Melanie Bright

BLURB Loud cheers and applause rang on the air. Agnes smiled widely and hugged her husband’s arm in joy. It was their wedding day, and she was so happy that she can barely contain it. Perhaps it was the feeling called above the clouds? She looked up, wanting to see the happiness in her husband’s, Leon, eyes. He was also smiling, but what contained his eyes and barely obvious intent hidden behind his smile made Agnes shudder as fear slowly showed its way inside her whole body. Her smile faded. Her husband was smiling. He was smiling with joy, not because he was happy with the wedding- he was smiling like a beast who has their prey on his foot- [CLANG!] Before Agnes knew it, the shouts of happiness were replaced by cries of despair. The claps and applause was replaced by hurtful sounds of slaps. The colorful, bright and joyous venue was replaced by dark, damp and scary room. Agnes just saw her pathetic self on the corner of that room; she was still and was looking at nowhere. She remained motionless, but in her mind, she was trembling in fear and helplessly crying in despair; “Please help me out from here!”

"Bound by a prophecy, our love was never ours to keep. It was written, a passion cursed to consume us both—destined to ignite, destined to destroy, and never to be undone." Have you ever looked at your stepbrother and been like, Damn, I wanted him? For Ahvi Thatcher, life as a step-sibling has never been easy. She remembered the first time she saw him and the attraction that nearly knocked herself off her feet. It was strong—too strong, almost unnatural. But he was her stepbrother and the feelings were wrong and she knew it, yet she couldn't resist the lure of the forbidden fruit that was her step-brother. One forbidden bite and she found herself in a whirl of passion and intrigue, torn between the forces of love and lust that battled inside her heart. Will Ahvi be dragged into the shadows by her stepbrother, her sinful desires, and her own forbidden passion, or will she break free and find a brighter road ahead? What if there was no bright road ahead? What if everything and everyone she knew was a lie and now she must save herself from a world she never knew existed in the first place? only if she hadn't given in to her desires.

Five years ago, Isabella Reyes walked away from the only man she ever loved—Alexander Knight, the ruthless billionaire who shattered her heart. She left with nothing but her pride… and a secret she swore she would never reveal. Now, with her family’s company on the verge of collapse, Isabella has no choice but to return to the city she fled. Desperate for a lifeline, she finds herself face-to-face with the one man she vowed never to see again. Alexander hasn’t forgotten her. He hasn’t forgiven her either. Cold, powerful, and more dangerous than ever, he offers her a deal: marriage. On his terms. For his revenge. But Isabella is hiding more than scars from the past—she’s hiding their son, a bright little boy with Alexander’s storm-gray eyes. And when the truth comes out, the billionaire who vowed never to love again will stop at nothing to claim what’s his. A marriage of convenience. A love that refuses to die. A secret that could destroy them both. Will Isabella protect her heart and her child, or will Alexander’s obsession consume them all?

I've been married to Austin Salazar for five years. Every time I accidentally touch him, he'll force me to kneel in a pool of disinfectants while reciting verses from the Bible. But there was once when I noticed a bright red hickey on Austin's collarbone. Instincts propelled me to touch it for a fleeting moment. While Austin did lose his temper at me before storming out of our home, for once, he didn't tell me to get down on my knees. Naively, I thought that he's starting to get used to my touch. But the next day, my virginity is set to be auctioned off at the auction house where the rich and the powerful of Bannerton regularly visit. The auction will officially start in two days. While Austin's buddies calculate the price they can afford to bid with lewd expressions, he remains unmoved as he keeps cleansing his collarbone with disinfectants repeatedly. "How dare she touch the spot Carol has kissed before! Who does she think she is? Just the sight of her taints my vision!"

In the shadowed swamps of the South, where ancient cypress roots drink deep from the earth, something older and far more dangerous stirs. Rio never asked to be reborn into darkness, but as a fledgling vampire trained by the ruthless and alluring Odessa, he’s learned quickly that survival demands both strength and sacrifice. Haunted by the family he left behind, Rio carries the weight of his choices—yet he can’t ignore the fragile bond forming with Junie Elowen, a newly turned vampire whose bright green eyes hide grief, fear, and an untapped power that could change everything. Odessa’s control slips as her complicated attachment to Rio deepens, forcing him to question where loyalty ends and obsession begins. But greater threats rise when Cassian—an ancient vampire and Junie’s sire—emerges from the shadows, determined to claim what he believes is his. Power struggles ignite, alliances fracture, and the swamp itself seems to whisper warnings of blood yet to be spilled. A story of forbidden bonds, found family, and the price of power, Blood Beneath the Cypress is a dark, atmospheric tale where love and loyalty are as dangerous as the monsters lurking in the night.

