Better Than Before

Ashley Grey knows better than to get involved with her bestfriend that's in a relationship. She has been keeping her feelings for him a secret for years. Until one day they are dared to kiss each other. Then everything is flipped between them. Stolen kisses, touches and a whole lot of tension. These two go on a journey that will either drift them apart or pull them even closer. “ I can’t be your friend Ley when I know how you taste.” This book is part of a series: Book 1: Badboy Asher Book 2: His Blonde Temptress Book 3: Loving The Enemy Book 4: Bestfriends Shouldn't Know How You Taste

I'm the heiress of an affluent family. The housekeeper's daughter secretly wears my gown prepared for my birthday party, and I'm about to teach her a lesson. Suddenly, I see real-time comments. "This female antagonist is just jealous that the female protagonist looks better in the gown than she does!" "It's fine. The male protagonists are going to show up soon!" "Let's hang on for a bit more. I'd like to see this antagonist continue being so snobby once her family goes bankrupt!" In the next second, my brother and fiancé show up. They shield the housekeeper's daughter in their arms. Sneering, I commanded the staff, "Strip all three of them."

“I will never love you.” His voice was deep and quiet, yet cold enough to pierce straight through my bones. God, I knew he only married me because I had the same rare blood type as his lover. I just want to be able to breathe and live better than I do now. When I asked for a divorce, he should have been happy—his lover had regained consciousness, after all. But his reaction was confusing. “You want a divorce? Do you think you can pull another sly trick by saying that?” “There will be no divorce until you repay everything I’ve given to your family, Sandra.'"

In the crowd of people, his eyes were fixed on her. From the twitch of her lips to the blink of her lashes she was the only thing his eyes wanted to see, his hands to touch and his stupid heart, who he believed never existed want to beat for. He was not only following her every move but was making sure no other eyes look at her the way he was looking at her because he knew the beauty in red is going to be the desire looming in every men's eyes at the party. He was claiming his possession just by fixing his look on her because he knew very well, that every living being in this hall knows when he fixes his eyes on something it's his and everyone knows better than challenging him. Because a battle with the devil is a battle you lost even before you step into the battlefield. It was becoming too much for him to maintain the distance, he wanted to walk her side, put his hands around her waist, bring her closer to the warmth of his chest, he wants to kiss the hell out of her in front of everyone, the scenario made the blood rush to his southern region, every passing second was like a torture to him, which he was enduring for the time being. He knew she is not meant to be his, but hell he will take her by hook or crook doesn't matter if he is bringing her to the hell he rules. Is she your queen? the sane part of his mind asked. The question made the devil smirk at the thought of what she is to him, a knowledge he confined to himself.

They thought he was just another runaway. They never knew she was a storm waiting to rise. After the tragic death of her parents, Alex a girl mistaken for a boy all her life was one step away from being dumped into a foster home. But instead of surrendering to the system, she ran. That night on the streets, she didn’t find safety. She found the mafia. Dragged into the brutal underground world of Vegas, Alex was forced to train like a soldier, live like a ghost, and survive like a killer. No one ever questioned her identity not when she could fight better, bleed harder, and keep her mouth shut longer than anyone else. They called her a boy. She didn’t correct them. Not when being seen as male was the only thing keeping her alive. Sent to Base Two, the deadliest tier of training, Alex learned to fight, spy, kill and to hide her real self behind layers of silence, steel, and scars. Years later, she walks the streets of New York, not as the scared runaway girl from the past, but as The Rival. A faceless vigilante by night. A silent infiltrator by day. And a weapon forged for one purpose: revenge. Alex isn’t just hunting criminals. She’s chasing the truth behind her father’s deathand every masked figure connected to it. But the deeper she digs, the more twisted the game becomes. Hidden enemies, familiar faces, and a web of betrayal that leads right back to the organization that made her. How long can she keep the mask on... before her real identity shatters everything?

