In The Upper Country

It was cold dark and lonely, she had brought the light, and for that reason, he would keep her, whatever it takes. On the day she is supposed to be married to her beloved, she is suddenly kidnapped by the most dangerous man in the country. He forces himself on her and imposes a marriage on her with a threat to kill the man she loves, and for that reason, she despised him to no end. He is the ruthless Don of the mafia world, he rules over the city and the country itself, not even the law can get to him. He kidnaps her on the day she is to be married to someone else and forcefully takes her to posses her so she could only belong to him and him alone. Excerpt: "You are mine," She shuddered as he took a threatening step towards her trapping her between himself and the wall behind, "Mine and no one else's, and the day you dare glance at another man with affection I will destroy him along with anything and everything he cares about, and if I have to annihilate the whole city even the whole country just to destroy him then I will gladly do so, and you will remain in the middle of it all with me and no one else." From trying to run away to hopelessly falling in love with the mafia lord who'd stolen her from another.

I am the young lady of the vampire house of Kaelaris. Having reached marriageable age, I chose, from a stack of portraits, the eldest son of the human family Norefax. My family indulged my preference and arranged our engagement, awaiting the day of my wedding. I do not drink red wine, but for the sake of human ceremony, I secretly went out—without telling my family—to select a rare century-aged vintage, intending to prepare it for the engagement ritual. The woman beside me glanced at the cabinet I had pointed to and immediately instructed the sales associate, “That bottle looks quite fine. Let me have a look.” Without hesitation, the associate rudely brushed me aside and handed the bottle straight to her. A chill entered my gaze as I spoke, “There is an order to everything. I selected that bottle first. What you’re doing is hardly proper.” She looked me up and down with open disdain and let out a mocking laugh. “This bottle costs sixteen thousand six hundred dollars. Dressed like that, I doubt you even qualify to smell it.” “I am Ethan Norefax’s stepmother. In New York’s Upper East Side, so-called ‘rules’ have always been decided by the Norefax family.” What a coincidence—Ethan was precisely my fiancé, and the very reason I wanted to buy that bottle. I dialed his number at once and said evenly, “Your stepmother has taken the bottle of wine I reserved for our engagement. How do you intend to handle this?”

“I bled for us. Now it’s your turn to bleed.” From impersonation, she filled the gap of a missing woman. Now she pay the price.................. Emily Vicente never imagined she'd ask herself that question until she saw the news: a $1 million reward for information on Elena Morgan, a missing pregnant woman and the ex-wife of billionaire Kelvin Edwards. The shocking revelation was that Emily looked exactly like Elena. It was almost as if she had lived a second life without knowing it. Her boyfriend, Sammy, desperate to escape poverty, sees a fast ticket out and pushes Emily to step into Elena’s life. Pretend to be a pregnant Elena. Collect the money and disappear. Emily, emotionally blackmailed and cornered by her present situation, gives in. But what she didn’t know was that she wasn’t just stepping into another woman’s life she was stepping into a storm. The lion’s den. Kelvin Edwards isn’t just a cold billionaire, he’s a desperate father trying to save his terminally ill child. And Elena is the key to that salvation. But now, she’s gone… and Emily has taken her place. What began as a lie quickly spirals into a web of secrets, danger, and emotional warfare. And just when Emily begins to lose herself in the act Kelvin finds out the truth. What follows is both heartbreaking and a solution to his problem. ...With the upper hand and nothing to lose, Kelvin gives Emily two choices one that could shatter her completely, and one that would bind her to him forever. What she thought was a way out... might be the beginning of her undoing.

Before the marking ceremony, Leon Parker crossed out his name on the Moonlight Tree. Then, he carved his brother Cillian Parker's name next to mine instead. A friend teased him, "Just because you lost a bet to Susie Burton, you're changing the name on the Moonlight Tree to Cillian's? Aren't you afraid Madison Lachlan will find out and lose it on you?" Leon replied lazily, "She nearly died for me once. Changing a name is nothing; she won't mind. I've already ruined her marking ceremony 52 times. What's one more? Besides, Cillian's leg is injured, and he's stuck in a wheelchair. No woman would ever want to be with him. Once Madison finds out, she'll come crawling back to me, and I'll still have the upper hand." I stood by the door, listening to every word of their conversation as my heart gradually turned cold. The Moonlight Tree was sacred to all werewolves. Every mated pair carved their names into it, symbolizing the Moon Goddess's blessing on their bond. Yet, Leon was treating something so sacred like it was a joke. I did not make a scene, just slipping away silently. On the day of the marking ceremony, Leon arrived at the venue to find no one there. He frantically called me. I stood in my white wedding dress, looking at my mate across from me. "My marking ceremony is about to start. Are you here to congratulate me on my big day?"

