Fish In The Water

Viviene's peaceful morning walk was ruined when a speeding black car splashes muddy water all over her. I glared at the back of the car while cursing it on my mind. Hindi man lang huminto ang sasakyan! Nagpatuloy lang ito. I quickly memorized it's plate number. Naiinis kong pinunasan ang t-shirt na nadumihan dahil sa nangyari. My peaceful morning was ruined because of that car! Just wait! I'll ruin you! Inis akong umuwi ng bahay. I walked slowly when I saw the car from earlier. It was parked in front of our house! I smirked. Makakabawi na rin ako sa wakas. Nilibot ko ang tingin ko sa paligid hanggang sa may nahagip akong putik sa may gilid. "Kung sinuswerte ka nga naman" saad ko sa aking sarili habang naglalakad patungo sa putik. I winced in disgust while scooping the mud. Agad kong pinunas sa sasakyan ang mga kinuha kong putik. I made sure na malalagyan ko ang harap. Pansin ko ang pagtingin ng mga taong napapadaan pero pinabayaan ko lang sila. I walked inside our house, only to find my brother's friend—Devin Raleigh Carter, the owner of the car that splashed mud all over my shirt.

My fiance, Simon Rossi, is a mafia Don with a reputation for brutality. He suddenly takes in an orphan girl and spoils her rotten. He names her Giara, saying she's pure, like a beam of light. But that is the name he has promised for our future daughter. He thinks he's hidden it well. But the night before our engagement party, I notice his cufflinks. The ruby ones I gave him are replaced with cheap plastic cartoon cats. I don't believe he's really cheating, so I abduct Giara to get answers without hurting her. Then Simon bursts in with his men. 50 people die, and three armories go up in flames. "Ivina Coleo, consider this a lesson. But don't worry. I'll send her away. Remember, this is the first time you touch her, and the last." But at the engagement party, Giara sits with Simon's parents, smiling right at me. The sight sparks a fury I can't control. I lunge forward, determined to send her away myself. Simon tells Giara to leave, coaxing me through the ceremony. But that night, he binds my limbs with stones and sinks me into the sea. "I told you that was the last time." Cold water fills my lungs. When I open my eyes again, I'm back on the day I first abducted Giara. This time, I don't want Simon or the wedding anymore.

Blurb The downpour washed the dark alleys of Ole Keating Village like Jupiter is wrathful towards the small town. Every time the lightning slashes the skies sending frightening thunders everywhere, the little boy’s strides become faster. “You’ve got nowhere to run, boy.” He harshly covered his ears just to get away from the taunting voice. The heavy rain somehow managed to wipe the blood from his body yet the pain unrelenting to grow. He fell on his knees resulting in another painful and ugly scratch to bleed. He looks like a beaten rag. He hasn’t eaten for days and the fearsome encounter he just escapes didn’t guarantee his safety. Even limping, he tried to get on his feet just to stumble and fall on the cold, hard ground again. A loud sound of the honking car filled his ears as the blinding light approaches closer. Surrendering, he lied flat on the ground wishing the pain finally ends. Sounds of boots slapping the water from the road come into his senses but he’s too weak to care. Someone’s checking on him but all that he can think of right now is the girl she left alone in the old warehouse. “S-save her…” he mumbled, tasting blood in his mouth, “Please save her.” The darkness pulled him and he finally gave in.

A sharp bang on the door made him jump. "Open the door, Sawyer. I know you're there, I saw you. Come on, sweetheart," Daniel cooed through the closed door. Sawyer's heart fluttered at that endearment. Hearing Daniel's voice again was like cool water running down his sweaty back – refreshing, energizing. He felt the intense kicking in his stomach stop as though the baby was listening as Daniel tried to talk him to come out. I'm so sorry, child. Your father...doesn't know what he's doing. He doesn't belong in our lives. It's always going to be you and me. Sawyer bit his bottom lip at how selfish his thoughts were. God, had it really come down to this? "I'm so sorry, Dan but I'm not who you think I am. You don't deserve an idiot like me. Please, go home. We have nothing to talk about." "See? You're disturbing us. He doesn't want to talk to you. Let him be," He heard Maddie say. Sawyer exhaled at the silence that followed, thinking that Daniel had deeded his words and left. But Daniel spoke again, a slight edge of command in his voice. "No, Sawyer. You're not a fool. Listen, can you at least open up so we could sort things out, just the two of us."

I had taken leave from the sealed research institute where I'd been confined for six years, just so I could attend my daughter's kindergarten graduation. The moment I stepped through the gates, I froze. A woman holding a little boy by the hand was shoving my daughter, Amy, straight into the gutter. She slapped Amy across the face, then sneered for everyone to hear, spitting venom as she called my little girl a filthy wretch. Drenched in filthy water, Amy dropped to her knees before the woman, trembling in humiliation. Rage burned through me. I stormed forward and slapped the woman across the face. But instead of shame, she jabbed a finger at my nose and shouted, "Do you even know who I am? To offend me is to offend the entire Grant family!" Tears welled in Amy's eyes as she tugged at my sleeve, pleading in a choked voice, "Please leave… she's my dad's nanny. My dad will punish you if you hurt her." The woman planted herself in front of me, her arrogance towering. "The Grant family rules this city. You think you can run from us?" For a brief moment, I stood stunned, then calmly pulled out my phone and dialed my husband. "Your nanny says you run Bexley City. Well, I think that's about to change."

