Backward Lunge

The first time Rafael betrayed me, he threw the woman from his club at my feet. His eyes were bloodshot as he told me to take my pick. My love for him was a sickness, so I forgave the transgression. For the second betrayal, I had the dancer sent out of New York, warning her never to set foot on the East Coast again. On the night of our engagement party, sealing the union of our two families, Rafael pinned me against the walnut desk in the study. His eyes burned with rage as he demanded: "Where is Nina? She's carrying a Mancini heir." "It was a mistake. You can take your anger out on me. Nina is naive; she doesn't deserve this. I'm begging you, just let the child be born safely. I swear I'll never see her again." "You're afraid of childbirth. This gives you an heir without the risk." "Listen, Alessia. You are the future Donna of the Mancini family. When that child is born, it will know only you as its mother. I swear on my life." He forced me backward until shards from the vase I'd knocked over cut into my skin, staining my silk dress with blood. I looked at him and smiled, then gave him the address of a safe house in Brooklyn. He slammed the heavy oak door behind him. Shaking, I pulled out my encrypted phone. "You were right about him. Is your offer still on the table?"

“Is that a threatened kitten?” he asked, amused, What? I snapped at him, pissed, “No, Asshole. If it were, you would already be dead,” I added, feeling the bolting rage rising within me. “Oh…” he smirked as he traced my jaw with his thumb, “I’m starting to like you more and more,” he said with a devilish grin, I froze in place, “Oh really? Well, too bad, ‘LUCIAN,’ cause I don’t give a fuck,” “Hahaha, you’re hilarious Mira,” he spat out as he took a seat on the mattress, I moved backward, staying far away from his reach, His eyes remained on me with every step I took. I turned angrily, “Is there something you want, husband?” And asked irritated, “Yes, in fact, there are a lot of things I want. But why don’t you start by explaining to me about the call just now and what you meant by ‘your man?’ huh?” he asked, and this time I could see the seriousness in his eyes, even when he tried to hide it. *** What will Mira do after four years of returning home, only to find out that she was traded off by her own father? A secret they kept hidden from her. Contracted: Love in the Shadow" Narrates a story filled with family betrayal and a passionate romance that totters at the edge of danger and desire. Will Mira Dolman be taken over by the darkness within her, or will she find the strength with love by her side to overcome the challenges that threaten to break her?

..Saw my hubby, but I was in another woman's body, and this time he wasn't my husband, his uncle was. ~ A voice suddenly cut through the silence. “Oh my goodness, you're finally awake Mrs. Blackwood!” Mrs Blackwood? That was.. I tried to speak, but my voice was a mere whisper. The nurse, a kind faced woman with a warm smile, helped me sit up and handed me a glass of water. As I sipped, fragments of memories began to resurface. A car crash.. screams? and Kenneth's face? But why couldn't I put two and two together? "Can you help me to the toilet?" I asked the nurse, my voice still weak. The nurse nodded and assisted me out of bed and my legs trembled beneath me as I walked, unaccustomed to bearing my weight after such a long time of bederiding Once in the bathroom, I stared at the mirror, expecting to see my own reflection but the face staring back at me was unfamiliar, younger and prettier. A jolt of fear immediately coursed through me. Who was this person? "Mrs. Victoria Blackwood?” I heard the nurse call out from behind and it dawned on me.. that name belonged to Alexander Blackwood's wife, my husband's uncle! A wave of panic washed over me. What was happening? Why was I in this body? I stumbled backward, the nurse catching me by my waist. "Steady Mrs. Blackwood. You're still recovering." But I wasn't recovering. I was lost. Trapped in a stranger's life.

