Another Word For Looking Forward

By day, Don Pope is the untouchable king of Cross City’s financial empire. By night, he is something far darker—an infamous mafia don whose enemies vanish before dawn. Ethan Cole never intended to cross paths with a monster like him. One quiet night drive across the city turns into a nightmare when Ethan is kidnapped by masked men and thrown into an underground cage beneath the most luxurious mansion in Cross City—Don Pope’s estate. When the Don himself descends to inspect the prisoners his men captured, something unexpected happens. The moment Don Pope looks into Ethan’s eyes, he stops walking. He was supposed to pass the cage. Instead, he orders the others released… except for Ethan. What begins as cruel possession soon spirals into something neither of them expected. Don becomes obsessed with the fiery captive who refuses to bow to him. Ethan swears he would rather die than submit to the ruthless mafia lord. But obsession is a dangerous thing. What starts with violence slowly becomes dependence. Hatred becomes something far more complicated. And in a city built on betrayal, blood, and power, the line between captor and lover begins to blur. As war erupts between rival mafia families and secrets about Ethan’s past begin to surface, Don Pope must choose between his empire and the one man who refuses to belong to him. Because some loves are not meant to exist, but some destinies are written in the blood.

Erin cole had it all, money, power, a penthouse in the sky. But one bad decision turned his world into a nightmare. Now he’s broke, hunted by loan sharks, and desperate to survive. When a strange job poster promises two million for a nanny position, Erin thinks it’s a scam. Instead, it leads him straight to Michele Galetto the most feared mafia boss in the city. Cold, dangerous, and untouchable, Michele is a man everyone fears. But to his young son, he is simply a father in need of help. Erin should run. He should stay far away from this world of guns, blood, and secrets. Yet he stay s. Because he needs the money. Because he needs to breathe. But the longer he stays, the more dangerous it becomes. Not from the mafia. Not from Michele’s enemies. But from the feelings growing between him and the man he should fear most.

Ashton Johnson is a formidable presence, a person who refuses to be controlled. With a strong will, unwavering resilience, and complete accountability, this twenty-two-year-old billionaire alpha male navigates his extraordinary life with ease. Every day brings a flurry of adoring fans, transforming a simple lunch into a chaotic spectacle. By afternoon, his face is plastered all over the internet, capturing the attention of millions. From the moment he was born, Ashton's life was destined for fame and recognition, thanks to his prominent family. He is the epitome of American royalty, carrying the weight of his lineage on his shoulders. However, his world takes an unexpected turn when he is assigned a new bodyguard, someone who will be with him around the clock. This is when Ashton comes face-to-face with his worst fear: being paired with a tattooed, MMA-trained professional who is notorious for disregarding rules within the security team. As if that weren't complicated enough, this bodyguard also happens to fulfill one-third of Ashton's deepest desires. Lennox Burke, twenty-seven years old, has a singular duty: to protect Ashton Johnson at all costs. Anything beyond the realm of strict professionalism, such as flirting, dating, or engaging in intimate encounters, is strictly forbidden and could lead to Lennox's termination. However, when unexpected emotions begin to surface, the task of safeguarding this stubbornly alluring celebrity becomes increasingly complex for Lennox. As their paths intertwine, the boundaries that separate them start to blur, and the consequences of their growing connection could be catastrophic for both of them. The risk of exposure looms large, threatening to upend their lives in unimaginable ways.

I'm six years older than Bernard Jackman, but he always smiles and says, "Lucky me. I got to marry you." I think we will live happily ever after until a message pops up on his phone and shatters the illusion. "Bernie, be honest. Who's better in bed, me or your wife?" "Come on. That old hag smells like mothballs. She can't be compared to you!" And yet, he still showers me with love. How can a man say he loves me while sleeping with another woman? So, I tear off his mask and leave him. "Bernard, it's not that I can't live without you! You're filthy, and I don't want you anymore! I can find another man just fine!"

Will she discover the truth before she makes her choice? When Theresa returns to her home town in Montana with her veterinary degree in hand, she finds her childhood heartthrob divorced, embittered, and sworn off women. It isn't until she becomes engaged to his younger brother that he steps forward to declare his love. Now she must choose. One brother wants her for love while the other wants the inheritance she brings with her.

