Empty Smiles

Alexander's mistress was pregnant. He turned his back on me without a shred of hesitation, canceled our marking ceremony, and brought her home instead. As he passed by, he didn't even look at me. He just left a brief order hanging in the air. "She's weak. You know medicine. From now on, you'll handle her meals." When he reached the first floor, he paused again. "She's pregnant. She can't be frightened, and she needs me to sleep beside her." His voice was flat, devoid of any feeling for me. "There are plenty of empty rooms. Move out of mine." I packed my things quietly, without a word, and walked out of the estate. The butler tried to stop me, but Alexander's voice cut through the hall, cold and final. "Let her go. Once she cools off, she'll come crawling back on her own." His men, watching the scene unfold, exchanged amused glances. They even placed bets right in front of me—how many minutes before I'd regret leaving and come running back. But none of them knew the truth. The Alpha King my parents had chosen for me had already sent a car to wait for me outside the gate. This time, I wasn't coming back.

For five years, I was Carlos’s dirty little secret. In the light of day, I was his executive assistant, handling his legitimate businesses while he treated me with cold, professional detachment. In the shadows, I was the woman he claimed to love more than life itself, the one who warmed his bed while he whispered promises against my skin. That was until I found out I was pregnant. I was ready to tell him, to finally ask for a life in the light. But then, I discovered Carlos had purchased a secluded estate in the suburbs—a fortress meant for a wife. I followed him there, heart in my throat, only to watch through the window as his hand slid beneath a woman’s silk lingerie, his eyes burning with a raw desire I thought belonged only to me. "Sophie," he groaned, his voice rough with emotion. "I stayed unmarried all these years for one reason. I was waiting for you to come back to the States. Marry me." The sounds of their pleasure echoed from the room. The shock was a physical blow; my body revolted, and the stress induced a miscarriage right there in the cold. When I woke up in the hospital, empty and broken, I made a call I had been avoiding for years. I accepted the arranged marriage my family had set up for me—a political alliance with a rival syndicate. The next morning,I would vanish from Carlos’s life forever.

The words echoed, a promise she wore like a blindfold. “Give me a chance to prove to you that love is beautiful.” Kensington Darley had believed him. At twenty-six, she was the beautiful, trusting daughter of a gilded cage, and she had willingly traded her own life’s map for the one drawn by her boyfriend. His choices became her destiny; his whispered needs, her sacred law. Until the moment his love demanded her degradation. He didn't ask her to empty a savings account. He didn't ask her to sell the family jewels. He asked for her body, for her dignity, to be sold piece by devastating piece. The debt. It was a cold, unforgiving beast, and the only currency powerful enough to silence it was Kensington's unwilling performance in front of a camera. Every forced smile, every feigned moan, was a knife-edge decision she made in the name of love. She despised the spotlights, the sterile sets, the shame that clung to her like cheap perfume—but she did it. Because she loved him. But as she watches the man she is saving—the man who allowed her to be lost—a single, poisonous question begins to bloom in the darkness of her despair: Does he love her back? If the answer is no, what becomes of a woman who has sacrificed everything for a lie? And how will Kensington Darley ever learn to trust a single word, let alone love, again?

On the day Tristan Spallone, the head of a mafia family, and I mark our fifth wedding anniversary, the manager of the Spallone family vault calls. Something that was stored away for a long time has finally come due, and Tristan is to retrieve it. He's so busy that he barely has a moment to breathe, so I go in his place. What I bring back is an old roll of film. The manager warned me that if it wasn’t developed soon, its age might cause it to be ruined beyond recovery. But when I have them developed, frame after frame is filled with Winnie Leigh, his first love. Her smile looks so sweet in those pictures that they nearly suffocate me. What about me, one may ask? I never once appeared on his albums. The office door slams open. Tristan bursts in, already out of breath. "Anna, is your life really so empty that you have to dig through mine?" I turn toward him, the man who's usually so composed. I neither question him nor break down. Instead, I speak slowly. "We're getting a divorce." Tristan frowns and thrusts the stack of photos into the shredder. He then looks back at me. "They're gone. Do you still want a divorce?" A bitter smile tugs at my lips. "Yes."

