Barely Synonym

“Do you regret it?” he whispered, as he pushed my night gown above my breasts. My heart pounded as his fingers trailed down my skin, stopping just above the lace on my thighs. “I should,” I said barely above a whisper “But I can’t.” His lips curved into a wicked smirk and his hands tore my pants into shreds. “Then say it, Elise. Say you’re mine.” And I did, knowing that the man I’d just given myself to… might be the reason my mother was killed. Elise Anderson never believed in love after betrayal destroyed her world. Her fiancé and best friend planned to kill her for her inheritance, and she swore never to be weak again. So she made a deal with the devil himself, he was a man called Ravien Drayton, Verya’s most ruthless billionaire. It was supposed to be a contract marriage, as it escalated from kissed to steamy nights And when secrets began to unravel, Elise discovered the man she loved was her stepbrother, and the son of her mother’s killer. Now she’s trapped between vengeance and desire, torn between the truth that could destroy them… and a love that refuses to die.

Buried deep in the Aster estate was the Heartwood—ancient, sacred, mine. Told my husband, Julian Aster—back when he actually listened—that if it ever fell, I'd die with it. At first, he freaked out. Flew in glacier water, hired a whole squad of plant experts to nurture it 24/7. Then one day, just because his childhood friend—Isabella Duvall—got a scratch from the bark, Julian had the Heartwood ripped out. The second it crashed, I choked on glowing blood—ichor. My power? Gone. Barely standing, I grabbed his arm. "You knew. If the Heartwood dies, I—" He laughed. Straight-up mocked me. "Sera, come on. That fairy tale? Only Grandma still believes that crap. Is that mayo on your mouth? Relax—it's a tree. I'll buy you a forest if you want." Overnight, my hair turned gray. Skin cracked. Eyes dulled. Still, I dragged myself to his grandmother, Henrietta. "I kept your family safe for two hundred years. That's why the Asters thrived. But the Heartwood's gone. Debt's paid. One day left. Whatever happens next? Not my problem."

In my last life, I made the dumbest mistake—picked up a Moonlight Ring from the grass. That cursed thing locked me into a mate bond with Silvermoon Pack's Alpha. Too bad his heart already belonged to my sister, Irene. She lived to a hundred, had five pups with her real mate in Ravenshade Pack while I rotted. Every time she got cozy with her mate, Leon tossed me in the basement. "You picked up that ring! I had to watch my true love build a family with someone else!" For eighty years, she lived happily. I barely lived at all. Leon flayed me open, let my skin grow back, then crushed my bones just to watch them heal. Every day felt like dying on repeat. Only when Irene finally kicked the bucket did he let me go. Then boom—I woke up, right back on the day I picked up that damn ring. I wasn't gonna screw it up again. But Irene—always the clean freak—snatched it off the ground before I could stop her.

Synopsis: Barely escaping from her stepfather, Allyssa Florencia found herself unconscious in a private hospital. Suffering from a 5th-degree burn, she couldn't even speak or move. With a teary-eyed woman by her side, she couldn't recall on what had happened to her. And then it struck her. She almost died, for Pete's sake! She is the only one who survived about that tragic accident. With a golden bracelet on her arm, an unfamiliar couple came from a wealthy family is claiming her that she is their daughter, and the one and only fiancée of the young and dominating hot bachelor in town. Leon Versius Reniel Mondragon, a famous young Engineer and a successful businessman in the country. Leon's first thought was to reject his marriage to Mariel and cut off any connection he had with the woman. Now that he had an opportunity, he would actually grab it. But a new Mariel has appeared in front of him, having that wonderful smile and a new pair of eyes. How can he reject those innocent look? "Damn it! It's not my intention to like you this much, but why do I have this feeling that you are not really Mariel, you're just... someone else."

After Mom passed, it was just me and Dad, depending on each other. I’ve always had poor health, and people used to taunt me, calling me a “sickly, doomed child.” He kneeled by my bedside, making a promise. “I swear, I’ll get you the best treatment, no matter what. You’ll never suffer again!” Eventually, he became a powerful CEO, going so far as to buy an entire private villa just so I could recover in peace. However, his assistant assumed I was his mistress.  She came in with a group of security guards and surrounded me. “So, you’re the cripple who’s been seducing Mr. Johnson?” “Let’s see if you can still act high and mighty after I’m done with you!” She kicked over my wheelchair, yanked me by the hair, scratched up my face, and finally cut off my hand. Barely clinging to life, I lay there until Dad came back. She held up my severed hand, presenting it to him. “Mr. Johnson, this was a spy sent by a rival company. I took care of her for you.”

