Clair Smiles Novels & Stories

Today is Morgan Franklin's 30th birthday. It also marks the day he brings up divorce in front of me for the 99th time. He doesn't sound guilty and tentative anymore, unlike his demeanor when he mentioned divorce for the first time. Instead, he has a cigarette dangling between his lips while looking at me mockingly. "I've already called the ambulance for you, Milana. Have you thought about how you're going to commit suicide this time? Are you slitting your wrist or overdosing on pills?" Everyone in the private room bursts out laughing. "I bet she's going down the sleeping pill route! She did that the last time, and she had to get her stomach pumped for three hours!" "Hell no! She's definitely jumping off a building this time! But she'll just wait for the firemen to lay out the safety mat before pretending to jump! She's not going to die at all!" "Nah… Ms. Brook is very creative when it comes to suicide. Every time she commits suicide, she always uses a different method!" Everyone is curious as to which suicide method I will use in order to get Morgan to stay this time. But when I notice the smiles on everyone's faces, I suddenly feel exhaustion weighing down on my soul. The anger that has been sustaining me for so long finally dissipates. I lower my gaze before stating calmly, "I'm not doing any of that. This time, I shall grant you your freedom."

*My mate turns out to be the mafia king?!* “Stop flirting with my staff.” My head snaps toward the guy I’ve run into twice today. I thought he was just an average school playboy. “Your staff?” I ask stupidly. He smiles widely. “That’s right, sweetheart. This is my club.” * “W-what are you doing?” I whisper, but the look in his eyes says it all. “Do you feel that?” He asks. It takes a second, but then I feel tiny sparks racing along my skin as his hand slips under my jacket and over my skin. I gasp, and then his lips are on mine. *** A few years ago, a series of scientific research buildings were attacked. The chemicals from those research facilities had seeped into our water supply and slowly manipulated our DNA. Last year was the first report of someone showing a hint of supernatural abilities. Then another and another until suddenly, there were people with abilities popping up all over the place. People with abilities were either feared or envied. I have tried hiding my ability for as long as I can. My ability would have me locked up and used until there was nothing left of me. The ability to heal is a gift everyone would want to take advantage of, so I never use it…ever. Until... I meet him. Julian. My schoolmate. The boss of The Hell Club. The Mafia King. My...mate. What we didn't know at the time was that these so-called DNA alterations were all werewolf genes growing inside the human body. And he, Julian... is my mate.

Once I begged for your love while our son drew his last breath. Now watch me take back everything you hold dear. The first time, I died on a rain-slicked road with my four-year-old's name on my lips and my husband's rejection still burning in my chest. Silas Vance took three years from me. Three years of existing like furniture in his mansion while he draped Clara over his arm at every gala, every interview, every moment that mattered. When our son needed him, really needed him he let my calls go to voicemail. Thirteen times. I counted. Our son didn't make it through the night. Neither did I. Then I opened my eyes. Two years earlier. Divorce papers on the nightstand. My son's laugh echoing from down the hall. This time, I won't beg. Won't wait. Won't shrink myself small enough to fit in the shadows he assigned me. This time, I'll become someone he doesn't recognize. Someone who smiles at his enemies, steals his deals, and dismantles his empire while he's still searching for his meek little wife. When he finally figures it out—when he's pounding on my door, begging for answers, desperate for a second chance? I'll hand him those signed papers and remind him: Some deaths are just the beginning.

On the day the gauze was removed from my eyes, I joked that I was blind. "Don't be afraid if you can't see. I'll take care of you my entire life." My husband and best friend took care of me while I was in the hospital. They sincerely made that promise to me. However, when we got home, all three of us were on the same bed. My best friend rode on top of my husband breathlessly. They were caught up in their intimacy as they thought I could not see. My best friend was worried I would suspect something and spoke up to eliminate any suspicion. "Uhh… Summer, I'm just giving your husband a massage." I was so disgusted that I wanted to throw up, but I held myself back. Once they were done, I was about to find an excuse to leave the room when my five-year-old suddenly ran in. "I miss you so much, Mom!" Hearing that warmed my heart, and I opened my arms to hug him, but he ran past me and lay down next to my best friend instead. The 'happy family of three' were all smiles and threw me looks of disgust. I could no longer tolerate this. When I called my lawyer, I told him to bring me the divorce papers. If they wanted to become a family so badly, I would make their wish come true. I just did not know if my best friend could afford to earn a decent enough income to take care of my useless husband and son.

Grandpa will be announcing his will at his birthday banquet. Apparently, I only possess the right to inherit the family's assets if I'm in a stable relationship with someone. I beg my girlfriend, Hannah Samson, countless times to have our relationship publicized. But she keeps using her overtime shift as an excuse. Today, she finally yields to me. "Alright. You should attend the family meeting first. I'll be there soon." The moment I step into the manor on my own, I hear my relatives' mocking laughter surrounding me. "You keep claiming that you're busy with your career every day. To think that you can't even bring your own girlfriend to this meeting! You do realize that your inheritance right depends on your partner, right? "Don't tell me you lied to us about having a girlfriend!" I clutch my phone tightly, feeling my palm going clammy with sweat. Time slowly ticks past. Just as Grandpa is about to read his will out loud, someone pushes the front door open abruptly. I turn around in delight, only for my smile to freeze on my face. Isaac Letterman, the fake heir, smiles wanly at everyone, his hand still laced with Hannah's. "Sorry, we're late." As I stare at the duo, I feel my heart plunging into an icy abyss. Then, I turn back to look at the relatives, who were mocking me earlier. "You said you wanted to see my girlfriend, right? That's her right there."

