Favorite Vice

My younger twin sister, Emma Lawson, is everyone's favorite because she is sickly. A snowstorm traps us on the mountain and the rescue helicopter arrives with room for only one more. I have terminal cancer and am ready to let Emma take my place. Then she suddenly clutches her head and cries that she feels dizzy. My whole family rushes to her side and together they push her into the cabin. My husband, Leon Ziegler, touches my fractured arm and says, "Sarah, you'll have to wait for the next helicopter." My daughter, Daria Ziegler, even throws a snowball at me. "Aunt Emma is sicker than you. Stop trying to take her spot." Only when the helicopter takes off do I see Emma pressed against the window, smugly sticking her tongue out. She has been lying the whole time. When I am finally rescued, the doctors tell me I have three days left to live. I decide to trade everything I own for a small piece of my family's affection.

Sumire Massoullevè, is one of the highest-paid actresses and entitled the top 1 most beautiful woman in the world. The sole daughter of one of the richest business tycoons couple in the country, Sumire has been known for being stubborn and persistent since she was a little girl, she was glamorous yet dark. Born spoiled, Sumire gets everything that she wanted. Being an actress is one of her dreams but dejected by her parents, she still pursues it. Despite having everything she wants, Sumire felt completely unsatisfied. There are two things she greatly desired: One, to meet her favorite mysterious artist in the world of Arts who hides under the pseudonym of DEATH, known for painting high class abstract and tenebrism crime scene arts, an art she admires the most and had a hot night-stand with him. The second was to make the infamous Asexual Ruffian Boss, Mort Dmitriv Aslanov, fall for her. In her unswerving pursuit of the man, Sumire was lost and discovered the gritty world of mafias, crimes, and murders, the swarm of mobs and gangs. Is falling to the Heartless Mafia Boss worth regardless of the difference of their world that may lead her to her demise? Will love and lust collide?

I was setting up a weekend shopping list on the tablet my husband had just replaced for our home system. A notification popped up. He had forgotten to log out of a shared, encrypted family calendar— one I didn’t recognize. There was only one unfamiliar profile photo. I tapped it. A list titled “My Little Princess – Personal Notes” filled the screen. My Little Princess doesn’t drink alcohol—only mineral water or herbal tea. No late nights. She needs absolute quiet to sleep. She gets anxious easily—keep fresh white lilies in the house and her favorite vanilla chocolates on hand. I scrolled slowly, my expression unreadable. The final entry was bolded. Highlighted. “Next Wednesday: take my Little Princess to choose her wedding crown.” I closed the screen. Then I picked up my phone and called my husband. “Love,” I said gently. “Does your Little Princess prefer a classic European bridal crown… or something more traditional? I thought I could help you choose.”

The newly hired genius programmer was a proud woman who always thought she could turn the entire industry on its head. When an investor tried to pressure her into drinking, she flipped the table and slapped him across the face. "My worth is in my programming skills, not my ability to network. Asking me to drink with you is an insult." Enraged, Clint Warner immediately withdrew the eighty-million investment agreement. He even swore he would never work with us again. As the Head of Product, I scrambled to apologize. The situation was only salvaged after I drank so much that I ended up hospitalized. … Later, I complained to the boss and demanded that he discipline the new hire. To my shock, he dismissed the matter. "If the employee causes any problem, it's because the supervisor failed in their duty. The promised million-dollar dividend bonus is cancelled. Take this as your warning." Fed up, I wrote down Mary Hansen's name on the Counseling-Out List. She couldn't care less. "I have abilities you’ll never match, unlike a scheming bootlicker like you. If anyone tries to go after me, the project will be halted. Don't come crying to me when everything collapses." I did not argue with her then. However, when the Counseling-Out List was announced, I found my own name on it. The boss claimed it was a mistake to force me to leave. Then he promoted Mary to my position and even granted her the authority of a vice president. "You were only great because of the company's support. Mary's not the same. She's young and truly talented. She’ll lead us to greater heights." With a cold smirk on my face, I made my way to our competitor, taking the crucial piece of our company's technology with me.

When my CEO wife, Nina Wynn, learned I voluntarily handed a multimillion-dollar project to her favorite assistant, Zach Channing, she thought her three-month cold treatment finally worked. Beaming, she suddenly suggested we fly to Ivesland for our long-delayed honeymoon. When Zach found out, he became jealous and threatened to quit. Panicked, she spent three days and nights comforting him, then canceled our honeymoon again with the excuse of a business trip, giving him my ticket instead. Later, she casually explained to me, "Romance is trivial. Work comes first. As the boss, I have to prioritize. You’re my husband; you should understand." I looked at Zach’s latest social post, which was a photo of the two of them leaning intimately with their hands forming a heart, and said nothing. I only nod. Thinking I’d become more thoughtful and obedient, she was pleased. She even promised to make it up to me with a more romantic honeymoon when they got back home. However, unbeknownst to her, I’d already resigned. The divorce papers were already signed, and there was no future for us ever again.

