Collateral A

What does the underboss of an infamous crime family have in common with a spirited primary school teacher? Absolutely nothing, except a marriage of convenience, of course. When Lionel Tyson defaults on a gambling debt and offers his most prized possession as collateral, Austin Hawthorne is underwhelmed. But in desperate need of a housekeeper and permanent child minder, he knows he’d be an idiot to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, against his better judgement, he accepts an offer he should absolutely refuse. Marybeth Tyson is horrified to learn that not only is her father wanted by loan sharks, but he has also sold her off to a mafia boss. Bound by duty and pushed by guilt, she agrees to give Austin Hawthorne one year of her life, despite common sense screaming at her to run the other way. After all, how hard can pretending to be madly in love with someone be? It’s all fun and games until play pretend becomes all too real, and an earth-shattering secret from Austin’s past comes to light, threatening to destroy his second chance at love with his dogged pursuit for answers. Betrayal, especially at the hands of his older brother Blake and long-time friend, Andrei Ivanov, is a bitter pill to swallow for Austin, and letting them off scot-free is not an option. Driven by his unquenchable thirst for revenge, Austin will stop at nothing to get to the truth, even if it means destroying decade-old friendships and fragile ties to The Corporation. 2022 Val Sims. All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author and publishers.

Jerome Lin, only child of beauty mogul Miranda Lin, has lived his life beneath the weight of legacy. As managing director of Linéa Cosmetics, he has everything,wealth, power, and a love he thought would last forever. Until he discovers that his girlfriend is secretly involved with Akihiko Tanaka, the man his mother is determined to marry for influence. His trust shattered, Jerome confronts Miranda, only to be dismissed as collateral damage. She marries the man anyway. When Akihiko’s enigmatic son Collins returns to Japan to inherit the Tanaka empire, the two men meet and instantly clash. Their parents expect them to cooperate. Instead, they glare, argue, clash, and burn with a tension neither can explain. But beneath that friction lies something magnetic. Something dangerous. Forced to attend dinners, business meetings, and social events together, hatred turns into curiosity… then slow, forbidden attraction. Their first intimate moment is discovered, and their parents explode into rage, threatening to disown them both. Jerome and Collins choose each other anyway, leading to the bitter collapse of their parents’ marriage. Finally free to be together, they begin planning a future,until Collins’s ex arrives claiming she has his child. Jerome breaks apart, terrified of losing everything again. A DNA test reveals the truth: the child is not Collins’s. His ex fabricated everything to claw her way back into his life. With the truth unveiled, Jerome and Collins reunite stronger than before. Their parents move on…Miranda marrying a rising politician, and Akihiko marrying Jerome’s ex. Meanwhile, Jerome and Collins build an empire of their own, built on love, forgiveness, and the fire that first brought them together. A love story born from hate. A romance they were never meant to have. A destiny they chose anyway.

He thrust in with a force that snatched my breath for a minute. “Arghh!!!” I groaned out feeling my eyes burning with unshed tears. But I had to cool it off. I'm nothing but a collateral exchange for my dad. In exchange of favours, he hands me off to the new Alpha of our park. This has been my life for years. Not being able to change to a wolf since I came of age has hit my family hard, as the only child I feel I've let my family down which is why I deserve this type of treatment. “Yeah Aria!” He groaned, releasing inside of me. Feeling relieved that it's over, as Bale stood up, I quickly stood up and rushed to go out, Bale was once someone I thought was a friend before he inherited the Alpha title from his dad who died after they tried to attack another pack, my dad who's nothing but a coward fled and left the Alpha to his death. Walking through the forest to my house, the thought to run away crossed my mind for the 100th time. On getting home, everywhere was eerily quiet, I walked to my room and stopped in shock, seeing the broad back of a shirtless man, he turned towards me holding the dress I changed from yesterday, before I could blink he was already in my front, the pull I felt towards him was so strong and I couldn't tear my eyes away from his deep blue eyes. “Why do you smell like mine and at the same time smell like you've been with another man?” He barked out, anger covering his features. I whimpered and cowered in fear. “You're coming with me!” Was the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness.

