Shema97 Functional Active Mask

Betrayed by the two people she loved most, her fiancé and her stepsister, Ella loses everything. Desperate and broken, she chooses death. But fate has other plans. Rescued against her will, Ella wakes up to a nightmare: her greedy foster parents have forced her into marriage with a crippled, disfigured man, Elion Copper. A man the world believes to be poor and unwanted. But Elion is no ordinary man. He is, in truth, the ruthless billionaire bachelor every woman in town secretly desires. Tired of fake love and gold-diggers, Elion hides behind a mask of scars and poverty to test if any woman can love him without his wealth. He is certain no one will ever agree, until Ella. To Elion, Ella’s acceptance feels like mockery. He believes she chose him willingly, and his pride turns into fury. Out of spite, he decides to "sell" her as a servant in his billionaire identity, without revealing that both men are one and the same. Now, Ella finds herself under the mercy of the cold and arrogant real Elion Copper, a man who humiliates her, torments her, and makes her question why life saved her at all. But the deeper the pain, the deeper the truth, the crippled husband, and the cruel master are one. When Ella finally discovers his secret, her world shatters again. Will she forgive the man who broke her beyond repair, or will she walk away even when he is ready to burn the world just to keep her by his side?

"You want to be free of me so badly you'll throw yourself into danger?" he asked. "I have nothing left to lose, Eddie. They already took my friends and my freedom. You keep me locked aside, and I have to watch you sleeping around even in our house. What does freedom cost when the price of staying is my soul?" "I will never divorce you, Maggie," he stated, his voice final. "You are mine, and this marriage ends when I say it ends. And not because of some childish, self-destructive tantrum." Maggie Grayson built her global empire on cold calculation and a profound need for independence. But her arranged marriage to the powerful CEO Eddie Grayson is not a union-it's a high-stakes, public prison. When Maggie's emotionally abusive family publicly humiliates her, Eddie does nothing, revealing the true nature of their toxic bond. Seeking a way out, Maggie throws herself into a scandal, only to discover Eddie isn't merely possessive; he's actively leveraging her trauma and her successful company to build a corporate dynasty that will guarantee her absolute, permanent captivity. Now, caught between a husband determined to be her "sculptor" and a father willing to destroy her company to regain control, Maggie knows the only way to break free is to turn the cold, ruthless mask she wears into a devastating weapon. She's not just fighting for a divorce; she's fighting for her very soul. To survive, Maggie must dismantle her gilded cage brick by brick, even if it means destroying the man who holds the key.

Charles’ breath quickened, and his movements became more urgent. “I’m close,” he gasped in my ear, his voice breaking between moans. My own pleasure surged, and I couldn’t hold back the scream that tore from my throat. A wave of electric tingles swept through me, my temples throbbed, and the world around me faded into white… Every pore on my body felt wide open, heat radiating from me in waves. It was surreal, as if I were in a dream, feeling everything but grasping none of it… I could hardly believe it—I had married this man, the infamous Alpha of the Black Valley Pack, Charles McLean, and I had just slept with him. But there was no love between us. We weren’t fated mates. Since his first shift at eighteen, Charles McLean had never found his fated mate. And after one engagement after another, each of his fiancées had died under mysterious circumstances. Rumor had it that he wore a mask to conceal his hideous face and that he was a cruel, violent man who would kill without hesitation. People whispered that he had murdered his previous fiancées. His last fiancée—my sister—was terrified of him. Horrified by the stories, she had vehemently refused to marry him. And just before the wedding, she found her fated mate. So, without warning or preparation, I was forced to take her place, pushed into marrying Charles in her stead, to stand as his wife in name only and the unacknowledged Luna of the Black Valley Pack…