Part OneFirefighter Kristi Gregory was just enjoying an evening off in everyone’s favorite hangout, sipping her beer, when hot cop Patrick Hayes walked in. They’d just worked a disaster together that very day, and he was not only professional but one very hot cop. Patrick had eyes on Kristi but was still trying to prove himself at his new precinct. But when danger brings a sexy firefighter and a hot cop together, it’s incendiary.Part TwoMisa turned hot and bothered when sexy firefighter Sam Braddock moved into the house next door. she could hardly get him out of her mind. Who wouldn’t want to do everything with a six-foot-four blond hunk with sculpted muscles that didn’t come from any gym, and a smile that made her panties wet? He was the stuff any woman’s dreams were made of. And she had a problem. And she wanted to have hot, sweaty, off-the-wall sex with her neighbor, king of the alphas. When he agreed to be interviewed for hew newspaper, neither of them expected the hot inferno that would explode between them.Incendiary is created by Desiree Holt, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Mary Anne Monferrer was a rebellious daughter of the sinking empire facing bankruptcy which was the Monferrer Hotels. She lived a cruel life with her family, and was treated like an outcast. Her parents were heartless, and wanted her to taste their wrath as they blamed her in the death of their favorite daughter. She was forced to be sold, and was soon to be the sixth wife of Señor Adolfo Gutuangco, an old pervert man that used his power as a Billionaire to taste and impregnate every virgin woman that he wanted. Her parents wanted her to be their scapegoat just to save themselves and their sinking empire in the scandal and bankruptcy. She didn’t agree with what her manipulative parents wanted. They should be the one who needed to deal with their own dilemma. With that, she ran away from hell, and let herself be drunk in Arum to forget her miseries and pain in the family. She even shamelessly seduced a stranger that caught her attention, and asked to have sex. However, the heated one-night stand Mary Anne shared with the hot stranger would make accidentally pregnant with his babies. And little did she know that her world turned upside down, because the man that devirginized her was Daxton Delvecchio, a Multi-Billionaire that had a dark secret for being a Mafia Boss.

Rampage Kirk Boeneville, is a ruthless assassin and monarch-slayer hidden in the identity of the surname 'Berlouz'. He seeks revenge after the death of his beloved grandparents and mother who was bearing his sibling. He spent his life following the orders of his menace father, the embodiment of Satan. He was his father's favorite and his heir, but he loathes him because he was nothing but just his mere puppet. He then met Agape whom she said even a devil deserves to be loved and that she was even willing to love one for she wants someone like Hades. It gave him hope, he grew up in need of love, affection, and care. Alentis Agape Stravos, or also known as Agape Clive, flew off from Greece to the Philippines to distance herself from her strict father. She was the sweetest and the kindest, but touch her cake and you will meet the worst. She seeks true love that she never felt for years since the death of her mother. She met Rampage by accident, mistaken him as a PWD. She has the softest heart and cries easily over little things. And innocent. "We were just friends," they said to them. But with benefits.

After Hours A Small-Town Forbidden Romance Alli never meant to fall for him. Eighteen, freshly graduated, and slinging drinks at the town’s no-frills dive bar, she was just looking for a paycheck and a way out of her quiet life. But then Johnny started showing up—twenty-five, devastatingly handsome, and haunted by more than just his late-night whiskey. Everyone knows Johnny. The town's favorite bad decision. A brooding mechanic with blue eyes that burn and a reputation tangled up with Layla, the town’s resident scandal—and someone else's wife. But when Alli catches Johnny’s gaze from across the bar, something ignites. Something forbidden. Something explosive. What starts as subtle glances and lingering stares turns into late-night texts, a kiss that ruins them both, and a fire that neither of them can put out. Just when Alli begins to believe there might be more between them, Layla drops a bomb: she’s pregnant. Now, Alli must face the truth—was she just a distraction? Or is Johnny just as trapped in his past as she fears? In a town where everyone talks and secrets are currency, love after hours might be the most dangerous thing of all.

I, Celine Walsh, and my dear sister, Caroline Walsh, became Pregnancy Maidens, who were fertile for merfolk, through the ingestion of special elixirs. We were betrothed to the merfolks through a political marriage. In my previous life, I had chosen a silver-finned merman who was powerfully built, but rough on the eyes. With him, I gave birth to several black-finned mer-children that were prized pedigree. Through them, I was elevated to the status of Crown Princess, enjoying a life of luxury and a prolonged lifespan of several centuries. Meanwhile, Caroline, who picked the purple-finned merman only ever gave birth to red-finned mer-children, which was considered the lowest of lows. For that, she became the laughingstock of the merfolk. Driven to madness by her jealousy, she took my inner pearl, turned me into minced meat and fed me to the fishes. When I finally opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day of my wedding. This time, Caroline quickly chose the silver-finned merman without any hesitation. Unbeknownst to her, rising to power through her children was not as easy as she had imagined. The silver-finned merman was a promiscuous and depraved one, the very embodiment of cruelty. His favorite activity? Torturing a pregnant lady…