Crossed

I stare at the email on my screen, unable to move my fingers. Tomorrow is our company's crucial product launch, and I just learn that the patent for the algorithm I spent three years developing is now filed under Matthew Ashford's new assistant, Sophie Bennett. I storm into Matthew's office to confront him. Sophie sits on his desk with her legs crossed, looking completely innocent. She claims that she filled out the form by mistake. "It's just a clerical error. The patent still belongs to the company. What's the big deal?" Matthew stands up from his chair, positioning himself in front of Sophie. I can't believe what I am hearing. "Matthew, this is my research!" "Emma, you're thirty-five. Why are you picking a fight with a twenty-three-year-old intern?" He frowns. Then, he turns to Sophie. "Starting tomorrow, you're the new CTO. Emma needs… some time off." I'm utterly stunned. A decade of marriage and five years dedicated to building a company together have been shattered by a few casual words from him. Thirty minutes later, Sophie posts a photo on social media of herself sitting on Matthew's lap. They are both clinking champagne glasses. "So lucky to have the best boss ever. I'll make sure to be his loyal kitten." Below that, Matthew leaves a comment—three red heart emojis. I shut my laptop and pick up my phone. "Hello. Is this Mr. David Langley from Novara Group of Sundale Valley? This is Emma Whitmore. I've changed my mind. I'm ready to join you." I pause. "And by the way, about that unreleased algorithm upgrade, I have the complete technical blueprint. Make me an offer." Later, I fly to Tallisport with an eight-figure check in hand, while Matthew goes frantic trying to find me.

Conrad Lexus Farris. All he wanted is to skip his toxic life away from the city for a while. Dawn Zelena Augustino. All she wanted is to finish her studies and find a great job to achieve her dreams in life. But when their paths crossed, kapwa nagulo ang payapa nilang buhay. Hindi man maganda ang una nilang pagtatagpo, naging daan naman iyon upang makilala nila ang isa't-isa. But the summer that made their heart extremely happy, was also the summer that made their heart empty. Akala ni Dawn, kaya niyang ibaon sa limot ang lahat. Ngunit paano niya magagawa iyon gayung sa init na kanilang pinagsaluhan, may nabuong sanggol na mag-uugnay sa kanila ng lalaking bigla na lamang siyang iniwan sa ere at naglaho na parang bula? At sa di inaasahang pagkakataon, muling nagtagpo ang kanilang landas. Yun nga lang, hindi siya nito kilala. Malamig at arogante ito makitungo sa kanya na parang hindi na ito ang lalaking nakilala at minahal niya limang taon na ang nakararaan. Ayaw niya na sanang ipaalala ang masaya at mapusok na pinagsaluhan nila noon. Ayaw niya sanang umeksena sa buhay nito lalo pa't nalalapit na itong ikasal sa ibang babae. Kaso nang makita ni Conrad ang anak niya, di maipagkakaila na parang pinagbiyak na bunga ang dalawa. At ang masaklap pa nito, ang bata mismo ang umamin sa lalaki. "You're my dad right? Mama has many photos of you together and told me a lot of stories about you!" Connor screamed in excitement. Napaawang si Conrad at di makapaniwala sa natuklasan! At nang magtama ang mata nila ng lalaki, alam ni Zele na ito na ang magiging simula ng kalbaryo niya.

A year ago, my life was simple. I was just Ariel Anthony…a regular college student, cheerleader with decent grades, daughter of a struggling baker, and recently appointed step-sister to a guy I barely knew. Nothing special. Then came the storm. Not just the thunderstorm that trapped me in Professor Grayson's apartment that night, but the storm that followed. The one that's still raging around me, that I created. They don't warn you about men like Luther Grayson in freshman orientation. They don't tell you how a single glance from the right person can make you question everything you thought you knew about yourself. About what you want. About what you'd risk to get it. They also don't warn you about guys like Ethan Cross, with his perfect smile hiding something dark. The kind of guy who's used to getting what he wants and doesn't understand the meaning of the word "no." And no one, absolutely no one…prepares you for what it feels like when the person who's supposed to be your brother looks at you with something else in his eyes. Mom once said I had a gift for making complicated situations worse. If she only knew. My phone buzzed beside me, and I glanced down to see Luther's name on the screen. My heart still jumps every time, even when I'm aware of what could happen if people learned about the two of us. I should ignore it. I should block his number, focus on my classes, help Mom with the bakery, and pretend none of this ever happened. But I'm already reaching for the phone. That's the thing about crossing lines… once you step over them, it's almost impossible to step back. And I've crossed so many lines now, I can't even see where I started.

