Pretending Artinya

*WARNING* *THIS BOOK CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT* *PROCEED WITH CAUTION* “Don’t… Don’t come any closer” I whispered, but I knew he heard me. “Why, My Little Vixen?” He asked in that husky tone that almost made me go weak in the knees. “Because I don’t want you,” I lied and tried to sound adamant, pretending like his touch didn’t make me weak. “I don’t think so,” He snickered and started to walk towards me like I was his prey, and he was my predator. Involuntarily, I began to move backward while he closed up on me. “I mean it, Adrian. Do not come any closer,” I warned in a slightly shaky voice, but he approached me and caged me to the wall. “Then prove it, my Little Vixen. Prove that you don't want me,” He whispered to my ears as his fingers ran through my hair, and I shivered at his touch. ***** A deal. It was meant to be just a deal between Adrian and Isabelle, but this deal ignited old flames. Old flames that they both assumed were all in the past. Then all hell was let loose when the person Isabella had known to be her brother all her life came back from the dead, claiming that they were betrothed since birth. What would happen next?

"What's an Omega like you doing here?" he sneered. "Don't you belong in the slum, or something?" His friends snickered at his cruel joke, and I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment. I tried to ignore them and head to the empty table, but Eric wouldn't let it go. "Look at her, pretending to be a real wolf," Eric sneered. "As if an Omega could ever be anything more than a loser." *********************** Shannon’s life has always been hard as an Omega. She is bullied and abused by the pack members everyday. She has only one wish: to find her true love on her eighteenth birthday and runaway with him. But her hopes are shattered when she finds out she is mated to Alpha Eric, the most desired Alpha in school. Eric rejects her blatantly and taunts her publicly for being weak. She moves to a different pack, hoping to start afresh but things are not quite different there. She has new stepbrothers, the Alphas triplet sons, who turn out to be her worst bullies. They hate Shannon and her mom for trying to take their dead mother’s place. But what happens when they find out that they are all mated to the girl they humiliate constantly? There’s a struggle for her, each one desiring to have her for himself. But Shannon can only choose one of them but must she? Will she end up with all three brothers and how will she navigate her complex relationship with them?

“I’ll pay for your mom's medical bills but know that this is a favor that comes with expectations – I'll own you, break you and do as I please with you. You'll be my submissive, my willing toy and every part of you belongs to me.” Antonio whispered as he grazed Marco's neck, his hot breath fanning against his skin. Desire, revenge and power entwine in a deadly game where Marco’s fate hangs in the balance. Marco, a twenty two year old intern, had been weighed with gr ueling circumstances that left him shattered. He resorted to alcohol as a means of escape from his troubles but he ended up having a one night stand with a stranger – the famous Mafia leader – Antonio Roberto Moreno. Ever since that night of passion, Antonio had been curious to know the stranger he slept with. While dealing with the quest for vengeance on his father's death, he also yearned for the stranger that had stolen his heart. Alessandro, a cunning pretender and a spy attempts to infiltrate Antonio's inner circle and claim his attention, pretending to be the one he slept with. In a stunning twist, Marco the son of Antonio's enemy was brought to him as a captive. As Antonio’s gaze falls on him, he finds himself torn between a burning need for revenge and a forbidden attraction that threatens to consume him. Forbidden Passion sparks between enemies but will revenge tear them apart? To find out more, dive into this gripping tale of love, betrayal and ultimate redemption. “HELLO CHAMP, RUN!”

