Smiling Critters Picture

AUTUMN'S POV His voice was low when he said it — “You shouldn’t be here, Autumn.” “Then stop looking at me like that,” I fired back. He didn’t blink. “Like what?” “Like you’re about to do something you’ll regret.” He stepped closer, close enough for me to feel the heat off him. “I already regret it.” And then he kissed me. It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet. It was the kind of kiss that felt like a secret we’d never escape from. The next morning, my mom came home glowing, flashing a ring. And beside her stood him. The same man who kissed me like I belonged to him. “Autumn,” she said, smiling proudly. “Meet your new stepbrother.” Everything inside me froze — except his gaze. He didn’t even flinch. Just stared, silent, daring me to say something. Now, we live under the same roof. Same walls. Same tension that hums like electricity every time we’re alone. He says it’s wrong. He swears he’s trying to stop. But when the house goes quiet, and his voice finds me in the dark, he whispers, “Tell me to leave, and I will.” I never do. Because this isn’t just attraction — it’s an obsession neither of us can break. And when the truth finally blows open, someone’s going to burn for it.

Leonard Burton and I are childhood sweethearts, bound by a family-arranged marriage. After we marry, we live a loving, harmonious life. In a terrible accident, he even gives up his only chance at survival to save me. After Leonard's death, we find a journal among his belongings. In it, he records the three years he was missing after falling off a cliff—years spent with another woman he deeply loved. But his parents had forcibly separated them and arranged our marriage instead. Unbeknownst to anyone, he had continued to protect that woman from afar, silently and faithfully. At the funeral, Leonard's mother, Charlotte Newman, is inconsolable. "Leonard, it's all my fault. Would you still be alive if I'd let you marry Yelena back then?" His father, Samuel Burton, glares at me with hatred. "He fell off that cliff saving you. He died in that crash shielding you. Why do you bring him nothing but harm? Why aren't you the one who's dead?" Yes, why is it not me who's dead? I look at Leonard's familiar, smiling face on his gravestone before running at it and smashing my head on it. When I open my eyes again, I'm taken back to when he just returned from that small fishing village. This time, I choose to let him go and give him what he wants. Finally, I see Leonard again.

Belie had decided to take over her life future from the grip of her boyfriend who always task gaslighted her whenever she caught him cheating. She breaks up with him and chose to go out and have the rough life even if it was for a while. Yes she has the life she wanted but then it leads to her being pregnant for the biggest and eligible billionare of the town Zion Knight who had had the scare of pregnancy from many women just cause they wanted his money. But something about Belie forces him to follow her and somehow he finds out she wasn't lying and the baby was indeed his after his investigator had brought back news of it. Belie had broken up with her ex fiance he had come to one of the bars he owned and kept telling stories of how she was a loose girl and showed her picture, even one of the reason why when she tossed herself at Zion he went into her pussy and now he just doesn't want to leave when he bonds with her and falls in love with her without even knowing her.

Sage never expected her life to change overnight. One day she was a broke girl living with her overworked single mother and the next, she was moving into a billionaire’s mansion with a new stepfather and a stepbrother she had never met. The twenty one year old, tattooed,rich, dangerous. Andre Wolfe. A walking sin wrapped up as her step brother. He doesn’t speak much. He doesn’t smile. He carries secrets in his eyes and bruises on his knuckles. And from the moment Sage meets him, she knows one thing, he is trouble and she should stay far away. But staying away becomes impossible when Andre makes it clear he sees her, really sees her. The girl who was dumped for being “too good.” The girl who doesn’t fit in this glittering world. The girl he calls little saint with a voice that ruins her breath. He is the epitome of temptation, and she is the perfect picture of innocence. Step siblings aren’t supposed to crave each other. Especially not when family, lies, and a dangerous past threaten to destroy everything. Their love is forbidden. Their desire is explosive. And their story starts with a kiss that should never have happened.

Harriett Edwards has been in love with Damien Daniels since childhood, so when both their parents arrange for them to be married, she gladly accepts even though she was well aware that it wasn’t what Damien wanted. For the three years of their marriage, she devoted her life to him with the hope that she would be able to change his mind and eventually get him to fall in love with her. It all comes crashing down when someone fabricates a picture of her cheating with Damien’s brother, Adrian. After seeing the pictures, he coldly said. “I want a divorce!” And even when she confessed her love to him, his reply was cold and hurtful. “I know. It doesn’t matter. I don’t love you.” What he didn’t know was that in her hand was the pregnancy test result from a mistake he made in his drunken state. Years later, they both meet at a friend’s wedding and he is shocked to see her with a set of identical twins that looked just like him. “Are they mine?” He asked. Harriett laughed and replied, remembering his own words. “It doesn’t matter, Damien. They don’t need a father.”

