Painter Of The Night Chapter 1

What would you do… if the man you work for might be your child’s father? ..... "How does it make you feel?" My lips trembled. "W-what—" "Knowing that no matter how hard you try to touch yourself, you’re still starving for the real thing?" ..... Cassandra Sydeon Lopez lost everything when she became a single mother. Disowned by her family and forced to drop out of college, she spent years struggling alone with only her daughter by her side. When her father finally allows her back into the family, Cassandra is determined to prove she deserves a second chance—even if it means working with the cold, mean, and impossibly irritating Adrien Faust Villanueva. But everything changes when Cassandra finds herself in the same situation that ruined her life before. The same place. The same bed. And the same man—Adrien Faust Villanueva, the father of her child.

Zara hates Harper because he is an egotistical player, sleeps with every girl, and has broken her sister's heart. She has had her whole life planned out. For now, she plans to go through her senior year with her two best friends. But all her plans seem to go down the drain when suddenly, one day Harper notices Zara. Zara is thrust into a world she never knew existed and now has to fight the battles that were never her's, to begin with.

Elena Cortez is the daughter of a billionaire and the twin who is often viewed unfavorably due to her stature. She ultimately discovers love in the embrace of Diego Perez and becomes his wife. Diego perceives Elena as a fortunate opportunity to gain access to her family's enterprise. Eloisa, Elena's twin sister, harbors feelings for Lorenzo Martinez, Diego's closest friend, but Lorenzo cannot shake off his attraction to his best friend's spouse. What transpires when Elena spends a drunk night in the arms of Lorenzo Martinez, her husband's best friend and the romantic interest of her beloved twin, Eloisa, and Lorenzo refuses to move on, asserting that he has fallen in love with her.

“You can still walk away,” he said, his voice lower now. I shook my head. “I don’t want to.” Something in his expression softened, just slightly. Then he stepped closer. Close enough that I could feel the warmth of his body, the steady rhythm of his breathing. For a second, neither of us moved. Like we were both waiting, deciding. His hand lifted, hesitating just slightly before brushing against my jaw, tilting my face up to his. “Last chance,” he murmured. I didn’t answer, I didn’t need to. I closed the distance instead. The kiss wasn’t soft. It was searching, deliberate. Like he was testing something, me. And I responded before I could stop myself. Before I could think. My fingers curled into his shirt, pulling him closer as the world around us slipped further out of reach. The hesitation was gone now. Replaced by something heavier, something I didn’t want to question. And this time, I didn’t think.

Hillary Amelie Marquez is a beautiful and smart-witted woman who has a strong soul and owns a big heart. Despite the rumors attacking her to be an infertile woman, behind her fit and young figure, she has kept an undisclosed secret any person should not intend to know. A secret that answers her mysterious background as the faceless heir of the Marquez Corporation, the infamous 'Yama queen' who wrecked the business world as she was titled the very first woman that succeeded in handling a company better than the articles told about her. Hillary is well-known to have pushed her family's company rankings, where she managed to trample on two of the most influential 'Big five' after two years of her reign that's still a mystery to everyone. And so her title as the 'rising phoenix' begins. Inside the walls of the renowned Marquez's main mansion, a three years old boy was hidden from the prying eyes of the media. A boy whose eyes were like the deepest part of the ocean, its beauty was remarkable than the rarest gem. Nothing was more realistic than the truth she holds, no one not even her parents knew, that the father of her child was a man who is defined to be god's favorite masterpiece. A man whose blood and eyes were considered royal and divine in the race of humankind. He goes by many names, but everyone knew him as, The Grim Reaper. A man who is infamous for brutally slaughtering heads and fiddle over human souls under his fingers. When fate favors their hearts to be one again, will Hillary be willing to attach herself again towards the overbearing, malicious, and coldblooded man who was said to live a life without mercy and is more cunning and inhuman by nature?

Being in a Contract marriage with an illegitimate daughter is one decision that Alaric cannot change but manage with. Desperate to make his betrothed wife give up on the marriage without having any share of his property made him and his mistress drug her and set her up in a one night stand with a stranger. Not only did she get pregnant for an unknown man,it cost her marriage and also rendered her homeless. Faced with no choice than to search for the man that not only took her virginity but also made her a mom. Was her search successful? Who was the identity of the man she had a night stand with?

