Smile Inside Crying Outside

“Look at me.” I didn’t. A finger slid beneath my chin and forced my head up. “I said look at me.” His voice wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be. The room felt smaller with him in it. Harder to breathe. Harder to think. “You don’t speak?” he asked softly. I shook my head. A slow smile touched his lips. “Good.” After betrayal stole her voice and the hospital stole her hope, she woke up in the back of a moving container… about to be sold. Dragged into Podolskaya territory… a city ruled by mafia bloodlines and silent brutality, she becomes property inside a fortress where fear is currency and mercy doesn’t exist. And at the center of it all stands Rai Mikalov. Cold, untouchable and dangerously observant He doesn’t shout. He doesn’t threaten. He simply decides. Unable to speak, and trapped in a world where weakness is hunted, she quickly learns one thing, silence can be a weapon. Or a death sentence. But Rai didn’t choose her by accident. And the reason why might be far more dangerous than being sold. In a world where fear feeds power and love is a liability… What happens when the most dangerous man in the room becomes obsessed with the one girl who cannot beg?

"Do you take Asher Williams as your lawfully wedded husband" the priest asked me I bit my lips and look over to my Dad who had an expressionless face , my step mom glared at me I scoff "yes" He turn to the handsome man by my side, I must admit although I don't want to get married , this man is so handsome with beautiful eyes , thin lips, tall, with abs I drool "and do you take Cheryl Kingsley as your lawfully wedded wife?" I snapped from my thoughts and waited for his reply Part of me hope he would say no and stop the wedding and part of me hope he would say yes "Yes" he replied The priest smiled "you may kiss your bride" He turn to look at me and frown " No" I could hear a chuckle from my step mom "Kissing girls is bad" he said I raise a brow what is wrong with him? An elderly woman rush to the alter and whisper something into his ears He stare at me I was becoming impatient , what a disgrace I held him and force my lips on his I felt a force push me from him I fell hitting my ass on the ground, it didn't hurt much because of the thickness of the wedding gown He pushed me! Me! I wanted to stand up and give him a piece of my mind but looking at the congregation, their mocking smile , I couldn't , I felt so embarrassed thank goodness the only people invited were friends and family But still,all those girls that look at me like an untouchable goddess I felt like crying , I bit my lips and remained on the ground pretending I've lost consciousness and hoping the ground would open up and swallow me

His hand pressed against the wall beside my head, his breath hot against my ear. “You’re blushing again, professor,” Ace whispered, his voice low, sinful. I swallowed, trying to steady myself, but my body betrayed me, arching towards him, aching for more. “You’re too close,” I managed, my voice unsteady. He smirked, brushing his lips over my jaw, slow and deliberate. “Then tell me to stop.” I should have. God, I should have... Instead, I tangled my fingers in his hair and pulled him to me. His mouth crashed over mine, hungry and rough, and the world outside his disappeared. I thought living with him would be the worst decision of my life. Turns out, it might be the hottest. -- -- -- I needed a roommate. What I got was Ace, tattooed, arrogant, and infuriatingly gorgeous. He breezed into my apartment like he owned it, with that cocky smile and a body that makes focusing on my studies nearly impossible. The walls are thin. Too thin. Every night, I hear things I shouldn’t. And worse… I start fantasizing about things I shouldn't. I tell myself that he’s a distraction I can’t afford but when he offers to tutor me in things that have nothing to do with textbooks, I’m not sure I can resist. One touch. One kiss. One lesson I’ll never forget. Living with Ace was meant to be temporary. Falling for him? That was never part of the plan.

My pregnant colleague told me to get her a drink. However, she had severe stomach ache after the drink and suffered a miscarriage. In the hospital, she was crying about how I harmed her. Her family members beat me up badly, even extorted 150 thousand dollars in compensation from me. I made a police report and was ready to take legal action against them. However, his mother-in-law pushed me to the middle of the road, and I was crushed to death by being run over by a truck.

When I got into a car accident, Carter was busy throwing a birthday party for his assistant. I was scrolling through my phone and somehow ended up tapping on the Love Pawnshop. Without really thinking, I hit the button to pawn my love. Five days later, the pawnshop took back every bit of love I had left to give, and there he was, Carter, on his knees, crying his heart out, begging me for another shot. But the thing is, once love is pawned, it’s almost impossible to get back.

