Dearest Strangers

I’m Sadie Summer. Once I was an orphan, still treated like a servant by the family who adopted me—until fate threw me into a contract marriage with my cold, powerful billionaire boss. I stood by him when everyone else walked away. I saw the man beneath the armor, and for a moment... I believed he saw me too. But then came the accident. It turned us into strangers again. Still, I stayed—through the silence, the ache of being forgotten. Now he’s healed--almost whole. He still wants out. He wants a divorce. Worse, the people who wronged me are whispering lies, poisoning what little he remembers of us. Maybe we were never meant to be. But I’ve been alone before. I know how to survive. Only this time, I’m not walking away with my head down. Let him regret what he let go. Because I may have loved him once... But I won’t beg him twice.

⚠️ Trigger Warnings: Contains explicit sexual content, consensual power dynamics, manipulation, dominance/submission themes, obsession, emotional degradation, and morally gray characters. 18+ only. Reader discretion is advised. My Reluctant Plaything is a raw, intoxicating collection of gay erotica where lust blurs the lines between love and control. Every story is a clash of dominance and resistance of men who crave power and those who refuse to kneel... until they do. From ruthless mafia heirs and calculating professors to damaged billionaires and possessive strangers, these stories dive deep into forbidden desires, reluctant submission, and the thrilling high of surrendering to the one man you shouldn't want. It’s not about romance. It’s about obsession. They said no. But their bodies said everything else.

Emilia Clark, a young woman struggling with mounting family debts, responds to a mysterious job posting that arrived unexpectedly in her email. When she arrives at the upscale office for what she assumes is a standard interview, she discovers she's the sole candidate for an unusual position that wasn't clearly described in the original correspondence. The role, as revealed by the formidable Mrs. Grey—matriarch of a wealthy and traditional family—is that of a surrogate mother. The Greys are offering an extraordinarily large sum of money for Emilia to carry a child for their family, with the biological father being Mrs. Grey's son. The older woman presents this as a business transaction, delivered with cold efficiency and an underlying air of entitlement that comes with generations of wealth and influence. Mrs. Grey makes it clear that this is a one-time offer with no room for negotiation or delay—Emilia must accept immediately or leave and never return. There will be no second chances, no time to consider, and no opportunity to ask questions or seek advice. Caught completely off guard, Emilia finds herself in an impossible position. The money would solve her family's financial crisis and lift a burden that has been consuming her life. Yet the weight of the decision—to carry a child for strangers under such pressured circumstances—leaves her reeling. As Mrs. Grey waits for an answer, Emilia must quickly weigh her desperate need for financial security against her autonomy, dignity, and the ethical implications of entering into such an arrangement under duress.

Because of the incident, my life changed completely. I never thought that in an instant, I would lose everything. Family, friends and even the man that I loved. But I met a man which I did not expect to love him. He is the mysterious one, cold as ice, introvert, anti-social but he really caught my attention. But the way his voice sounds or the words he speak makes me think that I met someone like him before. Curiosity kills me inside. Naging parte kaya siya nang nakaraan ko? Nakilala ko na ba siya noon? Pero hindi ko inaasahan na isang araw, mahuhulog ako sa kaniya. Can we bring back our past or remain strangers?

Two strangers, driven solely by their parents' desire for marriage, find themselves united. One is an arrogant man, the other a once-independent woman. Aurora endured everything at the hands of her husband Lucas out of love for her parents. Unbeknownst to her, she married a man who is notorious as a powerful mafia figure in the country. Lucas, a billionaire, is ruthless towards his wife, fixated on his love interest Iris from the start. However, when a clash with another influential mafia group endangers his wife, could it be possible that Lucas will treat Aurora differently for the first time? Can he make her feel the true meaning of a spouse, or will he let her fate be at the mercy of a callous soul?