Four years ago, I committed the ultimate sin. I almost killed my adoptive mother, and for that, I was sentenced to a living hell. My father caged my wolf, stripped my dignity, and bartered me off like livestock to a ruthless CEO to seal a blood alliance. I didn't fight. I didn't scream. I quietly accepted the chains and walked away from the fated mate bond I shared with my step-brother. Damon Enzo Vitale was my first heartbreak—the man I once loved, and the man who truly hated me. Now, I’m back in Vesper City, but the girl Damon once knew is gone. In her place stands a woman shattered by a monster’s touch, clutching a dying daughter to her chest. I have nowhere left to run except into the arms of the man I once sacrificed everything to leave. -- Ophelia Vitale is a harbinger of ruin and a shameless seductress. Four years ago, she brought our family to the brink of collapse and walked away from the fated mate bond we shared without a backward glance. I, Damon Enzo Vitale, have spent every night since fueling my hatred for her, trying to burn away the memories she left branded on my soul. But the woman who collapsed on that highway isn’t the girl I remember. She’s covered in scars I can’t explain and carrying a child with my family's eyes. As I look into the trauma she’s desperate to hide, the foundations of my world begin to crack. Was my hatred truly valid? Or had I been blinded by a web of lies designed to destroy us both?

Because I was born under the Moon’s blessing, my body ripened earlier than any she-wolf my age. On the night of my eighteenth turning, my brother—fearing I’d be force-claimed by brutes—entrusted me to his blood-oath brother: Silas, Alpha of the Northern Peak. The first time we met, his golden eyes locked on my bared neck and never left. His fangs sank into my scent gland that very night, claiming me beneath the full moon. For four years since, I’ve been his scribe by dawn light, and his whore by moonrise. He trained my body to fit his every hunger, covering me in bite marks, yet never left the Mating Mark that would make me his true mate. Four years later, his confidante from the Central Territories returned. He tore from my heat-soaked sheets without a backward glance, racing to the moon-platform to greet her. I followed, stomach hollow, scent glands throbbing with his phantom claim. Only an hour before, his hand—scarred from my own teeth—had clamped over my mouth as he rutted me into the furs. Now, before the assembled Pack, he stroked another woman’s silver hair. “Amara, don’t show that jealous look. Have you forgotten—four years ago, you were the one who crawled into my bed while I was moon-mad.” “This tantrum is unbecoming.” He was right. I had chosen this life myself. But when I finally chose to leave him, he was the first to break.

"Wh.. who?" Before Jane could even repeat her words a dark silhouette started taking slow steps towards her, like a predator to its prey. The light from the night lamp fell on his sharp features making them clearer gradually. " Ad...Adrian...you!" Gulping hard she started taking steps backward unknowingly. " Why don't you love me, Jane?" His slurry voice gave a clear indication of his drunken state. " Adrian please, we can talk things out. Please listen to me...pl... please." Jane was terrified to her core when she realised he wasn't in his senses. Looking directly into her eyes Adrian smirked. Not his normal one. His face was showing disappointment, anger, rage, and one more thing. Amorous lust. His desire to claim her was so strong that anyone could see it through his eyes. ......... What happens when two people poles apart meet for the very first time? Spark flies, vibe generates, magical, right? But too bad of all of these are just one sided. Nothing will ever be the same when 28-year-old billionaire Adrian Alan Johnson meets 21-year-old Jane White for the very first time. Join the roller coaster ride of Adrian and Jane where passion will be stronger than ever, Love will blossom, the heart will be broken, jealousy will burn the soul, hatred will be born and something more and more intense will start spreading its web. Will it be able to take place in the other person's heart? Or will end up causing the ultimate catastrophic destruction?

All the relatives knew I had a "backward cousin." For my birthday, she gave me a grocery-store pound cake. When I ran a marathon, she presented me with a pair of worn-out canvas sneakers. At my graduate school acceptance party, she even sent a funeral wreath of white lilies with a sash that read "In Sympathy," wishing me an early departure to the afterlife. In my previous life, I slapped her so hard she tumbled down the porch steps. My brother took her side and plotted revenge, falsely reporting to the university that I had cheated on my SATs. My admission was revoked. "You're so modern. You know how things work," he sneered. "Plenty of people take a gap year. Just apply again." My father also defended her, cutting off all my financial support. "You've had so much schooling. You're so educated," he said coldly. "Support yourself." Alone in a city eighteen hundred miles from home, I fought to survive. I called my brother and my father again and again—only to be blocked. I delivered food while renting a room and studying to reapply. At my lowest, my hands were raw and cracked from frostbite, scrambling for delivery shifts at four in the morning just to earn a small bonus. Worn down by the cold and exhaustion, I suffered cardiac arrest at twenty-three and collapsed in a snowdrift in that unfamiliar city. No one ever came to claim me. This time, I chose to let it go and accepted the wreath with a gracious smile. To fully integrate myself into this family. After all, what is a moment of pride compared to a lifetime's inheritance?

