Quietly

I've been pregnant for six months, but my Alpha mate, William, has delayed our mating ceremony 29 times. He's waiting for his adopted sister, Rita, to find a mate so they can have a "two-couple mating ceremony." The 30th time I altered the waist of my beloved mating ceremony dress, the bridal shop assistant looked embarrassed, "Miss, this dress really can't be widened anymore. How about you choose another one?" Disappointment rose in my throat like bile. I called William, asking when the ceremony would finally happen. But William said: "I will give you an unforgettable mating ceremony, but Rita's mate hasn't been matched yet. Darling, can you wait a little longer? We shouldn't ruin her whole life over such a small thing, right? I know you'll understand. You're always so kind." My heart clenched suddenly. So, my dream mating ceremony is just a small thing. Rita's sweet, high-pitched voice chimed in: "Brother, my mating ceremony dress matches yours so perfectly!" That was the moment I realized I was never the one being chosen. I looked down at my round pregnant belly, tears slipping quietly from the corners of my eyes. Then, with a trembling hand, I dialed the number that had always been waiting for me. "I'm ready to leave." After the call ended, the clerk cautiously asked: "Would you like to choose another one?" "No. Just cancel it, please." I took one last glance at the dress that would never belong to me. If this ceremony was never for me, then I won't stay for it.

The Heart Beneath the Thorn — A Modern Beauty and the Beast Retelling 💔 In a glittering city of fortunes and façades, The Heart Beneath the Thorn reimagines Beauty and the Beast through the broken glass of betrayal, redemption, and forbidden love. Emilia Grace, a fierce yet quietly bruised soul, is just trying to survive. Between juggling hospital shifts, family debts, and the ghosts of her past, she’s never had the luxury of dreaming. But fate has a cruel sense of humor when she’s assigned to care for Max Carter—the cold-hearted billionaire who once made her school years a waking nightmare. Max was the golden boy with the cruel smirk—the privileged heir with everything, except peace. Years later, a tragic accident leaves him scarred, not just physically but emotionally. Isolated and emotionally exiled, Max is now a man haunted by his past choices and a legacy wrapped in barbed wire. When Emilia walks back into his life, she's no longer the girl he mocked—she's the woman who might just be his undoing. Forced into each other’s orbit, what begins as a war of words slowly melts into lingering stares, late-night confessions, and an unraveling of everything they thought they knew. Max, the beast of her memories, begins to reveal the tender man beneath the mask—a man who collects poetry he never shares, who builds gardens no one sees, and who might have always loved the girl he couldn’t protect. But trust doesn’t bloom easily in thorn-covered soil. And when old enemies, buried secrets, and a scandalous inheritance come to light, Emilia must decide: can she love the man who once broke her, now that he’s the only one trying to piece her back together? A tale of enemies-to-lovers, second chances.

My eyes linger on her mouth, and the desperate urge to kiss away the pain she is going through begins to twist deep inside me. "Dane… " I watch her enticing lips whisper my name quietly, like a plea for me to fucking say or do something. Not able to deny the urge any longer, I lean down, pressing my mouth to hers in a passionate kiss that instantly erupts pleasurable sparks inside me. Goddess…. the taste and softness of her lips against mine is fucking more than exquisite. Always more than exquisite. The instant she fully parts her lips and begins to kiss me back, I lose all control. This is everything I have ever wanted, but everything I know I should not fucking want. ☆☆☆☆☆ Tempting fate can be a cruel game, and Dane knows better than to fall for Cara, his bestfriend's little sister who is likely going to be mated to another. What they currently share is an addictive, 'no strings attached relationship', but Dane is beginning to lose control, and he knows the only way out is to break things off between them. So, under the moonlight night sky, he ends his 'no strings attached' relationship with Cara, ignoring her true love confession to him. Haunted with shame, fear, guilt and brokenheartedness, he flees his pack, leaving behind a broken soul to pick up the pieces he painfully shattered. However, no one can run away from fate forever. When duty calls, Dane is plunged back to his pack, crossing paths again with the one girl who still owns every bit of his heart. With the shadows of an evil omen hovering over their pack, Dane and Cara must set their conflicts aside to protect the people they love, or they risk losing everything they hold dear.