Zara Adigun never believed in fairy tales especially not the kind that involved arrogant billionaires and cold, calculated marriages. But when her father fell ill and her family is drowning in debt, she agrees to a one-year marriage contract with the most powerful and emotionally detached bachelor in Lagos (Dami Adeyemi). The deal is to pretend to be the perfect couple in public, live together under strict conditions that she must comply with, and leave when the contract ends with no strings and no emotions attached. But Dami’s icy rules begin to melt as Zara’s fire draws out the man he’s buried deep beneath his grief and guilt. The closer they get, the harder it becomes to stick to the rules, until secrets from the past threaten to destroy everything they were nurturing. Jide Adeyemi—Dami’s estranged brother and Zara’s first love came into the picture to reignite old flames and dark family secrets, Zara finds herself caught in a dangerous love triangle where trust is fragile, and the truth is a weapon. Now, she must decide: 1. To follow the terms of the contract. 2. Run back to the man who once broke her heart, or 3. Fight for a love that was never meant to happen. When hearts are bound by fate, will love survive the truth?

Jane Duncan is able to secure a job at the best publishing company in the country, France Publishing, where she does her best to achieve her dream of becoming the best writer in the country. But what happens when Jane falls in love with her Superior? A love so strong that she's unable to set herself free from that, felt like she has been chained to him. That she would love him for the rest of her life as if she was bound to him. And what if a very determined ex-boyfriend comes into the picture? Will she be able to get the love she so yearns for or not? Will she be able to achieve her dreams? Have you ever fallen for someone so bad that it hurts? You get this burning sensation in your chest like someone is ripping your chest out, or maybe it's just your heart that's shattering into pieces bit by bit? Have you ever fallen for someone you knew it would be impossible to have, but you couldn't stop yourself from falling deeper? I know it sounds cliché and all, but that's how I feel right now. And the surprising part is that I don't know when it happened or how it happened, but it just did. ----Jane Duncan

Gregor Campbell mostly called Gregor Bells is the richest and most popular billionaire in Russia and other countries. He's the typical example of a hot billionaire. Ladies from prestigious families falls just by the slightest sight of him alone. He's just 27 but owns the biggest technology company known as WEB ZONE. They deal with numbers of techs,gadgets electronics,phones,laptops,computer machines,,just name them,even robots. Gregor Campbell is young,handsome,rich,perfect all over but the only problem is,He's not the type who is into girls. After he got divorced about five years ago,his ex wife leaving him with his lovely twins,he was never caught on camera with a girl,he was never caught smiling either unless with his kids. He's the quiet and cold type whose workers find so hard to understand his moods and expressions. Getting married again is not in his plan,he was doing well as a single dad and he would even give the whole world to his kids but when it's about getting married,he doesn't want that. Some people say he's still in love with his ex wife while others only think he's in a secret relationship Then we have Annabella Rodrigo. A 20 years old dropout and also the only child of her parents,she's into lots of minor jobs just to live and fend for herself and family. Until she got a job as a maid into the popular Campbell's Island. What would become of her in there?? Find out

The quiet city of Vlei is filled with terror when its people are murdered one by one every few days. Nobody knows who the culprit is. No clues found, no leads yet. The MO of each death is different. The only common thing is that the murders happen in a secluded place and at night, compelling the people to not leave their homes when the night befalls. Enter Melanie Parker, an orphan taken in by her aunt and her family only because her parents have left her the Parker Empire before their mysterious deaths. When the innocent girl stumbles upon a gruesome secret about her past, it changes her completely. Now she is out for revenge and she does not stop until she has destroyed all the people who have wronged her. On her way, she meets Adrian Cyrus King. At first, there is enmity between the two and they cannot stand each other. They bicker and fight whenever they meet. But, Adrian has a change of heart when Melanie once saves him from his enemies. Who is responsible for all the murders? How will Melanie take her revenge? Read the story to know what happens further. Disclaimer: The cover picture does not belong to me.

Dua kali rumah tangganya tak berakhir bahagia, menjadikan Kainan Arshad sosok tak tersentuh oleh wanita. Hidupnya yang sudah menginjak usia 38, ia dedikasikan sepenuhnya untuk memajukan perusahaan. Menjadi owner sekaligus Chief Executive Officer yang dingin, datar, dan seolah tak bernyawa, membuat julukan anti romantic CEO melekat kuat padanya. Suatu hari, hidup Kainan berubah 180 derajat ketika ia membuka cabang perusahaan di kota kecil yang padat. Seorang wanita mengaku sebagai si empunya tanah yang sedianya akan ia bangun anak perusahaan. Pemilik wajah elok dengan kulit eksotik itu tidak terima jika lahannya dijadikan ladang usaha. Gantari Mahika, namanya. Ia menolak sejumlah uang yang Kainan bayarkan, karena tidak ingin kehilangan warisan dari orang tua. Hanya satu hal yang perlu Kainan lakukan, agar Mahika mengikhlaskan hal paling berharga miliknya. "Jadikan aku istrimu, maka kamu berhak atas apa yang aku punya." Cover picture from pexel.com Edit by canva free. Follow author on ig: @elitalestari563 FB: Elita Lestari