Number Phobia

Arranged-marriage, age-gap, Mafia/cartel romance, forbidden Due to my birth order as a child of the Luciano famiglia capo, I’m used to second place. Second son. Second in standing. Never number one. It’s the way my life has always been. Only in the dark alleys, private clubs, and seedy establishments am I respected. Not just as the consigliere to my brother, the new capo of the Kansas City Famiglia, but also for my unmatched skills with a knife and my particular skills of interrogation. This status is as high as I will achieve. First place will forever be out of reach. Camila Ruiz is the younger daughter of Andrés Ruiz, a top lieutenant in the Roríguez cartel. From the first moment I laid eyes on her, I knew I wanted her. She is too young and fragile, though, to be with a man like me, a killer and criminal. I don’t deserve a woman like Camila. Taking her would ruin her. With the newly established alliance between the Luciano famiglia and Roríguez cartel, I ask for the impossible and promise my life. With the blessing of my capo and the Roríguez drug lord, Camila is to be mine. For once, I will be first in another’s eyes. And Camila will always be first to me. What happens when the fragile alliance is tested? Can I keep my promise to my wife and my oath to the famiglia? Have you been Aleatha’d?

The night before our wedding, Jason Scott receives the cancer diagnosis of my adopted younger sister, Helena Sanderson. His expression falters, and he says indignantly, "We'll cancel the wedding tomorrow, Victoria. Helena is very fragile now. I can't risk upsetting her at this point in time." I reply, "I don't agree with it! Why would my wedding upset her?" Jason doesn't show any displeasure after my rejection. He even thoughtfully prepares a glass of milk for me. … When I wake up the next morning, I realize the house that should be full of excitement is eerily quiet. Anxious, I dial Jason's number 99 times. He only picks up the call on my 100th try. "Where did my wedding dress and shoes go?" I ask. Jason falls silent for a moment. His tone is apologetic when he replies, "I'm sorry, Victoria. Helena wants to experience being a bride once. I can't let her leave with regrets. Please bear with this for now. I'll make it up to you once she passes away peacefully." As the line goes dead, I sit frozen on the bed, unable to recover for some time. … A month later, while Jason is on his honeymoon, I send the livestream of my wedding announcement with his rival, Frank Lawrent, directly onto his phone. Jason regrets it bitterly.

DISCONTINUED INDEFINITELY ********************************** WARNING CONTAINS SEXUAL CONTENT ********************************** Ashlee is a trouble maker who has been expelled so many times that she drove her parents to the edge of insanity. They had run out of ideas on how to get her to straighten up so they decided to send her to an all boys private school where her roommate and all of her classmates are, you guessed it, boys! Once she gets used to the nonstop flirting and staring she makes friends with a number of the guys and quickly realizes that half of them have crushes on her. Will being put here be a punishment or a hidden blessing, only time and her unique experience will tell in the end. ********************************** "You're a girl." He stated coldly glaring at me "You're a boy." I countered raising one eyebrow ********************************** "Ugh stop staring." I stated before adding "Where can I take a shower?" "Um well the showers here are down the hall but they're not private at all." Matt stated "We could guard the door for you so no guys go in." Max added "Awwwww thanks guys, should I strip in front of the whole school now or when you let them in the showers while I'm naked?" I replied sarcastically "Awe Ashlee we wouldn't do that." Matt said "But I wouldn't mind a Private showing." Max added with a wink

The explosion wiped out my parents—and their company. All I had left was some insurance cash and a pile of patents nobody cared about. I begged their old partners to back me. Crickets. Then Alex Ross strolled in, played the hero no one asked for, and proposed. Five years deep into our marriage, after my 99th FDA rejection, I finally cracked. I was in the garage when I heard his phone on speaker. Mark's voice came through: "Dude, you're still handing Lily Emma's blueprints before she even files? How many times has she flopped now? Girl's relentless, huh?" Alex? Straight-up ice. "Ninety-nine. She'll quit soon." "You're really tanking your wife to boost Lily's brand? Worth it?" "Lily's launching her new product tomorrow at the Boston Medical Summit. Patent number 100. Watching her blow up from nothing... makes me proud." "But it's all Emma's stuff. Your dad made you marry her for her brain, didn't he?" "Don't bring up my father." His voice turned sharp. "He forced me to dump Lily. I just played along." I sank into the driver's seat, frozen. I wasn't a partner. Just a pawn—revenge bait for his dad and backup fuel for his ex.

"This realm is your only chance of coming back to life in the mortal world, and if you attract those consequences, take note that you will die.” “Death?” I ask, mostly to myself. And to the voice, “What do you mean by 'I’m on my way to death'?” ~~~ Nova was having a bad day, and all she wanted was for the day to end already. But the universe seemed to have misunderstood her wish, because not only did her day not end, but she met with an accident that left her in a coma. As if that wasn't bad enough, she became trapped in a dimension between life and death, where she had to face a series of trials that would determine if she wakes... or fades from existence. Enter Zephyr, the spirit assigned to guide her to the light – her recovery. The spirit who never tried to disguise his want for her failure. The spirit she should've never fallen in love with. But in a world where survival is determined by the number of challenges a soul can conquer, the heart still found its way around love. With her complicated feelings in an already complicated world, Nova must decide what she's truly fighting for – her life, or the one being who's capable of ending it. *** In a short time, the remaining one hundred and twelve souls are pushed out. When we’re complete and standing, a voice – different from on the bus – greets us. “Welcome, Souls, to the survival games.”

