Empty Smiles Novels & Stories

Synopsis They stripped her of her name, called her Prisoner Twelve, and left her to rot in chains. For four years, Natille endured wolfsbane scars, silver shackles, and silence from the family who should have saved her. Not once did her mother visit. Not once did her sister speak her defense. And the boy she once loved—Florian—watched her exile without lifting a hand. Now the gates open. Florian waits at the end of the path. “Grandmother misses you. The Alpha King pardoned you. Come home.” But home is poison. Her sister Navy smiles through rehearsed tears, wearing the life that was once Natille’s. Her brother Ronan sneers that she only seeks pity. Her mother weeps too late. And yet her grandmother, Elder Nelda, defies them all: “You are mine. This house is your house.” Every scar on Natille’s body is proof of betrayal, but the Wilsons call her manipulative, ungrateful, a danger to their name. Even Florian—now promised to Navy—warns her not to lean on pride. But pride is all Natille has left. And when Navy plunges into the deadly Moon Pool, it’s Natille who dives into silver-laced waters to save her. In a single night, she becomes both savior and suspect, her very survival sparking what could tear the Wilsons apart.

When I was born, the nurse handed me over to my parents, and the smiles on their faces instantly vanished. Hovering over their son's smooth head was a line of numbers that no one else could see. 6570 days. It was exactly 18 years. Not a day more, not a day less. The nurse thought they were just nervous first-time parents, but my parents knew the truth. That number was my lifespan. While everyone else in the delivery room was celebrating a new life, my parents were staring at my death. For the next 18 years, I was the most precious person in the family. No matter how poor we were, the eggs were always mine, the new clothes were always mine, and the meat was always mine. My younger sister could only look on enviously. My parents often told her, "Let your brother have it. He doesn't have much time left." I was well-behaved from a young age, never causing trouble, quietly waiting to die. On my 18th birthday, I blew out the candles and said a sincere goodbye to the world. The next day, my parents and sister, dressed in black clothes, walked into my room with swollen eyes. I rubbed my eyes, smiled at them, and said, "Good morning." The air froze. The sadness on their faces slowly turned into astonishment, then coldness.

On the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, I must choose a fiancé from among the heirs of three great families. Everyone believes I will choose Dario Morandi—the man I have pursued for years. Instead, I pick up the photograph of his older brother, Cassiano Morandi. Cassiano is known as the lunatic who was kidnapped by enemies at the age of five and thrown into an underground fighting pit. He survived on his own for ten years before the Morandis brought him back. No one thinks he is worthy of me, the Vito family's Principessa. In my previous life, I choose Dario. On our wedding day, Lina Greco—the daughter of Papa's chauffeur—shows up in a white wedding dress with her pregnant belly on display, crying as she claims the child is Dario's. Enraged, I have her thrown out. But amid the chaos, she suffers a miscarriage. Dario smiles and goes through with the wedding. But in the third year of our marriage, he steals classified intelligence and hands it over to my famiglia's enemies. I die that very night. Now that I have a second chance at life, I decide to fulfill his wish and let him be with Lina. What I never expect is that he has been reborn as well.

I never thought he’d leave me on our ten year anniversary. I gave him everything, my youth, my dreams, my heart and he tossed it all away like I was nothing. Months of heartbreak, solitude, and tequila later, I’m barely holding it together. Then comes the invite: his wedding. The one where he’s marrying her. And me? I’m supposed to smile and clap? That’s when an idea lands in my lap a chance to fakedate the city’s hottest hockey star, the man every paparazzi swoon over. It’s supposed to be simple: protect his image, help him play the perfect boyfriend… maybe get over my ex in the process. But what I didn’t expect was the heat, the lust, the danger of wanting him… or him wanting me. Between stolen kisses in empty arenas, the paparazzi hunting our every move, and the ex who thinks he still has a chance, I’m discovering the dangerous thrill of power, passion, and revenge. But as my fake love story becomes dangerously real, I realize one thing: the game isn’t over, and I might just win… or lose everything I’ve dared to desire.

**Perfect Blind** *She pretended to be her blind twin. Then she watched her brother-in-law die. The killer tested her—held the bloody head five inches from her face. She didn't blink.* **But what he didn't know? She's not just pretending. She's hunting him too.** --- Jiang Yan has spent three months learning to be her blind twin sister: the walk, the voice, the empty stare. She breaks into Lin's apartment seeking a diary—evidence of a murder Yan committed ten years ago. Instead, she finds a body. A killer who knows sign language. And a "dead man" who won't stop breathing. Trapped in a locked room with two strangers and one lie, Yan must play the perfect blind woman while uncovering the truth: her sister isn't blind, her father isn't dead, and the murder she confessed to never happened. **In this family, everyone wears a mask. The only way out is to see through them all.** --- **Perfect for fans of:** - *The Silent Patient* (unreliable narrator) - *Gone Girl* (toxic sisterhood) - *Behind Her Eyes* (identity games) **Tags:** #PsychologicalThriller #TwistedFamily #BlindPOV #ShortRead #DarkSecrets --- **Word count:** 10,000 words | **Chapters:** 10 | **Reading time:** 45 minutes *Every chapter ends with a twist. The final page changes everything

