Empty Smiles Novels & Stories

"I can't do this anymore!" Easton cried, trying to break free from the man who had him pinned to the bed by his throat. ''It's been six years, Ilya! Six fucking years of abuse. When am I going to be free from you?" "Does it look like you have any choice?" Ilya smirked coldly. He produced his knife, wanting to carve his name into Easton's heart, so that every time Easton looked in the mirror, he'd know who he belonged to. "You either obey my every command, or watch as I ruin every last bit of the reputation you've toiled tirelessly to build. Don't push me too hard, East, or I'll unleash a storm that will render you breathless and begging for mercy and it won't be cute." As a pop star, Easton Reese had everything he had always hoped for: money, luxurious lifestyle, fame, and fans all across the globe who worshipped him like the idol that he was. But despite all this, Easton felt empty inside. Behind the happy smile he always wore on his face during the day, there was an excess of pain that he had to endure every night, in secret, where no one must know. Being punished for the crime his father had committed wasn't exactly what hurt him most; it was the fact that he was being punished by his childhood sweetheart, the same man he had once loved with all his heart.

At another Sunday dinner at the Bellandi estate, Luca Bellandi's assistant, Ava Marino, was sitting in my seat. It was the first chair to Luca's right at the long walnut table, the seat everyone in Chicago's underworld knew belonged to Mrs. Bellandi. Ava sat there as if she had been born into it, her pale wrist brushing Luca's sleeve while she poured his wine. I stood in the doorway and looked at him. "She's in my seat. You don't have anything to say?" Luca raised his eyes. "You were late. Don't blame someone else for sitting down first. There are empty chairs over there. Sit if you want. If not, get out." The dining room went dead quiet, and before I could answer, his thoughts slipped into my ears. [Vivi, don't go. Come sit beside me. Tell them it's your seat. Tell me you still want to be my wife.] [Please get mad. Please care. Say you need me, and I'll give you the whole world.] In the past, those soft, trembling thoughts would have been enough. I would've swallowed the insult and stayed beside him like a loyal dog that didn't know when to leave. This time, I didn't. I slipped the wedding ring off my finger and laid it on the table. "If the Bellandi family can't even keep a wife's seat for me, then I guess this family doesn't need a wife anymore. Luca, let's get divorced."

"I once thought time had erased everything, until you appeared once more..." Fifteen years ago, she was his first love-a secret he kept buried deep within. Fifteen years later, Aiden Power has become the head of a financial empire, living a life ruled by logic and iron will. Throughout those years, he focused solely on his career, bypassing the socialites arranged by his family without a single flicker of emotion. He believed the memories of that girl had been consigned to the past forever, and that his heart had grown cold. Yet, on the day he decided to seek someone for the final transaction of his life, Alma Jane reappeared. She came to him in a state of exhaustion, desperate for the money to save her father. She looked at him as if he were a stranger, completely unaware that she was the sole remaining fragment of his memories. Upon meeting her again, Aiden realized with a shock that the feelings he thought were long dead were merely embers, waiting for her presence to ignite into a fierce blaze. In a cruel twist of irony, Aiden is forced to don a mask of ruthlessness to initiate a high-priced transaction. He uses coldness to shield his inner turmoil and power to reclaim the girl he once let slip away. One man, forced by circumstance to play the villain. One woman, driven by hardship to enter a gilded cage. Amidst misunderstandings, fear, and resentment, will sincerity be enough to warm their wounded hearts in time? "This contract began with tears, but will destiny be gentle enough to bring back the smiles?"

