Barely Synonym

“You’re drunk,” he said, smirking. “Yeah,” she admitted, then reached out and touched his shirt. “But I still want to have sex with you.” Vincenzo tilted his head slightly, like he was studying a new toy. "You were about to go after my bodyguard, huh?" he said. His fingers suddenly cupped her breast, slow and confident. “And yet, you look more like a virgin than a pervert.” That sobered her up a bit. “I—what?” Before she could say anything else, she blurted, “I want to have sex with you. I’m all yours tonight.” Vincenzo raised a brow, then smiled. “If that’s what you want.” He stood up, lifted her into his arms effortlessly, and carried her through a side door. Her arms looped around his neck as her heart pounded so hard she could barely breathe. He kicked open a private room. Inside, he pressed her against the wall and kissed her—hot, commanding, full of hunger. She melted into it. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and for the first time in her life, she didn’t care who she was supposed to be. She was just a girl kissing a stranger.

My child-free husband went back to his hometown for a funeral, and after he returned, he suddenly wanted me to have a baby. He was one of the best obgyns in the state, so he handled my IVF procedure himself. After more than 160 hormone shots, we finally heard the baby’s rhythmic heartbeats for the first time, which made my usually calm husband tear up. Soon, he tightened every part of my routine, from a strict diet to my schedule, and once my belly started showing, he barely let me get out of bed. I thought he was just being overly protective. But then, right by my ear, I heard a nasty little boy’s voice. [Which player starts their mission inside the womb? And she’s not even my mom!] [Just four more months. My dad will make sure she dies on the operating table so he can keep only his son.] [After that, he’ll bring my real mom back, and my mission will be complete!] I canceled my afternoon checkup immediately as soon as I heard this. Did the system forget to tell him that he wasn’t the only player in this world?

When Isabel Baker agreed to moonlight as a bartender at a private party, she never imagined she'd get anything more than tips. However, on this resort island, nothing was ever that simple. After tending bar with the deliciously handsome Noah who was flown in for the party, Izzy realized that she was about to break her number one rule: never fall for a tourist. But with his quick wit, charming smile and passion for marine life, Noah was the kind of guy that she couldn’t resist. At the end of the night, she barely managed to turn him away from coming home with her. Noah had only come to the island for one of Jack Saunders' famous parties. Yet once he met Izzy, he couldn’t bring himself to leave. After one steamy night together, he knew that he would do almost anything to keep her. Theirs should have been an easy love story, complete with a happily ever after. Except Noah was also moonlighting as a bartender that night and his true identity threatened Izzy’s research. When his billion-dollar company and her marine research project collide, their entire relationship crumbles into the sand. Will they be able to rebuild their beautiful sandcastle together, or will it be washed away by the rising tide, forever just a memory?

Celestine “Celine” Navarro has it all—wealth, influence, and a last name tied to a billion-peso coffee empire. But as the heiress of Navarro Coffee, her life feels like a gilded cage of boardrooms, family expectations, and insincere suitors. Longing for freedom, she disguises herself as an ordinary barista in one of her own cafés, determined to live a life where no one knows her name. That’s when she meets Liam Reyes, a talented but debt-stricken architect whose quiet intensity hides a storm of guilt and desperation. To him, Celine is just the clumsy new barista who can barely tame an espresso machine—but her wit and warmth begin to chip away at his walls. For the first time, Celine feels truly seen, not as an heiress but as a woman. But Liam carries a dangerous secret. Crushed under debts and blackmailed by Navarro Coffee’s fiercest rivals, he is forced into sabotage—stealing files and betraying the very company Celine is destined to inherit. What starts as banter over coffee turns into a fragile romance built on lies, one that teeters on collapse the moment truths spill over. When betrayal is uncovered and loyalties tested, Celine and Liam must face an impossible choice: protect the empire and the people they love, or risk everything for a love that was never meant to survive. A story of hidden identities, sabotage, and a love as intoxicating—and as dangerous—as the richest brew.

Lyra was never supposed to be the heroine. In the novel she read in her past life, Lyra was just a placeholder—the adopted daughter of a high-society family who dropped her the second their real daughter returned. Then came the humiliation. The neglect. The death that barely registered in the plot. But this Lyra? She’s not following the script. Reincarnated into the story, Lyra remembers everything. She knows where the plot is headed—and she plans to derail it. Step one: make herself indispensable. Step two: change the fate of Ethan, the second male lead who disappeared without resolution. He was brilliant, guarded, and completely overlooked by the original heroine. Lyra—who adored him as a reader—isn’t about to let history repeat itself. She starts small: a business deal, market predictions, power moves. Somewhere in the chaos, they become something more. And when the real daughter returns, sweet on the surface and toxic underneath, Lyra proposes a marriage contract to survive. No feelings. No strings. Just strategy. But love doesn’t follow rules, and neither does fate. As alliances fracture and danger rises, Lyra must fight to stay in a story that was never meant to keep her. She won’t be discarded. She won’t be erased. This time, the side character is writing her own ending.

