Lamia Hotel

I had been dating Andy Lawson for five years. He had gone bankrupt, and during the worst of it, we had to sleep in parks and scavenge leftovers for food. After a hundred days of that life, I was just going to the blackmarket to sell some blood for money when someone sent me a video. [Surprise.] It was a livestream site, set up for rich kids to prank the common folk—and a video of me was pinned to the top. My finger trembling, I tapped on it and saw myself hidden in a corner of a park, munching on leftovers to nourish my frail body. On the split video, Andy was reclining against the armchair of a five-star hotel and savoring his gourmet menu. "Oh, this is amazing! All Andy has to do is say that he's sick, and she's selling her blood for him!" "On the sixteenth prank, she fell into the ocean… And on the fifteenth, she was sent flying in a car crash! Why is she so hard to kill?" "Well, Andy already made it clear that if she survives until the end, he will marry her and swear off women!" "One month to go! Will she die from the pranks, or marry into the Lawson family with pomp and circumstance?" "I'm betting fifty mil that she dies tragically! Hahaha!"

Natalie Taylor has one goal when she signs up as a companion at Dreams: to make a shit ton of money and get out fast. She's not looking for adventure or hoping for love and romance. But days into her moonlighting job, her quiet determination is shaken when she confronts her biggest problem yet—Levi Van Holt, heir to a mega-billion hotel chain and CEO of a gaming startup. Levi is everything she wants in a man. Gorgeous, wealthy and generous to boot. There's just one problem. He's her new boss... Harbouring a dark secret and nursing wounds from his past, Levi has one rule and one rule only for his companion: no falling in love. But with his desires continually tested, the more time he spends with Natalie, it doesn't take long for both their lives, real and secret, to converge, the lines between illusion and reality begin to blur, and the temptation to break his only rule becomes harder to resist. © 2022 Val Sims. All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author and publishers.

“Isang gabi ng pagkakamali sa piling ng estrangherong asawa at isang gabing magpapabago sa kanyang tadhana.” ​Tatlong taon nang kasal si Elena sa isang misteryosong bilyonaryong si Dante Valderama, isang kasalang papel lamang para iligtas ang negosyo ng kanyang pamilya, at isang lalaking hindi pa niya kailanman nakita. Sa gabing desidido na siyang tapusin ang lahat, nagtungo siya sa hotel suite ng kanyang asawa para humingi ng diborsyo. Ngunit dahil sa alak at isang pagkakamaling hindi na mababawi, nauwi ang kanilang paghaharap sa isang mapangahas at mapusok na gabi sa dilim, isang gabing hindi nila alam kung sino ang kanilang kaharap, tanging init at pagnanasa lamang ang nag-uugnay sa kanila. Tumakas si Elena, bitbit ang takot at lihim ng gabing iyon. Ngunit para kay Dante, ang babaeng nagmulat sa kanya ng kakaibang pagnanasa ay hindi basta palalampasin. Hahanapin niya ito, kahit hindi niya alam na ang babaeng hinahabol niya ay ang asawang matagal na niyang binalewala.

"You were never her, Aria. You were just... there." Jason's words echo in my head as I stand in the back of the church, watching him mourn another woman on her sister's wedding day. Isabelle. The perfect dead girlfriend. The ghost I've been competing with for three years. I thought I could be enough. I thought love could grow where grief once lived. But when I find the evidence, when I see the hotel receipts, the text messages, the photos of Jason with Isabelle's sister Violet, I realize the truth. I was never the love story. I was the intermission. What I don't know yet is that nothing about my marriage was real. Not Jason's cruelty. Not Violet's affair. Not the stranger's rescue. They've all been playing a game, and I'm the prize they're willing to destroy each other for. When the truth comes out, when I discover why Isabelle really died and who's been pulling the strings, I'll have to decide: Do I let them destroy me, or do I burn their whole world down?

"Ivy, you are not good enough for my family. You just seem to be getting more difficult with each passing day, and frankly speaking, you're not useful to me anymore," Leon said, standing in front of her in his half-naked state. ___ When Ivy discovered her fiancé in a hotel room with her cousin, her world came crashing down. They had been planning to get married in the coming months, but he clearly no longer cared. They say patience is rewarded, but in Ivy's case, the opposite seemed true. She had endured his physical, mental, and verbal abuse, hoping he would change, but she was clearly mistaken. Sleeping with her cousin was the final straw, and Ivy decided to walk away. However, when she realized he had taken all of her money and even taken out debt in her name, she found herself facing a race against time to pay off these debts. "Be my surrogate, and you won't have to worry about the loans anymore!" her creditor pleaded. Left with no other choice, Ivy agreed to be his surrogate. But what would happen when he brought in his donor, only for her to discover that it was Leon, her ex-boyfriend?

