Smirk Synonym

The Heart Beneath the Thorn — A Modern Beauty and the Beast Retelling 💔 In a glittering city of fortunes and façades, The Heart Beneath the Thorn reimagines Beauty and the Beast through the broken glass of betrayal, redemption, and forbidden love. Emilia Grace, a fierce yet quietly bruised soul, is just trying to survive. Between juggling hospital shifts, family debts, and the ghosts of her past, she’s never had the luxury of dreaming. But fate has a cruel sense of humor when she’s assigned to care for Max Carter—the cold-hearted billionaire who once made her school years a waking nightmare. Max was the golden boy with the cruel smirk—the privileged heir with everything, except peace. Years later, a tragic accident leaves him scarred, not just physically but emotionally. Isolated and emotionally exiled, Max is now a man haunted by his past choices and a legacy wrapped in barbed wire. When Emilia walks back into his life, she's no longer the girl he mocked—she's the woman who might just be his undoing. Forced into each other’s orbit, what begins as a war of words slowly melts into lingering stares, late-night confessions, and an unraveling of everything they thought they knew. Max, the beast of her memories, begins to reveal the tender man beneath the mask—a man who collects poetry he never shares, who builds gardens no one sees, and who might have always loved the girl he couldn’t protect. But trust doesn’t bloom easily in thorn-covered soil. And when old enemies, buried secrets, and a scandalous inheritance come to light, Emilia must decide: can she love the man who once broke her, now that he’s the only one trying to piece her back together? A tale of enemies-to-lovers, second chances.

“Why do I feel like we've met before?” I stared at the young man standing before me, his eyes locked on mine. He tucked some loose strands of my hair behind my ears, his lips stretching into a cocky smirk, “where? In your wet dreams?” ~~~~ Selena has had the same dreams for a very long time—a young man thrusting a silver sword into her chest in a moment of weakness. She'd called it a dream, but after meeting this strange man in her college on an unfaithful day, her whole life takes the other direction. Dominic Lakes, a hot transfer student who's extremely good at playing hockey. He fights to suppress his Alpha aura with the humans around him, but with a particular girl—Selena—it felt like she could see through him with a single glance. What if they'd really met before? Not just in this lifetime but the one before? Would they uncover the truth before it's too late?

“Here. Sign this and you can start immediately. If you have anything important at home, bring it here....I’ll provide you with everything. "Clothes, food, whatever you need,” he said, the smirk returning to his face. She reached for the file hesitantly, her eyes narrowing slightly. Something felt…off. Too quick. Too intense. Just as she was about to flip through the pages, her phone rang. Tring… Tring… She glanced at Liam. He nodded. “It’s okay.” She quickly signed the last page without reading. Inside, her instincts itched. Something didn’t sit right. But she brushed the feeling off. Maybe he was just one of those flirty, arrogant bosses. “You signed without reading it,” he said in a whisper only she could hear. “Bold.” “I trust Liam,” she replied. Vincenzo smiled, not the kind that made people feel safe. She handed the file back and turned to leave. Vincenzo stood silently, watching her go. The way her hair swayed. The curve of her waist. That innocent look in her eyes. As she disappeared around the corner, he exhaled sharply. “Such a girl,” he muttered under his breath. “I never expected someone like her in my life, that face, those lips. Those curves.” He laughed, low and full of wicked pleasure. “Oh, Vincenzo De Luca. You are one lucky bastard.” He reached for the contract she had just signed and tapped his fingers on the table, a smirk growing on his face. “Welcome to my kingdom, once again” he said. “You just sold yourself to the devil.” He ran a finger slowly across her photo again, his smirk spreading. “Such a fucking beauty,” he muttered under his breath. “And she walked right into my trap"

