Smiling Sheepishly

In the stillness of my penthouse evenings, where my world ignited by Adrian’s touch, I was, for all purposes, the luckiest woman in the world. And I am, or was, Cecilia Lancaster, a dreamer who fell for Adrian Blackwood’s dark and brooding good looks, every moment, every laugh, every tear, all with my ride or die best friend, Isabel Chen. We formed a group of unbreakable relationships or so I believed—only until one afternoon shattered all my world. The pregnancy test shone brightly, a mini spark of joy amidst all our glitz and mayhem. However, barging into our bedroom like a maniac, I destroyed the image: Adrian and Isabel, locked in an embrace made for lovers, sheepishly gazing at me. The twist hit like thunder. "Love? Never," Adrian growled, his slap echoing my breaking heart. "Your father's reckless deal killed mine in that boardroom betrayal. I married you for vengeance to strip away your happiness like he did ours." Isabel's revelation stabbed deeper"I'm pregnant with his heir, Cecilia. The family you could never build." I fled into the raging storm, devastated, and whispered to my unborn child, "We'll make our own light, baby," before a screech of tires and oblivion claimed me. They mourned me as dead. 5 yrs later, Adrian's empire was flourishing, built on an unfulfilling revenge—until Isabel's web unraveled: her "pregnancy" a cruel fabrication in an attempt to trap him. As Adrian wrestles with the second opportunity to succeed, to win back the family he never knew, hidden truths abound: allegations of company treachery, Isabel's vendetta comeback, and my wavering recollections on the cusp of igniting fresh hurts. Can love truly be reborn from the flames, or shall the central conflict: forgive or fury?consume us all?

On New Year's Eve, I prepare a feast. The clock strikes twelve, but my husband, Vincent Porter, still isn't home. My daughter, Lorelei Porter, tugs at my sleeve and holds up my phone. "Look Mommy, Daddy is at this lady's house!" Vincent has posted an update on Twitter. He is with Christine Snow, his childhood sweetheart. They are smiling at the camera, with a boy who looks about ten standing between them. In front of them sits a swan-shaped cake. The caption reads, "The most special day for the most special you." My heart sinks into my stomach. A marriage that came later in life can never compete with a pair of childhood sweethearts. I accept defeat.

I am looking at it right now, not believing what I see. I decided that I would follow the whole wedding far away from them, almost near the exit, just so that I wouldn't have to exchange ideas with any of them. My mother is holding hands with Daud Lestari, the head of that family of thieves and murderers, smiling in her beautiful white wedding dress. Right behind them is Daud's son, Lanton Lestari, that cursed man. My new half-brother. It will take a while, but he will see who is in charge here. I myself will make it a point to hunt down and destroy every single Lestari there, starting with Lanton, or my name is not Lukman Sari.

Burned alive and abandoned, Sheraphina died believing she had nothing left. Then she woke up at fifteen. With her memories intact and her enemies still smiling, Sheraphina chooses silence over screams and patience over pity. Her stepsister—sweet, fragile, adored—has no memory of the fire yet, only a growing hunger for everything Sheraphina owns. Her father still turns a blind eye. Her stepmother still whispers poison into willing ears. This time, Sheraphina won’t fight openly. She will take back her name, her inheritance, and her future—piece by piece. And when a powerful billionaire steps into her path, drawn by her calm defiance and hidden sharpness, Sheraphina learns that revenge doesn’t have to be lonely.

Cassandra Morgan thought her exhausting life was finally over. She went to a high end party to celebrate her freedom from her father's debt, but woke up in the next morning in luxurious suite and a handsome man was sleeping soundly. "You." The woman eyed Casandra. “Why are you so pathetic and shameless to bite something that is far from your league.” Cassandra found her phone, the first thing she saw was the text message she received from Rachel. “I sold you off. Sorry.” The man was smiling under the soft and silky duvet. His eyes still closed tight but he heard everything and felt amused by the drama. His back was facing them but his ears were clear as the sky. You awake? fucking asshole?

