Social Temperature

Award-winning Author Marie Lavender brings a captivating, passionate love story about a young heiress and a devilishly charming ship captain. All set in two coastal French towns… After being raised to believe that love is a frivolous endeavor, French heiress Fara Bellamont has always kept her dreams of adventure and discovering a soul-searing passion to herself. So, when Captain Grant Hill makes his grand entrance into her life by way of rescuing her one fateful night, she knows she’s in trouble. He completely steals her heart. But, as far as society is concerned, he’s also not a suitable husband. Grant Hill, a mysterious, rugged ship captain, is just as enthralled with Fara as she is with him, but he too knows such things aren’t so simple. Not only must they overcome social expectations to be together, but wars and lies, as well. And with a long-time yearning neither has managed to achieve, the pair must fight to attain their deepest desire: Happiness. If you love steamy, romantic tales by Tessa Dare, Julia Quinn, and Christi Caldwell, then you’ll adore this exciting and intricate Historical Romance set by the sea.

Stephanie's voice trembled as she took a hesitant step backward, "But you have a fiancée," she stammered, shaken by the unexpected turn of events. "I couldn't resist," Paul Costa replied in a husky tone, his own steps closing the distance between them. "But..." Stephanie tried to protest, but he silenced her with a gentle yet firm answer, "Shhh. No buts. I want you, and I will have you," he whispered, sending thrilling shivers down her spine. A single night of passion with her boss, Paul Costa, takes an unforeseen twist when Stephanie discovers she's carrying his child. Paul, the CEO of a corporate giant, is on the brink of marrying an heiress from another influential conglomerate, destined to become "Mrs. Costa." However, fate has a different plan, as he finds himself falling deeply in love with Stephanie, a love he cannot openly embrace due to societal expectations and traditions. Their budding romance faces the harsh realities of tradition and social norms, and they must face a world filled with lies, deceit, and betrayals. A dangerous secret lurks, threatening to destroy everything they hold dear

In the seventh year of marrying Don Sebastian Quinn, I finally stopped loving him. After finishing the family business in the afternoon, I found an excuse to go out for coffee; He wanted to take me to attend the family core meeting, but I politely declined by saying I had to fly to Paris to watch a show; When he finally refused his social engagement and tried to get intimate with me, I lied about feeling unwell and slept in a separate room. Even when his lover was wearing my silk nightgown and commanding the housekeepers in the living room, I calmly complimented her good figure. My indifference finally hurt this man. He forcefully grabbed my chin in the middle of the night, his eyes red. "Why aren't you mad seeing another woman sleeping in my bed? Nicola Scott, I'm your husband. Don't you care at all?" I looked at his out-of-control state and only smiled faintly, thinking, 'Sebastian, you've probably forgotten that I loved you the most during the years you punished me by making me kneel and reflect on my actions.'

When men become murderers... See how these young men will fight fate. “Strange Noises in the Attic” There was a monster locked up in my attic. This monster was my biological brother. He was locked up by my parents for 24 years. My parents told me that my brother was mentally ill and had severely violent tendencies, so he could only be locked up to prevent him from hurting others. However, I once accidentally entered the room. My brother covered my mouth immediately and told me with a fearful look that those two people were not my real parents. “The Spirit House” When I was in college, I met a middle-aged rich woman on social media. She was very kind to me. She always gave me money and intimately called me "little boy". She said that she was born and raised in the countryside just like me. She liked me, and thus she would lead me to fortune after I graduated. I thought she was joking. However, she really came to me in a Porsche Cayenne when I graduated.

When 17-year-old Juniper Torres transfers from Barcelona to the elite halls of Daleton Prep, she hopes for a fresh start and a chance to blend in quietly. But from the moment she steps into the historic, high-status school, she realizes she’s anything but invisible. As the only child of a cancer-researcher parents who relocate to New York for a high-stakes medical fellowship, Juniper is immediately overwhelmed by the posh crowd, designer accessories, and the mysterious hierarchy of the school’s students—especially the notorious Daleton Boys, a trio of dangerously charming and powerful guys who seem to rule the campus like kings. Things shift when she befriends Jasmine, a quirky, kind scholarship student who helps her navigate the minefield of social circles, secrets, and silent wars. But Juniper’s curiosity is piqued—especially when she locks eyes with Grayson Barrington, the icy and magnetic leader of the Daleton Boys, rumored to have a dark past and a murder charge lurking in his history. As Juniper gets pulled deeper into their world—balancing friendship, fear, and fascination—she must decide whether to play it safe or risk everything to uncover the truth behind Grayson’s secrets… and maybe her own.

Pretending to be a couple caused Alex and Olivia to come under attack from many people, not only with bad remarks they heard directly but also from the news on their social media. There was no choice for Olivia in that position, all she thought about was her mother's recovery and Alex had paid for all her treatment. But the news that morning came out and shocked Olivia, where Alex would soon be holding his wedding with a girl she knew, of course she knew that girl, she had been with Alex for 3 years, the girl who would become his wife was someone who was crazy about the CEO, she's Carol. As more and more news comes out about Alex and Carol's wedding plans, many people sneer at Olivia's presence in their midst. "I'm done with all this Alex!" Olivia said. "Not for me!" Alex said. "It's up to you, for me we're over," Olivia said and Alex grabbed her before Olivia left her. “This is my decision! Get out of this place then you know what will happen to your mother," Alex said and his words were able to make Olivia speechless.

