Novel & Cerita Empty Smiles

For five years, Elara was the "peasant" wife—the woman who gave Shawn a kidney to save his life and received nothing but cold indifference and his family's contempt in return. Behind her dutiful-housewife mask hid the world's most feared cybersecurity genius and the secret heiress to a global empire. She stayed anyway. For love. For the family she still hoped they'd become. But hope dies in a cold swimming pool. Shawn shoves his pregnant wife into the water to save his drowning mistress. Elara wakes in a hospital bed with an empty womb and nothing left to lose. When Shawn comes to discard her for the woman he chose, what he finds instead are five of the most powerful men alive, standing where his weeping wife used to be—Elara's brothers. The peasant is dead. The predator just woke up. Now Shawn's empire is bleeding out under a cyberattack no one can trace, and the man who threw her away can't stop chasing the woman he created. But Elara has already chosen a man who never made her prove she was worth keeping.

In the middle of the night, young Euroah Minari’s life changes forever. A dark twist of fate occurs and she finds herself captured and sold off to the highest bidder. Now a slave living in a whole new world of advanced technology, she must learn to cope with her new reality, make new friends, and learn how to please her master. Zion Velucia is a 29 year old business man. At a young age, he inherited the massive family fortune and became the CEO of the largest technology company in the kingdom of Symphonia. An empty hearted man who trusts no one. He’s lived his entire life knowing that everyone around him is after something and wants to use him for their own benefit. But when he sees an innocent girl on the auction block, she brings back pieces of his past that he’s hidden away for so many years. Can Euroah bring out a side to him he thought he’d driven out? Or will his being accustomed to getting exactly what he wants stand in the way of obtaining what his soul truly craves? You can't escape destiny!

The werewolf lands are the only world Maria has ever known. Lands ruled by packs, bound by tradition, and governed by fate. Born the alpha’s daughter of the Veilwood Pack, Maria grows up among women blessed with extraordinary abilities. Some command the elements. Some read minds. Others glimpse the future. But as her twenty-first birthday approaches, Maria has nothing. No gift. To protect their legacy, her parents arrange her marriage to a stranger. They ignore her pleas and seal her fate with a man she never chose. Desperate to escape, Maria runs, only to stumble into a land that looks different from the world she knows. When escape fails, she is forced back into a marriage empty of love. Betrayal soon follows, shattering what little hope she has left. Seeking solace, Maria flees to a tavern, where fate introduces her to her mate, a man who hesitates. And then there is the rogue. Pulled between an alpha and a rogue, Maria is forced to confront a truth the moon itself cannot change. Fate will never grant her two mates. She must choose. Only one man can claim her. And the choice may cost her everything.

I have a duty to uphold my family's reputation, image, and power. It all became mine the moment I entered an arranged marriage with Tad Davenhall. But behind the perfect smiles and flashing cameras lies a life built on control and pressure. My marriage to Tad was never about love or loyalty. It lacked both. And more. The first time I saw Timothy Davenhall was at my family's Gala. The moment our eyes met, I felt our souls connect. He was mysterious, calm, dangerous, and everything Tad wasn’t. One look from him, and it felt like my skin was on fire. In that moment, I knew I had to stay as far away from him as possible. But fate doesn't care about boundaries. Now my marriage is crumbling, and while one man looks at me like I’m a burden he can’t wait to discard, the other looks at me like I’m the light to his dark world. Loving him means breaking every rule. But staying means losing myself completely. Still, either one of those choices destroys us both.

Three years after my death, Naomi Dudley—the woman I've driven away—finally returns to Avenport. She is still with Bryson Lloyd. She leans into him, looking sweet and submissive. At the story's end, the main couple's sweet romance continues. The only one who meets a miserable end is me, the villain who dares to steal the female lead. They are here to visit her mother's grave, and I happen to be buried just a short distance away. I float beside Naomi, looking at her and Bryson. They really do look like the perfect couple. Once the candle burns down, Naomi finds an excuse to send Bryson away. She walks over to my headstone and stands there in silence for a long time. So long that I assume she is just trying to find the right words to curse me. Instead, tears well up as she smiles and touches my photograph on the stone. "Kenneth, why haven't you visited my dreams?" I suppose it's because I'm not Bryson. My lingering regrets will never reach her dreams.