---> if you are interested in my work, please check out my novel The Starving Vulture. Available on Amazon, $3.99 for the Ebook and $14.95 for the Paperback https://www.amazon.com/Starving-Vulture-Miguel-Monta%C3%B1a/dp/1951150899<--------- Aster Likaya is a Battle Mage of the Zeraph Republic. Raised in a military family, she was destined for a life on the front. As a Battle Mage she has mastered the art of Controlling. A simple but effective kind of magic that is necessary when one bonds and commands the essential robotic warmachines of her world. The Gearbanes. And now, she is a Captain. But much to her surprise, she is not handed a company but a unit of stoic and silent soldiers that call themselves DragonWolves. Her second in command, is Lieutenant Able Froster, young but grim faced soldier who has seen combat since he was barely a boy. For their first mission, they are given a simple task. Retrieve an agent of the Republic who is lost in the vast swampland known as the Suha Marshes. Little do they know, that they are not the only factions searching for the man. For in the Suha Marshes, hunt the cannibalistic Birchmen and the Kolysian pirates. All eager for the prize the agent carries. This is the world of Likaya and Froster. Dominated by machines powered by magic, weapons ignited by runes and wars fought over ancient relics forged by a forgotten past. Welcome to Likaya's Wolves.

"You're... oh," I whispered, my eyes rolling back as his lips found that irresistible spot on my neck. "You’re mated!" I gasped, barely finding my voice. Julian's eyes burned with a golden fire as he nodded. "You’re still mine, Avery. I want to own every inch of your body and soul." His words swept away my senses, rekindling feelings I thought had died three years ago. How could he say that and not make my heart flutter? But I hadn't learned my lesson then and feared I still hadn't. _________ My mate chose another woman, parading their love in front of me and shattering my heart into pieces. The pain was unbearable—I lost our baby and, with it, the last hope that he might one day love me. The harsh truth that he never cherished me cut more profound than any wound, leaving scars that time couldn’t heal. Three years later, fate brought us together again in the most unexpected way. Despite the pain and every warning in my mind, I find myself drawn to him again.

On what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, Irene Casareo’s wedding turned into her worst nightmare. Instead of walking down the aisle, her groom dragged her to the police station, accusing her of a crime she never committed. It was there she discovered his betrayal—he had conspired against her with his own stepsister. Consumed by rage and despair, Irene endured three agonizing years behind bars. Upon her release, freedom barely had time to settle in her lungs when she found herself caught in a bloody crossfire. That was when she met Kristoff Montecillo—a powerful man from the underworld, and the uncle of her ex-fiancé, Dave. He saved her from the armed men, but demanded a different kind of payment: he shook her world with a single, unexpected kiss. And when a lecherous old man tried to rob her of her innocence, it was Kristoff who shielded her once again. Now bound by a debt of gratitude, Irene faces an impossible choice: should she agree to become Kristoff’s fiancée in return for his repeated rescues, or should she say yes only to use him as a weapon in her quest for vengeance against those who shattered her life?

"And Action!” I slowly lick my lips as I glance across the room at Trevor lying on the bed. His bare chest glows under the spotlights and practically begs to be touched. Can I keep myself under control? What am I thinking? I have to keep myself reined in. I don't want to ruin anything between us. We are good friends and nothing more, but I can't confess to him I've had wet dreams of him almost every night. Tiffany, a struggling up-and-coming actor, finally gets the break she has been wishing for and wins the leading role in a new drama. Her sexy co-star, Trevor, is someone she is familiar with and knows from her initial days of her first drama. They barely had any scenes together during that first drama, but they've developed a friendship and share the same agency and manager. When the fans initially saw them together, they immediately wanted them to be a couple. This new drama provides them exactly that. With her dreams finally coming true, will Tiffany be able to keep her secret hidden? Or will the intimate scenes with her handsome co-star unravel everything she has worked so hard to hide?

"Lisa?" I croaked, barely able to form words, my voice hoarse and weak. My heart had leapt at the sight of her, a moment of hope flickering through the haze of fear. "What's going on? Why... why are you here?" But the look in her eyes, the cold amusement that twisted her lips into a smirk, had stopped me short. It wasn’t concern. “Why am I here?” she had repeated, laughing softly, as if the very question was absurd. “Oh, Anna, sweet, naive Anna. You still don’t get it, do you?” I had stared, my mind unable to keep up, still too clouded with hunger and exhaustion. “What... what are you talking about?” And then, her voice had changed, hardened. “I’m the reason for all of this. The reason your father’s company collapsed, the reason your family is dead, the reason Josh betrayed you. Me.” After discovering that her best friend, Lisa, isn't the person she thought she was and is the reason for most of the disasters in her life, Anna dies, only to wake up five years in the past. With a second chance, Anna is determined to protect her loved ones and take revenge for the pain Lisa caused.