Intermezzo: A Love Story

Content Warning: This is a collection of dark, steamy age-gap romances centered on marriage, possession, and angst. These are stories where vows are a transaction, love is a battlefield, and the only happy ending is the one they fight for. He is always the other father—the guardian, the protector, the older man forced into a role he never asked for. She is the complication, the temptation, the younger woman who disrupts his carefully controlled world. Their unions are never simple. A marriage contract for protection. A vow sworn in desperation. A wedding to secure a future for a child. But behind every practical arrangement lies a dangerous, simmering tension that vows alone can't contain. This collection delivers standalone stories where passion is a privilege earned only after "I do." Expect charged glances across crowded rooms, kisses that feel like claims, and the slow, angsty burn of a man who believes he doesn't deserve her, fighting the overwhelming need to make her his in every way. For readers who like their romance dark, their heroes possessive, and their happy endings hard-won.

Zahira tidak sengaja menemukan bukti pernikahan suaminya melalui story milik Lula—adik iparnya. Adnan—suami yang dianggapnya tanpa cela telah melangsungkan pernikahan keduanya di luar kota dengan Renita, wanita yang dikenalkan oleh Sarmila—mertuanya. Meskipun hatinya hancur, namun Zahira tidak ingin terpuruk begitu saja. Ia bertekad untuk menguras semua aset suaminya sebelum berpisah. Ia berpura-pura tidak tahu tentang pernikahan kedua suaminya itu, bahkan ketika Renita dihadirkan mertuanya ke rumah itu sebagai seorang baby sitter. Akan tetapi, fakta-fakta yang mengejutkan mulai bermunculan ketika Zahira telah bersiap dengan keputusan cerai di tangannya, termasuk tentang wanita lain lagi yang ia temui bersama Adnan di vila. Lantas, fakta-fakta lain apakah yang ditemui Zahira? Akankah Zahira tetap ingin berpisah dengan Adnan setelah mengetahui kebenaran yang sesungguhnya atau malah mempertahankan rumah tangganya?

"Custom demanded that Prince Urban get a love mark tattooed to the side of his left eye as an infant, just like the rest of his people, but to him, the stupid things have only brought on the scorn of his father, the misery of his siblings, and caused his entire kingdom to go broke from fighting so many wars over the irritating ink stains. When Urban’s sister must travel to Donnelly, the kingdom within the sand, for her arranged marriage to align two realms, he goes with her. But he no sooner steps foot inside their castle than his mark starts itching like a son of a bitch, telling him his one true love is near. It just figures, though, that the woman meant for him is completely forbidden. Now he must decide if he should ignore the persistent mark, telling him she's the one, in order to avoid a possible war between kingdoms, or if he should discover whether she's worth risking everything for so they can be together. Either way, his life gets sucked into chaos with threats of beheadings, dark magic lurking, castle traitors scheming, and sword fights eminent. Who knew one little tattoo could cause so much trouble? (ONE TRUE LOVE is the author’s first attempt at a fantasy romance. Please forgive her; she might’ve read an overabundance of Cassandra Gannon, Sarah J. Maas, and Eve Langlais books, then gone off to watch too many episodes of Supernatural, Game of Thrones, and Outlander, because this was the outcome.)"

A gorgeous new lawyer named Charlotte Lowell joins our law firm and claims she has been reborn. One day, a publicly listed company offers us a massive ten-million-dollar case. Charlotte warns our boss, Levi Howard, that the company has major issues. If we accept the case, we'll lose in court and be hit with a huge payout. Levi isn't sure if she's bluffing, but in the end, he listens and passes. The next day, that very company collapses. And the rival firm that took the case is hit with a compensation claim worth tens of millions of dollars. To celebrate dodging the bullet, Levi asks me to book a restaurant. But Charlotte immediately tells him not to go to that restaurant because that place is about to have a gas explosion. Hours later, the restaurant blows up just as she mentioned. News of it hits the trending list. After those two incidents, Levi is all-in on believing Charlotte's claim of having been reborn. In order to keep Charlotte, he gives her the executive position that was initially promised to me. When I hand in my resignation, Charlotte urges Levi to stop me. "If Yelena jumps to another firm, she'll use the resources she gained here to crush us. A year from now, we won't even have a firm left." Upon hearing Charlotte's words, my boyfriend and colleague, Finley Smith, steps forward to back her up. "Charlotte's right. I saw a job offer from Vera Legal in Yelena's email. She's really petty. If she joins Vera Legal, we'll surely face her revenge." Levi believes them and rejects my resignation. I file for labor arbitration, but it's no use. In the end, I'm demoted to a janitor at the firm. Driven by resentment, I fall into depression and end up hanging myself at the entrance of the firm. When I open my eyes again, I've gone back to the day Charlotte claims she has been reborn.

