Ice Ice Water

"They were entwined with each other, luxuriating in the throes of passion, the man's robust body..." I was hiding in my office, secretly penning the next development in my story, when a voice from behind me began to read my words aloud, one by one. It was the new intern, a young man. I trembled, pleading with him, "Please, don't tell anyone." He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his hands bracing the edge of the desk, trapping me between his arms. "So, this is what you like?" His throat bobbed, and a smile played on his lips, "Then, why don't we... try it out, just the two of us...

My husband’s family has a tradition of couples living apart together, and he can't publicly acknowledge our relationship until a son is born. He forces me to respect his family's traditions and tells me to raise our daughter alone. Six years after we got married, Andrew Sonovan inherits everything his late brother left behind, including his widow, Kasey Jordan. To satisfy his family's demands for him to carry on both lines, he sleeps with Kasey time and time again. Then, he holds me in his arms. "I can have a proper wedding with you once Kasey gets pregnant and carries on my brother's line. Hold on for a bit longer…" However, all I get is the news of him marrying Kasey. "Marry me, Kasey! I'll make you the happiest woman in the world!" I watch as Andrew gets on one knee in the glow of the flickering candlelight. He looks at Kasey lovingly as he proposes. Meanwhile, she rubs her baby bump, looking blissful. My daughter and I stand outside the room and witness their happiness. It's only then do I understand that I'm the only one who's been in the dark for the past six years.

Amber Celeste Starling offered herself payment to her father's debt. Her sister Victoria was supposed to be payment enough, but seeing her sister's bright future, Amber simply cannot let her sister suffer. Thus, she offered herself. A 'Word of Honor', a promise that one day, one of Alpha George's daughter will be Kevin Black Eclipse's property. Another female to bear his child. But what if Cena Black, Kevin's mother said otherwise and had a beta claim her instead? Marking her as the pack's bitch. Will Amber accept her fate? And simply accept all the punishment she doesn't deserve? Or would she fight back a destiny that isn't hers to begin with.

She's been punish for something she's actually innocent of. She was innocent from all the blames and accusations the billionaire put on her. He hates her for a crime she was innocent of. She went on a run in other to save the billionaire's son entrusted to her by the billionaire's deceased wife. But yet still, he brought her back and married her in order to punish her for her ex husband and her brother's crimes. Akira did nothing wrong but Rayner made her life a living hell. Will Akira ever grow to love Rayner after all the torture he puts her through? What will Rayner do when he finally realised Akira actually sacrifice all her being just to save his only son? Will love ever blossom from the intense hatred to love? Will a deep seated hatred melt and turn into love because of her Sacrifices for the billionaire? Let's continue the journey to find out more!

Antonio Rodriguez reigns as the ice-cold mafia king, a man whose heart is locked away behind walls built by betrayal and ambition. But when Isabella Albero finds herself auctioned to him by her own father, her life is thrust into chaos. Desperate to reclaim her freedom, she forms a plan to buy herself back, unaware of Antonio's obsession with her. Isabella is not naive—she’s fierce, resilient, and unwilling to be anyone’s possession. As their paths intertwine, the tension between obligation and desire escalates, awakening feelings neither saw coming. Just as Isabella begins to crack the icy armor around Antonio’s heart, her vengeful ex emerges from the shadows, determined to reclaim what he believes is rightfully his. Will Isabella shatter the chains of her past? Or will she uncover a truth that could tear her and Antonio apart? *** "I own you, Isabella. Every little part of you has my name on it," Antonio taunted me. "If I see you with another man again, I will make you watch as I slit his throat."

Alexander Wolf is a notorious and ruthless leader for the Mafia. He only cared about two things in life: Money and Power which he had both. He wasn't afraid to eliminate anything or anyone that gets in the way.But everything changed when he saw her. The innocent and naive daughter of the man who he almost killed for not repaying his debt. She was a sweet little thing who could be the perfect toy to play with until her father's debts were paid. Will he use her and throw her away just like every other girl or is she one who will finally melt his heart made of ice?

