Silence Natasha Preston

“I will choke you to death till you beg for me to stop but I won’t. I will make you pour out all the water left in your body with my tongue”. In a sudden and tense encounter, I found myself desperately seeking answers from him. But his silence only fueled my frustration. With emotions boiling over, I couldn't contain my anger, clenching my fist as I shot him a piercing look. Undeterred, I pressed on, demanding a response, my annoyance growing palpable. However, his explosive reaction caught me off guard, as he silenced me with a fierce command, his grip on my face sending shivers down my spine. The chilling intensity of his eyes left me paralyzed, consumed by fear. I realized I had provoked a dangerous force, a man exuding an aura of unapproachable defiance. Tears welled up as his grip tightened, and my helplessness only deepened. The emotional storm between us unveiled a side to him that was ruthless and merciless, living up to the ominous title he bore. With a final, venomous word, he tore away a bandage and stormed out, leaving me to grapple with the unsettling encounter that had just unfolded.

I was a plus-size girl, weighing about 220 pounds. On graduation day, I finally gathered the courage to confess my feelings to Calvin Preston, the heartthrob I had been crushing on for three years. Surprisingly, he said yes! To celebrate, we went out that night. But things took a dark turn. I was tricked into drinking too much and was drugged. Calvin and his buddies violated me and, to make matters worse, they filmed it all. The next thing I knew, the video had gone viral online with a cruel caption, “Who’s brave enough to try a 220-pound girl?” As the humiliating video spread like wildfire, the shock and shame were too much for my grandfather to bear. It broke his heart, quite literally.

I chase my six-year-old daughter out of the house on a cold winter day. I cut her new clothes to pieces and dirty her dainty little face with mud. Then, I give her all my savings. She looks at me tearfully and reaches out for me, wanting me to hold her. However, I harden my heart and push her away, saying, "Leave! Go to Bowen Group and look for their CEO, Logan Bowen. Show him my death certificate and your DNA test—he'll take you in." She sobs while looking at me. "Don't you want me anymore, Mommy? Let's go look for Daddy together." After a brief silence, I say, "I can't go with you. I lied to him back then to have you." Yes, I'm a liar. I orchestrated everything from meeting Logan, dating him, to ultimately leaving him with his child in my womb. Even the death certificate I've given my daughter is fake. From beginning to end, I've lied to him about everything except our daughter.

I did three things when I had made a decision to leave Alpha James. The first thing I did was throw all the precious gifts he had given to me. The second thing I did was secretly donate the wooden house he had built for our future and tear up the ceremonial dress that was custom-made for me on our marking day. The third thing I did was go to the Northern Territory to guard our pack, so I cast all ties with the entire pack and disappeared into the tribe. What he didn’t know was that I had quietly planned my departure while he was out hunting and spending countless nights at the Moon River with Doris, his childhood sweetheart. I became the ideal Luna he was hoping for, considerate and tolerant. Later, he lost control and asked me: “Why aren’t you angry? Don’t you love me anymore?” I lowered my head in silence and announced my decision to leave after seeing the ambiguous messages Doris, James's sweetheart, had sent to me.

A sharp bang on the door made him jump. "Open the door, Sawyer. I know you're there, I saw you. Come on, sweetheart," Daniel cooed through the closed door. Sawyer's heart fluttered at that endearment. Hearing Daniel's voice again was like cool water running down his sweaty back – refreshing, energizing. He felt the intense kicking in his stomach stop as though the baby was listening as Daniel tried to talk him to come out. I'm so sorry, child. Your father...doesn't know what he's doing. He doesn't belong in our lives. It's always going to be you and me. Sawyer bit his bottom lip at how selfish his thoughts were. God, had it really come down to this? "I'm so sorry, Dan but I'm not who you think I am. You don't deserve an idiot like me. Please, go home. We have nothing to talk about." "See? You're disturbing us. He doesn't want to talk to you. Let him be," He heard Maddie say. Sawyer exhaled at the silence that followed, thinking that Daniel had deeded his words and left. But Daniel spoke again, a slight edge of command in his voice. "No, Sawyer. You're not a fool. Listen, can you at least open up so we could sort things out, just the two of us."

