Awkward Silence

Belladonna; the devil's favorite flower, a slow sentence of death. Silence, pain and insanity. Artemisia was born being the poisonous root of the family, the shadow on the wall that everyone tried not to see. A legend has fallen upon her since childhood: be loved by her and death will come to you as the poisoning by belladonna, slowly and painfully. As a way to escape from her mother's suffocating wings, Artemisia moved into her great aunt's mansion in to start over and wipe all the blood on her hands. But no matter where it is planted, a poisonous plant will always leave its trail morbid.

It was the perfect opportunity for the desperate Oriel. "The cancer in my body is going to take me earlier from this world. All of this is the punishment I am getting for my sins. However, it looks like a blessing has been mistakenly delivered to me by the heavens, that's you," said the leader of a drug mafia gang, a victim of Oriel's charms. She also didn't think twice before accepting his proposal, more like an offer that was to get her immense fortune in return. "I will make sure that your remaining days will be filled with happiness." She promised the dying boss and agreed live as his mistress. She knew that he had a wife and that the relation only existed on a piece of paper. Her name was Ursula, feisty and savage spouse of the dying mafia leader, Mr. Bruce. "Let him have that young girl as a last token of joy in his numbered days. But, I want you to keep her in close scrutiny because she also has her eyes set on his wealth. See to it that she never gets what she wants." Heartbroken Ursula ordered Collin, the loyal brother of Mr. Bruce. He was appointed as a personal bodyguard for his boss's mistress, "I will be following you everywhere from now on, you will have to bear with me because your safety is now a matter of concern for my boss." Oriel refused his company with a stern denial. "Don't tell me that you are still awkward around me, it has been years," but who knew that they shared a tragic past and a passion so deep. "Take my everything in return of your love. Just never betray me, and if you do, be meticulous hiding it," reminded her of Mr.Bruce.

One night stand with her boss brought Anabelle to her downfall. Secretly crushing on her boss for years, Anabelle took advantage of his drunk state and had sex with him with the hope that he would finally notice her. Her hopes were shattered when in the morning of it all, he threw her out and offered to pay for her services like a random whore he had just picked from the street. Unfortunately, her actions got her pregnant and to add to her sorrow, she was kicked out by her parents. Anabelle thought she would struggle and Carter for her baby alone. Five years later, her son's life hung in the balance and there was only one person who could save him and that was the man who had hurt her so deeply years ago and also the father of her son, Hazel De Valle, president and CEO of De Valle's corporation. Will Anabelle put her hurt aside and seek the help of her baby's father? What will Hazel do when he suddenly finds out that he has a son with a woman that he doesn't even remember? Hazel had vowed never to fall in love or ever get married, will that vow be broken or will he just take his son away and use his power to silence Anabelle? Read more to find out.

“Marco?" she called, her voice barely above a whisper. Marco remained silent, he only arched his brow, his expression unreadable. Slowly, everything began to sink in. "Why?" Her voice trembled as she finally broke the silence that had settled between them. "Why didn't you speak up when you knew the truth, Marco? You could have saved me." Marco scoffed. "What did you expect me to do?" "DEFEND ME? PROTECT ME!" She yelled. "That's what you do for someone you love." Marco’s jaw tightened, and he leaned against the cold, steel bars of the cell. His icy blue eyes bore into hers, but there was no warmth, no love, only a distant glimmer of irritation. "Ivy," he began, his voice low and filled with everything but love, "I can't tell if you're just naive or plain daft." "You know I couldn't back you up in front of everyone. I couldn't risk them finding out that I'm mated to an Omega." ~~~~~ Ivy thought she had hit rock when she was falsely accused, added to her mate’s betrayal and then auctioned according to tradition for all female criminals. But when a handsome and mysterious Alpha walked in at the dying moment, wanting her for himself, she must decide whether to leave with him as his personal slave or remain in the pack to go through the last phase of her punishment; which could end up being her last day on earth.

« Si tu vexes l'Alpha Charles, Inès peut encore plaider pour toi. Mais si tu agaces Inès, il ne restera même pas tes cendres. » C'est une phrase très répandue dans les cercles aristocratiques des loups-garous. Je suis Inès. À cause d'un simple jeu, j'ai décidé de rompre le pacte du couple avec Charles. Dans le jeu, complètement ivre, il a dit : « J'adore poser ma tête sur le ventre d'une femme enceinte pour écouter les battements du cœur du bébé. » Un silence de mort a envahi la salle. Tous les regards des loups-garous se sont tournés vers moi. Il n'y avait pas de surprise dans ces regards, seulement de la pitié pour moi, la Luna légitime, et de la panique face à un secret révélé. J'ai compris instantanément : ils savaient tous que Charles avait un enfant avec une autre femme, mais ils l'avaient tous aidé à me le cacher. Tout simplement parce qu'ils savaient que j'étais la raison de vivre de Charles. Si j'apprenais la vérité, je partirais. Et Charles, il deviendrait fou. Je devais admettre qu'ils me connaissaient vraiment bien. Après avoir découvert la vérité, j'ai décidé de faire trois choses. Premièrement, j'allais jeter dans un fourneau l'alliance que Charles avait conçue pour moi. Deuxièmement, j'allais enregistrer sur une clé USB la vidéo dans laquelle Lily m'avait provoquée avec son enfant. Troisièmement, j'allais déposer un dossier auprès du Département des Affaires des Loups-Garous pour devenir chercheuse sur l'île glacée, isolée du monde. Le jour où j'ai quitté la tribu était justement le jour de notre septième anniversaire de mariage. Et moi, je disparaîtrais de sa vie comme un filet de fumée.

