Smiles Softly

The day I finally secured an investment worth over 20 million dollars, I walked into the office and immediately caught sight of that calculating assistant wearing a smug look as she spread gossip around. According to her, my husband, the CEO, was planning to strip me of my position and exile me to some forgotten branch in Northreach. Contract in hand, I headed straight for the CEO's office. I stood behind my husband and rubbed his temples while joking casually, "You won't believe what I just heard. Apparently, you're sending me off to a branch office. If only they knew we've been married in secret for seven years and are about to make it public." He didn't look surprised at all. He gently pushed my hand away and smiled. "It's not a rumor. Andrea messed up the last project, and the board is breathing down my neck. They want someone sent to Northreach, and they picked her. That place is brutal. She wouldn't survive it. She's not like you. She doesn't have the luxury of failure. If she goes there, her career is finished. She was my junior back in school. I can't let her life fall apart." He paused, then added softly, "Once you come back, I'll announce our marriage. And I'll make sure you get what you've always wanted. A child." I smiled, but it held no warmth. I turned around and walked out without another word. Before I reached the elevator, I made a call to his biggest competitor. "Looking for a vice president? I'm bringing 20 million dollars of funding with me. I only ask for one thing: Don't send me to Northreach."

Strip now! you're my wife anyway" Harrison had said to Katherina as she fret over the chair she was sitting on. He was definitely not the man she had nursed till he got his memory back. He was now violent and over protective of her. "You are my wife Katherina, you are mine. You are mine alone!" Harrison roared slamming the flower vase down. "No Harrison. I am not your wife and I never was your wife. Give me breathing space Harrison....leave me alone!" Katherina said in voice so tiny as tears flowed from her eyes. It was evident she was tired of the whole drama already. Harrison sprawled to his kneels in front of her. He gently hugged her patting her hair softly and swiftly. "I'm sorry Rina, I'm sorry for making you cry, I'm sorry for hurting you, I'm sorry....I'm sorry. Please give me another chance, please do not leave me alone all by myself. I love you....I love you so very much Rina" he wailed to her ear. "Harrison." "Swear by my name Rina, tell me you only love me and not my brother." Harrison cried holding her body firmly. He definitely was in pain as he uttered those words with great grievance. Katherina just watched him wretch in pain. "I do not love you Harrison, I do not!" She had said back to him throwing his hands off her. Had she made a wrong choice of staying with him? Was he showing her this side of his just to keep her to himself or was he getting a revenge on her for lying to him just to acquire his wealth?

WARNING: MATURE CONTENT "The bed," she mumbled softly, pointing at the bed. "Whoever said it only happens in bed?" I asked as I ripped the remaining of her naughty dress. "My best friend bought me that dress she'd kill me," she uttered in shock. "Tell her I ruined it," I uttered authoritatively, and she chuckled. I took off my sweatpants and she gasped. Soft, pleasurable noises left her throat, and it felt so beautiful watching her moan to my strokes "Baby... fuck... I... oh goodness." "Wait... no, don't... stop," she stuttered out, and I smiled proudly knowing I was doing the right thing. ************* Laura Ben graduated last year and was lucky to land an assistant job at a prestigious tech company. On her best friend's birthday, her friend treated them to a night at the renowned and exclusive male strip club. The performance was enticing and captivating, but Laura found herself drawn to a stripper wearing a half mask. Possessed by an inexplicable urge, she waited by the stage door, hoping for a glimpse of him. And when she finally saw his face, she was shocked, so much so that she stumbled, catching his attention. The captivating stripper was none other than her boss, Bryan Finch, the CEO of Premium Tech. Now that Laura knows his deepest secret, she uses this knowledge to blackmail him. Unknown to her, Bryan is being forced to strip because he killed his ex-fiancée and someone has been blackmailing him ever since. With the leverage she holds over him, Laura offers a proposal: promote her, or risk his secret being exposed. But will Bryan submit to her demands, or will he fight back? What is he hiding about his involvement in the death, and how long will he be forced to live this double life?

