I'm A Stick Beside Him

Forced to marry the cold billionaire heir, Adams Carter, to save her crumbling family business, Gina Thompson decides to have one last night of fun before taking her marriage vows. Unexpectedly, the man who caught her attention that fateful night turned out to be the billionaire himself, Christopher Carter, her father in-law. Will they both ignore their growing feelings for each other? What will happen when Adams finds out that his wife had a one-night stand with his father?

After my 99th confession, my childhood best friend, Michael Leight, finally says yes. I am overjoyed, believing that my years of unrequited love have finally paid off. But when I walk past the pantry, I overhear him speaking tenderly to our family chef, Tahlia Duvey. "Once I take everything from the Kingstons, I'll kick that idiot Ariel to the curb and throw us a grand wedding. Everything here will be yours." My heart feels like a sword has been plunged into it. That night, I storm into Grandpa's study and point at a photo of the Gordon family's heir—Charles, known for always keeping his distance from women. "Grandpa! I want to marry him!" I announce.

Hera Jace Salviano belongs to the Salviano Family, one of the biggest and notorious Italian Mafia. Hera has an older brother name Cloud, the oldest heir of their family also the Chairmain-CEO of Valóre Sky Airline. Their family is legally owned cargo ships, travel cruises, and international shipments. They are just a common Mafia Family who has underground businesses and Casino's, Salviano's Family owned a private army. Hera is living a princess-perfect life with her older brother, not until someone makes their company crash. Cloud decides to send her sister back to their mother's country thinking that she will be safe, not knowing that the enemy he's avoiding is right next to his sister. Hera isn't familiar with the country she'll be living in now, but because of the contract that Cloud makes with their most trusted company partner Hacovo's, his sister's life is now easy. She always believes that money can buy happiness that not everyone can afford. She's an arrogant uncommon teenager who loves to collect the eyeballs of her victims. She's a psychotic mafia daughter who fell in love with a problematic suicidal man she met on a 50 feet high bridge after murdering 4 of her new classmates. Does her brother's decision was right? Or it can lead to her most unpredictable death? Does the love she found will be good for her or it can worsen the situation?

Love is eternal. There is no end. There is no escape from love. Or is there? Clarissa is an author troubled by dreams of a Victorian woman and her family who were murdered in a Mansion on an Island in the middle of Goldwater lake in the picturesque Lake District, England. Writing a book about the family, she is desperate to discover who murdered the young family and does all she can to research the past when the recluse who owns the house refuses to allow her to visit. But her quest for information causes her to be haunted by a violent male ghost who will stop at nothing to stop her and another equally determined to protect her and draw her in to his arms. Can the handsome new owner of the Island, American Billionaire, Brandon Clifford who wants nothing more than to steal her heart, provide her with the answers she seeks to solve the mystery?

On Christmas Eve, my father got the man I had secretly loved for ten years drunk and sent him to my bed. When I woke up the next morning, Roy pulled away from my attempt at a good-morning kiss. His voice was cold and distant as he agreed to marry me. After the wedding, Roy wasted no time submitting a transfer request. He took an overseas post and left. He did not return for five years. I gave birth to our daughter, Eve, alone and waited for him to come back home. When I heard that Roy had finally applied to return to a domestic position, I was overjoyed. I spent days preparing, imagining our first reunion as husband and wife. But even when the clock struck midnight, he still hadn't come home. Our daughter, ever so thoughtful, placed her most treasured possession—a photograph of Roy—into my hands. "Don't cry, Mommy," she said softly. "Look, Daddy's right here." I tried to convince myself that his absence was due to a delayed flight. But later that night, while watching the news, I saw him. He was on a crowded city street, holding a young girl in his arms. Beside him stood a woman, her smile soft and warm. Facing the camera, Roy said, "Being with them is my greatest wish." At that moment, something inside me broke. I wrote up the divorce papers, packed our things, and planned to take Eve to change her identity. I didn't want him anymore. The day before we left, a man I had never met came to see me. He was Roy's father. "You could call me Dad," he said, a faint smile playing on his lips. "But I'd rather you call me Ryan." I told him everything about the past five years—how I had waited, how I had hoped. When I finished, he laughed softly, an unusual warmth in his voice. "If it was just business," he said, "perhaps your father should have tied a bow around me and sent me to your bed instead. But I hold my liquor well—if I ever end up wrapped in a bow, you can be sure it's by choice."

