Lonely Gamer

“Will you give me your life in exchange for your father's?” He whispered in my ears, as he traced down my face, to the skin on my neck, with the cold edge of his gun. “No… Irene, don't…,” my father begged faintly from where he lay, straining against the grip of Diego’s men. "Yes,” I blurted out, a tremor in my voice. “If that's what it takes, then… Take me!” I surrendered, closing my eyes. *** How far would you go to protect the ones you love? Would you trade your soul to the devil to save theirs? Well, I did. I, Irene Herrera, offered myself to the Mafia Devil, Diego Vargas, in exchange for my father's life. I became his captive bride. He put me through hell, yet… I refused to break. I played his game, but I made my own rules, breaking his. I challenged him at every chance, defying the Almighty Diego. He was captivated by my rebellious spirit. As we drew closer, I started to see the man behind the mask, he was hurt, lonely, and haunted by the ghost of his lost love. I was drawn to his broken heart. Soon, the lines between captor and captive blurred for us, as we lost ourselves in a flaming love affair. But what happens when I learn that my long lost sister was Diego’s ex-lover, involved in a plot to destroy him? This conspiracy arises again and Diego’s life is threatened. I face a choice to either seize this chance to escape, and leave him to die, or stay and protect the man I now love, even if it could cost me my life. Whatever choice I make, Love or survival, am I justified? What would you do if you were in my shoes?

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

🔞Contain Explicit Content🔞 Gage didn’t make a habit of denying himself anything. If he wanted something… anything, he’d claw his way to get it, consequences be damned. But her? Thea? She was the only goddamn exception. Off-limits. Untouchable. A tempting little toy he had no right to shatter, yet that only made him itch to wrap his hands around her and play until she begged. For months, he’d fought the urge, keeping his distance but fate, the-smug-bastard, threw her to him and he, being the despicable-asshole he was, couldn’t say no. She’d walked into his life on his son’s arm, but that wasn’t an issue. Because he’d take her anyway. Steal her. Ruin her for anyone else. And keep her pinned beneath him for as long as it took to satisfy the hunger that’d been gnawing at him for months.  THEA ~ I kept hoping my boyfriend would look at me. Just once. Just enough to feel like I still mattered. But he never did. So I went looking for attention elsewhere… and somehow, “elsewhere” turned out to be his father. Gage. The man I should’ve stayed the hell away from. Gage wasn’t gentle, and he sure wasn’t safe, but he saw me and looked at me the way his son never did. And the moment I stepped toward him instead of away, I knew I’d crossed a line I couldn’t come back from. It was wrong. Forbidden. A disaster begging to happen. And yet… standing there in front of him, lonely and stupidly hopeful, I lean into the warmth he gave so easily, the attention he offered like it cost him nothing. I should’ve walked away. But I didn’t. And neither did he.

" Yes!" Cassio's dad shouted happily. "That's the spirit, everything is going just as planned" he smiled mischievously as he walked out ordering his men to clean up the mess that has just been made. The death of Skylar has untamed the monster. He had become ten times worst than he used to be few years back after his pregnant mum died in an attack by an unknown Mafia. The few years Skylar had been with him , people had experienced peace unlike before when they were usually agonized and always had to live in fear. There are a lot of secrets to uncover as Cassio seeks nothing but revenge. In her drunken state, Bianca has just being disowned by her father and has also caused her mum's death. She had to flee from her angry dad. Not knowing where to go, she boarded taxi to the nearest train station but instead she was robbed and was left in a lonely dark road. As she staggered, she fell on the floor hitting her head so hard that she became unconscious. When she woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar environment. She later got to know that she had been in the house of her father sworn enemy for three days and wasn't allowed to leave. Going back to her father was a big no to her, staying here means keeping her identity a secret if she wanted to live. Circumstantially, Cassio get to meet Bianca, together they uncovered lot of secrets. Secrets that had hurt them right from their childhood days. Unknown to them, they had caused pain in each other lives. Would Bianca be Cassio's new tamer? Would they be able to forgive each other? Would Cassio fall in love with Bianca?

