Lie

Ariana thought her biggest challenge was protecting her heart—until love, lust, and betrayal tore her world apart. First came her mother’s new husband, Mr. Fred—her late father’s best friend and the man Ariana should never have wanted. Then came Robin, his dangerously charming son, who refused to let her go. And in the shadows, Chris, her loyal boyfriend, watched as Ariana slipped further into temptation. When forbidden passion turns into a web of secrets, lies, and deadly revelations, Ariana must choose between desire and survival. But in a family bound by betrayal, every choice comes with a price—and hers may cost her everything. Ariana never asked to be caught between three men—yet passion, lies, and betrayal pull her deeper into a forbidden harem she can’t escape. When her mother dies suddenly and dark family secrets rise to the surface, Ariana learns the shocking truth: the man she desires may also be the one who destroyed her family. DIALOGUE “Robin? What are you doing here?” I shivered, my heart pounding. “How did you get in?” “I saw you with my father.” His voice broke, tears welling in his eyes. “I told you how I felt, and you chose him.” A pang of guilt hit me. I pulled him close, crushing him in a tight embrace before kissing him deeply. I stared up at him, desperate for more. He stripped off his shirt, laid me down on the bed, and covered my body with his mouth. Every kiss, every touch, was more intense than anything I’d experienced with his father. “Tell me you love me,” he whispered. “I love you, Robin,” I lied, the moan ripped from me. My body betrayed me utterly—legs shaking, skin on fire. The way he sucked my breasts was on another level.

After my boyfriend risked his life to save me in a fire, I proposed to him. But he refused, saying he was burdened with massive debt and wasn’t worthy of me. From then on, I worked five jobs a day, just to pay off what he owed as soon as possible. But fate had other plans. I was diagnosed with brain cancer. When I finally saved enough and went to say goodbye, I overheard his conversation with his friends. “The heir of the Law family, pretending to be broke in front of some poor girl. Seriously?” “She’s worked herself to the point of coughing up blood. You really don’t feel anything?” Landon Law curved his lips into a faint smile. “This is just a test for her. Once we’re married, I’ll treat her well.” “And what about Clara Shaw? She’s coming back soon. That rich girl has been talking about marrying you for years.” After a long silence, he finally spoke. “They’ve both been through hard times with me. I can’t let either of them down.” “But Clara’s fragile. She can’t handle any shock. She wouldn’t survive without me. I have to protect her. “Stella is understanding. As long as I give her the position of Mrs. Law, she’ll accept it.” The moment I heard that, everything went black, and I collapsed. When I woke up again, Landon was gripping my hand tightly. “Stella, don’t be afraid! Even if I lose everything, I’ll make sure you get treated!” A mechanical voice suddenly echoed in my mind. [Congratulations. You have been granted the ability to detect lies.] [Accumulate more than five detected lies from the male lead to exchange for a full recovery from brain cancer.]

My childhood friend promised to marry me once we came of age — but at my wedding ceremony, he gave my wedding ring to my stepsister, Summer Hugh. At the time, it was Victor Lowell, the fearsome mafia heir, who saved me by publicly announcing he had loved me for years. In the five years we had been married, he would fulfill every wish I had, even those I mentioned offhand. I truly believed I was the center of his world. All that changed when I stumbled across a top-secret folder as I was cleaning his bookshelf. The very first page was a file on Summer, with three red words printed in bold, “Top protection priority.” It was followed by a mission report I knew too well. On the night of the mission, there had been an attempt on my life. My blood had almost run dry before I was saved. When I woke up at the hospital, I found out that I had lost a baby I did not know I had been carrying. I wept bitterly in Victor’s arms, but I did not tell him about the baby. I did not want him to worry about me more. Now, I finally found out — Summer had been attacked that night as well, and Victor’s orders had been: “Save Summer first.” My tears soaked into the paper, smudging his handwriting. “Alright,” I said softly but firmly into the silence. “If my marriage had been a lie all along, I’ll disappear from your life. Forever.”

