Soft Science

"I hate you, Aiden! I hate you! And trust me... you’ll never find anyone who’ll love you the way I did." Tears streamed down Charlotte Parker’s face as she stormed into her room, packing the last pieces of her broken heart. This time, I knew I’d messed up. And there was no going back. Charlotte Parker is a kind, beautiful, and well-mannered 22-year-old with dreams of becoming a popular writer. But life has other plans. With her family struggling, she’s forced to step up… whether she’s ready or not. Aiden Kingston, on the other hand, is everything she can’t stand. Arrogant. Rude. A notorious playboy. And the cold-hearted CEO of a million-dollar company. For Aiden, keeping his inheritance means one thing: marriage. Fast. Both blindsided by an arranged marriage neither of them asked for, their worlds collide in the most chaotic way. Charlotte is water, soft but strong. Aiden is fire, uncontrolled and burning through everything in his path. But Aiden has a secret. One that could destroy whatever fragile peace they’re trying to build. Will he let his walls down for her? Can Charlotte see past his mistakes and frozen heart? Or will the hatred between them grow so deep it consumes them both… for good? Find out in this amazing book Arrange Marriage to a Heartless CEO

"I'm the only one that can have you, you belong to me now." He pins my arms to the wall behind me while leaning in. I catch his scent, forest pine. My head feels dizzy as he bites my bottom lip. "But why? I-I'm not, I don't deserve-" "Shut up Calvin and take off your clothes." ------------------------------------------------------- David is a star billionaire of a affluent company, having a very abundant net worth. He has it all, the amber fiery eyes that melts everyone in sight, the strong, chiseled facial features that make even the most blessed weep. He has everything, so he should feel like the most complete man in the world right? Not really. ============== Calvin's soft, sweet, quiet and in shambles whenever he thinks of his looks. Never was man as humbled as he. He let people walk over him since birth (quite literally since he chose to be born a day later since the actual day was a inconvenience to his mother) and could only mutter a small sorry whenever someone would tease him of his weight. Ever since a youngen, he dreamed of someone to accept him for what he looked like, but did he ever think he'd be able to find that? Nope. Maybe these two are the pieces they need to complete the shambled puzzle in their souls. Or maybe not, who knows? ---- All rights reserved.

I felt his lips brush against my earlobe, a soft brush that suddenly made my toes curl. His breath lingered on my neck before he finally whispered, "I own you Crystal. The sooner you get to accept that the better for you. I'll make sure you submit yourself to me, be it the hard way or the easy way. And I'll break this ego of yours. I promise you" * * * * * * He was her beast and she was his beauty. He was addicted and she was his favourite drug. He was a sinner and she was his sin. In the blink of an eye, Crystal sees her entire life crumble with the death of her parents and she is forced to take a job that she would never have thought off to make ends meet for her and her sister and pay of her gambling father's debt to a crime boss-- being a stripper. Just a glance on the doe-eyed caramel skin beauty swinging her hips seductively on the pole and Leonardo already knew he had to have her as his. He had to claim her for himself. But he was everything she hated. She despised him and loathed his existence for the pain and anguish he had caused her and her sister. She swore never to succumb to him but what she didn't know was that he was also determined to show her that he would earn a place in her heart and life.

Three months since my husband, Julian Moretti, disappeared. I walked into his favorite den, the grief so deep it stole the air from my lungs. I just wanted to breathe him in, to find any trace of him that was left. Then I heard it. A familiar laugh. And the soft moan of a woman. Through a crack in the door, I saw him. My husband, the man "missing" for three months, had his hand tangled in another woman's hair. "Baby, just a little longer," he said. "Soon as I siphon enough cash from the family's books, we're gone. You and me." In his arms was Bianca, from the Rosso family. "What about your wife?" she purred. "Let her play the grieving widow. She's nothing without me anyway." My fists clenched. The world went quiet, my blood turning to ice. The next day, I put the word out to the entire Family. "I'm holding a memorial mass for my husband." At the service, he stormed in, a ghost returned from the grave, roaring that he was alive and there to take back what was his. But I was standing next to his uncle, Dante Moretti, and all I did was stare him down. "Then explain," I said, my voice cutting through the silence. "Explain the woman. Explain the money. Explain your betrayal... to the Family. And to me."

My husband was the leader of the rescue team. As I was trapped in a cave and surrounded by a pack of wolves, I desperately called him over and over. Yet, he hung up on me every single time. When the fire nearly burnt out and the wolves got closer, he finally called me and angrily accused me, "Can you stop wasting public resources? I'm the rescue team leader first, and then your husband." In the background, I heard a soft, feminine voice saying, "Howard, my arm has a cut. Can you take me to the hospital?" I was familiar with that voice. It was my husband's first love. Ever since her husband died, she clung to him. And my husband... He didn't just tolerate it; rather, he seemed to enjoy it. A wave of despair washed over me as I ended the call. My hands were trembling, and I tried to call the police, but before I could, the leader of the wolves pounced on me. I fell hard to the ground, and the rest of the pack, sensing the signal, ran toward me at an extraordinary speed. I didn't stand a chance to fight back, and in mere moments, I was ripped into pieces. Before my consciousness slipped away, I struggled to glance down at my lower abdomen one last time, and my lips quivered. "My baby, I'm sorry I failed you…"

