Glass Sneakers

The air in the Parisian haute couture salon smelled like money and fear. I’d waited six months for my wedding dress. Now, it was draped over the shoulders of Sofia Ross—the trending influencer, and my mafia fiancé Vincent Cassio’s god-sister. The salon manager was sweating bullets, his eyes darting between me and the man lounging on the velvet sofa. Vincent Cassio stood up. He adjusted a fold of the diamond-encrusted train on Sofia with a casual flick of his wrist. “Her premiere next week needs a statement piece. She’s borrowing it. Pick something off the rack and stop making a scene.” His tone was flat, final. Under the crystal chandeliers, Sofia admired herself in the full-length mirror, a triumphant smile on her lips. I looked at my reflection in the same mirror, wearing jeans and a soaked trench coat. I looked like a lost tourist. Suddenly, the entire past year of planning felt like a sick joke. I didn’t yell. I just felt cold. Numb. I slipped the five-carat engagement ring off my finger. It hit the glass coffee table with a sharp, final click. “You’re right, Vincent. I don’t need this wedding dress. This wedding… I don’t need it either.”

"Skin once broken ,can never be the same. Just like hearts once betrayed, struggle to beat again." ................................................... A broken piece of glass, a shattered heart. Was all that could define Ethan Lockwood's past. The heir to one of the biggest estates in the country, the most eligible bachelor as the tabloids said. With persona cold as ice and presence authoritative and terrifying ,he was making sure to not let anyone come close to him. Not giving anyone the right over him. Until he met her again. By hands of fate, the very girl he despised more than anything. The girl behind everything. But. What if the girl was no longer that beautiful confident rich man's daughter now? What if behind her beautiful smile she veil's a ugliness that made her insecure every night. What if she has been already punished in the worst way which resembled a nightmare. What if she was scarred beyond repair. Will he be able to see beyond her fascade? Does he have it in him to forgive her after everything? Circumstances change, people change and stereotypes break. But what remains is the beauty that lies within. And that's when my friends the journey of 'his not so beautiful wife 2 begins. *Could be read as a stand alone.

Five years ago, Elara Thorne died in a wreckage of twisted metal and flames. Or so the world believed. In reality, she was running from the powerful Vance family who wanted her erased, and running from Julian Vance, the man who had shattered her heart before she could even tell him she was carrying his twins. Now, Elara is a shadow in the city, a mother living on the edge of survival. But the "Ice King" of New York has a long memory and even longer reach. When Julian catches a glimpse of a familiar face at an elite gala, his world of cold calculation turns into a furnace of obsession. He doesn't find a grieving ex-lover. He finds a woman who has become a lioness, and two children who are the perfect, sapphire-eyed images of himself. Julian doesn’t ask for forgiveness. He demands a debt. He drags Elara from the gutters of Brooklyn into the heights of his glass palace, forcing her into a Marriage of Convenience. He wants his heirs. He wants his revenge. And most of all, he wants to possess the woman who dared to make a fool of him. But Julian has forgotten one thing: a woman who has already survived death has nothing left to fear. As Elara steps back into the world of the elite, she isn't there to play the dutiful wife. She is a Trojan horse in a red silk dress, ready to dismantle the Vance empire from within.

Could there be anything more painful than witnessing how your best friend and your boyfriend pleasure in each other's company? That's exactly what Summer Hilton experienced when, from a mission, she accidentally found herself against the glass wall of the unit occupied by her unfaithful boyfriend and her bestfriend Wilma. Summer was born with a golden spoon in her mouth and she is princess of the Hilton’s family. Admired and envied by everyone for possessing all the good qualities, including excessive self-confidence, but in a moment, all of that vanished due to the betrayal of two precious people in her life. Hans Zimmer, a successful Hollywood actor, became entangled in a complex situation. Admired by Summer, she took a bold step to get to know him and surprised everyone with a marriage contract. Three months later, as Hans prepared to marry Scarlett, he discovered he was already married into another woman, leading to Scarlett's decision to separate. Hanz searched for his wife named Summer but was dismayed to find in front of him the plus size fan he encountered before. “Love me in three months, and I will give you back your freedom." This was the condition set by his wife, who treated him colder than ice. What if Summer completely falls for her idol, who is now her husband? Will she still be able to give up the freedom he's asking for? Or will she let her heart suffer once again for the second time?"

Roses are red, tequila hits hard, and I danced like I owned the damn night. Now? Everything’s a hot mess. Emily Hart just landed the dream job, personal secretary to the sinfully rich, dangerously fine CEO of Steele Empire. So naturally, she did what any girl with a fat offer letter and a killer dress would do: hit the club, danced like a vixen, and threw back shots until reality blurred and pleasure took the wheel. That’s when he happened. Dominic Steele. Billionaire boss. Ruthless in the boardroom. Untamed in the bedroom. He saw her, hips swaying, lips smirking, black dress clinging like a second skin, and he didn’t ask for a name. He just took. One night. One filthy, breathless, back-arching night. No promises. No names. Just raw heat and moans that echoed past midnight. Until Monday morning happened. Now, the man who made her beg without words is standing behind a glass desk in a tailored suit, And she’s the new secretary who can’t look him in the eye without remembering how he made her scream. She thinks he’s cocky as hell. He thinks she’s the sweetest kind of chaos. But when a missed period makes an unexpected appearance, it’s no longer just business. It’s Daddy, please……. with a whole lot of tension, temptation, and trouble in between.

