Concrete Proof

At the New Year’s team-building event, the intern, Lilith Woods, did not obtain my approval and changed our suburban trip to a seven-day tour of Baline. “Mr. Lucian Stone, I hear a change of scenery can really spice things up. Don’t lock up tonight. I’ll come by for a deep dive into our collaboration.” She pretended to be drunk and fell into my arms while slipping the room key into my pocket in the process. To avoid suspicion, I did not return to the hotel. However, in the middle of the night, the police called me in for questioning—someone had reported a dine-and-dash. Only then did I realize that the reserved budget of $100,000 for the accommodation had long since been exceeded. Lilith had upgraded their room to a presidential suite, feasted on high-end seafood buffets, and even used company funds to buy luxury handbags! When I showed up at their private room, the interns were still casually taking king crabs and several unopened bottles of the Macallan Whisky with them. “Mr. Stone, you’re just in time. Could you please settle the bill?” Lilith looked utterly righteous as she said this with a grin. “Young people like us make mistakes, while adults help to pay the price. You’re not exactly short on cash, anyway. Just think of it as buying my happiness.” I stared at the $700,000 bill and paid it in silence. The next day, the payment invoices made their grand entrance in the group chat, accompanied by my pinned message. [Upon financial review, this team-building event does not meet reimbursement criteria. All expenses will be shared equally among the seven participants.] [Each person will need to pay $100,000, payable immediately. If payment needs to be deferred, please print the proof and submit it to the President’s Office.]

[warning- Steamy scenes] "Wife!" the man lovingly said. "What exactly are you attempting to do? I am not your wife, Mr. Richard Hill! Behave!" "Stop playing with men, Woman,” his distasteful voice spoke. “You are no one. Thus, I feel bothered by your presence,” Anastasia was cruel with her answer. “I have proof we are married! Furthermore, you own fifty percent of my fortune because I have vowed to spoil you for the rest of my life. Keep in mind that you are mine, and I am a possessive guy. Every eye will be dug out if they fall on you," the voice and declaration were both forceful. "I have heard you can't touch a woman because of your disease!" Ana smirked. Anastasia Long married a billionaire, Richard Hill. She knew nothing about the family or the spouse since she was coerced into it by her mother and stepfather, who exploited her mother in terrible ways. She had a step-sister as well, but her stepfather would never consider putting his own daughter into the fire. She tolerated the anguish and pain inflicted by her mother-in-law and the mistress who intended to marry Richard, but she was unfortunate to be placed in such circumstances. They humiliated her, burned her clothes, and starved her till she ended up in the hospital for a week. However, her husband never came to see her. Surprisingly, Richard Hill never met her or spoke to her as if she were married to someone who did not exist. She was made to sign a divorce decree one day, and she fled the city for five years. Upon her return, she was renowned as Dr. Anastasia Long, a gifted surgeon. People kissed her feet.

Danice left the divorce papers on the bedside table. Ten years. She endured and stayed silent—all for the sake of love. Despite the opposition from those around her, she clung tightly to her position as Julian’s wife, believing that he cared for her. But it was all just her delusion. It had been ten years of a loveless marriage. Danice touched the burn scar on her face. This disfigured face had become both her shame… and her proof of love for him. But what she didn’t realize was that it had also become the chain that bound him to this lifeless marriage. He had married her… out of pity. That realization hurt more than any insult others hurled at her because of her appearance. She had held him back for ten years. And she had suffered enough. It was time to let go. Danice finally realized that her ten-year marriage had been a shackle—for both of them. Just as she found the strength to let go of the love that had never been returned… death came for her. When she thought she had stepped into the afterlife, she opened her eyes— Eleven years in the past. Unmarried. She hadn’t even met Julian yet. Danice believed that a merciful God had taken pity on her and granted her a second chance— A chance to live for herself, to love herself. And so, that’s exactly what she did. She avoided meeting Julian at all costs, and even found a way to escape the accident that had once disfigured her face. Everything seemed to be going smoothly— But... Why was the man who had never once looked her way… suddenly appearing everywhere she went? This… this wasn’t like the past at all!

