Santa Thief

Deck the halls with daddy issues and scream "yes, Santa" until the neighbors complain. She sold herself to save her mother. He bought her to settle a score. Neither expected twelve days of captivity to feel like coming home. Ten years ago, Evangeline Rose fled Willow Creek and the cruel boy who made her life hell. Now she’s back with a new name, a new body, and one desperate choice: enter the town’s secret Christmas auction where wealthy men bid on willing women. When the hammer falls at five hundred thousand dollars, Eva expects a stranger. Instead, she gets Grayson Holt—her former tormentor, now a devastatingly dangerous man in a half-open Santa jacket who just bought twelve uninterrupted nights with the virgin he once swore no one would ever want. She should be terrified. He's the reason she hid in bathroom stalls and cried herself to sleep. But the first time he kisses her, his hands shake. The first time she fights back, he groans her name like a prayer. And somewhere between the firelight and the snow and the silk ribbons around her wrists, they both realize the ugly truth: He didn't buy her to break her. He bought her because he's been broken without her. The boy who spray-painted "fat ugly bitch" on her locker is the same man who falls to his knees in the snow on the last morning and begs her not to leave. The girl who swore she'd never forgive him is the same woman who has to choose: walk away free, or stay with the monster who finally admitted he's been in love with her since the day he made her cry. Eva spent a decade learning to hate Grayson Holt. Turns out she's been loving him the whole damn time.

My husband lies to me about working late on Christmas Day. I know he wants to give me a surprise—I saw a jewelry set worth millions of dollars in his pocket. However, all I receive is the news of him pretending to be Santa Claus as he delivers a gift to his female secretary. She flaunts it on social media. "You're the most precious Christmas gift I've gotten." My husband changes the background photo on his social media to a photo of them together. I smile and like the post. Later, the secretary comes to me and smugly says she's pregnant. Meanwhile, I pull out a diagnosis report verifying that my husband is sterile. "Checkmate!" She visibly panics.

“You,” Hades snarled, his eyes burning into Claudine’s, “are a viper in my bed. A ticking time bomb.” Claudine’s lips curved into a chillingly beautiful smile. “Darling, in your bed, I’m whatever you desire.” ~~~~ This isn’t your typical enemies-to-lovers romance. This is the story of the infamous daughter of the worlds greatest russian Kalashnikov Omerta,a woman driven by vengeance, who wanted the downfall of Hades Vancouver, the dangerous American mafia leader. Death was too merciful a punishment for the man who murdered her parents. But in a twist of fate, she’s caught in his grip and forced into marriage with him—the very man she swore to destroy. To Hades, she’s not simply his wife. She’s a snake he’s obsessed with, a woman he wants to bend to his will and claim in every way imaginable. Her true identity is hidden from him, but he’s been obsessed since the first night he fingered her into a screaming, squirt-filled orgasm that felt like a soul-shifting experience. The same night she stole from him. Now, trapped in a deadly game of forced proximity, where desire is both a weapon and a weakness, one wrong move could ignite a war that consumes them all. But when Hades discovers the tracker in her old gunshot wound, a relic of a past encounter, the game changes. Read on to find out if things were falling out of place for these characters, or perhaps things were falling into the right places.

Ramalan jawa kuno tentang Raja selanjutnya dari Kerajaan Sunda terungkap karena Ashura (orang yang berhasil menemukan Istana Sunda) sempat mengatakannya sebelum ia tewas di tali gantung. Banyak orang bertekad untuk menemukan apa yang telah di katakan oleh Ashura karena mereka tahu jika mereka ber

Sa likod ng karangyaan ng Hacienda Avaristo, may mga lihim na itinago — mga sigaw ng kababaihang inapi, mga pag-ibig na pinagkait, at mga kasalanang sinilaban ng panahon. Isang dalagang kasambahay, isang panginoong marahas, at isang pag-ibig na ipinagbawal— mula sa abo ng kahapon ay babangon ang isang babaeng gagamitin ang bawat sugat bilang kanyang sandata. Ito ang kuwento ni Amarra Villasanta, ang babaeng minsang inalipin, ginahasa, itinapon, ngunit muling bumangon upang ibalik ang hustisya sa lupaing minsang kinasusuklaman niya. Isang epikong kasaysayan ng pagdurusa, paghihiganti, at kapatawaran, kung saan matutuklasan na ang tunay na “lihim” ng Hacienda ay hindi ang kasalanan ng nakaraan— kundi ang kapangyarihan ng isang pusong marunong magmahal kahit sa gitna ng impyerno.