“I am sorry, Mr. Thomas, but I am married—" "To an asshole," Thomas interrupted, his voice dripping with disdain. My eyes flashed with anger. "To my husband," I corrected. Thomas raised an eyebrow. "Your husband doesn't know or care that you're crying because he's in there flirting with another woman." My face burned with shame. "He's just socializing," I defended, frustration betraying my words Thomas snorted. "By trying to get into her pants." He smirked, moving closer while I retreated, the space between us shrinking with every step. "I am sorry, Mr. Thomas, but my marital life is none of your business." "Only I can decide that." He said, his smirk twisting into a snarl I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off. “Say one more word and I'll have you right here and now" he said, his voice a low, husky growl. His finger traced the curve of my face, my heart racing and I felt my defenses crumbling. In a lightning-fast move, his lips slammed into mine, crushing me with a kiss that was both savage and intoxicating. ****** Two people, different worlds, with just one thing in common - Secrets. What happens when formidable sparks begin to brew and secrets threatens to unravel?

Living with my aunt and her family was meant to be a temporary, quiet arrangement just helping out and keeping to myself. On the first day of the new year, while everyone else was out celebrating, I stayed home, enjoying the rare silence and catching up on sleep. But when we ran out of water, I reluctantly stepped outside to fetch some, and that’s when I saw him. He stood by the gate of the house next door, effortlessly commanding attention with just a glance. A smirk played on his lips, and a flicker of amusement danced in his eyes behind his blue-ray glasses. At that moment, he was impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, I felt disheveled and barely awake, my hair was a mess and still shaking off sleep. But he didn’t seem to mind. There was something about him an air of mystery that made me wonder who he was and why he was there. Before I could look away, he spoke, “Hi.” Caught off guard, I managed a quick, “Hi,” while trying to pull myself together. “Can I know your name?” he asked. I hesitated but replied, “I’m Clara,” and kept walking. “Can I have your number?” he called after me. “Just as friends.” I almost refused but reluctantly agreed, entering my number into his phone. “There,” I said, handing it back. “I’ll call you,” he promised with a smile, as I turned to leave. What began as a chance encounter soon became an inexplicable connection. He had secrets, but there was something about him that saw through me, understanding things no one else did. The man I met next door wasn’t just a fleeting stranger,he became the reason I started questioning everything I thought I wanted.

A woman of your caliber doesn’t deserve to be cheated on,” Amelia Connels thought Jake was her forever. She loved him, trusted him, and even helped him rise to success. But on the night of his surprise birthday party, a night she planned to celebrate their love; he didn’t show up. Instead, Amelia met Logan Wills, a captivating billionaire with a devilish smirk and a devastating revelation. "Does he look familiar?" Logan asked, as he held his phone up. The image of Jake, tangled in bed with another woman, shattered Amelia’s world. Heartbroken and furious, she didn’t know what hurt more: Jake’s betrayal or the truth that she’d given everything to someone who didn’t value her. Logan, however, offered her a proposal—a fake relationship. "A relationship with me for three months," Logan proposed, his gaze steady. "Make him regret ever cheating on you." What Amelia didn’t know was that Logan’s motives ran deeper than revenge for her heartbreak. But as their staged romance heats up, so do real feelings, and secrets neither of them expected threaten to ruin everything. "You used me, didn’t you?" Amelia whispered, tears streaming down her face. "And you helped him to ruin me!!," Logan shot back, his voice cracking. In a battle of love, betrayal, and redemption, Amelia and Logan must decide if they can overcome their pasts—or if their connection is just another casualty of revenge.

"You ignore me, you don't want me, you don't touch me, you don't fuck me, and then you come at me with this weak threat just because I danced with someone else at the party?" I managed to push out the words, "Let's face it, you're not going to do a damn thing and just keep playing saint-maybe your machine has rusted after all these years of being without a mate." His jaw tensed, and his fingers dug into my skin, but then a low, husky chuckle escaped him. "You really enjoy pushing boundaries, don't you?" His free hand traced a slow path down between us and he suddenly cupped my pussy causing a gasp to slip past my lips, "Just so you know, Poppet-I have a lot of respect for you, but in the next hour, I'm going to make you forget that I ever respected you at all." Before I could retort, his lips brushed against my ear, a wicked smirk playing on his lips. "Brace yourself-because I am about to fuck you like my whore and I'll show you just how well this machine still fucking works." *** When Aurora Steel's mate cheats on her with her best friend just before their mating ceremony, her world shatters. But....Just as she hits rock bottom, a familiar face reappears in their pack-the Alpha of Darkclaw Clan, Jaxon Blackwood, her father's friend, and...the crush she'd long buried. And suddenly it seems there is no better choice for revenge against her cheating mate than letting a hot, cold, and older alpha fuck her. But in the world of revenge, betrayal, illicit desires, and forbidden temptation, an affair hidden from everyone with an Alpha like Jaxon is anything but a wise choice, isn't it?