"I didn't do anything wrong," I choked out. "You stuck your nose into my private matters," he hissed. "No one can sentence me without proof," I challenged him. He straightened up. Any traces of a smile abruptly disappeared from his face. "You still don't get it, do you? I own this city. It means that if I say you go to jail, that means you go to jail." He leaned over me again, his stare piercing right through me, "And if I say that I want you, that means you are already mine." My jaw tensed as I resisted an urge to talk back. This wasn't a battle I could win, and this wasn't a man I could win against... How did I get myself into all that mess?! *** My name is Cora Bell, and I'm about to marry Aren Lan, New York's most wanted bachelor. A dream come true? I highly doubt that. The guy is an arrogant, wealthy beyond imagination, asshole. Not to mention that our relationship is based solely on a contract, a contract I was forced to sign when I accidentally ruined this guy's engagement... I used to dream of a simple life. I wanted to graduate from university and work as a software programmer, but my fate chose a different path for me to follow. First, I had to give up on my studies to take care of dear Grandma, and now I'm forced to play the role of a manipulative jerk's loving fiancée! The problem is that my husband-to-be is insanely sexy and enjoys teasing me a bit too much. How the hell am I going to survive being close to him throughout the two years of our fake marriage?!

Synopsis: The Billionaire’s Vengeful Queen Aurora Voss-Ryder has spent ten years perfecting the role of perfect wife to billionaire Damien Ryder. On their anniversary, she gifts him a rescued AI startup worth $400 million and proof she’s the reason Ryder Corp still breathes. In return, he hands her divorce papers, a forged scandal, and a threat to leak photos of her begging. Pregnant and betrayed, Aurora walks out with nothing but a positive test and a text from a ghost: “The Voss bloodline isn’t broken. Come home.” In her mother’s abandoned Brooklyn studio, Aurora unlocks a safe containing a $12 billion secret—VossTech, an AI empire built in shadows, 51% hers if she marries within a year of her mother’s death. With joint accounts frozen and paparazzi circling, she allies with Victor Kane, her mother’s dying partner and the only man who can give her controlling interest. A paper marriage, a black diamond ring, and a syringe of custom prenatal serum later, Aurora storms the VossTech boardroom in a killer pantsuit and claims interim CEO. But Damien isn’t finished. He forges abortion records, demands custody of the unborn child, and prepares a hostile takeover. Aurora counters with offshore leaks, a turncoat mistress, and two ex-Mossad shadows in the vents. At midnight in Ryder Tower, gun drawn and city watching, she tears up his custody agreement and watches federal agents drag him away. Victory tastes like ash when Victor’s heart fails hours later. His final words warn of a “blood moon” birth and enemies still hunting the Voss gene. With her due date looming and a new message signed –E., Aurora realizes the war for her empire, her child, and her life has only begun.

She walked in on her fiancé buried deep inside her best friend the night before their wedding. Nadia Reeves did not cry. She did not scream. She walked straight into a Vegas bar and ordered enough whiskey to burn the world down. That was when the Devil found her. Dominic Marcello was cold, ruthless, and impossibly beautiful. He offered her a deal wrapped in black ink and diamonds: marry him, become his in every way, and watch him destroy the two people who shattered her. In return, he would give her the revenge she craved and the power she never knew she needed. She said yes. What began as a drunken contract in a neon chapel quickly became something far more dangerous. Dominic's touch awakened sensations he had never felt in his life and something feral in her. He claimed her body with ice and dominance. She claimed his soul without trying. Their nights were raw, possessive, and intimate. Their days became an intoxicating game of power, public revenge, and deepening obsession. But every perfect touch and whispered "little dove" was built on one buried secret. Dominic had not simply taken advantage of her pain. He had orchestrated the entire betrayal. When Nadia discovers the blood money he paid her best friend to seduce her fiancé, proof that her entire marriage was part of his cold calculation from the beginning, her world implodes. Now the man who taught her how to burn is the one holding the match to their future. Can a love forged in manipulation, obsession, and breathtaking passion survive the ultimate betrayal? Or will the devil who woke her up be the one who finally breaks her? A dark, addictive billionaire romance packed with scorching dominance, heart-wrenching emotion, a jaw-dropping midpoint twist, and an earned, swoon-worthy HEA.

"You're here to play nurse, not to pretend you care," he snapped, his cold gaze locking onto hers. "And you are here to waste your life because it's easier than fighting for it," she shot back, her voice shaking but defiant. He wheeled closer, his jaw clenched. "Don't think for a second that you can fix what is so broken." I'm not here to fix you," she whispered, her eyes unrelenting. "I'm here because I believe there's more to you than this bitterness. He was the untouchable golden boy of his family, a magnetic presence destined to inherit a sprawling empire. His charm, his power, and his perfection made him unstoppable until a car crash shattered his life and left him confined to a wheelchair. His once-loyal followers turned their backs, leaving him drowning in the bitterness of betrayal. She was living proof of her family-a forgotten daughter whose dreams of becoming a doctor kept her sane amidst years of neglect. All she wanted in life was freedom, but fate had other plans. Forced into a contract marriage with the epitome of misery, she found herself engulfed in a battle she never asked for. Their worlds collide in a storm of resentment and vulnerability. Underneath his bitterness, though, lies the ruins of a man who had everything to lose-and the dim hope of someone who could help him find it again. As she works her way through his fury, and he pushes against her kindness, a bond forms-a bond neither expected. But with jealous rivals scheming in the shadows and old wounds threatening to tear them apart, their fight for love becomes a war for survival. Can two broken souls find strength in each other, or will the scars of their pasts destroy them both?