My mom is a pathological liar who enjoys making herself seem like the victim. Unfortunately, I'm always the scapegoat. When I was little, there was one time when she went out to play poker with her friends. As a result, she forgot to go home and prepare dinner on time. After that, she slapped me in front of the entire family. "This brat ran off to god knows where earlier! I went out looking for her, which is why dinner got delayed!" Because of that lie, I had to kneel in the courtyard throughout the night. When I was studying, I had to take an extremely important exam. My teacher repeatedly reminded the parents to prepare all materials required for their children. But my mom didn't even prepare anything for me. After that, she even said in front of everyone, "I've already prepared the materials for her. She was the one who threw them away when she was on her way to school because she didn't want to take the exam at all!" Since then, all of my classmates ostracized me throughout my entire school life. After I came of age, my mom kept crying to me in the middle of the night. "Your father has been abusing me for so many years. I had to endure everything for your sake, you know!" I advised her to get a divorce, only for her to tell an exaggerated version of what I said to my father. "Your daughter egged me on to divorce you! She said she doesn't need a useless father like you! I couldn't stand it anymore, so I'm telling you this!" He flew into a fit of rage on the spot, which led to him accidentally pushing me down the stairs. I died on the spot from the fall. When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day my mom cries to me about my dad for the first time.

Anna has a secret, one that could ruin the relationship she has with everyone, even her own family. She is in a relationship with Alejandro, her older sister's husband, one of the top billionaires in the world Two nights before Anna arrived in New York City, she had a one-night stand with a mysterious man who she later found out was her sister's husband Alejandro.

Shortly after we said "I do," the Family sent my husband, Dario, down to the Mexican border. He told me it was a meat grinder down there—cartel territory. where guys were zipped into body bags every day. He said he had to go—to expand the territory, for the glory of the Family. He claimed it was too dangerous and that his enemies would paint a target on my back, so he wouldn't take me with him. I believed him. I stayed behind in his old, rot-infested house in New Jersey, taking care of his bitter, spiteful parents. I spent my days and nights in the Family's moldy laundromat, washing bills stained with blood. He told me he sent every dime he made down there to the widow of a brother who took a bullet for him. He asked me to be understanding. I never complained. Day after day, I pressed expensive suits in that humid laundromat, waiting for him to come home. It wasn't until the eighth year that a mobster came back drunk. When I asked about Dario, he froze, then sneered at me through a haze of alcohol. "Dario? Are you kidding? He’s been a King in Manhattan for years. He’s the youngest Underboss of the Corleone family." I stood frozen, the iron in my hand burning a hole right through a shirt. "And he got married seven years ago. Biggest cathedral in New Jersey. Half the mob was there to toast the groom..." He pulled a crumpled photo from his leather jacket. Snuggled up against my husband was a woman in a high-end couture gown—the very same "poor, widowed sister-in-law" he had told me about. The next day, I contacted a fixer who specialized in fake IDs. On the application for a one-way ticket to Europe—a ticket to vanish off the face of the earth—I filled in the fake name I had prepared long ago. He trapped me for seven years with a sham marriage. From now on, I’d be done with this damn loyalty.

At sixty-five, I got served divorce papers. The same day, my husband Sebastian — decked out in his wedding suit, of all things — popped a handful of sleeping pills in a suicide attempt. For years, we were the perfect couple. The kind of pair neighbors whispered about with envy. I couldn't wrap my head around it. The divorce. The pills. None of it made sense. Not until I found the photo and letter in his pocket.

