Don't Be Shy

Paano nga ba masasabi kung ikaw ay umiibig na? Sino nga ba ang magdidikta kung sino ang iibigin mo, ang puso mo ba o ang utak mo? Sa bida nating si Portia ay malalaman natin ang kasagutan. Ano nga ba ang mas matimbang, ang utak mo ba na nagdidikta sa puso o ang puso na tumitibok lamang sa taong magustuhan nito?

I was eight months pregnant, at a charity gala with my husband, Don Massimo, when a rival family hit us. The crowd panicked. I was shoved to the floor, hard. Blood everywhere. Massimo lost his mind, screaming for medics, desperate to save my baby. But when I woke up, they were gone. Both of them. No baby, no Massimo. I remembered the gunfire, Massimo shielding me with his body. A cold dread washed over me. I hauled myself into a wheelchair and raced down the hall. That’s when I heard them—Massimo and the doctor. "Boss, I'm sorry. We did everything we could. The baby… he didn't make it." Tears streamed down my face. They killed my baby. The rival family killed my baby. But his next words shattered my world. "There was only one medical team. I had to make a choice. Bianca… she was carrying my child, too." Massimo sighed, then gave the order. "No one tells Arabella. She'll raise Bianca's son as her own. He will be my only heir." I slapped a hand over my mouth, my vision blurred by tears as I turned away. The man I loved was a lie. Fine. If he wants a war, he'll get one.

"I know your reputation quite well, Mr. Storm. You're cold, calculating, and a merciless man. Everyone fears you. Well, everyone except me." I tilt my head, intrigued at her answer. At the defiance brimming in the depths of her hazel eyes. "You're almost correct, Ms. Han. Everyone fears me, including you, even if you say otherwise." She bit down on her bottom lips, eyes trained on mine, but her fingers were shaking. I take a step forward. Then another. And another, until I have her backed up against a wall, her head shifted to the side, giving me a good view of her spotless, delicate neck. "W-what are you doing?" "Punishing you." "You're sick." "Wait till I'm done, mio cara. I'm sure that review will change for the worst." — Twenty-two-year-old Reneigh Han has been working for the Storm Enterprises since she got out of grad school. She cherishes her position, but when fate backs her into a corner and forces her to steal from the enterprises, she tries to take the secret to the grave. Elijah Storm is as ruthless as they come. A much feared Mafia Don and leader of the Storm Mafia. No one steals from him and goes scot free. When he finds out Reneigh's secret, he's determined to give her a second chance to prove her loyalty to him. Reneigh would be his for six months. A devious arrangement, yes, but Elijah Storm always gets what he wants. And he wants Reneigh. As his.

In the sixth year after helping Blake secure his position as Don, I was both his wife and his sharpest blade. Until the day of our daughter's birthday– She was hit by a car arranged by his enemies. As her life hung by a thread, I called him dozens of times. He never answered. However, I heard that he was at a casino, spending lavishly with his first love. In that moment, whatever I felt for Blake died completely. So when he finally returned, carrying the scent of another woman, I pretended not to notice. Blake frowned and tried to explain, "Victoria is still young. The casino isn't safe. I had no choice but to stay with her." I said nothing. I only nodded. However, he suddenly flew into a rage, grabbing me by the throat, his gaze dark. "Helena, our daughter is hurt – do you think I don't care? Do you have to keep this attitude? "And it's just a minor injury. You're the Don's wife. Be more composed. Don't let your jealousy toward Victoria go too far." I let out a cold laugh. He did not know–our daughter was already gone. And neither he nor this family needed to exist in my life anymore.

Penelope’s life takes a brutal turn when her arranged marriage to Max Castillo is shattered. The night before their wedding, her step sister attacks her and kills her mother. Penelope survives the attack, but her face is left severely damaged. After undergoing surgery to restore her appearance, she vows revenge on everyone who wronged her, especially her stepsister, who not only killed her mother but also married Max, the man Penelope was meant to marry. Training under a dangerous crime boss, Penelope prepares to take down the Castillo family. She’s given one task: kill the Castillo’s Don in exchange for her revenge. To do that, she’ll have to seduce Silvio Castillo, the ruthless Mafia Don, and use him to destroy the family from the inside. But as she gets closer to Silvio, she starts to feel something she never expected: real attraction. Now, as she faces the consequences of her plan, Penelope must decide what’s more important, revenge, or the man she’s falling for. Will he forgive her for trying to kill him Will a quest for revenge destroy their love?