Smiles aren't always pretty; especially when that sort of smile looks like a homicidal killer.Gabriella Bryce was told that a smile is a girl's precious jewelry. They were wrong. To her, it's like a makeup gone bad. With her forbidding and murderous smile that can chase off even a group of teenage football players; Gabriella was certain that she was destined to be forever alone.But that was until she saved a boy from a group of guys one night in a deserted alley...with her smile. Aelfric Beaumont, a vampire-werewolf hybrid and the boy she saved, was fascinated with her smile and has never left her alone since then. Following her like a sick love-struck and possessive puppy, every day became a game of chase for her. Especially when the Alpha of a werewolf pack is desperate for protection due to an impending pack war and sees Gabriella as a suitable mate for his son. Tyrelle Gawen; a werewolf boy forced by his father to attend the same school as Gabriella in order to pursue her.With two beasts following her every move, can Gabriella still live her life normally? Or will it be a never-ending tango between the three of them?

In the third year of her marriage to Anthony Lancaster, Simone Nolan is still the envy of every woman in Avenport. "Mr. Lancaster treats Mrs. Lancaster so well! Last time, she just coughed once, and he immediately gave her a full physical." "She married the nation's most authoritative doctor, after all. May I be this blissful in my next life!" Simone smiles, long used to the nurses' chatter. She's about to push the door open when she hears an argument inside. She falters. "Mr. Lancaster, are we still going to terminate Mrs. Lancaster's pregnancy later? This is already the third time!" "I've already told you that whenever Simone gets pregnant, an abortion has to be performed, no matter how many times." Anthony's cool voice pierces Simone's ears. Her face instantly becomes ashen. "But why? She has always wanted to have your children." Anthony's tone is icily sharp. "It's because of that surgery three years ago. I removed one of Simone's kidneys and gave it to Winona."

In my previous life, I stood by Robert's side as he grew from the Alpha of a weak, remote pack into the undisputed king of the werewolf world. We raised a child together, and I thought I'd finally found a home that could shelter me from all storms. But when I was bedridden with illness, he couldn't wait to take the child and go find his one true love: my little sister, Bellis. And then came the moment that shattered everything — the child I had treasured with my whole heart calling Bellis "Mom" without a second's hesitation. That was when I finally understood. All those years, I had been living inside a lie — a total, elaborate lie. When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn, right back to my marking ceremony with Robert. This time, standing at that crossroads, under the gaze of all those guests with their warm, oblivious smiles, I would make a very different choice. What I didn't know yet was that the truth sometimes hides in the small, ordinary moments of life — not in what other people tell you.

I never wanted to be an Alpha. It was my brother’s destiny to lead the pack. But Dad refused to give him the position, believing he would lead with his heart, not his head! As his only other child, the title falls to me. Following my father’s death, the Wolf Council is demanding that I find a mate before I turn 21. Or they will choose a new Alpha for the River Valley Pack. Why? Because a female is supposed to be a Luna, not an Alpha.   But I am not a Luna, I am the Female Alpha of the River Valley Pack. I won’t be made to choose a partner who doesn’t deserve me. But I won’t find one hiding in my pack. I need to put myself out there. It’s the only way to save my pack.    I travel to find out what people think of their Alpha. Perfect smiles or fancy cars won’t fool me, not even for a second.     If I find my mate on my journey, I will see if he is worthy. If he’s not, a rejection is in his future. I will not settle. A male Alpha wouldn’t. Why should I?

As soon as Danielle Bradford has recovered from her postpartum period, she brings her baby to the county clerk's office to register for the baby's birth certificate. "My baby's full name is Taylor Gardner. Her father is Matthew Gardner." The employee types on the keyboard, but his brows draw tighter afterward. "The system has flagged another child with the same name under the same father." His words leave Danielle momentarily stunned. Thinking that her ears have deceived her, she blurts out, "That's impossible! Our baby has just turned one month old!" But Danielle feels her phone buzzing in her pocket before she can finish speaking. She taps on the screen, only to see a photo sent by Matthew's assistant, Meghan Landry. In the photo, Matthew has his left arm wrapped around Meghan's waist while carrying a five-year-old boy with his right arm. The three of them stand in front of a kindergarten's entrance with smiles so bright that they practically sting Danielle's eyes. On the boy's chest is a nametag that clearly says "Taylor Gardner".