How To Pronounce Stoic

"Cleonne Marie Deigmen, do you accept Ashton Kleid Ditfreid as your lawful husband?" tanong ng pari habang nakatingin sa akin. Nakabibinging katahimikan ang umalingawngaw sa loob ng simbahan. Tila ba lahat sila ay takot na magsalita dahil alam nilang masama ang kahihinatnan niyon kung sakali. "I-I do..." garalgal ang boses ko na sumagot. Ramdam ko ang panginginig ng buong katawan ko habang nakatayo sa harap ng altar. Buong buhay ko, wala akong ibang pinangarap kundi magandang buhay para sa pamilya ko, at mahanap ang lalaking pakakasalan ko balang araw. Iyong lalaking makatatabi ko sa altar sa at kasama kong susumpa sa harap ng maykapal. Pero hindi ko akalaing ang araw ng kasal ko, ang siya ring magiging pinaka-masalimuot na araw sa buhay ko.... "I now pronounce you, husband and wife. Mr. Ditfreid, you may now kiss your bride." Ang panginginig ng buong katawan ko ay mas lalo pang nadagdagan nang sabihin iyon ng pari. Unti-unti ay humarap ako kay Ashton na seryosong nakatingin sa akin. Iniangat niya ang veil mula sa ulo ko at doon ko nakita ang mga mata niya. Hindi pagmamahal ang nakikita ko sa mga iyon, ang tanging nakikita ko lamang ay galit, poot, at paghihiganti. "You are mine now, Cleonne. At ito ang tatandaan mo, habang nabubuhay ako, hinding-hindi mo mararanasan ang salitang kaligayahan." bulong niya sa akin bago niya tuluyang ilapat ang labi niya sa mga labi ko. Magmula nang araw na iyon, alam kong ang buhay ko ay hindi na sa akin. Dahil magmula nang araw na iyon ay nakatali na ako sa lalaking hindi ko naman mahal, sa lalaking walang ibang gustong gawin kundi ang makapaghiganti sa akin, at iyon ay walang iba kundi si Ashton Kleid Ditfreid.

Seigfreid Matthews has been in love with Leyla Jimenez since childhood. Hindi maalala ni Seig kung kailan iyon nagsimula, basta namulatan niya na may nararamdaman para sa nakababatang kapatid ng best friend niya. Seig and Ley grew up together, but for some reason, Ley dislikes Sig for his angst and bad boy image. Mas gusto ni Ley iyong lalaki na responsible at mapagkakatiwalaan, katulad ng kaniyang long-time crush na si Emerson Sandoval. In their elementary days, Ley rejected Seig. High school came, Ley hated him more. On their graduation day in college, Ley officially introduced Emerson as her boyfriend. Seig was devastated, but that only made him want her more. Call him obsessed, but he didn't care. He will make her his, and this time, he'll make sure she will say yes to him. "I now pronounce you, man and wife. You may kiss the bride." Matatalim na mga titig na ibinabato ni Ley kay Seig. She doesn't want to be his wife; she only wants Emerson to be the only man she will call her husband. "You should know that I only married you for Emerson. Siya ang dahilan kung bakit pumayag akong magpakasal sa'yo, I love him that much that I'm willing to sacrifice my life for him. Huwag mong kalilimutan iyan, siya ang mahal ko." He wanted her so much that he doesn't care if it will make his heart bleed to death. Basta ang alam niya ay gusto niyang makasama ang babae hanggang sa pagtanda nila. "You can say whatever you want, but you're my wife now. And I'll make you fall for me." He smirked as he stole a kiss from her lips, "Deep and hard. Huwag mong kalilimutan iyan, paiibigin kita, Mrs. Leyla Matthews" Without any warning, he pulled her and devoured her lips.

Seigfreid Matthews has been in love with Leyla Jimenez since childhood. Hindi maalala ni Seig kung kailan iyon nagsimula, basta namulatan niya na may nararamdaman para sa nakababatang kapatid ng best friend niya. Seig and Ley practically grew up together, but for some reason, Ley dislikes Sig for his angst and bad boy image. Mas gusto ni Ley iyong lalaki na responsible at mapagkakatiwalaan, katulad ng kaniyang long-time crush na si Emerson Sandoval. In their elementary days, Ley rejected Seig. High school came, Ley hated him more. On their graduation day in college, Ley officially introduced Emerson as her boyfriend. Seig's world collapsed when he heard the news, but that only made him want her more. Call him obsessed, but he didn’t care. He will make her his, and this time, he’ll make sure she will say yes to him. “I now pronounce you, man and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Matatalim na mga titig na ibinabato ni Ley kay Seig. She doesn’t want to be his wife; she only wants Emerson to be the only man she will call her husband. “You should know that I only married for Emerson. Siya ang dahilan kung bakit pumayag akong magpakasal sa’yo. Huwag mong kalilimutan iyan, siya ang mahal ko.” Bawat salita na lumalabas sa bibig ni Ley ay parang mga punyal na tumatarak sa puso ni Seig. He wanted her so much that he doesn’t care if it will make his heart bleed to death. He can deal with the heartaches later. “You can say whatever you want, but you’re my wife now. And I'll make you fall for me.” He smirked as he stole a kiss from her lips, “Deep and hard. Huwag mong kalilimutan iyan, paiibigin kita, Mrs. Leyla Matthews”