Jenna’s life shatters when a dangerous-looking stranger corners her asking about Alpha Caesar, the most feared man on campus, survival instinct kicks in. She lies straight to his face and runs. But fate has other plans. She thinks she's escaped. She's wrong. The man in her bathtub proves it. Caesar—the ruthless alpha himself—is barely alive in her bathtub, his memories scattered like the trail of carnage he left behind. Jenna patches him up, counting the hours until she can shove him out her door and reclaim her quiet life. But when Caesar's eyes finally open, everything changes. He looks at her like she's the answer to a question she never asked. His words raw and impossible; "Mate." One word. Her whole world tilts. Because if Caesar believes she's his mate, whoever tried to kill him will be coming for her next. And the man who can't remember his own name somehow remembers her in ways that make her blood run cold. How can Jenna escape from the possessive grip of the Alpha who have sworn to never let her go?

When Matteo Ricci threatens to end our engagement for the 100th time unless I take Lydia Capone's place in the famiglia's drug trial, I don't cry or make a scene. I just sign my name on the engagement termination agreement and calmly hand over the man I've loved for eight years to my twin sister. A few days later, Lydia storms the mafia summit like she owns the room, insulting the Pirelli family and daring anyone to stop her. I'm forced to step in and bear the full weight of her chaos. And now they're saying Lydia's body can't handle the trial after all, so they want me, the older sister, to take her place. The moment I agree, my parents smile at me for the first time in years. Even Matteo, who barely notices me, hovers nearby and murmurs, "Don't be afraid. The trial isn't lethal. When you get out, I'll take you for your favorite spaghetti alla Napoletana." But he has no idea that there's a late-stage stomach cancer diagnosis tucked inside my pocket. No matter what horrors the trial holds, he will never witness me walk out alive.

"You can’t be serious," Bethany whispered, cradling the emerald Caleb had placed in her hand. "I’ve never been more certain," Caleb said, his silver gaze locked on hers. "I would give you the world if I could. But all I want is you. My mate." Her breath caught. "You barely know me." Caleb’s fingers trailed up her cheek. "I’ve waited forty years to find you, Bethany. I knew you the moment I caught your scent. And I’m never letting you go." Caleb is the unmated Alpha of a cursed werewolf pack until he meets Bethany, a shy diner waitress with a hidden strength that shakes his world. For decades, Caleb believed fate had abandoned him. But one glance, one touch, one scent changes everything. Bethany doesn’t believe in fairy tales. Abandoned at birth, she’s lived a life of invisibility and heartbreak. So when the dangerously compelling Caleb declares her his mate, her world turns upside down. With bear shifters closing in and the full moon rising, Caleb and Bethany must defy the rules of nature, power, and fate to claim a love destined to save an entire pack

“Strip!” Lucas said in an authoritative tone, and my body shivered in excitement. My eyes never leave his golden ones that shine so brightly. I wanted to tease him a little, but then this was supposed to be a lesson, and he was the teacher. “Are you having second thoughts about it?” His voice was barely audible, but I couldn't miss the tone that said, ‘You don't have the guts to do it. You are still a kid!’ With determination, I zipped down my gown and pulled it at a go. “No, I'm not having second thoughts,” I murmured, and then before he could utter his next words, I pulled him by his tie and kissed him on the lips as hungrily as I could ever be. “Easy, little one, let me show you what satisfaction means.” ~~~ When Abigail's father sends Abigail to intern at his best friend's company, he expects Lucas to keep a watchful eye on her while he is away. But as they spend more time together, Lucas finds himself drawn to Abigail's captivating character and vibrant spirit. Torn between his promise to his best friend and his growing desires, Lucas must decide whether he will fight his feelings or destroy the relationship between him and his best friend.

For over thirty years, my wife Janet faked being broke—for her flimsy ex. When our son Asher landed in the hospital, I begged and borrowed from everyone I knew. Still came up fifty bucks short. Janet? Said she was tapped out. So my mom sold off her own meds to cover the bill—never told me. She died without treatment. I handled my mom's funeral alone. When I went to pick up Asher from the hospital, I found a stash of Janet's old shopping receipts. Custom suits. Million-dollar watches. A damn private jet. I grabbed them and stormed off to confront her. Asher cut me off. "Dad, Mr. Sackett's sick. Mom's just helping him out. Why are you freaking out?" I stared at the kid who only lived because my mom died. It felt like something cracked inside me. Janet barely looked up. "Connor's educated. He deserves the finer things. Unlike you—crying over fifty bucks like some househusband. See? I didn't give you the money, and Asher's fine." Fine. If that's how they see it, I'm done with this family.