Operations Management: Sustainability And Supply Chain Management

She was auctioned like an object, bought like a secret, and caged like a sin. After a brutal betrayal by the people she trusted most, Seraphina Vale is left drowning in debt and despair—until she’s sold at an underground auction to the one man every criminal fears: Lucien Marchesi, the ruthless head of a powerful mafia empire. Cold. Controlled. Deadly. The world assumes she’ll be discarded like the others who came before her. But Seraphina isn't a lamb sent to slaughter. She’s a lioness in velvet chains—calm, calculating, and waiting for her moment. Lucien didn’t expect her fire. She didn’t expect his scars. What begins as a twisted game of control and survival becomes something far more dangerous: emotion. As secrets unravel and obsession burns into something deeper, Seraphina edges dangerously close to what she swore she’d never feel again—trust. Love. Want. But she hasn’t forgotten her mission. Lucien was supposed to be her weapon, not her salvation. And when her revenge explodes into reality, both hearts will shatter under the weight of betrayal. Until he asks the one question that changes everything: “Have you ever loved me?” Chains of Velvet, Heart of Fire is a gripping dark mafia romance about love born from power, loyalty forged in fire, and two broken souls who dared to rewrite their fate. Perfect for fans of morally gray heroes, twist-filled emotional sagas, and heroines who take their power back—beautifully, mercilessly, and on their own terms.

I train so hard that even in my sleep, I recite medical formulas. At long last, victory is mine! I am the champion of the Healers' Competition. But just as they place the trophy in my hands, my twin sister, Sasha Flanders, strides onto the stage and snatches it away. With brazen conviction, she declares, "I'm the true champion! My sister swapped the competitor's information to steal this honor from me!" The audience gasps in an uproar. Before my stunned eyes, the judges revoke my title on the spot. I don't yet realize that this competition is no ordinary contest—it is the Alpha King Leonard Muller's secret trial, one that is meant to select his future Luna Queen. Rumor paints him as monstrous—hideous of face, bloodthirsty in nature, and treats women as nothing more than breeding machines. It is said this is why he has never taken a mate. His summons arrived this very night, commanding Sasha to attend the coronation ceremony as Luna Queen. My Beta fiance, Timothy Newsom, turns ashen with rage. The next day, Sasha comes to flaunt herself before me, her neck freshly marked, carrying Timothy's scent. "Oh, my poor sister. Your precious fiance marked me. What will you do now? You're turning 25 in three days. By our pack's law, if no one claims you, you'll be thrown to the impotent, deranged, and broken wolves no one else will have. You'll be worse than trash." Her shrill laughter cracks in my ears, squeezing the breath from my chest. But I will not let that break me. I went straight to my parents. "If Sasha dares not to be Luna Queen… then let me take her place."

Diana Darksyde is tired of her life as a slave. A fate NO Alpha should ever have to endure. After the sacrifice of a loyal soldier, Diana discovers a way to lead her people into rebellion against King Nicolai, a power hungry human with a secret and the source of their enslavement. Little does she know that the Vampire Queen, on the other side of their hidden city, is planning a rebellion of her own. Will they join forces?

The timid Lily Parker found herself entangled with a man who saw no equal in others—Julian Sterling. For Julian Sterling, even if he had a thousand women in his lifetime, Lily Parker could never belong to another man.

Riana and Reynald's relationship was never liked by Mayang, the in-laws. Moreover, five years of marriage, Riana is not pregnant yet. The woman did not know that Riana only obeyed Reynald's request. So, various ways were done by the in-laws to separate the two, including finding a second wife for Reynald. Riana thought that her husband would be firm in her feelings, but Reynald turned out to be changing and acting rough. When he was desperate to finish separating, Riana suddenly met a handsome mysterious man who turned out to be a CEO! The man offered him a protection. Will Riana accept it?

"𝐈𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈'𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮" Alisha Alouette Agravantez was twelve years old when she fell in love with his brother's best friend Dr. Kazmer Luttrell Vozmer. The cold hearted man who hides a dangerous and darkest secret. Alouette loves him very much that she is willing to do everything for him to love her back, but doing that seems impossible especially when he is very determined not to fall for her innocent scheme. All she wanted is to be love, by the person she love the most. But forcing someone to love you back can cause nothing but heartache and misery. Because the more she tries to push herself to him the more she realize that she was already puting a chain on her own heart. But will her feelings remain when she finds out who he really is? Can her Love for him really prevail at the end?

