Novel Ice Cream

Being a mute used to be simple before all the craziness started. I just can't talk and that's who I am. Mum has learned to accept that and I guess so have I. Everything was just fine in my high school in Shanghai. I had finally made it to year twelve and even though I was in China, I was actually being treated as a human being despite my disability. Things were definitely not perfect but I would give anything to go back to that, like it was before. I heard my first voice that year, right at the beginning of year 12. I didn’t really have any real friends, but I was used to it and before the voices started, I was fine with that. But it all changed when I first heard them. The voices inside their heads started then and my life was never the same. They weren't just thinking about school or they girls or guys they were into, no they were thinking about doing things, doing horrible things to each other and I was the only one that knew how messed up they really were.

In the quiet of the forest, the darkest fears are born. The people of Dunballan, harbour a dark secret. A secret more terrible than the Beast that stalks the dense forests of Dunballan. A secret that holds David McCavendish, last in a long line of Lairds, in its unbreakable grip. It’s down to Sally, David’s lover, to free David from the sinister clutches of the Beast. But, with the whole town against her, she must ally herself with an ancient woodland force and trace Dunballan’s secret back to its bitter origins. Those origins lie within the McCavendish family history, and a blasphemous heresy that stretches back to the beginning of time. Some truths are too terrible to face, and the darkest of these lie waiting for Sally, in the Quiet Places. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Liah Delos Santos lost everything overnight when her father died and left behind crushing debts. Hunted by loan sharks and desperate to survive, her life takes a sudden turn when she meets Ethan Gonzales a rich CEO trapped by family pressure and a secret he cannot reveal. Two strangers. One risky deal. Can they save each other without losing themselves?

[It's an unedited book. Typos and grammatical errors are common] What happens when a mafia and police get in a contracted relationship? They say if two people end up badly in one life, they get another chance in their new life. Shawn and Bella were meant to be together, but what holds them back was the past and secrets. They got to shield their hearts but instead, these two people from opposite sides of the law collide and build fiery attraction among themselves with explosive chemistry and an instant connection. There are no laws for love.

Because of the incident, my life changed completely. I never thought that in an instant, I would lose everything. Family, friends and even the man that I loved. But I met a man which I did not expect to love him. He is the mysterious one, cold as ice, introvert, anti-social but he really caught my attention. But the way his voice sounds or the words he speak makes me think that I met someone like him before. Curiosity kills me inside. Naging parte kaya siya nang nakaraan ko? Nakilala ko na ba siya noon? Pero hindi ko inaasahan na isang araw, mahuhulog ako sa kaniya. Can we bring back our past or remain strangers?

Aline’s life plan doesn’t include being the sole female in a pack full of idiot males. When her boyfriend turns Alpha and imprints on her best friend, she learns horror stories are real. When Hunters attack the pack, Aline discovers how far she'd go to cheat fate. Jian, her packmate and secret-admirer, finds Aline naked in the trees, broken by her epiphany. Lending her his shirt and taking her home hardly seems like a life-changing event. But she asks him to stay. Will Aline choose Jian over the imprint she's fated to meet? --- Author's Note: Your reading experience is important to me. For some, certain topics can ruin that experience. Please visit https://laelamoreno.tumblr.com for a list of trigger warnings.

It's my husband, Niall Luther's birthday. I take my son to the hospital to visit Niall since he's working late; I want to surprise him. However, we get into an accident on the way there. When I rush to the hospital with my bloodied son in my arms, I see Niall holding his first love's daughter. He coos at her and says, "This might be a small wound, but there's a risk of infection if it isn't handled well!" His first love, Chelsea Blanc, gives him a chiding look. "You treat Lulu so well that I'm getting jealous." Niall wraps an arm around her. "It's only because I love you. You're the one I love the most." I pull out my phone and call him. He keeps his arm around Lulu White and rejects my call. So, I text him, telling him our son is injured and has been taken to the hospital where he works. I tell him he needs to attend to our son. However, he berates me for lying. I have no choice but to take my son elsewhere for treatment. Before leaving, I see Niall kiss Chelsea tenderly and tell her he wants to take her to an amusement park. That's when I know he and I are over.

A girl's love so deep? It appeared it was true love at the beginning. She was determined to do everything possible to get what she wanted. Her friends ridiculed her. Society mocked her. But she did not give up. "True love?" I often asked myself. But I had no answers to my questions. It took me quite a long time to define her true intentions. One night, she visited. "Let's try it," she proposed that night. I felt her warm breath as she whispered. Her wild expectations coupled with anxiety was making her heart beat very fast. It was a quiet night, and the light was dim in the room. That was the first time she spent the night with me. I was determined not to have any affair with her. I was a novice, and I believed she was not though many people in the community including her family believed she was a virgin. A feeling I could not define thrilled through me when she spoke. "A test or she mean it?" I asked silently. We have often talked about staying chaste till the appropriate time, the time we are sure to get married, so why was she proposing that we try it? I brushed off that thought and began thinking about how I was going to go about it if she really meant it. I had no experience in satisfying a woman in bed. "Did you hear me?" she asked. And before I could say anything, I felt a kiss on my right cheek. The man in me responded to the touch. But before I could act on my feelings, I remembered grandma's prediction about us. "Are we really going to get married someday?" I asked silently . . . Happy reading!

Rejected by her fated mate, Alpha Nox, for reasons tied to a supposed Omega curse, Tamsin leaves the Lunaris Pack with Nox’s best friend, Lior—only to be used and betrayed again. Behind the scenes, Nox’s manipulative mother spins lies to keep her grip on power, while Zara, the Beta's daughter, serves as her weapon. When the truth surfaces, Tamsin returns stronger, unwilling to forgive easily. Nox must face the damage his choices caused and fight for the one he turned away. But redemption won't come easy—especially when the very people closest to him are plotting his downfall.

After my daughter was seriously injured in a car accident and suffered heavy bleeding, she was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. When it was time to sign the surgical consent form, the nurse suddenly snapped the medical file shut and pressed it down firmly. "Hospital regulations state that only immediate family members can sign the surgical consent form. What proof do you have that you are the child's father?" I was stunned. "She is my biological daughter. Do I still need to prove it to you?" The nurse retorted, "Birth certificates can be forged. How do we know the child wasn't abducted by you? If you cannot prove it, we cannot proceed with the surgery." Seeing the nurse's self-righteous expression, I trembled with anger. "I am signing the surgical consent form for my own biological daughter. Do I need to provide DNA evidence as well?" She curled her lip. "These are hospital regulations. We are being responsible for the patient. If you cannot prove the child is yours, we will report you to the police for child trafficking." After saying that, she actually called security to report it and loudly accused me of being a human trafficker. Report me to the police? I took out my police uniform from my bag and put it on. I'd show her what a split-second response was.