the screen. "You won't want to miss this. We're going live to catch my cheating wife and see the double life she's been leading."

Sofia Fernandez is Gabriel Montero’s one great love, ang babaeng kanyang pinakamamahal. He calls her his Angel and he has been there sa lahat ng importanteng kaganapan sa buhay nito. He has been there because he was her bestfriend. Isang tawag at iyak lang nito, naroon agad siya para maibigay ang pangangailangan nito. He had love her for so long, probably the first time he laid eyes on her but he was so afraid to cross the line lalo na at may isang sekreto siyang pinakatago tago rito. A secret that might ruin more than their friendship, and he can’t just afford to lose her. Not in his lifetime. ‘Di bale nang bestfriend, huwag lang itong mawala sa kanya. Sofia thinks that life has been too unfair for her, being orphaned at the age of seven, at ang kunin ang lalaking una niyang minahal dahil sa sakit nitong leukemia, buti at nariyan lagi si Gab. Gab has always been her knight in shining armor, her confidant. Iyon ngalang lagi siyang namomroblema sa mga babae nito, sobra kasi nitong gwapo maliban sa matalino at mayaman din ito. Pero isang araw bigla siyang nagising na sobra na siyang apektado sa mga hawak at haplos nito. Ang isang bagay na lubhang ikinakatakot niya. A man with unconditional love for the woman he loves and a woman still mending a broken heart. Magiging pabor ba ang tadhana sa kanila o mas magiging marahas? I do not own the photo. Credits to the rightful owner.

I come home and find my husband's female best friend, Winona Langdon, who claims to be one of the guys, sleeping in my bed. I bring up divorce with Lucas Gardner for the 99th time. This time, he finally snaps. "Natania Simmon, are you done making a scene? Are you throwing a tantrum again just because Winona stayed over at our place and slept in our bed?" I answer calmly, "That's right." His friends throw their arms around his shoulders and chime in sarcastically, "Don't take it to heart, Lucas. Women get jealous easily. Oh, how I miss the days when we all slept under the same covers together." Lucas smiles bitterly and says, "When you guys get married in the future, remember this—you can't afford to mess with jealous women. Still, there's no helping it. Natania just loves me too much. She's trying to scare me by throwing divorce around. "Listen. In less than three days, she'll come crawling back to me." The derisive smirk playing on my lips deepens. In our seven years of marriage, Winona stays at my house whenever she pleases. I watch with my own eyes as Lucas and Winona grow increasingly inappropriate in their interactions. They reach into each other's pants. They also share the same straw and wash each other's underwear. And now... She even sleeps in my bed! These last seven years were not love. I was just foolishly blind. Right in front of everyone, I dial a number and say, "Dad, I'm done messing around out here. Your heiress is ready to come home."

*Excerpt* My gaze met Sergio's. He didn't look away. I couldn't look away either. It felt like there was an invisible magnet pulling us towards each other. He looked away, breaking us from the trance. "Are you sure you're okay, Nicole?" "Come inside." He shook his head. "I was worried, and—" "Come inside, let's talk." He shook his head again, unyieldingly. "We're already talking." "Are you scared?" I asked in a challenging voice, my gazed fixed on him. "What are you so scared of?" "Nicole..." "To answer your question, no, Sergio, I'm not okay." "What's bothering you?" The vulnerability in his eyes towards me was palpable. It was my chance to act. I couldn't afford to waste it. "You," I replied, my gaze still boring into his. "And your fiancee. I couldn't bear watching you together." Sergio swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I was jealous, Sergio." • *Blurb* In a turn of events, Juliana bears witness to the brutal murder of her father—a sight she never thought she'd witness. Amidst the turmoil, she finds out she's their next target, but somehow, she manages to evade them. Determined to seek closure and justice for what happened to her father, Juliana takes on a new identity as Nicole and embarks on a quest for vengeance against the masterminds. With a heart hardened by grief, she takes on the journey. A journey that would test her limits and push her to do unthinkable things. Will she succeed? Follow her on this journey as she confronts the demon of her past.

