Empty Smiles

The seventh time Claire Fisher bailed on our marriage license appointment, I finally cut her out of my life—for good. From then on, if she was at a party, I wasn't. When she was scheduled to perform at our college's anniversary celebration, I made sure to leave early. The moment my company announced a collaboration with hers, I resigned without a second thought. Even on Christmas Eve, when she showed up at my parents' house with gifts, I slipped out with a half-hearted excuse about "visiting a friend." I blocked her number. Deleted her from my contacts. Burned every bridge and salted the earth behind me. No calls. No texts. No social media. I didn't reach out. She couldn't reach me. Simple as that. For the better part of my life, I was hopelessly in love with her—waiting on her, caring for her, putting her first in every way that mattered. I gave her all of me without ever holding back. But after the seventh time she left me sitting alone at the City Hall, something inside me broke. I was done. If that meant spending the rest of my life alone, so be it. Better that than sitting in an empty apartment, listening to the silence, holding on to hope for someone who never planned to show up.

" I....I don't have anything else left with me, except my heart with love." She said crying her heart out with a pained expression in her black orbs. Staring at her vulnerable state, I went near her pulling her into my embrace and hugging her tightly preventing her from crumbling into pieces. Tears well up in my eyes too, but I blinked back squeezing my eyes shut. I didn't lie to her saying that everything will be okay and false promises that everything will be better. I stood there hugging her that would say enough for her that I'm there for her no matter what! Athena is a broken girl with only the memories of the horrible past which she hides it from everyone. She always smiles to heal her broken heart. Liam Knight is one hell of a successful and ruthless billionaire who owns Knight Industries. No one stands when it comes to business. To him, love means nothing but a trash and has no sympathy or kindness towards anyone. But she changes him at first sight. What happens when Athena is appointed as the Personal Secretary of Liam in which Liam tends to find the mystery about her that catches him off-guard. Will he protect her with all his life? Content/Trigger Warning: this story contains sexual content and deals explicitly with sexual assault and violence.

My name is Regina Chavez. The first time Carter Gresham cheats, he falls to his knees before me, slapping himself in shame. The tenth time I catch him, he smiles and tries to comfort me. "Once I get my heart back on course, I'll come back to the family." The 20th time, his patience snaps. He yanks my hand away and throws a divorce agreement in my face. I tear the papers to shreds and spend the night destroying everything in the house. By the 30th time, Carter simply sends a signed divorce agreement. In a desperate bid to make him come back, I threaten to cut my wrists. But even as my blood pools across the floor, no one seems to care. When I wake up, his friends are gathered around me, telling me to get a divorce. "Haven't you already spent years building a life with Carter?" "He's already dealing with enough because of your depression. His seeing someone else isn't the end of the world. Do you really need to cry and threaten to kill yourself over it?" Without thinking twice, I find myself signing the divorce papers. The following day, I quietly schedule an abortion, keeping it a secret from everyone. I'm done waiting for Carter to come back.

Derrick Caldwell once promised me that on the night of our pack's founding feast, he would announce that we'd been married for eight years. However, on the big day, his childhood friend, Lilith Sterling, takes my place. She sits beside him—the spot reserved for his Luna. The warriors say, "We heard you have a mate with whom you've been married for eight years, Alpha. Is this her?" Derrick smiles without denying it. He silently allows their assumption to stand. I want him to explain this to me, but he merely says, "You may have helped me become the Alpha, but your lowly birth is nothing compared to Lilith's noble status. As my mate, you need to be more tolerant." I don't argue with him. Instead, I turn and leave the pack he and I built together. Later, I start my own pack and turn it into the largest one in the federation. Derrick stands among the crowd during a ceremony where the Alpha King confers a medal of honor to me. He proudly tells anyone who will listen that I'm his wife. I act like I don't see him, and his eyes turn red with desperation.

Mia Nova is sold to the devil to clear her fathers debt. Luca Barone, known in whispered fear as Diavolo, doesn’t just collect money, he also collects souls. Luca expects to meet a broken Mia who will plead for her life with tears and vivid fear. Instead he meets a petty thief who fears nothing. She smiles when he threatens to sell her to men, and makes jokes about her breast size not being enough for these men. In Luca’s world, the biggest currency is fear, but it seems Mia is bankrupt. When she steps into Pandemonium, his secret lair where powerful men are undone, she becomes the queen of the night, raking in five hundred million dollars in her first night. They make a second deal. The freedom of her soul costs six billion dollars in the six months of her gracing the golden chair every night. A kiss seals the deal. That same kiss changes everything between them. He becomes possessive, and she wants to surrender to him, but the ghost of the woman who graced the chair before her, returns with a fire that is set to burn everything down. Mia must decide between running from the Devil who owns her, or staying with the man who no longer wants to.

