Long Shadows David Baldacci

Elena Moreau et Adrian Delacroix s’aimaient autrefois d’un amour passionné, mais un malentendu orchestré par un ennemi de l’ombre les a séparés brutalement. Brisée par cette trahison, Elena a refait sa vie loin du monde d’Adrian, tandis que lui est devenu l’homme le plus puissant du pays. Des années plus tard, leurs chemins se croisent à nouveau lorsqu’Adrian rachète l’entreprise où travaille Elena. Persuadé qu’elle l’a trahi dans le passé, il veut se venger et l’oblige à un mariage sous contrat. Mais alors qu’il cherche à la faire souffrir, il se rend compte qu’elle n’a peut-être jamais été coupable… Alors que leur relation oscille entre haine et désir, la vérité sur leur séparation commence à émerger, révélant un complot bien plus vaste qu’ils ne l’avaient imaginé. Face aux manipulations du passé et aux ennemis tapis dans l’ombre, pourront-ils se retrouver et réécrire leur histoire ? Amour, trahison et secrets inavoués… Quand le destin s’en mêle, peut-on vraiment y échapper ?

⚠️ Warning: descriptive sexual acts, please refrain from reading this if you're below 18, forbidden love, sex. control, manipulation. He leaned in closer, his breath warm. "Is that what you call it when you wear that skirt?" he asked, his hand sliding down my back. "Or when you bend over, letting me see?" I struggled to find words to protest, but my body was reacting to him. "Please," I whispered. "We can't." He held me firmly, his gaze intense. "Can't or won't?" he asked. "I see it in your eyes, Emma. You want this." I tried to push him away, but he was too strong. "Mr. Hathaway, please," I begged, feeling confused by my own feelings. He leaned in closer, his breath hot. "Call me Alex," he said softly. "We're not at work anymore." Hearing his name sent a rush through me. Alex. It reminded me of the attraction I had been fighting. His hand moved up my thigh, and I couldn't help but respond. I moaned softly. "You like that?" he asked, his voice thick with desire.

My name is Hillary Clarke. I’m twenty-four years old, newly engaged to my Prince Charming, Jake Brown and I just landed a new job. Jake and I have been together for four years, ever since college, and nothing makes me happier than the fact that he proposed to me a month ago. I wear his ring with pride because I’m obsessed with him, and all I want is to build a family with Jake. We want to move quickly—get married, buy a house, and settle down in Boston within eight months, even though we’re still young. We’ve been working hard and tirelessly to make this happen but dreams don’t come cheap. Jake has a good job, but me? Not so much. Thanks to Jake, I just got a new job… working for his older brother, Bentley Brown. Bentley’s reputation precedes him. He’s arrogant, rude, and full of pride—all because of his devastatingly good looks and the company he started at twelve that made him a billionaire by twenty-seven. But he is also hot, charming, intoxicating and he has this dangerous pull that can drag you straight to your ruin. They call it the Bentley Effect. Would it work on me? I hate my new boss. He gets under my skin… and under my dress too.

Coming out from the prison, Caroline came home to see her best friend and her husband of five years cheating on her on her matrimonial bed. She was served a divorce letter and asked by her husband. and heartbroken and in pain, she meets a handsome stranger whom she had a night of passion with. But it turns out that the stranger is her husband's boss, who saved her from losing her job and, in return, presented her a contract. “Marry me , and I will protect you from going back to prison again.” What will happen when Caroline later discovers that she is pregnant. The father of her pregnancy is yet to be known. will she stoop to conquer as she is thrust into the power struggles of the Johnsons family? or will the day of the contract be the start of her doom?

Si Evangeline Yang, kilala sa high-end world ng Ligaya & Adonis bilang Apple Pie, ang pinaka-requested escort—tinaguriang Best Flavor. Pero para kay Eva, hindi ito tungkol sa karangyaan o pagnanasa—isa itong paraan para mabuhay. Ang gabi-gabi niyang bookings ang naging daan para siya'y makatapos ng BSBA major in Marketing, nakabili siya ng studio-type condo unit, at naka pag patayo ng maliit na negosyo para sa kanyang pamilya sa probinsya. Ngunit matapos ang limang taon ng pagtatago sa pangalang hindi kanya, handa na siyang mag-quit. Ang final booking niya: isang weekend sa Euphoria Island kasama ang isang estrangherong basag ang puso. Walang pangalan. Walang expectations. Walang label. Langit sa ilalim ng buwan. Mga halik na masyadong totoo para sabihing trabaho lang. At isang gabing akala nila, kaya nilang iwanan sa isla. Nagkamali sila. Pagbalik sa Maynila, handa na si Eva sa bagong simula-isang lehitimong trabaho sa isang prestihiyosong marketing firm. Pero hindi siya handa sa lalaking naghihintay sa kabilang dulo ng opisina. Gideon Morgan—isang self-made billionaire CEO at charismatic marketing genius—na minsang naniwala at naging bulag sa pag-ibig... matapos siyang paulit-ulit iwan ng babaeng akala niya'y sa kanya. Sa Euphoria, natikman niya ang kalayaang matagal na niyang hinahanap-at ang halik ng babaeng hindi niya malilimutan. Maniniwala na sana siyang hindi totoo ang second chances—hanggang may nagturo sa kanya kung paano muling umasa at buksan ang puso muli. At ngayon, narito ang babaeng 'yon. Sa opisina niya. Bilang kanyang bagong secretary. Sa mundong puno ng power suits, deadlines, at mga lihim na hindi nila sinadyang itago—kaya pa ba nilang manatiling propesyonal? O dadalhin ng Euphoria ang lahat ng damdaming iniwan nila... hanggang sa boardroom?