When the sky ignited in crimson and bombs obliterated Segunda Island in 2080, death was only the beginning. The fallen didn't stay dead—they morphed into savage, bloodthirsty beasts. Terrified survivors barely hold on, hunted by horrors that wear the faces of those they loved. Jane Fortalejo, the last from a dynasty destroyed overnight, is forced to ally with strangers from the island's shadowed underbelly. Driven to expose the sinister truth behind the apocalypse, Jane will risk her life, sanity, and the fragile alliances she forms. What really brought ruin to Segunda? And can the last survivors escape a fate worse than death itself?

What if fate will play two strangers in the most difficult time of their lives? A man who mostly treat killing as a habit and a woman that one's survived death, been saved and now...fate is teasing her life again. What if there's someone wearing a mask of vengeance just to lure her? What if trusting him will make her defeated. Paano ba mahalin ang isang kriminal na gaya ni Peruvian El Fuego? Paano ba magmahal ng totoo? May lalaki pa kayang magmamahal sa babaeng nabalo na at may isang step-daughter na 'sing edad lang niya? Paano kung magiging hadlang din ang estado ng pagkatao at nakaraan nila sa isa't-isa? May puwang pa ba ang salitang 'pagmamahal?' ~ Peruvian El Fuego and Romary Aquisa Jaranilla

Ang kasal ni Abigail kay Liam ay hindi dahil sa love, kundi dahil sa business deal. Kahit anong effort ni Abigail na ayusin ang relasyon nila, hindi niya mapawi ang galit ni Liam. Sa isang matinding phone call, sinabi ni Liam na gusto na niyang mag-divorce dahil sawang-sawa na siya. Initially, nagprotesta si Abigail pero sa huli, pumayag din siya. Habang pinipirmahan ang divorce papers, tiniyak ni Abigail na hindi makikialam si Liam sa negosyo ng pamilya niya. Ngayon, handa na siyang kalimutan si Liam at simulan ang bagong buhay. —- Abigail gazed at her signature and broke into a wide grin “ Liam Jones, from now on we’re strangers “

I married Zephyrus Jones under a one-year contract—walang sabit, walang emosyon, puro pirma lang at katahimikan. Kailangan niya ng asawa para sa billion-dollar deal. Kailangan ko ng pera para mailigtas si Papa. We lived like strangers under one roof… hanggang sa dumating ang araw na iniwan niya ako—papers signed, puso kong wasak, at mga pangakong hindi natupad. Sabi niya, may mahal na siyang iba. Sabi niya, never akong naging parte ng plano. Kaya nag-divorce kami. Apat na taon ang lumipas, bumalik ako—hindi para sa kanya, kundi para sa sarili ko. Pero nang muli ko siyang makita, he wasn’t the cold-hearted man I once knew. Ngayon, he looks at me like I’m the only thing that matters. Ang problema? Natuto na akong mabuhay nang wala siya. At ngayong bumalik siya sa buhay ko… hindi niya alam na may kambal kaming anak—at wala akong balak sabihin sa kanya.

Mula sa pinakatatagong mundo nagmumula ang pag-ibig sa gitna ng digmaan at labanan. Sa gitna ng lahat ng sakit at balakid, mananaig pa kaya ang pag-ibig na nakalaan para sa kanila kung ang buong katotohanan ay hindi dapat mangyari at susundin ng kanilang mga puso na sila ay nagkakaisa at mas piniling burahin ang markang nagbuklod sa kanilang dalawa? Binalot ng sumpa at paghihiganti ang pusong puno ng pagmamahal. Maibabalik pa ba ang pag-ibig kapag nasunog at nadurog na ng nakaraan dahil sa isang malagim na pangyayaring naghiwalay sa kanilang dalawa? _____ "I, Alpha Sortitus Breackorn, of the Breackorn 'Black' Pack, reject you, Clavem Whitestern of the Breackorn Pack, as my mate." "I accept your rejection." Under the white moon in the woods, I run in wolf form. The wolf inside me is whining and uttering All the grievances I have in my heart, I shout, even though the whole surrounding area is covered with light because of the white rays coming from the moon. "I hate everything that happens to me, but I'm not regretting loving him, but he is not destined to love me back. Dearest Luna Goddess, why are you making me suffer like this? Did I do something to trigger your hatred and put me into a curse and be the mistress of my own mate?!"