Everyone has a right to smile, love, and find happiness, but that wasn't the case for Hayat Ali. She is a 25-year-old Muslim girl who works as a school teacher. She lives with her loving father, evil stepmother and stepsister. Many will say that there's no such thing as an evil stepmother or even a stepsister but this is because they have read Cinderella or even read this book. Ever since she could remember her stepmother Maryam, hated her because of the love that she got from her father. She and her daughter always try to make life miserable for Hayat when her father isn't at home. All that changed when a young man saw how she treated his son with the kindness and love that he wanted for his son. Aayan Muhsin is a 30-year-old father and widower who is a millionaire. Aayan hasn't believed in God ever since he lost his wife due to cancer four years after his son Azaan was born. He raised his son with the help of his parents. When he lost his wife, he lost everything that he held dear to his heart except his son. Azaan. All that changed when he saw her with his son. Aayan knew that his son needed a mother's love and that he would need her guidance. So when his father told him about her. He accepted it for his son's sake. But what he didn't know was the fact that she would change their lives for the better or maybe for the worse. Trials will make them question their love and loyalty to each other. People would want to keep them apart, will they succeed, or will their love for each other be stronger than any trial that will come their way?

# Iron Valley Neah is human, living in a world that was never hers. After her parents die in a car crash when she is fifteen, her mother's best friend—the Luna of the Iron Valley Pack takes her in. Neah grows up alongside Caleb, the future Alpha, training with warriors, earning her place through grit and stubbornness alone. She has plans: college, business school, a life built on her own terms. She knows she will never have a mate. She knows she doesn't belong. Then everything shatters. Caleb finds his true mate and Neah is cast aside overnight. Wolves from rival packs show up at the border asking for her by name. A half-dead Alpha from the most powerful pack in three territories crashes into her life claiming *she* is his mate. And a phone call from a voice she buried three years ago delivers an impossible truth—her mother is alive, her father's death was no accident, and someone has been watching her since the day of the crash, waiting for the right moment to collect. Liam Ashford, the ruthless young Alpha of Shadow Peak, never wanted a mate. He watched the bond destroy his father and nearly destroy his pack. But his wolf dragged him across three territories to a human girl with no wolf, no rank, and no idea how valuable she really is. Neah doesn't need a mate. She needs answers. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more she realizes the bond she keeps rejecting may be the only thing standing between her and the people who want her dead. What is it about a ordinary human girl that has every powerful wolf in the region willing to kill or die to claim her?

I was in San Aria Bay with my mom, enjoying a quiet, sunlit getaway, when my phone suddenly lit up with a string of messages from my husband's ever-arrogant secretary. She sent a photo. The woman in it had been stripped naked, her body covered in blood, the sight almost unbearable. A voice message followed, her tone dripping with disdain. "Jeannie, do people like you always take advantage of others like this? "Mr. Smith just bought this house, and you already had your mother move in for free? As his chief secretary, it's my responsibility to remove anyone living off him."

On our wedding night, my wife led my younger brother onto our marital bed. He was wearing nothing but his underwear. She expected him to consummate our marriage in my place. "Sweetheart, I feel awful about your legs and what the doctors said about your infertility," she said softly. "Elliot will just have to help us for one night." My face hardened as I stepped forward. I was ready to throw Elliot Charlton out of the bedroom. However, my parents immediately sided against me. "You're the one who can't fulfill your role as a husband," they said sharply. "Elliot is willing to sacrifice himself so that you can have a child. What's wrong with that?" Even my brother laughed at me. He said I was not a real man and told me to accept things while I still could. According to him, I should be thankful to gain a son without doing anything. They even suggested that I stay and watch, claiming it would prove the two were only trying to conceive a child and nothing else. I clenched my teeth until my jaw ached, then turned and called my wife's greatest rival. "You win," I said quietly. "The Wallace family's investment will be transferred to your account tomorrow." After ending the call, I raised my eyes and looked at Janet Wallace. "You share his bed tonight," I said. "Tomorrow, we get divorced."