Polished Smiles

"I'll leave the decision-making to our children. Girls, do you want 100 million dollars, or your mother?" On the day our parents get divorced, Mom looks at us with tears in her eyes. My older sister, Camila Walker, kneels before Mom while looking very emotional. "I want to stick with you, Mom! I don't want money—I just want you!" As she looks at me, she smiles confidently, as though she's won something. In my previous life, Camila didn't hesitate to choose Dad, who had inherited 100 million dollars. But he lost all of his fortune to gambling to the point that he had to sell Camila just to pay off his debts. Left without a choice, she was forced to take her own life. As for me, I chose to be with Mom, only to find out that the "poor security guard" she had married turned out to be the richest CEO in the city. Thanks to the marriage, I became the spoiled and pampered heiress whom the entire city envied. Camila thinks she's stolen my good luck. Little does she know that I died in my previous life as well.

Drina Federico was born with nothing and lost everything too early. Her parents were murdered, her home burned, and the truth was hidden by money and power. Weak, poor, and invisible, she grows up surviving on scraps in the shadows of Madrid, carrying only pain and a quiet hunger for payback. Dino Fazio is everything Drina is not. A cruel billionaire. A man who rules the city from behind polished glass and blood-soaked deals. To the world, he is invincible. In truth, he is the king of a criminal kingdom built on silence and sacrifice. When Drina steals information meant to expose him, she is caught and pulled into his world. Instead of killing her, Dino cages her. Sure, she is a threat. She is broken, frightened, and powerless, but she refuses to kneel. Trapped together, hatred turns sharp, tension turns dangerous, and the line between enemy and obsession starts to blur. As gang wars erupt and secrets surface, Drina learns the truth: Dino did not kill her parents, but his power made their deaths possible. Revenge becomes a choice, not a dream. Escape is no longer enough. Power is. Forced to choose between destroying Dino or standing beside him to burn the kingdom from within, Drina must decide who she will become. A victim who runs, or a woman who rises. In a world where love is born from violence, and trust is paid for in blood, can two broken souls find redemption or will power destroy them both?

In a world where perfection is a facade, two damaged souls collide in a whirlwind of scandal, social media, and self-discovery. Arc, a rugged, brooding outsider, bears the scars of a traumatic past. His life is a constant struggle, marked by a crippling deformity, a dead-end job, and the weight of supporting his sister's future. Chelsea Waters, the golden boy of social media, has it all – until his picture-perfect world shatters. His boyfriend's infidelity, captured on camera, sparks a vicious backlash from his fans. Desperate to salvage his reputation, Chelsea's manager orchestrates a plan: pretend to be friends with Arc. As they weave a tale of love and acceptance, Arc and Chelsea must confront the dark secrets beneath their polished veneers Love is love. Tag words: m-m (male x male), lots of hastags, Instagram, insecurities, Arc is not an Orc, a sub character that swears alot, other disabled characters, crazy characters, a gang of quirky grandmothers, Chelsea's ex is a humbo, first time, past trauma, families are complicated and a happy ending. *Target Audience:* Fans of emotional, thought-provoking romance. Author's note: Most of the places and celebrities that are mentioned are purely out of fiction and are a work of the writer's imagination. The deformity Arc has doesn't exist and probably never will. This novel might the start of a series of other character's lives. PS: Please leave a review of your opinion on my book. XoXo.

[WARNING: This story contains mature themes with profanities, hardcore graphical explicit sexual situations, and others. Strongly recommended for 18+ only. Otherwise, read at your own risk.] Jack was still a child when his father abandoned him to Marianne, his lovely and caring stepmother. Through the good and bad times, they only have each other. But what if Jack suddenly admits that Marianne is the only person he wants to be with and love forever? A forbidden love that overflows like magma, so intense and hot that it burns with every touch. How will this kind of love survive in a world full of uncertainty, temptation, and mistakes? What if there are people who constantly try to keep them apart? Jack once told Marianne, "I don't give a damn about anyone. I want you to be mine! And it's fine with me if our love for each other burns me. Just want me and love me until the end, I am more than willing to be burned to death." Can their love last all the way to the end? NOTE: This is an English translation of a Tagalog story with the same title and author. The author wishes to apologize for any errors in vocabulary, spelling, phrases, or other translation issues found in this novel. In the future, this book will be further edited and polished to make it more suitable for English readers. For the time being, please enjoy it and don't forget to leave comments or feedback. Have fun reading! (The Tagalog/Filipino version is also available in this app).

She is Kiara Monera—New York’s Ice Queen, an award-winning CEO who built an empire from nothing. Ruthless. Brilliant. Untouchable. She doesn’t believe in luck—only in power, control, and winning. He is Silva Blackwood—the heir to the Blackwood dynasty, feared and desired in equal measure. Arrogant. Dangerous. A man who has never been told “no.” They were supposed to marry. Not for love, but for legacy, power, and bloodlines. But Silva would rather die than marry a woman like her. And Kiara? She would never beg for a man’s love. Yet one reckless night in a dark club changes everything. A kiss that feels like war. A night that feels like surrender. And a consequence neither of them can ignore. Now, she carries a secret that could shatter her empire. And he carries a rage that could burn the world. Bound by betrayal, pride, and a baby they never planned, Kiara and Silva are forced into a dangerous marriage where passion and hate blur into obsession. But in a world where enemies wear smiles, secrets can kill, and love feels like the ultimate weakness— Can two people who would rather destroy each other than submit… Survive being tied together forever?

