Chapter Ii Coffee

My sister has awakened her mermaid bloodline, but it is incomplete. Her skin is her curse. A single touch, too hard, and it cracks. For her, everything hard in our house has been thrown away. I love to dance, but the hard tips of ballet shoes are forbidden. I love music, but the strings of a guitar or the keys of a piano are too dangerous. Every dream I've ever had has been strangled in its cradle because of my sister's condition. My brother, Liam, who raised us both, always looks at me with tired, pleading eyes. "Elara is fragile, Isla. You have to be understanding." But I was only eighteen the first time I truly understood. I came home from my high school graduation ceremony, the scent of sunshine and excitement still on my clothes. The moment I stepped inside, Elara's hand connected with my cheek. Hard. For no reason at all. Everyone rushed to her. Liam pointed a furious finger at me. "Look what you've done! You've hurt her hand! How could you be so careless?" He shoved me aside and rushed out with Elara to find a doctor. I fell back against the glass coffee table, the impact jarring. And then, a strange, cold pain bloomed across my back. I felt my skin... tear. It was then I remembered the doctor's words from my last check-up: "You carry the Siren's Gene, Isla. It could manifest at any time." As my vision blurred, my own blood pooling on the pristine white floor, I finally understood. The curse wasn't just my sister's. It was mine, too.

It all started when Athena opened the back door of the coffee shop to a mysterious but handsome man in a wheelchair. Athena always thought that she was just an ordinary person. Little did she know that she will be saving one of the greatest Alpha in the world, who turned out to be her boss, Mr. Drake. Since then an invisible red string had already tied their fate. A wolfless Alpha and a Powerful Luna, two broken souls that belong to two different worlds, or so they thought. As secrets of their past chase them down, tearing them apart, making them deny what they feel for each other. But the moon goddess has other plans for them. And just like magnets, the invisible red thread always pulls them back together. *************"Athena, you know my wolf has not made a comeback. Aside from that, you have not shifted yet. But I want to mark you, I want to claim you, I want to make you mine.” Drake lay down beside me, I lay on my side so that I am facing him. He rested his head on his right hand as he looked down at me, eyes filled with so much affection. "I want you to be my Luna," my heart skipped a beat upon hearing him say these words. “But I know that it's not possible right now,” there was a hint of sadness in his voice but when his eyes lock into mine I see no sign of sadness, instead, it was filled with so much hope."That's why I want to make a proposal,” my breath hitches as I wait with so much anticipation as to what he has to say. "Let me claim you in a different way. Let me make love to you.”

I'm 29 years old, nearly 30 and so far, my sister and Photography have been my life and soul. Ever since I stepped foot in my first darkroom during my Sophomore year I always had a hunch that this would be my true passion. Since I held my first camera. Set up my first tripod, captured my first photo and filmed my first piece. I just knew that this is what I wanted to do. My life has been a complicated mess since I was 10 years old. My life was thrown away by my parents because I was a burden to them, I had a pen pal who I vented my anger out on for years yet he had become a huge part of my life. I haven't had a serious relationship in...well...ever and It's not every day that you find a man wanting to talk to you...granted, this man is the one who spilt his coffee down me the first time we met and from then on he became the Baine of my existence. I live in Texas City, Houston and I love what I do, the freedom it gives me being behind a camera but it also comes with a price when you least expect it. My life was complicated enough but when I vent out on a secret to this man, my feelings towards him become stir crazy and a whirlwind of emotions. One's I didn't want in the first place because 2 weeks before meeting said man...I was applying for a year long fellow ship abroad. A once in a lifetime opportunity to go to one of Spain's most explored and cultured cities - Barcelona.