*synopsis* "What is that?" he asked, pretending he didn't know. "The lingerie," I replied through gritted teeth, my eyes locked with his. "Wear it!" he commanded, his voice low and husky, his eyes gleaming with a mischief. I felt a shiver run down my spine as his grip on my waist tightened. What was wrong with him? "Now?" I asked to be sure I wasn't over thinking. "Yes," he answered defiantly. Beads of sweat instantly gathered on my forehead and I broke my eyes away from his, feeling embarrassed. "You realize I don't like repeating myself, right," he whispered, his lips moving sensually to my nape. He released my waist and I instinctively moved backwards to create some space between us. He followed me and before I knew it, I was pinned to the wall, his lips kissing my neck. ___________________ Melissa Wood had found herself in the hands of the man whom her father owed a debt. Williams had taken her hostage, when her father couldn't repay. In captivity, Melissa was mistreated and demeaned by Williams. She felt anger, humiliation and insulted as a human. But she soon became confused after she became entangled with her captor, and began to develop conflicting feelings. What would be her fate when the cruel williams learns about her feelings? Would he welcome it or would more hell break lose for her?

In the fifth year of my spiritual practice, my phone suddenly exploded with messages. [Aria, why aren't you replying? Are you really that petty?] Puzzled, I opened Messenger, and froze. My cousin, who never seemed to measure up to me and always went out of her way to oppose me, was getting married, and she expected me to attend. "Sorry, I've been busy lately. I won't be able to make it," I replied politely. However, my courteous response only fueled their ridicule. "Stop pretending! You haven't kept in touch with your family for years. Are you too embarrassed because your life is such a mess?" "She won't even come to her own cousin's wedding? How heartless!" "Let me guess, the real reason she can't come is she can't afford a wedding gift." One cutting remark after another appeared, until Betty Stewart stepped in, feigning concern. "Come on, don't be so harsh on Aria. We're family, after all." "If she's really struggling, I could ask my husband to help her get a cleaning job." Then she sent me the digital invitation, the gold lettering gleaming. When I saw the groom's name, my pupils constricted in shock. Joseph Clark? Wasn't he the short-lived husband who had spent three years sucking up to me just to extend his life?

My family was the wealthiest in River City, with assets worth trillions. On my eighteenth birthday, my brother, Calvin Chester, gifted me an entire jewelry production line while my parents built a private museum and named it after me. The greatest hardship I’d ever faced? Learning how to spend my inheritance. Then I met Dario Darwin. For him, I cut ties with my family and helped him build his empire from scratch. But when I was three months pregnant, he demanded I drink on behalf of his assistant, Fran Fallon, a woman “slumming it” as an intern while secretly being the heiress to another fortune. “Stop pretending,” he sneered. “You’re not like Fran, raised in pampered luxury. You’re older, so act like it and take care of your juniors!” Then, to the clients leering around the table, “My wife’s just being dramatic. She can hold her liquor. Don’t hold back—pour her another!” Amid their jeers, he left with Fran, abandoning me to a room of drunken men. Years of sacrifice, only to be humiliated. I scheduled an abortion and called him. “We’re done.” Through the phone, Fran’s simpering voice chimed in, “It’s my fault that Clea is upset… I should quit and go home to my family’s billions.” “Ignore her. She’s faking it,” Dario cooed back. On the day Dario signed the divorce papers, my parents and Calvin came to take me home. Our marriage came to an end, but his tragedy was about to begin.

"I like her," I said as I sat across from my mother unable to keep the frustration from boiling over. "Like who?" "Callie," I admitted, my chest tightening as I said her name. Her expression froze for a moment before she set the papers aside and leaned forward. "You’re joking, right? Callie is your brother’s girlfriend." "I don’t care," I snapped. "I can’t stand seeing him with her. She should be mine, and I’m not going to just sit back and watch them together." "Well, well. This is interesting." She sat back, steepling her fingers. "You really want her all to yourself?" "More than anything," I confessed. A slow smile crept across her face, and it sent a chill down my spine. "Don’t worry. I have a plan.” Whatever she had in mind, I knew it wouldn’t be simple. But if it meant having Callie… I was willing to do whatever it took. **************** Callie was given a choice by her new boss: either lose her job or act as his escort for his family’s Christmas and New Year celebrations, pretending to be his girlfriend. Left with no other option, she reluctantly agrees to be his escort but what she doesn’t realize is that she’s walking straight into a trap. Dive into a story of love, betrayal, romance, suspense, and a Christmas miracle. Second Chances Under the Tree is a gripping and intriguing read that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