In the elite, glass-walled towers of Upper Hill, Adrian Vale is a masterpiece of clinical perfection. A top-tier law student with a future mapped out by his tyrannical father, Adrian survives by the "Rule of Three": precision, discipline, and total emotional detachment. He believes that by controlling every second of his life, he can remain untouchable. Then comes Kai Reyes. A tattooed, underground muralist with silver in his lip and chaos in his veins, Kai is the living antithesis of everything Adrian stands for. When Kai publicly humiliates Adrian by smearing charcoal over his pristine silk tie, the "Ice King" snaps. Driven by a desperate need to re-establish dominance, Adrian offers a high-stakes wager: One week. Kai must move into Adrian’s minimalist apartment and obey his every command. As the doors lock, the psychological warfare begins. Adrian intends to use rigid discipline to crush Kai’s rebellion, but the forced proximity turns the apartment into a pressure cooker of forbidden desire. Kai isn’t just a subject; he is a mirror, reflecting the hollow ghost Adrian has become. When the rules finally shatter, Adrian is forced to confront the "Master" who truly pulls his strings—his father. To save himself, Adrian must trade his golden handcuffs for the raw, uncertain freedom of the streets. In a world of rigid statutes and vibrant paint, he discovers that power isn't about making someone stay—it's being the man they don't want to leave. "Be My Good Boy" is a gripping tale of control, surrender, and the courage to finally be a mess.

When she got a scholarship to study her desired course, Jessica was excited to begin her journey in a country that was far from home. On arrival, she encountered a boy about her age whom she loathed at first sight because of how arrogant he was. She didn't hide her distaste for him whenever he was near, and he noticed that as well. After getting together during a project which Jessica was reluctant to, she realized there was more to him than meet the eyes.

I was supposed to be a star. Instead, I became a scandal, a prisoner, and a joke the world loved to watch fall. Framed by my own sister and betrayed by the man I once loved, I had nothing left except a voice that no one wanted to hear. Then Jesse Roberts walked into my ruins—cold-eyed billionaire, rumored killer, and the head of the most feared mafia family in Country M. He offered me a deal: Become his wife. Give him loyalty. Get my revenge.

BREAKING NEWS: Joaquin Alfonso Agravante—the most respected and the wealthiest businessman in the country, and the heir to the Agravante Holdings Inc., who has been promised to marry the daughter of the owner of Chua Holdings, was caught on camera while having the hottest night of his life… with a prostitute. Now known as the epitome of darkness; the most handsome beast of his generation was never expected to do such a thing just to pleasure himself. What a very scandalous affair, indeed. Such an event only proves that once lust takes over, not even a saint can escape the chains of temptation. *** Minerva Ezra Clemente, a prostitute, lived her life bedding elite men in order to survive the catastrophic challenges that befell her life when her parents died and when her relatives took over their company and threw her out of their own house. But she has had enough. After that hot and intense night with her last client, Minerva decided to end her worthless life. But someone was able to stop her from doing so, and even asked her to marry him in exchange for a grand life and a house she can call home and that man was none other than her last client—Joaquin Alfonso Agravante, the wealthiest businessman in the country and the heir to the Agravante Inc., her parents’ biggest rival company in the business industry.

Soon after I came back to the country, someone slapped me right across the face in broad daylight, yelling that I was a mistress. A crowd of reporters closed in, pelting me with questions about whether Chandler Armstrong, CEO of Armstrong Industries, was keeping me as his mistress. I was stunned speechless for a moment, but then I pulled out my wedding photo with Chandler from seven years ago and held it up. "What are you talking about? I'm his wife!" The crowd went silent, and the woman who'd slapped me turned white as a sheet. Only then did I finally get it: while I'd been overseas, Chandler had been openly involved with an actress, and everyone in his social circle had already decided she was the future Mrs. Armstrong. Today, they all came expecting to confront a mistress—only to find out that I was actually his wife. Later, Chandler tried to justify it. "Alina, you've been out of the country for years. I'm a man, and I have needs. She's just a B-list actress; it's not like she threatens your position. Why should you be upset? Just let it go," he said. "Don't make a scene." I handed him the divorce papers. "You make me sick."

When my husband, Jared Hunt, receives a promotion that requires him to travel to Belmont, a big city, he submits a list of family members who will be traveling with him to the organization. He has submitted two names; the first one being our son, Jackson Hunt, and the second being a knowledgeable young woman, Sabrina Hayes. She's a friend who has traveled to the village with him in the first place. Life in the village is difficult. There's no way Jared will let Jackson suffer in the village. As for Sabrina, he has already given her his word to take her back to Belmont a long time ago. But when it comes to me, his actual wife, he thinks I should be gracious and offer the opportunity of traveling to Belmont to others. "It's completely useless for a country bumpkin like you to go to Belmont. Sabrina is very knowledgeable, so she's a more suitable candidate. Jackson and I will come back for you when an opportunity comes up in the future." As I listen to Jared's perfunctory explanation, I can feel my heart breaking. But what Jared doesn't know is that I'm not a country bumpkin despite having lived in the village longer than him. The truth is, I'm the talent that Belmont wants the most. The promotion that Jared cherishes the most is actually something that I don't want.