After the death of her mother, Autumn Jones finally gets her life together the only thing bothering her is a persistent man who wants to buy her building at all costs but she refuses every time. How could she ever sell the last thing she inherited from her mother? She enters a yoga class where she meets Summer whom she befriends immediately not knowing she is her ex"s sister. One day as Summer visits Autumn's coffee shop her brother Domenic shows up, but he doesn't come for his sister. He is behind the man who was trying to buy the building not knowing Autumn was the owner. When his eyes land on Autumn he can't believe that the woman in front of him is the same girl whose virginity he took years ago before going to college. The girl he humiliated just to win a bet not knowing the damage he was causing. She haunted his dreams for years and now was standing in front of him. Autumn didn't waste a second, she threw him out. The shock of seeing him revived all the memories she tried so hard to bury. It takes Domenic a lot of tries and a lot of patience in order to break through Autumn's defenses and earn her trust again, as well as it takes some time for Autumn to understand Domenic's fears. The things get more complicated with the arrival of Alice, a woman whose sole interest in life is to marry Domenic and enter the Davis Jones family. She will stop at nothing to separate Autumn and Domenic, but will she succeed, or will love and trust prevail?

Georgia Brooks, the notorious, troublesome tomboy is the caretaker of Clark Brown, the mysterious, cold man who is an undercover billionaire. Georgia's motive is to uncover him and just make him happy. But what when secrets are revealed and the badass tomboy is close to tears? Join them on this rocky road of adventures which includes their occasional fights and revenge, stolen kisses, trip to a circus, journey to England, landing in jail and much more! Excerpt from a chapter : His lips curled in disdain and just when he was about to unwrap the towel, I quickly turned around showing my back to him. What the fucking hell? What if I saw his thing? "Don't you care? Like honestly, couldn't you just order like your usual self to get the hell out of your bedroom or just . . . turn around for you to change? You could have at least warned me that you were freeing your willy, I would have closed my eyes!" I rambled and felt myself feeling all jittery again. He didn't reply and I could mentally picture him scoffing or rolling his pretty eyes. A part of me which never saw a grown man's buddy down there was curious as to how it looked. Was it really long and monstrous like a huge sausage they describe in erotic scenes? Was it soft like a banana or hard like a radish? Was is it like spring that when you poke it, it would go wagging like a dog's tail? A teeny little peek would do no harm . . .

Elias Rourke was more than a billionaire he was a tempest in a custom-fitted suit. As the CEO of Rourke Enterprises a bachelor, he was known for his icy effectiveness, merciless transactions, and total absence of emotion. Everyone referred to him as “Ice King” when he wasn't around. Up until her. Chloe Hart had worked as his secretary for slightly more than two weeks. Timid, kind-hearted, and excessively courteous, she was the type of woman who kept track of birthdays, tended to plants, and uttered "please" to the coffee maker. Elias hardly paid attention to her,until the morning she entered his office unannounced. “I apologize for the interruption,” she said, her voice shaking, “but you haven’t had anything to eat today.” "It's nearly four." He looked at her, irritated. “That’s none of your business.” “I prepared a sandwich for you.” She places it on his desk and walks away before he has a chance to reply to her. Even with how rude he is to her, she brings him homemade meals everyday and lavender tea after tough meetings. He started to notice little details about her, the way she played with her necklace when anxious, she shows no emotions even when he yells at her. One day, he sees himself approaching her desk not to order her around, but to ask her about her well being. When a scandal almost destroys Elias’s empire. She stays by his side, not out of obligation, but because she trusted him. He looked at her and whispered, “You are the gentleness in my whole existence." "I don't know how to show emotions, but I will learn just for you." Chloe smiled, looking at him and said "Steel is capable of melting, Elias." "Even kings can experience love."

BLOODY THRONE A gripping and emotionally charged Mafia romance set in the heart of Italy’s criminal elite. Rosana Marcello never imagined her life would change at the altar. She thought she was about to marry the man she loved and begin a new chapter—until the chapel doors flew open and her world came crashing down. Sergio De Niro didn’t arrive with violence. He arrived with purpose. And he wasn’t there to stop her wedding. He came to take what was his. Raised in an orphanage and unaware of her bloodline, Rosana never knew she was the last living descendant of the powerful De Luca family—the very name Sergio had sworn to wipe from the earth. But instead of ending her life, he bound it to his with a vow written in blood. Now held captive in a world of ruthless men and whispered secrets, Rosana must navigate a dangerous new reality. Every glance, every silence, every shadow around her is a test. As she unearths the truth about her past, she also discovers something far more dangerous—who she’s becoming. Trapped between a man who sees her as both threat and prize, and the legacy of a family drenched in violence, Rosana faces a brutal choice: surrender to the forces trying to shape her, or rise against them and claim the power they never meant for her to hold. This isn’t just a love story. It’s a tale of survival, of identity, and of the razor-thin line between vengeance and loyalty. In the end, she may wear the crown—but it will be forged from blood.