Fate can be a funny thing. One minute, you are the beloved daughter of a powerful alpha, and the next, you're nothing more than a tool used to join forces with another strong pack. And if you don't go along with what is expected of you, the one who is using you for personal gain will make your life a living hell and destroy anything that is precious to you.Because of this, Denali Ozera finds herself married to the cold and ruthless Rosco Torres, alpha of the Crystal Fang pack and enemy not only to her, but her entire family. But by some weird twist of fate, Rosco isn't what others say he is, and he is even willing to help Denali get back everything that was meant to be hers.Together, Denali and Rosco devise a plan to destroy Denali's father and her stepmother and sister. All Rosco asks for in return is Denali's mind, body, and soul.

Betrayed by love. Bound by revenge. Tempted by a man she never saw coming. Her world shatters when Briella discovers her fiancé and best friend making out in a club’s vip room. But heartbreak births vengeance, and her plan? Marry the enigmatic and dangerously irresistible Braun El Cueva, a man with power, secrets, and a kiss that scorches her soul. She was supposed to use him, but instead, she craves him. He was supposed to protect her, but now he wants to possess her. Can they turn a fake marriage into something real?

My best friend and my husband, Lorenzo Bartoli, fought every time they met. Lorenzo was the Don of the family, while my best friend was his Consigliere. She always fiercely opposed his most ruthless, high-risk decisions. Tempers explode every single time. But there was one rule that they both agreed on without any hesitation. No one was allowed to touch me. Because of them, no one in the city dared to cross me. Until the fifth month of my pregnancy, when I went down to the basement vault to organize Lorenzo's guns for him. I opened the safe to see stacks of letters, hundreds of them, all unsent. I picked one up. The moment I opened the letter, cold dread overwhelmed me. The receiver of the letter wasn't me. [My dearest Sofia…] I quickly scanned downward to the final lines of the letter. [If I don't make it back alive, everything in the Swissie accounts goes to you. As for Vittoria, she's a good woman, but I have never loved her.] With trembling hands, I tore open the rest of the letters like a hysterical woman. Three hundred of them in total. Every single one was addressed to Sofia Finzi. Sofia was not a stranger. She was my best friend.

“Strip,” Lior said. Kael’s breath caught. He stood there, frozen, fear curling in his chest. Is this what my life is going to be now? he wondered. Ever since he met Lior, everything had gone wrong. They were fated—he had felt it the first time they locked eyes. That changed when Lior found out the truth. Kael’s brother was his ex. The one who had walked away. The one who chose his own fated mate and left Lior behind. After that, Lior hardened. He became ruthless. Instead of rejecting the bond, he held onto it like a weapon. He kept Kael close, punished him for someone else’s betrayal, and denied the pull that hit them both whenever they were together. Kael felt it every time Lior looked at him. Lior felt it too—but he refused to give in. The question was no longer why Lior hated him. It was whether the alpha would ever stop hurting his fated mate… or if revenge mattered more than the bond tying them together.

Mom was a top student at a prestigious school and had always been determined to be the best at everything. She demanded that I learn to walk by seven months, speak fluently by eighteen months, and master all addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division by the age of three. I did all of it. Yet Mom still felt it wasn’t enough. However, when my younger brother, Liam, didn’t speak until he was five, Mom clapped and cheered when he finally did, celebrating his “late-blooming brilliance”. I didn’t think anything of it. Until one day, I was wearing headphones, memorizing Spanish words, and accidentally let the sound leak out, scaring Liam. He clutched his chest and cried, saying his heart hurt. Mom’s eyes turned red as she stormed over and slapped me. Then she grabbed my ear, twisting it a full 360 degrees with all her strength. The pain in my ear was so intense that I lost all feeling, and the fear made me nauseous to the point of vomiting. Still, Mom forced the headphones back on, cranked the volume to the maximum, and locked me in the storage room to reflect. “How could I give birth to such a terrible child? You’re just jealous of Liam. No matter how much I do for you, you’ll never appreciate it! “Love listening to words, huh? Then listen all you want.” But seven days later, when she opened the door, she completely lost it.