Alexis was your typical everyday good girl with excellent grades, a single best friend, an annoying elder brother and a family that loved her to no end. When senior year rolled up, Alexis wasn't looking to expand her small social circle of friends or put herself out there but things are meant to change, after all, change is the only constant thing in life. Paired to do a group assignment with the school's three new mysterious gorgeous looking guys at the start of the term, Alexis is tested in more ways than one. Cheesy pick up lines, rude guys, charming smiles, motorcycle rides, coffee dates and long hours together is all it takes to make her question everything she ever thought she knew. But what happens when she falls for one of them? The one with the dark hair and green eyes? What will she do when he finds out about the secret she's been harbouring all her life? She begins to regret her decision and wish she'd met him long before, but life has its own way of playing with one's feelings. Will her secret break their newly found relationship or will it make it grow stronger?

He divorced her for another woman, not knowing she was carrying his heirs. For three years, Elara was the invisible wife of Lucian Thorne. She warmed his bed, managed his life, and loved him in silence. In return, he gave her cold stares and divorce papers on their anniversary, accusing her of betraying his company. Heartbroken and pregnant, Elara signed the papers and vanished into the night. Five years later, Lucian is the King of Wall Street, but he is haunted by the memory of the wife he discarded. When a mysterious, stunning CEO named "Ella" arrives in the city to acquire a rival company, Lucian is drawn to her. But this isn't the meek Elara he remembers. She is powerful, engaged to a handsome doctor, and she looks at Lucian with nothing but disdain. And she isn't alone—she has two children who look suspiciously like him. When Lucian discovers the truth, he falls to his knees. "Elara, please, come home." She looks down at him and smiles coldly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Thorne. My husband is dead to me. You are just a stranger." Can the Billionaire win back the heart he shattered, or is it truly too late?

After two years of marriage, I believed I was living the dream—until the day I gave birth to our long-awaited heir. The house was filled with joy as my husband's family arrived, bearing gifts and ready to bestow a name upon our child, as tradition dictated. But the happiness of the day shattered in an instant when my husband walked in, hand in hand with his childhood sweetheart. In front of everyone, he announced not only our divorce but also his engagement to her, as if I had never mattered. *** "I’m divorcing Stacy," Jason announces, his voice unwavering, "to marry Nicole Cruz, my childhood sweetheart." He points to the woman standing before him who smiles and waves at everyone in the room. My world tilts on its axis. The words echo in my mind, louder and louder until they drown out everything else. What is going on?? "But why?" I whisper, my voice barely audible, even to myself. I'm unable to believe his betrayal. Jason doesn’t even glance at the child in my arms. "Because this has been a long time coming, Stacy. I’ve only stayed this long out of obligation and not love."

Princess Riley of Avarayne watched merchants with ledger, smooth smiles murder her mother at the docks and cast the queen into the harbour's hungry rip. Days later, her grief-numbed father guided by a new wife with colder hands than the sea stripped Riley's birthright and crowned a newborn son in her place. Hounded by courtly poisons and a stepsister who polishes beauty like a blade, Riley binds her chest, hides her hair beneath a bandana, and vanishes into the night as "Rye." Aboard the infamous Gilded Wraith under Captain Kade Thorne, the Wolf of the Azure. Rye learns knots, storms, and the language of survival. A slow, impossible pull grows between captain and "boy," even as she steers the crew through sea monsters, rival pirates, and raids against the royal fleet hunting them. But when a bounty bearing House Morcant's seal surfaces, Riley glimpses the conspiracy that began the night her mother drowned. Captured and unmasked to save Kade's life, Riley is dragged back to a palace that would sell her in marriage to silence the truth. To free the man who became her compass and claim the justice denied her, she must choose: reclaim a crown salted with blood or burn the lies that built it.

"They said the Alpha’s heir was a son. They lied." Wolfless. Worthless. A walking curse. Cinder Romero has spent her life as the shadow twin—blamed for her mother’s death, ignored by her kingdom, and promised like livestock to a man she despises. But when an ancient monster breaches the barrier and leaves her brother near death, Cinder is thrust into the role meant for him: envoy to the Vampire Kingdom of Erevar. Except no one knows she was the firstborn. Or that something terrifying and powerful woke inside her that night. Sent across enemy borders to a dark academy where vampires, fae, warlocks and monsters walk the halls, Cinder must navigate court politics, whispered legends, and the devastating attention of the Vampire Prince—a beautiful, cruel enigma who might want her dead… or worse, want her entirely. But nothing is as dangerous as the man she’s betrothed to. Zulu smiles like a lover and schemes like a villain. And he’s not just waiting for her return—he’s hunting for what’s inside her. The academy may teach her how to fight. But only the truth will set her free. A cursed heir. A forbidden magic. A love that could ruin kingdoms.