Norton Critical Editions

They took everything from me before I was old enough to remember: my name, my family, my life. Raised as the Ashfords’ scapegoat daughter, blamed, beaten, humiliated while my perfect sister shone, I thought I was worthless. Until a masked stranger broke into my father’s study and called me by a name I had forgotten: Celeste. Vincent Torres is everything the Ashfords pretend to be: powerful, untouchable. He says my life with them is a lie. That I was never meant to be theirs. That he can help me take back my name, my inheritance, my future. All I have to do is marry him. A contract. Nothing more. I’ll become the wife my sister always wanted to be. I’ll infiltrate the world that should have been mine. And together, we’ll destroy the family that destroyed me. But somewhere between the contract and the vows, between the lies and the truth, I forgot the most important rule: Never fall for your weapon. Especially when he might be just as broken as I am.

Kehidupan Wa Lang di Bumi berakhir sia-sia. Miskin, sendirian, dan terlupakan. Kematiannya pun tak mulia. Namun, ternyata menjadi awal mimpi buruk baru. Ia terbangun di dunia kultivasi yang kejam, bukan sebagai protagonis berbakat, melainkan sebagai budak dengan sisa hidup sepuluh hari. Sepuluh hari sebelum jiwa dan raganya digunakan sebagai pupuk spiritual untuk menyuburkan tanaman obat para kultivator jahat. Terjebak di antara kematian kedua dan kehidupan sebagai bahan mentah, Wa Lang hanya punya satu senjata: akal sehatnya sebagai manusia modern. Dengan sisa-sisa pengetahuan kimia, fisika, dan psikologi dari Bumi, ia harus meramu, memanipulasi, dan mengakali jalan keluar dari tempat yang seharusnya tak tertembus. Ini bukan kisah tentang menjadi yang terkuat. Ini kisah tentang bagaimana seekor belalang yang cerdik dapat merobek akar pohon ek yang paling sombong.

“I want you to touch me, Engineer.” She's not begging. It's an order. Xantina is willing to play a dangerous game with Yohan Escobar. They had a carnal affair, just pure pleasure, no pressure. Ang unang ma-in love ang siyang talo. Ngunit pareho silang sanay na manalo at makuha ang kanilang gusto, kaya sa larong kanilang sinimulan, sino ang uuwing luhaan? Handang wasakin ni Xantina si Yohan para sa paghihiganting kaniyang inaasam. Hindi siya papayag na maging talunan. Ngunit paano kung puso’y biglang tumibok sa lalaking tinuturing niyang kaaway?

Walang ibang hinangad si Leil Hidalgo kung hindi ang mabigyan nang maayos at matiwasay na buhay ang kanyang pamilya, lalong-lalo na ang kanyang kapatid. Ngunit sa hindi inaasahang pagkakataon, ang lahat ng kanyang pinaghirapan ay biglaang naglaho, pati na rin ang kanyang pinakaiingatang trabaho. Kasabay ng kanyang paglugmok ay ang pagbabalik ni Roscoe Villafuerte, ang kaniyang dating kaibigan. Siya ang may-ari ng pinakamalaking construction company sa buong Pilipinas. Sa kanilang pagkikita, umusbong ang galit na mayroon si Roscoe kay Leil at dahil nasisiguro niyang nangangailangan ng pera ang babae, inalok niya ito ng kasal, kapalit ng bagay na sigurado siyang hinding-hindi matatanggihan ng babae.

They named me Rose, but they forgot one thing: every rose comes with thorns. And mine are finally sharp enough to draw blood. In my past life, I was the fool who mistook a snake for a husband and a vulture for a best friend. I let them poison my father, steal my inheritance, and lock me away in a damp basement to rot while I was six months pregnant. I died in the dark, hungry and broken, watching the two people I trusted most wear my jewels and laugh at my misery. But death gave me a gift I didn't deserve, a second chance. I woke up back in 2023, standing at my father’s funeral with the taste of betrayal still fresh on my tongue. The world thinks I am the same grieving, " soft rich girl they can drug into submission. They think I am weak. They think I am an easy target. But they are wrong. This time, I am not just defending my father’s legacy, I am burning their world to the ground. From the funeral podium to the high-stakes boardrooms, I am reclaiming my power piece by piece. But as I change my destiny, my enemies are evolving too. Richard's temper is getting more violent, and a new, psychotic player is turning my game of revenge into a bloodbath. With the mysterious and powerful Derek Hamilton watching from the shadows, I have to decide: how far am I willing to go for revenge? Can I truly win and find a happy life, or will the thorns I have grown to protect myself eventually pierce my own heart?