After my best friend, Amber Stone, gets addicted to gambling, she excitedly tells me that she wants to take me to Las Gavas on a trip all of a sudden. "I just won a huge sum of money! I'll treat you to a night in a grand, luxurious hotel there!" But after the plane lands on the tarmac, Amber leads me into a private room tucked away in the depths of a casino. "The truth is, the casino's boss is looking for a woman with a crescent-shaped birthmark. If she's found, all debts will be cleared on the spot. "Don't you have one on your belly? I saw it when you were taking a shower in the past! I'm so sorry, bestie, but I really don't want to die!" While I get pinned on the couch by four men, I suddenly notice a child's doodle being hung on the wall. It was a doodle I had drawn for my father before I got kidnapped. He viewed it as his treasure and told me that he'd cherish it forever. I perk up immediately at the sight. A sneer appears on my face soon enough. Oh, Amber… You definitely have won this time. Unfortunately for you, you won't gain anything.

After her family died in a tragic car accident, she becomes a poor heiress. While she was grieving for her parent's death, she caught her long-term boyfriend cheating on her. The man she thought she could lean on leaned on another woman's shoulder. What's more, that woman is her best friend! With her life filled with endless tragedy, she drowns her sorrows with alcohol and spent a steamy night with a mysterious man. The man in question woke up alone in the massive hotel room. When he decided to spend his night recklessly, a one-night-stand never crossed his mind. With a sly smile on his face, he picked up the note left on the side table. ‘Thank you for tonight! See you never!’ These simple words ignited his will to locate his woman. Five years later… "Hey old man, stop staring at me or my Mom will kick your ass,” the little boy arrogantly said. The “old man” smirked and bent down to pat the boy's head. “That's the best threat I've heard in my life, son.” One reckless night gave them a treasure and a lifetime of happiness.

Mom dies of rage when she discovers that the bride at my wedding has become Nelly Johnson, Harvey Fisher's business partner. My wedding turns into Mom's funeral the moment she breathes her last breath. Despite that, Harvey insists that the ceremony continue as planned. He even orders me to put the wedding ring on Nelly's finger. "Hurry up and put it on! I'll explain everything to you tonight!" he snarls. I ignore him and leave the hotel with Mom's body in my arms. The wedding ends with a banging success at 8:00 pm. Nelly updated her social media with a post that's liked by tens of thousands of people. "I've finally married the light of my life! I'd like to thank a certain homewrecker for leaving after remembering her place." Harvey updates his social media with a similar post. "Those who are unworthy don't deserve to be loved." I like both their posts in the ice-cold morgue. I comment, "I wish you two a lifetime of happiness." Then, I head home with Mom's ashes. When I enter the house, I see Harvey holding Nelly tightly while making out with her.

Alaric and I had agreed to elope together. But he changed his mind the moment I signed the papers to leave the pack. Standing outside the back booth at the hotel bar, I overheard him talking with his friends. "You tricked Sophie into leaving the pack just so you could have more alone time with Vivienne? Aren't you worried she'll lose it when she finds out?" Alaric took a lazy sip of his drink. "Why would she? She's so obsessed with me she'd cling to me all day if she could. Tell her what she wants to hear afterward and she'll forgive me, guaranteed." "Besides, Vivienne's family has real pull. That kind of backing could tip the scales in my fight for the Alpha position. Sophie will just have to deal with it." Every word sliced through me until I couldn't breathe. I fought back the urge to storm in and confront him, and turned away instead. Back home, I pulled out my phone and scrolled to the very last contact in my list. "Dad. That arranged mating you mentioned — I accept."

Six years of marriage, and I'm finally pregnant! My husband is an Alpha. To give him an heir, I had gone through countless rounds of ovulation shots, swallowed all sorts of herbal concoctions made by witch doctors, and even been forced to insert some strange things into my private parts! But now, it's worked! I planned a romantic road trip, hoping to surprise him when we got to the resort. Of course, he insisted we bring Kelly along. Kelly is his Beta—beautiful, tough, and a bit of a warrior. The heat was unbearable, so I went to the trunk to grab a soda from the small cooler, but Kelly accused me of trying to smash her with it. "Apologize to Kelly!" my husband ordered firmly. "No! I didn't do anything!" I protested. So, they both dumped me in the middle of nowhere. It took everything I had to escape the three Rogues who were after me. But when I finally made it back to the hotel, I found Kelly on top of my husband. "Ana, you can't have children. Kelly just wanted to help us have one," he said shamelessly.