« Papa, j'ai accepté l'alliance matrimoniale avec la meute du Boisnoir. » Un silence s'est étiré de son côté du lien avant qu'il ne réponde enfin : « Caterina, es-tu certaine ? » « Je le suis. » Je ne lui ai pas dit la vraie raison. La nuit dernière, une douleur déchirante m'a transpercée à travers notre lien de compagnons. À travers ce maudit lien, j'ai tout vu… Mon Alpha, Rocco, était dans la cabane de ses terrains de chasse privés, clouant Scarlett, son amie d'enfance, contre le mur et l'embrassant avec une frénésie désespérée. Je l'ai confrontée directement lors de la réunion de la meute. Un éclair de triomphe brillait dans ses yeux avant qu'elle ne feigne l'innocence. « Caterina, je n'ai aucune idée de ce dont tu parles. » À ce moment-là, la voix de Rocco a rugi à travers le lien mental ouvert, résonnant dans les esprits de tous les présents. « Caterina, en tant que Luna de la meute, tu ne devrais pas créer une scène comme celle-ci. Scarlett n'est qu'une amie. » À cet instant, mon cœur est mort complètement. Il était mon Alpha, mon mari – l'homme avec lequel j'avais passé des années à l'aider à gravir les échelons du pouvoir. J'ai rompu mon lien mental avec Rocco. La douleur de cette déconnexion forcée était tellement intense que j'avais du mal à tenir debout, mais j'ai redressé ma colonne vertébrale et ai envoyé ma réponse. « Je serai à la maison dans deux semaines. » Retourner à la maison et épouser l'Alpha le plus puissant en France. On dit qu'il est froid et impitoyable, indifférent à toute louve. Parfait. Je n'ai pas besoin d'amour. J'ai juste besoin d'un Alpha assez fort pour m'aider à sécuriser la meute de la Lune Argente. Et quant à Rocco ? La Déesse Lune nous a donné un destin, et c'est lui qui l'a brisé de ses propres mains. Maintenant, je vais saisir le mien.

The company had just taken off when a project my wife, Lenora Peterson, was in charge of ran into trouble. To ease her mind during her pregnancy, I went overseas in her stead, spending ten perilous years abroad before finally returning home, barely alive. Instead of the joyful reunion I had imagined, she greeted me with cold detachment and thinly veiled disgust. "Why are you back?" Lenora asked. "Today is Nathan’s housewarming party," she added. "Let’s head there first—we’ll talk later." We rode in silence the entire way. When we arrived, a ten-year-old girl came dashing over and clung to Lenora affectionately. “Mommy, why did you take so long? Daddy’s been waiting for you forever!” Daddy? My eyes burned with rage—until I saw my old friend Nathan Grant stepping out to greet us with a smile. "Lily, come to Daddy. Mommy’s tired—don’t bother her now." When I met Lenora’s eyes, the guilt I saw there told me everything I needed to know. I turned away and texted my assistant, Morgan Williamson, to begin acquiring the company that, by right, had always belonged to me. He soon reported back. "Mr. Brooke, the acquisition process will be completed in three days."

"He was born into power, but all he ever wanted was love." Evan Chraystler Al Monleon, son of the most feared Mafia king, was raised in a world soaked in blood and shadows. From a young age, he knew the language of violence and command, but not the warmth of a mother’s love. As a surrogate child, he could have anything he wanted, except the one thing he longed for most: his mother’s acceptance. "Mom, I'm still your child. I came from you; why can't you accept me as your own?" His cries for love were buried beneath the weight of silence and rejection. Then came Andrea Maureen Salvegas, a former heiress turned servant, forced to pay her family’s debts with a lifetime of submission to the Al Monleons. She never expected to be caught in the web of danger and longing that surrounded Evan. And she certainly didn’t expect to tame the most feared among the Mafia King’s sons. But love doesn't always bloom in safe places. Sometimes, it grows in the darkest corners... where even the coldest hearts can learn to feel.

“My father didn’t protect me. He used me for his own purposes. He forced me to marry Dante—not for love, not for peace, but because he hoped to get from Dante what he needed—power. He wanted to silence his enemies, and Dante was the key. And Dante… he wasn’t just any man. He was cold, ruthless, and feared by everyone. A devil in disguise. I didn’t love him. I was afraid of him. But the more I saw behind his darkness, the more I realized—we were both broken in different ways. Two lost souls. Two shattered hearts. And a love neither of us expected. This isn’t a fairytale. This is a story of fear, power… and a love born from pain. “They call him a monster… but to me, he became home.” “Love will always find you. Sometimes, it just takes time—so give time the time it needs.” 🌼

Devya, a cheerful and childish woman, meets an Axen, a CEO who is a lonely Werewolf who can't express feelings like ordinary people, he's a Werewolf without an expression on his face. "Go." Axen orders in his stern voice made me frown in annoyance. “After you stole my first kiss, you asked me to leave?!! Bastard!!” I ruffled the bed, I threw all the pillows on the floor in a rage. "Asshole!!!!” I saw him come back closer to me, he again locked me under his body, he touched my neck with his cold fingers. I'm in an awkward situation and it makes my heart beat fast.