Anais Vale vanished three years ago, breaking the terms of a legally binding marriage contract with billionaire CEO Cassian Vale. To the world, their short-lived marriage was a mystery. To Anais, it was survival. But when a mysterious legal summons pulls her out of hiding, she’s forced to return—not as a woman in love, but as a wife under obligation. Cassian, ruthless and unreadable, never divorced her. Their original contract still holds, and now he wants her back—if only to fulfill the remaining years and protect his corporate empire from a hostile takeover. Emotion is not part of the deal. But the contract hides more than just legal conditions. It conceals a past filled with betrayal, a family legacy steeped in secrets, and a shared history neither of them fully understands. Anais returns as a woman determined to endure it quietly. But things change quickly: she discovers Cassian’s health is failing, that someone wants her dead, and that her own tragic past may be connected to his family’s crimes. As the truth unravels, Anais is forced to confront who Cassian really is—and who she must become if she wants to survive in his world. Along the way, both begin to transform. Anais, once passive and self-effacing, begins to find her voice and strength. Cassian, seemingly heartless and stoic, is forced to feel and face the consequences of his past. Their story is a collision of control and vulnerability, love and guilt, power and protection. What begins as a contract slowly becomes a reckoning—and a second chance neither of them expected. But second chances come at a cost. And not every ending is fair.

“Your name?” a woman who’s wearing a dress, has pale lips and short hair asked me. I stuttered. “L-Livia Washington, ma’am,” I answered. “My husband and I can’t produce a child. I need your help and in exchange, I will reward you with money at your price. Just help me…” she said, her face screaming desperation and almost pleading. Without further hesitation, I nodded my head. “Just tell me what you want me to do, Ma’am…” I didn’t know that an offer I would be accepting would ruin the pipe dream I yearned for. Money. I need money. Surrogacy is the only quick way to get a billion dollars just like what they offered. However, things didn’t go the way I liked. “You came out with a woman again?” I busted out in anger after waiting for Archer to come home. He only scoffed, he was supposed to come upstairs yet I held his hand. “Just to remind you, Archer, you still have a wife waiting for you!” His jaw clenched then took his arms roughly. “Then you should have thought of your husband before cheating on me, and bearing someone else’s child, then, Livia!” he backfired, critically narrowing his eyes on mine. Being married to Archer for five years never became easy. I’m tired of it and was tormented with the punishment he had given to me. “A divorce won’t happen, Livia. I won’t give you the freedom you want. This is your punishment,” he narrowed his rough, stoic voice before coming to his room directly.

Johanna Thorne and her sister, Allison Thorne, marry into the Silverplume family, the most prestigious werewolf family in the Northern Wolflands, on the same day. Their husbands are the only pair of pureblood Alpha twins in the family—Carlin Silverplume and Uriel Silverplume. Throughout the continent's long history, fewer than ten such twin pairs have ever been born. They are seen as blessings from the Moon Goddess herself, a source of pride for the entire family. Johanna is wed to the calm and stoic younger brother, Carlin. Her sister becomes the mate of the elder twin, Uriel, the family's strongest warrior Alpha. But during a mission to hunt down rebel wolves, Uriel is tragically killed. His body is never recovered. With his death, his bloodline ends. The news devastates the matriarch. She weeps before the altar, crying that this is punishment for the Silverplume family. With Uriel gone and no heir left behind, one of the family's two remaining pureblood lines is now severed. The future of their legacy hangs by a thread. Three days later, the matriarch summons Carlin and Johanna to the council hall. Before the gathered elders and priests, she solemnly proposes a solution. "Carlin shares the same blood and bone as Uriel... In the name of our ancestral spirits, I ask that Carlin form a breeding pact with Allison to fulfill Uriel's unfinished duty." Johanna's hands clench tightly. She turns to look at Carlin. In that moment, she doesn't know whether she's still his Luna or just a sacrifice offered up to preserve the family's bloodline.

