Deeper Than Lessons

Shantali Mae Cross, a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Ancient Arts, encounters an impossible phenomenon during her night shift—smoke from the heating vents coalesces into the form of a cobra near ancient Egyptian canopic jars, showing her visions of possible futures. She sees herself accepting a promotion, arguing with a dark-haired man in a hospital, wearing a wedding dress, and standing at a graveside in autumn. Shaken by the experience, Shantali becomes obsessed with understanding what she witnessed, diving into research about serpent smoke divination practices. Her investigation reveals that others throughout history have experienced similar visions at crucial crossroads in their lives, but those who became consumed with interpreting and controlling their prophetic glimpses inevitably destroyed the very relationships and opportunities the visions had shown them. As Shantali spirals deeper into her research, she begins shutting out her boyfriend David, a fellow security guard who loves her deeply. When David witnesses the cobra phenomenon himself, he helps ground her in reality rather than obsession. Through her studies, particularly the warnings left by Dr. Amelia Thorne—a researcher who died alone after chasing similar mysteries—Shantali realizes the cobra's true message: choose love over fear, presence over obsession. The visions weren't warnings of tragedy but glimpses of a life fully lived with all its ordinary struggles and profound connections. When David proposes, Shantali chooses their real relationship over her pursuit of supernatural answers. She completes her research by writing a fictional novel about her experience, transforming obsession into art while helping future cobra witnesses understand that some mysteries are meant to guide rather than be solved. The story explores themes of choice versus destiny, the danger of sacrificing present love for future certainty, and the wisdom of embracing life's uncertainties alongside those who love us.

It is payback time! Cynthia Laurent’s comeback is fueled by heartbreak… and a love that won’t let go. The day she was told she had six months to live, her husband’s betrayal cut deeper than any diagnosis. While grappling with a brain tumor, Cynthia overheard her stepsister’s cruel confession: “I’m pregnant.” One look at her husband’s face told her the truth — the affair was real, and the baby was his. Eight years of marriage, discarded like trash. Her pleas were met with her mother-in-law’s venom who saw her only as a nanny, a cook, a housekeeper, a cleaner – never a daughter-in-law and her eight-year-old son’s chilling wish for a “new mom.” Broken and abandoned, Cynthia vanished to Paris, ready to die. But fate had other plans. In Paris, three men of immense power burst into her life, claiming to be her brothers and vowed to protect her at all costs. Titans of industry, speed, and medicine, they rebuilt Cynthia from the ground up. Now, as the Michelin-starred queen of Maison Cynclair, Cynthia returns to the city that destroyed her. Her ex-husband falls to his knees. “We’re still married,” he pleads. Her son cries, “Mom, don’t you love me anymore?” The woman they once broke is gone. “Thank you for your betrayal,” she replied, calm and clear. “It made me a hundred-million-dollar woman.” A man’s love fades. An empire? Never.

In the tough underworld of New York City, where crime families rule and secrets are buried deep, Zoey Anderson, an investigative journalist with a liking for uncovering the truth, stumbles upon a story that could make or break her career. Little does she know that this story will also unravel her world and lead her into a web of danger, deceit, and forbidden love. The notorious Pushkin Bratva family, led by the enigmatic and ruthless Alexei Pushkin, controls the city's criminal empire. Zoey's investigative instincts lead her to believe that there's more to Alexei than meets the eye, and she's determined to expose his hidden past and criminal activities. But when Zoey's life is threatened, she finds herself reluctantly under Alexei's protection. As reluctant allies, they navigate a treacherous path of crime, deceit, and unexpected alliances. Zoey, scarred by a stormy childhood, discovers an unexpected connection with Alexei, a man whose ruthless reputation conceals a deeper, more vulnerable side. As they clash and spar, Zoey and Alexei discover an undeniable attraction that neither can resist. Drawn together by their shared secrets and dangerous desires, they must navigate a treacherous path of loyalty, betrayal, and . The lines between right and wrong blur as they become entangled in a love affair that could destroy them both. With rival mafia families closing in and the law closing in on the Pushkin empire, Zoey and Alexei must make choices that will determine their fates. Can their love survive in a world filled with bloodshed and deception? And will they find a way to break from the darkness that binds them?

