Lay Reader Novels & Stories

While studying abroad, I move into a shared apartment. Not a single day goes by without my housemate, Stuart Harper, calling himself some variation of a sweet, brave, and responsible guy. On the very first day he moves in, he hires workers to take out the insulation from the walls. I confront him about it, but he simply grins at me and proudly boasts about his decision. "That was all just some shoddy foam that the construction workers padded the walls with. Not only was it useless, but it was even taking up so much space. The fact that I forked out my own money to get rid of it proves that I'm such a sweet and responsible guy!" With a scowl on my face, I explain to Stuart the purpose of having proper insulation. He immediately leans in close with an admiring gaze. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea! I just wanted to do something nice for us. What should I do now? You have to help me think of something!" I naively assume Stuart just lacks common sense and doesn't act with malice. Thus, I willingly enter into a cycle of always cleaning up after his messes. One day, I get a fever. He ends up buying a secondhand electric slow cooker and declares he's going to take care of me by cooking me soup. My head throbs as I quickly put a stop to his attempt to heat the electric slow cooker on the induction stove. I tell him to let me catch a nap before I teach him how to cook later. But not long after I fall asleep, he secretly sticks the electric slow cooker into the microwave to heat it up. The microwave explodes. As the flames start to spread, Stuart screams and dashes out of the apartment at once. The fire alarm wakes me up. I try to evacuate the burning building, only to find that Stuart has locked the door from the outside. In the end, the fire burns me to a crisp. After that, however, he starts twisting things around. He goes online and says with a helpless expression, "My housemate set the apartment on fire while cooking. I'm the one who had to call the fire department on his behalf, and I even had to compensate the landlord for him. I'm definitely the sweetest, bravest, and most responsible guy to ever live!" As the online community proceeds to condemn me, Stuart uses the attention and publicity to go viral as a content creator. Some time later, my eyes open again. This time, I'm going to roast him good.

Maya life is turned upside down when she suddenly has to leave her pack and move in with her mother and her new husband. Life is hell, but it' worst because of her new stepbrother that is everything she thinks is wrong with a hot boy that drives all the girls crazy. As her sixteenth birthday reaches, she starts to have strange feelings for her hot stepbrother, and he also start becoming very protective of her. They want to deny it, but they have become attracted to each other, even though their relationship will get them in trouble in the pack. How long will they be able to keep their attraction a secret? what happens when her father comes back to cause trouble for her mother and the new pack?

Vincenzo Costa and I have been in love with each other for eight years. Everyone knows that the heir of the Costa family loves me more than life itself. In order to marry me—an orphan—Vincenzo has knelt outside Costa Estate for three days and three nights. At the same time, he has received 99 whips from his father, the Don of the Costa family, which almost kills him. In the end, Don Edmondo Costa finally agrees to let Vincenzo marry me. But the catch is, Vincenzo must date Sofia Camorra, the Principessa of the Camorra family, and have an heir with her. So, Vincenzo tells me to wait for him for a little longer. I end up waiting for a very long time while watching him traveling to Sofia's villa time and again. At first, Vincenzo still takes three showers and scrubs his skin so much that it turns red. He tells me that once Sofia has given birth to the child, which allows him to fulfill the promise he has made to the Costa family, he'll whisk me far away from the violence and spend the rest of his life with me. Alas, everything has changed. Vincenzo no longer showers frequently. He constantly smells like Sofia's perfume now. He doesn't inform in advance whenever he goes on dates with Sofia. To make things worse, there's nothing but affection in his eyes whenever he looks at her. When Sofia burns up from a fever during her pregnancy, Vincenzo doesn't leave her side at all. She pretends to be gracious by telling him about how understanding she is about his situation. Because of that, Vincenzo wastes no time in admonishing me for being spoiled and pampered. Through the gap in the ward door, I can hear how close and intimate Vincenzo and Sofia are. At the same time, I notice the flash of provocation in Sofia's eyes. Vincenzo has made me wait year after year, not knowing that my biological parents have already found me. They want me to go home with them so that they can give me a real home. That's why this time, I won't be waiting for Vincenzo anymore.

Without Kaelen's knowledge, I had his little plaything sent out of North America. That same night, he cast a blood-vine curse on my parents, banishing them to the wilds—a wasteland prowled by rogues. He was going to trade my parents' lives for the whereabouts of his plaything. Kaelen pushed a communication crystal in front of me. Inside it, my parents were ensnared by blood-red vines, the thorns digging deep into their flesh. Drops of dark crimson blood fell, one by one, onto the barren earth. A countdown timer pulsed in stark red digits on their chests. 23:59:59 23:59:58 He sat across from me, a black suit tailored to perfection molded to his lean, powerful frame. His long fingers tapped a light, steady rhythm on the solid wood table, as if he were waiting for a trivial business deal to close. "Estelle, you have twenty-four hours." His voice was low and calm, laced with a venomous tenderness. "Tell me, where did you send Cassandra?"