Christmas is the most magical time of the year, right? That may be true for most people but not Julia. Julia has never had an easy life, she has been homeless for as long as she can remember and now she is raising a three-year-old the same way. She wants more for them both but she has no way of changing things, besides she's soon going to have to leave the only place that she's ever called home to keep them both safe. If anyone finds out her secret her world will be blown apart and that's something that she can't allow to happen. Riley has had the best life imaginable. He has loving parents, grandparents and his best friend Joshua has been by his side since he was a young child. He also runs several successful businesses and has everything he wants in life except for one thing... love. He wants someone to love, to cherish but his past still has a tight grip on him and holds a secret that not even he knows about. What will happen when both worlds collide? Can Julia get the Christmas that she has always dreamed of for her and her little girl? Can Riley learn to forget his past so that he can move forward and when Juila's secret is revealed and blows both of their worlds apart, will it bring them together or tear them even further apart and destroy Julia's world, just like she has always feared it would?

“Camille, I’ll love you forever!” Jameson let out a low, agonized growl. Just as he was about to climax, his phone suddenly began to buzz. He ignored it, of course. Now was hardly the time. However, his phone lit up again. The moment he saw the text on the screen, his body froze. Camille heard him answer the call. “Hello?” In the deep silence of the night, the voice on the phone cut through the stillness, clear and unmistakable. “Jameson, did you know that Sylvia—” Jameson switched languages and cut in with a sharp command, “Keep it down. It's not a good time.” The other person switched languages too, though he was still loud. “The hospital results came in. Sylvia is in the final stages of cancer. She only has a month left! Her last wish is to become your wife. Can you grant her that before she passes?” Jameson’s expression changed immediately. “What?! Wait for me!” He ended the call and turned to Camille. “Camille, something urgent came up. I need to step out for a bit. Be good and stay home. I’ll be back after you’ve had some sleep.” Before she could respond, he rose to wash up, changed his clothes, and left without looking back. Moments later, her phone buzzed. Sylvia: [Camille, you lost. I told you—Jameson has always been mine.] Right above it was a message from three days ago: [If I tell him I have cancer, do you think Jameson will leave you and come to me? I bet he will.] Camille’s gaze slowly shifted from her phone screen to the open bedroom door. What Jameson did not know was that she had already picked up a new language. She understood every word of that call. After a long moment, a faint, bitter smile appeared on her face. “Yeah, I lost...”

I knew that my father did not like me since I was young. When I wanted to commit suicide to end the pain caused by my illness, he was celebrating another child’s birthday. He hated my mother and me alongside her. So, when I told him that I was sick, he did not believe me. “Is this your new tactic to get money from me?” No one believed that the daughter of the Powell family could die because she was too poor to pay the hospital fees. My father did not believe it either. However, when he saw my dead body, the famous actor who hated his daughter actually went insane.

I was the son of the wealthiest man in Capital City, but I had never enjoyed the flattery and fake smiles that came with that title. All I had ever wanted was a normal life. Now that I was pushing twenty-eight and still single, my mom finally lost her patience. She gave me an ultimatum: go on a blind date or she’d disown me. On my way to the date, I passed by a luxury boutique and spotted a watch that immediately caught my eye. I was just about to pay for it when, out of nowhere, a man barged in from behind and slapped a black card down on the counter. “I’ll take this watch. Wrap it up for me,” he said. I stayed calm and said politely, “Sir, I saw this watch first.” However, he just scoffed and snapped back, full of arrogance, “A broke nobody like you can look but not afford it. Get lost. I’m the assistant to Ms. Jackson, the CEO of Jackson Group. In this city, if I want something, no one will fight me for it.” Ms. Jackson? Isn’t that the exact woman I was supposed to be meeting for the blind date? Without another word, I pulled out my phone and dialed her number. “Selena,” I said calmly, “do you know your assistant is out here throwing your name around to bully people?”

“No one can see me. No one can touch me. No one can judge my actions. I was an invisible man to them, to everyone.” Emersyn ‘Emery’ Callista Dela Torre or also known as the number one ‘freak’ in Willow High School. She was labeled a freak because of her ability to see ghost but they didn’t know its something much more than just seeing ghost. Emery is a ghost hunter of Ghost Hunter For Hire, a company that gives ghost hunting services. “One slash of this knife through your neck and you’ll reduce to ashes.” She is a capable ghost hunter. She always gets the job done. But one mission, she was in danger from getting killed and raped by a ghost but then she was saved by another ghost. How ironic. A ghost hunter saved by a ghost. And what’s this? The ghost wants to stay at her house?!