Aiden knight is 25 and is a businessman. He runs hotel chains in and around the country. He gets whatever he wants and whenever he wants it. Until Aria, his irresistible step sister. She is the forbidden fruit, he craves. Their one-night stand didn't help the situation either. His irresistible stepsister, who is naive and innocent, came into his life in her old pickup truck, with her cowboy boots and hat on, searching for her father, who is now his stepfather. His mother's husband number two. After a series of failed boyfriends and dates, his mother married Martin, her father. Aria knows he is bad news from the moment she saw him. That's why she ran away the morning after a crazy night together. He agrees with her. Her temptation is too much to handle and his hate for her father is a huge wall in between them. But the little fact they both can never forget is that she is his runner, who gifted him her innocence. Will he be able to resist his irresistible step-sister? Why does Aiden hate Martin so much? Do they have a history from where his hatred stems from? Where does that leave Aria and Aiden? He hates her at the same time, he craves her. What is the result of their crazy love-hate relationship? A happily ever after, maybe?

One day, my partner, Natalie Moore, cried and begged me to let her have the baby she had conceived with her childhood sweetheart, Yarden Holt. I agreed, but only on two conditions. Firstly, Yarden had to take the child abroad and never come back. Secondly, if Natalie ever broke the first condition and allowed them to come back, half of the Moore family’s estate had to be transferred to me. Everyone called me a gold-digging opportunist. They accused me of using a woman to climb the social ladder and coveting the Moore family fortune. Nevertheless, Natalie was willing to go against the entire Moore Corp board just to keep that child. Five years after that, I went to a neighboring city for a project and found a little boy. I took him to the police station so they could contact his family. The officer dialed the number the boy gave, and the voice that came through was one I knew all too well. “Baby, don’t worry. I’m coming to get you right now.” Less than half an hour later, Natalie, who was supposed to be hundreds of miles away at a meeting, stormed into the police station. I sat on a bench and watched her indifferently. She froze, and her face turned pale. I smiled and stood up to greet her. “Natalie, I had no idea that you had secretly brought this little boy back. Did you stop caring about your inheritance?”

THIS IS A DARK ROMANCE FEATURING DARK CONTENT AND MORALLY AMBIGUOUS CHARACTERS. Peyton has been in her marriage, enduring the pain of watching Odin, her husband, flirt and cheat in the guise of an open marriage—a decision he made without her agreement. She hit a dead end when Odin broke the number one rule: bringing one of his flings to their home, their bed. That's when she made an impulsive decision—cheat and not feel guilty. He wants her to get a boyfriend? No, she'd do him one better. One night, that's all it took, and the next day she finds herself tangled with her husband's brother. Axel—He's a live wire, pure mischief and untamed. He doesn't just give Peyton what she's been starved of; he ignites a fire she didn't know she had, making her crave the wild freedom only he offers. With Axel, it's not just a fling; it's an explosion of everything forbidden. Raphael—A little unhinged? More like a master of controlled chaos. He's the kind of man who sears himself into your soul, leaving an unforgettable mark deep in your memories. Raphael doesn't just flip a switch in your brain; he rewires it entirely, making you question every sane choice you've ever made. Ready to dive deeper into Peyton's dangerous game?

My dad is a fan of tough love parenting. When I was a kid, there was a time when I obtained full marks on two subjects. But he told me, "Your grades don't mean anything in life. If you were a true man, you'd leap down five floors without batting an eyelash." Some time later, I was awarded for my act of bravery. But Dad scoffed in my face. "Not even a hair is harmed on your head. Why should you be awarded anyway?" I thought Dad wanted me to go through more training in life. On Christmas Eve, he ditched me on a snowy mountain under the guise of wanting me to go through more training. He didn't give me a tent or a lighter. Later on, Dad even brags about his parenting method to his relatives and friends. "A real man should survive and thrive in a desperate situation! I told Julian that he can forget about being my son if he can't even make his way back to the summit!" But the red dot on the GPS tracker installed in his phone hasn't moved for the past three hours. The truth is, I've already frozen to death in the mountains. Trapped in my fist is a scrap of paper detailing the SOS number that Dad had torn apart earlier. Meanwhile, my soul is currently floating above the dining table while watching Dad brag about his tough love parenting.

Lindy, a simple teenage girl who lives in Canada, never wanted to stand out because she is afraid of getting noticed and does not want or hope to get anyone's attention. Milo , a famous member of Spitfire Strip, extremely popular, filthy rich and a woman's magnet while adored by millions of his screaming fans. He has everything could ask -- sold out concerts, album, world tour concerts year after year, money, and women. But despite everything he has, he knows there's still something missing in his life because he wants a woman that can love him not for his fame or because he is Milo Beckett from Spitfire Strip. One wicked night Canada, Lindy managed to lose her phone and once she found it, she didn't realize that it was not hers until she receives an unknown number calling her. Only to realize that an English cheeky boy had accidentally swapped phones with her who is now on his way back home to England. She kept communicating for a week with the man named as Mill who is five years older than her. When she retrieved her phone, she found out that she had swapped phones and had eventually fallen in love with a man who she didn't expect at all. Will it be easy for Lindy to date a famous celebrity? All questions she has in her head but she did not know she just got lucky.