I married my vampire husband ten years ago and gave him a half-blood heir, abandoning my career as a painter to become a full-time mother. Fortunately, my son inherited my talent. At just six years old, he held his first solo art exhibition, inspired by the theme "My Mother." But he never let me attend, and he never let me see his paintings. My husband said my presence would make Luke nervous---that I should stay home and do the housework as a good wife and mother, and wait for them to come back. I told myself he was just young and didn't know better, that he was only pushing back against my discipline, not truly rejecting me. Until the day I snuck into the gallery wearing a surgical mask pulled low. In the center of the crowd, my husband held our son's hand while tenderly pulling a woman in a red dress into his arms. He turned to the guests and announced: "This is Luke's mother---my wife." The three of them stood together, beaming with perfect happiness. And I---the one who'd stayed up all night setting up this exhibition---stood before the paintings while not a single person recognized me. That was when I finally understood. My seemingly gentle, caring vampire husband had long ago given our son a replacement mother. And I was nothing more than the human nanny who'd served her purpose by producing an heir.

I looked at him, smiling back, thinking it was all a game, but deep down, I felt the pulse of something far more real. His hand brushing down to my waist, teasing my ability to give in. And in that quiet, I didn’t know it yet, but my body was about to betray me completely, as I melted into his burning touch. He looked into my eyes, leaning slightly closer than I expected. "Can I kiss you?" Roy asked, almost like he was at the verge of smashing his lips against mine. ******* Hailey Queen was done playing nice after her ex humiliated her, dumped in front of the whole school and took her step sister to prom. Now it’s her turn to ruin his perfect little world. And what better way than to show up with the school’s hottest new obsession—Royd Williams, the cold, mysterious hockey captain everyone wants but no one can have. *******Trigger warning****** Smut**Smut**

Completed-----She felt good—better than Zander Stanton remembered, and he had a damn good memory when it came to this woman. But his hatred was more pronounced than the little voice in his head telling him to give her what she wanted—his love. But Elvie had never been the one for Zander. He loathed her. He hated her family for arranging a marriage he never wanted. Yet she had no choice, and a day hadn’t gone by when she hadn’t replayed memories of the man who’d captured her heart without trying. Here she was, just as stupid as she remembered. "I—I'll take a shower, and I'll be b-back." She muttered and left his room immediately. This was her goodbye; tonight, Zander would be hers. And she would set him free forever. Five years later, with amnesia and a missing four-year-old daughter, could fate play her again, or was she willing to quench his desperate thirst for her love?

Iris Calloway is engaged to Lucien Blackwood, powerful, ruthless, and everything a future empire demands. A life of luxury, security, and devotion is already written for her. What no one knows is that her heart has already betrayed him. Adrian Blackwood is Lucien’s younger brother just as powerful, just as dangerous, and far more forbidden. He is the one Iris was never meant to want, the one whose quiet intensity ignites a fire she cannot extinguish. Loving him would destroy more than her engagement. It would shatter a dynasty. Adrian wants her too. He just knows better than to claim her. Caught between loyalty and desire, Iris must decide whether to honor the life she promised or surrender to the man who was never meant to be hers. But restraint crumbles, secrets unravel, and when she finds herself entangled with both brothers, the line between choice and ruin disappears. Because some loves demand sacrifice. Others demand destruction. And when desire refuses to choose, everything burns.

My parents, the wealthiest couple in the country, were famous philanthropists. I had to ask them for permission if I wanted to spend more than five bucks. The day I was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I asked them for 100 dollars, but instead of helping, they yelled at me for three hours. "What kind of disease could you get at your age? If you're going to ask for money, at least come up with a better excuse." "Do you know that 100 dollars could support children in poverty-stricken areas for a long time? Your sister is more sensible than you." I dragged my sick body for miles, back to the small basement I called home. But as I passed the mall, I saw my parents, live on a huge screen, spending a fortune to rent out Disneyland for my sister. I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. A hundred dollars wouldn't even cover one round of chemotherapy. I just wanted to buy a new outfit and leave with some dignity.