Comfort Message

After discovering her boyfriend in bed with her male best friend, Kaia Wallis spirals into heartbreak, only to find unexpected comfort in the arms of her late father's enigmatic friend, billionaire Xander Kendricks. What begins as a one-night escape turns into a calculated fake relationship to protect Xander’s reputation and keep Kaia safe from her past. But the line between pretend and passion quickly blurs. As Kaia and Xander struggle with desire, secrets, and guilt, betrayal creeps in from all sides. A deranged ex, a jealous fling, and a scandal hungry media threaten to destroy everything, especially when Kaia’s young daughter is abducted in a terrifying twist that exposes a deeper conspiracy. With time running out, Kaia must confront the haunting truth: the real enemy may not be a stranger at all. And when the final mask is ripped away, what she uncovers shatters everything she thought she knew about loyalty, love, and the man she trusted most.

After her husband found her in bed with his brother, Adrea’s world shattered in an instant. Rafael asked questions, yes — but he didn’t stay to listen. He opened their marriage and moved on, with another woman in his bed and no apologies. Left reeling, Adrea refused to beg for what should have been obvious. She had her pride. And when a charismatic old friend, Aris, stepped back into her life, offering comfort and something dangerously close to love, she complied with the terms her husband had set — and let herself be with him. But just as her heart began to settle, Rafael uncovered the truth: his brother had set them both up, and the wife he condemned was innocent all along. Now he wants her back. But after everything he’s done, does Adrea still have room in her heart for the man who walked away?

There are monsters in this world. And they used to be us. Now it's time to euthanize to survive in a hospice where Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. Post-infection Chicago. Christmas. Inside The Hospice, Emily and her fellow nurses do their rounds. Here, men and women live out their final days in comfort, segregated from society, and are then humanely terminated before fate turns them into marrow-craving monsters known as ‘Smilers.’ Outside these imposing walls, rabid protesters swarm with signs, caught up in the heat of their hatred. Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. But in a world where mortality means nothing, where guns are drawn in fear and nobody seems safe anymore – at what cost will this pursuit come? And through it all, the soon to be dead remain silent, ever smiling. Such is their curse. It won't be long before that snow-speckled ground will be salted by blood. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

"I'm sorry, but I have to kill you." His hot breath caressed my skin, sending shivers down my spine. Then, with a swift motion, he plunged his claws into my heart through my back, and my world went dark. In the world of shifters, being wolfless is a curse. Seraphina Nyx, daughter of the Alpha of the Eldrath pack, knows this all too well. Shunned by her pack and disappointing her parents, her only solace lies in her friendship with Tiffany and her secret romance with her mate, the Beta to her father, Asterion Maverick. But what happens when she realizes that the very people she trusts most betray her in the most gruesome way possible? When the lies that once brought her comfort become the weapons that destroy her? Will she be able to overcome the disasters and seek vengeance, or will she allow herself to succumb to the disasters that threaten to consume her? Find out in the mind-blowing pages of "Bound to a Hybrid and a Lycan".

Blurb Elle has always been the tough girl next to her best friend Roseanne, the sweet one with perfect curves that make heads turn. In their last year of high school, Elle helps Roseanne take nude photos for her boyfriend Jake, but seeing Roseanne's bare tits sparks a fire in Elle that she can't put out. Her flag turns rainbow, and her mind fills with filthy dreams of pinning Roseanne down, tasting her wet folds, and making her scream in pleasure. But Jake stands in the way, a rich jerk who cheats and hurts Roseanne. Elle blackmails him to break up, but that just starts a chain of dark events. Roseanne, heartbroken, leans on Elle for comfort, leading to stolen kisses and heated touches that cross lines. Elle's obsession grows, turning her into a hunter who watches Roseanne sleep, steals her panties, and plans ways to own her fully.

32 year old Sophie decided it's time to stop hiding so she filled up an application to be a Sugar Baby. Weekends that used to be filled up with Netflix and comfort food are now changed into a high-paying profession. Well, weekend profession. She's still the busy working mom of 2 during the weekdays. 19 year old Abigail is the average college girl who has a cuckoo aunt. Her proposal has backfired when her aunt decided to use her info in the profile she's setting up at Cupcake, a Sugar Baby website. Let's hope nobody finds out Abigail signed up as a Sugar Baby. Let's pray harder for Aunt Sophie who has the confidence to pull off being an Abigail during the weekends. Cross your fingers! And your legs too, Soph. I mean, Abby. Err, Weekend-Abby. Cross your legs, Weekend-Abby!

