Smug Alert

I stared down at the contract, a wave of defiance bubbling up in me. I turned back to him, meeting his gaze head-on. "I never asked for your help," I said, "I would've found a way to save my mother on my own. You may think you own me, but I'd rather die than marry you." A slow smile crept across his face, a smug, knowing look that sent a chill down my spine. He knew exactly what I was thinking, as if my resistance only entertained him. "Look at me," he commanded. I reluctantly turned back, locking eyes with him. His face had shifted, his expression darkened, and for the first time, true fury was etched in his eyes. "I’ll count to ten," he said, "If that contract isn’t signed by the time I reach ten, I’ll make the same call I made to pay those bills. Only this time, the instructions will be different. Your mother... your sister…they’ll both be gone." He took a breath, settling back as if the threat were a mere matter of routine. "So… ONE!!" I swallowed hard, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Could he be bluffing? No, I'd seen him kill before, seen how casually he turned life and death into sports. "FOUR," he counted. My hands started to shake. What could I do? If I signed, I'd be bound to him forever, trapped as his wife. But if I didn’t... my mother and sister’s lives hung in the balance. "SEVEN." I closed my eyes, fighting the panic rising in my chest. He wouldn’t do it, I told myself. He couldn’t be that monstrous. But even as I thought it, the doubt crept in. I wasn’t sure. Then, he hit "TEN" himself

River Wilson has her entire life planned: earn top grades, avoid distractions, and graduate as valedictorian. Love? Boys? Drama? Not on the schedule. But her perfect plan unravels the moment she steps into her new university apartment… and finds Taylor DeLuca shirtless, tattooed, and infuriatingly smug, standing in her kitchen. Thanks to a university housing glitch and a name too ambiguous to question, River ends up living with the one thing she promised to avoid: a boy who looks like trouble and acts like he invented it. Now she’s armed with a list of house rules, a schedule tighter than her ponytail, and one unbreakable boundary: no flirting. But Taylor has a smirk that makes her forget her rules… and a past that’s more complicated than his cocky charm lets on. What happens when the girl who has everything under control is forced to live with the boy who thrives on chaos? Let’s just say... Rule Number Eight is about to get broken.

MAXINE ANDRIA CRUZ is a multi billionaire that can buy anything she want. She‘s beautiful, kind and brilliant but she's the type of girl that simply doesn‘t care about anything. Frowning, smug and smirk is her favorite emotion. In short, Maxine is perfect. But there's only thing she wouldn‘t recieved— the love of her childhood friends, Tyron Redoble. Maxine had been waiting for her true love and was saving her first kiss to the man that bring her to the front of the altar until one day, Tyron Redoble bring his girlfriend in Maxine birthday. She want to cry...she want to run that time to avoid the pain. She love him but Tyron love someone. Patuloy pa ba niyang mamahalin Ang binata o kalimutan ang pagmamahal na binigay niya rito?

Behind every great Queen stands no one; something Miliani Hwang learned from the early age of ten after she was forced to take over the Hwang Family Mafia when her parents died in a murder-suicide. In light of their tragic end, she built herself up from the ground for 11 years, trusting no man to stand behind or even beside her. The sheer sound of her name was enough to have even the toughest men on their knees and despite not ever taking a life with her own hands, everyone in the crime world knew they should never cross The Great Miliani Hwang. It doesn't surprise her when she is betrayed on her 21st birthday but she never expected her own blood to be the mastermind. She flees to Sicily with the help of the Ravello Crime Family, where she learns many secrets about her lineage and starts falling for the smug Vincenzo Ravello. Now a disgraced mob boss with nothing but her name and rage a lingering question lingered in the back of her mind; who was she now if not The Great Miliani Hwang? Vincenzo Ravello, the eldest son of the Ravello Crime Family knew all too well about the dangers that come with his title as heir to the Cosa Nostra. He's spent the past few years of his life reminding his enemies time and time again that he wasn't a man they wanted to mess with. His heart was made of stone and women, to him were nothing more than playthings until her. He would do anything for her. Every Queen needs a King to avenge her and Miliani must learn to trust her heart to stand beside hers because he will burn the whole world until all her enemies bow at her feet.

"You said nothing would give you pleasure more than seeing me in pain, huh?" He said as he stalked me like his prey until I was trapped between his body and the wall. "Absolutely. " I said, firing back. "Then sex works. It causes pain..but more pleasure than pain, and as you have noticed, I'm great at pleasing people." He had that smug smile on his face, and while I hated him at this exact moment, my body was about to betray me rather too quickly. Karrion Xavier Black is the CEO of Black Industries and at night, the head of the biggest Italian mob in the world. He's arrogant, rude, a terribly annoying playboy, and yet filthy rich. Very few people get to see another side of him and at that, for a moment at times. Sophia Kane is an art consultant for the 1% of the 1% at day, but at night, she's the best assasin/spy for the organization. What happens when the next name that comes across her desk is his? She's out for revenge, and she's going to get it no matter what. Follow us on this journey as we see the hate moments, the love moments, the love-hate moments.