After my girlfriend returns from a month-long business trip with her first love, she notices that I've changed. She sides with him to take over my project, but I don't quit in anger. Instead, I throw myself into helping him, even drafting proposals for him. She destroys the design I worked so hard on to help him snag the year-end bonus, yet I don't try to defend myself. I take all the blame and let her punish me however she likes. Even when she goes as far as to promote him to general manager against the rules, I don't get upset. I hand over all my shares, letting her distribute them as she wishes. My girlfriend wonders why I've suddenly become so submissive, while her first love just grins smugly. "See? I told you—giving him the cold shoulder works. Once he's afraid of losing you, he'll fall in line," he says. It clicks for my girlfriend. She smiles, tells me I've been good, and offers me a promotion. Then, she unexpectedly asks me to propose. But she doesn't seem to realize that while we weren't speaking, she has already signed my resignation papers. And I've already broken up with her. From this moment on, I sever all ties with her, and we no longer have anything to do with each other.

My boy friend Caleb Ford's childhood sweetheart, Julia Leclair, is losing her hair from chemotherapy. So, he orders me to cut mine off and make her a wig. "Julia's allergic to synthetic wigs. You've been growing your hair for ten years—it's perfect." I refuse, but his friends tie me down. Someone shaves my head to the scalp, buzzing through my thick, glossy hair until nothing's left but a butchered mess. Julia sits in her wheelchair and laughs, saying I look like a toad. Caleb smiles and nods in agreement. He adds with a chuckle, "It's just some hair. Was that really necessary?" But back when I was bullied for having uneven, choppy short hair for six straight years, it was he who stood in front of me. He had his arms spread wide as he shielded me from harm. Now he's the one wielding the blade. One by one, their little circle chimes in. They tell me not to hold a grudge against someone who's sick. Caleb snaps impatiently, "Stop trying to talk sense into her. She can get lost! Did you see that fit she threw over a few strands of hair? It's not like they won't grow back." I turn around and walk away. I never look back. Later, I hear that Caleb begs for my forgiveness by kneeling his way up 9000 steps until his knees are ruined.

“Damn it, Viola! Do you even hear yourself? You’re miserable, and you’re pretending it’s normal!” Logan says, clenching his fists beside him. I drag in a shaky breath. “What do you want me to do, Logan? Just leave my marriage?” “Yes!” I freeze. He steps closer. “Leave. And let me love you the way you deserve.” *** She thought heartbreak was the worst thing he could do to her. Then he came back. Three years ago, Logan Reynolds chose ambition over love, leaving Viola McCoy behind—and breaking her heart in the process. Determined to move on, she made a choice—one that led her into the arms of Julian Cruz, a man who vowed to love her but only saw her as a means to an end. Now, trapped in a loveless marriage, Viola endures the whispers, the neglect, and the bruises she hides beneath designer sleeves. But when Logan returns as the new CEO of Reynolds Publishing—her boss—Viola’s carefully constructed world begins to crack. He sees through her forced smiles and polite lies. He soon realizes the woman he left behind is still fighting to be heard. Logan is determined to save her. Viola? She’s certain she can’t be saved. But in the middle of stolen glances, midnight confessions, and the words they can’t say out loud, one question remains: Can love be rewritten, or are some stories doomed to end the same way twice?

"He was once mine but then I lost him. I couldn't protect him even as I had vowed to do. But, I brought him back to life. Now, he is reborn and so is I. I will walk through hell and high waters. I will break laws and bones until I have had him in my arms once again and this time, even death can not prey him from my loving grasps." "And if in this life, another Williams or Priest shall arise, then I will go on a rampage, a mad killing spree. For his sake, I will become my demons, my monster, and I will hunt them down and pluck them out until there is nothing left of them and they will never hurt what's MINE ever again." "There is only ONE for me in this world and that ONE is HIM." **~~** Second Book of 'Poisoned Affairs'. It can be read as a stand-alone novel but if you want to learn better about their previous lives then you might wanna go check out PA first. **~~** Danny and Louis are reborn but one was born with the memories of their past lives while the other stays bound to the last words spoken to him on his deathbed. The only clue to unraveling their eternal bonds lies in their identical birthmarks, one of great meanings and importance yet even the marks wouldn't be enough to stop fate from trying one more time. Let's follow Levon and Dylon as they journey through discovery, acceptance, lust, hurt, and uncontrollable love for one another. Hope this time fate smiles better on our boys. **~~**