Di tengah era kekacauan di Nusantara, dua benua besar, Benua Barat dan Benua Timur, terlibat dalam perang yang tak kunjung usai. Benua Barat dikenal dengan kekuatan sihir kuno yang diwariskan turun-temurun, sementara Benua Timur menjunjung tinggi seni bela diri dan kultivasi yang menghubungkan jiwa dengan alam semesta. Pertikaian mereka menghancurkan tanah dan memecah belah rakyat yang pernah hidup dalam damai. Di tengah konflik ini, seorang anak muda bernama Gema Pratama, yang berasal dari keluarga sederhana di pedalaman, mendapati dirinya menjadi sosok yang diramalkan dalam legenda kuno. Gema adalah sosok yang diyakini akan menjadi Dewa Sihir Kultivasi, satu-satunya harapan untuk menyatukan kekuatan magis dari Barat dan keahlian bela diri dari Timur. Namun, takdir Gema tidaklah mudah. Dalam perjalanannya, ia dihadapkan pada berbagai tantangan, mulai dari pengkhianatan teman terdekat hingga ancaman dari kekuatan gelap yang ingin menghancurkan dunia. Gema harus belajar menguasai sihir kuno dan teknik kultivasi tingkat tinggi, sambil mengungkap misteri masa lalunya dan menghadapi tragedi yang menguji keyakinannya. Sepanjang perjalanan, ia menemukan sekutu-sekutu tak terduga, tetapi juga musuh-musuh yang lebih kuat dari yang pernah dibayangkannya. Intrik politik, pertarungan epik, dan pengorbanan yang memilukan menjadi bagian dari takdir yang harus ia jalani. Dengan kekuatan yang terus berkembang, Gema menyadari bahwa untuk membawa kedamaian, ia harus menyatukan tidak hanya kedua benua, tetapi juga hatinya yang terbelah antara tanggung jawab dan keinginan untuk menjalani hidup yang damai. Namun, apakah dia mampu mengatasi tantangan terakhir dan memenuhi takdirnya sebagai Dewa Sihir Kultivasi? Hanya waktu yang akan menjawab.

Ambisi membalaskan dendam kematian kedua orang tuanya membuat Danuranda melewati perjalanan panjang. Hingga mempertemukan dia dengan teman, sahabat, cinta dan penghianatan.Bergabungnya Danuranda dengan pasukan Kerajaan Banten adalah awal dari perjalanan Danuranda dalam mengarungi Dunia Persilatan Nusantara.Semua hanya fiktif belaka, khayalan seorang pujangga yang selalu di sakiti ...

On New Year's Eve, I prepare a feast. The clock strikes twelve, but my husband, Vincent Porter, still isn't home. My daughter, Lorelei Porter, tugs at my sleeve and holds up my phone. "Look Mommy, Daddy is at this lady's house!" Vincent has posted an update on Twitter. He is with Christine Snow, his childhood sweetheart. They are smiling at the camera, with a boy who looks about ten standing between them. In front of them sits a swan-shaped cake. The caption reads, "The most special day for the most special you." My heart sinks into my stomach. A marriage that came later in life can never compete with a pair of childhood sweethearts. I accept defeat.

At ten years old, I watched my mom jump to her death in a rainstorm. That same night, my dad brought home a glamorous woman and her nine-year-old daughter. I had feared and hated rainy days since then. My husband once helped me face that childhood trauma, staying by my side through every storm and promising, "Don't worry, Lena, you'll never face your fears alone." But when I refused to pick up his new assistant, he abandoned me on a highway in pouring rain, saying, "Marie is your sister, and you left her out there? Walk home!" That night, the rain never stopped, and I walked thirteen hours along a dark, endless road. That was when I decided I was done with him.

While inspecting the hotel owned by my family, I start to feel hungry after ordering some food at the hotel restaurant. Before the food is served, I munch on a small piece of bread roll for the time being. Suddenly, the lobby manager comes up to me and hands me a piece of paper. "Hello, sir. We do not allow outside food here. It has been 8 minutes and 30 seconds since you entered our restaurant. The total cost of your meal is 1,500 dollars. You'll be fined 1.28 million dollars." I am briefly stunned as I look at the piece of paper detailing the amount I should pay. Then, I take a picture of the piece of paper and send it to the group chat that has all the members of the board of directors. I tag my elder sister in the next message I send. "I've received a fine at the hotel owned by my family. Is this how you've increased the hotel's revenue?"