Public Opinion

Camilla walks into my study, and the air shifts. She's a distraction I can't afford, but fuck if I can resist her. Her fingers trace the edge of my desk, her eyes locked onto mine. "What are you doing, Camilla?" I growl, my control already fraying. She's a walking temptation, and she knows it. She smirks, her voice a sultry whisper, already undoing me. "Pushing your buttons, Zeke. Seeing how far I can go before you snap." My control falters. I spin her around, pressing her against the desk. My hands roam over her body, and I can feel her submitting. "You want this?" I ask, my voice a low growl. "You want to see the beast you're unleashing?" *** Camilla Dawson never expected to see the sinfully hot stranger she once hooked up with in a public washroom ever again. But fate—or rather, a father she never knew existed—has other plans. Now, she's bound and delivered as payment for a debt, straight into the hands of none other than Zeke Russell—the ruthless kingpin who always gets what he wants. Zeke built his empire on power and control, and he never takes no for an answer. Business or pleasure, the rules are his. It’s been years, but he’s never forgotten the woman who left him wanting more. Now, with Camilla thrust into his world as a replacement for his promised bride, everything spirals into chaos. She was never supposed to matter. Yet somehow, she’s slipping past his defenses, unearthing secrets he’s buried deep—and igniting a dangerous obsession. And when enemies close in, there’s nothing he won’t do to keep her. After all, what’s one more crime in the name of love?

Aux yeux des autres, j'étais Mme Ward, la reine intouchable aux côtés d'Elias Ward, le chef de la mafia de Paris. Mais je savais que mon mari ne m'avait jamais aimée. Son cœur appartenait toujours à Harper Dinah, la femme de son neveu. Et après la mort de ce dernier, il n'a pas hésité à faire venir Harper chez nous. « Je veux juste mieux m'occuper d'elle », m'a-t-il dit. Mais sa version de « s'occuper d'elle » consistait à expulser un homme d'une fête parce qu'il avait osé flirter avec Harper et à la rendre enceinte. Elias adorait me complimenter en public, comme si j'étais la femme parfaite. Oui, je l'avais été autrefois. J'avais l'aidé à bâtir son empire et fait briller son casino. J'étais celle qui souriait, aimable, toujours accueillante. Et pendant ce temps, il cachait Harper, comme si elle était une relique sacrée. Puis, c'était grâce à « ces louanges » incessantes qu'un de ses ennemis m'a prise pour cible. Un groupe de voyous m'a enlevée, envoyant à Elias un message menaçant : « Dégage de Paris, ou ta femme va y passer ! » Bien sûr, Elias n'a pas choisi de céder. « Tiens bon », m'a-t-il dit au téléphone, « Ils ne te feront pas de mal, Noah. Tiens jusqu'à ce que Harper accouche. Je viendrai te chercher. » J'ai été alors enfermée dans une cave sale pendant huit mois, affamée, battue, humiliée. Le chef des malfrats m'a violée encore et encore. Et pourtant, Elias n'est jamais venu. Finalement, alors qu'ils étaient tous ivres, j'ai réussi à m'échapper. De retour chez moi, j'ai trouvé mes jumeaux endormis dans la chambre des domestiques, mangeant des restes, tandis que leur père organisait une fête pour son nouveau-né... Je ne l'ai pas affronté et suis partie avec mes enfants.

Mon père et mon frère avaient toujours aimé ma sœur aînée, et m'avaient toujours détestée. Lors d'un gala, alors que j'étais humiliée en public, c'est Gabriel Dumas, le chef de la mafia, qui était intervenu pour me défendre. Il avait même annoncé devant tout le monde que j'étais la femme qu'il aimait le plus. Gabriel m'avait acheté un château au cœur de la forêt, où il avait fait planter des tulipes, mes fleurs préférées. Il y avait organisé un mariage féerique, si grandiose qu'il avait fait la une dans tout le pays. Du jour au lendemain, j'étais devenue l'objet de l'envie de toutes les femmes. À sept mois de grossesse, j'avais assisté à la fête d'anniversaire de mon père. Ce soir-là, un incendie avait éclaté. Mon père et mon frère, aveuglés par leur favoritisme, avaient protégé ma sœur et l'avaient aidée à fuir. Moi, j'avais failli mourir dans les flammes. C'était encore Gabriel qui m'avait sauvée. Mais quand je m'étais réveillée à l'hôpital, ce que j'avais vu m'avait brisé le cœur. « Qui vous a autorisés à provoquer cet incendie ! » avait lancé Gabriel, le visage sombre. « Elle n'en est qu'à son septième mois de grossesse ! Vous vouliez provoquer un accouchement prématuré ? Vous essayiez de tuer Yvonne et son bébé, c'est ça ? » Mon frère et mon père avaient murmuré une justification : « La leucémie de Sylvie ne peut plus attendre. Le médecin a dit qu'il fallait opérer au plus vite… On a besoin de la moelle osseuse du bébé… » « Je suis plus inquiet que vous pour la vie de Sylvie. Sinon, je n'aurais jamais épousé Yvonne ! » « Mais vous n'avez pas le droit de lui faire du mal. J'ai mon propre plan », avait-il averti d'un ton glacial. Je m'étais enfuie, paniquée. Alors, il ne m'avait jamais épousée par amour. Tout ce qu'il avait fait pour moi, en réalité pour ma sœur. Comme mon père et mon frère, lui aussi ne l'aimait qu'elle, et pas moi. Puisque personne ne m'aimait… alors je partirais.