The story of a seventeen-year-old Alyssa Sparks with a caring father, abusive mother and hateful pack tumbles downhill when she realizes that everything she knew was a lie as she’s been reared like a pig for slaughter her entire life. Taken away by the ruthless Alpha King thirteen years ago, he offered her to the low-ranking Alpha and Luna of the Moonfall pack to be groomed till she was ripe enough to be taken back by him. Now she is. Putting the life she was accustomed to behind, Alyssa flees from the clutches of the monster, only to find refuge in a hidden school of Lycans using a stolen identity she can’t feel guilty for. And if capturing the attention of the most powerful Alpha isn’t bad enough, she gets entwined with five sexy males that send her world spinning, falling deeper in their strangling reigns the harder she tries to wriggle free. But amidst the choking tangles, Alyssa’s fire ignites when she learns that the Alpha King will set war in the territories and subsequently gets wind of a legendary gem said to be hidden somewhere in the very school she crash-landed into… A gem that can stop the monster... but Alyssa’s not the only one looking for The Flaming Ruby. Can Alyssa free herself from the tangles of a reverse harem, balance her collapsing school life and take revenge on the evil monster who took everything from her… and still wants her as a sex slave? ~Be prepared for what you’re going into because this is a DARK romance story. Trigger warnings are listed in the first chapter~

"Huh," she said awkwardly, looking at her hands. Seriously, Grace, just die; she cursed herself. "But you know the funniest thing..." he said, now standing in front of her, since when, she wondered. As he traced the line of her ears with his thumb, she shivered in excitement. Boy! Who would have thought she was sensitive in that area? He forced her head up with his hand. "I am going to fuck you here, Grace, and it won’t be a joke." Grace Bush, the only child of a prominent Canadian family known for her selflessness, and sweetness, experiences a tragic incident on the happiest day of her life, resulting in the loss of her entire family. Left as the only survivor, she undergoes a profound transformation from a sweet innocent child to a wild and self-centered individual. In order to claim her late father's wealth, she decided to train herself in a well-known firm, facing unexpected challenges. Just as she contemplates giving up, fate presents her with a life-altering job opportunity, offering an escape from her troubled hometown, or did it? Noah Creed, the handsome billionaire CEO of The S.O publishing industry in New York, appears to have it all – wealth, looks, and success. Despite being divorced three times, a father, and engaged, he has never truly understood or desired love until he encounters Grace Bush, a wild and unpredictable newcomer in his film industry. Little does he know, their meeting will open a new chapter in his life.

I am Angel Lim. An avid fan of a popular novel called, 'The Angel They Adored'. It was a reverse harem story where countless men fell in love with the heroine. It's a great masterpiece but I always hated it whenever the greatest villainess harrases her. Yes. That's what I thought before reading the last chapter of the novel. It was the dying moment of princess Ledecia and for the first time, she reminisced her life. "Why did I even exist in the first place if all in my life I'll be in pain?" Those are the last words she utters before dying. And It was very painful. *Knock knock* I paused my thoughts when I heard a loud knock coming from the front door of my apartment. "I'm coming" "Delivery from lily's shop ma'am" I opened my door as I slowly approached the man standing before me. "Oh sorry? But I didn't---" realizing what he said, I immediately tried to said that I didn't order anything but my words were interrupted by a sudden pain. A sharp thing, pierced through my stomach I groaned as I see the blood flowing from my chest. How unfortunate. I wish I had treasured my life more. In the middle of losing conciousness, my honest feeling came out If I'll have the chance to live once again, I'll live free and happy. But then when I opened my eyes, I was transported into Princess Ledecia's body - a villainess from my favorite novel!