Dum Spiro Spero

I met him, the man of my dreams. On the worst day of my life. Catching my boyfriend out was bad. Coming out of the club in a daze, I stumbled upon a situation which was worse. Much worse. And it would have been deadly too, If he wasn’t there to save me. My unsuspecting hero. He was rugged, wild and powerful. The way he looked at me set me on fire. He was wrong for all the right reasons, a bad man with a good heart. And I fell, way too hard. Things started to go amiss and pieces of the puzzle are missing. Why was he there that day, who is he really? I’m so confused. My head and heart are in a battle to the death. Do I leave with my head. Or stay and love with my heart.

I turned out not to be the biological daughter of a wealthy family. In my previous life, I had believed my best friend Vicky’s words and had stormed out on the day the real daughter, Lydia, returned. I never expected my biological father to fall ill with a chronic ailment that drained every bit of the family’s savings. I had nowhere to turn, and I worked day and night until I collapsed while delivering food in the middle of the night. Vicky became close to Lydia, and she used the chance to approach Peter, her brother, so that she could marry into a wealthy family. When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the day I had run away. My foster parents looked at me with worry, and Peter stood with his arms crossed. “You know your biological parents are so broke they can’t even afford food, so are you sure you want to go back and suffer?” In my previous life, they had pleaded with me, and all I had in my head had been Vicky’s manipulation. I had thrown out the words, “I don’t need your filthy money,” and walked away. I set my suitcase down without hesitation this time. I would never leave before I saved enough money.

"Hey mister, can I ask you for a favor?" A lady asked with her sweet and intoxicating voice, causing the man who was walking, to turn around and stare at the young lady. "Can you be my boyfriend for just one month, and I promise to pay you handsomely." Cecelia said smiling. **** Cecelia is an upcoming actress. Her parents had threatened to choose a suitor for her if she didn't hasten her steps and find one for herself... Edward is a founder of Charles diamond company who agreed to be Cecelia's fake boyfriend for a month not because he feels like, but because his parents were also planning on looking for a lady for him. Edward has had a traumatic experience during his childhood, which causes him to shut his mouth, as he goes through different attacks, unaware that it would lead to him being unable to talk. When their plans start to unravel will Cecelia fall in with her parents' plans? When feelings get involved will things still work out as they planned?

At nineteen, Elise Jones failed her ninety-ninth attempt to escape an arranged marriage. On the eve of being forced to wed an older man, she ran into the arms of Merrick Grant, the once-promising heir who had exiled himself from Crown City to a forgotten border town. Elise knew another woman had once held his heart, but it didn’t matter to her. She only wanted a way out—someone strong enough to pull her from the life that was swallowing her whole. What began as raw survival turned into months spent wrapped in each other’s lives. When the time came, he brought her back to Crown City, the glittering, intoxicating world he’d once abandoned. No one knew that the polished, silver-spoon heir of the Grant family had spent month after month living with her in a shabby rental apartment, worlds away from the life that once revolved around him. Elise retook her exams, reclaimed her top-student title, and began rebuilding the future she once dreamed of. But the night before Merrick and his first love were set to announce their engagement, Elise was forced out of Crown City and stripped of everything she had fought so hard to earn. Years later, they crossed paths again in New Harbor. She walked past him with another man’s hand in hers. That night, a Maybach stood parked beneath her apartment until dawn, while message after message lit up her phone. He wrote: “Elise, it was only ever you.” Elise had grown up with nothing, yet she never bowed to fate. She seized every chance to change her destiny with both hands. From the moment they met, Merrick was drawn to that fierce, unyielding spark—an instinct that pulled him in and a clarity that undid him. She was a cactus rising through desert sand, a wild rose he nurtured with his own hands, and the woman who had always lived at the center of his heart.

I should’ve known better than to fall for Drake Peterson— my boss, my secret, my addiction, and the only man who could ruin me with a whisper. For two forbidden years, I lived a life no one knew about. By day, I was his perfect secretary. By night, I was the woman he kept hidden in his arms, tangled in his sheets, and locked behind a contract that said I would never expect more. I lied. To him. To myself. To the shattered girl staring back at me every morning. Because I did fall for him—hopelessly, stupidly, completely. And then he destroyed me. With one cold conversation, he terminated our arrangement, handed me a monstrous payout, and told me to walk away like I meant nothing. No explanation. No softness. Just an order: “This is the end, Sabrina.” So I erased him. Deleted my social media. Vanished from New York. And used the money he gave me to build something new— Mendoza Luxe, the jewelry empire that turned me into the woman he never thought I could become. I told myself I was over him. Until the day I ran into an old coworker… and learned the truth I was never meant to hear: Drake is bankrupt. He never married his fiancée. And everything he threw away—including me— he did to protect my life. Now the man who once owned every breath I took is falling from the top… and fate is dragging us back into the same fire that burned us alive. Old desire doesn’t fade. Old wounds don’t heal. Old enemies don’t forget. I survived Drake Peterson once. The question is— can we survive the truth that tore us apart?