When my best friend died, his wife, Mia Lewis, was eight months pregnant. Mia said she didn't want her baby growing up without a father. I owed my best friend my life. He saved me, literally pulled me from death's door. So I stepped up, marrying Mia and raising their son as my own. Mia loved her career, so I quit mine. Traded my job for diapers and school runs. For seven whole years, I cooked, cleaned, folded laundry, and handled the housework. Rain or shine, sickness or health, I was there—every single day. Mia, though? She stayed cold, distant. Her warmth only surfaced in the bedroom—and even then, it was a flicker, never a flame. Just soft sighs and breathy murmurs, like she was playing a role she couldn't wait to finish. Afterward, she would quietly check the condom, as if she couldn't trust me. Then came New Year's Eve. A snap. A tear. A broken condom. Her fury struck like a thunderclap. She locked me out on the balcony, left me standing in the freezing rain, soaked to the bone as the wind howled like a wounded beast. Teeth chattering, I shivered as I watched the door like a dog, waiting to be let in. Then I saw him. Our boy, Ethan Bailey. Six years old. My son, at least in name. He came running with an umbrella in his hand. For a second, my heart leapt. 'Maybe, just maybe…' But he didn't even look at me. Just walked past in silence and handed the umbrella to the nanny heading out. Right then and there, something inside me cracked. I knew it was time to go.

Waking up, Eva realized she was naked in bed. Events from last night slowly crept into her mind. Even though she suspected her memories for a moment, the intoxicating scent, tingling of her skin, and the man beside her cleared all her doubts. Waking up beside their mate was a normal routine but in her case, the night was a one-time mistake. Minding the reality, she quietly slipped out of his hold, dressed up, and walked out of the room with teary eyes. Eva Silver, daughter of Grey Lake pack Gamma Robert Silver and the strongest she-wolf of her pack. All she wanted was the person who was born for her, her mate. She was waiting for him from the moment she turned eighteen. Meeting her mate was supposed to be the happiest moment for her but on contrary, she was disappointed with the man she met. Add on to her misery, the girl beside him introduced herself as his future Luna. Jake Smith, Alpha of North Mountain Pack. North Mountain was a small pack but no one dare to step on its wrong side because of its horrible reputation which included killing their own mates. Jake never wanted to meet his mate but fate wasn't easy on him. From a very young age, he was taught to hate the mate, if not reject the mate, and if not kill the mate. "I, Eva Silver rejecting Alpha Jake Smith as my mate", Eva said with tear-filled eyes, and after finishing her words a surge of pain emerged into her body. "I.. I, Alpha Jake...", a loud roar erupted from him and he shifted into his shiny brown wolf. What made Eva reject her mate? Why was North Mountain pack against mate bond? What were Eva and Jake destined for?

When American engineer Evan Hart arrives in Rome, he expects worn stones, ancient architecture, and a chance to quietly rethink his failing marriage. He doesn’t expect Livia Moretti—the enigmatic archivist whose fragile intensity pulls him into a slow-burning, dangerous affair he never meant to start. Livia is brilliant, secretive, and a little broken… and Evan can’t stay away. But when he finally tells his wife Leah he wants a separation, she collapses, claiming she’s been diagnosed with a devastating neurological disease. Overnight, Evan’s guilt becomes a trap. Then Livia disappears without a trace. Anonymous photographs of him and Livia arrive in the mail. A stranger begins watching his apartment. And Leah—sweet, steady Leah—starts behaving in ways he can’t explain. When Evan finds hidden documents and photographs connecting the two women in his life, he follows a clue to a remote coastal village, where he learns Livia once lived under a different name… and may have been running from something far darker than heartbreak. As Evan digs deeper, he uncovers the edge of a conspiracy built on identity, memory, and manipulation—one determined to keep its secrets buried. Someone is pulling strings. Someone is rewriting the truth. And someone wants Evan to stop asking questions. Caught between a wife he no longer understands and a lover who may not be who she claimed to be, Evan is forced to confront the one question he never thought to ask: If the women in his life are wearing borrowed identities… then who has been shaping his? In a story of seduction, deception, and emotional obsession, All the Names She Wore explores the dangerous terrain between love and control—and what happens when the truth becomes the most terrifying lie of all.

Book One: "Eight years ago Julius DaLair, New York's most eligible bachelor, married childhood friend Macey Grayson. Six years ago he made the biggest mistake of his life and she disappeared. Unbeknownst to him she has been living in Paris raising their twins and under the protection of his father who helped her leave New York and supported her while she returned to her studies. Julius is about to learn there is more to the woman he married and their children than meets the eye. Can he win back her heart? Does he have secret helpers hoping to bring them all together?” Book Two: For ten years Lynn has dedicated her life to her triplets working long hours as a waitress she manages to eke out a living providing for two growing boys and a daughter struggling with a degenerative eye disease. When she was younger she had a crush on Silas Prescott the son of her father's biggest business rival. Lynn was content to let her feelings go unvoiced and herself unnoticed. Then one morning she finds herself in bed with the very man she has always loved but he could not be more disgusted. Throwing a blank check at her he orders her to disappear and never show herself in front of him again. While she was raising their children Silas has been desperately searching for her. For ten years he assumed the woman he found in his room was a maid, not the woman of his dreams. Somehow he has to find away to win her back and earn the trust of his children who have been quietly plotting their revenge on anyone who hurt their mother. Silas learns very quickly there is more to them than meets the eye.

