Qed Center Crossword

It was finally the day of the auction "And now we are presented with a human who looks a little unkempt right now, but with a little care from her owner would be as good as new" the hosts voice rang over the speakers in what seemed like a dungeon used for illegal gambling. But I couldn't look much, being locked in a basement for three months without any form of light coming in, and suddenly being on stage where all attention and the center light was on me was enough to just make me shut my eyes and wait for what was to come. "We'll start with $25,000" is that really my worth. Do I really amount to nothing, that I have to be sold at an auction. "$26,000" "$26,500" "$30,000" "$30,000, is there anyone who wants to bid higher? Going once, going twice... This went in for a few more minutes and I gave up hope. This was it, this is where my life journey ends. I will get sold here then if my buyer is an organ trafficker he would probably kill me and sell off my organs. "Five hundred million dollars" a deep manly voice grunted from the corner of the room "Wow that's a very high bid...I doubt if anyone is willing to go higher than that. Going once, going twice, sold. Congratulations Mr Jimmie Hendrix, you just won yourself a hot looking toy...everyone is left to wonder what you will be doing with her tonight." Jimmie who was sitting in a dark corner of the room gave a sinister smirk and uttered under his breath "Found you!!!"

“No! Please, Santiago--” I whimpered, as his hand seized my wrist with an iron grip, yanking me forward, dragging me effortlessly toward the chair he had pulled into the center of the room the night before. The symbol of my humiliation. He stopped right in front of the chair, spinning me around, facing him. "You want me to be your monster, mi ángel?" His hand grabbed my throat, tilting my chin up until my eyes locked with his dark gaze. I flinched from the sudden movement. "Cause I’ll be your favorite monster — just say the word, cariño." Santiago’s face hovered only inches from mine. His lips so close, I could taste the sweetness of his breath — once making butterflies take flight in my stomach, now curdling my insides into a cold, suffocating fear. Slowly, his free hand rose toward my face. I held my breath. His touch was deceptively soft and gentle, caressing my cheek. His thumb lingered against my lips, tracing them slowly, his eyes fixed there as he spoke — his voice soft, yet heavy with menace. "Divorce is not an option, mi amor. We took a vow five years ago. Remember?" He finally lifted his gaze to meet mine, catching every flicker of fear before he delivered his last words like a verdict: "Till death do us part."

Saoirse was always meant to be a Luna, but never like this. Torn between fate and desire, she becomes the center of a ruthless power struggle that leaves her body and soul scarred. Renzo, the Alpha who claimed her first, burns with a dangerous obsession. His love is no gentle devotion—it is possession, relentless and consuming. Every rose he planted, every oath he swore, every piece of her life was built around the belief that she belonged only to him. When the Moon Goddess fated her to Blaze, Renzo’s obsession twisted into something darker—something neither Saoirse nor Blaze can fully escape. Blaze, fierce and unyielding, recognizes Saoirse as his fated mate and vows to protect her at all costs. Yet every time he tries to claim her, Renzo is there—haunting, threatening, reminding them both that he will never let go. His shadow poisons every kiss, every promise, every fragile moment of peace. At the ceremony meant to unite mates before the packs, Saoirse shatters. Dragged in chains, she kneels before Blaze, confessing her love for Renzo in front of all. Magic erupts from her in a storm of fury and despair, forcing Blaze to mark her as his before she slips away completely. But even as his teeth sink into her skin, Renzo’s grip lingers—unyielding, unbreakable. Now, caught between Blaze’s devotion and Renzo’s obsession, Saoirse stands at the edge of ruin. One man is her destiny, the other her downfall… But which one will she choose?