They thought he was just another runaway. They never knew she was a storm waiting to rise. After the tragic death of her parents, Alex a girl mistaken for a boy all her life was one step away from being dumped into a foster home. But instead of surrendering to the system, she ran. That night on the streets, she didn’t find safety. She found the mafia. Dragged into the brutal underground world of Vegas, Alex was forced to train like a soldier, live like a ghost, and survive like a killer. No one ever questioned her identity not when she could fight better, bleed harder, and keep her mouth shut longer than anyone else. They called her a boy. She didn’t correct them. Not when being seen as male was the only thing keeping her alive. Sent to Base Two, the deadliest tier of training, Alex learned to fight, spy, kill and to hide her real self behind layers of silence, steel, and scars. Years later, she walks the streets of New York, not as the scared runaway girl from the past, but as The Rival. A faceless vigilante by night. A silent infiltrator by day. And a weapon forged for one purpose: revenge. Alex isn’t just hunting criminals. She’s chasing the truth behind her father’s deathand every masked figure connected to it. But the deeper she digs, the more twisted the game becomes. Hidden enemies, familiar faces, and a web of betrayal that leads right back to the organization that made her. How long can she keep the mask on... before her real identity shatters everything?

I married my vampire husband ten years ago and gave him a half-blood heir, abandoning my career as a painter to become a full-time mother. Fortunately, my son inherited my talent. At just six years old, he held his first solo art exhibition, inspired by the theme "My Mother." But he never let me attend, and he never let me see his paintings. My husband said my presence would make Luke nervous---that I should stay home and do the housework as a good wife and mother, and wait for them to come back. I told myself he was just young and didn't know better, that he was only pushing back against my discipline, not truly rejecting me. Until the day I snuck into the gallery wearing a surgical mask pulled low. In the center of the crowd, my husband held our son's hand while tenderly pulling a woman in a red dress into his arms. He turned to the guests and announced: "This is Luke's mother---my wife." The three of them stood together, beaming with perfect happiness. And I---the one who'd stayed up all night setting up this exhibition---stood before the paintings while not a single person recognized me. That was when I finally understood. My seemingly gentle, caring vampire husband had long ago given our son a replacement mother. And I was nothing more than the human nanny who'd served her purpose by producing an heir.

“Say it…Tell me to go and I promise you’ll never see me again”. She said to me but I didn’t want that to happen, not now not ever. “Is that what you want?” I spoke softly hoping she would take back her words and she only said it as a moment of weakness. “No…I want you” I found myself utterly speechless when she made this revelation. God, I wanted her too but I could only confess my feelings in my heart. Everywhere went silent. Marcella Solis and Lucille Parker, two young women with a hidden sexuality trapped by the stifling expectations of their elite, high pressure families. Marcella, the "miracle child" and brilliant heir to a mafia empire, maintains a mask of cold perfection to hide her true sexuality, in fear that coming out would tarnish the prestigious Solis name. However, her status quo is shattered by the arrival of Lucille Parker, a striking star athlete and transfer student. While Lucille is presented as a "trophy" for her parents to showcase to college scouts, she carries the scars of a "darker" past. Lucille is viewed by her family as a profound shame that must be hidden behind her athletic prowess. An instantaneous spark ignites between the two, but they initially resist their feelings to protect their families' reputations. This tension finally breaks when they meet in college. In the newfound freedom of campus life, they embark on a passionate, secret romance that serves as a sanctuary from their rigid upbringing. As the moment of revelation nears, they face a devastating choice to succumb to their families and secure their glittering inheritances, or risk everything for their love.

Blurb;    Reena Walters was possibly the worst spy to have ever existed. Recruited by the FBI to infiltrate the stronghold of a dangerous man, Reena decided that seduction was the way to go. Dressed in the ridiculous yet most alluring way possible, Reena Walters succeeded in infiltrating the dungeon like mansion for the biggest and most exclusive ball of the year. Armed with her glittery mask that helped her blend in with several others, Reena finally got her hands on a Thorne brother and did what she knew how to do best, seduction, and charmed the secrets out of him by winning a game of wits. Unknowingly to her that the dominant and ridiculously attractive silver eyed man beneath her was none other than the younger Thorne rumored to be crazy and volatile, and worse, he was playing a game with her, a game she was not aware of. Charming the secret codes and location out of him, Reena continued on her mission, shaking off the nagging feeling that it had all been too easy. Finally getting her hands on the highly sought after flash drive, Reena could not resist the urge to blow an obnoxious kiss to the face of the startled yet crazy eyes that stared at her in the dark. And that split second was all it took for a dangerous obsession to take root and grow in the mind of the older Thorne. Caught like a bird between two dangerous men, Reena must place all her stakes in one game by recklessly choosing the one she deemed lesser of the two evils, but what she did not know yet, and what she would soon learn was that hell was not hot at all, it was freezing cold, and yet burned hotter and brighter than an inferno.

