Roses Without Thorns

By day, I was a maid in Chester Graham's household. By night, I was nothing more than a way for him to satisfy his desires. After one encounter, he dragged me from the bed, indifferent to my pain. "You don't have to come back," he said flatly. I collapsed to the floor in terror. "Did I do something wrong? Please don't send me away." The man who had murmured comforts to me only moments earlier now gazed down with icy detachment. "Wendy has agreed to marry me. "She's afraid of pain. You were nothing more than a tool for me to practice on. Once used, you're thrown away. "You've always been obedient. You know what you're supposed to do."

"This year, there's only one spot available–and I fought hard to secure it for you. "If things don't work out with Baron Cole, I'll talk to him. You two have a strong relationship. Waiting a few years won't matter." As I stared at the application form my professor handed me, my hands would not stop trembling. In my previous life, I spent forty years married to Baron. We raised a son and a daughter. I thought that was what a complete, fulfilled life looked like. However, after he died, while sorting through his belongings, I found a box filled with letters and photographs. That was when I learned the truth–he had always loved someone else. She was his first love… and the biological daughter of the family that raised me. Back in 1984, he hid my study-abroad application, giving the opportunity to her instead. From that moment on, I became a housewife. And he devoted himself to helping the woman he loved rise–until she returned from overseas as a celebrated professor. Even my own son later turned their story into a drama, glorifying their restrained, enduring love. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day I first received that application form. This time, I did not hesitate. "Professor, I'm going abroad."

I lose my memory and wander the streets, surviving on scraps and the kindness of strangers. Then, Miles Blackwood from the Institute of Medical Research finds me and takes me in. He tells me that I'm his long-lost fiancee who ran away years ago, and that he's spent every ounce of energy searching for me ever since. As I'm frail and riddled with illness, he watches over me as I take my medication every day, tracing the scar on my lower back with a strange, tender affection. But everything shatters the day I regain my memory. I accidentally overhear Miles speaking to a friend. "Miles, you forcibly removed Cassidy's kidney for Claudia back then. That was what caused her to lose her memories. And in the end, you let Claudia take all the credit for the research. "Now, after Cassidy's been suffering out there for years, you're bringing her back just to use her for the artificial kidney project? Aren't you worried that she'll regain her memories?" Miles scoffs. "She's incredibly grateful to me now. Besides, she's just a sickly woman. So what if she finds out? As long as we succeed in the research on artificial kidneys, Claudia will become the star of the medical world. As for Cassidy? She'll have made her contribution to the medical field." A cold chill rushes through me in an instant—I am Cassidy.

"“Do you know how to get to the rose garden?” “No, you can’t go there. A monster lives there.” Shaw Hollander is desperate. Broke, unemployed, and determined to help his ailing mother, he falls on the good graces of a wealthy benefactor who is willing to give Shaw a job at his mansion in order to pay off his mother’s debts. Suddenly finding himself surrounded by lavish riches, he has no idea what his duties truly entail until he’s sent to the rose garden and meets the tragically mutilated Isobel. This Beauty and the Beast story holds true to the core of the fable while shaking off the element of fantasy and dragging it into present-day reality. Shaw and Isobel are ready to let you climb into their four-wheel-drive pickup and take a ride with them into their version of happily ever after, but only if you first dare to gaze upon the monster among the roses."

Seven years ago, it was love at first sight when I met Lucas Yates, who was still a nameless thug at the time. For him, I chose to leave my wealthy family. After seven years of dating, he throws me a grand wedding the day he finally becomes the head of Devil's Advocate, a mafia organization. On the day of our wedding, his childhood friend, Yelena Jackman, crashes the venue. She confesses her love for Lucas, but he rejects her without any hesitation, vowing he will only ever love me in this life. Just as we're exchanging rings, Lucas' enemies show up to cause trouble. When he sees the gun pointing at me, he lunges forward to protect me without a second thought. Yelena, who should have run, takes three bullets while protecting Lucas and falls into a coma due to severe blood loss. Overwhelmed by guilt, Lucas sends her to the best hospital in the world. I have the same blood type as Yelena, so in the attempt to save her life, I donate so much blood that I go into shock. Guilt leaves me with sleepless nights. Every day, I pray she'll wake up. I'm even willing to look after her for the rest of my life if I have to. Lucas keeps comforting me, saying that I don't need to feel so guilty, as Yelena did all of it of her own volition. He says he'll take up the responsibility of making it up to her. I'm extremely grateful to Yelena for saving Lucas and allowing me to have such a wonderful husband. However, on the day of our third wedding anniversary, I receive a mysterious message. "Lucille, you shameless homewrecker! I'm his lawfully wedded wife! If you know what's good for you, you'd better scram and go as far away as you can. If you don't believe me, you can always head to City Hall to see just who is registered as Lucas' lawful wife!"

