Shironeko Project: Zero Novels & Stories

Everywhere becomes silent as every single pair of eyes turn to us and although I'm used to attention, it's never been in this type of situation and I find myself wondering how to handle it. All worries fly out the window though when Hunter grabs my hand after locking his car. Murmurs erupt in every angle of the school ground at his actions and I glance at Hunter only to see a look of determination on his face. What is he up to? He suddenly turns me towards him and traps me against the car door. "You're right, we need to clear one misunderstanding" he states his breath fanning my face. "And what would that be?" I breath out already dazed by him. Get a grip Daisy, you're out in public! "That you are mine and all other boys can fuck off" He answers hoarsely just as he finally closes the space between us and takes my lips for a world-rocking kiss. ************* Daisy Heart is a friendly heiress with great friends who just wants to have a good high school experience. She thinks everything is beautiful except the heir to the Stone Empire: Hunter Stone. Hunter Stone is a playboy Heir who just wants to have a good time while young before responsibilities come knocking. He thinks everything is fun except the heiress to the Heart group of Hotels: Daisy Heart. After being forced into being partners and roommates for a school camp project, Hunter and Daisy are determined to make each other's life hell. The undeniable attraction between them certainly doesn't help. To make things worse, Hunter also knows that Daisy has feelings for his best friend. Sequel to series of fights, failed pranks and arguments, fate offers to deal a final blow to the situation. An arranged marriage.

The classified project I was working on wrapped up ahead of schedule, so I made sure to get back on my daughter's birthday. When I walked in, a girl I had never seen before was wearing my daughter's princess dress, a crown perched on her head. She sat in front of a cake as tall as she was, eyes closed, making a wish. I frowned and stepped closer. "Who are you? Why are you wearing my daughter's dress? Where's Heidi?" Before she could answer, two housemaids rushed out and started yelling at me. "Where the hell did you come from? How dare you talk to our boss's daughter like that? If you know what's good for you, get out! When the boss gets back, you won't like what happens." I stood there, confused. Boss? The boss's daughter? In this house, wasn't it just me and my daughter, Heidi Foster? I barely had time to speak before they shoved me toward the front door. In the middle of the pushing, something caught my eye. Off to the side, chained to a pillar, was Heidi. The girl I used to hold like she was the most precious thing in the world was now sprawled on the ground, digging through a dog bowl for food. A thick iron chain was locked around her neck, and her body was covered in bruises. My vision tightened. "Heidi, what happened to you?" The moment our eyes met, her hollow gaze filled with tears. She shrank back, then let out a soft bark at me, like a frightened dog. The maids looked at her with open disgust. One of them sneered, "Our boss said that that little thing was born to live like a dog. You have to keep her chained up if you want her to behave."

After half a month of nonstop overtime, I secured a contract worth over ten million, pulling the company back from the brink of collapse. My boss, Richard Gray, was overjoyed. At the celebration party, he called me the pillar of the company and announced that he would reward me with a bonus. However, when the end of the month came, and I opened my payslip, I froze. Negative 250 dollars. A negative commission? I actually owed the company 250 dollars? I immediately called the finance department, asking if there was a mistake on my payslip. They replied, "No mistake. This is the cost calculation formula that Mr. Gray personally instructed us to use. He said you'd understand once you saw it." I went straight to Richard for an explanation. He laughed. "The contract that you signed, after factoring in the concessions, upfront resources, and hidden expenses, left the company with a net loss of 150 thousand. Since the loss was due to your personal decisions, you're responsible for five percent. That totals to 7500. "Considering how hard you worked, we deducted it from your base salary first. But your salary wasn't enough, so you still owe the company 250. Don't worry. The company treats its employees well. We'll write that off." Soon after, he awarded 100 thousand dollars to the newly arrived intern. I watched the newcomer, probably connected to Richard, cheerfully treat the entire company to dinner with her bonus, and something inside me just snapped. From that day onward, I did the bare minimum. I clocked in. I clocked out. Nothing more. Later, when a critical project went catastrophically wrong and the company faced a colossal compensation demand, Richard came begging me to fix it. I just smiled and said, "Sorry, Mr. Gray. I've already resigned. If there are any problems, you can ask the intern who got the 100 thousand dollar bonus to handle it."