I wasn’t supposed to sleep with him. I am straight or maybe was... Hell, I wasn’t even supposed to meet him until one drunken night changed everything. I had no idea who he was. He had no idea I was the brother of the woman he was about to be engaged to. We touched. We kissed. I let him take everything from me. And then I woke up… and realized he wasn’t just any guy. He was Dante Cruz. The heir. The man I'm now forced to work for. Now, I’m stuck pretending like last night never happened. He’s engaged to my sister. And I’m still trying to remember how to breathe every time he looks at me like he wants to taste me all over again. I said it was a mistake. He said I didn’t stop him. One of us is lying.

Wanting to help her family and treat her sick father, Pazneah was forced to join a secret fraternity. She thought it would be a better way to earn money, but it wasn't. Especially when she was dragged into an unfamiliar cabin for violating the initiation of the fraternity. She was blindfolded. She wanted to regret everything, but it was too late. A stranger had gotten the purity that she was most wary of. And the only thing she could do that night was to run and escape from all the wrong decisions she had ever made in her whole entire life. But the night she neglected herself paid off. Until she found out that the child she was carrying was the son of a millionaire.

Sa mata ng lahat, isa lang akong ordinaryong secretary na walang halaga sa pinakamalaking kumpanya sa bansa. Tahimik akong gumagalaw sa opisina habang pinapanood ang mga kasamahan kong halos sambahin ang malamig, makapangyarihan, at walang pusong CEO—si Evander de la Cruz. Para sa kanila, siya ang lalaking hindi kailanman bababa sa antas ng isang tulad ko. Pero ang hindi nila alam… asawa ko siya. Isang taon na mula nang ikasal kami nang palihim. Sa harap ng lahat, ako’y parang alipin lang ng trabaho, at siya nama’y boss na ni hindi ako pinapansin. Pero sa likod ng saradong pintuan ng kanyang opisina, nagbabago ang lahat. Doon, siya ang lalaking sabik sa aking haplos, handang lumuhod para lamang maramdaman ang init ng aking pagmamahal. Pinili kong itago ang aming kasal upang patunayan na kaya kong magsikap gamit ang sarili kong pangalan. Ngunit habang tumatagal, mas nagiging lantad ang pag-aangkin ni Evander—at mas nagiging mapanganib ang mundo sa paligid namin. Lalo na nang magsimulang gumalaw si Clarisse Montenegro, ang ambisyosang team leader na gagawin ang lahat para siraan ako at mapasakanya si Evander. At mas lalong lumala ang lahat nang pumasok sa eksena si Alessandro Cortez, ang tuso at mapanganib na CEO ng partner company na nahulog sa akin at handang gamitin ang negosyo para agawin ako mula kay Evander. Sa gitna ng mga lihim, tukso, at laban sa kapangyarihan, isa lang ang malinaw: kapag ang malamig na CEO ay umibig, hindi siya uurong sa digmaan. At ako ang dahilan ng digmaang iyon.

Pengawal, Kau jadikan Suami? Apakah menurutmu pernikahan juga sebuah bisnis? Tidak sengaja bertemu kembali, setelah bertahun-tahun hilang komunikasi. Jasmine terpaksa berpura-pura lupa ingatan guna melancarkan misinya. Apa kira-kira misi Jasmine sebenernya?

11/1/25 - Under revision. "Be careful of who you love, sometimes, they are just - Killing you softly." Si Dana ay nagkaroon ng panibagong rason para mabuhay, pagkatapos ng isang malaking trahedya na pumatay sa boung pamilya niya. Pero what if, the person she thinks giving her the urge to continue living, is just Killing Her Softly, not just in his obssessive dark romantic love, kundi dahil sa mga katutuhang pilit nitong tinatago.