Makayla Hopkins - I promised myself I’d never get involved with a politician, but Stacey Sherbourn changed everything. Now I know the truth, and it’s uglier than I ever imagined. Her lies aren’t just personal—they threaten everything I care about. Armed with proof of her corruption, I’ve come to the Colorado Rockies to stop her before she can destroy the pristine wilderness she’s so eager to sacrifice. But what I didn’t plan for was Lilac Ray. Fierce, sharp, and breathtaking, she’s everything Stacey isn’t—and everything I can’t afford to be distracted by. Lilac Ray- When Makayla Hopkins arrived in the Rockies, I knew she wasn’t just another hiker seeking solace. She came with purpose—and danger. My half-sister Stacey had already done enough to destroy these mountains, and I wasn’t about to trust her ex, no matter how determined or charming she seemed. But Makayla’s not who I expected. Beneath her cool, tech-savvy exterior, there’s a fire that matches my own. The closer we get to taking Stacey down, the more I realize the real danger might not be trusting Makayla—it might be falling for her. Book 6 in the Ravenwood Series. It can be read as a standalone. However, to learn about the characters and past events that may be referenced, you should check out the rest of the series. Book 1 - The Princes of Ravenwood (staring Makayla's triplet cousins Darius, Elijah, and Forrest) Book 2 - Chasing Kitsune Book 3 - Expect the Unexpected Book 4 - Out of My League (staring Makayla's cousin Reese) Book 5 - Man's Best Wingman (staring Makayla's cousin Clay featuring her in a supporting role)

Bikers and good girls don't mix. Cage was a bad boy biker. Tattoos and muscles he's every girl's dream, including Addie's. Addie was a good girl. Raised to be quiet, don't talk back, never hang with the wrong people. Date only those her parents approved. She was completely bored and just existing. That wasn't the case when she'd see him. The boy in the biker club. She'd see him around town and fantasize about how her life would be different if she was with someone like him. However he didn't even acknowledge her existence, or so she thought. Cage noticed the gorgeous innocent good girl. Her kind could never survive in his world. He was living proof of that. It took a bet from his brothers in the club to get him to meet her. When he did, he knew he was in trouble of falling hard for the good girl. Could she exist in both the world she's known her whole life and his life? Or would she have to choose? Neither knew what this encounter would bring about. Secrets buried for years, second chance love, and all the club drama you can handle. Some betrayals were meant to protect her. How will she handle learning who her real father is? Will she be able to forgive them? Will she find the true her? And if she does, will she give them another chance or walk away? Her whole world falls apart, only to get put back together totally different than she ever imagined. Her real father never got over her mother. Will they get back together or will his current woman destroy any chance they have? Look for upsets, betrayal, rejections, and more. Come hell or high water Addie will get her Happily Ever After!

After connecting to a call hosted on a treasure-appraisal livestream, I find out that the "Fields of Freedom" stamp my grandpa has left me with is worth 10 million dollars. I've been troubled as to how I should afford my upcoming wedding with my girlfriend, Danielle Dalton. Delighted by the news, I call Danielle to tell her about it. Unexpectedly, Danielle, who's always such a prude about physical contact to the point that she refuses to let me kiss her, turns up on my doorstep that night. She spends the night draining me of my stamina with her skills and body. When I wake up once again, both Danielle and my stamp are gone. I visit Danielle's home to get my stamp back. But her father instantly shoves me out of the door angrily. "We don't welcome you here! Get lost right now!" At first, I thought there was a misunderstanding between us, so I still held back on my rudeness. But when I notice how rude Danielle's father is being to me, I decide to go all out on him. "Sure, I can leave, but you must return the stamp Danielle has stolen from me—" Before I can finish speaking, someone has dumped a bucket of ice-cold water onto my face. It turns out that the culprit is Danielle's mother. As she carries the bucket, she scowls at me, her features completely twisted. "Who the hell did you claim to have stolen your stamp, huh? Don't you dare run your mouth without any proof! I'll definitely sue you, you know!" Having realized how vile Danielle's parents actually are, I can't help but feel a strong hint of relief. Thank goodness I had only shown Danielle a fake copy of the stamp last night.