Rum Ball

Julian Silas is a man living as a shadow. After the suspicious death of his father, a legendary royal jeweler, Julian’s treacherous stepfather seized the family’s prestigious workshop, forcing Julian into a life of clandestine labor. While his stepbrothers parade around high society in Julian’s designs, Julian remains locked in the cellar forge, known to the world only as a common servant. His only connection to his true identity is a pair of heirloom cufflinks—exquisite silver swans bearing the "Cigna," a secret mark used by his ancestors to authenticate their greatest works. Across the capital, Queen Althea is fighting a war of her own. Her advisors are pressuring her to enter a loveless political alliance to stabilize the crown. Defiant, she hosts a grand masquerade, declaring that she will choose a consort based on character, not a pedigree curated by the council. When Julian arrives at the ball in a suit of his own tailoring, he and Althea share a night of genuine connection, discussing the beauty of creation and the weight of duty. But as the clock strikes midnight, a palace security breach forces Julian to flee. In his haste to scale the garden wall, one of his Cigna cufflinks is torn from his sleeve and falls into the dewy grass. The Queen finds the token, but rather than sending her guards to find a man who "fits the suit," she turns to her greatest strength: her intellect. She recognizes that the "Cigna" isn't just an ornament—it’s a Coded Sign.

I could hear the thoughts of the poorest girl in the entire school. At our campus ball, she deliberately ate food that contained nuts to give herself an allergic reaction and blame me for it. With tears streaming down her face, she cried, "I know you don't like me! I know you look down on girls as poor as me, but you can't bully me like this!" Everyone believed her and turned on me, including my fiancé, Mark Hawkins, who was expected to form a political alliance with my family through our engagement. He pinned me in place and demanded that I apologize to the 'victim'. I shook my head, trying desperately to explain that it was not me who put the nuts in her food. That was when I heard the thoughts of that 'poor' girl, Alice, ''So what if she's the mafia don's daughter? I still brought her down. Being defended by her rich, clueless fiancé feels incredible!' I was stunned. Before I could react, Mark pushed me to the floor and said firmly, "Helen, apologizing won't kill you." A disbelieving laugh slipped out of me. I wondered if he would still say the same thing if he could hear Alice's thoughts. When I finally gained the ability to share the thoughts I heard with someone else, I chose Mark without hesitation.

Cercei had spent her entire life serving the MoonStone Pack. She was taught to endure cruelty in silence and bow her head, even when her dignity was torn apart. On the night of the Moon Ball, everything changed. Beneath the silver moon, she fled into the forest and crossed paths with a man whose presence felt dangerous, overwhelming, and strangely familiar. “You’re shaking,” he said softly. “I should be afraid of you,” Cercei replied. Lucian stepped closer, his crimson eyes fixed on hers. “Then why does your scent tell me you’re mine?” He was Lucian Red, King of the North. Her fated mate. Before Cercei could face the truth, her father was betrayed and killed, and she was cast out as a rogue. While she suffered in silence, Lucian was trapped by lies and forced into an engagement with a woman who claimed a bond that was never hers. When fate finally brought them face to face again, Lucian knew at once. “Remove your mask,” he commanded. Cercei whispered, “If I do, you’ll never let me go.” His voice lowered. “I never planned to.” With kingdoms on the edge of war and secrets soaked in blood, Lucian must claim the woman the world tried to break. And Cercei must decide whether she will remain a servant of fate, or rise as the Luna she was always meant to be.

As I stepped out of my older brother's newly opened supermarket, the alarm suddenly rang. The sales assistant grimly reached out and grabbed me, "Miss, you haven't paid yet." I remembered that my buttons were made of metal, which triggered the alarm. After patiently explaining and easing the atmosphere, I said, "The owner of this supermarket is my older brother. He'll pay the bill." The sales assistant scoffed. "Your brother's the boss? Why not say he's your husband instead? You stole and refused to admit it. Pay up or I'll call the police immediately," she said and crumpled the receipt into a ball before throwing it at my face. I endured the humiliation and unfolded it. A baby pacifier for 100,000 dollars. Two packs of baby wet wipes for 200,000 dollars. Security personnel's hush fee, 300,000 dollars. All of the miscellaneous expenses added up to exactly one million dollars. I laughed in anger. "One million dollars? Why don't you just rob a bank? Go and get Chad Surrey. I want to see how I ended up with such a heartless brother." She rolled her eyes. "Don't pretend if you can't afford it, thief. Is Mr. Surrey someone you can see whenever you want?" When my parents came to help me, I said, "Only one of us exists in this family. It's either me or her."

"What do you want? What do you wish for?" "My wish is that you fall in love with me again." Taylor Wright's only wish was for the man she loves to treat her with love and respect, and a love that the world would envy, and that was why for years, she kept her feelings for Bryan Anderson a secret. Fortunately, the opportunity came, and an arranged marriage happened between them. Sadly, that was just the beginning of her suffering. 2 years later, Bryan got what he wanted and handed a divorce paper to her. He said, "You and I know how this marriage started. It's time for you to leave." One thing Taylor was taught by her mom was never to beg a man's love. With the remaining pieces of her heart shattered, she signs the divorce papers and walks out of his life without realizing she was pregnant. This was just the beginning. 3 years later, an unforeseen circumstance brings Taylor back to where it all started and the first person she encounters is her ex husband. "I want you back, Taylor." "Mr Bryan Anderson," There was a smirk on her face. "This was me a long time ago, but not anymore. Now, all I want is to see you suffer and beg for my love just like I did in the past." Now, the ball is in her court and it's time to play with the heart of the man she was once madly in love with. How does it really end when she's being betrayed for a second time?