After nursing the baby, I closed my eyes to rest for a moment. The nanny, thinking I was asleep, brazenly clung to my husband, cooing, "Harlan, if your wife finds out that the son she gave birth to was swapped out long ago and that the baby in her arms is actually ours, do you think she’d be furious?” “You’re so smart. Swapping the babies at the hospital was brilliant. Once our daughter inherits her fortune, we’ll kick her out of the house in no time!” I pretended not to hear their conversation. I continued to raise my daughter with utmost care and devotion. When she returned from her studies, I immediately transferred all my shares to her, supporting her to become the youngest heir of the company. At the handover celebration, the nanny dressed even more extravagantly than I did. She boldly grabbed my daughter and declared, “I am Yasmine’s real mother! You’ve kept her from me all these years, but now it’s time that the truth is revealed!” My husband handed me the divorce papers with a smug look. “For Yasmine’s sake, let’s part ways amicably.” My daughter folded her arms and glared at me. “Since you raised me for so many years, I’ll visit you in the nursing home once a year.” Watching their victorious smiles, I lowered my eyes. “As you wish.” I hope you’re ready to handle the kind of wealth that shatters the heavens!

During the company’s celebration party, Zenia Andrews, my girlfriend, declared in front of everyone that she was going to get married. Everyone turned to look at me with teasing smiles. “Not bad, Felix; you’re finally tying the knot with Zenia.” However, their smiles stiffened the very next second, because Zenia announced that she was not marrying me, but her assistant. I showed no sign of anger or sadness. I just dug out a wad of cash and threw it in her face. “Get someone else to be his bridegroom. Here’s five hundred dollars. Split it evenly between you two.” Zenia ran over and said airily to me, “Don’t get jealous so easily! I already told you that we’re just going through the motions. He’s a foreigner and wants to get a green card. The easiest way for him to do so is by marrying me. The moment he gets it, we’ll get divorced. Then, I’ll marry you right away, okay? He even prepared a wedding gift for you to repay you!” I just smiled as I listened to her. When she saw that I was not behaving strangely, she nodded in relief and returned to the banquet hall. She trampled all over my love like it was worth nothing. How could I possibly let her trample all over it again? My next reaction was to call our rival company. “We’ll do as we promised last time. I’ll bring all the core patents when I join you.”

I have spent ten years fighting against the fake heiress, Cynthia Powell, to secure the Powell family's inheritance. Eventually, we both set our sights on the eldest son of the wealthy Wright family, Robin Wright. In my first life, I secure the marriage, but on the very night the shares are transferred to my name, I die a gruesome death. Blood seeps from my eyes and mouth as I collapse. As I lie there dying, Robin calmly wipes the poisonous powder from his fingertips and smiles at me. "My apologies, Kathy Powell. You have to die for the sake of the woman I truly love." I repeatedly curse Cynthia in my heart. In my second life, I am determined to avoid being murdered by Cynthia and her lover. So, I pass the marriage opportunity over to Cynthia. On their wedding day, I'm relaxing at home with a face mask when the police burst through my door and handcuff me. "Cynthia's car was firebombed on the way to the wedding ceremony, and she was burned to a crisp. We found your fingerprints on the fuel tank. You're under arrest for arson and murder. Please come with us," the police orders. The news shocks me. I'm sentenced to death, all thanks to Robin's manipulation. When I wake up, I'm in my third life. After seeing the Wright family's marriage proposal on the table, Cynthia and I take a step back. A chill runs down both our spines. Robin is a curse. How is it that whoever marries him ends up dead?

Elara Hayes had no idea that one night her life would end. Elara is forced into a contract marriage with Alessandro De Luca, the cold, ruthless CEO of a global empire, after being betrayed by her fiancé, burdened by the crushing debts of her family, and cornered by circumstances she can no longer escape. Their marriage is a calculated alliance to the outside world. Alessandro views it as a business arrangement designed to safeguard his position and silence internal threats. It is a cage that Elara never asked to enter. Elara is obligated to learn how to survive in Alessandro's perilous world, which is ruled by power, secrets, and enemies hidden behind polished smiles, and is bound by a contract with strict rules and an even stricter expiration date. She discovers that the man she married is far more complicated than his icy reputation suggests as she struggles to protect her family and maintain her independence. Despite the fact that Alessandro is in charge, guarded, and emotionally untouchable, his focus on Elara grows dangerously intense. What initially appears to be forced proximity gradually develops into an unspoken tension that neither of them is willing to admit. However, secrets do not remain hidden forever. Elara is forced to reevaluate everything, including her marriage, her own heart, and her safety, as resurfaced betrayals and hidden enemies draw near. Additionally, she must make a decision when she discovers information that could cost her everything and bring down Alessandro's empire: When the contract expires, will she terminate it? or put her heart at risk for a man she never intended to love? There are rules in the contract. However, love was not one of them.

