Drawing Steps Anime

My fiancé, Luca, dragged me along to a party with his crew. We had barely walked through the door before his boys were hounding him to play "Seven Minutes in Heaven." "Angelina, babe, come join us!" Fiona, Luca’s "best friend" from back home, called out to me with a smirk. I shook my head and slipped onto a barstool, my fingers nervously tracing the rim of my glass. I watched them huddle in a circle, drawing cigar bands with names scribbled on them. Luca drew Fiona. They shared a laugh before disappearing into the storage room behind the bar. "Seven minutes! Starting... now!" someone hollered, followed by a chorus of whistles. But seven minutes came and went. The door stayed shut. Ten minutes. Fifteen. Twenty... I finally stood up, my heart hammering against my ribs, ready to see what was going on. Just then, I heard Luca’s friends whispering in a thick Sicilian dialect. "This American guy... her head is greener than a lemon tree in Palermo and she doesn’t even know it." "I bet Luca and Fiona are having the time of their lives in there right now." "Poor Boston girl. Look at her, sitting there like a loyal little dog. Hilarious." I froze. My blood turned to ice, and the air felt too thin to breathe. Suddenly, the storage room door creaked open. Luca walked out, wiping sweat from his brow, followed closely by Fiona, who was busy smoothing out her rumpled shirt. "Whoa, how was it? Seven minutes in heaven live up to the hype?" someone teased. Luca smirked, his eyes glazed with satisfaction. "Better. I didn't want to leave."

In my previous life, my brother took his sugarbaby to see a meteor shower because she said she wanted to. He drove to the countryside with all his bodyguards to create a perfect stargazing night for her. Unfortunately, business rivals whom my brother had bankrupted saw this opportunity and broke into our estate seeking revenge. My mother fought desperately to protect me, suffering severe injuries that left her fighting for her life. I called my brother repeatedly, begging him to return quickly and help us. He finally had to come back with his security team. The intruders were captured, but then terrible news came from the countryside. His sugarbaby had left a suicide note, her fate unknown. In her letter, she accused me of deliberately drawing my brother away, causing her to be tortured by his enemies before she took her own life. My brother coldly burned her letter and told me not to worry about it. Afterward, my brother was blamed for what happened, and my father promised to put me in charge of the company. However, after the celebration dinner ended, my brother brutally murdered me in my bedroom. His face showed no emotion as he coldly said, "Someone as treacherous as you should have died long ago. "You should have been the one to die, and the family inheritance should have been mine!" I died with my eyes wide open in disbelief, and when I opened them again, I could hear our enemies breaking down the front door of our mansion.

[UNDERGOING HEAVY REVISION] Go ahead and check out my other complete and ongoing books. I personally recommend Contracted for the Alpha and Marked by Moonlight. You can thank me later. 😉 "Are you nervous, Miss Bologna?" What the fuck? Did he just read me? I shifted slightly in my seat. "Detective Gunner, you seem to think you know me. But let me assure you, you don't." He shook his head, an inky black curl moving down his forehead. "I might not know you, Miss Bologna, but all one point two million followers don't know you either." A cocky grin crossed his face, drawing my attention to those damn dimples again. I uncrossed my legs and then crossed them again. "It's a necessary precaution." He held his arms up and shrugged. "And I get that. Being the daughter of the wealthy, powerful, notorious Wall Street guru, Dante Bologna has its downsides, I suppose." I glowered at him from underneath my lashes. "Tell me what you want, Detective Gunner." He tucked his phone back into his pants pocket. "I want you to tell me what the fuck is happening in this city." * * * To Love A Bologna is a four-volume series about the trials, temptations, and heart-burning romance of the Bologna family. | This first volume is focused on Nessa, the last and only daughter of the renowned mafia lord, Dante Bologna, and her love interest, Detective James Gunner who is on a quest to catch and destroy the Bologna family. When detective Gunner discovers the truth about the Bolognas, will he be able to go through with his plans? Or will his stolen heart make the choice for him?

"Melina, my dear," The alpha king declared as he entered the chamber, his voice rich with authority. "The time has come for our union. I would like you to disrobe." In the face of such a demand, Melina stood her ground, her voice unwavering. "I, Melina Haephastus, refuse Your Majesty," she stated firmly as she walked gently backwards. A palpable tension hung heavy in the air, as the king's countenance contorted, a display of surprise mingled with frustration. He strode purposefully towards her, his narrowed eyes fixed upon her. A derisive chuckle escaped his lips as he advanced. "Refuse? You dare to reject the authority of his highness, Melina?" Drawing upon an inner strength, Melina met his gaze, unyielding. "I am more than a mere vessel for an heir, Your Majesty," she asserted, her voice ringing with determination. "I am an individual with my own hopes and aspirations. I will not allow myself to be reduced to a mere breeder." *** Melina, once the niece of a rebel leader who had dared to conspire against the Alpha King in league with outsiders, now found herself a captive within the opulent walls of his palace. The King deemed her the perfect candidate to bear his heir, a role that sought to firmly ensnare her in the machinations of his reign. Against the backdrop of political intrigue and deceptions lurking within the shadows, Melina was faced with a formidable choice. Would she succumb to the shackles of her predetermined destiny? Or would she rise above, unraveling the truths concealed by the threads of conspiracy, and forging her own path? Follow Melina's journey as her determination pushes against the constraints of societal expectations and unveils a web of hidden truths.

