Julian The Arcana

The darkest corners of the world hold the secrets the leaders want you to forget. Deep inside a cabin covered with moss and shadows, those secrets are not yet forgotten. Under the moon, light glistens off of shining stones lining the porch and bundles of herbs drying from the rafters. Candlelight emanates from the interior and warmth surrounds the occupant. Inside this cabin was a forrest witch who was chanting a spell as she added herbs to a small caldron. Smoke rises and electricity fills the room. Her raven hair started to rise and the smoke turned glowing green. Leaves outside the cabin started swirling in the air raising around the cabin forming a circle. “None may find me where I reside, safe in the forrest this witch hides. Safe from the evil doers and safe from their men. None may ever find me again.” Cold. Like ice from an iceberg, his skin molded smoothly across his frame. The envelop in his hands was sealed by the Elder Lords sigil pressed into blood red wax. Slipping his long pale finger, breaking the seal, one word was inside. “Urgente.” His particular talents were once again needed.

For three years, I was the only one allowed inside my husband, Matthew Carter's, secret room on the top floor. Until that day—when I walked in and found his young assistant there. "Matthew asked me to get things ready for his dinner party," she said, all confidence and no shame. I smiled. It turned out this was what it felt like to have my privileges as his wife trampled on. Fine. If the rules of the game had changed, then I would show everyone who the real player was. One by one, I dismantled the Carter family's most prized projects. That was when Matthew finally panicked. He demanded, "Why? We're husband and wife!" "Exactly," I said, tossing the divorce papers onto his desk. "And that's why betrayal comes with a steeper price, doesn't it?"

He is the most terrifying man in the Empire—Hadrian, the Lord Protector. Cold, ruthless, and dictatorial, he rules the chaotic world with an iron fist, crushing rebellions without mercy. To the world, he is a monster devoid of human emotion; a tyrant who bathes in blood. She is a rose growing in the mire—an ordinary, low-born girl struggling to survive in the slums. She possesses nothing but her pride and a fragile life. Their worlds should never have collided. But in a twist of fate amidst the smoke of revolution, the lofty Dictator set his eyes on the humble commoner. He didn't know how to love, so he used the only method he knew: Conquest. He clipped her wings, trapped her in his gilded cage, and forced her to bloom only for him. "You fear me," Hadrian whispered, his fingers tracing her trembling lips. "Good. Because in this lifetime, you will never escape me." In a game of power and submission, can a tyrant learn to kneel for love? And can a bird in a cage tame the beast?

My mom always said, "I've never played favorites. "You and your brother mean exactly the same to me." She said it so often I almost believed it. Growing up, anything my brother had, I had too. If he got a new pair of sneakers, so did I. If he signed up for coding classes, I was enrolled in the same ones. Even this year, when we came home for the holidays, my mom smiled as she handed each of us a neatly-packaged designer shopping bag. "I picked these out for you two at the store. One for each of you, exactly the same. "These outdoor brands are expensive, you know. A single jacket costs thousands. I'd never buy one for myself, but I don't mind splurging on you two." I took the jacket. It was well-cut, structured, and looked high-quality. A small warmth stirred in my chest. However, when I tried it on, the collar felt oddly irritating against my skin. Frowning, I pulled back the lining to check. There was a ring of yellowed sweat stains around the label, and tiny flakes of dandruff were caught in the Velcro. A faint musty smell lingered on the cloth, mixed with the stale odor of cheap tobacco. It was sour and impossible to ignore.

I was a street performer with no name, a ghost hired to wear a dead man’s skin. My mission was simple: Become Alexander Blackwood. Marry his icy fiancée. Sign over the forty-billion-dollar empire. In exchange, my dying sister lives. But the woman waiting at the altar isn't the socialite I was trained to seduce. She’s a wolf in silk—a twin who murdered her own sister to take her place. She doesn't want my money; she wants my soul. She knows I’m a fraud, and I know she’s a killer. In the gilded halls of the Blackwood estate, we are two monsters playing house, waiting for the first one to blink. Every night is a battlefield. Every kiss is a betrayal. She pins me to the silk sheets with the cruelty of a Queen, but when she whispers my real name in the dark, the mask slips. I was supposed to be her puppet, but I’m becoming her obsession. And as the real killers close in, I realize the only thing more dangerous than the lie we're living... is the heat of the truth. He’s a fake heir. She’s a replacement bride. In a world of silver spoons and sharpened knives, love is the deadliest sin of all.