SYNOPSIS The Wrong Pair of Eyes Mia Caldwell isn’t looking for anything. She has Ethan, warm, loving, six thousand miles away but counting down every day until he’s back. She has her studies, her routine, her carefully maintained life. She has a relationship built on a year of long distance and the kind of trust that costs something to keep. She isn’t looking. But then Ryder Holt walks out of a cafeteria door while she’s on the phone with her boyfriend and something in her chest moves without permission. He doesn’t introduce himself. Doesn’t flirt, doesn’t chase, doesn’t do any of the things she could easily dismiss. He just looks at her. Direct and unhurried and completely certain, like he’s already made a decision and is simply waiting for her to arrive at the same one. They get paired for a project and she finds out he requested her specifically, she’s bringing him coffee and losing arguments she should win and lying awake thinking about a man she has no right to think about while Ethan sends heart emojis from across the world and says he’s coming home early.Three weeks. She has three weeks to get herself under control. Ryder Holt has other plans. Possessive without touching her. Obsessive without saying it. He sees her in ways that feel both thrilling and terrifying and the closer he gets, the more Mia realizes the real danger isn’t him but how little she’s pulling away. The Wrong Pair of Eyes is a slow burn dark romance about desire arriving at the worst possible moment, loyalty cracking under the weight of something real, and a woman caught between the love she chose and the one she never saw coming.

"Good evening, Mom. How was your day?" "My day was good, my love. How is yours going?" Her voice was a soothing balm against the stress of the day. "It’s... busy. My boss gave me a mountain of work to finish before tomorrow morning, so I won't be coming home tonight. I’m going to stay late and then head straight back in." "Oh, my dear," she sighed. "Just be careful. Don't get into any trouble." "I won't, Mom. Did you take your medication?" I asked, knowing how she tended to forget when I wasn't there to nag her. "Ah... I’ll take it now." "Mom, please. You need to stay strong for me." "I will, I will. I love you, Annabelle." "Love you too." After I hung up, the silence of the office felt even heavier. The lights were dimmed, except for the glow from my monitor and the soft yellow light spilling from Elias’s office. He was still in there, a silhouette of intense focus as he reviewed the project details. Suddenly, a sharp ping echoed through the quiet room. I jumped slightly, my eyes snapping to my computer screen. Unknown Email. No encrypted address. No profile picture No signature. Whoever sent this, don't want to be traced. "What is this?" I muttered, my skin crawling with a sudden, inexplicable chill. The subject line was written in bold, stark capital letters: BEFORE THE INVESTMENT. My pulse shifted into a frantic rhythm. I hesitated, my mouse hovering over the notification. When I finally clicked, my breath hitched. It wasn't just a message; it was a cache of attached documents, internal financial transfers, offshore account statements, and adjusted revenue projections. I realized instantly that these were different from the official files Elias had given me.

When my four sons were finally old enough for preschool, I arrived at the school office with my marriage certificate and their birth certificates, ready to sign them up. But the lady at the counter frowned and said, "These documents don't check out. According to the system, your kids don't even exist." I felt as if the floor had dropped out from under me. I remembered when Sheldon Clem and I got married—he was the one who handled all the paperwork, the birth registrations, everything. I never imagined that when I tracked him down with our four boys, he'd be holding his childhood sweetheart in his arms, with her little girl snuggled against him. And then we heard him sweet-talking her right in front of us. "Don't be mad, babe. I've got everything set up for us overseas. Gigi is going to the most expensive private school, and you'll be living in the nicest penthouse downtown. "Sure, she gave me four sons, but all my love and money are with you. I only kept her around because I felt sorry for her. "What else do you need? My will's already signed. Everything goes to you and Gigi." Riley Anderson pouted, smug and satisfied. "If you don't love her, then she's the other woman, not me. She's got no right to fight me for anything!" So he never went bankrupt. When we got back home, Sheldon acted as if nothing had happened. "Honey, I've found this amazing project overseas, so I won't have time to come home much. I'll need you to hold down the fort at home." I smiled and nodded. "Sure, go ahead." If that was how he wanted to play this, then fine. I'd make sure he really went broke, and then I'd find my boys a new father.

"Whether you like it or not! You need to abort the baby! I don't need your fucking mercy Iris! You don't have to project yourself as a victim!" Lucas's eyes were flares as he stared at me deadly. He wants to slay me from his sight. He treats me as a trash. An unclean wife. "After you got everything? This is what you do? You'll abort the child? You're ruthless Lucas. You're a monster." I hardly hits him on his chest with my hands. I'm angry with him. He cheated on me. He made such a fool. He plays my heart. My eyes watered with tears as I hits him on his chest with my hands constantly. He wants to hurt him with all my might. I wants hurt with my hands to make him realize the truth. I couldn't help but hit him on his chest as I cried. What he did was painful. He thinks of me as a thing, that after he used and got everything from me, he just throws me away. My femininity meant nothing to him. He ruthlessly restrained my hands. My tears just fell down. I feels like my heart is being stabbed at this moment. I thought he was my happily ever after? But I was wrong! The man I adored was hurting me. He broke my heart after all. "Stop being a fool Iris. Nothing can blame but you. Because you wanted what happened to us. You are the only one that wants," His eyes widened at me with anger. His heart feels hatred for me. He ruthlessly choked me at my neck. I just looked up at him, catching my breathe. My tears are falling. "You need to abort the baby. You will do it to protect my identity Iris."

