Novel & Cerita Empty Smiles

They say the devil knows your name before you ever see his face. Cedric Santos learns this truth in the private booth of New York’s most exclusive club, serving champagne to the man who holds his family’s life in his hands. Gianni Falcone, New York’s newest kingpin, smiles like he knows every secret Cedric is hiding. Because he does. Desperate to pay his father’s $500,000 mafia debt, Cedric agrees to work undercover for the police with Gianni as the target. Except Gianni is actually Gus Franco, the invisible boy from high school who witnessed Cedric’s greatest humiliation. Who has been obsessively in love with him for six years, who orchestrated everything; the debt, the desperation, and the carefully constructed trap, just to make Cedric his. What starts as espionage turns into seduction. Every touch is a claim, every kiss is a threat, and Cedric finds himself falling for the monster who destroyed his life to remake it in his image. Detective Marcus Chen offers a way out, but Gianni offers everything else, only if Cedric surrenders to him completely. In a game where love and control are indistinguishable, the only way out is deeper in.

"They said the Alpha’s heir was a son. They lied." Wolfless. Worthless. A walking curse. Cinder Romero has spent her life as the shadow twin—blamed for her mother’s death, ignored by her kingdom, and promised like livestock to a man she despises. But when an ancient monster breaches the barrier and leaves her brother near death, Cinder is thrust into the role meant for him: envoy to the Vampire Kingdom of Erevar. Except no one knows she was the firstborn. Or that something terrifying and powerful woke inside her that night. Sent across enemy borders to a dark academy where vampires, fae, warlocks and monsters walk the halls, Cinder must navigate court politics, whispered legends, and the devastating attention of the Vampire Prince—a beautiful, cruel enigma who might want her dead… or worse, want her entirely. But nothing is as dangerous as the man she’s betrothed to. Zulu smiles like a lover and schemes like a villain. And he’s not just waiting for her return—he’s hunting for what’s inside her. The academy may teach her how to fight. But only the truth will set her free. A cursed heir. A forbidden magic. A love that could ruin kingdoms.

Princess Riley of Avarayne watched merchants with ledger, smooth smiles murder her mother at the docks and cast the queen into the harbour's hungry rip. Days later, her grief-numbed father guided by a new wife with colder hands than the sea stripped Riley's birthright and crowned a newborn son in her place. Hounded by courtly poisons and a stepsister who polishes beauty like a blade, Riley binds her chest, hides her hair beneath a bandana, and vanishes into the night as "Rye." Aboard the infamous Gilded Wraith under Captain Kade Thorne, the Wolf of the Azure. Rye learns knots, storms, and the language of survival. A slow, impossible pull grows between captain and "boy," even as she steers the crew through sea monsters, rival pirates, and raids against the royal fleet hunting them. But when a bounty bearing House Morcant's seal surfaces, Riley glimpses the conspiracy that began the night her mother drowned. Captured and unmasked to save Kade's life, Riley is dragged back to a palace that would sell her in marriage to silence the truth. To free the man who became her compass and claim the justice denied her, she must choose: reclaim a crown salted with blood or burn the lies that built it.

Heartbreak is supposed to kill a wolf’s spirit, but Aria Vale refuses to die quietly. Humiliated before her entire pack when her fated mate publicly rejects her, Aria returns home, shattered and furious, only to find a black envelope waiting on her bed. Inside lies an invitation to a deadly challenge known only as The Game: “Survive, and win what your heart desires most.” With nothing left to lose, Aria enters a realm beyond her world, an ancient castle suspended between life and death, where each dawn brings a new trial of survival. Competitors vanish one by one, hunted by the magic that governs the Game. But not everyone is what they seem. One contestant, a charming, infuriatingly optimistic wolf named Kael, seems more interested in keeping her alive than winning himself. His warmth disarms her, his smiles irritate her, and his secrets could destroy them both. Now Aria must survive the trials, outsmart the goddess who created them, and decide what freedom truly means: breaking her bond to the mate who betrayed her, or risking everything for the wolf who was never supposed to love her.

Seven years. For over 2,500 days, Ella Winters endured everything. As a looked-down-upon Omega Luna, she stayed quiet and served the Blackwood pack without complaint. Until her five-year-old son, Noah, made a birthday wish: "I want Chloe to be my new mommy." Her husband, the powerful Alpha Damien, just stood there and said nothing. That was it. Ella snapped her silver seal, releasing seven years of hidden power. She took her sweet daughter, Lily, and left for good. One year later, at a grand pack gathering, Alpha Damien finally corners her. With his usual arrogance, he commands, "You’ve thrown your tantrum for long enough, Ella. Come home." Ella just sneers. "Are you insane? We already rejected each other." Damien’s voice drops. "Without my protection, what could you possibly do in a year?" Ella smiles faintly. "Be with my new mate." Instantly, the noisy room goes dead silent. That night, Damien goes crazy. He calls her 108 times, completely losing his mind. But the submissive girl who once loved him more than life itself is never coming back.

