Pretending Artinya

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.

My twin sister, Rebecca Shaffer, was kidnapped while saving me. The trauma left her with a mental illness that made her lash out at everyone around her. The only person who could get close to her, the only one who could calm her down, was my husband, Ezekiel Roberts. For the sake of her recovery, my parents insisted that Rebecca move into the master bedroom of my newlywed home. Whenever Ezekiel and I were intimate, Rebecca would lose control and throw things at me. Then, Ezekiel would scoop her up in his arms and carry her into the bedroom, soothing her with gentle words. Everyone kept telling me the same thing. "If Rebecca hadn't tried to save you, she wouldn't be like this now. You owe her this much!" I had no response to that, so I gave in again and again. That was, until I accidentally overheard a conversation between Rebecca and my parents. "How much longer do I have to keep pretending to be crazy? I'm so sick of sneaking around like this!" My parents looked at her with sympathy in their eyes. Ezekiel gently caressed her stomach and said, "Don't worry. I won't let Rebecca or the baby suffer even a little bit. Once I have Maisie completely under my control, I'll make everything public." I clutched the pregnancy test report in my hand and let out a bitter laugh. From now on, they would not need to keep up their elaborate charade. I would leave on my own.

“Uh-uh” My moan echoed the room” Yes baby! Go harder! Harder baby! Now call me flirty names while I fuck you hard like a sweet slut” My brother in law said. Tightening his grip on my waist and without warning, he pulled out slowly and slammed in harder. Khloe has everything a woman is supposed to want; a wealthy husband, a penthouse and a last name that opens every door in New York city. What she doesn't have is a husband who knows how to make her feel like a woman. Micheal Thomas is handsome, powerful and completely useless behind closed doors. Their bedroom is cold, silent disappointment that Khloe has learned to smile through. She tells herself that desire fades for everyone eventually. Then Samuel Thomas comes home. Her brother in law is everything she wanted and from the he touches her for the first time, she stops lying to her self entirely. What starts as on reckless and unforgettable night, quietly becomes an addiction neither of them can quit. He makes her feel worshipped, desired, satisfied and completely undone and Khloe finds herself closing the secret over everything she was supposed to to protect. I gasped as he banged harder!, covering my mouth with his hand and whispered “Be quiet, if you don't want your husband to hear us.” For months, they are careful, clever and dangerously good at pretending but every secret has an expiration date. “Will the secret leaked out or will it go deeper?

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.

“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!”

He was my brother’s best friend. My first love. The first man to ever taste me. Six years ago, Axel “Ghost” Cruz vanished, leaving my heart shattered and my body aching for a touch that never came again. I tried to bury the memory of him, trading the heat of the clubhouse for a cold, safe life in the city with a man who doesn't know how to make me scream. But my father’s murder has dragged me back to the world of leather and sin. And Axel is waiting for me. He’s no longer the boy I remember. He’s a massive, tattooed enforcer with eyes that strip me naked and a voice that feels like a dark caress. He is forbidden—my brother’s most lethal weapon and the one man I should never let touch me again. But when he traps me in the dark of the garage, his rough, scarred hands sliding over my skin, my body remembers everything. I’ve spent six years pretending I’m a lady, but one growl from him and I’m just his. The air between us is thick with a hunger that could burn this whole club to the ground Now, with a war breaking out and my brother watching my every move, I have to decide: do I stay safe and hollow, or do I surrender to the man who owns every inch of me? In this world, some sins feel too good to stop—and some desires are worth the ruin

*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?

Marcus P.O.V Catalina Island was the territory of my park and we had been trained not to reveal our identity to humans, but our only fear was the birth of a Primordial Guardian werewolf which was to put an end to all immortals including vampires and werewolves. My time to take the place of my father as the Alpha male was approaching and my park pressured me to go in search of my mate so I made a decision to leave after the autumn camp which the humans hosted but during the camp I found my mate and imprinted on her. 'Alicia' I couldn't forget her name as I brought the news to my father who was the Alpha but while I delivered the message we received a sign that the mortal catalyst who was designed to bear the fatal child had shown up on the Island. I took it on myself to put an end to the mortal catalyst only to realize that she was my mate. I was devastated, I couldn't kill my own mate so I hid it from my park pretending that I was still in search of her. I stayed away from her in order to keep her safe but that wasn't until I realised that my park had known who it was and knowing they were going to kill her I had to send her far away from the Island. I was either going to give her up to a human mate and suffer for the rest of my life, or take her despite the difficulties thereby turning my back on my park, or kill her and myself to save the life of my park.