Approval Antonym

She was broken. He was inevitable. Seraphine Ashton Academy Award-winning actress and America’s Sweetheart thought she’d survived the worst when she finally escaped her toxic, controlling boyfriend. But when Derek Castellan orchestrates her public humiliation at a film premiere, flaunting his new relationship in front of cameras and the world, Seraphine’s carefully rebuilt confidence shatters. Forced to attend an exclusive charity gala just days later, the last thing she expects is an encounter with a mysterious stranger on a shadowed terrace. He’s intensely private, dangerously perceptive, and sees past her celebrity facade to the wounded woman beneath. For fifteen minutes, Seraphine feels truly seen for the first time in years. What she doesn’t know is that the stranger is Damien Hale the world’s richest and most powerful man, a ghost in the business world who controls empires from the shadows and never, reveals himself to the public. And in those fifteen minutes, Damien makes a decision that will change both their lives forever: Seraphine Ashton is his to protect. He doesn’t ask for her permission to destroy her enemies. He doesn’t seek her approval to clear obstacles from her path. He simply declares with absolute certainty that she belongs to him and he’s willing to wait for her to realize the same truth he knew from the moment he saw her. Now Seraphine must navigate a world where the most powerful man has decided she’s his, where protection feels like possession, where surrender might feel like redemption. Damien Hale doesn’t do relationships. He doesn’t compromise. He doesn’t fail. But for Seraphine, he’ll learn. Because when a man who controls everything meets the one woman he can’t control, the only question is: who will surrender first?

Eric couldn't resist reaching out to touch Katrina's face. Her skin was warm and soft. She smelled like lilac soap and cinnamon, a delightful combination he had only encountered in her. He slid his thumbs slowly across her lips. They opened with a tiny gasp that made them all more tempting. "Kat... " He looked into her eyes and forgot what he had intended to say. God! She was too beautiful. Her eyes were filled with care, love and longing. Longing that sure matched his own. Very slowly, wanting to draw out every moment, Eric brought his lips to hers. He watched her eyes glaze, and heard her ragged moans when his mouth touched hers, then he kissed her passionately. He ran his lips down over the line of her throat. Heavenly warm skin met his lips. Eric inhaled the downy softness, bringing his hands up along her hips, at her waist and upward along her ribs to the front of her blouse, over her breasts. Katrina moaned softly in approval, cupping her hands in his as he undid the buttons on her blouse. Her breasts came spilling into his hands after he unhooked her bra. He filled his palm with her breasts. "God! I want you Kat" he said with a voice laced with deep passion. Katrina Argos aged twenty,set out to take her revenge on Eric Salmadiego, the guy who almost ruined her sister's life. Eric Salmadiego aged twenty four was a well known arrogant and popular billionaire. Not only was he arrogant, he was a full time playboy. To achieve her mission, Katrina moved into Eric's house as a live in maid. The both of them started on a rough note, but as time went by they fell in love with each other.

On my eighteenth birthday, the High King summoned the heirs of the four great clans—the Vampires, the Werewolves, the High Serpent Clan, and the Merfolk. He laid their portraits before me and said, "Choose one to be your bondmate." I did not hesitate. I pointed to Damon—the werewolf with no noble bloodline, born in a forgotten corner of the realm. The entire court erupted in disbelief. Everyone knew who I used to love. Alpha Iris—the heir of the most powerful Lycan bloodline. For seven years, I chased him with blind devotion. No matter how harshly he treated me, I never gave up. I confessed to him over and over, sometimes right in the royal court. I even performed a blood-binding ritual—slitting my wrist—to earn the right to marry him. In my previous life, I got what I wanted—I married him and we performed the mate bonding ceremony. With that union, he inherited the High King's resources and rose to become the ruler of all four clans. However, what I did not expect was that after our wedding, he turned around and marked my adoptive sister. My parents were furious and sent her away. From that day on, Iris hated me with a vengeance. He surrounded himself with women who all looked eerily like her. One by one, they came—each more vicious than the last. With his silent approval, they tore me down, piece by piece, until I was nothing more than a joke—no longer the queen I once was. The suffering pushed me into severe depression. Only suppressants keep my wolf form from spiraling out of control. Until one day, my medication was replaced with a slow-acting poison. He was the one who did it. I died alone, locked away in the cold palace, a child still growing inside me. However, fate gave me another chance. In this life, I would not make the same mistake. When the High King once again asked me to choose a partner for the marriage alliance, I chose Damon—the one no one ever noticed—without even blinking. I thought I was finally free of the past. However, the moment the engagement was announced… Alpha Iris lost his mind.

Under my parents' request, I work as the finance officer in my childhood friend, Julius Sanford's company. But the moment he goes on a business trip, the new intern, Lizzie Dalton, rushes into my office and demands that I process her reimbursements. As I stare at the pile of receipts that come from luxury stores, all I feel is shock. "Lizzie, I can only use the company's funds to reimburse business expenses. Why are you asking me for reimbursements when all you did was buy clothes and bags of your own?" But as soon as my words fall, Lizzie splashes a cup of coffee at me instantly. "I'm the lady boss of this company! The company's funds are my funds too! Don't think you can just reject my receipts just because you know my husband!" I do my best to suppress my fury as I dig out the company's policy and reiterate, "No, I seriously cannot do that. The company's cash flow must be reflected in the books." Seeing as I refuse to yield to her no matter what, Lizzie calls Julius on the phone and begins whining to him. "Babe, since when do I need to ask your childhood friend for approval if I want to buy something I like for myself? Or could it be that she's acting so assertively because you two are secretly having an affair?" Julius panics and tells Lizzie that he has nothing to do with me. After that, he quickly releases an announcement on the company group just so he can defend Lizzie. "Lizzie Dalton is my wife! She's the second boss of this company other than me!" After that, Julius tags me in the group. "Hey, finance! You're not my mom here! I don't like you, so please stay out of my private matters! "I'd like nothing more than to let my own wife spend my own money! If you don't like that, you can pack up and leave!" Once Julius makes his stance clear, I change my tune and reimburse Lizzie the expenses she's claimed. But one week later, Julius finds himself staring at the list of debts that's 33 feet long when he returns from his business trip.