Eleven O'clock

Na cabine do banheiro da empresa, ouvi alguém falando mal de mim. A estagiária que eu treinei pessoalmente por três meses reclamava: — Ela é uma bruxa velha e insensível, como um robô que não sabe pensar. Quando eu estava prestes a abrir a porta para interromper, outra pessoa concordou rindo. — Os documentos estão incompletos. — Os recibos não estão em conformidade. — O chefe não assinou, não posso pagar. — As frases de sempre dela, já sabemos todas de cor! Depois que todas foram embora, voltei silenciosamente para o meu escritório. A estagiária jogou uma pilha grossa de pedidos de reembolso na minha mesa: — Não venha com um monte de desculpas de novo para não reembolsar o pessoal de propósito. Dei uma olhada na nota fiscal falsificada, mas não a desmascarei como costumava fazer. Desta vez, eu sorri levemente: — Estou com dor de cabeça, não consigo enxergar as letras direito.

Eu carreguei o filhote do meu companheiro destinado. O filhote do Alfa Seth. Mas por doze anos, ele se recusou a me aceitar. Eu era seu segredo. Sua curandeira pessoal. Nada mais. Ele nunca sequer permitiu que nosso filho, Leo, o chamasse de "pai". Tudo porque ele odiava que o destino tivesse escolhido uma companheira "impura" como eu. Ele alegou que eu o drogara, que eu o prendi com uma criança. Ele faltou ao Primeiro Uivo de nosso filho por causa de outra mulher. Uma Beta poderosa chamada Sarah. Aquilo foi a gota d'água. Eu o rejeitei. Peguei nosso filho e fugi. Dizem que o orgulhoso Alfa enlouqueceu. Que a dor da rejeição o destruiu, e que ele nos caçou como um louco. Mas não há volta. Não há perdão.

"Did you kill him?" The detective asked again."I've already answered you like a thousand times... Yes, he was a monster. Yes, he beat me up a lot but I didn't do it. I didn't kill Jude!" Amanda replied."I'm sorry. I know what it's like to be a victim of abuse and all that, but you need to understand that murder is a serious case too. You'll have to forgive us for asking you continually it's just that you were the closest to him we've got here.""I wasn't. There was someone else he was seeing that knew a lot about him than I ever did," Amanda replied.*******The night was growing colder and the rains seemed to have agitated in full force. Amanda sat on one of the soft leather chairs that squeaked with her every move in the living room with tears in her eyes as she watched the rains drop on the floor forming small pools and waited for Jude to come back. She was worried sick about his whereabouts even though all his presence caused her were pain and more tears. The protruding bump on her stomach, made it quite difficult to move around at ease so she was stuck with calling his busied line while she watched the clock tick its way into the midnight mark.*****A heart rending story told differently. Stronger than Pain captures a dysfunctional Nigerian home where a callous man, beats his wife on a daily basis. Time flies and now he is dead. All the characters have a reason to kill him, but she's their number one suspect. The Question still remains, who pulled the trigger?

"I need you to smile, darling," Adrian whispers, his fingers digging into Isabella's waist as cameras flash. "Your father's business empire depends on it." The champagne in her glass trembles as Isabella forces herself to play the perfect mafia bride. She hasn't told him about the baby yet. Hasn't mentioned the way his eyes linger on the judge's daughter, Elena. Hasn't revealed that she knows about the poison they've planned for her "tragic accident." But Isabella Romano isn't going down without a fight. "Please," she whispers to Santa Muerte as poison burns through her veins. "Give me a chance to make them pay." Death has a price. Isabella awakens in the body of Valentina Salvatore—wife to Adrian's greatest rival and mother to twin girls who somehow see through her deception. She has 150 days to either claim vengeance or find true love. The clock is ticking, and Nicolas Salvatore, her new "husband," is proving dangerously easy to fall for. "You're not really her, are you?" Nicolas murmurs one night, his fingers tracing her jaw. "My Valentina never looked at me the way you do." But as Isabella navigates the deadly waters of rival crime families, she discovers Valentina had secrets of her own—secrets worth dying for. Now, with her father plotting a takeover, Adrian suspicious of her resurrection, and her borrowed body slowly rejecting her soul, Isabella must choose: the revenge she died for, or the love she never expected to find. In this dangerous game of second chances, some fates are worse than death. And some loves are worth dying for twice.

To save her sister from dying—and herself from going to prison—brilliant but desperate hacker Layla “Lyx” Costov must do the unthinkable: seduce and betray Micheal Wade, the ruthless tech billionaire from her past and Atlanta’s most untouchable bachelor. Her mission is simple and deadly—slip into his life, earn his trust, and steal the incriminating evidence that will destroy his empire. But the man she remembers isn’t the man she meets. Beneath Micheal’s cold power and fortune is a lonely genius who’s drawn to her fire, her defiance, her refusal to bow to him. The more she pushes him away, the deeper his obsession burrows. And the closer she gets to his secrets, the more tangled she becomes in his arms… and his world. Every touch she shares with him is a lie. Every kiss is a trap she set for herself. And every moment she falls harder. As the clock races against her deception, she must decide: save her sister, or shatter the heart of the only man who has ever seen her—the man she’s sworn to ruin, and the man she’s terrified to love. But everything changes when she uncovers a darker truth: her dead, brilliant mother may have been murdered… by Micheal’s father. Now the line between love and survival blurs. Will Layla protect her sister and expose the powerful man she loves—soon to be a father in law? Or face the monstrous truth about her own blood… and her illegitimate father? One betrayal will destroy an empire. Another will destroy her heart. And only one will save the people she loves.