Kira is an adopted daughter of a well-known heartless billionaire (Gerald Cranwell) who was sold by him into a contractually agreed marriage to the wealthiest family in the entire country to escape bankruptcy. Clueless Kira calm and collected could only just watch her life being handed over to a new home and her new world, tackling people from the highest society and struggling to look presentable before a husband she had never set her eyes on before. He never showed up at their wedding and she didn't know what he looked like in person. Trapped in a supposed marriage meant for two yet leaving alone, she grew tired of waiting and accepted her fate, living like a nobody and sleeping in her lonely world, not until a certain stranger crawled into her bed under the moonlight. Excerpts #1 She was dressed in her night attire, looking like a carved doll. Her eyes were shut and her brown hair which was as soft as a Pima cotton was spread wide on the soft pillows, her skin glowed underneath the light of the moon, which was the only light visible in the room, and her long lashes accompanied her pointy nose that laid beautifully above her rose pink lips. She enticed him. She made the beast in him growl out in desire. He craved her, he wanted her. Kira was in deep sleep when her nose caught a whiff of an unfamiliar scent. She didn't know what it was but her body craved it. She felt a certain presence but she was far too gone to wake up from her slumber. Unconsciously, her nipples hardened and her insides were on fire. She rotated on the bed as if she was been controlled and moaned and groaned as if she was being drugged.

Elena had once believed that silence could mean safety. That a gentle hand and a warm cup of tea placed quietly on her desk every morning could be a form of love. Lucien was never cruel—not in the obvious ways. He remembered how she liked her eggs, noticed when she swapped her perfume, and sent flowers on days he knew she wouldn’t expect them. He raised her like one would raise a pet—softly, without question. And Elena, foolish in the way only the very lonely can be, mistook his quiet affection for devotion. She told herself he was reserved. Mysterious. That love didn’t always wear its heart on its sleeve. But when the old flame returned—the one who spoke his language without needing to try—Elena saw it. The difference. He looked at her like a man who had found his lost religion. And Elena? She had simply been convenient. No tears, no scene. Just papers on the breakfast table, beside the eggs he cooked perfectly. She didn’t accuse or beg. She only asked for freedom. He didn’t sign. He chuckled. A soft, dismissive sound. “A cat raised indoors doesn’t know how to survive on the street, Elena. You’ll come back." But she didn’t. She disappeared, like smoke—except she didn’t vanish, not really. She lived. She wore colour again. Laughed at bad jokes. Let strange men hand her coffee and ask for her number. Lucien? He watched. He watched her become someone without him. And it drove him mad. The night he cornered her outside the gallery, rain in his hair and desperation in his eyes, he looked like a man undone. "Elena," he breathed, "please. Look at me. Just once." She did. Calm as ever, and her love already gone.

Sky Isabelle Honralez Bustamante, a beautiful and intelligent heiress. She is every woman’s envy. But behind that glamorous exterior is a very lonely princess who lived her life just to please her father. She even gave up her own dreams para lang makuha ang attention nito. And then one day, she fell from grace, hard. But Sky had enough. She got fed up fighting and decided to run away. With no destination in mind, she packed her bags and left everything behind. Miguel dela Cruz: komikero, matikas, at higit sa lahat, ubod nang gwapo. Actually, he could pass as a Calvin Klein/Armani model. Idagdag na rin natin na pang toothpaste commercial pa ang ngiti nito. Ang isang kagaya nito ay nababagay sa mga cover magazines at runway fashion shows. May mga pa-english-english pa kuno itong nalalaman. Ngunit sa likod nang magagandang katangiang tinataglay nito nagtatago ang misteryong bumabalot sa buo nitong pagkatao. The beautiful heiress and the handsome country bumpkin. One is trying to run away from her past while the other is being chased by his future. These two are in for a serious turmoil of emotions. Sky is trying to keep her distance. She builds up walls around her dahil alam niyang masasaktan lang siya and she doesn’t know if she can handle it. And Miguel, the man who’s a push and pull, but is always there to catch her when she feels like she’s falling. They are like magnets being drawn together, hanggang sa wala na silang takas. But just when everything is about to fall into place perfectly, saka naman sila naisipang paglaruan nang tadhana. Their past and future caught up to them at sa isang iglap nagbago ang lahat. Mahanap pa kaya nila ang daan pabalik sa isa’t isa?