A powerful witch. A cursed vampire. A castle built on blood. And a secret that could destroy them both. Delphine Ashwood has never fit in—not with her coven, not with polite magical society, and certainly not with anyone who prefers witches quiet and predictable. When she’s hired to repair the failing wards of the infamous Castle Thorne, she expects cold stone, ancient curses, and another lonely contract. What she doesn’t expect is him. Theron Valemont, vampire prince and ruler of the forgotten court, is everything she hates: brooding, controlling, and hiding far too many secrets behind those ice-blue eyes. He didn’t summon her—and he wants her gone. But the castle has other plans. As Delphine unravels the threads of the ancient spell holding the fortress—and Theron’s legacy—together, she discovers a power buried beneath the stone. A power tied to her own bloodline. A power that was never meant to wake. Caught in a slow-burning battle between duty, desire, and destruction, Delphine and Theron must decide what they’re willing to sacrifice. Because the truth isn’t just dangerous. It’s hungry.

She offered him her heart, her trust, her everything and her soul only to face betrayal, heartbreak, and being discarded as if she meant nothing to him. Eleanor Sinclair was once a delicate, vibrant, quiet woman who loved intensely and wholeheartedly, but love caused her immense pain and regret. Married to the ruthless, wicked and influential Damian Blackwood, she suffered through his cold indifference, harsh words, and the stifling loneliness of an absent and void love. When he wrongfully accused her of infidelity and cast her away, she lost everything: her dignity, her aspirations,her goals, her life maybe and the child she was carrying. Left for dead, Eleanor faded from existence, but she didn’t die. Instead, she emerged from her suffering, forged in the fires of pain and revenge, becoming the very nightmare of the underworld. No longer the timid, weak woman pleading for affection, she returns years later, powerful and driven by a singular mission: to destroy the man who ruined her life, to kill him and burn him if possible. However, Damian Blackwood is unlike any other. Ruthless, strategic, and more dangerous than before, he never expected the woman he once threw away would come back stronger, more lethal and destructive, and beyond his reach. The moment he lays eyes on her again, he recognizes his error. She was never the weak one he was. Now, he’s determined to pursue her, plead, and break every rule to reclaim her for good. But Eleanor has no heart left to offer. Not while the fire of revenge still courses through her veins. He feels regret. She seeks vengeance. Let the pursuit begin…

The second I opened my eyes, I knew. I was twenty-seven again. Back when I was the Leone heiress. The golden girl of Arezzo. Engaged to the Don of the Grimaldis—Marco Grimaldi. Handsome. Loaded. Time magazine's "No.1 Most Desirable Husband in the World." Even the royal family of Inglane had tried to marry a princess off to him. Everyone called me the luckiest woman alive. Yeah. Right. The first thing I did after coming back? I grabbed the marriage contract and walked straight to my father's affair daughter— the fiancée Marco had actually wanted all along. Bella Leone. I slid the contract across the table. "It's yours. You're marrying Marco." She just stared at me. Six years. That's how long I'd chased him. And now I was handing over the contract like it meant nothing. "Everyone thinks you're the better match anyway," I said. "So go ahead. Convince Dad to get the Grimaldis to switch the contract. You can have the Grimaldi Donna title." Not this time. I'm not becoming that suffocated, invisible Don's wife ever again.

"Sir, the divorce agreement from the safe." On their fifth wedding anniversary, in a dimly-lit restaurant, Xavier Hampton's secretary placed the divorce papers in front of him. Five years ago, on the day Elizabeth Eaton and he registered their marriage— She had loved him deeply. So deeply that she had prepared the divorce agreement in advance, signed her name, and locked it away in the safe. If she ever betrayed him, all he had to do was sign. Xavier picked up the pen and swiftly signed his name. Across from him, the empty seat seemed heavier than any presence. His gaze dimmed. "Send the divorce papers to Attorney Harvey," he said, his voice calm, almost detached. "Then book a hotel and have the wedding venue set up in advance." The secretary hesitated for a moment before carefully asking, "Whose names should I write as the bride and groom?" "Elizabeth Eaton and Connor Walker."

"I was a player and now, I'm a game." -Silvio Salvatore "Nowadays, love has become like a maid; she comes and rings the bell, does her chores and walk away." -Sadie Quintin ***** Sadie Quintin was a doctor by profession and broken from within. Having lost everything she had once owned in her life, she's tired of her life. Living alone with her sister, her mundane life was just about to be okay until one day, she crossed paths with italian mafia leader. Silvio Salvatore was a killer by heart and a cruel sadist with ulterior motives. It was a game of love and revenge until she found herself in middle of the drastic game of hate and lust with no escape. She craved freedom but he refused any scope for it. Read out to find where the treacherous destiny leaves both Silvio and Sadie.