His arms slid around my waist, pulling me back against him. “You’ve been unusually quiet,” he murmured near my ear. “All through the ride back home.” “I’m sorry.” I tried to steady my breath, looking at our reflection in the mirror. “I’m just… overwhelmed. You keep surprising me, Nate.” “My wife deserves it.” His lips brushed the side of my neck, warm and slow. My heart stumbled. I closed my eyes. If only he knew the truth. If only he knew that every time he touched me like this, I forgot something very important. I wasn’t the woman he thought he married. * * * Lena Martinez never imagined that her desperate need to save her younger sister’s life would land her in billionaire Nathan Blackwood’s world. When Julian, Nathan’s loyal cousin and right-hand man, offers her a contract for a life-changing sum of money she cannot refuse—impersonate Nathan’s fiancée and marry him—Lena has no choice but to agree. With the clock ticking and her eleven-year-old sister’s life on the line, she steps into a life of wealth, power and secrets she never asked for. But playing the role of the glamorous Kimberly Hayes is only the beginning of her nightmare. Lena must contend with a man who is kind, loving, and yet haunted by past heartbreak, while hiding the truth that could destroy them both. In a world of lies, secrets and danger, can Lena survive as Mrs. Blackwood—without losing her heart to the man she was never meant to love?

A nossa existência e aquilo que nós fizemos, de certa forma, não agradam a todos. O livro MULHER AMADA, trata-se de uma história de amor fictício, inspirado em amigos. O livro retrata o viver de uma relação amorosa feliz, relação sonhada por muitos apaixonados, desde que os personagens se conhecem, até casarem e juntamente viverem felizes.

A lie sealed with a kiss.A marriage bound by revenge .the only way out is through fire Two weeks before her fairy-tale society wedding, Ariana Carter, the witty and spirited youngest daughter of the powerful Carter dynasty, catches her fiancé, Simon Vance, in an act of infidelity..Shattered and seeking reckless oblivion, her impulsive escape leads her into a dark city alley and a dangerous confrontation. Only to be saved by Lucas Hill, the enigmatic billionaire CEO who rules the corporate landscape with ruthless efficiency—and who also happens to be her formidable older brother’s closest friend and the man who once coldly rejected her youthful crush. The very next day, the Carter and Hill families, desperate to avert a financial and media catastrophe caused by Simon's calculated actions, orchestrate a shocking solution: an immediate, high-stakes arranged marriage. Ariana is abruptly thrust into wedlock with Lucas, a man who views her not as a wife, but as a critical business asset—a necessary shield against a looming corporate raid orchestrated by her rejected fiancé.The rules are simple public unity an private war. This marriage of convenience is a battleground. Lucas, possessive and ice-cold, demands absolute control, determined to safeguard his own empire and protect Ariana with a dominance that borders on suffocating. Ariana, fiercely independent and newly defiant after betrayal, refuses to be a pawn, challenging his command with sharp wit and unexpected business acumen. As they navigate the world of New York's corporate elite, their forced proximity ignites a slow-burn, fiery passion, forcing Lucas to confront the intense, protective feelings he has long hidden for the bright, chaotic girl. Their union is a ticking clock, set against a backdrop of secrets, media scrutiny, and a vengeful ex-fiancé determined to destroy everything they hold dear.

“Srta. Castro, preparamos um corpo idêntico ao seu conforme solicitado e o entregaremos no local do seu casamento com o Sr. Martins daqui a dez dias.” Ao ouvir a confirmação do funcionário do outro lado da linha, a tensão que há dias apertava os nervos de Naiara finalmente começou a aliviar. “Ótimo, muito obrigada.” “Não há de quê, é nosso dever. Pode ficar tranquila, ninguém vai suspeitar desse corpo.” Com essa garantia, Naiara soltou um suspiro de alívio. Após confirmar novamente os detalhes para o dia da entrega do corpo com o funcionário, ela desligou o telefone e empurrou a porta da sala privada. O burburinho que antes preenchia o ambiente cessou instantaneamente quando ela entrou.

Três dias antes do meu casamento, descobri que Shane Dawson havia mudado o local da cerimônia da casa da vovó Mae, no Sul, para o Castillo de Sol, o castelo espanhol que Tania Collins — sua antiga paixão de infância — adorava. Eu o confrontei, mas acabei ouvindo ele reclamar ao amigo: — Graças a Deus a Tania tem bom gosto. Caso contrário, eu seria motivo de piada pelo resto da vida. O amigo retrucou: — Você não prometeu que faria a cerimônia na casa da avó dela? Não tem medo que ela fique brava e se recuse a se casar? Shane apenas riu, com frieza e deboche. — Os Quinn estão à beira da falência. Casar comigo é a única saída dela. Ela não pode arriscar. Já pedi ao cerimonialista para ligar para ela. Aposto que agora ela está correndo pra trocar o vôo. A vergonha e a raiva queimaram no meu peito. Mordi o lábio, e no fim, fui embora. Três dias depois, o casamento no castelo aconteceu como planejado, só que eu não mudei o vôo. Eu não apareci. Em vez disso, estava no velho pátio da vovó Mae, me casando com outro homem. Até hoje, o Shane não entende. Eu nunca quis me casar com ele em busca de alguma "rota de fuga". Eu quis me casar por um amor que durou dez anos. Mas quando o sonho acaba, é preciso coragem para escolher outro caminho.