Stares Blankly

After Hours A Small-Town Forbidden Romance Alli never meant to fall for him. Eighteen, freshly graduated, and slinging drinks at the town’s no-frills dive bar, she was just looking for a paycheck and a way out of her quiet life. But then Johnny started showing up—twenty-five, devastatingly handsome, and haunted by more than just his late-night whiskey. Everyone knows Johnny. The town's favorite bad decision. A brooding mechanic with blue eyes that burn and a reputation tangled up with Layla, the town’s resident scandal—and someone else's wife. But when Alli catches Johnny’s gaze from across the bar, something ignites. Something forbidden. Something explosive. What starts as subtle glances and lingering stares turns into late-night texts, a kiss that ruins them both, and a fire that neither of them can put out. Just when Alli begins to believe there might be more between them, Layla drops a bomb: she’s pregnant. Now, Alli must face the truth—was she just a distraction? Or is Johnny just as trapped in his past as she fears? In a town where everyone talks and secrets are currency, love after hours might be the most dangerous thing of all.

The room is dimly lit, the air is filled with the smell of sex and alcohol; the guy laying next to the girl is panting heavily. She on the other hand is laying next to him, all curled up; soft whimpers are coming out of her lips. The guy wraps his muscular arms around her waist and pushes her a little away from him. She opens her eyes halfway through and stares at the guy, his hair sticking to his forehead due to the sweat; his dark brown eyes are closed. His sharp features are glistening, when the little rays of the sun hits his face that is coming in through the window. Forwarding her hand, she caresses his thin lower lip with her index finger and closes her eyes. "Get out." He says in a harsh tone from beside her. Her eyes flutter open completely hearing his harsh words; she always thinks why he acts so badly with her? Retracting her hand back to herself she sits up, her lower belly aches in the bitter sweet pain. A groan comes out of her mouth and her hands go straight to on top of her lower belly, to caress it. His clothes and hers are scattered around on the floor. The entire room is a mess, the bed sheet is all crinkled; pillows are off the bed.

After years of struggling to survive, Akayda Jordan finally lands her dream job — personal assistant/secretary in one of the best companies in the whole of California. To celebrate her new beginning, she decides to give one last “performance” at the elite club she’s about to leave behind. One night. One masked encounter. One forbidden act. But fate twists cruelly. The man she had danced for in the dark turns out to be her new boss — Damian Knight. He’s engaged. She’s desperate to keep her secret buried. But when Damian starts sensing something achingly familiar about his new assistant — the scent of her perfume, the way she looks away when he stares too long — the walls between them begin to crack. But he was sure the girl with the big glasses was not the girl with the mask and firefly tattoo who had woken up a hunger in him. Soon, professionalism turns into tension. Tension turns into temptation. And the closer he gets to the truth, the more dangerous her secret becomes. Because if Damian ever discovers she’s the masked girl he’s been searching for… she might lose not just her job, but her heart.

He divorced her for another woman, not knowing she was carrying his heirs. For three years, Elara was the invisible wife of Lucian Thorne. She warmed his bed, managed his life, and loved him in silence. In return, he gave her cold stares and divorce papers on their anniversary, accusing her of betraying his company. Heartbroken and pregnant, Elara signed the papers and vanished into the night. Five years later, Lucian is the King of Wall Street, but he is haunted by the memory of the wife he discarded. When a mysterious, stunning CEO named "Ella" arrives in the city to acquire a rival company, Lucian is drawn to her. But this isn't the meek Elara he remembers. She is powerful, engaged to a handsome doctor, and she looks at Lucian with nothing but disdain. And she isn't alone—she has two children who look suspiciously like him. When Lucian discovers the truth, he falls to his knees. "Elara, please, come home." She looks down at him and smiles coldly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Thorne. My husband is dead to me. You are just a stranger." Can the Billionaire win back the heart he shattered, or is it truly too late?

17 was the year everything shattered. My parents divorced. My lover cheated. My best friend deceived me. Now, all I want is to survive senior year in silence. But silence isn’t possible when your skin suddenly glows with weird runes, the world freezes in arithmetic class, and a recruiter pulls you to The Obsidian Academy school for monsters that shouldn’t exist. I don’t know what I am. But the boys here… they appear determined to find out: A storm-eyed werewolf who saves me but swears I’ll ruin him. A vampire prince who says my blood is his alone. A dragon boy who nearly burns me alive protecting me. A sinfully hot professor who stares at me like I broke his heart in another life. I came here hoping for answers. Instead, I’ve unearthed a curse older than the Academy itself, one that binds me to them in ways I can’t fight. And when passion becomes deadly, treachery bleeds deeper than love. I thought I was human. But the monsters aren’t my foes. The true risk is what I’m becoming.

