By Hook Or By Crook Meaning

Mistreated her whole life by the family she was adopted into, Dakota Stone still strives to win her stepfamily’s love and approval despite their aloof and uncaring behavior towards her. Her life takes an unexpected turn when Elias Persson, a cold and intimidating billionaire, who was supposed to marry her sister, takes a sudden interest in her instead. Faced with a shocking betrayal by her fiancé and sister, she turns to Elias with a surprising proposal - a contract marriage. As long buried secrets in her family come to light, will the weight of her family’s deeds destroy her or will she find a safe haven in the arms of Elias?

I'm already half-blind in my left eye, but Cedric Thompson forces me to donate my right cornea to his childhood sweetheart. Her parents berate me. "She's blind now! It's not like you'll die without one eye's cornea!" Cedric consoles me. "We're only taking the cornea for one eye. It won't affect anything." I'm forcibly placed under anesthesia. I lose all hope in life before my eyes slide shut. I would never have married him if I'd know he would treat me like this. He has no idea I can barely see with my left eye now.

After Sarah finds her boyfriend in the arms of another she heads to the beach to clear her thoughts. Once there, she meets Dom, who she thinks will be the perfect distraction from her broken heart. It's only for the weekend? But what if it's not? When Sarah gets home her best friend Kane is waiting for her with open arms. Kane's more than he appears and when Dom shows up, she's going to have to make a choice or will she?

“ I don’t like you, you’re not fit to be called my mate,”he growled , his cold gaze piercing through me. “ I hate you , I don’t want to be your mate ,” I fired back at him. Thereafter he rejected me, I accepted ,but the bond refused to break. *** When Layla was forced into an arranged bond with the Heir-Alpha after the moon goddess chose her as his mate during a ceremony, he doesn’t love her because his heart is tied to someone else. She doesn’t have any reason to be tied to a cold , bitter Alpha. But then they had no choice. Living under the same roof, in the same room, resisting their mate bond became a daily battle. When dark secrets begin to unfold and danger threatens the pack, their fake connection may be the only thing that can save them. Will they finally seal the bond to protect everything that they know or will their secrets tear them apart?

Lily was the little sister of my fiancé’s best friend. She was a mistress to a mafia Don—a sugar daddy—until his wife found out, and the clip of Lily getting beaten up ended up on the local news. Yet, somehow, everyone thought the woman getting dragged on TV was me. People at work who never liked me jumped at the chance to pile on. One of them even pointed right at my face and called me shameless. I tried to explain, “My fiancé is Sam Johnson, the CEO of Johnson Group. He’s handsome and ranked third on the Forbes list. Why would I become a mistress to a sugar daddy?” However, no one believed me. If anything, they looked at me like I was even more pathetic. One coworker sneered and pointed to the TV. “You’re not just morally bankrupt; you’re a liar. The CEO’s fiancée? That’s not you.” The TV was playing a breaking news segment titled: First Appearance of Johnson Group CEO’s Fiancée. And there Sam was, arm in arm with Lily, officially announcing their relationship.

When Karen Miller gets convinced by her therapist to accept the contract of pretending to be Brody Taylor's girlfriend, she doesn't expect the worse to happen. Her life gets miserable when Brody's rich and arrogant family visits them. When Brody's parents secretly prepare a wedding party for him to get married to Karen, secrets are revealed and a bummer happens. It was just a contract, she wasn't meant to marry him. This wasn't part of the deal. Will Brody and Karen truly fall in love despite all the pretence?

