Starbound How To Breathe Underwater

Preston High was supposed to be my chance at a better life. Instead, I’m the scholarship girl, the outsider everyone whispers about. Every hallway stare reminds me I don’t belong. I’ve spent my life surviving, not feeling. Love? I don’t even know what that means. Then Asher sees me, the quiet boy with kind eyes who makes me feel safe for the first time. But just as I start to breathe again, Adrian crashes in, the arrogant bad boy who rules the halls with his smirk and dares me to feel things I don’t understand. Two hearts. Two risks. One choice. Preston High is testing more than my strength… it’s testing my heart. And when the truth finally forces me to choose, one question remains: will I discover what it means to be loved, or will I lose myself trying?

She chased a rich man for revenge. She collided with a mafia king instead. Ophelia Barclay has spent her entire life playing by the rules of a family that never wanted her. Now, after a humiliating betrayal by her fiancé and stepsister days before her wedding, she’s done playing nice. Revenge is the only thing on her mind, and she knows exactly how she’ll get it: find a rich, powerful man who can elevate her beyond the Barclays’ reach, and leave them choking on the dust of her success. First-class flights become her hunting ground. But when she meets Ludwig Gallo, a man whose presence steals the very air from her lungs, her plans unravel before they even begin. He's everything she’s been looking for: dangerous, devastatingly handsome, and so wealthy it hurts to breathe near him. The problem? He doesn’t even glance her way. Humiliated and desperate, Ophelia thinks she’s lost everything… until fate throws her right into Ludwig’s world. Tracking a lost necklace, her most treasured possession, she finds herself sneaking into the heavily guarded Gallo estate, only to be captured by the mafia king himself. Mistaken for a spy, imprisoned in enemy territory, Ophelia’s survival instincts kick in. When Ludwig proposes a deal to pretend to be his girlfriend to silence rumours that have driven his mother into depression, Ophelia sees an opportunity. She’ll play the doting lover, smile for the cameras, win the favour of one of the most feared families in the underworld… and use Ludwig's wealth and power to destroy everyone who wronged her. But Ophelia didn’t plan on Ludwig being more than just a cold-blooded king. Beneath his ruthless exterior, she finds a man haunted by a violent past.

“Get up and strip” The unknown man commanded, his deep voice reverberated through the room bringing me out of my ogling phase. I stared on mortified as sudden realization hit me. I’ve just been bought for a one night stand by this unbelievably handsome man, but that means I’ll loose my virginity tonight!. Feeling his piercing gaze at me, I get up to undress but instinctively move towards the counter for a glass to alleviate the burning feeling creeping through my veins. “God damn it!, why won’t it bulge, I’m positive this zipper is determined to ruin my life”. I said underneath my breath as I dare not spare him a glance. I gulped as I summoned courage to meet his fierce gaze and with an almost inaudible tone I pleaded “It won’t bulge, can you help me?” He closed the gap between us with long strides while I subconsciously retreated till I hit the wall, my breathe hitched as he locked my lips. “Pah!” The sound of a slap resounded through the room, My eyes filled with terror as I raised my hands to cover my mouth. What have I done? I asked mentally still stunned at my action. “How dare you!” He roared and I knew I was done for!. What would happen if a legitimate but outcast daughter of one of the prestigious families decides to sell her body for money and unexpectedly gets into a contract marriage with a cold blooded mafia boss? Will their encounter be just a one night stand? Why would the world’s richest and powerful tyrant choose to enter a marriage of convenience? Find out in <<>> Disclaimer: the book cover isn’t mine, credit goes to google

The deal was simple – have one dinner with the notorious crime lord, Declan Shaughnessy, and my dad’s gambling debts would be canceled. But I knew I was in deep trouble when he met me at the door looking fine as hell with those piercing blue eyes and a mouthwatering body built for sin. Over dinner, I could barely breathe when his hand grazed mine, and that wolfish grin set me quivering down below. An innocent slow dance quickly turned into a down-and-dirty horizontal mambo on his couch. Now I’ve become his burning obsession, and I’m trapped by the new debts my father owes the mafia. When that devilish grin spreads across Declan’s handsome face, I know that he'll never set me free-- especially now that I’m carrying his baby. ******** This steamy romantic suspense story is a standalone novel in the Wicked Billionaires Club series. Enjoy!

it turned out he would never respect me for two years of marriage. He kept considering me as a servant even if I had taken care his life for whole days. Eve was his lover. She left Bima, the man marrying me and made a contract with me when I was barely breathe due to my mother to commite suicide. My mother was freaking me out when she kept to hold herself with my father side even if the man continously abused my mother and cheating as well. Anyway, my father's affair was also Eve. Eve was a beauty in every single man's desire. What else could I do if in the end I run my life like my mother did. Yet, one day I found a doctor offering me a contract. That was an opportunity made me think I would divorce Bima. I could do that, definitely divorce him and made Eve paid all pain my mother got this time.