When star hockey player Jack Reynolds tosses divorce papers at his wife Emma, he believes he's trading up for a more glamorous model who "understands his lifestyle." What he doesn't know: the quiet, supportive woman he's discarding is the secret heir to an $18 billion fortune – and the granddaughter of the man who owns his hockey team.For eight years, Emma Mitchell hid her true identity, supporting Jack's career while secretly learning the business from the ground up. Now, with her grandfather's health failing and the Boston Blades facing financial crisis, Emma is poised to step into her rightful role as majority owner.*Some men have to lose everything to realize what they had. Some women have to lose a husband to find themselves. In this game, the most dangerous plays happen off the ice.*

Ruth’s life shatters on Valentine’s Day when she walks in on her boyfriend in bed with her sister . Heartbroken and humiliated she cried so bitterly,Promising never to love again. Months later, billionaire Leonard Williams cold, powerful, and untouchable is drugged at a business gala and wakes beside a stranger with no memory of the night. The scandal threatens to destroy his empire, and his search for the truth leads him straight to Ruth the quiet woman whose name is tangled in the mystery. But as they dig deeper, it becomes clear they were both set up. Someone wants them ruined… or dead. Bound together by danger, suspicion, and a night neither can remember, Ruth and Leonard are forced into a reluctant alliance that quickly becomes something more. Just as the truth begins to surface, Ruth collapses revealing a secret that change everything. She carrying his child.

Nayara Adeline, seorang wanita sosialita kaya raya, hidupnya berubah drastis ketika perusahaan keluarganya bangkrut. Semua harta disita, teman-teman sosialitanya menjauh, bahkan tunangannya pergi begitu saja. Tanpa pilihan lain, Nayara pergi ke sebuah desa terpencil yang jauh dari hiruk pikuk kota, berharap bisa menenangkan diri sekaligus mencari tempat tinggal murah. Di desa itu, Nayara bertemu dengan Arga Dirgantara, seorang pria misterius yang ternyata adalah CEO muda perusahaan raksasa. Namun, Arga sengaja bersembunyi di desa untuk menghindari media dan tekanan bisnis. Pertemuan mereka justru terjadi dengan cara memalukan—Nayara yang baru belajar hidup sederhana terjatuh ke sawah saat membawa belanjaan, dan menimpa Arga yang kebetulan lewat dengan sepeda tuanya. Sejak saat itu, hubungan keduanya penuh dengan kesalahpahaman kocak, perdebatan konyol, dan momen romantis tak terduga. Perlahan, Arga melihat sisi tulus Nayara yang tersembunyi di balik sifat manja dan gengsi. Sementara Nayara belajar arti kehidupan, persahabatan, dan cinta sejati dari sosok pria yang selama ini hanya dikenal dunia sebagai "bos besar" dingin tanpa hati.

Blurb/description Alex never thought his wild night with a hot stranger would turn into a nightmare. But when he shows up at his dad's wedding, that same guy is there—as his new stepbrother. Now, they have to act like family, but the pull between them is too strong. Secrets, sneaky touches, and big risks make their love dark and dangerous. Will they get caught, or can they find a way to be together?

RUINED IN SECRET: YES DADDIES is a collection of short romance stories, steeped with deep, visual and vividly described raw moments, deep ecstasy, the highest height of smutty satisfaction, and boldness that defies rules. He once desired her, touched her in ways that made her feel alive, and yet, years later, his orbs held nothing but disgust as he looked at her. Fine. The void would be filled by someone else, her next-door neighbour, the ex she never got over.