Among the wolf packs in the North, everyone knows very well that Alpha Danny Gardner from the Gronya pack is a lunatic. That wolf is a bloodthirsty and violent menace. He often presses a blood-stained claw against his opponent's throat at the negotiation table. To think that an Alpha like him loves incredibly sexy she-wolves… Recently, Danny has his eye on Serana Allen, a she-wolf from a small pack. The pack has agreed to deliver her to Danny in five days' time just to avoid inviting trouble to their doorstep. When my mate, Alpha Trey Sutton from the Sawyer pack, finds out about this matter, he goes missing for the next three days. By the time I've tracked him down in neutral territory, I happen to overhear his conversation with his Beta. "On the day of the bonding ceremony, once the convoy is done circling around the Sawyer pack's border according to the North's rules, we'll switch the route. Leah will replace Serana in traveling to the Gronya pack." The Beta keeps his voice lowered. "Don't worry, Alpha. The route has been arranged properly. But… what should we do about Leah?" Trey remains silent for a moment. "I can't just sit by and watch Serana fall into Danny's hands. None of the she-wolves who have slept with him can leave his territory unscathed. I will form a temporary bond with Serana. As for Leah… "Well, once the matter is dealt with, she will remain the pack's only Luna." As I stand outside the door, I can feel my blood turning into ice. The Alpha, whom I've loved for so many years, actually plans on marking another she-wolf at my own bonding ceremony…

J'avais été mariée à Alexander pendant trois ans. Tout le monde craignait sa cruauté, mais avec moi, il avait toujours été d'une douceur incroyable. Mais depuis qu'Elena avait pris une balle pour lui lors d'une fusillade il y a six mois, tout avait changé. Il répétait toujours qu'elle avait été blessée en le sauvant, alors je devais me montrer compréhensive. Lors du gala le plus prestigieux de la famille, mon mari — le Don, Alexander — est arrivé avec sa secrétaire, Elena, à son bras. Sur sa poitrine était épinglée la broche en rubis qui symbolisait la position de la Donna de la famille. « Elena a pris une balle pour moi. Elle aimait cette broche, alors je la lui ai prêtée pour un moment. Quoi qu'il en soit, tu restes la seule Donna ici. Essaie de montrer un peu de classe. » Je ne me suis pas disputée avec lui. J'ai simplement retiré mon alliance et j'ai sorti les papiers du divorce : « Puisqu'elle l'aime tant, elle peut l'avoir. Y compris cette place à tes côtés. J'y renonce aussi. » Alexander a signé sans la moindre hésitation, un sourire froid aux lèvres. « Quel genre de stratagème manipulateur es-tu encore en train de jouer ? Tu es une orpheline, séparée de ta famille ; tu ne survivras pas trois jours en Sicily. J'attendrai que tu reviennes me supplier. » J'ai sorti un téléphone crypté que je n'avais pas utilisé depuis trois ans. Alexander ne savait pas que j'étais en réalité la fille de la plus ancienne famille mafieuse d'Europe. Mais ma famille et celle d'Alexander avaient toujours été ennemies. Pour l'épouser, j'avais changé de nom et même avais rompu tout lien avec mon père et mes frères. L'appel s'est connecté. J'ai pris une profonde inspiration et j'ai murmuré : « Papa, je regrette. Envoie quelqu'un me chercher dans deux semaines. »

I always knew that I had to rule. It was written in my blood, as well as my father’s. And my great grandfather. For centuries, my family has been responsible for the monarchy of vampires. Our powers allowed us to drink human blood and then eliminate that memory. In fact, at the time of biting them, we could see some memories of that human. The most relevant of their life. Humans would only wake up the next day in their bed, with a mosquito bite on their neck, not remembering and without even suspecting anything. Although of course, exceptions existed. Wolves had their mates, the sorcerers their connections, and even the sirens had their other half. We were not different, not at all. For each existing vampire, there was a special blood. The donor with only a drop of blood that could keep us active and strong for weeks. In most cases, those people became a couple of vampires. However, not in my family. The lineage should remain pure, so even if I managed to find my donor, as we used to call them, I could only keep it as a lover. Did I want to be a monarch vampire? Of course not. Did I have another option? Of course not. I should not worry about getting my donor, because the statistics of finding them were so small, that even some vampires believed that it was a myth. The only way to find that special blood was drinking from it. And it was impossible to try the blood of all the humans of the world. So many didn’t bother looking for it. Me included. However, I did not expect to meet her in a somewhat peculiar situation.