Smile Like An Idiot

On New Year’s Eve, I made a last-minute decision to get my claws done. The salon was packed, so I had to share a room. The moment I sat down, the woman beside me glanced at me with open disgust. “Get out. I’m allergic to poor people.” The attendant tried to smooth things over. “Ma’am, we’re fully booked today. Please—” But she cut her off coldly. “Do you know the pink diamond Sotheby’s auctioned on Christmas? Worth six hundred thousand.” “Today, I’m setting it into my claws.” She looked at me like I was filth. “With someone like her here, what if she swaps my diamond?” Sotheby’s? My hand froze over the magazine. She smirked and held it out. “Take a good look. Know the difference between you and me before you crawl away.” I glanced once. And recognized it instantly. That diamond… was mine. “I lost it recently,” I said calmly. “Interesting how it ended up with you.” She laughed. “Jealous? My mate gave it to me as a New Year gift.” “You wouldn’t even survive hearing his name.” I smiled faintly. “Try me.” She lifted her chin. “My mate is Kael.” My smile froze. What a coincidence. He’s my mate too. I raised my comm-stone and dialed the patrols. “Hello. I’d like to report a theft.”

For a decade, my world had been measured in laundry cycles, grocery lists, and the ever-growing pile of dishes in the sink. I was elbow-deep in soapy water, scrubbing the remnants of another family meal, when it happened. A sudden, silent cascade of text flickered at the edge of my vision, like subtitles for a movie only I could see: [Gosh, the heroine is so tragic. Her husband's entire family has been feeding on her luck like parasites!] [Her husband stole her graduate school admission and her career!] [The in-laws are literally siphoning her health away. No wonder she's always sick.] [And the sister-in-law took her "romance" stat! No wonder her love life is a desert.] [Heads up! Her husband's about to give her another "gift." Let's see how much more he takes from her this time.] My hands, clutching a greasy plate, froze. Right on cue, my husband, Tristan, sauntered into the kitchen. A smug, self-satisfied smile was plastered on his face as he took my wet hand. He slid a flimsy, garishly colored plastic bracelet onto my wrist. "Look what I got for you, sweetheart," he announced, his voice dripping with pride. "I made a special trip after work. Found it at the dollar store. It's romantic and economical, just like you always say you want. You love it, don't you?"

A Dark Mafia Romance , Dual POV , Forced Marriage , Obsession , Betrayal , Secret Identity Leona Moretti thought she was saving her brother’s life when she agreed to marry New York’s most feared mafia boss. She was wrong. Dante Rizzo didn’t take her out of mercy. He took her because she was promised to him. Sold by her own brother like a piece of flesh, packaged with a smile and a wedding ring. And Leona walked willingly into the trap. Now she wears his name. Sleeps in his bed. Lives in a mansion guarded like a prison. But he doesn’t touch her. Not yet. He watches. He waits. He burns. Dante is cold, cruel, and unreadable...until she disobeys him. Until she presses the wrong button. Until the mask cracks and she sees what he really is: A man obsessed. Possessive. Completely unhinged when it comes to her. But Leona has secrets of her own. Like the fact that she may not be a Moretti at all. And her entire life? A carefully constructed lie hiding a truth soaked in blood and betrayal. She’s not just a pawn in a mafia game. She’s a daughter of the deadliest name the underworld ever buried. And Dante? He’s not planning to let her go. Not when he finally has the one thing he's been denied his entire life. Her.

When my husband, Robert Bowen, takes his assistant, Bianca Strickland, to a prenatal checkup, I'm being kissed by his 18-year-old version in a corner. "You're already 30 years old, yet why do you smell so nice and taste so kissable? I love you so much, honey! "By the way, where did my 30-year-old self go? Why didn't he come pick you up after work?" I push the 18-year-old Robert away helplessly, only to meet the icy gaze of his 30-year-old self from afar. "You already have a young side piece, and yet you still can't bear to get a divorce from me? Don't make me look down on you, Kaitlyn Hudson." As I watch Robert leaving the hospital with his arm around Bianca, his 18-year-old self begins throwing a temper tantrum in my arms. "That idiot! How dare he speak to my wife in such an arrogant manner! I might as well commit suicide right now so that he'll disappear from this world permanently!"

"You really think you can seduce the Alpha looking like that?" The mischievous grey wolf beside me whispered. He was trying to make me give up, but I had to come out the victor in these games for my pack and my family. He slowly took one clawed finger and slipped the strap of my silk burgundy floor length gown off my shoulder in front of the whole table of wolf royalty. "That's a little more like it," He coaxed, "Look at him with all of those other attractive wolves to choose from. You'll never catch his attention like this." I stared at the end of the table where the Alpha sat. He was dark of hair and broad of chest and always had a smile and was willing to lend a paw to a wolf in need. He was laughing at something the stunning blonde she-wolf beside him had said and that cheerful couple drew a sharp contrast from the unknown man on his other side. I couldn't even be sure that man was a wolf at all, he was pale and lean but his eyes were dark, cold and...and never seemed to leave my face. "Just give up the games now," the grey wolf continues, "fall into my arms instead I can take care of you just as well as some fancy Alpha can. Close your eyes, you won't even notice the difference." I felt his tongue from my collar bone to my jaw.

