Laughing Outside Crying Inside

Clara James is nineteen years old. From the outside, her life looks rich and perfect. Inside, it is a silk wrapped hell. When she was ten, her world fell apart after her father cheated on her mother. Six years ago, her mother died in a car accident, forcing Clara to move in with her father… and that was where the real nightmare began. After her father married Emilia Cole, Clara’s life turned into an open war. Emilia did not only destroy her childhood, or leave her scarred by the trauma of harassment attempts. She made abuse and humiliation a daily routine. Still, Clara did not break. She did not bow. Everything changed when the wrong man entered her life at the worst possible time. Adrian Cole, Emilia’s brother. He is older. Cold. Distant. A criminal investigator hunting a serial killer roaming the city streets. Dangerous to get close to. Forbidden to touch. Yet he was the only one who held Clara when she collapsed, cleaned her wounds with his own hands, and gave her a sense of safety she had never known. But how can she trust a man who belongs to the family that tried to destroy her? Especially after Adrian uncovers a deadly betrayal inside his case… one that could drag them both into the abyss. Clara loves him to the edge of ruin. But when the enemy is closer than anyone imagines… Does love save, or does it kill?

There are monsters in this world. And they used to be us. Now it's time to euthanize to survive in a hospice where Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. Post-infection Chicago. Christmas. Inside The Hospice, Emily and her fellow nurses do their rounds. Here, men and women live out their final days in comfort, segregated from society, and are then humanely terminated before fate turns them into marrow-craving monsters known as ‘Smilers.’ Outside these imposing walls, rabid protesters swarm with signs, caught up in the heat of their hatred. Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. But in a world where mortality means nothing, where guns are drawn in fear and nobody seems safe anymore – at what cost will this pursuit come? And through it all, the soon to be dead remain silent, ever smiling. Such is their curse. It won't be long before that snow-speckled ground will be salted by blood. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Do you know the feeling? When someone is soo close but still soo apart..! When someone who is still your better half on papers but in real life, they are nowhere... When you go crazzzyy searching for the one thing that would have gone wrong but get nothing! When you don't know what exactly was your fault that drove your other half away..! This is exactly how he was feeling. DEV KHURRANA A very straightforward, cunning and manipulative Lawyer for the outside world. But from inside he was just another man searching for his solace, and he cannot have his peace Unless & Until he knows why would his wife runaway from him. ANUSHKA TANDON She was the one who ran away leaving all the marital responsibilities behind. Leaving him behind. Or so the world thought. But.. Was this the truth? What would have made her take such an impulsive decision?

After the most wanted bachelor in Renowoods, Marvin Chambers, lost his memory, he began to pursue me relentlessly. I dated Marvin for three years and fell hopelessly in love with him. Just when I was about to tell him I was pregnant, I overheard a girl who used to bully me say to him, "Thanks for pretending to lose your memory and pulling 99 pranks on Serena just to avenge me. "Once you hit 100, I'll be your girlfriend." That was when I finally understood—Shirley Hunt was the one Marvin had always loved. And I was just the fool he used to make her laugh. Later, I died in a plane crash. Marvin lost his mind searching through the wreckage, only to find a single ring. Inside, it was engraved: [Hope You'll Love Me After 100 Pranks]. They say he collapsed crying in the debris and had to be rushed to the hospital after passing out. When he woke up, he turned against everyone who had helped him prank me. Meanwhile, I stood smiling in the snowstorm of Frontania, watching as my medical records went up in flames. He had faked amnesia to win my heart, so I faked my death to teach him a lesson.

Six months after our divorce, my ex-wife, Shanon Reich went viral with her new influencer boyfriend, Tobias Hunt, gaining over ten million followers. One day, by sheer accident, I scrolled into their livestream and saw my three-year-old daughter, Ginny Herbert, trapped inside a car. She was crying so hard she could barely breathe. Her little face was flushed, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. She looked utterly helpless. Shanon didn't smash the window, nor did she call the police. Instead, she laughed brightly at the camera. "Thank you to our top fan for the moneybag gift!" Then she grinned and said, "Send another moneybag! I'll smash the window once I get it, okay?" I lost my mind. I raced over like a madman and wrenched the car keys out of her hand. "Leomund Herbert! Are you insane?" she screamed. "Do you know how much this stream is worth? It's just a little heat! She's not going to die!" I held my daughter in my arms. Her tiny body was limp, and she was barely conscious. With reddened eyes, I pointed at her and shouted, "Shanon Reich! You will pay for this!"