Blurb The queen's words cut deep, her tone dripping with disdain. "No squatting – kneel and eat the food you wasted. Whether it's badly cooked or not, you have no choice. You're not here to be pampered like a princess; you're here to cure my stepson, the Crown Prince who's gone feral." Her gaze pierced mine, her voice icy. "You can't decide your life or live as you like. We'll decide for you. And you're just a weak human from an inferior realm; worthless, stinky, and brainless." Her smirk was a cold, calculated gesture. *I forced myself to eat the maggot-infested food, a putrid mixture of rotting scraps and animal waste. When Isabella absconded, Ellie replaced her, and her arranged marriage to Abidziek the ruthless feral prince was meant to be a mere formality. But when she defies expectations and achieves the impossible, she becomes the target of deadly enemies and the prince's unlikely fascination. As she navigates the treacherous world of the Anthrika wolves, Elie faces a new challenge; securing the Prince's love and loyalty when his fated mate, Morgana resurfaces. Can she overcome the odds and claim a place by his side, or will she be cast aside like the pawn she was meant to be?

It was finally the day of the auction "And now we are presented with a human who looks a little unkempt right now, but with a little care from her owner would be as good as new" the hosts voice rang over the speakers in what seemed like a dungeon used for illegal gambling. But I couldn't look much, being locked in a basement for three months without any form of light coming in, and suddenly being on stage where all attention and the center light was on me was enough to just make me shut my eyes and wait for what was to come. "We'll start with $25,000" is that really my worth. Do I really amount to nothing, that I have to be sold at an auction. "$26,000" "$26,500" "$30,000" "$30,000, is there anyone who wants to bid higher? Going once, going twice... This went in for a few more minutes and I gave up hope. This was it, this is where my life journey ends. I will get sold here then if my buyer is an organ trafficker he would probably kill me and sell off my organs. "Five hundred million dollars" a deep manly voice grunted from the corner of the room "Wow that's a very high bid...I doubt if anyone is willing to go higher than that. Going once, going twice, sold. Congratulations Mr Jimmie Hendrix, you just won yourself a hot looking toy...everyone is left to wonder what you will be doing with her tonight." Jimmie who was sitting in a dark corner of the room gave a sinister smirk and uttered under his breath "Found you!!!"

“She tried to escape. I think she wants to go rogue.” The guard said.  Sabrina’s eyes snapped to me. A smirk curled on her lips as she walked forward. “Tried to escape, did we?” she said, her blue eyes slicing into mine. “Leave us.” The guards obeyed. She moved in, gaze sweeping over me. “Whatever made you think your scrawny little body could outrun two strong guards?” “Sabrina, you have to let me go. I don’t want to be your handmaid. Please. Let me go.” I begged.  Sabrina laughed, sharp and cold. “Oh, you’ll serve me whether you like it or not.” She leaned closer. “You won’t just serve me, Elowyn. You’ll mate with the Alpha and carry his child for us.” My breath caught. “What?” Her smile deepened, her voice soft and slow. “I can’t be the one who fulfills the prophecy that Kieran’s Luna will die in childbirth.” She stepped even closer. Her eyes locked on mine. “You will bear his child, Elowyn.” She said it with such certainty that my blood ran cold.  I stared at her, horror rising in my throat. “You want me to die instead of you?” Sabrina said nothing. She didn’t have to. Her smile said everything.