Stacking The Deck

I never expected to fall for him, my best friend's father. From the moment I saw Marcus stride across the deck, water dripping from his shoulders, I knew this summer would change everything. I was eighteen now, no longer the little girl who used to play in his backyard. But to him, I was still just Lily's friend. Still off-limits. Still invisible. One vacation. One chance. I'd make him see me differently, even if it meant playing a dangerous game. Because some desires are too strong to ignore, and some men are worth every risk.

My sister wanted to make a quick buck selling herself on a cruise ship. I tried desperately to stop her, but my entire family held me down and drowned me in the ocean instead. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment before she left. This time, I smiled while helping her with her makeup. "Let me send you off properly, sis." Later, her screams echoed through the nightmare aboard that ship. I stood safe in the arms of a mafia Don who held me close. "Figlia, your Papa finally found you." Meanwhile, my adoptive parents and sister were on their knees across the deck, begging me to spare their worthless lives.

For Ava Monteverde, all her life, she was never ready. She was never ready for the death of her father. She was never ready for paying all the expenses. She was never ready when her mother suddenly had cancer.  But she survived anyway. So when Ethan Lancaster suddenly arrived in her life, she was never ready at all. Left with no choice, stacking bills to pay pushed her curiosity to a mysterious ad looking for surrogate mothers. There she met Ethan, the man who built his walls so high, cold and distant who was forced by his father to produce an heir.  One thing led to another, now Ava had to give Ethan an heir. Now she doesn't even know if she would survive this at all. Relationship bound by duty and responsibility.  Will Ava be able to give Ethan what he wants, or will she be Ethan's first failed transaction?

"Do you want me to stop?" Nicholas asked me in a seductive voice. His hands traveled toward my birth pearl. My body arched from the ticklish sensation his hands were giving me. "Tell me, Rosetta. Do you want me to stop?" "No..." "No what, Rosetta? No what?!" "No, Daddy. Please Daddy, wreck me. Pleasure me...." After losing everything—her father, her fortune, and her future—Rosetta Morgan is desperate. The bills are stacking up, and the world she's known has turned cold. Then comes an offer she can't refuse: one man, one deal, one way out. Nicholas Rivas is a billionaire with a body built for sin and a heart frozen by the past. He doesn't do love. He does control. But Rosetta is unlike anyone he's ever met—fierce, vulnerable, and too tempting to ignore. Their arrangement is simple: no strings, no emotions. Just pleasure, power, and enough sparks to burn down every rule he's ever made. But when passion turns possessive and feelings get in the way, the lines start to blur—and the cost of falling might be more than either of them bargained for.

"Do you want me to stop?" tanong ni Nicholas sa akin gamit ang pang-aakit na boses. Naglalakbay ang kaniyang mga kamay patungo sa aking perlas na sinilangan. Napaarko ang katawan ko sa kiliti at sensasyon na binibigay sa akin ng kaniyang kamay. "Tell me, Rosetta. Do you want me to stop?" "No..." "No what, Rosetta? No what?!" "No, Daddy. Please Daddy, Wreck me. Pleasure me...." **** After losing everything—her father, her fortune, and her future—Rosetta Morgan is desperate. The bills are stacking up, and the world she's known has turned cold. Then comes an offer she can’t refuse: one man, one deal, one way out. Nicholas Rivas is a billionaire with a body built for sin and a heart frozen by the past. He doesn’t do love. He does control. But Rosetta is unlike anyone he's ever met—fierce, vulnerable, and too tempting to ignore. Their arrangement is simple: no strings, no emotions. Just pleasure, power, and enough sparks to burn down every rule he’s ever made. But when passion turns possessive and feelings get in the way, the lines start to blur—and the cost of falling might be more than either of them bargained for.  

At the yacht party, everyone watches as Sophia Montgomery falls overboard by accident, whereas I dive in after her to save her. When I reach her, she clings to me, dragging us both under. Jack Harrison doesn't hesitate to jump in. He pushes me away before pulling her into his arms. Up on deck, the crowd erupts in cheers, applauding the hero for saving the damsel in distress. Camera flashes go off endlessly. Meanwhile, I struggle alone in the freezing ocean to reach the ladder. No one notices me. The next morning, still burning with fever, I place a document in front of him. "I want a divorce," I demand, my voice hoarse from swallowing seawater. Jack frowns. "Just because of last night? Sophia can't swim, and it was an emergency. Since you can, you could make it back yourself." A laugh escapes my lips. Of course. I can only rely on myself. I've been doing it for the past five years. He only has eyes for Sophia, so, of course, he doesn't care whether I live or die.