The winter season turns out well for Zoey Smith, a twenty-four-year-old who holds the town's safety in her hands has a dark secret until someone by the name of Alexander Griffin, a rich, sadistic vampire who knows her secret decides to turn her life upside down, these two will now have to live together. Will there be bloodshed or love between these two? Sneak Peek: “I have a proposition for you.", he said as he sat back down and crossed his legs. “And if I don't want to sign it or have anything to do with you? What then?", she snapped back. Zoey was the type to always fight back. She was never the type to take a no for an answer. “Your reputation as a vigilante will be exposed and above all…your father will die at your hands. All because of your stupidity and selfishness of taking up a mask to wear at night yet you don't even think about the consequences” “What is the proposition?", she muttered under her breath gently. “Oh well, you will stay here with me, in this mansion with me.” “Why do you want me to stay here?!", she questioned in confusion. “Do you remember the night before? On the alleyway, you killed my cousin.” She choked on her tea as she heard this and tried to hide her laughter.”Oh….I'm sorry…but on a serious note, he was not a nice person. He kidnapped and murdered children.” He sat next to her and started to talk, "You're right, he deserved it", he chuckled.“Please consider the proposition.”

Clara Rivers only wanted a fresh start—a simple job, a quiet life, and enough money to keep her family afloat. But everything changes the day she crosses paths with Elias Kane, the cold, calculated billionaire whose gaze feels like both a warning and a promise. When a business deal forces them into a fake engagement, Clara thinks she can handle it. Smile for the cameras. Stay by his side. Don’t fall for him. But Elias is not a man meant to be close. He’s sharp where others are soft, silent where others speak, and every step she takes into his world pulls her deeper into something dangerous… and irresistible. Their act is supposed to stay professional. Until his touch lingers. Until her heartbeat betrays her. Until every lie starts to feel painfully real. Elias claims she’s nothing to him—just a contract, an accessory to control the media storm around his name. But the moment another man shows interest in Clara, Elias’s mask cracks… revealing a possessive, jealous obsession he can no longer hide. As secrets unfold, emotions ignite, and the stakes grow higher, Clara must confront the truth: Is she just another woman caught in the billionaire’s web or the one person capable of breaking the walls he swore would never fall? A gripping slow-burn romance full of tension, heartbreak, and undeniable chemistry—The Billionaire’s Hidden Obsession is a love story that proves some obsessions are too powerful to escape.

Elara Vance was never a bride...She was a transaction. To save her brother’s life and settle her father’s crumbling debts, she sold herself into a three year "Repayment Marriage" to the coldest man in the city, Julian Vane. For three years, she endured his frozen silence, his public indifference, and the cruel whispers of a high society that saw her as nothing more than a social prop. She played the role of the perfect, submissive wife, hiding her world-class talent and her breaking heart behind a mask of glass. She waited for a spark of warmth, a sign that the man who held her at night felt more than just obligation. Then came the morning after their final night together, the night she thought finally changed everything. Instead of a "good morning," Julian tossed a manila envelope onto the bed. "The debt is paid, Elara. Sign the papers and leave. I’m done with you." Julian thought he was finally rid of the woman he blamed for his past. He didn't expect her to sign the papers with a smile. He didn't expect her to vanish into thin air, leaving his massive mansion echoing with a silence that felt like a curse. But Elara didn't leave alone. She left with a secret, a tiny heartbeat that Julian would never know about. Now, the hunter has become the haunted. As Elara rises from the ashes of her old life to become a woman the world can't ignore, Julian is left to realize that the wife he threw away was the only thing holding his world together. The debt is settled. The game has changed. And this time, he’s the one who will have to pay... with his soul.