Mai Carson was divorced the night her husband, Jordan Kelly, believed another woman’s lies. Branded a cheater and thrown out of her marriage, she left and never looked back, only to return later as someone unrecognizable: powerful, wealthy, and deadly calm. The woman they humiliated is now the force dismantling their empire from the shadows. Jordan Kelly’s best friend, Banky smith, steps into Mai’s life and offers Mai, protection, devotion, and a love that feels intoxicatingly safe. What Mai doesn’t see is the trap forming around her, because while she wants justice, Banky wants blood. But revenge gets complicated when Mai discovers she’s carrying her ex-husband’s child. Caught between regret and obsession, Mai must decide how far she’s willing to go, and who she’s willing to become, to survive a love that was never meant to be gentle.

At Blood Oath Academy, no one arrives by chance—except Virelle Noctra. Marked by a power that shouldn’t exist, Virelle is summoned into a hidden world where vampires and werewolves train under fragile, ancient laws. But from the moment she steps inside, something is wrong. Her blood doesn’t belong to either side… yet both crave it. A ruthless vampire heir watches her like prey. A dangerous wolf alpha feels his instincts bend toward her. And beneath the academy, something older than both species begins to stir—something that recognises her. As alliances fracture and desire turns lethal, Virelle is pulled into a power struggle she doesn’t understand but can’t escape. The more her abilities awaken, the clearer the truth becomes: She isn’t just part of the war. She’s the reason it’s starting. And when the blood oath breaks, everyone will have to choose Kneel… or burn.

On her sister’s wedding day, everything falls apart. Rumors swirl that the groom is crippled, poor, and an illegitimate child. Determined to protect her family’s reputation, their mother makes a shocking decision—she forces her quiet, overlooked younger daughter to take her sister’s place at the altar. Humbled, humiliated, and powerless, she steps into a marriage everyone expects to be miserable. But the man she married is nothing like she—or anyone—expects. Strange things begin to happen, whispers of wealth, influence, and power follow him everywhere, and suddenly, the life she thought she was trapped in becomes unpredictable and dangerous. Now, the woman everyone overlooked must navigate a web of secrets, betrayal, and desires—and discover whether this forced marriage is her undoing… or her greatest chance at love. And when the truth finally comes to light, what will become of her mother, her sister, and everyone who betrayed her? Will they pay the price—or be left in the shadows of her triumph?

Every night at midnight, he appears. No name. No past. Only darkness, dominance, and a voice that knows every filthy secret Lila has ever hidden. When the mysterious stranger called Midnight steps out of the shadows of her Lagos high-rise and commands her to finish what she started, Lila discovers a hunger she never knew lived inside her. He doesn’t ask — he owns. He doesn’t seduce — he claims. Each encounter grows darker, more intense, more addictive, until pleasure and surrender blur into something dangerously irresistible. But as the nights deepen and Midnight’s touch brands her body and soul, Lila realizes this isn’t just a game. He knows things no ordinary man could know. And when the final night comes, she must make a choice: resist the creature who has possessed her desires… or surrender completely and become Owned by Midnight.

Gabriella Calos has spent years guiding others through death, while quietly drowning in her own guilt. After losing the man she loved in a hospital bed she couldn’t save, she turned to pills for silence and vanished from everything she once was. Now back in her hometown, ready to leave nursing behind, she’s pulled into an emergency that changes everything—and into the path of Isaac Langton. Billionaire. Media mogul. Owner of half the city’s news stations and newspapers. He’s powerful, untouchable, and recovering from wounds no headline ever printed. When Isaac offers Gabriella a position as his private nurse at his secluded estate, she steps into a world far colder than the hospital—one filled with secrets, an unsettling wife, and a daughter who sees too much. As Gabriella and Isaac grow closer, so do the ghosts of their pasts—and the tension between them begins to burn.

"This isn't supposed to happen," I whisper, my voice soft. "You shouldn't be here." "Do you want me to leave?" I should say no, but I don't. "Elias-" He steps closer, his lips ghosting over mine. "Tell me to go, Isadora. Tell me to leave." I don't. Instead, I kiss him. ******************** After being used and rejected by the Alpha of her pack, Isadora is left for dead in a river with only her thoughts for revenge as an anchor. Fate decides to give her a second chance, and she is rescued by Elias Hawthorne- the elusive lycan Alpha. Isadora never expected to be mated to an Alpha, much less Elias. And Elias never expected to be mated to a girl from the pack he plans to destroy. Neither of them wants to be mated, but their mutual need for revenge brings them together, However, they soon find that the mating bond is not so easy to ignore