Standing Ovations

Back when we were still in love, I heard from someone else that Charlie Grant had been getting unusually close to his secretary. He never offered an explanation. He let me dig for the truth on my own. Over the past five years, I quietly collected countless photos of them together—having lunch, leaving late-night meetings, even traveling for business—but none of them offered conclusive proof of cheating. Until the day he proposed to me. There was a giant screen set up. It was supposed to play a romantic video Charlie had prepared just for the proposal, but the screen suddenly cut to something else. A video of Charlie at a hospital, standing beside his secretary as she underwent a pregnancy check-up. In the video, the doctor clearly referred to Charlie as her husband… and the father of her child. His secretary burst into tears on the spot and apologized to me repeatedly. She sobbed as though she were the victim. Charlie, however, stood there with a cold expression and said flatly, "She's an unwed mother. She was helpless. I was just accompanying her for the checkup. The doctor must've misunderstood." Everyone braced for a dramatic scene. However, I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry. I only reached up and slowly removed the delicate flower hairpiece from my head. I set the hairpiece down. Then I looked Charlie in the eyes and spoke calmly. "You're right. It is sad that she’s pregnant and all alone. "This marriage proposal was meant for her. Not me." I gave a faint smile. "May you enjoy a blissful life. And… congratulations on the baby."

Mariyah Aragon's only goal in life was to give her family a better life. In order to achieve this goal, she needs to study and work hard to pay off her parents' sacrifice for her. And she achieved it. One night, she was ordered by her mom to return a white handkerchief and pay a sum of money her mother borrowed to her Aunt Helen, she obeyed her by thinking it was just the only order to her But she was deceived by the person she least expected to do it. Her mom literally paid her debt. Neither a money nor a letter of extension for the payment was given, she was the payment. She is the payment. She swallowed hard as she stared at those pair of dark grey eyes. Shels standing alone with him in his open balcony, doesn't know why she was there and how did she get there. But her mind can't seem to perceive what is happening after hearing those words to him. Did she hear him right? Was she really married to him? And what really shook her world, was she really married to the Alpha?

"M-Mate.." She mumbles the words, mesmerized by the haughty piece of flesh standing before her. Her coyote eyes glaze over as if in a trance that she can't snap out of. The figure cocked its head to the side, engulfing the view of Nadia as if she was a meal. A low snarl rose from within it. Mate.. Her inner canine explodes with relief, howling incessantly. There is no way this is my mate. She shoveled the coyote thoughts aside and stepped back, but the darkened figure only followed her lead and stepped forward simultaneously. The moonlit opening among the trees shed light on the figure to reveal an evermore astounding creature. "No.." She whispers in hopes of mercy. As the lone coyote of the pack, Nadia typically keeps her head low and submits to the alphas orders-her lifelong friend Dakota. Forever grateful for being accepted into the largest pack of the region, she has built strong friendships with everyone there. When she stumbles away from the territory, she realizes she is no longer in wonderland. Outside the wolf regions, lie the unspeakable enemy-vampires. Even with an ancient peace treaty in place, vampires still lurk the night, stalking innocent prey. What will happen when Nadia comes face to face with a blood-sucking leech?

"In other circumstances, I would've made you all mine" he whispered once more his eyes scanning me from head to toe. I felt my knees weaken, he winked, leaving me standing there unable to move a foot. Does he have to tease me this way? God!! This boy, is going to be the death of me!! What will happen when a girl starts falling for her hot arrogant friend who happens to live the next room? when Scarlett's best friend from childhood Anthony is back to hometown after twelve years, what will happen when she discovers how much he changed? he's this hot irresistible and arrogant guy, who started living with her under the same roof.

**"This isn’t just any party, it’s your wedding."** The words hit me like a truck as I stood frozen in disbelief. **"To Angelo Rizzo."** My stepbrother’s voice was cold, detached. My heart pounded in my chest. **"You’re joking, right?"** But one look at his face told me he wasn’t. **"You’re the payment for my debt to the Cosa Nostra."** His betrayal was a knife twisting in my gut. --- Attending a party with my stepbrother, I was prepared for an ordinary night. Instead, I was thrown into a nightmare. Without warning, I found myself standing beside Angelo Rizzo—a man as feared as he is cold—as his bride. My stepbrother owed the Cosa Nostra money, and I was his only way out. With no escape and no choice, I now wear a wedding ring tied to a man I fear. Three hours later, my world has turned upside down. There’s no running from Angelo, no hiding from the life ahead. My only hope? To survive being married to the infamous Angelo Rizzo.