COMPLETED ERICA Kidnapped-Sold-Caged. That’s what happened when I became careless & didn’t recognise the real monster in Armani, instead became Obsessed with his beautiful face & dark accent. Antonio Rossi. He bought me. Now I’m a captive in his billion dollar cage. It has everything but peace & freedom—two things I dreamed of since childhood. He’s ruthless in his quest to make me understand who’s the master of me. He said-I belong to him, that he owns me. He promised retaliation for every rule break. His touch meant for punishment burns me, leaves me thinking maybe he’s right which only makes me hate him more. But he forgot about my promise to him-The day he locked me in his cage I promised him, I’d make him beg on his knees & at the end of this nightmare I’d wake up with a smile on my face. ANTONIO Ruthless-Monster. I’m the monster nightmares are made of. The human part of me died long time ago, now I live for vengeance & blood of my enemy. I’m the real villain of this story. There’s nothing & no-one that would stop me from getting the blood that I was owed. Except her-And she tries. Oh, how she fûcking tries. She doesn't know that she's a pawn in my game. She's a collateral—a sacrifice I chose, but she hasn’t accepted it. She rattles the bars of her cage, disobeys me & earns a punishment for every insult she throws my way. The fight for freedom in her eyes makes me furious, it burns me. It makes me fascinated too-really not a good thing for her. Because if I cared then I’d make her a lifelong captive in my cage. Second Book- TRAPPED FOREVER-A Dark & Twisted Happily Ever After.

THIS BOOK IS RATED 18 AND HAS A LOT OF ADULT CONTENT Blurb~ "Get off me!" Tessa gasped, struggling beneath Vernon's broad frame. His dark eyes gleamed with something unreadable—a hunger, a craving. When he didn’t move, panic surged through her, and she screamed. His hand shot out, wrapping around her throat, his grip unyielding. A breathless gasp tore from her lips. "You can't run from me, Peach." His voice was silk and steel, lethal in its promise. "I own you." — Tessa had lost everything—her home, her wealth, her love. The man she once adored, Tamlin, had not only betrayed her but stripped her of everything she owned, tossing her aside like she meant nothing. She was Heartbroken, Weak and Shattered. But things were only going to get worse. Tamlin didn’t just ruin her—he sold her. As collateral to pay his debt. Now, she belonged to the devil himself—Vernon Carter. Cold. Dominant and Cruel. A man who didn’t know the meaning of mercy. But behind this cold facade is man who is wounded by heartbreak and swore never to give his heart out again. He thought he could break her, use her but he was wrong. Tessa shut the door to her heart and now it only wanted vengeance. She wanted Tamlin to suffer. And to do that, she needed power. Wealth. Someone more ruthless than Tamlin ever was. Vernon was the perfect pawn. She made up her mind. She would seduce him. Make him crave her. Make him hers on the terms that she would never fall for him but fate had other plans. What happens when Vernon discovers her true intentions, that he was just a pawn in her twisted games—and the game of love and revenge spirals into something far more dangerous?

I'm Cassandra Rivera. I'm eighteen years old and in my first year at University, taking up Fine Arts. My life has been hell since I was young. My parents, sister, and brother treated me as their slave. They beat me if I did wrong. I started working for my family when I was six years old, and if I did wrong, my parents would scold and beat me. When I was younger, I wondered why my family treated me this way, but when I was ten years old, my mother got angry at me and she told me that I was an unwanted child. She wanted to abort me when I was still in her womb, but I kept holding on. They don't like me out of this world, and since then, I didn't see them as my family but as my employer like how they treated me as their maid. Luckily, there's a helper at home who cares for me, and I saw her as my second mother. She would tend my cuts and bruises every time my family beat me. Sometimes, my father punished her because of me. I love Mama Amara, because she's the only person who cares for me, and love me. When I enter the university, I meet this guy. His name is Jaxon Garcia. He's from a wealthy family. He's good to me, and when he told me his feelings, I quickly accepted it. We were happy for a few months, but I found out he only courted me because of a bet with my brother Kris. I was devastated, and for the first time, I wanted the comfort of my father. But my father did the worst. He used me as collateral for his debt to the wealthiest man in the country.