Empty Smiles Novels & Stories

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.

Carina Lewis, the head of the department, has been a friend of mine since college. While she successfully climbs up the corporate ladder, I'm stuck being the workhorse at the bottom of the totem pole. When she's late for work, I sign in for her. When she messes up, I clean up for her. I'm happy to play along with her, of course. It's not easy to find someone dumb enough to be the scapegoat. One day, a billionaire investor shows up at the company's doorstep, and the senior executives instruct me to take care of him during his visit. This evening, when the rest of the office is empty, Carina takes my hand and tells me earnestly, "Bailey, investors like him are ruthless. You won't even know what's coming for you. An innocent woman like you won't be able to handle him. Let me, your best friend, test the waters with him first. Once everything is settled, I'll make you a manager." I nod sweetly in response. Hours later, I scurry over to the presidential suite at the hotel, where the billionaire investor is staying, and kick down the door. "Open up, Dal!" It's one thing for Carina to constantly take advantage of me, but how dare she dream of becoming my sister-in-law to steal half of my family's assets? That deluded pipe dream of hers will even make the marble statues in my family's garden roll their eyes.

My boyfriend found my menstruation disgusting and forced me to undergo subdermal implantation. From then on, I no longer had periods and couldn’t conceive. One day, I had a fever reaching 40°C and couldn’t contact him. I went to the hospital alone, only to stumble upon him attending a prenatal checkup with his secretary. He told her: “Baby, don’t worry about Claire. She only listens to me here, doesn’t she?” “We can postpone the wedding for another five years. She’s loyal to me like a dog anyway.” “In the meantime, keep fulfilling your end of the arrangement I’ve promised you.” “Of course, I’ll continue loving you... until I’m tired of you.” My heart shattered. I’d proposed to him 43 times in seven years, only to fail every single time. It turned out he just hadn’t gotten bored of me yet? This time, I decided not to wait any longer. I turned my back on him and agreed to the marriage my mother arranged in the countryside. On the day my ex was supposed to accompany me to try on wedding dresses, he found an empty room and a wedding invitation I left for him to celebrate my marriage to someone else. Panic consumed him as his world fell apart...

For seven years, Camille Stone loved her husband quietly. She loved him through the late nights, the forgotten anniversaries, the empty side of the bed, and the growing silence that slowly swallowed their marriage whole. To the world, billionaire CEO Ethan Stone adored his wife. They were Manhattan’s golden couple — elegant, powerful, untouchable. But behind closed doors, Camille became invisible. So when rumors begin spreading about Ethan and his stunning executive consultant, Vivian Laurent, Camille tells herself not to believe them. Until a silly mistake from Ethan exposes everything she thought she knew. Heartbroken after years of emotional neglect, Camille does the one thing Ethan never sees coming — she files for divorce and quietly slips the papers into his business contracts. Distracted and emotionally distant, Ethan signs them without ever realizing he’s agreeing to end his marriage. But the night Camille finally tells him they’re getting divorced, something shifts. For the first time in years, Ethan notices. Now the billionaire who took his wife for granted is forced to watch her walk away while dangerous secrets, hidden betrayals, and devastating truths begin unraveling around them. And when Ethan finally confesses that not everything Camille believed was a lie, it’s already too late. Or maybe… Just late enough to destroy them both.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent me, heartbreak on a platter of gold. How thoughtful. Melody Hart once believed December carried its own charm, everything feels beautiful and magical, and she would be having a Christmas wedding, something she’d dreamed of since childhood. But magic turned to ash the moment she walked in on the man she loved, unwrapping someone else like a gift. Determined to start over, she runs to New York City with nothing but a bruised heart and an almost empty bank account . She isn’t searching for miracles anymore. She just wants a job, a bed that’s not a borrowed couch, and one peaceful night where she doesn’t cry herself to sleep. Just like she had her problems, Logan Russo had his. He needs a woman for Christmas, someone who would be able to act in front of his whole family, just to get them off his neck. Melody needs two hundred thousand dollars. Neither of them needs love. The universe brought them together, two desperate strangers who needed each other. What started off as a confrontation at the airport, soon blossomed into something beautiful. She got her Christmas miracle after all. All that was short-lived because the universe had other plans. But this time, how much can she take, how willing is she to protect what she's built? Only time will tell.