On the night of Halloween, my best friend, Mina Corvelle, rushes to save the black cat before me, triumph dancing in her eyes. That is when I, Elora Aldridge, realize that she has been reincarnated, too. In my past life, she scorned the stray for being filthy, so she kept her distance. So, it was I who took pity on the cat and rescued it. When I walked past an old blind woman manning a roadside stall, she told me that the cat was a rare dark fortune cat. Once it recognized a master, it would draw dark riches from all directions and bring unimaginable wealth. I dismissed it as superstition. Yet, the very next day, I was inexplicably promoted to director of the department. Soon after, my family's dilapidated old house found itself part of a redevelopment scheme, and we were given compensation of eight apartments and 30 million dollars in cash. Even the enigmatic golden boy of Lakeshire, Cassian Mercer, started to pursue me relentlessly, declaring that he would only marry me and no one else. But not long after I married Cassian, Mina trapped me—and the black cat—inside the apartment. She then set it on fire, burning us alive. Outside the inferno, she screamed, "Why should you get everything without even lifting a finger? All those riches should've been mine!" When I open my eyes again, I find myself back at the very intersection.

Divorced and remarried—I've lost count of how many times Aaron and I stepped in and out of marriage. He once treated me like something precious, but less than a year after our wedding, he asked for our first divorce. The reason was simple, Vivian was coming back. "Vivian's a public figure," he told me. "I don't want anyone thinking she's involved with a married man." That third-tier actress had nothing but her father's sacrifice to her name. He had taken a bullet for Aaron—a life for a life. And because of that, Aaron believed he owed her everything. Every time Vivian returned to the country, Aaron divorced me. And every time she left, we remarried. The first time we split, I drowned my tears in whiskey and stumbled back to his house half-drunk. The lights inside were warm. He was with her. And I stood outside, shivering through the night. The second time, I tracked his every move—restaurants, auctions, charity galas—just to "accidentally" run into him again. Later, I learned better. The moment he mentioned divorce, I would quietly pack my suitcase and disappear from his mansion. My love and humiliation kept me trapped in that endless cycle of breaking up and coming back together. But this time, when Aaron waited for me at City Hall to remarry, I never showed up.

I was prepping the ceremonial cloak for our seventh mating anniversary. The front door suddenly banged open. My son rushed inside, tears streaming down his face. "The teacher yelled at me," he sobbed. He shoved the wrinkled drawing into my hands before burying his face in my shirt. I smoothed out the paper to see what the drama was about. It was a sketch of a faceless woman titled: The Substitute Mom. My heart stopped as I read the scribbles underneath. "Daddy said she is the backup." "She does the chores but gets no wages." "The Real Mom is responsible for being beautiful and guarding the treasury." My fingertips turned ice-cold against the paper. My mate, Ethan, had just returned from a patrol. He kissed my forehead. "What did our pup draw?" The next second, his smile froze when he saw the content. His voice tightened, and he reached out to snatch the book. "He watches too many cartoons! He's writing nonsense!" I stared at the man I had shared a den with for seven years. He looked like a stranger now. If I was the substitute. Who was this beautiful real mother? And where had my true son been all these years?

When Matteo Ricci threatens to end our engagement for the 100th time unless I take Lydia Capone's place in the famiglia's drug trial, I don't cry or make a scene. I just sign my name on the engagement termination agreement and calmly hand over the man I've loved for eight years to my twin sister. A few days later, Lydia storms the mafia summit like she owns the room, insulting the Pirelli family and daring anyone to stop her. I'm forced to step in and bear the full weight of her chaos. And now they're saying Lydia's body can't handle the trial after all, so they want me, the older sister, to take her place. The moment I agree, my parents smile at me for the first time in years. Even Matteo, who barely notices me, hovers nearby and murmurs, "Don't be afraid. The trial isn't lethal. When you get out, I'll take you for your favorite spaghetti alla Napoletana." But he has no idea that there's a late-stage stomach cancer diagnosis tucked inside my pocket. No matter what horrors the trial holds, he will never witness me walk out alive.

A Dark, Erotic Thriller Filled with Lust, Betrayal, and Revenge Seraphina Carter has been trapped in a luxurious hell for six years—married to Ethan, a man who thrives on breaking her spirit. Verbal abuse, emotional torture, and public humiliation are his weapons, and worst of all, she can’t leave. Their ironclad prenup states that whoever files for divorce first will lose half of their wealth, and Ethan is determined to keep Sera as his beautifully broken trophy wife while he openly indulges in affairs. One drunken night changes everything. Sera stumbles into Crimson Veil, an underground nightclub, and meets Raven Blackwood, a darkly seductive woman with a sinful smile and eyes that promise danger. One touch ignites a fire inside Sera she never knew existed, and by morning, she’s lost in a world of forbidden desire and uncontrollable addiction. But as passion turns into obsession, Raven whispers a dangerous proposal: Why not kill Ethan? What starts as a twisted love affair soon becomes a high-stakes psychological game of manipulation, seduction, and deception. Ethan is not as blind as he seems, and as the walls close in, Sera realizes she's caught between two devils—one she married and one she desires. In a world where love is a weapon and trust is a lie, who is the real predator, and who is just prey? ---