Astoria Winters lost everything on one mundane weekday. The man she loved for the last five years betrayed her and cast out of the only place she had come to call ‘home’. She finds herself with nowhere to go…until a mysterious man comes to take her to her estranged mother, who is apparently getting remarried. And just like that, she is thrust into a world that she never knew existed outside novels. Viktor Romero is the Alpha heir of the Black Moon Pack. Polite but detached, controlled but cunning, he has spent his life reining the beast inside him. Over the years, he has come to believe that there wasn’t anyone fated waiting for him. And he was okay with that. That is until Astoria walked into his life. She was human and forbidden because she was his step-sister by marriage. A story of fated mates, forbidden desire, and a love powerful enough to challenge the moon itself.

Jeremy Suprezo, a rich highschool student who won the nickname of King for being the most attractive being inside the campus. It was his looks and talents that made him famous even outside the school. For having the big name that everyone held their heads to look up to, pushed him to act beyond the limits. From a gentleman who loved playing chess and ball games to a guy who ever love to play girl's feelings. He was not the Jeremy of before. He turned to a loyal monster who is afraid to be left behind by all his gains. On the otherhand, Aris came. A new student to enter the world of indescribable. If ever the king notices her, what would be her place in the castle? A maid maybe? just like every weak girls and boys the king had bullied. Or an official that are use to gain more and are not cared for, just like everyone who sticks like bubble gums. Or perhaps, a queen? Someone a king need to protect even if it means losing everything.

The day before the final round of Beta selection, I was poisoned with wolfsbane and locked inside my burning house. The fire spread too fast, and my weakened state prevented me from shifting. My wolf, Emma, screamed in my mind, but I couldn't escape. I clawed at the door as the flames seared my skin. When I was rescued, my body was covered in burns, my skin raw and torn. Outside the operating room, I heard my mother sobbing, repeating, “It’s my fault... I locked the door by accident... I never meant to...” Alpha David, my mate, called for every healer to restore me, but his cold words to my mother were chilling: “If Serina wasn’t so vain and selfish, I wouldn’t have had to do this. Becky was fragile, struggling with depression, yet Serina flaunted her success in front of her. This is what Serina owes her.” David’s actions were meant to pave the way for Becky to become Beta, but I was the one who suffered. He claimed to be treating me well, but destroying my health and future didn’t feel like care. I pressed my hand to my bandaged chest, the numbness spreading. Emma growled inside me, weakened by the wolfsbane. I no longer wanted the love of the mother who betrayed me or the mate who was supposed to protect me. I wanted nothing from them anymore.

With Alpha Cain…there's just something with him that makes my blood boil to the hottest degree, my mind roaring with spite and disdain every time I look at him in the eyes. I often ask myself, "Am I really sure to be the Alpha's Pet or am I just looking at the fastest way to die?" Maybe I'll never know the answer. Maybe I also knew the answer already. But deep inside, one thing's for sure: I hate Alpha Cain. But I also like some part of him. And I hate that part of myself that liked the part of him. *** Anastasia is an I-don't-fucking-care type of Omega who, because she's already bruised outside and broken deep inside, just accepts whatever comes her way. But Alpha Cain somehow liked her wicked mouth. She's the only Omega who can talk back to him with enough sarcasm and wits that most of his pack members lack of. And in the tradition of most packs, whether in every year, months, or even weeks and days, the Alpha will choose among Omegas as his Pet: a more accurate term for his personal bed warmer. It is an actual title in a pack reserved to only one person, with benefits and privileges on its own. And because Anastasia accidentally became drunk the night Alpha Cain tested her skills in bed, she rode so wild and satisfied the Alpha more than he expected. And a hate-to-love, pet-to-lovers tale began to unfold.

On my 30th birthday, my boyfriend of seven years asked to meet at the City Hall. He even told me to bring my ID and wear a wedding dress. But when I showed up just as he asked, he was laughing and looked really excited. “Pay up, pay up! I told you all. No matter how embarrassing it is, Wrenna will always do what I say!” I just looked at him wordlessly. Matthew Young raised his eyebrows at me. “Come on, it was just a joke. You’re not mad, are you?” When I stayed quiet, he got annoyed. “Alright, alright. I said I’d marry you, and I will. Just not right now.” His good-for-nothing friends started laughing and making fun of me. They said I was his simp and would never get angry. And they were right. I was not angry. I did not come here today for him anyway. After everyone left, I walked into the City Hall. “Sorry I’m late. Let’s go get married.”