As the wife of the Colombian cartel heir, Krystal Serrano is a symbol of diplomacy and control. Dressed in silk, wrapped in silence, and displayed like a crown jewel at the center of power. But behind the flawless smile lies a woman raised not just to survive, but to rule. When her husband's betrayal ignites a war with the Italian mafia, Krystal is taken. Kidnapped and hidden away by Zachary Romano, the young, ruthless Don who solves problems with bullets and buries questions with bodies. He thought he had captured a soft, obedient mafia wife. What he brought home was a storm in heels. Krystal doesn't beg. She doesn't break. Her silence provokes, her lips taunt, and her gaze slices deeper than any blade. Inside the stone walls of his private villa, control begins to slip. Hatred turns into tension. Tension burns into obsession. And in their world, love always comes with blood on its hands. The ring on her finger still binds her to a man who believes she belongs to him. But what happens when a woman like Krystal meets someone dark enough to understand her, broken enough to match her, and reckless enough to want her? Because there's a difference between loving a woman like Krystal… And trying to own her. And Zach Romano is about to learn—only one man can stand beside her. The rest will be buried.

<> - Vanessa thought rock bottom was signing divorce papers with Derek Holland, a man with the emotional depth of a teaspoon. Turns out, rock bottom had a basement, and Ryker Holland was waiting for her down there with a smirk and a plan. Ryker, Derek's older half-brother (aka the family's dirty little secret), shows up offering Vanessa a deal: help her make her ex-husband, Derek Holland, jealous enough to come crawling back. In exchange, he secures his position as CEO. But Ryker isn't doing this out of kindness for he is petty and cruel. He would do anything to trample all over Derek, and now he has the perfect weapon. Vanessa, freshly dumped and just desperate enough to play along. And if she happens to enjoy making her ex suffer too? Well, that's just a bonus. As Vanessa sinks deeper into Ryker's twisted world of fake romance, secrecy and family dysfunction, things start getting real. Because fake love? It's a lot easier to control than real feelings. And Ryker has no idea what to do when the game stops being a game. Is Vanessa walking into a trap or building one of her own? Either way, the Holland brothers are going down. One's going to break, and the other's going to enjoy every second of it. _Disclaimer: This story features morally complex, flawed characters with twisted motives. It includes themes of manipulation, deception, and emotional cruelty. Reader discretion is advised.

“I am Maya, the first daughter of Alpha Darius of the Ashbourne Pack, and I am damned… damned by the Moon Goddess, and an embarrassment to my father’s legacy.” Born wolfless, her life had always been full of shame. While others shifted under the full moon, she suffered through painful heat. Her father, a powerful Alpha, saw her as a disgrace. And when he finally cast her out of the pack, she had nowhere left to go, until Kael, the feared Lycan Leader, found her. Now, Kael is offering her a hand. If she takes it, she’ll be branded as a traitor. If she doesn’t, it might cost her life, or worse… a life of eternal exile. "I won't be called wolfless anymore. I won't be yanked into the crooked domination battles of the Leaders. And I definitely won't surrender to the arrogant stranger who claims the moon marked me for him..." But when he touches her, it's not disgrace that fills her. It's power, unlocking a prophecy that doesn't belong to a shattered girl but to a tool forged by the Moon Goddess herself. The question is, can Maya trust the Leader whose secrets run deeper than his scars, or is she just another pawn in his bloodstained games? Either way, one thing is clear: They called her wolfless. They thought she was weak. But she is done hiding, and this time, she's rewriting the rules.