For five years, Silver Winters endured everything. The mistresses. The humiliation. The cold indifference of a husband who saw her as nothing more than a convenient trophy. All because she had saved his life and hence requested for a marriage as payment and due to his parents being traditionalists, they accepted the deal. Then came the night of the accident—the night Seris chose to save his best friend, a petite sick patient instead of his wife. Silver died in that icy river. *But she woke up five years earlier, on the morning of her wedding day.* *This time, she's not walking down the aisle.* This time, she's rewriting every rule.She is no longer the dumb princess who thought true love was everything and she was going to live happily ever after with her prince charming. She wasn't going to cling onto someone who never wanted her in the first place. *With the knowledge of five years of betrayal burned into her memory, Silver sets out to reclaim everything she lost: her career, her confidence, and her chance at real love.* *But her cold CEO husband seems... different this time.* *"Why didn't you marry me? This has been your childhood dream" Seris demands, cornering her at a business gala.* Silver smiles, unbothered. "I decided I'm worth more than being someone's doormat." As she builds her empire and attracts the attention of powerful new allies, Seris realizes what he lost. But Silver is already three steps ahead. And this time, she's the one holding all the cards.

I’m caring for the man my brother paralyzed. Kai Petrova doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know my real last name. Doesn’t know I walked into his mansion with a lie on my lips. Doesn’t know that five years ago, my brother drove drunk and killed his fourteen-year-old sister. He just knows I’m the only caregiver who didn’t quit. I needed the money. My mother is dying, and this job pays $135,000 for six months of work. I told myself I could do it. All I had to do was keep my head down, stay professional, get the money and get out. But then he started to trust me, he started to look at me. And I made the worst mistake of my life: I fell in love with him. Now I’m trapped. Because every time he touches me, I think about the reason he’s on a wheelchair. Every time he smiles, I see his dead sister’s face on the walls of his studio. When the truth comes out—and it will—he’s going to hate me. But the worst part? The accident that destroyed both our families wasn’t an accident at all. Someone wanted Kai dead. Someone made sure my brother took the fall. And someone is still out there, watching us get closer, waiting for the perfect moment to destroy us both. I thought the secret I was keeping would kill me. I was wrong. It’s going to kill him.

Elena Hart once had everything, money, beauty, and a kind heart that trusted too easily. But her perfect marriage to the charming Liam Blackwood ended in betrayal and even murder, planned by him and her best friend, Serena Cole. Her whole world fell apart. Yet death wasn't the end for her. One day, Elena woke up in her 22 year old body, seven years before the day she was meant to die. Her memories were broken, but she was filled with a strong will: this time, she would write her own ending. Reborn, Elena was no helpless princess. With the knowledge of what was to come and a clever, quick mind, she stepped into a world of secret business deals, hidden family stories, and a love triangle that made her quest for revenge even more complicated. There was Adrian Voss, the mysterious rival CEO whose cold look hid a past linked to hers, and Noah Grant, her childhood friend whose quiet loyalty showed deep, unspoken love. As Elena fought against Liam and Serena's evil plans, she uncovered even darker secrets, Hart Industries was really a front for a criminal empire, her mother's death was no accident, and maybe her second chance at life was part of a strange, bigger bargain. With every twist and turn, Elena had to choose between seeking revenge or forgiving, between following love or standing on her own. But in a game where enemies wear smiles and allies hide daggers, trust could be her downfall... or her redemption.

One year. One lie. An unexpected Love. Declan Rowe, a self-made billionaire with a reputation as untouchable as steel finds his reputation crumbling under a heat, fast and ruthless. Overnight, a scandalous viral avalanche of photoshopped images of him entangled with different women, leaked by a shadowy rival, painted him as a shameless playboy, causing a brutal damage on his spotless reputation and brand. He could hold a press conference, denying it all. But Declan does not beg the world for belief – he makes the world believe what he wants them to. So he crafted something better than a denial. He crafted a story. And in that story, he needed a wife. Not a glamorous socialite who would steal the spotlight but, a woman, credible, and quietly desperate enough to say yes to his offer. A single mother preferably, one he could act out the role of a good husband and diligent father with. Someone he could play house with– painting the picture of a perfect family. Someone the public would root for and be deluded by her simplicity. Someone he could control. That someone turns out to be her – Elise Cole. A beautiful, dangerous and sharp-tongued single mother who had a daughter to feed, a rent to cover and loans to pay back. She was not supposed to be his type, he neither in her class. She was not supposed to be anything but a solution. The contract was simple: twelve months of pretending, then a clean goodbye. She would play the adoring wife. He would play the devoted husband and father. The world would believe it. The plot was simple, and characters were set. Yet, somewhere between the rehearsed smiles and the scripted affection, the lines stopped being lines.

I'm down with a 104-degree fever, so I want to apply for sick leave. But my wife, Nadine Sullivan's assistant, Terrence Lowell, denies my leave and forces me to take on an overtime shift. "Ms. Sullivan has gone on a trip to a tropical island with her 18th lover. So, I'm the one calling the shots at the company for the time being. "You're not allowed to leave the company without my permission." Terrence makes my life difficult on purpose just so he can kiss up to Nadine. That's how he becomes her 19th lover. Unwilling to accept this fact, I call Nadine on the spot. But she says to me coldly, "Terrence's word is good as mine. It's just an overtime shift; what else can happen to you? You're so dramatic, Barry." Disappointment surges into my heart at that moment. "Let's get a divorce." Nadine just smiles mockingly. "Do you even have the guts to divorce me, Barry Thorpe? All you do is cause trouble nowadays! Don't forget that you still need me to pay for your mom's hospital bills every month!" As soon as the call is over, Terrence starts a poll in the company's group chat. "Barry has brought up divorce again. Do you think he'll go through with it or no?" Nadine quickly votes "no". But what she doesn't know is that I've already made all preparations to leave her for real.