Adeline has been in love with Blake Rhodes for as long as she could remember-twelve years of silent yearning turned into three loveless years of marriage. She has always wanted him to return her love. However, Blake's heart is clouded by manipulation and misunderstandings, with the shadows cast by Adeline's half-sister Rebecca. Unknown to Blake, it is not Rebecca who is dying but Adeline. Adeline has stage four cancer, a secret she holds tightly, even as Blake is forcing her to give her blood-and a kidney-to save Rebecca. So, while Rebecca is faking being ill for Blake, Adeline keeps the pain to herself and silently suffers by sacrificing all her possessions for the man who doesn't perceive her value.

Luca Vitiello is cold, aloof and the Mafia boss of the New York underworld. But he seized so many other outfits into his control, making him the Ultimate boss of half of the US. He was seen less, and talks even less. He is ruthless and emotionless. People will either freeze or shiver when they see him.He is colder than the Arctic. What happens if he was forced to protect a warm-hearted and innocent girl, who starts to melt the ice around his heart since the moment she met him?Emma Costello is the unwanted daughter of Frank Costello. He treats her like a maid and a commodity. What happens, when she was taken away from her sad life into a life of luxury. What happens when her savior starts to fall for her.He is 10 years older than her.Will she love him back?Will he be able to protect her when her father comes back for her?What will Luca do, when he finds out that her father sold Emma to a highest bidder?

Richard Franklin has left his Midwestern roots behind to live on the coast of Maine with his family. But in the autumn of the year 2000, he must return to his Illinois birthplace on a sorrowful journey. His wife Michelle has been killed in New England by a hit-and-run driver who is never found, so back home he comes with her cremated remains, to fulfill a final wish and on her birthday scatter her ashes in the park along the river in Blackwater Valley—simply Blackwater Val to locals—the small town where they both grew up and fell in love. With him he brings his six-year-old daughter Katie who still grieves for her lost mother: Katie, who can sometimes guess who’s going to be on the phone before it rings. Who can stop all the clocks in the house, and break up clouds in the sky with her mind, and heal sicknesses, and who sometimes sees things that aren’t there...people who are no longer alive. All gifts she inherited from her mother. Only something isn’t quite right in the Val. Sinkholes are opening up, revealing the plague pits the sleepy hamlet was built over in the 1830s, when malaria and cholera outbreaks ran riot. Mysterious bird and fish die-offs begin to occur, and Katie can see ghosts of the dead gathering all around. But what she can’t see is the charred, centuries-old malevolence which has been waiting for her, and wants her for its very own. Or the pale Sallow Man who haunts the town’s nighttime streets...or the river witch—another Blackwater Val, of sorts—each of whom will be drawn one by one into the nightmarish bloodletting about to take place. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

**Mature Content!** "I'm so sorry, Mr. Lawson, you can marry my daughter Marga but Sabrina is an exception." "Why? She's your daughter I thought you and my parents had already arranged this marriage. And I choose Sabrina. I won't marry anyone but Sabrina." "Then why Sabrina?" "Let's say that Sabrina and I have a special thing back then," Gabriel said with a little smile. Ferdinand frowned and was curious. "Well, she might deny it." Sabrina Mondragon Alvarez – is a mute rich woman. She's an introvert and hated getting along with rich people who always talk about senseless stuff. She was bullied by socialite but never they knew that behind that innocent-looking woman hides a strong and powerful aura. Being quiet doesn't mean weak but is something more dangerous than anything. Silence would lead all of her enemies to one place that can also be called danger. Soon, she'll have them in the place that she's secretly reserving for those who made her life and family miserable. She said to be someone who can't speak not until he came and chose her to be his wife. Gabriel Lawson - a rich powerful tycoon with a strong background. He fell in love with the woman he had a one night stand with and chose her to be his wife. He would do anything for her. And for those people who hurt her--they must pay a thousand folds.