Riley Cates was a happy 23-year-old woman because her dream was coming to a reality and she was getting married soon. She had a nice and rich family, but unfortunately, her family did not love her, the way they should. Her mother died 18 years ago and her father remarried Tabitha, a cruel cold woman who only cared about her interests. Tabitha had a daughter called Lisa and a son called Mark from her previous marriage and loved them dearly. Riley's father cared deeply about his children but did not show the same attention to Riley as he did to Lisa and Mark. For him, Riley was a girl, who reminded him a lot of his deceased wife, so he did not want to attach too much to her. Mark was a good guy, who decided to go and live abroad. Riley had a boyfriend Erick, whom she loved a lot. They were together for 3 years and wanted to get married. A few weeks before the wedding, while Riley was trying on her wedding dress she saw Lisa and Erick making out in front of the shop. Her world collapsed, she did not know what to do, how to act so at that moment she decided to get revenge, to make them both pay. That same day on the other side of the city a letter arrived in the Cates's household. It said that the Knight family is asking one of their daughters to marry their only son. The family had already heard about Bruce. They knew he was an ugly crippled and bad man. He had a temper as well. When Tabitha read the letter she had a plan in mind. She knew what she will do…

Life seems colorful and fun for Princess Adelia until someone she loves gets taken a way from her. Adrian is a knight that has been assigned to protect the princess after an encounter that nearly ttook her life. His stoic and serious expression coupled with his agile build and sarcastic persona makes him the perfect man for the job. He's drawn to the calm and beautiful princess. But he knows her attention is on something else. Adelia is determined to find who did this to her family. she knows she can't do this alone, so she asks for help. Who's a better help than her own guard? The two are faced with many obstacles, but never did they expect her bethrothal to a far away prince. Adelia thinks she's faced enough betrayal. Little does she know the pain has just began. There would be love, bloodshed, betrayal pain. At the end, there would be victory.

The story you are about to read is inspired by a true story and refers to a time span of three years. During this time, various events take place. Love. Intrigue. Folly. Trips. Hopes. Vicissitudes. A love triangle will put a girl disputed between two important but profoundly different men at the center of attention. A princess. A commander. A sailor. A ship. Between one port to another, from one route to another, in an endless journey between sea and land , in different geographic locations around the world will happen à the unthinkable - in which the main protagonists of the story - it will help in moments of difficulty - but at the same time they will hate each other - struggling to re - establish their bonds and their role. At the seaside, life is different. You don't live by the hour but by the moment. We live by the currents, we adjust to the tides and follow the course of the sun. Cit. (Sandy Gingras) I want the sea to touch me, make me breathe the world and its whys, give me an eternal instant, which I will carry with me as an indelible memory. The sea is the mystery in which I immerse myself to rediscover my life. The sea. Cit. (Stephen Littleword) You can't be unhappy when you have this: the smell of the sea, the sand under your fingers, the air, the wind. Cit. (Irène Némirovsky) When love is true and sincere, it climbs over the mountains, the vastness of the sky and the sea. No human experience is greater than its strength. Cit.(Romano Battaglia)

Hungry and desperate, Luna Reyes crashes a wedding while running from her ex boyfriend—only to end up in a stranger’s veil. Mistaken for the missing bride, she says “I do” to powerful CEO Grayson Vaughn… and steps into a life never meant for her. At first, it’s survival. Then, something unexpected: real feelings. But just as Luna begins to fall for her husband, she uncovers a devastating truth— He’s connected to the tragedy that destroyed her family. What began as a stolen identity spirals into a dark hunt for answers. Because Luna didn’t just marry the wrong man— She married into a past she’s been trying to escape.

When a certain situation leads Diva Adler and Blaze Hudson into a church, where a mass wedding ceremony was taking place, the last thing they expected was to get married. Diva Adler is a talkative girl who always remains happy. She is an optimist who can point the best out of the worst situation. She can’t stay quiet even for a few minutes. She prefers to make everyone a part of her life. Meanwhile, Blaze Hudson is a young bachelor who started his own business. He is usually quiet, and only talks when absolutely necessary. Before looking at the bright side, he looks for any negative ramifications. He is a pessimist and prefers to keep his life private. She loves chaos; he loves peace. She is chirpy; he is silent. She is an extrovert, while he is an introvert. What happens when they are tied together through an unexpected wedding? What happens when The Extrovert Weds The Introvert?