Dry Water

My childhood friend promised to marry me once we came of age — but at my wedding ceremony, he gave my wedding ring to my stepsister, Summer Hugh. At the time, it was Victor Lowell, the fearsome mafia heir, who saved me by publicly announcing he had loved me for years. In the five years we had been married, he would fulfill every wish I had, even those I mentioned offhand. I truly believed I was the center of his world. All that changed when I stumbled across a top-secret folder as I was cleaning his bookshelf. The very first page was a file on Summer, with three red words printed in bold, “Top protection priority.” It was followed by a mission report I knew too well. On the night of the mission, there had been an attempt on my life. My blood had almost run dry before I was saved. When I woke up at the hospital, I found out that I had lost a baby I did not know I had been carrying. I wept bitterly in Victor’s arms, but I did not tell him about the baby. I did not want him to worry about me more. Now, I finally found out — Summer had been attacked that night as well, and Victor’s orders had been: “Save Summer first.” My tears soaked into the paper, smudging his handwriting. “Alright,” I said softly but firmly into the silence. “If my marriage had been a lie all along, I’ll disappear from your life. Forever.”

“What did you say, little wolf?” he asked. “Repeat.” I swallowed saliva down my dry throat. “I don’t belong to you,” I repeated, staring into his amber eyes. The next moment he pounced on me with predator's intensity. He pinned my wrists in one hand and forced them above my head. Pressing my body with his heavy one, he growled, “You belong to me, little wolf. Remember that. I am going to hunt you from the depths of hell if you try to run or hide.” He captured my lips in a sizzling kiss as he grounded his rock-hard erection on me. ---- After a perfect night with Violet, Dane rejects her, to marry Emily who is known to him from childhood and is the perfect choice. Feeling insulted and dejected, Violet runs away. However, Dane can't stop thinking about Violet and crazily hunts for her. At his pre-wedding party, he sees Violet with someone else. Jealousy rips his heart and this time he won't let her go, even if that means he has to break the rules. Violet resists him, because she has something precious to hide. What happens when Dane sees a pup who is his carbon copy? And he calls Violet, ‘Mom’. Will Violet accept his rejection finally? Or will she come back to him? Will Dane be able to seduce her back in his own, dark and twisted way? Or will he be forced to go back to Emily? Let the chase begin!

Damien's life was forever changed after the car accident that killed his mother. He lost what’s most important to him and gained abilities he didn’t even want, never even wished for, and started a series of tragedies that led to him being unable to distinguish between what’s real and what’s not. From then on, uncontrollable, dark visions chased after his every waking moment, not letting him escape even in his dreams. Just when he thought he could finally get back to his old life, the ghost of a young girl puts him right onto the path of an arrogant and domineering ace police detective, Gunther Oliviera, who’s after a sick killer targeting young girls, bleeding them dry until they die. Gunther believes that Damien knows something and he’s just not telling. But how could Damien even tell the detective anything when he’s getting his information from the killer’s dead victims themselves? Damien’s not going to risk being brought back to the loony bin. But danger still finds him when someone from his past realizes he’s back and is determined to get revenge. In a race against time, Damien and Gunther must uncover the dark secret at the heart of their province, before it’s too late... Will Damien finally be able to face the path that fate had chosen for him, or will he choose to forge a new path and move forward, along with the darkness?

I looked up, desperation rising in my chest. With no way to repay the debt, begging was all I had left. “Please... give me a year. I’ll pay back the loan. I just need time to find—” “No. There is no time,” he cut in, his voice calm but final. “You have only one choice,” he said. “Marry me—since you didn’t bring the money to clear your family’s debts.” My throat went dry as I stared at him. “It’s simple. Marry me for one year. That’s the deal. You want your mother out of jail? You want your father not to join her after getting out of that hospital bed? This is how.” * Natasha Williams had two dreams; to become a successful doctor and start a family with the love of her life. Everything seemed perfect until her sister ran away and bailed on her arranged marriage, putting their family in a tough position. Now Natasha was the only one who could fill her shoes and save her family’s reputation, but she couldn’t abandon everything she’d worked for. But when she catches her boyfriend proposing to another woman, her whole world shatters. Heartbroken, she had no choice but to agree to the marriage proposal. Her groom, Sylvester Manson was not a man to reckon with. He was the infamous billionaire heir of the Manson empire, and all he needed was a wife to secure his inheritance. Bound by a contract marriage, their fates are intertwined, but what happens when they blur the lines between reality and fantasy? Will they be consumed by their duty or passion?