What would you do when you find out that, the man who stole your first kiss, whom you lost your virginity to was your best friend's Father! ***************** The pace of his thrusts increased, the only sound breaking the thick silence of the night, coming from his balls hitting my center. His large hands pinning my weight down on to the bed, muffling my screams in the process. We were threading on a thin line. His daughter, my best friends was just next to us, sleeping in the other room. I wondered how she hadn't yet been alerted by our love making. What would she say, if she had discovered me in such a position with her father! Deeper and deeper he went, making it harder and harder for me to hold in my cries. "Shh!" He whispered, his warm breath rubbing on my cheek. "You don't want to wake up your friend now, do you!"

Emily’s life was on track: a dream wedding just months away, a fiancé she thought she knew inside out. Until the day she walked into Ryan’s office and found him with his jeans around his ankles and his assistant bent over the desk. The betrayal shattered her. She threw the ring. Her heart broke. Her future was derailed. Enter Sophia, Emily’s fiercely loyal best friend, armed with tequila and a no-nonsense plan to drown out Ryan’s audacity in a gritty biker bar. That’s where Emily meets Lucas, older, confident, and exactly the distraction she needs. What starts as a one-night stand turns into something deeper than Emily ever anticipated. Lucas is everything Ryan wasn’t... thoughtful, passionate, and oh, the amazing, kinky sex doesn’t hurt either. But Lucas comes with a past of his own. A lost son he hasn’t seen in years. A son whose identity shatters Emily’s new world all over again, because Lucas’ son turns out to be Ryan. The man who broke her heart. Now Emily faces the ultimate test: Can she love the man who healed her, knowing his blood ties her back to the one who hurt her? Or will this twisted fate tear her second chance at happiness apart? For Emily, the million-pound question is whether love can truly overcome the past.

"Touch me until I cum so hard that I forget my own name," I gasped, my lips brushing his, trembling beneath the weight of his stare. "You will forget more than that, wife," he rasped, gripping my throat with one hand and sliding the other down my body, "I will make you cum until you forget how to fight your feelings for me." * Elena Thrown into a marriage with the city’s most dangerous mafia king, I had one mission, to seduce him, overwhelm him and make him end it. So, I moaned louder, touched deeper, played the part of a woman consumed by lust, all in hopes he would be repulsed. But Dominic Moretti doesn’t fall for games. He plays them better. Colder, rougher and unrelenting. Every fake moan becomes real. Every forced kiss turns savage. And every time I think that I have the upper hand, he flips me over and makes me forget I ever wanted to get out of this marriage. He doesn’t believe in love. I don’t believe in staying. But when lust ignites war and pleasure starts to hurt in all the right ways, it’s no longer about breaking the marriage, it’s about surviving it. One of us will break. One of us will beg. But we will be both drenched in each other's lust before it’s all over.

My father, the Beta of our pack, had sworn our bloodline to serve the Alpha King, Andrew Amadeus. By tradition, I was destined to be his mate. The night before our mating ceremony, I risked everything to save my stepsister, Emma Hughes, crossing into rogue territory—Wild Nest. I fought fiercely but was overpowered. At the ceremony, a cursed projection stone revealed my assault by the rogues. The pack recoiled in disgust. Andrew, seething with rage, rejected me and marked Emma instead, making her Luna Queen. To them, I was a disgrace, unworthy of an Alpha’s mark. As they called for my exile, Andrew’s younger brother, Anthony Amadeus, stepped forward. "Sophia Hughes, I have loved you in silence. By the name of the moon, I vow to be your mate for eternity." His words saved me. A year later, the healer told me I could finally carry a pup. Overjoyed, I rushed to find Anthony—only to overhear a chilling conversation. "Anthony, we helped the rogues infiltrate, lured Sophia to Wild Nest, and spread the video. She trusts you now… did we make a mistake?" He sighed. "For Emma to become Queen, Sophia had to be sacrificed. But it doesn’t matter—I’ll spend my life making it up to her." Betrayal cut deeper than any wound. My suffering had been planned. But if they thought I was broken, they had underestimated me. I would carve my own fate—with claws bared.