“I know you want me.” Damien said in a deep hoarse voice. I turned to look at him. “I can never want a ruthless man like you.” “Your eyes are telling a different story Alison.” Damien said, taking a step forward. I took a step backward but Damien had stopped me, his hands traveling across my dress. My breathe hitched in my throat as his hands paused. “Your body is saying a different story.” Damien leaned closer. “You can’t resist me Alison.” “I—“ my voice cracked. At that moment I realized he was right. I wanted Damien Santos. Right now. In his room. *** Alison had it all—wealth, love, and a perfect life—until her conniving stepsister, Mabel, destroyed everything. Framed for infidelity,Alison’s husband throws her out of the house, leaving her penniless and homeless. Just when she hits rock bottom, Alison crosses paths with Damien Santos—a cold and ruthless mafia boss who rules the highlands. Unaware of who he truly is, Alison’s brief exchange with him takes an unexpected turn, placing her under his dark, protective shadow. What starts as a chance encounter quickly spirals into a web of secrets and lies. As Alison uncovers the truth about Damien’s identity, she realizes their meeting wasn’t accidental. Dark revelations from her past resurface, tying her fate to his in ways she never imagined. Can Alison reclaim her life, or will she lose herself in the dangerous world Damien has pulled her into?

The first thing he takes from me is air. A hand crashes over my mouth, ripping me backward into a darkness so sudden my mind stutters. My scream dies against his palm. My feet leave the ground. My heartbeat slams against my ribs like it’s trying to escape. “Stop fighting,” he says, his voice a low, controlled threat against my ear. Not shouted. Not rushed. Certain. I claw at his arm anyway. It doesn’t matter. “This is day one,” he whispers. He forces me onto my knees, my breath splintering in sharp, humiliating bursts. His fingers hook under my jaw, lifting my face so I have to see him.. cold eyes, steady rage, a man carved from hatred with a purpose. “You were born into the wrong blood,” he says. “And now you’ll pay for every sin it spilled.” His thumb drags across my trembling lips, testing, measuring. A reminder he owns every choice I have left. “You’ll beg,” he promises. “Not for mercy. For the end.” And something inside me sinks, cold and final. From this moment on, nothing is mine. Not breath. Not choice. Not time. ⸻ Luna Vitiello is the silent daughter of a devil. To the world, a pampered princess. In truth, a girl who has bled in silence for nineteen years. But the man who takes her doesn’t care. To him, she isn’t a victim; she’s the enemy. A living vessel for her father’s sins, a debt meant to be paid in pain. He thinks he’s breaking a spoiled queen. He doesn’t realize he’s crushing a girl who was already broken.

She needs freedom and he needs a wife for convenience. They both agree to have a fake marriage by mutual consent, something that would benefit them both in their lives, without even foreseeing the mess they were getting into. Brenda Harper thinks there is no worse place than her home, where her overprotective parents suffocate her with rather backward ideas about marriage and life. That's why she decides to find a prospect for herself before her parents choose a repulsive old man for her. Giovanni Romano is an old family friend, although the last time they saw each other they were children, but thanks to Giovanni's mother, they arranged a date where they talked about their interests and desires, something they had in common and led them to a brief marriage of convenience. Living together begins, where they have to adapt to each other's routines and comply with the terms they both set for their marriage, although it becomes increasingly difficult for them to be apart from each other's lives. Brenda starts feeling jealous, which is a problem since Giovanni clarified that he had his sexual life covered, although he hadn't told her that he had a special woman he planned to marry after finishing the deal with her. Things go wrong when the sexual attraction they feel leads them to a night of passion, but the intrigues of Fiorella, Giovanni's love, and misunderstandings, separate them and Brenda discovers shortly afterward that she is pregnant, so she leaves for another country without saying anything. The problem is that Giovanni realizes his feelings and goes to look for her, which causes a lot of tension between them when a third party appears on the scene.