An Imperial Affliction By Peter Van Houten

One contract. Two broken hearts. Zero chance of walking away. My life shattered in a single night. Betrayed by my fiancé, drowning in my family's debt, with nowhere left to turn. Then he appeared. Damien Cross. Billionaire. Bastard. The most dangerous man I've ever met. His offer was simple, marry me for one year. Save your family. Ask no questions. I should have said no. Should have seen the trap. But desperation makes you reckless, and I signed my name next to his at 3am in a Vegas chapel, our hands shaking with rage and champagne. The rules were clear: Separate bedrooms, No feelings, When the contract ends, we walk away But... We broke every single one. Now I'm trapped in his world of glass towers and cruel games, where every touch is a weapon and every kiss is a war. He looks at me like I'm his to own, like he'd burn down the world to keep me. I hate him. I crave him. I'm addicted to the chaos we create. But contracts expire. Lies unravel. And when I discover the devastating truth about why he really married me, I'll have to choose, walk away with my heart intact—or stay and let his obsession consume us both. He warned me not to fall in love with him. So, he should have warned himself.

Marked by Fate Fate binds them. War breaks them. Love might just destroy them. Baylee is different—haunted by a scream that can shatter souls, burdened by powers she never asked for, and tethered to a destiny that never felt like her own. She’s raised in love, protected by a family who would die for her. But the shadows of a brutal past cling to them all. And the future? It’s darker. Crueler. Waiting to strike. Fate never forgets what it marks. She and Caden are forged in blood and fire—child soldiers trapped in a war that steals their innocence and chains their souls together. In the wreckage, they cling to each other—bruised, broken, but still breathing. Love blooms not in safety, but in survival. A bond born in blood, long before fate made it law. They’ve survived everything. Grown stronger. Deadlier. But as their bond flickers to life, it doesn’t soothe. It burns. It confuses. It hurts. And neither of them is ready for what it awakens. Marked by Fate is Book 3 of 5 in The Blood Moon Saga.

Valentina never meant to cross the line. She was just Sofia’s best friend always welcome in their luxurious villa, always laughing at Sofia’s jokes, always stealing glances at the one man she knew she could never have. Luca Moretti. Sofia’s father. Older, powerful, dangerously magnetic. One forbidden night, a single brush of his thumb across her lip shattered every rule she’d sworn to keep. What started as stolen touches and whispered confessions quickly spiraled into something neither could control. His hands claimed her in the dark, his voice called her “good girl” while guilt tore her apart, and every stolen moment felt like fire she couldn’t extinguish. But desire like this doesn’t stay hidden. When Sofia discovers the truth, betrayal cuts deeper than any blade. Friendships fracture. Family bonds break. And the two people who risked everything for each other are left standing in the ashes of what they destroyed. Now Valentina must decide: walk away from the only man who ever made her feel truly alive… or burn everything down to keep him. Because some love is worth the ruin. And some ruin never felt this good. 18+ | Explicit content | Forbidden age-gap romance | Taboo desire | Emotional angst | Slow-burn tension | Possessive MMC | Family betrayal

One night, one impulsive signature, one life turned upside down. Nina Grant never expected to be trust into the world of Victor Hale, billionaire heir and ruthless tycoon. Overnight she becomes his wife, a target of rivals, socialites, and corporate enemies. But as danger closed in, she discovers strength she never knew she had and a man who challenges her in ways she never imagined. In a world of high stakes, cutthroat boardrooms, and public scrutiny, Nina must navigate enemies, family secrets, and unexpected passion. One wrong move could cost her everything or just lead to the love she never saw coming.