It was my twentieth birthday. My father presented me with the photos of many rich heiresses across the nation. He wanted me to pick the one to have a political marriage with. I told him I wanted to leave that in the hands of fate. Why? In my previous life, I picked Rachel Osborne, an heiress from Shampton. And I did that without hesitation. After we got married, I found out her true love, Zacharias Newman, had gotten himself drunk at a bar. The reason? He was heartbroken that we got married. And while he was drunk, a robber mugged him and cut off his hand's tendons. He tried to kill himself three times, and who did my wife blame? Me. She extracted my family's assets and gave them all to her beloved. My family was left as an empty husk. And she let him cut our brake lines. Thanks to him, my family and I died in a horrifying car crash. This was my second life. This time, I chose Seraphina Oliviera, an heiress from Fortunopolis. She was someone who couldn't care less about worldly matters and was a God-fearing woman. Eventually, I showed up at the engagement with Seraphina, but that apparently drove Rachel mad.

Three days before the wedding, the church called to inform me that my fiancé had changed the date. When I went to ask him why, I walked in on him throwing a bachelor party with his friends. "Samuel, this was the day Claire personally chose. Why would you suddenly change it?" someone asked. Samuel Gordon stubbed out his cigarette, looking utterly nonchalant. "Because that day happens to be Janet's birthday," he said. "I need to celebrate it with her." The room fell silent in shock. "Aren't you afraid Claire will find out and kill you? Have you forgotten what she did before?" At the mention of my name, Samuel gave an icy snort. "That was all in the past. Claire loves me to death now. She even took three bullets for me once, so how could she ever bring herself to hurt me?" I stood at the doorway, watching the snow fall behind me, and let out a long sigh. Five days later, he stood in an empty church, frantically calling my phone. "Did you forget? It's our wedding day!" "I didn't forget," I said. In another church, wearing a wedding gown, I was saying "I do" to another man.

She was born to save bloodlines. Raised as Silver Star's first female Alpha Heir in three generations, Sabrina always knew what awaited her coming of age. Not a crown. Not a simple mate. A Harem — the males of her pack who had no mate waiting for them, chosen by duty, by tradition, and by the Goddess herself. Her word is law inside those walls. But the house built for her mates has sat empty for nearly two centuries, the traditions that govern it have been twisted beyond recognition, and not every male stepping forward is there for the right reasons. The Heart's Choice Scroll chose Riley before she could say his name out loud. Victor she chose herself. Then the letters started arriving. Three allied Alphas. Twenty-two additional males. Political agendas dressed up as goodwill, genuine desperation dressed up as diplomacy, and one rejection that left the Goddess's mark burned permanently into skin as a warning to anyone watching. Forty-seven males. One Luna. And a Harem house that hasn't seen life in nearly two centuries. She expected politics. She expected power games. She expected to manage it. She didn't expect chosen bonds to grow faster than fated ones. Duty was never supposed to feel like this.

"Where will you hide, doll?" His deep raspy voice resonated in an empty, dark classroom. Her heart thudded in her ears. Her feet involuntarily moved back, shoulders shrinking in fear as he took threatening steps towards her like a predator. "N-no..." She stuttered, chin-wobbling, lips trembling. The certainty of her being alone in the presence of this beast-like man had her legs going jello. Emma was scared. So damn scared. "You can't deny me, Belle. I'm your mate. You're fucking mine!" He growled. * Emma Belle Richardson is a 17-year-old nerd who dedicates herself to schoolwork and books rather than socializing. She doesn't have any friends and is an outcast. She has more to her than anyone can imagine. She prefers to stay under the radar, but what happens when she'll catch the eyes of the man who will cause catastrophe in her peaceful life. Xander Colt is a 27-year-old mysterious man with extremely good looks. There was nothing known about him. The Greek God-like man with sharp green eyes, and dark tattoos, who could easily be considered a top-notch model or a beast-like warrior came as a mathematics teacher in the middle of a semester. Strange wasn't it! Naive girl Alpha male Erotica Hot Romance Student and Teacher Werewolf Warning ️ 18+

I used to think my husband was the angel who saved me from the depths of hell. Five years ago, I would have died for my ex-fiance, Marco Lombardi, but his carelessness caused Mom's kidneys to fail. He ignored 99 of my calls, and with an empty bank account, I couldn't even afford the surgery to donate my kidney to her. Only later did I discover that during that time, he was having romantic getaways with my stepsister, Penny Rossi. When I hit rock bottom, mafia Don Leon Costa showed up. He got me the best doctors, handled everything when Mom died, and even proposed to me when I was a complete mess. In our five years of marriage, he has spoiled me rotten. I've almost forgotten how much Marco and Penny hurt me. Then, today, I overhear his phone call with Penny. "Leon, thank you for giving my sister's kidney to my mother back then." My beloved husband just brushes it off. "Don't worry about it. I'll look after your sister. She won't ever know." He laughs quietly, and his voice is full of warmth. "You know I hate seeing you cry."