At Manatee high, where wealth whispers through the marble halls and last names open doors, Emma Carter stands out for all the wrong reasons. She’s there on a scholarship — smart, quiet, and completely out of place among the designer uniforms and polished smiles. Her father works long hours as a construction worker, and her mother’s absence still echoes through every choice she makes. All Emma wants is to survive senior year unnoticed. Connor Hayes Charming, confident, and born into old money, he moves through school like he owns it — because, in a way, he does. But behind the perfect image lies someone quietly restless, bored of the shallow routines and expectations his family forces on him. When a class project throws Emma and Connor together, their worlds collide. What starts as polite conversation turns into stolen glances, late-night talks, and moments that make Emma question everything she’s been taught about people like him. For the first time, Connor finds someone who doesn’t care about his last name — someone who sees him. But no everyone is happy about it ,The whispers start. And soon, Emma isn’t sure if she’s part of Connor’s world — or just an experiment in rebellion. As emotions deepen, the line between love and heartbreak blurs. Emma learns that privilege comes with its own cages, and Connor realizes that sincerity can’t be bought. Together, they must decide whether what they have can survive the pressure of judgment, jealousy, and fear — or if love alone isn’t enough to bridge two very different worlds. “Emma and Connor” is a coming-of-age romance about class, courage, and finding where you belong — even when the world tells you that you don’t.

Fiona Woods has spent five years being the perfect shadow—playing Darwin Solomon’s stand-in for a woman he could never have. Her life has been dictated by his whims, her own desires buried beneath layers of quiet endurance. But when she discovers she’s pregnant, everything changes. Determined to protect her unborn child and reclaim her life, Fiona walks away from Darwin and the toxic world he represents. But Darwin isn’t ready to let her go—and neither are the secrets and enemies circling them both. As lies unravel and hidden truths come to light, Fiona and Darwin find themselves drawn back together, forced to confront the ghosts of their past and the enemies determined to destroy them. Can love emerge from years of pain and betrayal? Or will their chance at happiness be crushed under the weight of secrets too heavy to bear? CHARACTERIZATION FIONA WOODS (FL) Age: Late 20s Traits: Intelligent, resourceful, quietly strong, yet deeply scarred by her years as Darwin’s stand-in. Her resilience comes from enduring pain without letting it break her. Darwin Solomon (ML): Age: Early 30s Traits: Proud, cold, and emotionally detached, but beneath his sharp exterior lies a man struggling with his own guilt and loneliness. BELLA ROBBINS (ANTAGONIST) Age: Mid-20s Traits: Ambitious, manipulative, and desperate to solidify her position by any means necessary. WILLIAM NEWTON (SECONDARY ANTAGONIST) Age: Early 40s Traits: Ruthless, shrewd, and motivated by a long-standing grudge against Darwin that drives him to play a dangerous game of revenge. THALASSA CAREY (FL’S BEST FRIEND) Age: Late 20s Traits: Outspoken, fiercely protective of Fiona, and always ready with a sharp wit or a clever plan.

She was always the shadow. He was always chasing the light. Lavinia Hartwell had learned early that love was rarely for girls like her. She was the quiet one, the overlooked one—always second to her luminous best friend, Verity Langford. Even Henry Wynthorne, the boy whose compassion had unexpectedly caught her heart in high school, only had eyes for Verity. But years change people. Henry’s dreams of studying abroad collapsed with his father’s death. Verity left. Success became his only compass, and alcohol his only escape. And somehow, in the wreckage, there was Lavinia—never demanding, never judging, quietly holding him together in ways he never noticed… until she was gone. When an arranged engagement threatened to give her to him, Henry assumed she was being forced into it and set her free. Lavinia smiled, thanked him—and walked away, taking with her the steady presence he had taken for granted. Only then did Henry begin to notice the ache. The way her absence unsettled him. The way another man’s hand on her waist ignited a heat that was not anger, but something darker, sharper, and dangerously possessive. A single night blurred the lines forever—her lips on his, soft at first, then desperate, as though she’d loved him all her life. Desire flared, undeniable. But in the morning, she was gone again. Now, with Verity back and the past colliding with the present, Henry must face the truth: he no longer loves the woman he once chased. But has he realized too late who truly held his heart all along? Slow-burn, sensual, and laced with aching restraint, this is a story of unspoken devotion, of a man’s reluctant fall, and of the quiet girl who was never anyone’s first choice—until she became the only choice.