"At your darkest hour, when all seems lost and there is no hope of light. When you feel the darkness pressing in on you from every side, when you find yourself standing on the precipice of oblivion, A Hero will descend from the Moon.     His glittering silver face will cast a bright light upon your path. Avoid him, but it will be impossible. You will thrive hard to run... that's when the beast in you will Awake, and you'll meet the real you".  People say she's Beautiful when she smiles, but unfortunately, life isn't funny to her in any way. Poor Freya. At the age of Nine, she lost her parents in a day, making her live a life of torture with her Uncle. She was tossed out of the house at midnight into the ferocious rain after being beaten, stripped, scratched with whips, and tormented without cause by her uncle's wife. Bracing her difficulties and keeping her mother's last words in her heart.   In an iconic scenario, she met a Wolf whom they both had two things in common.  Rejected and Devastated.  They face their terrible fates together, walking together till she  becomes his Human Luna, Impossible?  

My husband was not fully conscious from anaesthesia after waking up from surgery, and he started spouting nonsense. I laughed while recording his comical reaction, but while helping him into a chair, I paused when I heard him calling for his son. "Be a good boy, all right? Daddy is busy." My smile froze, and I was stunned. We had been DINKs for 10 years. When did he get a son? My hands trembled as I turned on his phone. It was the first time I was looking through his phone in our years of marriage. When I browsed the phone’s data, I found a private album filled with intimate photos of him with another woman and a child. It was a boy who looked very similar to him, and the timestamp on the photos indicated that the boy was three. All three of them were smiling happily, but their smiles hurt me. He had once told me with conviction that he hated kids and did not want to be tied down by family, which was why he convinced me to be a DINK. However, I now knew that he was not really sincere about being a DINK; he just did not want to have kids with me.

Alexis was your typical everyday good girl with excellent grades, a single best friend, an annoying elder brother and a family that loved her to no end. When senior year rolled up, Alexis wasn't looking to expand her small social circle of friends or put herself out there but things are meant to change, after all, change is the only constant thing in life. Paired to do a group assignment with the school's three new mysterious gorgeous looking guys at the start of the term, Alexis is tested in more ways than one. Cheesy pick up lines, rude guys, charming smiles, motorcycle rides, coffee dates and long hours together is all it takes to make her question everything she ever thought she knew. But what happens when she falls for one of them? The one with the dark hair and green eyes? What will she do when he finds out about the secret she's been harbouring all her life? She begins to regret her decision and wish she'd met him long before, but life has its own way of playing with one's feelings. Will her secret break their newly found relationship or will it make it grow stronger?

He divorced her for another woman, not knowing she was carrying his heirs. For three years, Elara was the invisible wife of Lucian Thorne. She warmed his bed, managed his life, and loved him in silence. In return, he gave her cold stares and divorce papers on their anniversary, accusing her of betraying his company. Heartbroken and pregnant, Elara signed the papers and vanished into the night. Five years later, Lucian is the King of Wall Street, but he is haunted by the memory of the wife he discarded. When a mysterious, stunning CEO named "Ella" arrives in the city to acquire a rival company, Lucian is drawn to her. But this isn't the meek Elara he remembers. She is powerful, engaged to a handsome doctor, and she looks at Lucian with nothing but disdain. And she isn't alone—she has two children who look suspiciously like him. When Lucian discovers the truth, he falls to his knees. "Elara, please, come home." She looks down at him and smiles coldly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Thorne. My husband is dead to me. You are just a stranger." Can the Billionaire win back the heart he shattered, or is it truly too late?

After two years of marriage, I believed I was living the dream—until the day I gave birth to our long-awaited heir. The house was filled with joy as my husband's family arrived, bearing gifts and ready to bestow a name upon our child, as tradition dictated. But the happiness of the day shattered in an instant when my husband walked in, hand in hand with his childhood sweetheart. In front of everyone, he announced not only our divorce but also his engagement to her, as if I had never mattered. *** "I’m divorcing Stacy," Jason announces, his voice unwavering, "to marry Nicole Cruz, my childhood sweetheart." He points to the woman standing before him who smiles and waves at everyone in the room. My world tilts on its axis. The words echo in my mind, louder and louder until they drown out everything else. What is going on?? "But why?" I whisper, my voice barely audible, even to myself. I'm unable to believe his betrayal. Jason doesn’t even glance at the child in my arms. "Because this has been a long time coming, Stacy. I’ve only stayed this long out of obligation and not love."