Barely Tolerable

Everyone knew I, Isabella Marino, was Vince Moretti's greatest weakness—the one thing the mafia boss would never tolerate being touched. Years ago, when I was kidnapped, Vince disarmed himself at gunpoint, risking death to get me back, even paying his entire fortune for my ransom. To keep me from harm, he walked a razor's edge, navigating danger at every turn. After I got pregnant, he waited on me hand and foot, barely letting my feet touch the ground. There were rumors that he kept a pampered mistress outside—some woman he spoiled rotten. I never believed them. But then she flaunted herself in front of me. To beg for my forgiveness, Vince cut off his own finger. The next day, that woman slapped her pregnancy test results in my face, sneering, "Vince wanted a baby with me so badly, he just couldn't help himself!" I was already frail. The shock and rage sent me into a miscarriage.

As the most eligible bachelor in Rivenhold, Alex Ye is engrossed in his work and shows no interest in women. One day, due to family pressure, Mr. Ye reluctantly went on a blind date. He had to convince himself, 'I might as well get married, have a child, and live a normal life.’ However, after the date, he was informed that he has a three-year-old daughter. Alex was shocked: “How can this be?!" ----------- One morning, Michelle Xia awoke to find a three-year-old child running a fever beside her, as well as a pile of messy overdue bills scattered around. Staring at her bank book, with a balance barely in double digits, Michelle realized she didn't even have enough to get the child to a doctor. Deep in thought, Michelle weighed her limited options. It didn't take her long to come to a decision. "To avoid the child's fever causing any brain damage," she mused with a hint of mischief, "perhaps I'll just have to interrupt the secondary male lead, who might be on a date with the heroine right now (^_^)."

Blinded by the past, she was rescued from the tremendous tragedy. Annabeth Lacson was comatose for almost 5 years. She doesn't have any idea about what happened to her when she was only 16 years old and has a vague memory of everything that happened, including the person who saved her, whose face she could barely remember. Because of this, Annabeth Lacson became too dependent on her older brother, Inigo Lacson, as she suffered from a fear of being alone called autophobia. On the other hand, she was not on good terms with her other older brother, which is Red Duncan Lacson, the younger brother of Blue Inigo, and she doesn't even have an idea about how it was started. She just woke up one day from a coma after 5 years that her other brother was pissed at her for a reason that she doesn't have an idea. But when the secret of the past slowly unfolds in Annabeth's eyes, will she be able to make everything right after knowing that her life was a big lie?

Tammie Daniels never imagined her life would come to this: marrying a man she barely knows to save her family's business. Raised in a world where independence was her most prized possession, Tammie now looks down on the impossible an arranged marriage to billionaire Collins Blackwood, a man with a reputation as cold as his fortune is vast. Since he was young, Collins hasn't been about anything but building his empire. Love and marriage never came, and quite frankly, he never thought they would, until a promise made to his dying father forces his hand. He has to marry Tammie to secure a deal that will expand his empire. Neither of them anticipated anything more than a business agreement, and Tammie and Collins couldn't be further apart. Lives are shared, and the fire sparks fly: less expectedly, feelings grow, and the boundaries between business and pleasure blur. In a world where one can hardly trust anyone and love is a crapshoot, can two people bound by duty and honor find something real, or was this truly a contract with no heart?

When Marcus, a notorious playboy billionaire, makes a bet with his friends that he can get any woman to marry him, he never expected to fall for the one woman he chose purely on a whim. Nicole is a struggling artist, barely making ends meet, and when Marcus offers her a sum of money to enter into a contract marriage with him, she reluctantly agrees. At first, their relationship is purely business, but as they spend more time together, they begin to realize that there's something deeper between them. Marcus is a complex man with a troubled past, but Nicole sees something in him that no one else ever has. As they navigate the difficulties of a contract marriage, they begin to fall for each other, despite their initial reluctance. However, their newfound love is threatened by outside forces. Nicole’s ex-boyfriend, a jealous musician, tries to sabotage their relationship at every turn, and Marcus’s cutthroat business rivals see his marriage as an opportunity to bring him down. As they fight to protect their love, Marcus and Nicole must confront their demons and learn to trust each other to build a real, lasting relationship.

