Closed Doors

I loved Killian Joe for ten years. I married him when he was nothing—fought for him, covered his mistakes, and built his empire beside him. But he repaid me with betrayal: a mistress, a child, and silence when I begged him to choose me. Now he wants me to stay. But I didn’t walk away to be begged. I walked away to win. I’m not the girl who cried behind closed doors anymore. I’m the woman who owns the building. And the man I once loved? He’ll have to watch me become the thing he fears most— Untouchable.

“Shut your fucking damn mouth!” Zach’s voice echoed through the room, raw and sharp with anger. Madison didn’t flinch. If anything, the fire in her eyes only burned brighter. She had been pushing his buttons for days—emotionally, mentally. And it tore at him, deep down where no one could see. “I thought you liked it open,” she said with a wicked smirk, sauntering toward his desk like she owned the place. His body betrayed him, twitching at her dirty words. Of course she knew exactly what to say. She always did. “I’m not quitting!” she snapped. “I am a doctor. A damn good one. Who do you think you are to tell me to give that up?!” Zach rose from behind his desk, calm yet dangerous. His hands moved to open his suit jacket, revealing that familiar tension in his shoulders—the one that made her heart race. “Wha—what are you doing?” He closed the space between them in two strides. “I’m your Daddy,” he growled, low and close, “like you cried out last night. And you… you’re mine.” And then his lips crashed into hers before she could breathe another word. ~~ Darly Madison—respected surgeon, focused, disciplined, and just a little stubborn—had her world under control. That is, until her best friend dragged her to a luxurious night party at one of the city’s most exclusive hotels. One night. One mistake. One man who turned her world upside down. Zach Westley. Mafia boss. Dominant. Dangerous. Possessive to the core. She thought it was just a one-night stand. He had other plans. Now her life as a surgeon collides with a dark underworld she never saw coming. And whether she likes it or not… she’s been claimed by the Mafia.

Anita," her angelic voice calls to me. Thunder rumbles in the distance. Her soft, delicate hands caressing my face, sparkling green eyes grounding me from the dark past I wish I could forget. "You're safe, it's okay." I bring my hand up, running my finger over the mound of scar tissue. The constant reminder of that night. The raised bump covers the bullet fragment embedded in my sternum. She takes my hands as more thunder rumbles and tears roll down my cheeks. "Breathe Anita," she says in a soothing whisper. My lungs were burning with the need for air and it was then that I realized I'd been holding it. I take in a gasping breath and recall the first time my eyes met her green eyes. My sister had been lifted off me and my eyes opening had startled her. The first time she touched me gave me strength to hold on. I held her hand tight, trying to tell her what happened, but couldn't get enough breath to form words. Sitting in the present going through the same as I had five years ago. "They were all found, Anita. They can't hurt you anymore. It's just a storm. All the doors and windows are locked, the alarm is set. It's just you and me." "Will you keep the light on tonight, please?"

*WARNING* *THIS BOOK CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT* *PROCEED WITH CAUTION* “Don’t… Don’t come any closer” I whispered, but I knew he heard me. “Why, My Little Vixen?” He asked in that husky tone that almost made me go weak in the knees. “Because I don’t want you,” I lied and tried to sound adamant, pretending like his touch didn’t make me weak. “I don’t think so,” He snickered and started to walk towards me like I was his prey, and he was my predator. Involuntarily, I began to move backward while he closed up on me. “I mean it, Adrian. Do not come any closer,” I warned in a slightly shaky voice, but he approached me and caged me to the wall. “Then prove it, my Little Vixen. Prove that you don't want me,” He whispered to my ears as his fingers ran through my hair, and I shivered at his touch. ***** A deal. It was meant to be just a deal between Adrian and Isabelle, but this deal ignited old flames. Old flames that they both assumed were all in the past. Then all hell was let loose when the person Isabella had known to be her brother all her life came back from the dead, claiming that they were betrothed since birth. What would happen next?

Everyone in the company fears Killian Vale—the ruthless billionaire CEO of ValeCorp. He doesn’t speak unless necessary, fires employees without blinking, and has a face carved out of stone. He built an empire on logic and power, not emotion. Then she walks in. Emery Quinn—a soft-spoken, stubbornly independent woman with zero interest in corporate games—takes a job as his executive assistant out of desperation. She needs money to save her younger brother from a dangerous situation. She expects to hate Killian. He expects her to quit. What neither expects is the tension that builds between them—the dangerous, slow-burning tension that starts behind office doors and seeps into stolen glances, late-night calls, and locked conference rooms. But Killian doesn’t do relationships. He doesn’t do feelings. And she’s too smart to fall for someone like him. Until the day he finally snaps and says: “You're the only person who's ever made me feel anything, and I hate you for it.”