When 300-pound beauty, Yna Samaniego, was married off to the country's most sought after bachelor, Nicholas Dela Vega, she already doubted his intentions from the very beginning. Not that their marriage was made public though. It was a compromise that Yna agreed to for the sake of her grandfather's happiness. To be secretly married to Nicholas was a blow to her pride. Nicholas was a mystery to her. She always knew there's something about him that she needed to find out. But while Yna knew from the start that love was never the reason why Nicky married her, it still broke her when she found out the real reason why he agreed to tie the knot with someone like her. It cut her in the soul. Devastated, she disappeared from his life without a trace. After two years, she came back being a totally different person. With a modelesque figure and a heart full of hatred, she walked to the stunned Nicholas and asked for a divorce.

To the public, she was the beloved heiress of the Yates family but to those who knew her well, Isabella Yates was the unluckiest being on earth. Having endured her parents maltreatment for so long, she was beginning to get used to it when a new development occured. She was to get married to the most terrifying man in the country, Nicholas Hunt. As she joins her husband in his lone mansion and eases into his world slowly, Isabella begins to question a lot of occurrences in her life and the most enormous one was, "Why does Nicholas love me so much?" She embarks on a journey to make her marriage work and along the line, uncovers secrets that makes her question her very existence. Theme: Face slapping, Weak to strong.

Ethan Leo, CEO of the Leo Empire, was infamous for his cold-hearted nature, shaped by the loss of his mother at a tender age. Love was a foreign concept to him until Sasha unexpectedly entered his life, igniting a passion he couldn't ignore. Determined to possess her, Ethan found an opportunity to make Sasha his, when she crossed paths with his Mafia cartel. Unbeknownst to all, Ethan's public facade masked a darker identity: Hades, the mastermind behind the world's most notorious criminal syndicate.

When Brynn lands a sudden, great job at a management company in New Beerenland, she revels in the fact that she has made it. A great job means the end of all the financial atrocities: no sharing apartments, no ex-drama, no checking the menu before ordering. With the perks of managing a private management agency, she gets the occasional run-in with royalty hosting their public engagements and managing how they appear to the general republic. Enter Ryker Glucksberg, a prince who runs his eyes down all over Brynn’s body and can’t seem to keep her off his mind. They meet, and sparks fly. Brynn doesn’t believe in love. Ryker is not the prince who wants to settle down. And then zero in on the institution that will do everything in its power to keep them apart or bring them together?

Natalia, after being bought from a strange orphanage home was showered with fake love and affection only to be used by her foster parents as a blood bank to save their daughter, Emily. She tried to live up to their expectations but everything came crumbling down when Emily found out that she was loved by the almighty Bellamy A. Brooks, a perfect figure who was loved by the public but has his dark side. He was married to an heiress of a prestigious family due to her weak health status. He showed her no love at all since his heart was only for Natalia. Out of jealousy, Emily finally got rid of her obstacle to get closer to Bellamy. But it made things worse. Bellamy returned to becoming a devil. He showed no mercy to anyone who defiled him because the love of his life was gone. Little did he know she was reborn as his weak wife whom he showed no love. Will he realize the truth before it's too late? Will he be able to remove his own obstacles to be with the love of his life again?

How can you fight for your love when it is not legal? How can you hold his hand in public and hug him to show how much you love him, when your relationship is secret? When your love ones is in a relationship with someone who is so close to you?

My stepson, Lucas Lincoln, is trapped in a fire. After calling the fire brigade, I quickly ring my husband, Jasper Lincoln. Jasper is the leader of a search-and-rescue team, after all. But to my dismay, Jasper is currently keeping his ex-wife, Yvonne Schmidt, company. Yvonne has won the "Forensic Doctor of the Year" award, and so they are out celebrating it. My phone calls are rejected again and again. Jasper never once calls me back, even after Lucas' cries for help disappear entirely. By the time the fire brigade arrives to quell the flames, Lucas has been burned to a crisp. I tell Jasper what happened to our son, but he only gleefully says, "He was nothing but a troublemaker who'd contribute nothing to society. If he's dead, then so be it. This way, he won't grow up to become a menace. "Yvonne happens to be giving a public talk tomorrow and is still in need of a specimen demonstrating burn injuries. She can use Noah's corpse for her demonstration since it's still fresh." I sneer. So Jasper thinks that my own son, Noah Green, is the one who died in the fire. I immediately send Lucas' blackened corpse to Yvonne's operating room.