My husband and his employees went on a camping trip, and his assistant posted on social media. [We drew lots for the tents, and guess who ended up with the handsome CEO!] The post showed a selfie she took. Behind her, my husband was taking his shirt off. Someone left a comment. [A man and a woman alone together? Sounds juicy.] The assistant quickly replied with a smirking emoji. [I like a little excitement!] After I liked the post, it was deleted right away. Soon, my husband called me on video. In front of his crying assistant and several employees, he scolded, “Why did you like the post?! It was just a game! Don’t be so close-minded!” As I watched him hold the assistant in arms and comforted her, I quietly hung up. After ten years of loving Caelan Sullivan, I decided then and there to let go.

I married Zephyrus Jones under a one-year contract—walang sabit, walang emosyon, puro pirma lang at katahimikan. Kailangan niya ng asawa para sa billion-dollar deal. Kailangan ko ng pera para mailigtas si Papa. We lived like strangers under one roof… hanggang sa dumating ang araw na iniwan niya ako—papers signed, puso kong wasak, at mga pangakong hindi natupad. Sabi niya, may mahal na siyang iba. Sabi niya, never akong naging parte ng plano. Kaya nag-divorce kami. Apat na taon ang lumipas, bumalik ako—hindi para sa kanya, kundi para sa sarili ko. Pero nang muli ko siyang makita, he wasn’t the cold-hearted man I once knew. Ngayon, he looks at me like I’m the only thing that matters. Ang problema? Natuto na akong mabuhay nang wala siya. At ngayong bumalik siya sa buhay ko… hindi niya alam na may kambal kaming anak—at wala akong balak sabihin sa kanya.

She had it all—beauty, wealth, and the love of her powerful family. Raised in the lap of luxury, she never questioned the world around her, nor did she imagine the cruelty it could harbor. Her life was a fairytale until she made one unforgivable mistake: she gave her heart to the wrong man. He was nothing like the men from her world—no money, no status, and certainly no respect for her. Yet, his cold indifference lured her in, and she loved him with everything she had, only to find him in bed with her best friend. Betrayed by her lover and best friend, she faces ruin, until a surprising offer comes from the one man she despises—the arrogant playboy who never missed a chance to mock her: a contract marriage, not for love but revenge. As their game of pride and power begins, she discovers there may be more behind his cold exterior—and perhaps, a chance at something real.

CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this book contains sensitive themes and includes explicit scenes, making up approximately 20% of its content. It is intended for mature readers only. _ "Teka lang, Sir! A-Ano kasi eh..." Napangiwi si Mahal habang naghahagilap ng mairarason dito sa lalaking ito na binili siya sa Auction. "Are you kidding me? 'Teka lang?' Are you sure that's really 'teka lang?" Napayuko na lang siya dahil sa pagalit na natanong ng lalaki. Halatang napipikon na sa kaniya. Inilapit pa nito ang mukha sa kaniya para iparamdam sa kaniya ang inis nito at nagsalita, "Remember, I paid a hefty 10.5 million at the auction just to purchase you. You wouldn't have even set foot in that auction if you hadn't given your consent. So now that you're under my ownership, don't think you can fool me with your usual 'teka lang, sir' tactics kasi kabisado ko na 'yan." Para siyang tinanggalan ng utak na nakatunganga sa pinagsasabi nito na ang tanging naintindihan lang ay ang salitang, 'kabisado ko na 'yan.' Ano naman ang alam niya sa English kasi tulog naman siya lagi sa subject na iyon noong nag-aaral pa siya. Para naman huminahon ito, nagsalita na lang siya. "Ahm...wag ka na magalit sir, maghuhugas lang naman ako. Ayaw mo naman ng mabaho, diba?"

I am a law student, and I save Andon Garner from a terrible car accident. The Garners see me as his lifesaver, so they tell me to marry him. Ten years into our marriage, my heart condition flares up. However, my husband, Andon, pours out the medicine that can save my life. He scoffs as he watches me struggle in pain and says coldly, "Elise Fulton, go and keep Sasha company." When I wake up again, it is the day of the car accident once more. Andon lies in a puddle of blood, and near him, his first love, Sasha Wilson, cries hysterically.