Five years ago, Celine Russo ran from New York and never looked back after her boyfriend, Salvatore Moretti, destroyed her family’s empire and sent her father to prison. He tried to explain but she refused to listen. With her stepsister’s voice in her ear and betrayal in her chest, Celine disappeared from his life forever. One month later, she discovered she was pregnant with his child. Now, years later, her daughter is dying. A congenital heart defect. A donor heart waiting. Three weeks to raise millions she doesn’t have. Desperate and out of options, Celine returns to the one man she swore never to see again. The man who ruined her family. The father of her child who doesn’t know she exists. Salvatore agrees to pay for the surgery, but on one condition. For six months, Celine will become his fiancée. Living in his home. Wearing his ring. Playing the role of the devoted future wife in public to secure a powerful alliance with a rival mafia family. But as old wounds reopen and dangerous truths surface, Celine learns that the story she believed for five years was built on lies. Her father’s betrayal runs deeper than she ever imagined, and the man she hated may have been the only one trying to save her. Now the past is catching up with them. And this time, it’s not just her life on the line.

She has spent her life mastering control over her emotions, her empire, and the contract marriage that keeps Vance Industries in her name. Publicly, Sloane Vance is untouchable. Privately, she sleeps alone while her husband’s ambition bleeds into whispers of betrayal with the one person Sloane trusted without question. One signature at the end of her marriage term could legally strip her of the company her parents died to protect, and Sloane knows the clock is no longer on her side. Then Damon Cross steps into her life—sharp-tongued, unyielding, and completely unimpressed by her power. He challenges her silence, sees her fear, and refuses to look away when the cracks show. Desire ignites where resentment once lived, forcing Sloane to choose between the armor that has kept her safe and the vulnerability that could destroy her. Because if she risks her heart and chooses wrong, she will lose more than an empire but if she chooses right, redemption may finally be within reach.

Antara an orphan who never complained about her life. She was happy in what she had in her life she only wished for one thing true love but what happened when that love broke her beyond repair? Will she be able to mend her broken self ever or her this love will turn her in ashes?

SYNOPSIS Isabella Hart's supposed ideal marriage to world-famous actor Adrian Cole broke apart when her husband's affair with Vanessa Grey, his manager, was exposed in a leaked sex tape. The revelation humiliated and hurt Isabella, forcing her to seek solace in a reckless one-night stand with a stranger named Victor Hale. Little did she expect that he would become her stepfather some days later when her mother, Eleanor, married him. When she discovered she was pregnant that night, she accepted it and said Adrian was the father. But during a gender revelation party, Adrian's mother Margaret Cole announced to everyone that the child belonged to Victor, the scandal ripping the family apart, leaving Eleanor livid, divorcing Victor, and cutting Isabella away from her completely.

“I heard it, Sloane” His hand slid to my thigh, then slowly up to my waist. My breath caught, my body reacting before my head could catch up. I flinched, a soft moan escaping the back of my throat. What did he hear? “You fucking yourself with my name rolling out of your lips” he said. My eyes widened but his hand which found my bra and spilled my boobs out of them didn't allow me to process his words. …………… Sloane never expected her life to change overnight, until her sister disappeared the day before her wedding. Forced to take her place, she was made to marry the man her body never seemed to forget. Lucien Collins. The alpha of Blackstone pack. But after the mating, she realized the contract she signed wasn't temporary as she had been told. What started as an alliance blurred into a desire more dangerous than something any of them could control. Then her sister returns. Claiming Sloane had stolen her man, and a life meant for her.

 “Are you sure Ella?” I asked and when she nodded in approval, half scared and anticipating, I slammed my full length into her in one full thrust. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head at the sudden intrusion and she held onto me for dear life, whimpering and moaning loudly without a care in the world and I loved it. I loved the way her lips called my name in pleasure, not knowing whether to beg me to stop or continue.  I was going crazy. This stranger was driving me crazy. I could feel her clench her insides at the sudden intrusion and it took me all the self control I could muster from my whole ancestors to not release in a single thrust. “Fuck Ella… you're doing so good… I whispered raggedly in her ears as her whimpers filled my senses.  I started slow but with each thrust deeper and harder than the last and when it looked like she couldn't take it anymore, I increased my pace and thrust faster, earning louder and faster moans from her. I didn't know what I enjoyed more. Her ecstatic whimpers or actually fucking her senses away. ************************************************************ Elara and Dylan, two complete strangers, mischievously ended up in the same hotel room and they shared a night of hot passion after their drinks got spiked. Unknown to the both of them, powerful forces are working to unite the both of them for a greater and more sinister motive.