The day we were meant to be mated, my Alpha, Ford, was ambushed. Silver bullets shredded his car, sending it plunging off a bridge and into the river below. He was pronounced dead. Drowned. I was left pregnant with his heir, shattered by the raw agony of our severed mate bond. Then Ford's twin, Aiden, returned from abroad with his mate, Kyra. His identical face and a scent so similar to my mate's nearly drove me mad. A desperate part of me swore Ford was still alive. I told myself it was just grief. A widow's delusion. Until I overheard a hushed conversation and the horrifying truth slammed into me: the man pretending to be Aiden was Ford. He had faked his death. He'd let his own brother die in his place, all for Kyra—the other woman carrying his child. The grief that had crippled me instantly morphed into a cold, sharp rage. Ford didn't just break our bond; he shattered it. And I would make him pay. I wiped my tears and sent a single message to my brother, Billy, the Alpha of the Winterstone Pack. "Brother, I need a plane crash. He loves faking his death? Fine. Let him feel what it's like to truly lose a mate." Only when the news of my "death" spread did Ford reclaim his name. He knelt for seven days and nights in the ashes of the home we once shared, consumed by a grief of his own making.

"You don’t scare me, Llewellyn,” I lifted my chin as I spoke even though my pulse betrayed me. Cesare’s lips curved into a wicked smirk as he stepped closer and spoke in a husky murmur. “That’s the problem, Rose… maybe you should be. Because I’m done pretending I don’t want you. I’ll have you—whether you let me or not.” "But you’ve always hated me.” His fingers brushed my jaw, tilting my face up to his. I felt my skin tingle and goosebumps rising. “Hate? Sweetheart, I’ve never hated you. I’ve only wanted you so much it felt like war.” ~~~~~~~~~ Rosette Jenner had everything—wealth, beauty, and power. But all she wanted was love untainted by power. When she trades her real identity for a normal life with Blake, she thought she’d found it. She was wrong. Betrayed and left to die, she wakes up in the past, before her downfall. This time, she’ll reclaim everything they stole from her. She’ll rise as the Jenner heiress she was born to be. But as she walks the path of vengeance, an old nemesis returns, Cesare Llewellyn. Brilliant and merciless. This time, he isn’t just a rival, he’s an obsessive, morally gray force who wants her on his terms, while she’s consumed by vengeance and refuses to trust love again.

He stole the wrong girl. Or maybe… she chose the right king. Dante Valenti rules his empire with cold precision and a reputation soaked in blood. No one crosses him. No one deceives him. And no one escapes him. So when he kidnaps a woman from the Moretti estate—a trembling little princess meant to be leverage—he expects fear. Instead, the woman chained in his basement looks him dead in the eyes… and smiles. Aria Moretti has spent years hiding behind silk dresses and a porcelain mask, pretending to be the quiet, obedient daughter of the Moretti crime family. But beneath the pretty facade lies a secret no one suspects: She is the Moretti’s most lethal weapon. A phantom. A blade disguised as a flower. And she walked willingly into the lion’s den for one reason— to kill Dante Valenti. Her mission is simple: Get captured. Get close. Get his trust. End the king. But nothing about Dante is simple. The moment he discovers who she truly is, he doesn’t kill her. He claims her. "You came to kill me, little killer... but every king needs a queen.” Now, Aria is caught in a deadly dance between loyalty and desire, betrayal and obsession. Dante matches her darkness note for note—twisted, brilliant, and devastatingly irresistible. He should be her target. Instead, he’s becoming her temptation. And the deeper she falls, the clearer the truth becomes: She isn’t the only weapon in this war. Dante has claws of his own— and he’s willing to use every one of them to keep her.