My childhood friend promised to marry me once we came of age — but at my wedding ceremony, he gave my wedding ring to my stepsister, Summer Hugh. At the time, it was Victor Lowell, the fearsome mafia heir, who saved me by publicly announcing he had loved me for years. In the five years we had been married, he would fulfill every wish I had, even those I mentioned offhand. I truly believed I was the center of his world. All that changed when I stumbled across a top-secret folder as I was cleaning his bookshelf. The very first page was a file on Summer, with three red words printed in bold, “Top protection priority.” It was followed by a mission report I knew too well. On the night of the mission, there had been an attempt on my life. My blood had almost run dry before I was saved. When I woke up at the hospital, I found out that I had lost a baby I did not know I had been carrying. I wept bitterly in Victor’s arms, but I did not tell him about the baby. I did not want him to worry about me more. Now, I finally found out — Summer had been attacked that night as well, and Victor’s orders had been: “Save Summer first.” My tears soaked into the paper, smudging his handwriting. “Alright,” I said softly but firmly into the silence. “If my marriage had been a lie all along, I’ll disappear from your life. Forever.”

I glared when his hand reached again to my neck. Our faces only an inch apart. His big hand was almost wrapping it whole. His thumb massaging my throat like a feather. "And when I thrust inside of you, I want to hear you scream my name. Every name of mine." "Dante. Adriano. Sol. Di. Angelo." His thumb stroking the center of my neck while uttering every name he owned. His eyes hooded in heat, lust clouding the windows of his soul. "And when you cum, it'll be Dante you moan." --- Hailynn Fleury is a talented painter. Growing up as an orphan, she and her best friend Ethan, always wanted to get back to the people that helped and cared for them. When one of her friends convinced her to auction her paintings at one of her charity events, it didn't take much persuasion knowing the money would go to the orphanage. On the night of the auction, her future took another turn when she saw a handsome man holding a gun. Later finding out that he was a mafia boss with an intention of keeping her from thereon. Witnessing him pulling a trigger to someone would have been the mafia boss' wisest decision to never let her go. Except that he couldn't touch the girl knowing the promise he had with his cousin. Dreams of bedding the girl is no longer an option. But how will he treat his ragazza, really? Find out how both of their lives took a turn- with the aspiring artist and the Italian mafia boss.

My husband, Alex Carter, is a top AI engineer. He one day gets drugged by a new intern at his company, and one night of chaos follows. He calls me the next morning, his voice hoarse from a hangover and filled with unfamiliar panic. "Em, I messed up. But don't worry. I gave her enough money to disappear from this city." After ten years together, I believe it is just a momentary lapse in judgment. Six months later, Alex's company suffers the worst cyber attack in its history, with core data hanging by a thread. I rush back from a fragrance exhibition in Astral, only to witness a scene at the data center entrance that sends me into shock. Alex stands outside the tightly sealed door, his face showing a weariness and guilt I have never seen before. The doctor says that the intern, Brooke Anderson, is three months pregnant and has spent 72 hours with him in the high-radiation server room. Now, she shows signs of miscarriage. Later, Brooke gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The entire Carter family is ecstatic. I remove the wedding ring that has accompanied me for ten years, my fingertips turning ice cold. I dial the number saved with only one letter "S" and say, "Mr. Sullivan, I accept the collaboration you proposed last time." A low, soft laugh comes from the other end of the line. "Ms. Emma Shaw, that's a wise decision."

My childhood sweetheart who promised to marry me the moment I graduated proposed to Camille Willow, my sister, during my graduation ceremony. At that moment, Dennis Malcolm, the most eligible and admired bachelor in Blington City's elite circle, stepped forward and confessed his love for me immediately after my childhood sweetheart's proposal was accepted. For five years after our marriage, Dennis showered me with devotion, treating me with such tenderness that it felt as though I were the center of his world. But everything shattered the day I overheard a conversation between him and his close friend. "Dennis, now that Camille's on top, are you really going to keep pretending with Tracy?" "It doesn't matter. I'll never have Camille. Besides, as long as I'm here, she'll never disrupt Camille's happiness," he answered. The paper notes he held dear, each one carefully preserved, revealed a harsh truth. Each one carried her name, accompanied by heartfelt wishes: "May Camille be released from her burdens. May she find peace within herself." "May Camille achieve all she dreams of, and may her heart love freely." "Camille, we were never meant to be together in this life. I can only hope that in another, we will walk side by side." … Five years of devotion shattered in a single moment of clarity. I crafted a false identity and planned an elaborate drowning to vanish without a trace. From this day forward, in this life and all others, we shall never cross paths again.