They're supposed to be forbidden. At least, it’s what I keep telling myself whenever I see them. Yet, when my once close friends of 18 yrs begin to drift away, I’m suddenly left standing, alone, even as they move into their new roles within the pack. My role being null and void, even with me being born the son of a Gamma. Always being told I’m useless as the pack treats me with zero respect. “Worthless Runt” “Freak” “Pathetic” Only a few choice words that my pack likes to use against me whenever they see me. And when becoming bruised and battered seems to be a newfound favorite I take a risk and try to flee only to be stopped by them. My future Alpha, Beta and Delta. “Where are you going?” “Out” “Uh huh sure, and you're taking that with you?” Snatching my bag, they move to look at me with knowing stares, a stare filled with longing, pain and purpose. “Give that back.” “I think not little mate, your ours, now and forever and were not letting go” Crap. I think things just got a whole lot more complicated than it needed to be.

Abandoned in the pouring rain, Aleira Tan was left to pick up the broken pieces of her life while carrying her unborn child. For five years, she endured heartbreak, judgment, and the struggles of single motherhood—until a mysterious man once held an umbrella over her head and vanished into the night. She never expected to see him again. Now desperate for a fresh start, Aleira applies for a job at Montenegro Group—one of the country’s most elite companies. But nothing prepares her for the shock of discovering that her new boss is none other than him—Brent Montenegro. The cold, powerful billionaire who pretends not to recognize her… but whose eyes betray a different story. Strict. Mysterious. Untouchable. Brent hires her without explanation, keeping his distance—but always watching. Their unspoken tension grows with every encounter, and soon, secrets from their past begin to surface. Behind Brent’s icy exterior lies a man fighting his own battles—and Aleira might just be the light he never knew he needed. But can a billionaire torn between family expectations and buried emotions fall for a struggling single mom? In a world full of secrets, status, and silent stares… Will love find a way to rewrite their fate?

Maria's life wasn't perfect, her father died when she's 10 so she needed to work early as possible to help her mom. Because of her young age, she had no choice but to sell feet pics at 13 just to have money, to survive. Her mother married another man, she thought her life will be less cruel, having another parent to provide for them but it's the other way around. She decided to moved out, to be free from those creepy stares of her step father behind her mother's back. As she moves away, and continue her illegal earnings she met, Jackson one of her longest client. The guy is persistent, demanding and controlling but Maria keep on pulling herself away. She knows her goal, she's not easy to persuade and even how weak she is inside her mind will quickly block every poison that the guy will throw.. even how much money he'll invest to get closer to her. How long will Maria push the guy if her heart is slowly giving away? How long will Jackson endured every push if he's freaking enjoying his stay under the girl's sheet?

Samara comes closer to me, now studying my face. Her eyes are wandering all over my facial features. I contort my face in confusion at her weird stares, "Umm, hey-" "Listen, can you wear my wedding dress and be a bride at my place?" She questions. Ec-excuse me? I give her a long stare. I think she is joking and would burst into laughter any minute...but she doesn't. Her face has no trace of humour. "What?" I quirk up my brow. "You've to be a bride at my place." She repeats with no hesitation. Cold shiver trickles through me. .... An Accidental Bride. A Mistaken Groom. A Marriage Neither Saw Coming. 18-year-old Sanaya Frances was finding a way to pay for college. Becoming a cook in the grand Hobsons estate seemed like the perfect opportunity—until a twist of fate lands her in a wedding dress, hidden behind a veil, taking vows meant for someone else. Ashar Hobsons, 25, a powerful businessman, thinks he's marrying his childhood fiancée. But his world turns upside down—he’s been tricked into marrying a stranger. Two strangers. One unplanned marriage. No easy way out. And definitely… no room for love. Or is there?

[1st Account in the Tale of Shadow's Enigma] Z doesn't sit well in a world where a shadow is manipulated. As someone who has no memory of her past, she can't summon her shadow like others used to. It's a fatal mistake that may as well cost her life. But she can't worry with the facing danger when she's the only one who sees their world becoming undone. The legend of Dark, the only Shadow Wielder able to control time, is resurfacing once again. With a mob of wielders going on a rampage and going missing here and there, Z is losing a battle that haven't even started yet. In her haste, she makes the first mistake of leading her only friend to his death. And commits the second one by signing a deal with Dark himself just so he can be resurrected. Dark sends Z in a prestigious school where she's been thought of as someone she doesn't know. And while she has to endure living a stolen life, listening to a brat's whining, being patient with a maniac's snide remarks, and taking in the dazzling cold stares of an enthralling man whose eyes are only set at her, will she allow the world to crumble in the hands of Dark any further? And sacrifice every wielder alive just for a single friend?