Fault Lines

“You’ll be my wife until I secure the inheritance. After that, we walk away from each other. Don’t worry—I’ll make sure you get your fair share.” — Walter Robles Desperate to earn a little more, Samantha agreed to her boss Walter’s unusual offer—to pretend as his girlfriend during a family event. It was supposed to be just for a day. Nothing more, nothing less. But everything changed when Walter accepted the condition his family had set: No marriage, no inheritance. Since she had something to get from the deal, Samantha agreed once again. But this time, she wasn’t stepping in as a pretend girlfriend—she was signing up to be his wife. But what happens when the lines start to blur? When emotions they shouldn’t be feeling begin to grow? When their act finally ends, what will they choose—to walk away as planned, or to hold on to something real they never meant to build?

Betrayed by his first love. Hunted by his own pack. Marked as nothing more than a plaything for stronger men. Zane has always been an outcast... bullied for being weak, mixed-blood, and unwanted. And just when he thought he finally found love in Ash, his world shattered with one cruel betrayal. But the Moon Goddess isn’t finished with him yet. Dragged into the elite Magic Academy, Zane thought he’d finally be free. Instead, he’s trapped between dangerous alphas, deadly rivals, and desires that could tear his soul apart. One wants to possess him. One wants to break him. And one might be his salvation… or his greatest sin. With every stolen glance, every forbidden touch, the lines between hate and obsession blur. Power isn’t the only thing awakening in Zane, so is a hunger that could ruin them all. Will Zane submit… or will he make them all kneel?

Clara Blake. That's me. The normal girl everyone barely noticed until my step dad Carl decided that I needed to be his personal punching bag. Everyone knew yet they never decided to do anything about it or help me out of my misery and get me away from this horrid man. Mum never knew or she pretended not to see anything. I mean she was in love with Carl and after dad I probably couldn't blame her. You see dad went away to serve his country and not long after we received a death letter ,as they call it, telling us that he had been lost to war. It wasn't long after the letter about dad had come before Carl had moved into mum's life and they got married. We were a normal happy family up until I had turned six. I remember it like it was yesterday. He came into my room after mum went to bed and he just started hitting me. Never where it would be too obvious seen. When we received the letter from dad that he was coming home after all I was ecstatic. He was going to come and save me from this hell hole that I was in. Unfortunately Carl also saw the letter and that night he had decided that he would end me as it would be my fault for everything as I sent the letter to make my mother sad and cry. My best friend telling me he loves me and dad coming back made my head spin. Joining the FBI as an agent was fun and all until being kidnapped and rescued by a very handsome prince charming. Follow along and join me on my story of my chaotic and drama filled life both in love and work.

James Wesley has hated me for a decade after his childhood sweetheart passed away. He requests to be transferred to the frontier the day after we get married. I write him countless letters in those ten years to win back his favor, but his response is always the same. "If you truly regret it, why don't you hurry up and die?" However, after I am abducted, James storms the bandit's hideout by himself and saves me. He suffers multiple bullet wounds, but before he succumbs to his injuries, he uses the last of his strength to slap my hands away. "The thing I regret the most… in this life… is marrying you. If we get a second chance at life… please… don't bother me anymore." His mother, Felicia Axford, sounds regretful during the funeral. "It's all my fault, James. I shouldn't have forced you to marry her…" His father, Jeremiah Wesley, stares at me, his eyes burning with contempt. "You forced Emily to take her own life, and now you also caused my son's death. You're nothing but trouble, so you should just die!" Even Xavier Bowen, our troop commander, who was responsible for facilitating our marriage in the first place, shakes his head and sighs. "I shouldn't have played matchmaker. I let you down, Mr. Wesley." Everyone feels sympathetic toward James, including me. On the night I am discharged from the troop, I swallow some pesticide and die in the middle of an abandoned field. When I open my eyes again, I realize I have returned to the day before my marriage. This time, I am determined to fulfill everyone's wishes.

When I received the news that my fiancé, Ellison Perez, had postponed our wedding for the 18th time, I happened to be walking out of the hospital, clutching my medical report. Once again, he had delayed our wedding for an entire month, all because of my adopted foster sister, Becky. I thought about what the doctor had told me. After hesitating for a long time, I finally dialed Ellison's number. "I can't wait until next month. If we can't get married tomorrow, there won't be another chance." However, Ellison only took my words as another fit of childish willfulness. "Don't be unreasonable, Lily. Have you forgotten how Becky took your place as the hostage? She was tortured for a whole month before being rescued." "It's because of you that she developed severe trauma. Now you can't even wait one more month for her to recover?" I could hear my parents' voices chiming in over the line. "Becky still suffers from extreme fear of men. Ellison is the only one who can calm her down. Isn't it your fault she ended up like this?" "You're being selfish, Lily. A wedding can wait, but Becky's condition can't!" I had known for a long time that ever since that incident, my entire family had chosen Becky's side. Even so, tears streamed down my face. "Fine," I said softly. "Postpone it." I clenched the medical report tightly in my hand. They did not know that just moments ago, the doctor had told me the truth— I was in the final stage of liver cancer. I only had one month to live.