Humiliated, belittled, mistreated, rejected because of her silence, Emma has no hope for the future. Until she meets Michaël Keller, the son of the most powerful man in town and also the richest. Michaël has everything going for him, extraordinary beauty, influence but above all power, everyone expects him to go out with a girl from his background but he falls irremediably in love with Emma. In a society where appearance takes precedence over everything, how are these two teenagers going to be able to live their love and brave all the obstacles? Between pain, sadness and tragedies, can love despite the handicap survive?

I wheel myself into the birthday celebration that Wales Price has thrown for me. The atmosphere is originally lively, but a brief silence descends when everyone sees me. The guests are there for different purposes, but celebrating my birthday is not one of them. "Is that Mr. Price's crippled fiancée, Joey Hertza?" "Yeah, but the one he really loves is Anna Giovanni. I saw them kissing in a corner earlier." They use their wine glasses to block their mouths as they speak loudly. They think I'm still the crippled deaf I used to be. They don't know that I regained my hearing last week. I can hear every mocking comment they make. Meanwhile, Wales stands there and allows it to happen. He doesn't stop the guests from talking about me. He seems to have forgotten that I only ended up like this while protecting him. I shoved him away when the accident happened and got trapped underneath the car myself. When I was rescued, Wales swore to stay with me and care for me for life. It's only been three short years since then, but he's already changed. I receive a message on my phone. "Ms. Hertza, the lifelike corpse that you've ordered is now complete. Reply to this message with your confirmation, and your death-faking service will be immediately effective. We will send the corpse to your and Mr. Price's wedding in five days." I don't even hesitate as I reply with my confirmation. Enjoy your wedding, Wales.

Scandal swirls around Salvatore Moretti,whispers of his dual identity as a CEO by day and mafia boss of a high profile organised crime syndicate, threatens to jeopardise his empire.Desperate to silence the rumours,he strikes a twisted bargain with Don Silver,leader of the Silver Dynasty,offering his daughter Anya Moretti in exchange for Don Silver’s ruthless tactics to silence the rumours. Anya Moretti despite knowing her fate as a mafia princess harbours a secret desire for true love rather than a calculated arrangement. Kian,her betrothed,the silver tongued CEO by day and a ruthless kingpin by night scarred by his past fueled his silvercode,vowing never to fall prey to the vulnerabilities of love and marriage. As their lives intertwine in this unholy alliance,Anya is determined to break at Kian’s hardened exterior and most importantly his SilverCode.

‘State you name.’ Luke said. His voice of authority. ‘Vera Rayne.’ He seemed to look like he was in thought. The interview went on. Vera feeling on edge and uncomfortable. Luke, he was just sexually frustrated. ‘Are you married.’ He suddenly demanded. Luke couldn’t help it. Vera was confused as to why he would ask. ‘No,’ she answered, frowning. ‘Boyfriend then.’ Vera frowned deeper. Luke thought it made her look just as beautiful. Vera didn’t know why he would want to know. What it had to do with him. Luke grew irritated by Vera’s silence. His mind going insane thinking that silence meant that she did indeed have a boyfriend. Then he began to imagine, if she did have a boyfriend, what would he look like. What was her type. And so on. ‘No.’ She had finally answered. Luke thought she wasn’t going to. ‘OK,’ he said feeling relieved. Though he would never show it.

Lucas Fenrir was the son of the Alpha of the Silvertail Pack, born as the pack's greatest pride. When his Luna and first love, Nara Boris, chose to leave, he married me in a fit of rage—the most unremarkable Omega in the pack. Everyone said I was just a substitute for Nara. They were waiting to see me abandoned, to see me cry, and to see me beg on my knees. Nonetheless, I always smiled and calmly fulfilled Lucas' every demand. I helped him stabilize the pack's morale, stood up for him in public, and even defended him against the rumors that he had rekindled his past romance with Nara. Until one day, I saw him on the streets during the Moon Goddess Festival. He was holding Nara, kissing her deeply. Meanwhile, I simply turned my head away in silence from behind the crowd and pretended I saw nothing. A few months later, I was diagnosed with wolfsbane poisoning that had spread to my nervous system. My condition was beyond saving. I was admitted to the ICU of the pack's hospital, with only a few days left to live. Lucas came when he heard the news. His eyes were bloodshot as he roared and grabbed my dying body. "Why didn't you tell me? Why are you trying to die alone in secret?" I looked at his unhinged expression, my gaze as gentle as it had always been. There was even a faint mocking smile curling at my lips. "Lucas, I've never loved you. "The one I loved… was actually your twin brother—Derrick."