So, Mrs. Knight,” he said, voice dripping with mockery, “do we have a deal?” I stared at his hand. Then at his face. Then at the empty shot glasses. I slapped my palm into his. “It’s not Mrs. Knight anymore,” I said, squeezing hard. “And you, Mr. Arrogant, just hired the most vindictive assistant you’ll ever have.” His fingers tightened around mine, warm and strong and promising all kinds of chaos. “Welcome to the dark side, Isabella.” Behind us, Kayla whispered to herself and few people in the coffee shop, “Y’all, I’m literally witnessing the start of a mafia romance…” Lucian’s eyes never left mine. Something electric and dangerous crackled between us. And in that moment, drunk off tequila and vengeance, I signed my soul with the Devil. I said no to Alexander Knight at the altar. Then I said yes to Lucian Voss in the rain, still wearing my wedding dress... Because my fiancee betrayed me twenty minutes before we tied the knots. With Lucian, it was a fake relationship stringed with mind-blowing nights. I gave him my body He offered me revenge Neither of us expected to give our hearts... Or that the enemy warming my bed every night ...was the brother everyone thought died fifteen years ago. Now I'm pregnant and only one knight get's to keep the empire and me

They wanted to choose my husband so I bought one instead. ~~~ " You'll be meeting your soon-to-be husband at the next family dinner." Aunt Melissa's words hit like poison. I choked, shock seizing my breath. Family dinners at my grandparents' estate were always hell- ear-shattering arguments, insults wrapped in concern, smiles hiding knives. But this? This crossed every line. Who the hell do they think they were, choosing my husband like I was some pawn in their twisted game? That's never going to happen. I built my Empire from the ruins of my inheritance and survived the accident that claimed my parents' lives. Survived Sophie's lifetime of cruelty always my shadow, so desperate to eclipse me. I didn't survive all that to let them control who I marry. ~~~ Then I saw him. David Kane. Six foot three of breathtaking perfection, commanding my manufacturing floor like he was born for it. Dark hair, ice blue eyes, and a body that made me forget to breathe. The branch manager's son. Nobody important. That was perfect. If my family wants to force a husband on me I'd bring them one on my own terms. They forgot who I am. I am Sophia Ashford. I don't play by their rules and am about to make the most dangerous deal of my life.

Katherine I thought he loved me. I truly believed no one could love me more than my king, the ruler of witches, Acan. I believed my marriage was full of love, that nothing could tear us apart. But I was wrong. On the night of the festival of elements, he didn’t just break my heart… he burned me alive! He believed he was rid of me, free to continue his affair with the woman he truly wanted. How wrong he was. I’m back, and this time, I’m out for blood. Darius I stayed in the shadows, loving her from afar because who could ever love someone like me? I’m nothing but a bastard, and worse, I’m one of the dark ones, born with powers that bring nothing but pain. And yet… I can’t hurt her. Maybe that’s why she isn’t afraid of me, why she smiles at me in a way that steals my heart. But strange things are happening around her—accidents whenever she looks away. I must protect her, especially after I learned the truth about why it has all happened. So I change our world. I change our reality. But while my dreams come true—Katherine in my arms—she is far from satisfied.

"I want this," I repeat my words. "And what exactly is this?" he smiles and holds my back with his hands in all his casual sexiness. "I want my orgasm," "You're not there yet, baby girl." He stated softly, his hands trail down to my ass and squeezed them making me pouted at him. "I can get there, you can get me there." "I will, but not right now," ***** Jessica had tried her hardest to rebuild the family legacy, but her brother's scandalous past has proven hard to make her bounce back. And when her family business was bought out, there was nothing she could do but follow her lawyers' advice. But what she didn't expect was her new boss. The fact that she has someone to report to annoyed her, and for that someone to be handsome and smart it infuriates her. She knows he's a player, he knows she's a fragile woman with a very dark past. Can she shake him off and live peacefully with her job? or will he push himself and break out from his comfort zone to make her fall for him? ***** The love story will be emotional, irritating, and eh...I'm still not sure what else :p But the happy ending will be inevitable. So, add this book to your library and join me as we read about Jessica's happy ending. ***** Warning! R-Rated for 18+ due to strong, explicit language and sexual content*

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." Important Author’s Note: This is a rewritten version of my book The Alpha’s Betrayal: Reclaiming His Rejected Luna. From Chapter 12 onward, the story takes a new turn with fresh twists and drama. Thank you for reading—I hope you enjoy this new version!

Calla Winthrop thought she had it all—a devoted husband, a beautiful home, and a baby on the way. But on the night of their anniversary, everything shattered. A hidden mistress. A plan to steal her unborn child. And then the final betrayal… he killed her. But death didn’t take her soul—it gave her a second chance. She awakens in the body of Isadora Kane—a woman whispered about in fear, hated for her venomous tongue, cold cruelty, and ruthless past. Isadora’s name alone can curdle blood… especially her husband Madden’s. Cold, distant, dangerously powerful—he can barely stand the sight of her. But beneath the loathing is something darker... hungrier. Now trapped in the life of a woman everyone wants to see fall, Calla must play a deadly game. She must become the villainess the world believes she is—outsmart enemies she’s never met, unravel Isadora’s dangerous secrets, and resist the searing pull of a husband who wants nothing to do with her… until he starts to want everything. She’s got one goal: Take back her stolen child. Destroy the man who murdered her. But in a world where enemies wear the sweetest smiles, and the truth is tangled in seduction and lies, Calla’s second chance could become her final downfall. Because someone knows she’s not Isadora. And they're watching. Let the revenge begin….