One night of moon-fueled liquid courage was all it took for Mars Reed to ruin his life. Mistakenly messaging his cold, predatory Alpha CEO instead of his best friend was strike one. Waking up in the elite VTN ROOM entangled in the powerful limbs of Grant Walker was strike two. But fleeing the scene and leaving behind the pack’s most sensitive legal contracts? That was the death blow to his career. Mars is a low-level analyst with a dying mother and a mountain of debt. He can’t afford to be the object of an Alpha’s curiosity, especially not one as ruthless as Grant—the man rumored to have a heart made of mountain ice and a secret soul-bond etched in ink on his skin. But when Mars creeps into the Walker Ridge Estate to beg for his documents back, he doesn’t get a pink slip. He gets a command. "I need a consort. You need a savior. We sign the blood-bond at dawn." Grant Walker doesn't do accidents. He doesn't do mercy. And he certainly doesn't do romance. He needs a husband to solidify his claim over Westline Holdings, and Mars is the perfect, disposable piece for his board. Locked into a high-stakes marriage of convenience, Mars must navigate the lethal politics of Havencrest while resisting the heat of a man who treats him like a subordinate by day and a treasure by night. But as the shadows of the Walker Ridge close in, Mars begins to realize that the "mistake" in the hotel room might not have been a mistake at all—and that Grant’s guarded heart might be the most dangerous trap of all. He walked into a contract he thought belonged to another man. Now, he belongs to the Alpha.

Vernon Huxley is an orphan when his youngest sister and his parents died when he was ten years old. He witnessed the gruesome death of his family on the rooftop of the hotel. Since that night, he has sworn to himself that he will find and torture until death the person who killed his family. Until he met his father's friend. He adopted him and treated him like a real son. And when his father's friend died, everything was bequeathed to him because his father's friend has no family. He became a CEO of her company and was recognized as a good businessman. But despite everything he has a secret. Vernon met Avyanna Scott. When Avyanna applied to him, as a secretary. He accepted it with a reason. Avyanna prefers to work for another company rather than their own company. Avyanna is a talented person. She is smart, kind, loving, but she has a weakness. Avyanna has a boyfriend. But her twin likes her boyfriend. Avyanna is afraid that her twin will steal the man she loves. One day, she was invited to her friend's birthday party at an expensive hotel. His boyfriend was with her, but what she didn't know was that his boss, Vernon Huxley, was also there. Avyanna had no idea that her twin's had framed her. Instead of going to his boyfriend's hotel room, she ended up in another room. Because she was so drunk, she didn't know that she had sex that night with his boss. She can still afford to work in Vernon's company as Secretary? Will Avyanna discover Vernon Huxley's hidden secret?

Elena believed that her life was simple. She had a career she loved. A boyfriend she could trust and a future that felt safe. Not until she met Valeria Moretti. Cold, powerful and dangerous. A billionaire queen who ruled from the shadows, where money bought loyalty and betrayal was paid in blood. When her boyfriend, Marcus made a deal he couldn’t afford to keep. Elena became the collateral he never expected to lose. Taken into Valeria’s world of steel dominance and threats, Elena found herself trapped in a cage where luxury had teeth. Valeria claimed she wanted only what she was owed, but that was far from the truth. Her gaze lingered, her words cut too precisely and the line between punishment and desire began to blur. Elena had never questioned her heart. She never questioned her sexuality. Until Valeria began to dismantle her certainty, slowly and deliberately, without laying a hand on her skin. Because to Valeria, she didn’t need to conquer with force. She conquered with presence. As danger and intimacy coil together, Elena must face the truth she had never truly allowed herself to see: some forms of captivity felt like freedom, and some queens didn’t ask for loyalty; they claimed it. In a world of ruled silk temptation, steel authority and sinfully forbidden desire, love may be the most dangerous debt of all. This story contains themes, including power imbalance, captivity, psychological manipulation, emotional intensity and morally grey characters. Reader's discretion is advised. When power demands surrender, and desire refuses to be denied, how far would you fall before you stop fighting it?

“You are under arrest, Sienna Hopper for the murder of Jace Wright!” . . . “You said you were angry and went to his house with a bat, did you not? You trashed his apartment. Everything but him? And from the picture we received, his nose was broken. Now you said you didn’t touch him but you broke his nose. Do you mind explaining that to us?” My interrogator quirked a brow at me, the all-knowing look on his face and it said one word, culprit. Fuck that looked bad. It was bad. “I want a lawyer,” I instantly said. ***** Sienna is a rash and impulsive girl but beneath the tough girl act is a heartbroken and abused girl. When her mother gets ill with cancer, with a bill worth a lifetime. With the heat of everything, her ass-cheating ex calls her once again and there, and then she snaps, storms over to his house, destroys everything, and lands a punch squarely on his face. When she retires home, an old wound opens and she ends up at the bar, just to drink away her sorrow but then she ends up in bed with the city’s most powerful, cold-hearted lawyer, Greyson. Just a one-night stand, she tells herself. Nothing more. Until the next morning, when she’s arrested for her ex’s murder. And the only person willing to take her case? The same man she just slept with. She can’t afford his fees, but he has a proposition: marry him, have his child, and he’ll defend her in court. Two things Sienna has vowed in life never to be, a wife and a mother. But desperate time calls for desperate measures, isn’t that right, it’s just a marriage, and a child.