Two hundred and twelve dollars. That is all I have to my name. I moved to Miami to save my ruined journalism career. Instead, I ended up sweating inside a forty-pound foam hockey mascot suit just to pay my rent and keep my press credentials alive. Then came the home opener. One empty locker room. Three dangerously elite men. Lucian Voss, the ruthless head coach with eyes like ice. Gavin Steele, the heavily tattooed, quietly terrifying goalie. Zane Cole, the arrogant star forward with a lethal smile. It was supposed to be a catastrophic, one-time mistake. A lapse in judgment I could bury forever. But now, I am staring at a positive test. Triplets. I thought the pregnancy was my biggest problem. I thought I could just walk away. But when a scandal threatens to expose me, these three men do not panic. They do not run. Overnight, they spend nine figures to buy the entire professional hockey franchise. They become my bosses. They lock every exit, terminate my old contracts, and slip a massive diamond onto my shaking finger. I thought they were doing it to protect their unborn children. I thought it was about the scandal. I was wrong. "There were no babies three weeks ago, Malia," Gavin whispers, cornering me in their private penthouse. "We bought the team so no other man could look at you. You were already ours."

Life is not full of roses. Sometimes the roses you think you see are never really roses at all. They are thorns hidden between petals. Sienna thought she found love with Dominic Castellano, the second most powerful billionaire in New York City. For three years, she agreed to be his secret girlfriend, believing his empty promises that one day he would make her public. But the universe had other plans. She became a laughing stock when he married a wealthy heiress, leaving her broken and humiliated. Then Sebastian Ashford, Dominic's greatest rival, offered her a proposition: "What if I told you that on the night your parents were murdered, I was there? Would you be my wife for one year and burn Dominic's world to the ground with everyone related to him?" Sienna wanted revenge. She found the means to an end. With nothing left to lose, she agreed to destroy the man who had wasted her time, her years, and her heart. But she should not have fallen in love with this devil of a man who came with a proposition filled with secrets she would never truly know. As secrets unfold and truths emerge, Sienna discovers that the man she gradually fell in love with might actually be behind everything that happened to her. In the end, she must decide if love is worthy of all the chaos, or if some situations demand a different choice entirely.

Five years ago, my family died in a car crash. My parents. My adopted sister, Liz. Everyone but me. They left behind grief, an empty house, and a debt so large it swallowed my life. When the collectors came, I turned to the only person I had left—my husband, Adrian. He told me he had cut ties with his own family to marry me and had nothing left. I believed him. For five years, I worked every job I could find, paid every dollar I earned, and told myself love was worth the suffering. When the balance dropped to its final $18,000, I signed up for a paid drug trial at a private clinic. They handed me a waiver, warned me about possible delayed reactions, and promised fast money if I swallowed the experimental dose. I thought it would buy us a new beginning. Instead, I came home early and heard Adrian on the phone. “Let Liz use the card. Evelyn still doesn’t know. She took away Liz’s money five years ago, so she has to earn every dollar back herself.” Then he laughed softly. “One more year, and her punishment is over.” That was how I learned the dead were alive. The debt was fake. My husband had never been poor. And the life I had fought so hard to survive was only a sentence they had given me.

Before the pack's Winter Solstice festival, I was given a Moonwater Mirror, forged from the waters of the Moon Goddess Spring. But the face staring back at me wasn't my own. It was my face, but younger. The girl I was eight years ago. Her eyes were bright with a joy I hadn't felt in years. When she realized I was from her future, she practically vibrated with excitement. "Our fated mate, Alpha Owen, he confessed today! He's going to plant moonflowers around the lake cabin. He'll stay with me for every full moon. He promised to make me his one and only Luna forever!" Her voice was full of hope for the future. Her joy was a bitter reminder of what I'd lost. I listened quietly, only managing a faint smile. My reaction must have given me away. Her excited chatter died. Her gaze drifted over my shoulder, taking in the cold, empty penthouse behind me. "Wait... where's Owen?" Her smile faltered. "We're happy, right? After eight years?" I didn't say a word. I just slowly, deliberately, turned the Moonwater Mirror toward the terrace. There, my Alpha mate, Owen, had another she-wolf pinned to the railing. Their mouths were fused, their breaths mingling in the cold night air.

A Feral Curse swept through the werewolf world. Those wolves touched by it become monsters that devour their own packmates; others die in agony as the infection burns through them. The survivors formed an Alliance to fight back. I fought alongside my mate, Alpha Liam, until the very end. Until rescue finally came. But our transport was seconds from takeoff. That’s when Liam's first love, an omega named Chloe, ran back. All for a beat-up music box. Liam insisted we wait. The feral pack was closing in. I had no choice. I forced the ramp shut. Chloe was torn apart by ferals. Back at the Alliance base, I thought we were safe. I was wrong. That night, Liam knocked me out and threw me to a captured feral wolf. The infection was pure agony. It felt like my veins were erupting from the inside out. I died alone in a cold, empty cell. His last words echoed in my mind through our link: "You let Chloe die. It's your turn to feel what she felt." Then I opened my eyes. I was back. Back on the airfield. On the day he refused to leave. I saw the feral pack in the distance, and a cold smile touched my lips. He wants to save Chloe so badly? Fine. This time, they can die together.