My back hits the cold glass of the penthouse window, the city glittering a thousand feet below us. Sebastian’s hand is at my throat—not tight enough to hurt, but enough to remind me who I belong to. “You were talking to him,” he says, voice low, dangerous. His other hand is braced beside my head, caging me in. “You smiled.” “It was just—” “Don’t lie to me, Ocean.” His thumb brushes the hollow of my throat, and my pulse jumps so hard he feels it. “You’re mine. Every glance. Every breath. Every inch of you.” I should be furious. I should tell him I’m not his property. But then his mouth is on mine—rough, consuming, tasting like the whiskey he hasn’t let go of since the gala. I moan before I can stop myself. That’s all the permission he needs. His hand slides to my waist, fingers digging in as if he’s afraid I’ll vanish. The heat between us ignites like dry kindling. It’s dangerous. It’s too much. It’s everything. When he finally pulls back, his eyes are dark enough to drown in. “One year,” he murmurs. “That was the deal. But you… you’re making me want forever.” And in that moment, I know the worst truth of all— If Sebastian Velez decides to keep me, I won’t even try to run.

When I learned that the villain was a merman who dropped pearls whenever he cried, I took out the discarded pregnancy test stick from the trash can and headed toward the rooftop. "Well, how many babies do you merfolk have in one pregnancy? Do they eat fish food or baby formula?" Theo Atwater, who was attempting suicide, slipped and almost fell from the 18th floor. I shook my head with a sigh. "Forget it. I'll just throw the baby into the sea after giving birth." Later, when the baby was born, Theo was too scared to sleep, fearing that I would release the baby into the sea. When the female lead, Melody Carlisle, and the male lead, Reagan York, were arguing and came to see us, he was looking at our baby’s swimming results and roaring, "You're one of us merfolk. How could you be afraid of water?"

My younger brother told me he was overwhelmed by school stress and had developed depression. I tried to help by encouraging him to seek treatment, drawing from my own experience with the illness. However, my mother blamed me, accusing me of passing the depression onto him. She took me to a witch, who locked me in the house. Every day, the witch used willow branches to drive away evil spirits, beating me until my skin was raw, forcing me to drink filthy water, and making me bleed. "This is the only way to banish the evil and bless your little brother." After enduring days of torment, my depression worsened, and I chose to end my life. However, when I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day my brother first confessed his depression. I looked at my body—whole and unharmed. This time, I will make them pay for everything I endured.

Rozelyn found out she is a vampire when she turned eighteen. To make matters worse, her stepmom is secretly a vampire as well and Cyrill, her stepmom's adoptive son, is a werewolf behind the shadows. As she live the life of being a vampire, several people had come for her—including the infamous Blood Mistress, a witch who hunts vampires and werewolves. Rozelyn become more fascinated with the vampire life, especially when she found out that sex plays a huge role in a vampire's everyday living and it acts like blood: once they tasted it, they will crave for it even more. Will Rozelyn be able to voice out her secret love to Cyrill without risking the familial relationship they have built for years? Or will she watch her loved ones perish due to her identity as the most powerful vampire to ever live? Amidst all these, only one thing is certain: Blood is thicker than water—either literally or figuratively.

Growing up on a diary farm, Araknee disscovers she's the lost princess of Hartland on her seventeenth birthday and that's not all; she has the ability to control water, a power only Hartland royals possess. Instead of giving her answers, her adoptive parents send her on a journey through the Midlands to find Granark; an old wizard who once befriended her biological parents and is the only one available to train her. With the help of two new friends, Araknee begins her quest to find the wizard by battling her way through the many obstacles set in her path. Meanwhile, back in Hartland, Adrian, Araknee's half brother, isn't too happy with the existence of another heir. Secretly, he plans to kill her and claim the throne for himself. Join the Lost Princess on her journey through the Midlands, fighting bounty hunters, thugs and encountering strange beings in this fantasy world of love, magic and power.

Sohla Kim has everything you could want in life. Born rich and smart, to a family that has status, money, and power, while dominating the investment world. A pre-set betrothment to her childhood best friend, Jyeon Park. The handsome, equally wealthy, and smart, future heir of OLO, their joint family company. An unbreakable bond between two families, a future that looks bright and rosy. Only the perfect picture is only that, and ten years on, alone, holding her head above water, in a loveless marriage laced with tragedy, her entire world is turned upside down. Everything she thought she had and knew comes crashing down one fateful night. New waters, new faces, and a denial of the past will bring her back full circle to really question everything she was born for. Was it always about money? Was she always a tool to elevate Jyeon to higher levels? Did none of them really love her?