On the night of New Year's Eve, I wake up in a hospital ward with an IV drip connected to the back of my hand. A nurse passes me the hospital bill. "It's 300 dollars in total, including the emergency treatment fee and the cost for a bottle of glucose drips." When I turn on my phone, I feel my heart sinking. I only have 29.01 dollars left in my bank account. The wallpaper of my phone is a countdown of my family contract's app. Today is the date when I have to renew my family contract for the year. In order to accumulate enough money to go home, I've been working as a staff member in concert venues. Earlier, I had collapsed backstage, so I was quickly sent to the hospital. The dial tone keeps beeping for a long time. Finally, my mom answers my call in what seems to be a noisy background. "Mom, I'm at the hospital right now. I need 300 dollars to pay the hospital bill." "You're at the hospital?" Mom's voice turns shrill immediately. "Why did you visit the hospital during the holidays? You really are a jinx!" "I fainted earlier. I was working at a concert venue—" "What? So, you refused to do chores at home during the holidays! Instead, you decide to work at a concert venue?" Mom interrupts immediately. "I don't have 300 dollars on me! You'd better come up with a way to pay that bill of yours!" "Mom…" My hand tightens around my phone. "Today is the last day of my family contract's renewal period. I'll renew the contract once I pay the bill." "Renew the contract, huh?" Mom just sneers at me. "That's a part of your duties! How dare you use it against me! Helena Lambert, if you don't renew the contract today, you can forget about calling me 'Mom'!" After that, she ends the call. I can only grip my phone to the point that my fingers turn white. After that, I tap on a social media app in hopes that I can borrow money from my friends, only to see the latest post on the social media feed. My younger sister, Hannah Lambert, has posted a photo collage there. "I'm here with my parents to watch my favorite singer's concert! Snagging tickets to the first-row seats is definitely worth it!" The background of those photos is the same concert venue where I work part-time at. It's the most expensive venue in town. Apparently, tickets cost 2,900 dollars each.

Dion Clamente is a simple girl. She's in between of being an introvert and extrovert. She likes watching k-drama and anime. Pero sa lahat ng hobby niya sa buhay, ang panonood ng tiktok videos ng paborito niyang creator ang isa sa pinakapaborito niyang gawin. Wala siyang oras na pinapalagpas para makanood lang ng tiktok vids. Sa dinamidami ng creator at voice actors na naglipana sa buong social media ay isa lang ang nakakuha at nakaangkin ng interes at damdamin niya. At yun ay si Aki Hitoko. Pagkadinig pa lang niya sa boses nang lalaki ay may naramdaman siyang emosyon na di niya maipaliwanag. Sa baritono nitong boses ay para siyang hinihipnotismo. Sa bawat bigkas nito ng mga salita ay parang mawawalan siya ng diwa na para bang papanawan na siya ng ulirat. Di niya pa ito nakikita at tanging boses lang ang kilala niya pero isa lang ang alam niya, she's already into him. She's been captivated.

On my birthday, my fiancé used his supermarket points to get me a pair of dishwashing gloves. But at an auction, he bought a five-million-dollar gem for his first love. I was mad, confronting him, but he called me a gold digger. "I've been giving you money to spend. Isn't it only right that you take care of me? This was supposed to be my final test for you. If you passed, we'd get married. You've let me down big time." I broke up with him. He turned around and proposed to his first love. Five years later, we ran into each other on a private vacation island. Alex Thompson saw me in the workers' uniform picking up trash on the beach. He mocked me on the spot. "You turned your nose up at the gloves I got you, and here you are, scavenging garbage. Now, even if you begged me, I wouldn't give you a second glance." I ignored him. My son's social studies project was to clean up the backyard with a parent. His dad had expanded the yard all the way to the beach. Cleaning it up was exhausting.

From Jerilee Kaye, author of best-selling novel “Knight in Shining Suit”, comes the spin-off of the top-grossing interactive story, “All the Wrong Reasons”. One last adventure. That was all Julianne wanted. One last trip to escape the pressures of an arranged marriage to a man she doesn’t love and doesn’t even like. One last time to experience freedom… to go wherever she wanted to go, to be anyone she wanted to be. On her last two weeks in Paris, she met someone unexpected—aspiring painter, Jas Mathieu. He was as handsome as hell, and as sweet as heaven. Terrified of what her father and fiancé could do to Jas if she stayed with him, she fled Paris and left him behind—with no real information about herself, not even her real name. Seven years later, after her father stripped her of her heiress title and privileges, she crossed paths with Jas Mathieu once again. She found out that he wasn’t exactly the struggling artist she thought he was. And he was no stranger to the family and social circle she belonged to. It turned out that years ago, when they met... she wasn't the only one keeping secrets.