You... you did say you'd pay me 1,000€ euros for an hour, right?" she asked. "Yes, Allysa, I confirm that's what I said," he replied with a big smile. Allysa lay down on the bed, and the second man approached her. She thought she should be wary, but strangely, the man inspired confidence. "Now, you're going to have to take off your clothes," he said in his soft, warm voice... There are encounters that turn a life upside down, moments when fate knocks at the door with disconcerting brutality. Allysa Moreau never imagined that losing her virginity for 1,000€ euros in a sordid basement would lead her to cross paths with Paolo Mancini, a billionaire and mafioso whose empire extended far beyond her comprehension. Driven from her apartment, desperate and confronted with the relentless reality of poverty, Allysa had made a decision she could never forget. She had sold herself, not for pleasure at first, but as events unfolded, she developed a taste for it, and to prove herself right, she told herself it was for survival. For Paolo, this story was not trivial. Allysa had his youthful features and palpable innocence, a curiosity in a world where everyone wore masks. Their story was not meant to exist. A mafia billionaire and a homeless teenager had nothing in common. But in a world where rules are meant to be broken, Allysa and Paolo would discover that chance doesn't exist. Desire, fear, and secrets would forge bonds.

He married her to save his empire. He divorced her the moment he no longer needed her. But what if the woman he tossed aside... was the only one who ever truly loved him? Rebecca Henshaw was once Davis Gates’ devoted wife — graceful, loyal, and deeply in love. Their marriage, born from family alliance, blossomed into something real... until one tragic night, a deadly fire, and a web of lies tore them apart. Branded a murderer in her husband’s eyes, Rebecca endured years of cold silence and rejection. Now, just as she discovers she’s pregnant with his child, Davis returns home — not with love, but with divorce papers. Heartbroken and humiliated, Rebecca walks away, determined to rebuild her life far from the man who shattered it. But Davis never expected her to rise like a phoenix. Behind her soft smile lies a thriving empire, a powerful identity, and a secret that changes everything. When danger begins to stalk her, Davis steps in — not out of guilt, but something far more dangerous: love. Now he wants her back. But Rebecca is no longer the woman who once begged for his affection. She’s stronger. Smarter. And she’s not alone. Can Davis break through the walls he built — before another man takes her for good? Or is his greatest regret losing the one woman he was too blind to treasure?

''After a few seconds of them staring at one another, Dante finally spoke. But his voice had changed; it was breathless and soft, echoing with a sweetness that Nate could have never imagined existed within him. With the knife left on his palm for Nate to grab, he cooed sheepishly, "Can you...tease me...with this?" Nate Kennedy was devastated when his parents announced their moving overseas. As for him, he was forced to move to a new city, get an apartment near his aunt and enroll in a brand new school. It all started going left when he encountered an assassin named Dante Hercules known not only in their city, but across the entire territory. But Nate didn't know he was an assassin when NAte threatened to kill him after Dante had laid a hand on his aunt. Neither did he know that Dante was into submissive sexual pleasure, relished being dominated violently and carelessly. He had been looking for someone for years and years, until now; he found Nate Kennedy. That is the deal; Nate must keep Dante sexually satisfied. If he fails, he dies, without any remorse. But that was what he thought in the beginning; what happens when emotions start to get involved? When one falls in love with the other? When the dangerous lifestyle of Dante puts Nate's life in jeopardy, which he never thought he would care for?

In the coastal quiet of Baler, a studio is born—not of architecture, but of intention.* Founded by Yam, a poet whose words cradle pain gently, and Franc, an artist who paints tenderness into walls, the studio becomes a refuge for those learning to stay—with grief, love, longing, and themselves. As visitors arrive, they leave behind more than footprints: a sigh recorded in bamboo, a poem tucked into the “Found Letters” shelf, a mural painted in crooked lines. Through zines, tea, silence, and sketchbooks, the studio teaches softness as revolution. Ren creates the *Window of Soft Returns*, an installation of anonymous voice recordings—each whisper forming a community of echoes. Drew builds the *Staircase With No Wrong Turns*, inviting people to walk through emotions without shame. Franc offers brushstrokes as brave work, and Yam curates writing circles that map healing in half sentences. Together, they host festivals that feel like hugs, and they begin traveling their archive, letting softness cross oceans. Even those who once left—like Miguel—return, discovering that some doors never truly close. Others, like Tala, capture the studio’s sound and turn it into a podcast of breath and becoming. Over seventy chapters, the studio transforms into something larger than itself: a mural of memory, a sanctuary for second chances, a place where return is sacred and voice is proof of survival. In the final bloom, the studio stands not as a monument—but as a reminder: > *“Staying isn’t easy. > But chosen together, > it becomes home.”*

" Do i scare you, Micaela." "Your majesty." I whimper, avoiding his gaze. I couldn't muster the courage to meet him in the eyes, not when his intimidating demeanour blocked every sense of reasoning. " mea bella mate ," the way he uttered those strange words, so soft, so delicate, like a sweet caress. Yet I couldn't bring myself to be swayed by his tactics. He wasn't just the king but a man betrothed to another, and I was merely a maid assigned to serve him. "What would Anastasia think if she walks in on our compromising position?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. " I couldn’t give two sh*t what she thinks or feels." His tone was so calm yet frightening. " She means absolutely nothing to me." ♧♧♧ Micaela Whitlock was born and raised inside the Palace, having little experience with life beyond its gates. Despite the benefit of working at the palace, her life was anything but enjoyable. It has been 100 years since the beast overran the human world, eradicating the vast majority of people and enslaving the remainder. Unfortunately, her parents had been among the people who had been taken prisoner. She followed instructions to the letter, doing everything in her power to blend in and go unnoticed until an awful event occurred and irrevocably altered her life.