This is the sequel to "Trio of Mates" (can be found on here) and is NOT a stand-alone book. I felt as if I had just fallen asleep when flashes and fragments of dreams began to play through my mind. They are disjointed, speeding through my mind almost too fast to catch. There is Charlie holding two pups in her arms, the pack being attacked on the western front, Arya fallen to her knees sobbing in the middle of a battlefield, funeral pyres, me looking down at my pregnant stomach with Gael and Hakeem smiling down at me, whoops of victory, and wails of defeat. As the images flit through my mind, a voice enters the chaos. “A war of threes. Three deaths. Three victories. Three trios. Three losses. Betrayal. Birth. Death. Sorrow. Joy. Warn them, Meredith. Be prepared!”

“I will repeat myself that I, Alpha Oswald, make you, Carly Hayes, my concubine because you are my mate!” **** Over the years, Carly Hayes had been striving rather hard just to find a mate among the group of wolves flocking sheepishly around her, each with an enticing proposal. But true happiness eluded her: to have clocked 25 without being mated was indeed a quagmire— her quagmire. Even though her impeccable beauty had managed to compel men into any nightclub or social event she attended. She felt an emptiness in her for her mate, her wolf was getting restless and that made her more determined to find her mate. Along the story, her efforts drove her down to the eclipse pack house where she bowed before the ruthless Alpha Oswald, the cruelest of all alphas, for allegedly being accused of seducing a mated wolf. Alpha Oswald was a man of his word, a man who doesn't leave any stones untouched in getting whatever he wanted, the man any lady in the werewolf world would die for. He was rather shocked as his wolf called out ‘mate’ at just a gaze upon her stunning beauty. Alpha Oswald felt his guards unlocked as feelings grew in him for the unmated wolf before him, he made her his concubine whom he loved with all his heart but was not yet ready to confess his love before her. Their relationship sailed through as it kept blossoming as Nikita, the Luna of the eclipse pack stood as an obstacle to their love. Will Alpha Oswald later confess his love before her? If yes, how would Carly react to this? What will become of Nikita when she finds out about their love? What prevents Alpha Oswald from seeing his mate for many years? Find out in the book.

She went undercover to destroy him… and now she has to seduce him so he will let his guard down. Detective Natalia morozova's mission was simple it was to get close to Mikhail Volkov, the Bratva's pakhan and gather some information to use against him but after saving his life, she wakes up in his bed… and unknowingly signs a marriage contract to him. And now she has to play the perfect wife smiling sweetly, touching him softly while plotting his downfall, but every possessive grip on her body, makes it harder to remember which of them is really in control, and what her mission really is. In this game of seduction and lies one of them has to surrender.. and it might not be him.

My mom decides to implement an income-based rationing system. Everything at home is delegated to everyone based on their income. At a holiday dinner, I decide to grab myself an extra helping of pasta. As soon as I fill up my plate, my mom snatches it from my hands. "Hold on. Just look at the spread on the table. The sea bass is already worth 180 dollars. The scallops are worth 200, whereas the lobster goes for 300 dollars. "You only earn 3,000 dollars per month. If you want a second serving, you must pay up first. I'll charge you based on the family rate. It'll be three dollars, thank you very much." My mom sticks out three fingers while smiling at me.

Don Ettore Vitale's lover, Viola Serra, and I are abducted at the same time. When it's time for Ettore to make his choice, he doesn't hesitate to choose Viola despite always doting on me all the time. "Larissa, Viola can't take this. She's too fragile. Once this is over, I'll definitely make it up to you." "If you choose her, I'll hate you forever!" He remains silent for a moment before whisking Viola away in his arms. I just keep laughing till tears spill down my cheeks. Some time later, I nestle into Ettore's arch-nemesis, Vittorio Romano's arms while smiling at the former. But he keeps begging me to return to him like an absolute lunatic.