Rather Than The Son I'll Take The Father

Content Warning: This is a collection of dark, steamy age-gap romances centered on marriage, possession, and angst. These are stories where vows are a transaction, love is a battlefield, and the only happy ending is the one they fight for. He is always the other father—the guardian, the protector, the older man forced into a role he never asked for. She is the complication, the temptation, the younger woman who disrupts his carefully controlled world. Their unions are never simple. A marriage contract for protection. A vow sworn in desperation. A wedding to secure a future for a child. But behind every practical arrangement lies a dangerous, simmering tension that vows alone can't contain. This collection delivers standalone stories where passion is a privilege earned only after "I do." Expect charged glances across crowded rooms, kisses that feel like claims, and the slow, angsty burn of a man who believes he doesn't deserve her, fighting the overwhelming need to make her his in every way. For readers who like their romance dark, their heroes possessive, and their happy endings hard-won.

In the split second when the research lab explodes, my boyfriend, Thomas Bastion, dashes to Melody Harper, who is standing furthest from the blast zone. He shields her from the impact with his own body. When the sounds of the explosion stop, the first thing he does is carry Melody to the hospital. I'm lying on the floor. My body is covered in fresh blood, but he doesn't spare a single glance at me. Thomas has taken care of Melody for the past 18 years. His heart is filled with nothing but her. There's no space for anyone else. I only survived because my colleagues rushed me to the hospital. When I am discharged from the ICU, I call my teacher, Louis Carpenter. Both my eyes are swollen from how much I've been crying. "Mr. Carpenter, I've made up my mind. I'm willing to join you for the confidential research. It's fine if we have to leave in one month. I don't care that I'll be unable to contact anyone for the next five years." The wedding ceremony that I have been dreaming of is supposed to take place in a month's time. However, I no longer want to get married.

Ava Kingsley thought that spending the night with the crippled billionaire will change her life for the better as he has fallen for her charm and is head over heels in love with her the first time Augustus saw her. What she didn't know is that behind his helpless demeanor brought by his disability is a ruthless man and so when she witnessed Augustus shoot a man straight to his head, killing him on the spot. She decided to runaway from the billionaire together with Augustus' son that she is already pregnant with. Five years later, just when she thought that he won't be able to find her. Ava came home to his son and Augustus preparing a dinner for her.

Ano ang gagawin mo kung ang taong pinakamamahal mo higit kaninuman ay sapilitang inilayo sa iyo? "I'll seduce him," sagot niya. "Hindi lang para bawiin ang nararapat sa akin, kundi para iparamdam din sa kanya ang sakit na naranasan ko noong kinuha niya ang anak ko."

Crystal Meka, a blind, hybrid slave to the most brutal lycan king alive, lived every day wishing to break free from the people who murdered her mother but everything changed when she found out that the lycan king she hated and feared with every fiber of her being was her true mate. It devastated Crystal so she kept a secret but on her 18th birthday, she rejected alpha King Elyon and paid dearly for it. Elyon compelled her to revoke her rejection but never accepted her due to the undying hatred he had for her kind; dragons and werewolves but he needed her by his side. Pressure as the king of one of the most powerful supernatural races made him take a Luna from his people. It broke Crystal's heart especially since the new Luna was after her life. Elyon however claimed Crystal at every opportunity he got without protecting her from his people. Crystal's status was barely upgraded from royal food taster to breeding slave of the king. With the low, nasty position came more oppression. A ray of hope shone on her when Elyon's younger brother who was an alpha of another kingdom offered her an escape from her prison. Will Crystal accept to leave her mate or will she persevere even with all the heartaches? And will Elyon let her leave even when he hates her?

What will you do if your parents told you that they sold you to a billionaire family for their own debt?

Viatrice Thaliya Rosales was never meant to beg or bend. Heiress to one of the country’s most powerful families, she walked away from the wealth and the name, determined to build a life on her own. But when the Rosales empire nears ruin, she’s dragged back into a world of power plays and secrets. And waiting for her is a man who holds the key to saving everything—on one condition. Marriage. It was supposed to be nothing more than a transaction. A contract bound by signatures, not emotions. But the more Thaliya finds herself tangled in his world, the harder it becomes to tell where duty ends and desire begins. She thought she was giving up her freedom. What she didn’t expect was to risk her heart.

"You have no house to go to, no money, no friends and no child to drain me of child support. Don't be stubborn. You know you'll die without me, I'm your only family left." Once again that proud tone was sneered at me. "I worry for you." Devon’s eyes glimmered waiting for me to go on my knees and beg him. I shake my head. "Worry about yourself Devon. Do you really think you'd go scott free after the shit you pulled today? You couldn't even let me mourn my baby in peace." I searched for his gaze, my eyes burrowing into his. "I promise you, if not today, one-day Devon. I'll make you wish you were dead." ____ Corrie North gave Devon Remington everything. Amazing sex? She gave him her body. A devoted house-wife? She abandoned her career for him. A fucking maid? She scrubbed every inch of his sprawling mansion. A child? She nearly died bringing their son, Haven, into the world. And how did he repay her? Devon betrayed her. He cheated with a younger woman, handed her divorce papers, and vanished on the day their son died in a mysterious accident. Two months later, he finally showed up to Haven's funeral, with his pregnant mistress on his arm. As if that wasn’t enough, he accused Corrie of murdering their child. Devastated, Corrie vowed revenge. She vanished from Devon’s life, promising that everyone who played a part in Haven’s death would pay, including him. Four years later, Devon wants her back. He’ll do anything to make her his again. But Corrie isn’t the same woman he left behind. Will she make him pay for his betrayal , or will old flames pull her back into the arms of the man who destroyed her?

*** COMPLETED: This story has steamy scenes that are not suitable for minors.*** When Cassie discovered that her boyfriend of six months was cheating on her with a married younger woman, she looked for the cheating woman's husband and insisted to have sex with him. However, after the deed, she found out that she got the wrong person and had a tryst with the billionaire Liam Chapman instead. Soon, her life spirals out of control—Liam's expelled son enrolls in her school. Her ex-boyfriend’s cheating goes out. Students complain about her teaching methods. And her co-teachers think that she is having an affair with the education minister because of the speed of her promotion and the number of her awards. Wanting to escape the drama, she resigns and goes to another city, only to meet Liam Chapman again. This time, he has an offer she can't reject. A contract marriage of three years. He will provide all her needs, but in return, she will provide his, and that includes focusing on his little monster of a son who hates studying because he thinks it's very uncool. However, as she stays with husband and son, she falls more and more for Liam and loves his kid as if he is her own. But, time is running out. Soon the contract will end, and she will need to leave the life she learned to love.

Five years in a coma. That’s how long Ava Jameson’s world was on pause. She woke expecting love and care from her husband, only to find her husband, Ethan, married to her sister Clara and raising a boy. It breaks her heart. She's sent to Blackwell Manor to recover at the mansion of her husband's stepfather, Damian Blackwell, a billionaire CEO with a reputation for ruthlessness. Damian has no interest in messy family drama, until he sees Ava. She awakens something he thought had died with his wife. This is dangerous and their attraction is forbidden. But when Ava is pressured to give up her settlement and is pressured by Ethan to live quietly, Damian offers her a shocking deal, a fake marriage in return for revenge. But now Ethan wants her back, and she finds herself caught between her past and her present, especially her father-in-law makes her feel things, her Ethan never did.