She is his most faithful secretary. He is her billionaire playboy boss. Just a night mutual mix-up and later, everything begins to go wrong with their mutual co-existence they have maintained thus far. She has been insisting on marriage since he took away her virginity but can one night of intimacy and the sense of familiarity and comfortability that comes with years of working together be enough to build a good marriage? And how long can such a marriage last when one party is willing to make the best of the situation but the other is indifferent?

Mila Santiago has spent five years climbing the ladder at Prime Sports Agency, dreaming of becoming a full agent while hiding two secrets: her estranged father is a beloved hockey broadcasting legend, and she used to have a massive crush on the team's star goalie. When her boss assigns her to babysit that very goalie, the infuriating, gorgeous, tattooed Jax Kingston. After he throws her iced coffee at a fan, Mila's carefully ordered life implodes. Jax has been spiraling since his sister's overdose, showing up late, yelling at reporters, and earning trade rumors. He doesn't need a babysitter, especially not some peppy junior agent in bright heels who smiles too much. But when his career hangs in the balance, he has no choice. What starts as forced proximity turns into late night talks on hotel rooftops, skating on frozen ponds, and a New Year's kiss that breaks all their rules. But Mila's father threatens to expose their relationship and destroy her career. Jax's guilt over choosing hockey over family threatens to push her away. And when an anonymous photo surfaces, Mila is suspended from her job just as she's about to get the promotion she's worked her whole life for. With the trade deadline approaching and everything on the line, Mila and Jax must decide: play it safe and walk away, or risk it all for a love that comes once in a blue moon.

Monique** I was raised to hate everything Radek stands for. He's the Moonvale Alpha's son, our sworn enemy. Arrogant, smug, always too calm. But somehow, he's always there around me. I was forced to believe it was just fate playing a trick on me, except there was one thing I didn't see coming. Radek** Winning Monique over was never supposed to be easy. Her fire, her hatred, the walls we were forced to build against each other. Everyone knew the daughter of the Ravenmont alpha was a no go area but I couldn't afford to stay away from the one my wolf calls. I knew what I was up against and I had a plan. I just wasn't sure what would come next. **** Two different lives made to live against each other, until the tides change. Less games and more plans, one show to turn it all around.

A marriage of half a decade that Emily Winchester had poured her heart and soul into crumbled in a night after catching her sister and husband lustfully entangled. Her soon-to-be ex releases her nudes to the world, framing her with infidelity. She leaves the marriage with a little more than the clothes on her back, and desperately trying to pay for her grandmother's hospital bills, is aligned with New York's notorious playboy billionaire, Sean Woods, as he's looking for a contract wife. What happens when a single night encounter is all that is needed for the most eligible bachelor in the country to have his sights set on her? Will she just turn into one of his many conquests or be the one woman who claims his heart alone?

After I, Rosalie Ricci, was stood up 17 times, the mafia don, Daniel Marino, finally holds the perfect engagement banquet for me. In our second year together, we are ready to get married. But every single time, he has an excuse to hold our engagement off. He says he's busy with work, the timing isn't right yet, or that he isn't quite ready. I never blame him because I love him. I have loved him since our school days. In fact, I have loved him for seven whole years. This is the 18th time. I stand in the banquet hall wearing the gown he personally chose for me and watch as he slips the ring onto my finger. He kisses me with a passionate intensity he has never shown me before. At that moment, I believe that I have finally secured my perfect happiness after waiting seven long years. My happiness only lasts until the guests leave. As I step into the back garden, I see Daniel holding my twin sister, Leah Ricci, in his arms. He says in a hushed voice, "I announced my engagement to Rosalie 18 times. This time, you're finally back." That's when I realize that the engagement banquet that I have longed for is nothing more than a ploy by Daniel to draw Leah back to him. But when I decided to let them be together, Daniel panics.

Velia Argento has lived a sheltered life, fiercely protected by her older brother, Hardin. But when she unknowingly saves the life of Xavier De Santos—Venom, the Alpha and head of the notorious MC The Reapers—her quiet world shatters. Ruthless, powerful, and driven by vengeance, Venom warns her: "You should have let me die." Now, he won’t stop until he owns her, body and soul. Venom is a shifter forged in blood and betrayal, haunted by the brutal murder of his family. He has spent years hunting those responsible, and Dr. Antonio Argento is the key to unlocking his past. When he discovers Velia’s connection to the doctor, she becomes more than a distraction—she becomes his obsession. Trapped in his dangerous world, Velia is forced into servitude, her every move dictated by his unyielding commands. But as she fights to escape his grasp, Venom finds himself drawn to her innocence, her defiance, and the fire in her eyes. He wants to break her—but what happens when the fragile kitten begins to claw back? With enemies closing in, secrets unraveling, and a war brewing among the most powerful mafia clans, Velia and Venom are caught in a deadly game of power, control, and undeniable attraction. She was supposed to be his prisoner. Now, she might be his only salvation. 🔥 **Possessive Anti-Hero** 💀 **Dark Mafia Romance** 🔥 **Obsession & Revenge** 💀 **Spicy & Emotional**