Hidden Monster

Anita didn't want her father's wealth to fall into the hands of her half-brother and stepmother. Marriage was the prerequisite for holding company shares. Anita ultimately chose a random man she met at the hospital. He needed money because his face was disfigured and deformed. "I'll pay for the hospital bills, but you have to be my husband." Anita married him, regardless of his bandaged face. Marriage wasn't important to Anita, as long as she could get all her family's wealth back. A mysterious man smiled with satisfaction at Anita's crazy request to marry him. To hide his identity, he accepted her crazy offer. "Okay, let's get married, honey." The mysterious man smiled meaningfully. If he knew her identity, she would surely regret marrying him. Who exactly was Anita's husband? What would happen to Anita after she found out who her secret husband was? Would she truly regret it?

A highly contagious virus broke out in the city. My entire family was infected—only I was spared. To eliminate the virus as quickly as possible, I, a specialist in the field, secretly volunteered for a classified human experiment without telling anyone. However, on the day the miracle cure was finally developed, I realized I could no longer speak.

Amaka Richard fell pregnant out of wedlock and was sent away from her parents' home. Five years later, she met her baby daddy, but he denied knowing her. "Joseph, my child is yours, the same face, nose, and mouth," she confronted him, but he refused to acknowledge her or his child. Amaka moved on, now, Joseph is back at her doorstep, begging for forgiveness. Should she forgive him and accept him back? Find out.

Zara Adams thought the worst thing that could happen to her had already happened. She was wrong. After catching her boyfriend of three years kissing another woman in front of a room full of people, Zara walks out with nothing but her dignity and a phone full of messages confirming the betrayal was never a mistake. It was a pattern. Desperate to disappear, she takes the first place her best friend finds for her… and ends up in the wrong apartment. The wrong bed. With the wrong man. Bastian Cole is quiet, controlled, and far too observant for someone living such an ordinary life. He offers Zara three days to fix the mistake. She ends up staying. What starts as a temporary arrangement quickly turns into something neither of them planned. Shared space becomes shared silence. Then laughter. Then something far more dangerous. But Bastian is hiding a life Zara knows nothing about. A life that includes power, expectations… and an engagement he never chose. When the truth surfaces, Zara is forced to confront a question she has spent years avoiding. What happens when the person you are falling for is another version of the life you were trying to escape? And this time… will she choose differently? ***Author's Email: elaravine130@gmail.com

I was in the middle of hosting an important international meeting when my younger brother’s sudden call interrupted me. On the other end, his voice was low and trembling. "Matt, someone took my spot for the exchange student program." I rushed to his school right away, only to find him cornered in an office, his eyes slightly red. A cocky-looking boy was pointing at Tim’s nose, his face full of arrogance. "You want to compete with me? I’m the heir of the Smiths in Ardenford. My mom just donated an entire lab building to the school! Who do you think you are?" Even the teacher nearby spoke up in support of him. "Timothy, the Smiths are one of our school’s major benefactors. You’d better be sensible and not cause any trouble." I was about to step forward and confront them when those words—the Smiths in Ardenford—made me stop cold. The Smiths in Ardenford? Since when did my mom have a third son besides me and my brother, Timothy? I immediately dialed her number, a cold laugh slipping from my lips. "Mom, when did you have another son behind Dad’s back?"