I knew there was no escaping it. My father’s sins would be my undoing. He was a wicked man, feared and hated by many, and now that he was dead, the weight of his crimes had fallen squarely on me. I didn’t even have the chance to grieve—or to breathe—before his Beta dragged me away from the south, from everything I’d ever known. I was supposed to be their Alpha. That was my birthright. But it didn’t matter. The pack had other plans for me, and being their leader wasn’t one of them. My father’s Beta delivered me to the northern Alphas, the very men who despised my father the most. And that’s when I learned the cruelest truth: they were my mates. But they didn’t want me. Warning: This is a reverse harem mild dark romance filled with intense emotions and themes that are not for the faint of heart. Read at your own risk. (This is an edited, well-structured version of the First Edition Scarlett) *******

Valentina accepts billionaire Raffaele Ricchezza’s marriage proposal to secure his inheritance, hiding her intent to ruin his empire, which she blames for her father’s death. Their cold arrangement sparks tension and unexpected attraction as they navigate power plays and hidden agendas. When Valentina uncovers the red flower—a Sumerian relic with stone-melting powers tied to Gilgamesh’s bloodline—she’s thrust into a global chase against enemies seeking to weaponize it. As ancient secrets unravel, love and trust become her greatest challenges. The story opens with Raffaele’s calculated offer, which Valentina accepts to infiltrate his world. Moving into his estate, she sabotages subtly while investigating the red flower and orichalcum, a mythical metal linked to Atlantis. Raffaele, intrigued by her strength, begins to thaw, but their clashes intensify as Valentina uncovers his interest in orichalcum’s commercial potential. Danger escalates when Tariq, a cunning double agent, raids Gilgamesh’s tomb, stealing artifacts and aligning with U.S. military forces eager to exploit the flower’s power. Valentina’s friend Maria faces threats from her abusive ex, Tullio, complicating her mission. From Baghdad to Machu Picchu, Valentina and Raffaele pursue clues across the globe. DNA tests reveal Valentina’s descent from Gilgamesh, granting her immunity to the flower’s curse. As Tariq and Camilla, Valentina’s treacherous stepmother, close in, betrayals deepen. A passionate night shifts their dynamic,but trust falters when Raffaele learns of Valentina’s initial deception. In a climactic underwater battle at Atlantis’s ruins, Valentina chooses to protect the orichalcum technology. Justice prevails as Camilla and Tariq are arrested, and Valentina’s pregnancy heralds hope. She restores Baghdad’s museum, honoring her father. With Raffaele, their twins embody a legacy of love and a green future.

EXTRACT. “Why should I hand you my heart again, when all you did was shatter it into a million pieces before?” Emily hissed. Alpha Robert took a daring step closer, “I know I messed everything up, but I can’t breathe without you. Please, just one more chance, and I’ll prove myself.” From behind Emily came a deep, resonant growl. Alpha James moved forward with a possessive intensity. “Step away, cousin. She’s my mate. My soul is bound to hers.” “Since when do I belong to anyone? Fate might decree it, James, but it doesn’t mean you own me.” Emily inquired. A menacing voice from the shadows then seized her attention, “And what about me, little omega? How do you explain this undeniable pull between us? Or are you too scared to admit that your enemy stirs your very core?” Alpha Michael questioned. *** Emily Parker, a wolfless omega, endures constant hatred and disdain from her own father and his family. But her world isn't entirely bleak; she has a loving fiancé who stands by her side. That is, until he shatters her heart by cheating on her with her half-sister, who turns out to be his true mate. Devastated, Emily is sent away by her father to another pack for her studies. Two years later, Emily returns to her father's pack, only to cross paths with the mysterious Monstrous brothers, the formidable sons of the Demontail pack. To her astonishment, she learns that she is the destined mate of the eldest brother, while the younger brother harbors a deep grudge against her. As if things couldn't get more complicated, her ex-fiancé now wants her back. Caught between three potent Alphas fighting for her heart. Who will win her heart: the destined mate, the enemy, or the ex-lover?

In the sun-drenched summers of Sardinia, Isabella finds a rare kind of freedom—far from the chaos of her high-powered life in New York and the suffocating legacy of her family’s ties to the mafia. For once, she can breathe, laugh, and be herself without fear or expectation. But the summer of 2021 changes everything. Haunted by the broken marriage of her parents—forced together by the iron grip of mafia tradition and the unyielding lineage of the Dons—Isabella has long abandoned the idea of love. Her heart is guarded, her trust fractured. Until she meets him. A stranger with secrets of his own. A man who sees her not as a pawn in a dynastic game, but as a woman worth knowing, worth loving. Their connection is instant, electric, and dangerous. Because in Isabella’s world, love is never simple—and freedom always comes at a price. As old loyalties clash with new desires, Isabella must choose between the life she was born into and the life she dares to dream of. In a land where the sea keeps secrets and the wind carries whispers, can love truly survive?

I tried to hide this secret. But wanting him burned inside me like a fever I could not shake. He is my best friend's brother. The one I should never touch. The kind of guy who could break you without trying. Every girl wanted him. So did I. He was my secret. My late-night fantasy. The one I craved but never dared to want out loud. Then one night, he looked at me like he finally saw me. Touched me like I was the only girl in the world. And just like that, I stopped pretending. Now we are stuck in something messy… Lust, secrets, and stolen nights. I know I should walk away. But I cannot breathe without him. I loved him quietly for years. Now I am his secret. And maybe the next girl he would break her heart. Can I stay alive without him? These feelings would kill me alive.