Prologue Nathan sat on the roof with a portrait in his hand. He has been looking at her portrait for the past hours and he is not ready to let go of it. He stared at the picture with a satisfied smile on his face. His Sadie! He just can't stop staring at her. She was really his sweet angel which portray the meaning of her name. Sadie! He hugged the portrait before dropping it. He picked up his drawing paper and pencil ready to sketch her beautiful face again. Every corner of his room has her picture, everything! And almost all his belongings too. His plates were designed with her picture, his phone pouch was her, his wrist band has her name. His private company is in her name, his box has her picture, his closet, just name it. The workers thought he's running mad, no one believed it's love except his family and of course, his personal guard. He smiled at nothing closing his eyes before starting the sketching. He's been stalking her ever since that faithful day they met , that faithful day she became his sweet angel. He knows her every moves, everything she does and how she's being treated in her own home . He turned his hand in a fist and his jaw tightened. The thougt of that does nothing but angers him. He wants to save her, he wants to take her out of that bondage but it's not yet time. She doesn't even recognize him, it will be insane to go ask her out for marriage when she doesn't know him . He's going to make them pay, watching his Sadie from a far distance seeing her in tears, seeing her lonely, seeing her sad and seeing her feeling unloved hurt his heart so much

The night my father collapsed, I learned some men negotiate with money… but Noah Thorne negotiates with lives. I never planned to marry a billionaire CEO, especially not the man my father owed $50,000 to. But when the hospital demanded an $80,000 deposit before surgery, life made the choice for me. While my mother sobbed in a cold hallway, Noah’s bodyguard arrived with an offer, an arranged marriage, a contract marriage that would clear the debt and cover every medical bill. When I confronted Noah, he presented the terms without cruelty: one year, no intimacy, public appearances only, and freedom after. He believed he was offering mercy but I felt like beautifully packaged captivity. Desperation crushed pride, and I signed. Our “marriage” was a seven-minute formality, no vows, no meaning. Moving into his penthouse was like stepping into a museum built to contain silence. Publicly, we were the perfect romance. Privately, we were strangers navigating a fragile arrangement thick with unspoken tension. Complications followed us: Noah’s elegant, smug ex who treated me like a placeholder, and my own ex-boyfriend, whose sudden reappearance triggered jealousy in Noah he couldn’t hide. Arguments, silences, and late-night moments softened something between us. Slowly, painfully, the man behind the empire emerged, the lonely boy shaped by loss, abandonment, and guarded walls. We began to care. We tried to deny it. Feelings weren’t in the contract but feelings don’t read contracts. Near the end of the year, Noah pulled away. I thought he wanted freedom. He signed the release papers with steady hands and a breaking heart. I was almost gone when he whispered the truth: “Please don’t go.” We tore up the contract. A year later, we married again, this time for love, not survival. This time, I chose him

**Book 1: My Healing Love (omegaverse) **Book 2: My Healing Love: Mateo's Love Story (available on the website for now! )! Because your love heals me, I will give you all my life. Trevor: "I can't stand men touches." Trevor looks sadly at the man in front of him, then added "and it seems that my body doesn't like women's pheromone either... So I'm bound to be alone." Soon I realise that I was special because I was the only man who could manage to touch him, and he was the only one whose pheromones could affect me. Then I thought maybe we were made for each other. So I decided to love him only"- Max "He is the only man I can feel and touch, He is the first one who can make me smile like that." So I thought maybe he is my healing. - Trevor Max is an alpha, future CEO of the most powerful company in town. He is looking for his mate, to make his boring life more pleasant. Trevor is an omega. An orphan after losing his mother and grandfather, he thought he would live a lonely and painful life until he met Max. Watch as Max and Trevor heal each other with their love, trust and respect. Follow our two protagonists in this love story full of twists and turns. *Excerpt* Trevor's lips quivered "I just don't want to regret this... you know I've watched my mother die because of a one-sided bond, I'm scared to jump into a relationship with someone I don't really know just because we are mates..." "I know ... and I have to say that I'm glad you're taking your time ... it means you're seriously considering me, at least I know it's not my money or my body you're interested in!" Max joked