Twenty-four-year-old Serenity Parker had always been in love with her older brother's best friend, Alexander Dawson who was two years older than her. Soon she found out that he was too interested in his underground fight clubs and boxing matches to care about her.  Alexander Dawson, being an orphan struggled to survive in the initial years of his life. Serenity, being the daughter of a billionaire hotelier and his best friend's little sister was forbidden for him.  With his bad reputation at the Underground fighting circuit, Serenity was forced to give up all hopes of Alexander when her brother broke all contacts with him after a vicious fight. However, after five years, when her brother patched up and invited Alexander to his wedding, what would be Serenity's reaction? What would she do when she comes face to face with her only love after five years?  Read this powerful and roller-coaster love story full of twists and turns that will surely capture your heart.

She was said to be the treasure in their kingdom, the white wolf pack. She was the queen's newly born princess. Born to save their world, she was forced to leave the extramundane life she would have when the clan of bloodsucking vamps attacked their peaceful kingdom in the middle of the night under the sight of the goddess of the wolf moon, Diana. Her protector, an ever witty brilliant half-wolf half-vampire sent her to the ordinary world. "She is the treasure. She must be protected!" However, covered with shining gold cloth, she was left alone in front of a wide huge iron gate of a blue blood family. "Something's sparkling in front of the gate, Jon!" Halley woke her husband up in the middle of the night. "Wait! Let me check!" the still drowsy man got up wobbling as he went outside and glanced at the snow-white skin baby with long candy corn hair and bluish-purple eyes. . "Whose the ugly baby?" rubbing his still sleepy eyelids, the sixth-year-old Vince asked his parents. "Don't you call her ugly? From now on she is going to be your baby sister. Her name is Arianna!" his mother gently answered as she stroked his head.

Vida was a waitress who put in eight hours a day in order to afford her $300 monthly rent and three square meals a day. She enjoyed each and every fantasy story as if it were true, and she longed to live in and explore the worlds depicted there. But she was shocked to find out it was true. Meeting a royal is the last thing she expected, but it happens. She does, indeed. Her visions morphed into steamy fantasies, and before she knew it, the handsome stranger was standing outside the bar where she worked. The question recurs, "Am I dreaming again?" They repeated in unison, looking into each other's eyes in disbelief. What happened afterwards is ancient history. And the ride was quite exciting.

I'm Ailee. I am the princess of the largest, most feared Irish mafia and next in line to take over. I'm known as the Ice Queen because of how ruthless I can be to my enemies. I came to the Renegades to find my father. I need his bone marrow to save my life. I don't need him or his club for anything else. But their resident cowboy catches my eye. He says I'm his but can our worlds combine without a deadly explosion? I'm Lug Nut. The moment I see a picture of Ailee I know she is mine. I will make sure her father saves her life so I can have her in mine. Our worlds are different as they can be but I won't let it stop me from making this mafia princess mine. When I suddenly become the guardian of a baby will Ailee stay by my side or will it be too much? The cowboy Renegade will do whatever it takes to keep Ailee and the baby that is the only blood family I have left.

My boyfriend of six years, Liam Sherman, proposes to his long-time crush, Vivi Johansen, on my birthday. With that, the passionate love between us is a thing of the past. I come to my senses and distance myself from him, choosing to put our relationship behind us. As such, I decided to go along with the arranged marriage my family has planned.

Matt Simpson meets Tess Holloway on a dating app through with the help of his friend Greg. They (Matt and Tess) go out on a coffee date where they bond after which they fall in love. It doesn’t take long before they get married. It doesn’t take long before tragedy strike. Tess dies a few hours after her childbirth throwing Matt into a deep sorrow. This incident leaves Matt totally devasted knowing how heartbroken he has been all his life after he lost his parents at an early age and also a series of heartbreaks. After some time, Matt decides to give Love another shot but after a few dates, he gives up any hope at getting a shot at love and tries to concentrate on raising his son. Just when he thinks he had forgot about the way Love feels, destiny smiles at him in a such a way that he never imagined. Gradually Matt is thrown into the dilemma of coping with stress of being a single Dad and maintaining a relationship with Karen who has just fallen in love with. He has to decided whether to be a father to his son or give up the custody of his son to Joan (Tess’s Mum) just to be with Karen.