This isn't you're regular Alpha finds his Luna werewolf story, there's elemental powers, Vikings, royal bloodlines, secrets, prophecies, A touch of romance and who doesn't love a bit of drama. This story is for mature audience. Troy has been searching for his Mate for three years when his father tells him he is to be Mated to form a union between two packs in order to fight an army headed their way. What he doesn't know yet is the arranged Mating was planned well before he was born. When Octavia steps out of her purple Camaro, he wasn't expecting to see the most beautiful creature on earth. Octavia is the first of her kind, born of two Royal bloodlines causing her to possess immense power that she struggles to control. Will Troy be able to save Octavia from herself or will her powers consume her and destroy them all? stay tuned to see what the prophecy has instore for Troy and Octavia. --- He smiles at me "Like what you see princess?" Realizing I've been caught checking him out, I use my typical witty sarcasm that usually gets me out of awkward situations or in trouble, "That depends, did you like what you saw when I got out of my car?" I say with a wink.

~Rina Zante Shunned, a half-caste omega and dirt-poor, I have gotten used to the dirty stares people throw my way. And even though I try to ignore the taunts, it’s impossible. Now, my mom has gotten a job as a maid in the alpha’s house. It is a big deal and I should be elated. I was but no longer. How can I when the alpha’s son, devilishly handsome Vincenzo has placed me on his bully list? He desires to bend me to his will. To be a puppet, a mere slave to slake his lust on. Try as I might to run far away from his cold smiles and wandering hands, I can’t. Trapped is what I am. ~Vincenzo Moreno They call me a beautiful bastard. Heartless. Ruthless. Wicked. I am and I'm out for her blood. Despite the fact that she is a nobody, my wolf still craves for her and I will do all I can to make her mine. Because, what I want, I get and I want her. To immerse myself in the innocent wreck that she is. If I should ruin her in the process then, so be it. After all, she is my possession, mia innocente bella.

"Are you sure you want to deregister everything that has to do with you, Ms. Shaw? Once it's all settled, you will essentially cease to exist. No one will be able to trace you." Nancy Shaw looks at the clock pointing to midnight before saying firmly, "Yes, I'm sure." Hansen Holland's lover has won the wager. He spends his and Nancy's first wedding anniversary with his lover. That's why Nancy doesn't want him anymore. … Hansen thinks Nancy will never leave him, no matter how out of line he acts. He sinks deeper into his lover's tenderness and turns a blind eye to her provocation of Nancy… until Nancy disappears. That's when he panics and descends into terror. When he finally finds Nancy, he sees her in the arms of a man who only has eyes for her. Hansen falls to his knees before her, looking humbled. "I'm sorry, Nance. I know I did you wrong. Let's go back to how things used to be." Nancy links arms with the man beside her and smiles winningly. "It's too late for that. You're out, Mr. Holland."

“Fine,” I heard myself say, the word tasting like rust. “You want an open marriage? We’ll do open.” A slow smile curved his mouth—victory, not warmth. “Good girl. Then I suppose you won’t mind if I reintroduce Kisha.” The camera panned. There she was, curled on what I now realized was our hotel suite couch, her legs tucked under a cashmere throw that used to be mine. She waved, manicured nails glinting, belly softly rounded under a silk camisole. My world tilted. I forced a smile that felt like glass. “So she’s your girlfriend?” Daniel’s hand settled possessively on that gentle swell. “Not just my girlfriend,” he said, eyes locked on mine. “The mother of my unborn child.” Jayla Carmichael smiles for the cameras as the perfect senator's wife while her world burns. But queens don't kneel. They conquer. Fueled by whiskey and wrath, Jayla ensnares Warren Christopher, a brooding billionaire CEO, after saving his empire in a bar-side twist of fate. Love was the first lie. Revenge is the foreplay, and the truth? it's coming for them all...naked, ruthless and dripping in karma. Will Jayla's vengeance destroy her soul or will warrens fire forge something eternal?. This book isn't just romance, it's war with benefits.

Mabelle had a wild night with a stranger and her husband finds out about it. Hiniwalayan siya nito at tuluyang nagunaw ang kanyang mundo. She ended up living in a small boarding house with her pregnant tummy, completely desperate for survival. Sa kabila ng paghihirap ni Mabelle ay pinili niyang buhayin mag-isa ang kanyang anak. Makalipas ang pitong taon, nagawa niyang makabangon subalit muling sinubok ang kanyang katatagan nang mawalan siya ng trabaho. Mabuti na lang ay ini-refer siya ng kanyang kaibigan sa pinagtatrabahuhan nitong amo na isang kilalang personalidad. Dahil sa pagnanais na makapagtrabaho muli, pinasok ni Mabelle ang pagiging kasambahay. However, she was surprised to find out that her new boss is her former husband, Navi Reinhart—the man who used to exchange smiles with her has turned into someone who is very dangerous. "Pagsisisihan mong bumalik ka pa sa buhay ko, Mabelle. Ipapararanas ko sa 'yo ang sakit na naramdaman ko noong araw na niloko mo ako!" The moment he said those words, she knew her misery was about to begin. *** Started: May 15, 2023 Finished: June 12, 2024