"Why did you poison my drink?" Yelled a woman, her gaze glaring daggers at the man who stood with a brazen look as he placed both his hands in his pocket simply watching her. His steps echoed his movement as he entered the room, his presence filled the air. "Because you want to leave me" he said, his words angering the woman who reached out to strike him but stumbled in the process, her body swaying to the ground but right before she could fall, she was pulled into a firm sturdy chest. "I hate it when you run from me. I hate it when men linger around you. I hate it when they touch what's mine" he said stroking her head. "You lost the right to call me that Mr DONOVAN. I don't belong to you" With a smirk playing on his lips he said. "If I can't have you, then no one can" *** Never did Lilly realize her peaceful life could turn into her worst nightmare when she fell in love with her childhood crush. 15yrs ago she had brought him into her home. 15yrs later, he reigned down chaos, destroying her peaceful home. He blamed her for the death of his parents, treated her like a slave and left her for dead. But 5yrs later, she returned. She was no longer the weak being she once were. But all hell broke lose when after so long, she crossed paths with him. In her heart she despised him but in his heart, a sudden sense of obsession emerged. A dark desire to keep her with him. Will Lilly be able to forgive him? What happens when she harbours a great secret from him? "Mom, who is that man on the television?" "No one dear. He's your worst nightmare"

At nineteen, Elise Jones failed her ninety-ninth attempt to escape an arranged marriage. On the eve of being forced to wed an older man, she ran into the arms of Merrick Grant, the once-promising heir who had exiled himself from Crown City to a forgotten border town. Elise knew another woman had once held his heart, but it didn’t matter to her. She only wanted a way out—someone strong enough to pull her from the life that was swallowing her whole. What began as raw survival turned into months spent wrapped in each other’s lives. When the time came, he brought her back to Crown City, the glittering, intoxicating world he’d once abandoned. No one knew that the polished, silver-spoon heir of the Grant family had spent month after month living with her in a shabby rental apartment, worlds away from the life that once revolved around him. Elise retook her exams, reclaimed her top-student title, and began rebuilding the future she once dreamed of. But the night before Merrick and his first love were set to announce their engagement, Elise was forced out of Crown City and stripped of everything she had fought so hard to earn. Years later, they crossed paths again in New Harbor. She walked past him with another man’s hand in hers. That night, a Maybach stood parked beneath her apartment until dawn, while message after message lit up her phone. He wrote: “Elise, it was only ever you.” Elise had grown up with nothing, yet she never bowed to fate. She seized every chance to change her destiny with both hands. From the moment they met, Merrick was drawn to that fierce, unyielding spark—an instinct that pulled him in and a clarity that undid him. She was a cactus rising through desert sand, a wild rose he nurtured with his own hands, and the woman who had always lived at the center of his heart.

Rose Johnson Kapoor He called me a lioness. He taught me how to be one. But what he failed to understand was that I'm more than just the lioness—I'm a rose with thorns-who'll bring him to his knees. Ryan Johnson walked away, left without a second glance shattering my heart and left me bleeding. But I’m done waiting. Done crying for someone who easily discarded me. I’ve crossed oceans to claim what’s mine and make him suffer. He'd forced me to submit—to bend, to surrender. But this time, he’ll be kneeling and begging. What he doesn’t know, that I’m not just here to ruin him—I’m here to own him. To carve my name into his world the way he once carved himself into my soul. He'll feel every ounce of my wrath. And when I'm done, he'll beg to be mine. Yet, there's something I can't escape-a truth, I refuse to face. A question-For how long I'll be able to hold on to my hate-or-the secret I'm hiding. Especially when he shows the side of him that I'd never seen before. ____ Ryan Johnson I knew she’d come. My lioness never accepts defeat. I thought leaving was right, but all I did was destroy the only thing that mattered. Now, she’s here. And she wants war. She wants me to suffer, to pay. What she doesn’t realize is, I already have. I’ve been on my knees for her since the day I walked away. But she won’t break me. If she wants a fight, I’ll give her one. Because I don’t just want her rage—I want all of her. Yet, as I pull her back into my world, something lurks in the shadows-A threat we've to fight.

The day after my Alpha mate's precious childhood sweetheart Sage accused me of sending rogue wolves to attack her, my mate Kael, along with our two sons, suspended my brother above a massive cauldron of boiling silver, threatening to throw him into the molten metal that would burn him alive. I went insane, rushing toward them, but the pack warriors held me back with iron grips. "Do you understand your mistake now?" Kael stood nearby in his perfectly tailored suit, his eyes cold as winter frost, his voice laced with ice. "Will you ever dare to hurt Sage again?" "I didn't attack her!" I cried, struggling against the warriors' hold. "Kael, let my brother go! He's only eighteen! He just got accepted to Harvard!" Five-year-old River crossed his small arms, his face emotionless. "The evidence is clear. Why are you still lying?" Four-year-old Stone nodded along, his tone innocent yet cruel. "Mommy, if you're so scared of Uncle dying, you shouldn't have attacked Aunt Sage. She's our precious one." My heart contracted violently. Sage was their precious one. Then what was I? What did I mean to them? I looked toward Kael, hoping he might spare my brother for the sake of our years as mates. But he only stared at me coldly, his gaze like he was looking at a complete stranger. I suddenly laughed, though tears streamed down my face. They thought it was just a dummy tied up there and they were just trying to scare me. They didn't realize that Sage had someone switch out that dummy. What's frying in the silver now is my dear little brother. In the boiling silver, my brother's body was already burned beyond recognition. But when I completely gave up and left, why did three men kneel down and beg me to come back?