Guilt-tripping

TRIGGER WARNINGS ️ This is a dark romance, it contains explicit sexual and violent content with morally grey characters that will make you consider ripping your hair out. *** Gabriella Leone is the illegitimate daughter of the Don of the third most powerful Italian mafia clan—a truth that makes her both protected and despised. Though she is her father’s favorite, it does nothing to shield her from the cruelty of her stepmother and sister. After years of quiet suffering, Gabriella is finally exiled from the Leone family and erased from the world she was born into. Five years later, she rises to the top of the music industry, building a life far from violence, fear and secrecy. As alliances weaken and war looms within the Italian underworld, Marco Vitale emerges as the unseen force controlling the syndicate. Ruthless, calculating, and dangerously obsessed, Marco has spent years protecting Gabriella from the shadows, bound to her by guilt, secrets, and a past soaked in blood. On the night of her first concert, Gabriella becomes the target of her father’s enemies. Marco intervenes personally, shattering the distance he once swore to maintain. Gabriella never intended to fall for a made man, but every secret meeting, every stolen moment, every heated encounter with Marco Vitale chips away at her defenses. Drawn into a love built on secrecy and obsession, she soon learns that the most dangerous thing about Marco isn’t his power… it’s what loving him will cost her.

He gently laid her on the bed, taking in the sight of her beauty. The glow on her face, the innocence of her eyes, and the scent of her perfume made him feel like the luckiest man in the world. He leaned down and kissed her lips softly, before deepening the kiss and letting his hands roam her body. "Tell me what you are planning to steal next; from now on, I will buy them in large quantities." He whispered seductively into her ears. ********* Despite his immense wealth and successes, Gerald is discontent with his life until he meets Hazel. Drawn to her intriguing and impulsive nature, Gerald findshimself falling head over heels for the enigmatic Kleptomaniac. However, their starkly different worlds are bound to collide as Gerald grapples with the reality of Hazel's tendency to steal and the consequences that come with it. As theirhimself falling for her, even though she has a secret - she's a kleptomaniac. As they navigate the challenges of their unconventional relationship, Gerald must come to terms with how his love for Hazel clashes with his structured, ordered lifestyle. Meanwhile, Hazel grapples with her own guilt and the fear of losing the man she's come to love so deeply. Can their love survive their differences, or will Hazel's compulsions tear them apart? In this captivating novel, MR. BILLIONAIRE'S OBSESSION, explores the complexities of love, wealth, and identity in a gripping story that will leave you breathless until the very end.

Valentina never meant to cross the line. She was just Sofia’s best friend always welcome in their luxurious villa, always laughing at Sofia’s jokes, always stealing glances at the one man she knew she could never have. Luca Moretti. Sofia’s father. Older, powerful, dangerously magnetic. One forbidden night, a single brush of his thumb across her lip shattered every rule she’d sworn to keep. What started as stolen touches and whispered confessions quickly spiraled into something neither could control. His hands claimed her in the dark, his voice called her “good girl” while guilt tore her apart, and every stolen moment felt like fire she couldn’t extinguish. But desire like this doesn’t stay hidden. When Sofia discovers the truth, betrayal cuts deeper than any blade. Friendships fracture. Family bonds break. And the two people who risked everything for each other are left standing in the ashes of what they destroyed. Now Valentina must decide: walk away from the only man who ever made her feel truly alive… or burn everything down to keep him. Because some love is worth the ruin. And some ruin never felt this good. 18+ | Explicit content | Forbidden age-gap romance | Taboo desire | Emotional angst | Slow-burn tension | Possessive MMC | Family betrayal

At the Hunting Festival, Cynthia Whitefang flashes a stack of cash and demands that my mate, Simon Fenwick, become her bodyguard. "Just accept it, Layla." Simon flashes his fangs and tells Cynthia to get lost in a rude tone. Our son, Noah Fenwick, who's chronically poisoned by silver, waves his fists angrily as well to chase Cynthia away. But I just stare at the stack of cash quietly. Memories of a conversation I had overheard last week surge into my mind at that moment. That time, Noah was tugging at the hem of Simon's shirt while standing under a tree. "Daddy, can I keep pretending to be poisoned? That way, Mommy will keep giving me money to treat my poison. I wanna buy gifts for Cynthia!" he said coquettishly. Simon had replied dotingly, "Of course! But you must remember to never tell Mommy that I'm not hurt. Only when she's filled with guilt will she love us forever." It turns out that my husband is faking his injury, while my son is faking being poisoned. They've played me like a fiddle the whole time. I, on the other hand, have to risk my life time and again to earn money just to treat their imaginary illness and wounds. To think that all of my earnings are used on pleasing another she-wolf… I raise my head, soon meeting Cynthia's confident gaze. "Okay. You can have him."

Brielle Hartley swore she’d never return to Willow Creek, the small town packed with too many memories and one infuriating man she hoped to forget. But when her mother needs help, Brielle is forced back home—only to discover that the first person she runs into is the last man she ever wanted to see: Jaxon Reed, the boy who spent their senior year getting under her skin…and apparently still has the talent. Now older, broader, and annoyingly irresistible,Jaxon has become a respected volunteer in the community. But he hasn’t changed his habit of poking at Brielle’s nerves. Their reunion strikes immediate sparks some angry, some dangerously magnetic. What begins as avoidance turns into constant collisions: at the farmers market, around town, and eventually at the community garden project they’re roped into running together. With every stubborn argument and every unexpected moment of softness, the walls between them weaken. Tension turns into chemistry, chemistry into longing, and longing into something neither of them wants to admit. As Brielle fights the pull she feels toward the man she once despised, Jaxon battles with the guilt of the past and the fear that he’s already blown his second chance. What they don’t realize is that the very history that pushed them apart may be the key to bringing them together. Enemies? Absolutely. Attraction? Undeniable. Love? Inevitable…if they’re brave enough to take it.