Mina Mendoza thought her darkest days were behind her, running her late mentor’s bar in the heart of New York gave her a fragile sense of peace. But all of that shatters one night when a blood-soaked stranger crashes through her doors just before closing time, gun in hand and secrets in his eyes. Luciano is dangerous, wounded, and devastatingly magnetic, the kind of man Mina swore she'd never fall for. But he’s not just any man. He’s tied to the mafia. The kind of ties that leave blood trails and whispered threats. Helping him survive was instinct. Surviving what came next… that’s the real challenge. Drawn to him in dreams that feel too real, haunted by her traumatic past, and stalked by the violent world Luciano can’t outrun, Mina finds herself caught in something far deeper than attraction. She’s entangled in a web of lies, bullets, and power where trust is a gamble, and love might be a fatal mistake. As her world tilts into chaos, Mina must choose: run from the fire, or walk straight into it with the one man who could destroy everything. Because loving him was never part of the agreement. And yet, it might be the only thing that saves them both. Luciano isn’t just trouble, he’s the trouble: the Don of a powerful mafia family, running from a betrayal that could cost him everything. Now, Mina is caught in his storm, haunted by dreams, and tangled in a love that defies logic. She saved him once... but loving him might be the most dangerous thing she’s ever done.

Danielle Young is a kind-hearted and devoted woman who goes above and beyond to fulfill her parents' wishes. Due to this, her parents arranged for her to marry the wealthy heir of the Anderson family, in order to elevate their family's business to the next level. Unfortunately, everything took a dangerous turn, putting the Youngs' cooperation at grave risk.When the news broke out, Mr. Young fell ill, witnessing his company on the verge of falling apart. Left with no choice, Danielle had to seek assistance from her father's business partners, only to discover that they were colluding with the Andersons. Danielle had no option but to put aside her ego and approach the only person capable of assisting her. ******* Jake blinked innocently. "500 million? What do you need such a huge amount of money for?" he asked, arching his brows at her. "Can you quit the act already? Will you lend it to me or not?" she demanded, her voice coming out firm. Jake shrugged his shoulders "Why don't you be my wife instead, and you won't have to pay back a dime?“ his eyes shone with instrest which didn't last for a moment before he returned back to his stoic demeanor. A snicker escaped her lips. "Mr. Carter, are you doing this just to get back at me?" The man slowly got up from his seat and gracefully walked up to Danielle who was standing a few inches away. His lips curled up faintly as he closed the little space between them. "Do you think I'm over you, Bubbles?" He whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Will Danielle accept the offer of the same man she humiliated years ago? Are Jake's intentions towards Danielle as pure as he portrays on the surface?

I never expected my boss to blackmail me into marriage. Ethan Sinclair the cold, calculating billionaire who never cracks a smile holds a secret over my head, forcing me into a fake marriage to secure his family’s inheritance. I hate him for it, but I need the money to save my brother’s life. The rules are simple: play the devoted wife for a year, follow his lead in public, and stay out of his way behind closed doors. But as sparks fly and buried secrets unravel, I realize Ethan isn’t just ruthless, he’s hiding something even more dangerous. The closer I get, the harder it becomes to remember this is all just a contract. Because falling for the devil was never part of the deal.

An arranged marriage. A dangerous attraction. A love triangle with secrets that could burn everything down. Lorraine Withmore and Dexter Grayson have been rivals since highschool, a clash of ambition, pride and unspoken tension. When their families arrange a marriage to merge their corporate empires, it turns into the perfect recipe for disaster and chaos but business is business and none of them have a choice, they agree to the loveless union but behind closed doors their hate for one another intensifies. However things begin to change when Mateo, cousin to Dexter and soft spoken to the core, continues falling in love with Lorraine and the jealousy he wasn't aware of awakens something fierce, possessive and obsessive. He might have never wanted a wife, she didn't want to fall in love but both of them would do anything to keep whatever they cherished even if it meant crossing unimaginable lines to get it. In love someone always loses, but what if it's your mind, your freedom or worst of all…your heart?.

In the coastal quiet of Baler, a studio is born—not of architecture, but of intention.* Founded by Yam, a poet whose words cradle pain gently, and Franc, an artist who paints tenderness into walls, the studio becomes a refuge for those learning to stay—with grief, love, longing, and themselves. As visitors arrive, they leave behind more than footprints: a sigh recorded in bamboo, a poem tucked into the “Found Letters” shelf, a mural painted in crooked lines. Through zines, tea, silence, and sketchbooks, the studio teaches softness as revolution. Ren creates the *Window of Soft Returns*, an installation of anonymous voice recordings—each whisper forming a community of echoes. Drew builds the *Staircase With No Wrong Turns*, inviting people to walk through emotions without shame. Franc offers brushstrokes as brave work, and Yam curates writing circles that map healing in half sentences. Together, they host festivals that feel like hugs, and they begin traveling their archive, letting softness cross oceans. Even those who once left—like Miguel—return, discovering that some doors never truly close. Others, like Tala, capture the studio’s sound and turn it into a podcast of breath and becoming. Over seventy chapters, the studio transforms into something larger than itself: a mural of memory, a sanctuary for second chances, a place where return is sacred and voice is proof of survival. In the final bloom, the studio stands not as a monument—but as a reminder: > *“Staying isn’t easy. > But chosen together, > it becomes home.”*