The three hells!! Handsome, intelligent, tall and rich . Filthy rich. Cruel and devious in their dealings. Womanizer The utter type. They were enjoying the ways of life untill it all changed. The tables turned and the tide change. Their mother, Alicia Gerald a great disciplinarian and a no nonsense woman who has little tolerance for irresponsibility came. All the way from Italy to Newland "Get yourselves a serious girlfriend" she said to them The wanted to protest but couldn't. At the sight of that smile lurking on her lips. That old smile!! They lowered their head in submission as cold sweat broke out on their forehead Then it all began!! The search for a serious girlfriend

"Flower, you are mine. Mine to hold. Mine to pluck. Mine to scatter. Mine to decorate. You will bloom in my garden and die there as well, if need arises." 'The Vampire's Flower - The Tragically Imperfect yet Perfectly Sweet Love Story Of A Human Assassin and A Vampire King' As a child, Eleanor was always against killing. But, something changed her narrative completely one day. The Murder Of Her Mother. The wrong done that night to her made an unfathomable killer come to birth. The killer who turned the Vampire Kingdom Of Eleneas upside down. Knife. Her way of murdering people shook others to their core as the people as well as the nobles grew terrified of this person. And, their fear led them to the gates of their Tryant Ruler. Daniel. Seeing the reaction of his subjects piqued his curiosity. As he went to search for this killer. Deep in the woods. There she was running after children with an innocent laugh on her lip. Her blonde hair like sunlight fluttering in the air with a smile burning brighter than the sun.  And, in that moment, he knew he found his queen. But, she loathed him. For every wrong and right reason. So when she was forced to marry him. Instead of wearing a white gown like an angel. She walked down the aisle covered in RED!

He rejected her, yet he couldn’t do without her. He despised her, treated her like trash… yet he still wanted her. He still wanted that plump mate he never wanted to see, the same one he had treated cruelly, for reasons only he knew about. When obsession clashes with dominance, and trust collides with hidden lies, what becomes of the life Aurora now lives? **** “Why are you doing this?” “Doing what, exactly?” he asked, his tone filled with mock innocence. “Why are you still chasing me? Looking at me like I ever meant anything to you?” His lips curled into a slow, dangerous smirk. “That’s because I want you.” My brows lifted in confusion. “You rejected me. You despised me. You put me through hell… and worse.” “That was the past,” he snapped coldly. “The present is what matters.” A slow smile spread across my lips. Sharp and deliberate. “Then the present…” I said, my voice steady, almost daring, “…is exactly what I intend to rewrite.” His brows drew together, confusion slipping through his arrogance. Good.

When the paths of a mafia's runaway daughter and a grieving businessman cross paths, with a contract as the intersection. • • • Genesis lives a pretty contented life as a nurse. Her life has no drama outside the ruckus she faces at the hospital. Smooth and somewhat steady, that was how her life was moving until she was assigned to a little boy that had temporarily lost his ability to walk. The kid was not a problem, however his father was. Dante De Ambrose was one hell of an unpredictable man, quite like his son. He had resorted to facing his child and his business after he witnessed the gruesome murder of his wife and first love. Until he came across a force that cracked his shell, a woman that easily reached into his heart and touched those parts that he had been hiding away for so long; a woman that made his son smile like he never had since they both lost the most important woman in their lives. A contract marriage comes into the mix as things begin to get more complicated. For Dante, it is for the sake of his son; and for Genesis, it's simply for the extra funds. All in all, for both of them, it is nothing more than an agreement... or is it really?

Kryzelle Rivera is a hardworking and bubbly barista in a cozy café in Makati, well-known for her warm smile and her talent for crafting the perfect cappuccino. One day, a wealthy young entrepreneur named Zander Castillo walks into the café. He is known for his charm, striking good looks, and a slightly tsundere personality. Because of a small incident in the café—a spilled coffee and a misunderstanding—their awkward encounters begin, slowly turning into playful banter, heart-fluttering moments, and a sweet romance. As they get to know each other, they discover that both of them carry emotional scars and hidden secrets. Despite coming from completely different worlds—barista and rich businessman—it becomes harder to stop their feelings from growing. From simple coffee orders to fancy events, unexpected trips, and comedic situations, they slowly learn that love is much like a perfect cappuccino—smooth, warm, and balanced with just the right mix of sweetness and bitterness. Though their worlds are far apart, a love begins to bloom. But sometimes, love is like coffee—it needs the right blend, or it turns bitter. But what if one day, the man she loves is hiding a secret that should have stayed buried long ago? Will she run away from the struggle, or will she fight for love and protect the sweetness they’ve built together?