As soon as Danielle Bradford has recovered from her postpartum period, she brings her baby to the county clerk's office to register for the baby's birth certificate. "My baby's full name is Taylor Gardner. Her father is Matthew Gardner." The employee types on the keyboard, but his brows draw tighter afterward. "The system has flagged another child with the same name under the same father." His words leave Danielle momentarily stunned. Thinking that her ears have deceived her, she blurts out, "That's impossible! Our baby has just turned one month old!" But Danielle feels her phone buzzing in her pocket before she can finish speaking. She taps on the screen, only to see a photo sent by Matthew's assistant, Meghan Landry. In the photo, Matthew has his left arm wrapped around Meghan's waist while carrying a five-year-old boy with his right arm. The three of them stand in front of a kindergarten's entrance with smiles so bright that they practically sting Danielle's eyes. On the boy's chest is a nametag that clearly says "Taylor Gardner".

"Master, do you miss this apprentice?" Lips painted in bright red ticked up in a sharp smile. Her eyes were a pool of dark red, like a swirl of the finest wine. One jaded hand in his throat, nails slightly digging in the skin there, the other was on his cheek carefully caressing. The clashing of both gestures were confusing, but Rion's mind only provided one instinctual response; to run away as far as possible. ----- Rion Ren, one of the strongest sword masters in the world, had to make a difficult decision to hand over his apprentice, Ruby, to the Demon Master when Ruby's real identity as a descendant of Demon Sovereign was revealed. Three years later, Ruby who had successfully taken the reign of the Demon Realm, came back to take revenge on her master that had betrayed and abandoned her in the hand of cruel demons. Rion swore on his life as a sword master, he only wanted to protect those who were precious to him, but how did it manage to turn the whole world into chaos? How would Rion face his own apprentice in a battle between life and death?!

On the day of the wedding, my fiancee, Bianca Newton, approached me with a bright smile, handing me a glass of wine. I drank it down in one gulp. Suddenly, her male best friend, Xander Lynch, raised his phone and burst out laughing. "See! I told you this idiot wouldn't even notice that it was my piss! Pay up, everyone! Don't forget to follow my account! Pay up!" I started puking uncontrollably, but Bianca merely looked at me with disgust. I demanded that Xander apologize, yet Bianca placed herself in front of him and stopped me. "It was just a joke! Why are you taking it so seriously?" At the same time, Xander said smugly, "Come on, say hello to the views in my livestream! Tell them how it feels to drink piss!" I smashed a wine bottle right on his head. Bianca demanded that I kneel and apologize to him. Then, she hurriedly escorted Xander to the hospital, still in her wedding gown. Looking at the wedding venue in utter chaos, I calmly took my phone out and dialed a number. "Are you interested in marrying me?"

Maria Dela Vega, a bright and resilient young woman, takes a housekeeping job at the lavish Montemayor Estate to help pay for her brother’s medical bills. With dreams buried under the weight of responsibility, she never expected her quiet life to be disrupted by the enigmatic and cold-hearted billionaire, Sebastian Montemayor, who returns from abroad to take over his family's crumbling empire. When Sebastian catches Maria in what seems like a compromising situation, sparks fly—and not the good kind. He’s infuriatingly arrogant. She’s stubborn and unafraid to talk back. Yet beneath their clashes, an undeniable tension brews. As Maria uncovers the cracks behind Sebastian’s icy persona, she learns that wealth doesn’t shield one from loneliness. Meanwhile, Sebastian finds himself drawn to Maria’s warmth, honesty, and courage—qualities he never knew he craved. But their growing connection faces powerful enemies: class divides, secrets from the past, and a scandal that could ruin them both. Will love be enough to bridge the gap between their two worlds, or will their story end before it truly begins?

The day Yancy Shepherd died, Benedict Page poisoned our dinner. His eyes were wild, and bloodshot, as he watched me writhe in agony. There was a madness in his gaze, but worse was the hatred, a disgust so deep it twisted his face into something unrecognizable. "If it weren't for you forcing your way into our lives, Yancy wouldn’t have died from heartbreak. You ruined us! It’s all your fault!" A photo slipped from his trembling hand and landed at my feet—Yancy at twenty, looking radiant, her smile as bright as a blooming flower. I collapsed to the ground, my strength fading fast like a rose withering in the final grasp of winter. Helpless, I waited for the darkness to claim me, consumed by despair and bitter regret. Why hadn’t I listened to the system and killed him when I had the chance? But when I opened my eyes again, everything was different. I stood watching Benedict flee our engagement ceremony. My brother moved to chase after him, but I quietly raised a hand, stopping him. This time, things would be different.