The day I found out I was pregnant with my second child, the impossible happened: the baby in my womb spoke. "Stupid sister, are you even listening? Mom said that as soon as you graduate, she's selling you off. That money is for my future wedding!" My daughter went still. She didn't say a word, didn't confront me, didn't even cry. She just quietly applied to study abroad. And from that day on, I never heard from her again. My husband, seeing how devastated I was, moved to comfort me. But the baby's voice cut through the silence once more. "Comfort her? You're the biggest fool in this house! When I'm born, I'm not calling you 'Dad.' My real dad is that handsome guy from the bar!" The color drained from Sean's face. Before I could utter a word of explanation, he dragged me straight to the hospital for a paternity test. The results came back quickly—my best friend had pulled some strings to expedite them. And there it was, in cold, clinical print: NO PATERNITY BIOLOGICALLY ESTABLISHED. He didn't let me speak. He filed for divorce immediately. In a panic, the baby's voice cried out from inside me again, "Why is the idiot backing out now? Did he finally figure out Mom tricked him? The one who saved his life all those years ago wasn't her—it was her best friend!" That one sentence shattered my entire world. My husband turned his back on me and married my best friend. As for me… the shock and grief hit me like a physical blow. I felt a hot, sudden gush of blood. Before the doctors could save me, I died on that cold hospital bed, my hands clutching my swollen belly, my mind still reeling, unable to comprehend how my life had unraveled so completely. It wasn't until I was reborn, and once again heard the treacherous little voice inside me, that I finally began to understand the truth.

"Mrs. Gardner, are you sure you want to hire our team to stage a fire and fake your death in ten days?" Camellia Shaw paused for a moment. Just as she was about to reply to the message, a video call suddenly popped up. "Camellia, look! Andres is spending a fortune on you again!" The video was of an auction in progress. At the front, a man of striking elegance and charm was decisively bidding on several antique collectibles worth hundreds of millions. The crowd was already abuzz with excitement. "Mr. Gardner is so good to his wife! He bought all these antiques just to make her smile!" "$400 million is nothing! I heard Mr. Gardner even built her a private estate and named it Eterna Haven. Just the name alone is proof of how much he loves her." A wealthy businessman nearby sneered. "It's all for show. Who knows what he's really like behind closed doors?" That comment immediately sparked a wave of backlash. Many argued back, talking about how devoted Andres Gardner was to his wife. As she listened to their murmurs, Camellia forced a bitter smile.

After helping the company secure a project worth 30 million dollars, the HR department suddenly tells me that I'm fired, and I will not be receiving any of my bonuses this year. Confused, I look for my boss, Jett Leroy, to ask him about it. However, he points his finger in my face and yells at me, "If it weren't for you being a stupid Scorpio, being the most toxic match for me and affecting the company's luck, we wouldn't have had a 30% drop in net profits this year! "I'm already generous enough by not making you compensate for all the losses you caused me! How dare you still ask me for more money? Get lost if you know what's best for you!" I smile when I read the text message notification on my phone and hurriedly sign the release documents. Jett is right. My horoscope and his definitely don't get along well. After all, I will be coming for his ass just a short while later!

Jasmine, a twenty- five- year old job seeker whose mom passed due to a domestic accident when she was only eleven. At twenty, she drops out of college for job hunting so she could cater for her younger siblings as her father later got stricken with partial blindness. Jason, a hot CEO of a s*x foundation, needs a marriage certificate to take up ownership of his father's modeling agency. Jasmine is suddenly sold out by her stepmother to Jason; a marriage bounded by a contract. After receiving a congratulatory message from the doctor, whispers of betrayal taint their union and pull them apart. Could the rumors about Jason be true? Will she ever forgive him? *** "Congratulations, Mrs. Jasmine. You are pregnant with quadruplets." The doctor said beaming. "I know your husband will not be able to contain his joy." "Huh?" I queried in surprise, my vibrating hands clutching on the paper tightly. "How's that possible? We only had a..." I held back my words, how could I have explained to him how we did it?