Ariana Blake was born into wealth, raised on power, and left with nothing when her father’s scandal destroyed everything. Now working two jobs and avoiding the spotlight, Ariana wants one thing, freedom from her family’s ruined name. But when a hostile takeover threatens the last piece of her father’s shattered legacy, she faces the man behind it all: Damien Voss. He’s cold. Calculated, and evastatingly irresistible. And the billionaire who’s spent years plotting revenge against the Blakes. Damien expected to break her. He didn’t expect her fire. He didn’t expect the pull. As the lines between hate and desire blur, Ariana finds herself torn between exposing the truth that could finally clear her family’s name, or protecting the man she’s falling for. But Damien has secrets of his own. Secrets that could ruin them both. In a world built on betrayal, money, and power, can love survive when vengeance comes knocking?

From a stall in the office restroom, I overhear someone badmouthing me. Henry Fielder, the intern I've been mentoring for three months, grumbles, "The guy's got zero people skills. He's a total fossil, like a robot stuck in one mode." I'm about to push the door open and jump in when someone laughs and piles on. "The paperwork is incomplete. The receipts aren't compliant. I can't reimburse it without a manager's signature. We could recite his canned empathy lines in our sleep!" Once they're gone, I quietly head back to my office. Later, Henry drops a thick stack of expense reports onto my desk. "Quit waving the rulebook and rejecting everyone's reimbursements." I skim the fake receipts, and for once, I don't call him out. Instead, I give a thin smile and say, "I have a headache. I can't make out the words."

Claire came from the long lines of hunters who hunted supernatural beings as their source of livelihood. The business soon became dull as there was no more catch for them despite all their tries. With all these going on, Claire was still treated like a servant in her father's house by her stepmother and stepsister. One day, she saw a wolf that was injured in the garden. Thinking that it was an ordinary wolf, she took care of it and nursed it back to health. She befriended the wolf and was no longer a loner. One day, she found out that her father was going to sell her as a slave to pay off some of his debt, and she decided to run away. She got caught by her family and was beaten mercilessly. The wolf saw this and got angry, thereby transforming into a man. That was when everyone knew that he was a werewolf. The family thought that their lives would be settled if they killed the werewolf, but Claire would have none of it. She escaped with the werewolf, becoming an outcast among her family. Life tempted her and her wolf beyond what they could bear. But would they be victorious?

[WARNING STRONG MATURED CONTENTS] Beside me, I sensed his movement as he turned towards me, his eyes searching for mine. I purposely avoided meeting his gaze, instead focusing on calming my racing breath. But try as I might, my breath still trembled, betraying my inner turmoil. Despite my rapid blinking, a single tear escaped, making its way down my cheek. I heard the covers rustle as he shifted closer to me. His finger gently brushed against my face, capturing the tear. "I'm sorry, Hailey," his voice resonated in the dimly lit room, both deep and gentle. His touch was followed by a soft stroke through my brunette hair and a tender kiss on the crook of my neck. "I know this isn't what you wanted," he murmured, regret evident in his voice. "It doesn't matter," I replied quietly, my gaze still fixed on the ceiling. His apology felt like a stab to the heart, but I couldn't hold him responsible. Our circumstances were far beyond our control.Swallowing hard, I tried to push down the ache in my chest. "It was unavoidable, it isn't your fault," I muttered, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill. He sighed heavily, running a hand through his dark, tousled hair. His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I allowed my cheek to rest against his strong chest, finding some solace in his comforting presence. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat brought a sliver of comfort to my shattered emotions. "I wish I could have given you more time to get to know me before all of this," he confessed, a touch of bitterness seeping into his words. "But those old Elders insisted on sealing our union immediately."

Ava Sinclair is a respected lawyer well-known for her tenacity and sharp intellect, but when Roman Devereux—a dangerously charismatic billionaire hires her to defend him against charges of corporate spying, all her once-clear lines blur. Roman’s charm drags her into his dazzling world, but as Ava dives deeper into his case, she learns a stunning truth: Roman staged his arrest to manipulate her into helping him ruin her distanced mother’s empire. Heartbroken, Ava walks away, only to find herself caught in the crosshairs of Roman’s enemies. As her career and life collapse, Roman risks everything to protect her. Yet Ava isn’t pleased with being protected—she turns Roman’s own vicious techniques against his adversaries, proving her strength in a shocking act of payback. But when the dust settles, Ava must decide: can she forgive Roman, or will she destroy him and everything that comes with him to protect herself?