*My mate turns out to be the mafia king?!* “Stop flirting with my staff.” My head snaps toward the guy I’ve run into twice today. I thought he was just an average school playboy. “Your staff?” I ask stupidly. He smiles widely. “That’s right, sweetheart. This is my club.” * “W-what are you doing?” I whisper, but the look in his eyes says it all. “Do you feel that?” He asks. It takes a second, but then I feel tiny sparks racing along my skin as his hand slips under my jacket and over my skin. I gasp, and then his lips are on mine. *** A few years ago, a series of scientific research buildings were attacked. The chemicals from those research facilities had seeped into our water supply and slowly manipulated our DNA. Last year was the first report of someone showing a hint of supernatural abilities. Then another and another until suddenly, there were people with abilities popping up all over the place. People with abilities were either feared or envied. I have tried hiding my ability for as long as I can. My ability would have me locked up and used until there was nothing left of me. The ability to heal is a gift everyone would want to take advantage of, so I never use it…ever. Until... I meet him. Julian. My schoolmate. The boss of The Hell Club. The Mafia King. My...mate. What we didn't know at the time was that these so-called DNA alterations were all werewolf genes growing inside the human body. And he, Julian... is my mate.

That night, Liam served me my usual evening tea. I trusted him completely—he was my mate, after all, and a respected healer of Thornpack. I shouldn't have. When I woke up the next morning, my head was spinning. The special safe where I kept the morphing inhibitor—the one I'd spent my entire savings to import from Europe for our daughter Isla—was empty. Racing to the healing center, I found Liam celebrating. He was handing out moon-blessed wine, beaming with pride as Natalie's daughter Anna showed off her perfect transformation. My inhibitor had been used on his first love's pup instead of our own daughter. The shock triggered something in my brain. When I collapsed, they diagnosed me with the rare tumor that plagued our kind. Without inhibitors, I couldn't stop Isla's transformation that came early, her six year old body couldn't handle the massive wolf form and the force ripped through her young body. And I, for one, don't even have enough money to keep her in a treatment center. She died in my arms three days later, her little claws drawing blood as the pain overwhelmed her. Until her last breath, she kept asking why Papa hadn't come. Now, in my cold, empty home, with the white porcelain urn containing her ashes on the table, I touch her and decide to sever our partnership.

Billy had a tough life and had always lived by one unshakable rule. But one fateful night at an elite party, where she worked as a part-time server, everything changed as she caught the intense eyes of a stranger—a man whose allure was impossible to resist. And against her better judgment, she broke that rule of hers, surrendering to a night of passion and desire that left her breathless. But when she woke up in the morning, the bed was empty, and the stranger was gone, leaving Billy with nothing but memories of that night. Weeks later, she discovered the consequences of that night: she was pregnant. With no clue, and no way to find that stranger, she braced herself to face motherhood alone. Months passed, and Billy landed another job—serving at the engagement party of one of the city’s most powerful billionaires. But when she was called to serve a drink at the party, her world tilted as the groom-to-be was none other than the man she had been searching for: Marcus Lorenzo. Marcus, the cold-hearted billionaire with a reputation for ruthlessness, had been haunted by that night he had with Billy. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t forget the mysterious woman who had set his soul on fire. Now, faced with Billy again, he keep finding himself drawing closer to her and this brings out their lust for each other despite the obstacles between them. As their shared desire reignites, the boundaries of their lives blur. But with secret and lies threatening to destroy them, Billy and Marcus must confront the question: Was their night of passion a fleeting mistake, or the start of something far more dangerous?