“Marry him or forget that you were ever part of this family” “So I’m just a pawn now?” “No zara,you are the price we pay for peace “ Zara Tunde had one dream: to model for the world’s biggest fashion houses and one day walk the runway in Paris. She was ready to chase that dream—until her father shattered everything with a single demand: marry Regan Kareem, the son of a man she despised, or lose everything, including her family. But Zara wasn’t going down without a fight. On one condition, she agreed: the marriage would last only one year. If love didn’t happen by the end of the year, they would walk away. No strings, no regrets. Regan Kareem, the enigmatic son of the powerful Chief Kareem, wasn’t looking for love either. He had his secrets—some dark, some dangerous. He saw the marriage as a means to an end, a way to fulfill family expectations and cover truths that could destroy his father’s empire. What started as cold tolerance slowly ignited into something neither expected. Beneath the mansion walls, deals were made, lies unraveled, and eyes watched from the shadows. When Zara begins to uncover a past linked to her own pain—the disappearance of her baby sister years ago—everything she thought she knew crumbles. In a world where loyalty is tested and betrayal hides behind perfect smiles, Zara must decide what matters more—revenge or love.u Because in this vow, someone’s not making it out unscathed.

"The rain falls because the sky can no longer handle its weight. Just like the tears, it falls because our heart can no longer handle the pain." Cleopatra Cooper Sandoval, the blue eyed Ilongga and only princess of Sandoval clan. She's got everything, beauty, money and fame. She loves everything about life. She loves to party. She loves going out with friends. She loves spending her money. She's a brat with a heart, a happy go lucky princess . But no one knows that behind those smiles and happy vibes is heart full of fear. The bratty princess is scared of the rain. Surrounded by six overprotective brothers, who are worried for her safety after getting kidnapped years back, they hired a bodyguard without her knowledge. Cooper is living the life, not until the day she met the man with a seductive midnight black eyes. The cold, strict and dangerous Silas Atticus Monteverde, a retired US Marine and his brother's bestfriend. First time she laid eyes on him, she knows she will be in deep trouble. So deep that she can't get him off her mind. She thought that it would be the start of her own happy ending but memories of her childhood trauma started coming back. She saw him as the monster who caged her in the past. The beast that's chasing him in a dark rainy night. Will his love shine and give light to change her perspective? Will his love enough to give her the calm after the storm? Or will she continue running to find the peace she's been looking for, a shelter in the rain?

As Jastrelle's golden girl, I draw lots to pick my groom, and fate finally hands me Felix Ledger, the childhood sweetheart I've wanted forever. During the impromptu wedding, a funeral convoy belonging to a scion of a rich family in Jastrelle passes right outside. I hate the omen. Felix laughs, pulls me into his arms, and places the veil over my head himself. "I'll take it as a good omen. With you, I'm covered from first breath to last," he says. His adoptive sister, Winnie Ledger, hears him, bursts into tears, and bolts outside. The funeral convoy runs her down, and she dies. Felix barely reacts. Three years later, Dad is framed, driven into bankruptcy, and falls gravely ill. He dies, and I lose everything. At the funeral, Felix sends everyone off, shoves me into the open grave, and buries me alive. He spits, "You rigged everything to get me. You left Winnie ruined. She bolted outside, and that funeral convoy ran her down. For three years, remorse has eaten me alive. I want you torn apart! "With your last protector gone, I can finally make you suffer a hundredfold the pain Winnie felt and ease my hatred!" When I open my eyes, I'm back at the groom-selection ceremony. Dad smiles as he hands me the lots. I shake my head, look out the window, and point at the funeral convoy passing outside. "I'm not choosing anyone. I'll marry that dead man!"