Vanessa Davis never imagined her life would lead to Dusty Creek, Texas. A city girl scarred by her mother’s abandonment, she buried the pain—until a letter from the woman who vanished begs for a second chance. Reluctantly, Vanessa heads to the small town, only to find herself stranded on a desolate road. Enter Colton Hayes—rancher, alpha wolf, and everything she’s tried to avoid. With a piercing gaze that sees through her, he offers her a place at Silver Ridge Ranch while her car is repaired. As Vanessa adjusts to life in Dusty Creek, she discovers her mother’s plea hides a darker secret—her new family desperately needs something only she can provide. Hurt and angry, Vanessa plans to leave, but uncovering the town’s poisoned water supply reignites her investigative instincts. Determined to find the truth, she digs deeper, realizing the corruption runs further than expected—and Silver Ridge Ranch may hold the key to saving the town. Colton has his own battles, torn between protecting his pack and keeping his heart guarded. Trusting Vanessa could destroy everything he’s worked to protect. Yet, under the Texas moon, their connection sparks with undeniable energy, pulling them closer despite the dangers. Vanessa must decide: will she risk everything for a future in Dusty Creek, or will the secrets they uncover tear them apart before they have a chance?

To scrape together my mother's surgery money, I worked myself to the bone at this company for three straight years. My performance was always number one. By myself, I supported half the sales department. Then, a newly hired HR director decided every desk needed an AI camera, claiming it was to optimize efficiency. Every blink, every breath I took was measured and calculated by the system. "Warning. Employee Nathan Gray blinked more than twenty times within one minute. Mental distraction detected. Fine: 50." "Warning. Employee Nathan Gray took 3.5 seconds to drink water, exceeding the standard by 1.5 seconds. Slacking detected. Fine: 100." "Warning. Employee Nathan Gray's mouth corners drooped for over thirty seconds. Suspected spread of negative emotion. Fine: 200." The most ridiculous part was the way he stood in front of the entire department, pointing proudly at my data on the giant screen. "See that?" he said smugly. "This is the power of technology. In front of AI, you lazy freeloaders have nowhere to hide. Nathan, your bonus for this month has already been wiped out by the system. If you don't like it, get lost. Plenty of people are lining up to take your place." What he didn't know was that the AI system he trusted so blindly had its core code written by me. Tonight, I was going to show him what happened when he angered the one who built the machine.

Recently orphaned Meara discovers an entirely different world beyond the human realm she grew up in. Following the death of her foster mother, Meara is guided by her spirit animal, Merilla, through a magical portal hidden in the forest. On the other side lies the enchanted kingdom of Valtor, where inhabitants wield the elemental powers of water, fire, earth, and air. Upon entering Valtor, Meara learns a shocking truth: she is the fated mate of the powerful Elemental King, Kaden. Tasked with accepting a mating a mating bond she initially resists, Meara must tame Kaden’s dragon form, which threatens to consume him with darkness. Her mission is to dent and unlock his humanity once more and prevent him from becoming an eternal dragon that could destroy their kingdom. To do so, she must tame Kaden and bond with him or risks being lost to his dragon form forever. Their journey is fraught with challenges, as Meara struggles with the overwhelming responsibility for her newfound role. She learns to harness her own extraordinary powers, including the rare magic FrostFire, which holds the key to breaking the curse. The bond between Meara and Kaden grows stronger as they face danger together, from internal struggles with their own fears and doubts to external threats from those who wish to see Kaden and Meara fall. With their bond now unbreakable, Meara and Kaden prepare to wield her Magic, FrostFire, to shatter the ancient curse placed by her ancestor on the dragon-slaying king of Dravonia. Together, they strive to bring salvation to the innocent lives trapped in the kingdom’s grasp and restore peace to their world.

My twin sister Elena and I were mated to the Alpha twins. Only the first pup born between my sister and me would become the pack’s Alpha heir. My sister got pregnant a month before me and she was supposed to give birth to the heir first, but I went into labor prematurely a month early. But when I was about to give birth, I chose to sit in a chamber filled with special potions that suppresses contractions. Because in my previous life, my Alpha mate Marcus had dragged me into wolfsbane-laced water to delay my labor. In the end, both my pup and I had died there. The agony had been unbearable. I'd sobbed and pleaded, begging him to explain why he was doing this to me. But he'd ignored my cries completely. All he cared about was rushing Elena to the pack's birthing den. "My brother Gabriel died saving my life," he'd snarled at me then. "The only way to honor that blood debt is to ensure his child becomes the pack heir. You can resent Elena all you want on any other day, but not today. Just hold on a little longer." "This is a special potion. You'll be safe and sound. Trust me!" Safe？ I'd suffered in that basement chamber for an entire day and night. My child suffocated in my womb while the wolfsbane poisoning consumed me. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day of my labor. This time, I have to save myself.

“This means nothing!” I warned as I kissed Richard passionately. He chuckled darkly against my lips as he pressed me against the wall. “I'll make you belong to me, Lexi,” No, you…” I didn't finish my sentence before he crashed his lips on mine, kissing me like he was thirsty and I was his only water supply Lexi Cameron despises Valentine's Day. After a string of heartbreaks and betrayals—each tied to the holiday—she has sworn off love. But when her meddling friends book her a date through a Valentine’s escort service, her plans for a quiet, uneventful day are upended. Enter Richard Whitewood: handsome, charming, and carrying secrets of his own. What starts out as an awkward arrangement quickly spirals into a night of unexpected passion. But the next day, Lexi's world is turned upside down when she discovers that Richard wasn't what he said he was. He is her new boss and the CEO of a billion dollar company. Caught between her need for a job and her intense attraction to Richard, and the tangled web of lies, ex wife and family betrayal surrounding him, Lexi must navigate a path tapered with danger and desire. As their personal lives and professional lives collide, their connection deepens but not without a cost. When enemies conspire to tear them apart and Lexi's life is put in jeopardy, Richard must risk everything to protect the woman he loves. Can their love survive the weight of secrets, betrayal and dangerous family feud? Find out on Billionaire Valentine Escort