"I'm in love with the new teacher." I announced, and the whole room fell silent. I could barely look at mum. She was in anguish. I had brought those pains to her already fragile heart. I had broken her heart to a point where the pieces couldn't be mended together anymore. The judge cleared his throat, and peered closely at me. "Are you sure of what you just said, Devan Baker?" He quizzed. I glanced at Mum once more, and gave my reply. "Yes I am." I announced, and the whole room fell into uproar. I gazed at their faces. The irony of life. What was good for me, couldn't be good for you. I wasn't a minor any more, and so I could choose who I wanted to be in love with, or maybe I wasn't supposed to? However, I had chosen to fall in love with Ms. Ellen Dudley the new teacher, and the world thought I was wrong? What did the world know? Things had begun to get messy, and I was in deep shit...

"Sir... We can't do this, here." She managed to let the words out trying her best not to moan at the way his touch was igniting fire out of her body. "It's Daddy for you, Tessa." He whispered to her ears as he pinned her more to the desk of his office. "Daddy will give you an exotic pleasure." His words made her wetter than she already was. She barely had the time to process his words when she felt his finger pulsed into her wet front fiercely. ** Tessa's sexual desires were put to the test when she and her mother moved into her new stepfather's house. Tessa thought she would get a comfortable stay and a fresh start with her new family. However, her plans were shattered by the charms and sexual tension of her stepfather. Not only did Tessa find herself succumbing to the allure of his pleasure. He turns out to be her professor who would stop at nothing to tangle her In his sheets of pleasure.

Freya, born to Omega parents and unable to shift at sixteen, faced isolation and rejection. Alpha Dominic mated with her, then cruelly rejected her at dawn for being human. Devastated, Freya runs away, carrying a hidden secret-a three-year-old child. Four years later, fate brings them together again, igniting a tale of love, betrayal, and a bond that may or may not reignite. ***************** "You're f*cking mine, Freya," he growled, his words dripping with possessiveness. "No one else can satisfy you like I can." I gripped the sheets, while biting my lips as I surrendered to the relentless pleasure being thrusted between my thighs. "Yes, Alpha Dominic," I moaned, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm yours, only yours." He gripped my hips tightly, his fingers digging into my skin possessively as he drove into me with unbridled passion. "Say it again," he demanded, his voice husky with desire. "I'm yours," I cried out, my voice rising with each thrust. "Yours forever."

At 20, Judi thought her life was finally turning around. She and her niece Aria had been struggling for years, barely scraping by in a run down apartment. Then Aria met a man online, a Norwegian billionaire named Aleksander Barginsen and everything changed. Within days, money was pouring in. Gifts, rent paid in full, a luxury penthouse and it felt like a dream. But that dream unraveled fast. Because the man Aria had been talking to wasn’t Aleksander at all. It was his nephew, pretending to be him, spending Aleksander’s fortune behind his back. And when the real billionaire finds out, he shows up furious and ready to press charges. Aria is arrested, and Judi’s world falls apart all over again. But Aleksander offers her a deal: a contract with terms that could get Aria out of jail. It’s risky. It’s complicated. And it comes at a cost Judi isn’t sure she’s ready to pay. Twisted Fate is a gripping story about deception, loyalty, and the impossible choices we make for the people we love.

Community Service. Two words I should be thankful for, but I’m not. I resent the hours it’s away from building my business. When they push the little girl into the room, her crazy curls barely held back by the barrette in her hair, and studious glasses on her face, I can tell she’s scared. Something inside of me breaks, and I want this girl to feel wanted again. What I’m unprepared for is meeting her mom. The second our hands touch, there are fireworks, bright lights, and a picture of the future I could one day have. The future I’ve never allowed myself to wish for. Community service becomes more than a chore. In the months that follow, I realize they’re just like me: they’ve been abandoned, left behind by the world, forgotten by those who should love them. Thanks to the one last hope in both our lives - we found the light in the darkness we’d been searching for.Trick is created by Laramie Briscoe, an eGlobal Creative Publishing author.