“WAKE UP, DANIELA!” The death warning, yet rather a call that Daniela dreamed about after walking up in the series of chances, greed, sacrifices, and the seven deadly sins, and from an inevitable chance to turn back into time and run into the loop of space and dimension. To her life that was surrounded with lies, blessed fate, but curse destiny she is entwined to save the person who is long dead from the present that she never had in the first place. Now being stunned by the life she never dreams of having, she runs toward the series of miseries behind the hidden books of the reincarnated blood she bares. “Death reincarnated, that is your world and your book.” To the chances that were led by greed, longing or hope, will the past that alters by the son of darkness, will long be able to vanish? What if what everyone knew was a lie, and the lie that they are trying to run away from is the truth they are seeking after all? Will the world they are walking that is filled with the unknown they only knew will lead them to the truth of who is the clone from the original? Can she solve the puzzle of the first book in her world that revolves in the mystery of a tarot deck? From the series of reincarnation and dimension can she solve the real mystery of ‘Who is the real dead one?’

After my rebirth, I avoided my family and my boyfriend like the plague. When they tried to throw me a birthday party, I faked an urgent business trip to dodge it. When my parents pleaded with me to move back, I secretly bought my own house that very night. When my boyfriend popped the question, I spun on my heel and married someone else. In my previous life, my sister and I were swept away in a raging flood. By sheer luck, a jagged tree branch snagged my clothes, saving me from the depths, but my sister drowned in the merciless current. My parents, consumed by grief and rage, gripped my throat and screamed, "If it weren't for you, Andrea would still be alive!" My boyfriend acted like it was no big deal, offering half-hearted comfort before we tied the knot. But on our wedding anniversary, during a family cruise, they cornered me on the deck and shoved me overboard. "Time to taste drowning yourself!" they hissed. It turned out they had never gotten over Andrea's death. My boyfriend had never forgotten about her. When my eyes fluttered open again, I found myself back on that fateful day. This time, I vowed to live for myself, reclaiming the joy they'd stolen from me.

During spring break, my family's housekeeper's son, Ethan Shaw, steals my black card and takes the entire class on a luxury trip to Norkin. He books out an entire fireworks show to impress my girlfriend, Claire Sanders. Then, he treats everyone to first-class tickets for the cruise while basking in the spotlight. But when I discover he's using my card and confront him, he teams up with my girlfriend to twist the story. They accuse me of being jealous of him. Cornered on the deck, I'm about to pull out my phone to prove it when Ethan suddenly shoves me over the railing. I'm left hanging by one desperate hand. His voice is ice-cold. "Lucas is just picking a fight because he's after my money. I can't sleep soundly with him around." On Ethan's signal, his lackey crushes my fingers one by one until my grip fails. I fall into the open sea, ending as food for the fish. When I open my eyes, I find myself back on the day Ethan is booking the fireworks show. Watching him revel in the spotlight, I take out my phone and call the bank to cancel the card. This time, I want to see just how he plays the lavish big shot.

Before the engagement ceremony takes place, my fiance, Vincenzo Rizzi, makes a formal announcement on the deck of a cargo ship docked at the new harbor. Apparently, my younger stepsister, Sofia Russo, will become his legitimate wife. Vincenzo has an arm wrapped around Sofia's waist. As they stand beneath the spotlight, Vincenzo smiles tenderly at her. "According to the mafioso's rules, only those who have received the core elders' acknowledgment shall become the Madre of the family. Others are nothing but lovers and mistresses." Under the family elders' blessings, Vincenzo gives Sofia a black diamond necklace. Then, they exchange vows with each other and are now engaged. I just watch the ceremony take place quietly. Then, I make an appointment to have an abortion. I have loved Vincenzo since I was 16 years old. I'm 28 years old now, meaning I've been in love with him for 12 years. Yet, Sofia is the only one he has ever loved. In that case, I choose to let go of him once and for all. After that, I travel to a hidden safehouse located in Sombral. All I've left for Vincenzo is a letter stating the termination of our engagement and a farewell gift. But the man, who has never shown concern toward me this whole time, ends up breaking down to the point he doesn't even have the mood to deal with his family matters.