Everything happened too fast after I completed the sentence, one minute I was staring at the back of Damien's head, and the next minute I was pinned against the wall. His face was so close to me that I could feel his minty breath, "You can try to run but I will always catch you, you can try to hide but I will always find you. Get one thing clear, Nora, no matter what road you take it will always lead you to me." I licked my lips unable to utter any word. His thick eyelashes fell on my lips and my heartbeat sped up instantly. "Are you scared of me, Nora?" the corner of his lips curled up giving me a full blown smirk. I gulped, "No," the word came out weak between my shallow breaths. I tried to keep my face stoic even though my nerves were no longer in my control. I shut my eyes tightly as his face inched forward. I inhaled a sharp breath feeling his soft lips on my ear, "Then why is your heart beating so loudly?" ......................................................................... Eleanor has it all, loving parents, a good career, everything is presented to her on a silver platter or that's what everyone thinks. What happens when she gets tangled in a world she never knew existed because of a prince who seems to hate her but can not let her go. Will she ever be able to get her normal life back or will she become a part of his ruthless plan?

“You don’t have to go through with this if you don’t want to, Lilliana,” Dante reassured me, standing in his tuxedo, looking far too delicious to be saying that on my wedding day. “But everything is settled,” I said, trying not to smear too much of my makeup as I cried uncontrollably. “Why doesn’t he love me, Dante?” A sob tore through me. “Come with me,” he said, his voice low and dark—practically a command. “What?” I asked, looking up at the stoic, dangerous man in front of me. “Come with me,” he repeated, holding out his hand. “I’ll make sure everything goes away, fiorellino.” I looked down at his hand, at the tattoos swirling around his fingers. And even though a hand like Dante Gallo’s should have scared me, nothing had ever felt so safe. So I stepped forward, took his hand in mine, and looked up at him. “Take me away.” ** Two ruthless men. One stolen bride. A love too wild to be contained. Lillian thought she had finally secured the life she always dreamed of — until her perfect engagement crumbles in one night of shocking betrayal. Whisked away from the wreckage of her wedding by the dangerous and devastating Dante Gallo, she finds herself caught between two powerful forces: Dante, the mafia king who has loved her from afar, and Damien Volkov, the lethal enemy who refuses to let her slip through his fingers. Torn between loyalty, passion, and a fierce desire for freedom, Lillian faces a choice that could break all three of them. But what if she refuses to choose at all? In a world of power, obsession, and forbidden love, some hearts aren't meant to be divided — they're meant to be shared.

"You're one interesting girl my princess," he said. At the same time, his eyes peered into mine as his hands slipped into my dress tracing my legs up to my upper thigh. My bare back pressed against the wall feeling the touch of his palm on my skin which sent tingling shivers down my spine and for some reason, I felt a smile creep up on my lips. "And you aren't a Saint either". __ Jade Flores who works part-time at the infamous Red bar, had just graduated and is looking to make her life better. She's innocent, makes impulsive decision sometimes and just wishes to continue hiding from her wicked uncle. Saint Gennaro Guerra, the city's infamous Mafia lord. He's Stoic, stern, dominant and of course, handsome. No one who has ever crossed him made it out of the 'dead hole'. The two cross paths when one of Saint's men who betrayed him happens to be Jade's cousin, Marcel popularly known as 'Tequila'. Saint rescues her from his archenemy, Matrix who is also in search of Tequila. Saint then holds Jade as his property when he cannot find Tequila. Jade starts to fall hard for him and in as much as he pushes her away each time and keeps his walls high, she doesn't stop trying to break his walls. What happens when the city's infamous man keeps facing different situations with the girl who works at the infamous bar? Will they have themselves to fall back to? Will Saint reciprocate her feelings?

“You're a long way from safe, Miss Allard,” he whispers, his fingers tracing the strap of my bra until I shiver. "If you want to turn around, I’d suggest you do so now.” I stare up at him, watching as his dilated grey eyes dip to my cleavage. “Where will I go, Mr. Sinclair?” I ask, pulling him closer until our lips are inches apart. “Where can I go that you won’t find me?” **** 24 year old Ava Jade Allard has a few problems, but like most issues, there’s nothing a little money can't fix. So when Ava attends an art show to sell a few of her paintings to some of the richest, high-society members of New York, she’s sure she can kill two birds with one very rich stone. In and out, just like she hoped. But New York seems set on eating Ava whole, and as one mess leads to another, she finds herself in the arms of Billionaire Leonel Sinclair, a ruthless CEO who is still dealing with the consequences of a scandal he was entangled in 4 years ago. Now more desperate than when she started, Ava reluctantly turns to this stone-cold, terrifying, but somehow insanely hot Billionaire to help her set right what was wronged 4 years ago, while somehow doing the same for him, and with one contract marriage, Ava signs away her single status, anonymity and possibly her soul. Will this contract fix the manytraumatic wrongs of her past, or will Ava crumble under the weight of her grey-eyed, stoic CEO, whom she seems less and less able to keep her body and heart away from with each passing day? What happens when Ava agrees to these reckless vows and emerges as the Billionaire’s Bride?