It was Hana Verlice’s engagement party — but the only thing she could think about was that night six months ago. The night Dante Carter pinned her against the backseat window of his car,cheeks pressed to the glass, her dress lifted to her waists, with his mouth buried between her legs. Now, she was hours away from marrying his older brother. Elijah Osborne Carter — the perfect man, heir to Osborne Pharmaceuticals, and her father’s last hope of saving their crumbling empire. But as she slipped into her designer dress, her mind couldn't stop thinking about the one man she could never have. Dante. The mistake she was supposed to forget. The temptation she swore never to touch again. The younger brother who disappeared after that night and was never supposed to come back. But as she stepped out of her dressing room to join her soon-to-be husband at the party, there he was. Leaning at the foot of the stairs like raw sin. Messy hair. Dark eyes. That cocky mouth that once had her moaning his name in ecstacy. Her pulse quickened as her knees threatened to give out. She tried to breathe. To stay still. But one look at him… and she knew she was in trouble. “What the hell are you doing here?” she whispered, her voice barely holding. He smirked, slow and knowing as his gaze dropped shamelessly to her lips. “Did you miss me, cookie?”

"Why would you try to hurt her?" Victor shouted back. His voice was cold towards me, as he held onto Lily's hand. "So you're just going to believe her over your own wife?!" I fired back. Victor ignored my words and drew his attention to Lily and the broken glass. I watched as he carefully collected the pieces and threw them away. "Are you hurt anywhere? Did the glass get you?" Victor asked softly, giving her hand a light squeeze. "No, no. I'm okay now that you're here." Lily's smile was small. "Please don't leave me alone with her again..." **** I, Emelia Russo, once thought I was a woman who had it all—a successful career, and a loving husband. But when a "childhood friend" by the name of Lily Marino re-enters my husband's life, everything takes a turn for the worse. All of a sudden, my once faithful and loyal Victor was lying for her, favoring her, and trusting her word over mine. I became the outsider in my own marriage. When I finally had enough of his secrets and mistreatment of me and called for a divorce, he begged me to stay. "Please, let's go back to how the way things used to be! I'm begging you! Don't leave me!" Victor pleaded. But what happens when I tell him "It's too late."?

At our daughter’s three-month milestone party, my husband Garrett’s so-called "best friend" publicly humiliated me. “Hey, Vivian. I heard you're a little loose down there after popping out the kid.” "If it's that bad, you better get some tightening surgery quick—don't wanna mess up your marriage vibes!" Garrett shot her a playful glare and snapped, "Knock it off, Scarlett! You can't just say whatever pops into your head." Then he turned to me with a breezy shrug. "She's just like that—total tomboy. We grew up together; she means no harm." Scarlett shook her half-exposed breast and pouted, "Oh, come on, don't take it personally, Vivian. Honestly, I'm kind of jealous of you." "See, my problem is the opposite. I'm way too tight—hurts like hell during my period. No clue who's gonna get lucky with this later." Then she cut her eyes toward Garrett with a playful wink. " Oh right, you've tried it before, haven't you?" The room went dead silent. Every pair of eyes drifted toward me, barely concealing their curiosity. I smiled, set down my wine glass, and looked at Scarlett with fake concern. "That's strange. I don't remember making it that tight when I did your surgery."

One keystroke can dismantle an empire. One touch can burn it all down. Zlliot “Zli” Lukeson is known as The Ledger. A forensic accountant for the elite Camelot Unit, he doesn’t kill with bullets—he kills with bank accounts. Driven by the cold, jagged memory of his sister’s execution, he’s spent years tracking the blood money of the Crimson Dragons. He’s calculated every move, accounted for every risk, and prepared for every variable. Except for Ronan Hwan. Ronan is the Syndicate’s crown prince—a brilliant, rebellious lion drowning in the shadow of his ruthless matriarch mother. He’s hedonistic, sharp-edged, and plagued by a pain only power can numb. When a mysterious, observant stranger named "Mike" walks into his nightclub, Ron doesn't just see a conquest; he sees a challenge he’s been craving his entire life. What starts as a lethal game of cat-and-mouse in a New York penthouse spirals into a volatile collision of grappling, shattered glass, and forbidden heat. Zli is there to steal Ron’s secrets; Ron is determined to keep the man who tried to kill him. Now, trapped between a vengeful agency and a possessive mafia heir, Zli must decide: is he the predator, or has he finally met the man who will put him in a gilded cage? In the city of New York, the numbers always balance. But when vengeance meets obsession, the cost is more than either man can afford to pay.

As I head to see my boyfriend, Howard Schultz, who is working late, I get into a car accident. I call him dozens of times for help, but he doesn't answer a single one. Staring at his brightly lit office building not far away, I sink into despair. When I wake up in the hospital, I see a post from his subordinate. It's a picture showing the reflection of the two of them in the glass door, standing far closer than they should, with the caption, "What do I do when my boss is scolding me late at night?" Unwilling to believe it, I call him again. This time, he finally answers. My voice trembles. "Howard, I got into a car accident…" "Celine, I'm still working. I'll send my assistant to take care of it, okay? Be good. I'll see you after I come back from my business trip." I try to say more, but his angry shout suddenly cuts through the line. "Crystal Jennings! You're only allowed to bring one suitcase for this trip. Why do you have three? Do you think we're going on vacation?" Crystal Jennings—the new intern Howard just hired. I stare at the disconnected call, tears drying on my cheeks. I then call my parents instead. "I agree to the engagement you arranged."