I Can't Find Those Silver Linings

She stood nervously opposite this grey-eyed delinquent. No matter how hard she tried to avoid him, he was always coming back to her. Her heart skipped the more he leaned closer to her. Her back leaned against his desk as her eyes locked with his. He was something words can't describe. " Why are you scared of me, Ariel?" " I'm not..." She stuttered. She seems to lose her breath at just his sight. " What if I kiss you right now?" That made her heartbeat skipped. They were inches apart and all she could feel was his hot breath against her neck. " I'm not feeling very well." He whispered, trailing his fingertips on the naive brunette. " Why are you telling me this?" " I want you to be my nurse, kiss me till I feel better. Or maybe..." He whispered, leaning closer to her so she could feel him. " Babysit me tonight" *** She's a good girl. She's no different from a boring introvert. She likes to read and stay indoors. One dream she loved was going to Nun school. She was about to take her vows in the convent, but her dream went down the drain when her male best friend stole everything away from her, tearing away her holy garment as he stole her innocence. She hated herself and her family despised her more for making them lose their positions in church. Just when she was picking up her broken self, Bad Boy Billionaire, Gray Carter, walked into her life with his mysteries. ** Under Editing.

My boyfriend, Victor Pearson, was ranked number one in the world in horror games. Meanwhile, I was secretly working part-time as a monster NPC inside one of those dungeons. Every dungeon he cleared was SSS rank, whereas the one I worked in was the beginner level. We were never supposed to run into each other… until he nearly wiped out all the monsters in an SSS dungeon. The system pulled me in at the last second as emergency backup. When I tried to scare players with my awful acting, the live chat tore me apart. [Hahaha, since when did the monsters in this dungeon get so cowardly? She’s supposed to scare us, but we actually scared her instead.] [This is next-level dumb. Getting lost in a dungeon is embarrassing. Is this monster here for comic relief?] [Poor thing. She'd better hide. Anyone else might let her go, but if she runs into Big V, she's dead before she knows it.] [Come on. Big V only hunts the nastiest bosses. He wouldn’t even bother with trash like that. She would probably scare herself to death first.] I did everything I could to avoid Victor, to keep him from realizing I was the monster working there. But somehow, I stumbled right into him anyway. The chat exploded, waiting for my instant death. After all, he was a legend on the leaderboards, a god among players. But instead of killing me, he bent down and gently pinched my cheek. "Hey, babe. How many players do you wanna take out? I'll help you." The people in the chat lost their minds. [What the hell?!]

After finishing work for the day, I checked my phone and realized I had been added to a group chat called "Catch the Thief." The members were my parents, my brother, Brian Wise, and my sister-in-law, Paulene Wise. I typed a question mark. Paulene replied instantly. [My jewelry is missing. I didn't add you here to accuse you or anything. I just wanted to ask what you think. Honestly, there's no use for other people in our family to take my jewelry, so I've been wondering... I'm not saying you definitely stole it. But if you did, you don't have to deny it. I'm willing to give you a chance to make things right.] My mother said nothing. She just kept tagging me over and over. I let out a small laugh and typed back. [Maybe Brian took it and gave it to his side piece. I'm not saying he definitely has someone else. Just that men his age sometimes start looking around. I'm only guessing here. And if he really did mess up, you could give him a chance to make things right, too.]

"Why are you apologizing?" "..." He didn't push me further when I didn't answer him. Instead, he suddenly leaned in closer to my ear and sniffed. I saw his throat swallow a little, and my heart skipped a beat along with him. "You..." His voice was low and husky, like music to my ears. "You smell wonderful," Enzo said.

"He is no hero, but he is willing to fight for her..." Abigail fucking Howard! Typical sweet girl, a nerdy girl who always has that cute button nose of hers buried inside a book. She wants to be an author and she's got what it takes. She has also got her whole life planned out. Study, get her degree, then get an internship in some publishing company and work her way to becoming the best selling author. I could also see her getting married to some preppy rich guy who is going to be a lawyer and then they'd have two kids and live happily ever after, cool story right? Wrong! I was wrong because Abigail wants me and the crazy thing is I want her too! I have for a long time but the problem is I am not good enough for her and I am mixed up in too many fucked up shits to be the man she wants me to be. I am not the hero she reads in those romance books of hers, I am no hero and I'll never be!