Elysia had loved Orion for ten years, watching from the shadows as he chased after someone else. Their contract marriage was supposed to be temporary—a favor for family, a mask for the public—but a year of shared mornings, quiet dinners, and unspoken tenderness made her believe maybe, just maybe, he had chosen her. Then the woman he never stopped loving came back. And in less than 24 hours, he handed Elysia the divorce papers. No warning. No hesitation. She didn’t beg. She signed and walked out of the home she helped build—quietly carrying the child he never asked for. But secrets don’t stay buried. When Orion finds out she’s pregnant, his world doesn’t crack—it detonates. The woman he thought he could cast aside… is the one now slipping through his fingers. “You erased me like I never existed.” her voice was calm, eyes distant. It broke him. “Because I thought you’d always be there.” She sighed. "I havr someone who looks at me and really sees me now. You can leave." Now, it’s not just about love—it’s about guilt, consequences, and Orion chasing trying to win Elysia back after she finally stopped waiting. Will she forgive him or move on with her new lover?

She needs money. He wants sex. Circumstances threw them in each other's arms. Thus, a battle began. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The girl turned and ran away with the guy running after her. The other girl smirked at the scene. Once again, mission complete. But then again, failure's not in her vocabulary. The girl looked at herself in the mirror. A lazy smirk curved her lips once again. Who would have thought that her face would serve as a ticket to her dream, to a life she never had? Who would have thought indeed when before, she hated her face? She hated her beautiful cursed face for always causing her troubles. But now, she was appreciating it. Her face helped her break those hearts and ruin all those relationships. Just a few more hearts to break and a few more relationships for her to ruin and she will finally be off the hook. Does the word GUILT bother her at all? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If she would think of others first before herself, she won't survive at all. She won't be able to eat, to have a place to live in, to buy clothes or to finance her education. Life taught her that. Life taught her to put herself first before anything or anyone else. Selfishness it is, true. But it is also selfishness that made her survive life. That's Hazel Wyatt – a working college student. Occupation? She's a home wrecker for rent.

I was ten years old when I lost my hearing saving Adrian Falcone's life. After that, I couldn't survive without my hearing aids. He held my hand afterward, his eyes red-rimmed with guilt, and made me a promise in front of his entire family. "Serena Lombardi, I'll protect you with my life," he said. "I'll marry you." But when I turned eighteen, everything changed. Adrian needed to pass some test set by Daniela Moretti—the daughter of a rival family—and he chose the cruelest way to prove himself. He ripped the hearing aids from my ears in front of everyone and laughed. "You're just a deaf, useless burden," he said, his voice cold and cutting. "I've been sick of you for years. Honestly? I wish you'd died in that explosion when we were ten and saved me the trouble." I gripped the rehabilitation report the doctor had just handed me, and my fingers crushed the paper's edges. The diagnosis was precise—my hearing had fully recovered. That night, I burned my hearing aids and convinced my parents to cut all ties with the Falcone family. Adrian Falcone, we're done. Whatever we had, whatever you owed me—it's over now.

On the day of the company's annual gala, I quit my job and went back to the countryside, using up all my savings to help my best friend raise her daughter. She had died tragically, swept away by the river while trying to retrieve my hundred-million-dollar gala prize ticket that had fallen into the water. Wracked with guilt, I honored her dying wish and married her husband. After the wedding, I sold my blood and even a kidney just to make ends meet, raising my stepdaughter with everything I had. Eventually, she fulfilled her dream of winning the Best Actress Award and was about to marry the richest man in the country. But just as I was preparing to give a speech at her wedding, I saw my best friend, who had been dead for over a decade. She clutched my stepdaughter's hand and accused me of being a homewrecker who seduced her husband, and even claimed I had been the one who pushed her into the river all those years ago. Only then did I learn the truth—she had faked her death all those years ago, just to steal my prize ticket and travel the world, leaving me behind to raise her family. The shock sent me into a cerebral hemorrhage. When I opened my eyes again, I had gone back to the day she drowned.

When my father asked me to choose between the two Lewis brothers I had grown up with to get married to, I chose Joseph Lewis. He was the man I had secretly loved for 13 years. But on the day of our wedding, his stepsister, Jessica Lewis, leaped off the rooftop of the hotel. She left behind a letter written in blood, blessing Joseph and me with a lifetime of love and happiness. It was only then that I learned that the two of them had been secretly in love for years. At the wedding, Joseph lost control in front of everyone, declaring that he would no longer be concerned with any worldly affairs. I was left standing helplessly in place. For the rest of his life, he lived in guilt, keeping vigil beside Jessica's grave. I resented his deceit, yet stubbornly clung to our marriage, and we tormented each other for years. This went on until we were kidnapped one day. To save me, he perished together with the kidnappers. Before he died, he looked at me and said, "Evelyn, it was wrong of me to keep it from you. But now that both Jessica and I are gone, that should settle the debt, shouldn't it? If there's a next time, don't choose me again." Then, I reopen my eyes to see that I have returned to the day when my father asked me to choose my fiance. This time, I will firmly choose his elder brother, Theodore Lewis.