“The one person who makes my life worth living is dying. . .Kelvin is sick with lung cancer and the doctors say he's going to die if we do not begin his treatment immediately," Zara blurted out. “His treatment costs twelve thousand US dollars for the first six months. Now I'm going to lose Kelvin because I can not arrange the money that is needed for his treatment. He's dying and I'm helpless," Zara cried. "Zara? What if I told you that I have the solution to your problem? My company is dying. The only way to save it is to get married and I do not want to do that right now. I am willing to pay the bills you need if you become my fake wife. So the question is, will you, Zara Lawman, accept to be my fake wife?" ___________________________________________________ When love plays a cruel game, what will they do? In the aim to save her beloved Kelvin from dying, Zara accepts a contract marriage. In order to save his company, Oliver takes a fake wife. Everything goes as planned until Zara starts falling for Oliver . Meanwhile, Kelvin’s body starts rejecting treatment. As hard as Zara tries not to love Oliver, she finds herself dreaming of only him. This makes her miserable. As hard as Oliver tries not to fall for Zara who he believes loves her boyfriend, he finds himself wanting only her. Things begin to go south when Vanessa— Oliver's nemesis—does her possible best to destroy whatever he has with Zara. At the same time, Kelvin finds out the truth about Zara’s feelings. Now Zara is forced to chose who she will keep loving and Oliver is forced to do what he believes is the right thing, terminate the contract wedding. Meanwhile, Kelvin is dying. . .

You must be crazy to think I'll mate with the one who murdered my parents! ************* Zephyr is a ruthless Alpha who vowed to eliminate all rogues he comes across with. Bellona is an assassin rogue who wants more than anything to kill Zephyr because she believes that he killed her parents. Bellona has only one thing on her mind. Revenge. She gets closer to Zephyr and even becomes his secretary. However,a silly mistake on her part blows her cover and reveals who she really is. Will Bellona be blinded by revenge or can love overcome hate?

In the depths of despair, Cassia's life is a tapestry of pain and torment. Abused and broken, betrayed by her family, she finds herself sold into a world beyond human reckoning. Her buyer, Samael, a merciless demon prince, is as feared as he is captivating. As Cassia enters the darkness of Samael's realm, she discovers a connection that defies the boundaries of good and evil. Bound by a powerful, inexplicable force, they navigate a treacherous path where love, redemption, and danger entwine. In a world where demons rule and secrets shroud reality, Cassia must confront her past and find the strength within her to not only survive but to melt the icy heart of the demon prince who now holds her fate in his hands. This is a tale of forbidden love, dark desires, and the enduring power of the human spirit. But as Cassia and Samael's connection deepens, whispers of ancient prophecies and hidden truths cast doubt upon Cassia's humanity. With each passing day, she begins to question her very essence. Is she truly just a helpless human, or is there something more, something extraordinary lurking within her? In a world where demons and destiny collide, their love becomes a beacon of hope, challenging the boundaries of what it means to be human. Can love truly to conquer all, even when faced with the darkness of demons and the mysteries of destiny?

CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this book contains sensitive themes and includes explicit scenes, making up approximately 20% of its content. It is intended for mature readers only. _ "Teka lang, Sir! A-Ano kasi eh..." Napangiwi si Mahal habang naghahagilap ng mairarason dito sa lalaking ito na binili siya sa Auction. "Are you kidding me? 'Teka lang?' Are you sure that's really 'teka lang?" Napayuko na lang siya dahil sa pagalit na natanong ng lalaki. Halatang napipikon na sa kaniya. Inilapit pa nito ang mukha sa kaniya para iparamdam sa kaniya ang inis nito at nagsalita, "Remember, I paid a hefty 10.5 million at the auction just to purchase you. You wouldn't have even set foot in that auction if you hadn't given your consent. So now that you're under my ownership, don't think you can fool me with your usual 'teka lang, sir' tactics kasi kabisado ko na 'yan." Para siyang tinanggalan ng utak na nakatunganga sa pinagsasabi nito na ang tanging naintindihan lang ay ang salitang, 'kabisado ko na 'yan.' Ano naman ang alam niya sa English kasi tulog naman siya lagi sa subject na iyon noong nag-aaral pa siya. Para naman huminahon ito, nagsalita na lang siya. "Ahm...wag ka na magalit sir, maghuhugas lang naman ako. Ayaw mo naman ng mabaho, diba?"