“I'm not just the vampire king of tales, Ellie. I'm a talented artist.” Vanchure said with every stroke he made on the canvas with his paintbrush. “So you can either be the one posing on my couch, behind the canvas, or be the one whose blood I will use in replacement for paints.” In a mystical world named Shirlon, there was a division of two powerful mythical creatures, two great kingdoms, with two great rulers. Speaking of which were the Black Pack, the werewolves, and the Thorx Coven, the vampire with the respect of law and order. These two kingdoms had a ball of symbiosis where they worked hand in hand to maintain their stable world. The werewolves were considered as the soldiers, the ones left to do the tough and dirty jobs within both kingdoms. While the soldiers had the day and night to themselves, the vampire blossomed in the dark. The vampires were also known as Royalties. They've been known to have ancient riches, making them superior to the soldiers. In these two kingdoms, they had their kings. Eamonn, Alpha of Black Pack, and Vanchure, king of Thorx Coven. They had maintained the order of peace and had always set their boundaries between each other until Ellie came along. Ellie was born of the soldiers, just a commoner that the Alpha of her Pack proclaimed as a mate. Ellie was set on a path to rescue her missing sister from the hands of the vampire king, Vanchure. But on her first encounter with that handsome devil, her whole life takes a different turn.

My younger brother, Owen Rivera, and I are playing in Dad's refrigerated truck. Owen wants to grab my ice cream from me, but I refuse to let him have his way. He shoves me forcefully, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the floor, knocking me out on the spot. When I finally wake up and locate him in the freezer, I find out that he's gotten reduced to a frozen statue. The security footage shows that Owen has been screaming the words "Mommy, help me!" hysterically for three hours before his death. After Mom is done watching the footage, she breaks down on the spot. Then, she yanks me by my hair before slamming me against the wall. "What were you doing? You were at the entrance, dammit! Why didn't you open the door for Owen?" With reddened eyes, Dad throws me into the freezer. "Owen was cold and frightened in the freezer! You should have a taste of the same thing too!" The thick and heavy door is slammed in my face. Darkness and a bone-chilling coldness devour me instantly. I curl into a small ball in the corner Owen has just died in. My teeth are starting to chatter, and my consciousness is starting to slip away. I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. I don't feel cold. I'm not cold at all. I will never eat ice cream ever again in my next lifetime.

Ivy had everything one could wish for-money, rich and caring parents, going to the school of her dreams and even a luxurious lifestyle with a company of her own. Her life was perfect but that was to outsiders, only her knew what a complete mess her life was, nightmares hunting her since she was five, workaholic parents who she rarely saw and a school full of scheming b***hes. Her life was a mess until a ball hit her head… hard. Transferred to another world into a person with the same face as hers, she must discover her purpose in this magical place and everyone seems to have a secret of their own especially her twin brother Ivan. ******************************************************************. 'I kissed him’ ivory said in realization. She looked at his groaning figure. ‘But why is he in so much pain’ ivory asked. ‘he's not supposed to exist in the first place, so he's being punished for disrupting the rule and order of the world, this happens on his birthday every year… in order for him not to feel pain, he must have his soulmate with him on that day, he and his soulmate would must either have a little physical intimate contact or they must mate for the pain to stop’ Anita explained gently. Ivory sighed she stared at him in the eyes then suddenly kissed him. Even though he was tied by a rope, he managed to dominate her. Her body was on fire, their tongues intertwined endlessly. Alfred was not in pain anymore but one look and any one could tell he was not his normal self. The rope snapped drawing ivory out of her reverie.

Jewel Anderson is secretly in love with her best friend boyfriend. She endured the pain and dismay in her heart knowing how much Cherrie Miller; her best friend loves the man. On the night of their graduation Ball she discovered that Cherrie is cheating. She saw her kissing Frank Mason in his car, dumbfounded she watches as the car speed away from the school ground. She looked everywhere for Larry Williams, She thought in her heart that she might have a chance. Luckily after finding him, one of their common friends invited her to tag along for the after party, Larry's face is sullen, he’s so quiet and as cold as ice. In the bar she seat next to him and when their eyes met she give him a nod and smile sweetly. Although his Cherrie's boyfriend they are not really close. He seems to recognize her, they chatted and share a toast. Both of them get wasted, decided to leave the bar together and shared the long cold night. In the morning Cherrie showed up in Larry's condo, seeing both of them under the quilt. They were caught. Her best friend cried, looking at her with disgust and anger, accusing her of betrayal. She left after ending her relationship with Larry. Deep inside she knows, Cherrie betrayed the man first but she could not say it and as her best friend does she really need to humiliate her like that. Even the man she love who initiated the did, blame her for everything.

"Now tell me, young lady, who wants you dead?" Nicholas asked as he stared intently at me. His words froze me in place. My eyes widened, and my heart raced uncontrollably in my chest. I looked at him, my eyes diverting to the blood trickling from his shoulder where he was hit by a bullet while trying to save me. "I... I don't know," I stammered, still bewildered by the events that had unfolded. Laura Dickson had endured an abusive relationship at the hands of her boyfriend Santos, to whom she felt indebted for assisting her in settling some debts. Eventually, she reaches the conclusion that she can no longer tolerate the relationship and flees, disregarding Santos' threats of ending her life should she ever leave him. At a charity ball event, she encounters Nicholas, a strikingly handsome and powerful billionaire, the head of Brandson mafia family, who saves her from a serial killer intent on shooting her. Nicholas takes it upon himself to provide her with protection at his covert hideout until the serial killer is captured. What will unfold when they discover that the serial killer was actually closer to them than they had presumed and was in fact not who they thought it was? How will Laura react when she uncovers a grave secret that will profoundly shake her foundations? And what will occur as Laura falls In love with Nicholas, a billionaire mafioso who only sees women as objects of sexual desires? Discover the answers within the gripping pages of the thrilling novel, "Bound by Passion."