“Bro, it’s not a big deal. I’m just fucking her.” My heart stopped. Kendall’s voice replied, “But man, what would people think if you made her your girl? That’d be crazy work.” “I’m not stupid,” Jalen said flatly. “I’d never make her mine. It’s only sex, nothing more. And honestly? It’s not that good anymore. I was gonna let her down easy before break.” ...... Aria, a plus-size beauty, thought her scholarship and condo arrangements were a dream until she met her roommate, Talia. Rich, spoiled, and instantly cruel, Talia made Aria's life miserable. Talia’s new boyfriend, Jalen, was the campus golden boy. When Aria and Jalen were paired for a project, they clicked in ways neither expected from late night talks to shared secrets and undeniable sexual chemistry. On Halloween night, during an all campus party, Aria sees Talia cheating on Jalen. One emotional night led to an affair that changed everything… until Jalen says some really damaging words to his roommate that were unforgivable and also heard by a once happy but now upset Aria. Disappointed, fed up, and heartbroken, Aria leaves campus and never looks back. TEN YEARS LATER Aria returns for the ten year reunion, confident, stunning, and a self-made CEO. Jalen is still gorgeous… but stuck in a miserable marriage with Talia. She ignores him. Talia tries to humiliate her. Aria wins the room. As she leaves, Jalen kisses her. She lets herself feel it, then slaps him and walks away. THE BUSINESS MERGER Jalen’s cruise line needs Aria’s brand to revamp their image. She agrees, reluctantly. Now they’re forced to work side by side, trapped between old wounds and new sparks. Some love stories never die. But some can burn you twice.

On the third day of our cold war, my Alpha mate, Cain Beckett, purposefully takes his secretary, Vera Anderson, on a trip to Roseville. He thinks I'll kick up a fuss hysterically like before. But when he returns one month later, he realizes that I've completely changed. When Cain snatches away the territory negotiation task that I'm in charge of and passes it to Vera, I no longer fight back angrily. Instead, I take the initiative to arrange the documents and prepare the paperwork for her. In order to help Vera stand out on the night of the full moon, Cain rejects the project proposal I've spent three months working on in front of everyone. I no longer fight with him over it. Instead, I shoulder all the punishment quietly. Even when Cain decides to bend the rules by making Vera the Beta of the pack, I still remain cool and composed. Heck, I even smile and agree with his decision. Vera takes Cain's hand while saying coquettishly, "See? I told you that you can't fight fire with fire when it comes to people with Leah's personality. You need to neglect her for her to be more understanding. She must have been terrified of losing you because of the way you listen to me and no longer spoil her. That's why she's being so docile." Of course, Cain has complete trust in Vera. He praises her for being clever. In order to reassure me, he even promises me that he'll officially mark me during the next full moon. I just shake my head in return. Nah, I don't need it. I don't need Cain's mark anymore. After all, I'll be leaving the pack soon. From now on, I'm cutting all ties with Cain Beckett. We won't have anything to do with each other anymore.

I am a firefighter. A beam crashes onto me in the middle of a burning building. At the same time, my oxygen is about to run out. I writhe and struggle as much as I can to reach for my backup oxygen canister, only to feel my fingers brushing over a bottle of water instead. When I turn around, I see my wife, Leah Sawyer, giving the last backup oxygen canister to her new mentee, Roderick Wyndham. I begin calling out to her via a walkie-talkie. "Leah, I'm being pinned down right now, and my oxygen's running out! Where is the oxygen canister?" As Leah shields Roderick behind her, she replies impatiently, "I've already given it to Roderick. It's his first time inside a burning building, so he's frightened. Having an extra canister on him gives him a sense of security. "You're already a veteran firefighter, so you can just think up a way to resolve your situation. Don't go around wasting precious resources." I can feel thick smoke infiltrating my lungs at that moment. Feelings of asphyxiation soon overwhelm me. "My leg is broken, so I can't move at all! Without oxygen, I won't be able to hold out till I get rescued!" But Leah merely chortles in response. "Stop playing the pity card! Every time we're out on a mission, you're always the cowardly one who's terrified of dying! You have zero sense of dedication at all! I shouldn't have let you join the firefighting squad, to begin with! "What's the use of you clinging to the equipment? Giving it to the newbies is the best way of maximizing its value!" I can only smile bitterly in response. Using what's left of my strength, I switch to a public channel and begin reporting to the command center. "For the record, Captain Leah Sawyer deliberately tampered with the essential rescue equipment in order to protect Roderick Wyndham, causing me, a fellow firefighter, to be trapped in a deadly situation. "I hereby request the immediate activation of the Firefighter Emergency Evacuation Act. Also, I formally charge Leah with gross negligence and attempted homicide."