When I drink the amber-colored poisonous wine, I can hear the joyful melody of a toast song coming from the manor. The wedding between Emanuela Romano and my ex-fiance, Benedetto Martini, is being held there right now. The elderly butler, Vincenzo Romano, puts away the wine glass with a blank expression. The way he speaks is as somber as one sounds when they give a speech at a funeral. "You know the Don's will very well, Ms. Andreotti. Five years are officially up, yet neither Mr. Andreotti, Mr. Martini, nor Dr. Foscari is willing to pledge their loyalty to you via the blood vow. According to the rules, you must take your own life within seven days. "The Don had left the Ashwine to you as a means of protecting… what little pride you have." Scorching pain begins spreading from my throat. I just smile at Vincenzo in return. Pride? Does a bastard spawn of a loose Iernian woman deserve to retain pride of any sort in the cruel Andreotti family? I begin making my way toward the banquet hall, which is brightly lit. As I walk past the shimmering waters of the pond in the family garden, I can tell that the waters are insanely cold. Then again, nothing is as cold as my icy heart right now. After taking a deep breath, I fall face-first into the pond… only to feel an iron-clad grip wrenching me backward. As such, I collapse onto the lawn heavily. My older brother, Alessandro Andreotti, has bits of grass covering his expensive suit. Disgust is written all over his handsome face. "Eva!" he grits out through his teeth, his voice lowered. "Must you spoil the mood on Emanuela's big day?" He then scoots closer to me, his alcohol-tinged breath fanning over my face. "You want to die, huh? Go ahead and do that, but can you die somewhere further? Don't stain the Andreotti land!" Alessandro turns to walk in the direction of the radiant lights, leaving me on the lawn, completely covered in mud. I can feel the countdown of my lifespan burning my insides. Seven days… I only have seven days to live. Meanwhile, my very own brother wants me to die somewhere further away.

Synopsis: Shattered Vows: The Hidden Heiress's Coldest Return "I gave you four years of my life, my genius, and my heart. You gave me a divorce settlement and a motel room. Now, I’m taking back the throne you didn't even know I owned." For four years, Elena was the perfect "charity bride" to Grant Thorne. She lived in the shadows, wore shapeless sweaters, and secretly saved his failing company from bankruptcy using her hidden genius. She endured his coldness and his mother’s cruelty, believing she was an orphan who owed him her life. But on their anniversary, the illusion shatters. Grant serves her divorce papers to marry a "high-society" mistress, mocking Elena for being "small" and "statusless." Little does he know, Elena isn't a beggar she is the long-lost heiress of the Valerius Empire, the most powerful conglomerate in the city. The car accident that "orphaned" her wasn't an accident at all; it was a lethal trap set by those she trusted most. Stepping back into the world as the Ice Queen of Valerius, Elena sheds her mousey persona for 30-inch silk hair, designer armor, and a heart made of diamond. She isn't just coming for her crown; she’s coming to erase every person who stepped on her. Standing in her way or perhaps beside her is Dante Blackwood, the "King of the North" and her family’s greatest rival. He’s a man who has been watching her from the shadows for years, holding a secret contract that claims her as his own. In a world of high-stakes auctions, corporate massacres, and blood-stained legacies, Elena must decide: Will she destroy the man who broke her heart, or will she burn the whole world down with the wolf who’s been waiting for her to wake up?

Merida has always just tried to make it through the day without drawing any unwanted attention, given she is about to face the scariest thing in her short life. The man she once loved, who tried to kill her. Only now she is faced with a new revelation. That there are other individuals that want her dead, all because of who she is. Yet who is she? For she doesn't think it is the 14-year-old human girl, nor are her friends who she thought they were. Nothing is as it seems! Not even her family! Plus, there is the strange new man in her life, who promises to never leave her side. As well as this dark shadow that seems to follow her everywhere and in every ERA.

"Sometimes, secrets are the heaviest burdens" Blaire was known for her radiant smile and her vivacious personality, but she had a secret—one that she had carried in her heart for years. Blaire was in love, and the object of her affection was not just anyone but her best friend's older brother, Logan. As the years passed, Blaire's feelings for Logan deepened, but she kept them hidden. But what happens when secrets long buried finally come to light, and the boundary between friendship and something more begins to blur?

I was born a male Omega, but raised as a Beta. I had no scent, no voice, and no freedom. My uncle had killed my parents to seize their company, and I was spared only to serve as a puppet heir. But when my suppressed heat broke through during a public gala, the ruthless Alpha Prince of the North caught my scent. And he didn’t just recognize it. He claimed me. Now, with the kingdom watching, he won’t let me go. But if he learns who I really am… He might protect me—or finish what my uncle started.