In the high stakes world of wealth, philanthropy, and power plays, Shadows of Desire weaves a tale of love, betrayal, and redemption. At the center of it all is Sophie Langston, a passionate and driven woman who co-founded a charitable foundation with her long-time business partner and lover, James Thornton. Their organization, built on the ideals of changing the world, has become a beacon of hope for struggling communities. But as the foundation grows in influence, so do the enemies lurking in the shadows. Sophie and James find their relationship and partnership tested when an unexpected visitor walks into their lives, Richard Mallory, a disgraced businessman with a tainted past. Despite having tried to undermine the foundation before, Richard proposes a substantial investment, claiming he wants to make amends. Torn between suspicion and the potential benefits for their projects, Sophie reluctantly agrees, setting off a chain of events that unravel deep-seated conspiracies and hidden agendas. Soon after, whispers of internal conflict and financial instability begin to surface. Rumors swirl about a power struggle between Sophie and James, putting their relationship under intense public scrutiny. Behind the scenes, they uncover a more sinister plot at play. Dominic Kane, a ruthless corporate raider infamous for hostile takeovers and blackmail, has set his sights on their foundation. With a history of exploiting the vulnerable for profit, Kane sees their organization as his next target, aiming to use it as a pawn in his larger schemes. As Sophie and James grapple with this new threat, they must navigate a web of deceit, power struggles, and hidden motives. Old allies resurface, trust is tested, and secrets from the past are unearthed, forcing the couple to confront their own vulnerabilities...

Roxanne's fiancé was suddenly snatched by her stepsister. In return, she got into a forced marriage with her stepsister's fiancé, a wealthy billionaire whom her sister had rejected because he was disabled.Bound by familial obligations and in order to reclaim her late mother's shopping center, Roxanne agreed to replace her sister and marry the "Crippled" billionaire, Henry Ford. Little did she know that she had thrown a rock and picked a diamond instead. Henry Ford, the crippled billionaire, was more than meets the eye! For Roxanne, the grass was indeed greener on Henry Ford's side. …"Make me yours, Henry," Roxanne said, her eyes pleading. Henry's electric blue eyes whirled with affection as he gazed into her eyes. His love was all that mattered to her. "Roxy, are you certain? Once I make you mine, there's no turning back." Henry's eyes darkened as he got closer to her. “Is this what you really want?”"You don't want me?" Roxanne asked instead, looking sad. Henry grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto his lap. He glanced down at her and whispered, "I've wanted you from the very first day I laid my eyes on you." Roxanne's heart skipped a beat as she felt the intensity of his grip. She could sense the raw desire in his touch, and it sent delicious shivers down her spine. “Then prove it,” she whispered breathlessly.

I was dying from my fear of heights, but my husband, Don Vincent, was busy with his assistant, savoring the latest coffee flown in from Hawaii that morning. "You're a grown woman, Bella. What's the big deal? You're stuck on a roof, figure it out." Then he hung up on me. I collapsed onto the hot tar of the roof, my body shaking uncontrollably before everything went black. It was two hours before building security found me. When I got home, I asked Vincent for a divorce. He rubbed his temples, his patience worn thin, looking at me as if I were a child throwing a tantrum. "Over a cup of coffee? I told you, the heights are all in your head. You’re perfectly safe now. Stop making a scene alright? What's this nonsense about a divorce? I have more important things to deal with. Calm yourself down." I stared at his back as he left, tears already streaming down my face. Something important? Did he really think I couldn't hear his assistant, Sophia, murmuring in the background? Did he think I didn't know he took her to the last family gathering? I had loved Vincent for three years. Everyone knew he was the center of my world. They all thought an orphan like me could never leave him. But now, all the love I had was eclipsed by a profound, soul-crushing exhaustion. I was done. I picked up my phone and dialed a number I hadn't touched in three long years. "Uncle, book me a flight to Seattle. I'm ready to leave Vincent."