"Sex slave? Is that what you thought?" "What else would you have dragged me here for?" I said, my voice trembling. He took a deep breath and looked me over, from head to toe, with an assessing expression that made me shrink back. "Don’t flatter yourself, female. You don’t meet the requirements to be one of my sex slaves." "Oh yeah? And what would those be?" He gave me that same smug, evaluating look again, but this time I puffed out my chest—and he seemed to notice, even if just for a second. "The first is being attractive." "What? Did you just call me ugly?" "Does it matter?" "Of course it matters! First of all, you're wrong! I’m not ugly, and I do meet all the requirements to be a sex slave!" — By the goddess, what was I saying? Marius looked at me, visibly confused, until he asked: "Why does it sound like you’re applying for the position?" Jane is an orphaned, rejected she-wolf who dreams of receiving her wolf and leaving the orphanage behind. One night, when she goes to a party with her friend, she finds herself in danger after realizing there is no party only three wolves with the worst intentions. Everything changes when the feared and cruel Marius, a wolf accused of massacring his own pack in the past, saves her. Or rather kidnaps her. Marius makes it clear: Jane will be his prisoner for one year, until she receives her wolf and can give him what he wants. But how can Jane trust a killer? And what is she supposed to do with the wild attraction they both feel, trapped together in an isolated cabin?

My husband took our six-year-old daughter on a fishing trip, but when his first love called, he left her alone to answer his phone. With no one watching her, our daughter fell into the sea, and we never recovered her body. Heartbroken, I called him and begged him to return, but his voice was cold as he said, “Cheyenne, today’s Queenie's birthday. Can you stop being such a buzzkill?” When I stumbled back home in despair, I found his first love clinging provocatively to him, a smug smile on her face. “What’s got you so upset, sis-in-law?” she sneered. I let out a cold laugh and flipped the dining table over. “As long as you’re alive, I’ll never be happy.”

[MATURE CONTENTS, NO RAPE, VIOLENCE, DARK] She didn't realize she was slowly falling deeply for the handsome billionaire who always hid in the shadows, shrouded in darkness and mystery. Despite the blaring alarm in her head screaming 'danger alert,' she just had to trust him. But he wasn’t just a wealthy heartthrob; he was a bad boy with sinister intentions. He became her weapon for revenge, an addiction that transformed her into a villain. (EXTRACT) Eamon's gaze flicked to the name tag on her uniform, which read "Mia." He smirked, clearly aware of the deception. "Heather, do you think you can save your life from me in a hospital?" he teased. "Well, if... if you're a disease," Heather retorted, trying to regain some semblance of control. Eamon chuckled softly, a chilling sound. "Sure I am. A terminal one." "Anyway, Mr. Eamon, sorry for taking things the wrong way this morning. Perhaps you thought I was mocking your blindness by saying you changed my clothes," she said sincerely. "It's alright," Eamon replied, a hint of amusement in his tone. "I saw everything though." Heather blinked in confusion. "Huh? But... you're blind. How can you see everything like you claimed?" Eamon's smile widened, and he leaned in slightly. "Let me tell you a secret then, Ms Heather," he said, removing his dark lenses to reveal a set of emerald green eyes. "You have a fading tattoo 'A & H' on your left waist and a tiny black dotty mole underneath your right breast," Eamon said, his voice low and intimate. Heather: "...." Eamon's eyes bore into hers, a predatory glint in them. "You can't hide from me, Heather. Not in a hospital, not anywhere."

Shortly after my boyfriend dies, I prepare to join him in the underworld. However, I'm saved by a rich man who passes by. He's worried that I'll do something rash again, so he stays by my side for three years and helps me move past my trauma. Before Benjamin Zoller's birthday, I receive a call from the hospital and learn that he's been diagnosed with cancer. I head to his company to look for him when I hear his smug voice. "I've always suspected that Cherilyn is still hung up on her ex, so I made up something about being sick to test her. I'll believe that she loves me if she's willing to take her life for my sake." I play along and fake my death before him. He loses his mind after witnessing everything.

Married three years. Stood up three years. Today was the last time I bothered showing up. Surprise—he bailed again. Still clinging to hope like a total idiot, I called. One last shot. "A-Aurora, I'm busy. Just wait," he muttered. And then her voice cut in. All breathy and smug: "That old woman can't satisfy you, huh? Paolo, be gentle." Click. Right on cue, Marco Medici—loyal, patient, saint-like Marco—sent his 99th proposal. This time, I didn't leave him hanging. [Want to come over for bollito misto?]