Faustina "Austina" Villacorta was fond of reading reincarnation stories. As a full-time actress, this hobby also helped her enhance her memory. It was a usual hectic day at work. She was in the backseat of the car, reading the book her PA bought for her. She had no idea that such a typical day would be her last. When she woke up, she found out that she reincarnated into the last book she was reading. Not just that, she was also soon to be the wife of a mafia boss. She became the substitute wife as Rendyl Revamonte! Everything seemed so unreal. Until she was finally standing with him in front of the altar with no time to cope up with the sudden contractual marriage. "I'll pay you a million. Be my substitute wife for a year. After that, you're free." The male lead who was also known as the merciless Mafia Boss. "How's my daughter?" The oh-so-called rich father. To survive in her new world, she must do everything-even if it means putting her life at risk. Will she successfully end this one-year contract with her limbs intact and without being discovered to be nothing more than a mere reincarnated substitute wife of the mafia boss?

Jenny is hunts werewolves. She entered werewolf territory after a teammate harmed her on a mission. She changed into William' slave, a powerful werewolf at the time. He is the most ruthless werewolf, though. Jenny ran away several times and was recaptured. After many Events, Jenny discovers that she is not just an ordinary person; it seems her vital Body also flows the blood of Alpha. Will Jenny find out her identity? Standing between humans and werewolves, which side will Jenny choose? Can she and Charles get together?

"You are mine!" He said with his dominating voice holding my neck, he was choking me, I was frightened to the very core, shaking. "The moment I paid you that huge sum of money, you became an asset to me" he added "You can't back out now. It's too late" he said again, still holding me. "I'm not yours" I managed to say in a cracked voice. "I will never be yours" I replied with a cracked voice trying to breathe." "You are nothing, you are just a mere whore with nothing else but a standing pole, a hoe who spreads her legs for money and  that's all you will ever be. A stripping hoe!" he said, tears rolled down from my cheeks as I began to cry. "If you try to break the deal we have by revealing it to an outsider, you will be dead! And come to think about it, who would believe the words that come from a stripping hoe like yourself? No one, no one will ever believe you! Because you know what you are? A complete Street whore. That's exactly what you are and what you will ever be." "If I'm a complete whore to you. Why did you choose me?" "Because you are nobody. I don't want my family digging into your profile and finding something, so I chose you. You were the perfect match that fit into all of this charade" he said intuitively. "I don't want to do this anymore,  I will wire you back your money first thing tomorrow morning" I said, trying to leave. He drags my hand vigorously. I was scared to the very core, shaking like a drenched rat. "You don't seem to understand the concept of our agreement, you don't seem to understand, Khloe"

Dark Mafia Scene “Who laid a hand on you? Dallion's voice was low, cold, and dangerous. His dark gaze bore into her, daring her to stay silent. When she didn’t respond, the tension snapped like a whip, his voice booming through the room, “Who?” The butler, standing rigid against the wall, swallowed hard before stammering out the words, “It... it was Mr. Rivers, sir.” The atmosphere turned deadly as Dallion's jaw clenched, fury igniting in his eyes. “Bring him to me.” The butler’s eyes widened in fear. “N-now, sir? It’s... it’s late.” Dallion's hand, once braced against the wall near her head, slowly curled into a fist. His eyes never left her face, his possessiveness was palpable. Without looking at the butler, his voice dropped to a lethal calm, “Do you need a better time? Or shall I break your legs to teach you urgency?” The butler didn’t need any more encouragement. He fled the room, returning twenty minutes later with a trembling Mr. Rivers. “Dallion, my friend, what’s all this about?” Rivers began, his voice casual as if nothing was amiss. But Dallion wasn't’t here for pleasantries. His eyes slid to the knife stabbed into the apple on the table, and in one fluid motion, he yanked it free, the blade glinting in the dim light. Without a word, Dallion grabbed Rivers outstretched hand, slamming it onto the table. The sharp scream that followed echoed in the room as Dallion, with one swift movement, sliced through the man’s fingers. Blood splattered across the polished wood as Rivers screamed in agony, clutching his mutilated hand. “No one touches what belongs to me,” Dallion's voice was eerily calm, his expression devoid of any sympathy.

They say marrying a billionaire is easy, until you’re the one standing at the altar. Ethan Steele is everything I swore to avoid: cold, controlling, and emotionally unavailable. But when death came knocking, I had no choice than to accept a deal that would change everything….