Shutting Down

I was Randy Johnson's contract wife. For five years, I tried every possible way to make him fall in love with me. But aside from showing me concern in bed, he ignored me the rest of the time. When a piece of equipment at the amusement park fell and struck me, the first thing he did was rush to his beloved first love. She was startled but unscathed. Yet, he rushed her straight to the hospital. When a towering cake display collapsed on me, leaving blood streaming down my arm, he still chose to comfort his first love, who merely had a stomachache. Since he loved her so deeply, there was no reason for me, his contract wife, to stay. So I let him go and freed myself in the process. I chose to study abroad, vowing never to see him again for the rest of my life. I never expected… this time, he would be the one to regret it.

My boyfriend passed away from illness. Before he died, he asked me to look after his only younger brother—Callum Ressler. I put Callum through college, and helped him build his company from the ground up. Then one night, after a round of drinking at some work function, he ended up in bed with me. While I wrestled with what we were to each other, I noticed something on his office desk: a photo of me, framed neatly beside an engagement ring. My heart stirred. I pushed open the lounge door, ready to finally talk about us. But just as the door creaked open, a white camisole fell at my feet. I froze. Callum pulled the covers tightly around a shocked female assistant. "Diana, ever heard of knocking?" he snapped. Face pale, limbs suddenly uncoordinated, I started backing out. But the assistant's timid voice stopped me. "Diana… could you hand me my clothes?" I ignored the hostility behind her eyes, grabbed the garment, tossed it onto the bed, and left in a hurry. Once I stepped outside the company building, Callum called. "Diana, you should really stop barging into my room like that." I laughed and agreed. From that moment on, I never stepped into his world again.

The girl my family sponsored was a manipulative opportunist. She had my childhood friends wrapped around her finger. I helped her out of pity for her poor background, but she climbed her way up, slowly taking my place. She faked innocence in front of the brothers while sabotaging me behind my back. When they found out, they called me petty rather than blame her. I got fed up, married my college crush, and moved on. But they flew in overnight, begging for forgiveness.

Cailen has only one wish. To have a family he could belong to and a home to call his. ***** At thirteen, Cailen had been to different foster homes, each of them returning him for one reason or another. His heart had already taken so much rejection that hopelessness had set in, giving up on himself and shutting down, that even when a family does welcome him and love him, he still has his doubts. When Cailen returns from University to visit his family, he finds himself struggling to keep a secret that he knows will make him lose the only home and family that he has. Will Cailen lose himself? Or will he lose his family?

“I would rather be alone tonight.” I wasn’t prepared to sleep with this man. He had first taken my first kiss and now he wanted all of my body before the day was over. “People don’t tell me no Emily.” His hand caressed my cheeks down to my neck before hovering over my cleavage. “I say want I want and they go ahead and do it.” “What if they say no?” I asked, breathless. His fingers were bringing reactions I couldn’t name, shutting my brain down, his fingers left my windpipe but I felt breathless. It seemed like his fingers became bolder with each breath I took. I didn’t know what his arms were doing behind my back till I felt my gown fall loose. “They never say no,” he repeated, sealing his words with a kiss behind my ears, drawing another gasp from my throat.

Samantha White, a young woman who grew up in foster care, has always struggled to survive on her own. At 22, after losing her job at a dog daycare, she takes an unexpected opportunity to work as a caretaker for billionaire Blake Hawthorne. Despite hearing rumors about the high turnover rate for caretakers in his estate, Samantha accepts the job and is welcomed by the housekeeper. Things take a dramatic turn when Blake, intrigued by Samantha's presence, decides to keep her on-abruptly shutting down the hiring process for other candidates. Soon, she finds herself caught between Blake and his dangerously alluring twin brother, Alan Hawthorne, who is also drawn to her. As tension between the brothers rises, Samantha must navigate their world of power, wealth, and hidden desires-ultimately forced to choose between them, unsure which one will truly save her.

Justine Elle Pollo is a princess to her family and friends. She is a bird left in a cage for a long time, and all she ever wanted was for her to spread her wings and explore the world. Yet now that fate permits it to happen, everything turned upside down. She met Pierre Monteblanco, the ruthless Mafia Lord. What could go wrong? Excerpt: Pierre's eyes grew darker as if he had been triumphant. He slowly walked closer, closing the small gap between us. My feet were trembling as his musk scent was corrupting my innocent mind. "Good answer Justine..." he said while grasping the tip of my hair. I swallowed hard at his very touch, feeling the sweat trailing its way down on the side of my face. My heart thumped when he suddenly leaned closer, shutting each of our intimate spaces. "So then...I'll let you be, my sweet," he whispered roughly into my ears leaving me confused and uneasy.

There was a girl that was ready to face her death without having any regrets by shutting everyone down. She had not experienced falling in love with a person and taking risks. However, when she decided to go to college, she met a guy. And without any notice, her life was slowly changing. Is she finally willing to take the risk even if she knew their end game?

I was slowly dying from Silverthorn Wolfsbane, and there was only one cure—the Miracle Elixir. But my mate, Leo Ashford, bought it and gave it to my adoptive sister, Jane Smith. He did it because he thought I was faking my illness. I gave up on the treatment and swallowed a potent painkiller instead. It would kill me in three days by shutting down my organs. In those three days, I gave up everything. I handed over the fur manufacturing business I built from the ground up to Jane, and my parents praised me for caring about my sister. I offered to sever our mate bond, and Leo praised me for finally being sensible. When I told my son he could call Jane "mommy", he happily said that his new mommy was the best! I transferred all my savings to Jane, and no one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. They were just pleased with my "better behavior". "Viola is finally not so bad." I wondered—would they regret it after I was gone?

Edde Loxley a handsome young business man meets a crazy fan girl Elizabeth Albie in a bar as they both got drunk and went to bed together. After realizing she lost her virginity to him and got pregnant for him, she comes back to him with a treat of exposing the pregnancy to the world. Edde Loxley strikes a deal with her shutting her mouth up with a huge sum of money. What could the deal be about? Will she accept the deal?.