I waited for Alex for over five years. I endured the whispers of the clan, the mocking gazes, the judgment from his family who never thought I was good enough. Still, I waited—because I loved him. I believed in him. I trusted that he would choose me in the end. But the truth shattered me. One evening, I saw his laptop left open. And on the screen—countless photos of Elsa. His childhood sweetheart. His first love. It felt like a knife twisting in my chest. While I was drowning in problems, silently begging for his support, he was smiling by her side. All those years I gave him... all that waiting… I got nothing. So I left. Broken. Exhausted. Done pretending I was okay. I traveled far from our pack, seeking solitude under the excuse of pack relocation. But the truth was, I was trying to stitch myself back together—one breath, one step, one bitter tear at a time.But now… he’s gone mad looking for me. Why, Alex? Why do you search for me now, after crushing me so completely? When I stood by you, you looked past me. Now that I’ve finally let go… Why do you care?

Xavier Bishops and Rain Simmons are an odd pair. Xavier is the quiet rich guy who instigates her bullies and Rain is the girl who finds him hot despite knowing this. They find themselves in a supply closet together on school prank night and they share their first kiss. Xavier's obsession with her increases after this but he still doesn't know how to act towards Rain. They soon enter a secret relationship but Xavier's attitude towards Rain in public doesn't change. He no longer eggs his friends on but he doesn't address her in public either. Rain convinces herself that she's okay with this but her patience continues to wear thin as Xavier's friends keep treating her worse. It all ends when they trash a car her father gave her for her birthday and she exposes her secret relationship with Xavier to everyone. Xavier denies it and laughs at her. Humiliated beyond belief, Rain leaves town for winter break but she doesn't come back and no one knew why. Rain is in a new town, pregnant and alone with grandparents who think she's worthless. They insist she has an abortion and when Rain refuses, they agree to give the baby up for adoption. When Rain changes her mind, they throw her out. She can't go back to her sick father with a baby she can't take care of so she drops the baby with Xavier, promising to come back soon. Twelve years later, Rain is back. She is a military investigator and is investigating a leak in Xavier's company. Her son hates her and his father still wants her. She has a lot on her plate, make her son forgive her, get Xavier to leave her alone and find the person selling government secrets in Xavier's company.

"I don't date demons in disguise." "And I don’t lose what I set my eyes on. Especially not a man like you." He was a billionaire bachelor, heir to an empire. She was the most feared Mafia boss in Italy. Their worlds were never meant to collide until they did. When Matteo Alessandro meets Serena Riccardo again, he makes it clear he wants nothing to do with her. To him, she’s dangerous, cold-blooded, and heartless. But Serena doesn’t need his approval. She’s not asking for love… she’s choosing her next possession. And that possession… is him. He tries to resist. She smirks. He runs. She follows. He insults her. She makes him hers. But behind the cold stares and sharp tongues, something deeper brews lust, longing, and maybe… something that could break them both. Now Matteo must choose: Run from the woman who owns the shadows or fall for her and risk being consumed by the fire. Mafia don’t make threats. They make promises. And Serena Riccardo always keeps hers.

I was in a temporary shock from an allergic reaction. The two guys I had grown up with didn't even look my way. One of them was busy helping Vivian Byrd carry a pile of gifts, while the other was snapping pictures of her at some popular social media spot. It was a stranger passing by who called an ambulance and got me to the hospital, saving my life. The next day, Vivian called, her tone almost smug. "Trish, Zeke and Hendrick were so exhausted after shopping with me yesterday. I heard you threw a tantrum and ended up in the hospital. Should I come visit you?" I simply replied, "No need." Zeke Benson and Hendrick Peay were my childhood friends. They once treated me like I was everything to them—promising to pluck the moon and stars from the sky and to protect me forever. But ever since Vivian came into the picture, their world no longer revolved around me. I thought for a moment and then dialed my mother's number. "Mom, I'll accept the marriage arrangement."

My life was about to be complicated. Meeting a stupidly hot guy after a missed flight, and a kiss that left me dizzy. We agreed: no names, no numbers. Just a hot make out session and goodbye. But when I start my dream job the next week, guess who’s sitting behind the Managers desk? Yep. The airport stranger. Now he’s Mr. Thatcher… aka my boss. Worse? He’s older and engaged. I know I’m not supposed to be thinking about that kiss especially when I’m supposed to be working, but my brain still hasn’t gotten the memo. Office meetings just got a lot more complicated…..