Revenge that was supposed to be sweet turned into something else when Ava dumped her ex for cheating on her with her stepsister. She swore she’d never cry over trash again and decided to get her revenge by offering a marriage deal to someone untouchable, handsome and ten times better like the dangerously magnetic billionaire Kylan Kingsley. But payback turns twisted when she learns the man she chose isn’t just rich and ruthless… he’s also her new professor. Desire ignites, rules shatter and a forbidden romance turns addictive. Life is fun, everything is perfect and passion is burning hot until secrets that could ruin them both resurface. And when passion collides with secrets, nothing will ever be the same.

Valentina was looking forward to spending the holidays with the love of her life, her fiancee Derek. She had put off joining her family at their ski resort this year as Derek had wanted it to be just the two of them, and with his work schedule, he couldn’t afford the time off. Her family, although disappointed, was happy for her, glad she had someone special to spend Christmas with. Derek was unfortunately not as special as he made out, which she discovered when she came home early one day and found him screwing a work colleague. She breaks off the engagement and decides to Surprise her family on Christmas day, taking a plane to their resort on Christmas Eve. Instead of letting them know she was there, she went for a few drinks in the bar, where she met a handsome stranger. He wasn’t exactly a stranger, but it had been so long since they had seen each other they had both changed so much they didn’t recognise each other. A few too many drinks and a night of passion, Valentina wakes up in the morning with an extra gift she wasn’t expecting this year.

After five years of ride-or-die love, Meredith Martinez got left at the altar—Alden Ashford bailed mid-ceremony to run after the girl who'd pulled the suicide card, like, 99 times. That was the moment it clicked: she was never gonna melt that ice block he called a heart. So she cut the cord. Ghosted the past. Moved on. What she didn't plan on? A wild, tipsy hookup with the one guy she should've never touched—her brother's sworn enemy, Hayden Harrington. At sunrise, she tried to sneak out. One ankle grab later, she was back in bed with his voice all low and dangerous against her skin, fingers brushing a bite mark on his neck. "Meredith, you hit it and quit it? Left this mark and just gonna dip?" *** Hayden Harrington was basically elite royalty—icy, ruthless, totally off-limits. What nobody knew? He'd been secretly obsessed with his rival's little sister for years. After that night? Dude snapped. Full-blown obsession mode. He even bought out an entire town just to keep her close. His shirt wide open, abs out, arms holding a tipsy Meredith. "Meredith," he breathed, voice low, "wanna touch? Feels really good." She blinked. Speechless. Where'd Mr. Ice King go? He smirked. "That guy's for show. You get the real me."

I brought my son, who was around a year old, to visit my parents’ graves, only to run into my childhood friend’s mother. She asked me whether I had returned because I was no longer angry. “Yelena, you’re finally back! You must’ve returned to marry Niel. “I’ll make sure your wedding goes smoothly this time. I won’t allow any random person to ruin it!” Niel Stalner was my childhood friend and ex-fiance. During my engagement party, Cloud Stalner, his foster sister, had barged in while wearing the same gown as I did. She also said that she would kill herself if Niel refused to leave with her. The guests burst into a ruckus, and in the end, I was left alone in the venue. Everyone criticized me, and Niel’s family abandoned me. Eventually, I left the country like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs. I smiled at Neil’s mother, Iris, and pushed the baby stroller forward. “Iris, are you seriously telling me that Niel hasn’t married Cloud yet? Anyway, Michael, say hello.”

"She is a fool. It was as easy as fucking." Lucien smirked and my heart started to pound heavily against my chest, especially when he began advancing towards me with murderous intent. What was going on? What did they mean by their words? "L-Lucien, why is she h-here?" I choked as he reached forward to grab me by the neck. Malia laughed as I struggled to breathe, my airways being blocked as Lucien tightened his grip on my neck. He raised me up over the cliff and I was dangling in the air, a feeling of dread going through me as I could see my death. I kicked and clawed at his hand, trying to get him to let me go when he flung me against the nearest tree hard. I coughed blood as I crashed into the tree heavily, my body hurting as I collapsed to the floor. I tried to talk but my mouth felt too heavy, my eyes widening in disbelief as I watched Lucien bring out a sharp knife. He opened my mouth and brought out my tongue while Malia kept laughing, pointing at me with a smug look on her face. I was still confused. What was going on? Was Lucien being controlled? "I reject you, Nadia, as my mate and future Luna," He growled as he sliced my tongue off.