Just one week before my marking ceremony with Lucien, I discovered his heart already belonged to someone else. His secretary, Anika, walked out of his office with a smirk that was a little too knowing. Her blouse was askew, her usually neat hair a tangled mess, and only the faintest trace of her crimson lipstick remained. My heart seized in my chest, and my fingers went cold on the doorknob. Two years ago, she had been a timid girl fresh from the countryside. All that pretense of innocence had vanished, replaced by a brazen ambition written across her face. Her relentless eagerness around Lucien had always grated on my nerves, and I had asked him more than once. "Lucien, can't you replace her?" His smile would always fade. "Anika saved my life," he'd say. "I can't be so heartless." Now, that single triumphant smirk was all it took for me to understand. What others once envied in me had already been trampled beneath her heels. My phone vibrated. It was a new proposal from the event planner. [The marking ceremony plan is nearly perfect. Can we finalize it?] I refused to be consumed by sorrow. I wiped a tear from my cheek and made one last adjustment to the document.——Replaced the bride's name withAnika I didn't want a false love, or a fake Alpha Lucien. Let them have the marking ceremony. Let Anika stand at his side as his Luna, his chosen mate. In seven days, I would be gone with my pup.

She was running from a man who owned her past. He was the man willing to fight for her future. Cassie Davidson doesn’t do love. At least not anymore. A talented cook with a locked heart, she lives by one rule: never get too close. But when George Sinclair, a soft-spoken billionaire with sharp eyes and a quiet fire, walks into her life, her rulebook starts to crack. George sees through her walls. He doesn’t ask questions but also never misses a detail. And when Cassie begins to let him in, she feels something she thought she lost forever... Safe. Just when she's beginning to breathe again, her nightmare returns. Xavier, the ex she barely escaped, is back. And this time, he's not playing fair. Caught between the ghosts of her past and a man willing to rewrite her future, Cassie must decide: will she keep surviving, or finally choose to live, fight? Hearts Unchained is a slow-burn billionaire romance pulsing with emotional tension, deep healing, and a love worth breaking chains for.

Laura, a popular model, had actually never dated anyone her whole life. After witnessing her friend almost die because of domestic violence, she became even more resistant to letting herself get herself into one. After spending five years abroad to help her friend recover, she found herself back in her home country, not knowing that the single status she had managed to maintain all her life was about to be changed. James had a busy schedule over the past few months and was intending to use his younger brother's birthday party as an opportunity for him to relax. Who knew that he would end up picking up an innocent vixen?

On my wedding day, I jumped from the 38th floor of the hotel. It all started when I got together with my first love, Colin Frey. My best friend, Alice Manning, came to me and said she had bound herself to some kind of love system. She claimed that every guy I dated would fall for her and dump me. I thought she was just messing around and did not believe her. However, just a few days later, Colin came to me and confessed that he wanted to break up because he had fallen in love with Alice. After that, I got smart about it. I stopped telling anyone about my relationships and did not even post anything on social media. Yet, somehow Alice always knew. It was as if she had installed some kind of tracking device on me. No matter who I dated, she would find out. Then, within days, they would all fall head over heels for her and leave me behind. I was completely heartbroken, so I moved back to my hometown to get as far away from Alice as possible. Through my parents' arrangement, I was set to marry a guy through a blind date setup. Yet, on the actual wedding day, he stood up in front of everyone and confessed his love to Alice, saying he wanted to marry her instead. My parents, who were sitting in the audience, were so furious and devastated that they collapsed on the spot. They were rushed to the hospital, but it was too late. They were gone. Meanwhile, Alice was wearing the ring that was supposed to be mine, looking absolutely smug as she boasted, "A man this amazing? As if you deserve him. Now he's mine, so why don't you just step aside like a good girl?" I could not take the blow, so I climbed to the hotel rooftop and leapt off without hesitation. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the very moment before Alice had ever mentioned that so-called system.