Stern Expression

That isn't fair," I said, my voice cracking. "I cannot marry someone I do not love, no matter how convenient it is for you. "I am not going to do it!" I was shivering with wrath. Madam Angelica sighed heavily, her expression intensifying. "You're being selfish, Anna," she said. "It's not just about you; it's about the entire family and the future. I understand you don't want to marry someone you don't love, but I need you to understand the importance of this decision." I was at a breaking point. I'd always been a polite girl, following what I was taught and never challenging my family's judgment. But this time, I was willing to fight for what I wanted. My joy was too precious to sacrifice for the sake of family responsibilities. "I won't do it," I shouted."I won't be part of this arranged marriage" I clutched my bag firmly and dashed off to work in rage. Anna is forced by her mom to marry a billionaire suitor Kevin Beyer in order to save her family from the debt her late father caused them. Her mother reluctantly approves of the marriage without caring about Anna's feelings, Anna was left with no other choice than to marry Kevin. Anna wondered how Johnny, her boyfriend, would feel when he heard about this and how she would cope with the rest of her life as the wife of a man she didn't love. She knew that this arrangement would be difficult, but she had no other choice. Would she ever find true love or happiness in this situation ? What did her lover do on hearing about this marriage?

A young psychologist, Maria Reyes, fresh out of college, decides to take her first freelance case to build her résumé. Feeling bold and free on her graduation night, she let herself loose after getting charmed by an alluring mysterious man. One drink leads to another and another, and she finds herself drowning in passion in his bed. She reads him like a map and falls for his scars before she even asks for his name. But the morning brings the brutal truth, Darian Wolfe is her father's enemy, a ruthless businessman, an heir to the empire sworn to destroy her father's legacy. She vanishes before he wakes, unable to face what has been done. Weeks later after being able to set up her new office, the past begins to blur until her first patient walks through the door. It's him, Darian Wolfe. Her expression freezes when she sees him. He walks around her office uninvited. He takes a seat without a word. The silence between them is thick with everything unsaid. And then, he looks unblinking in her eyes. "I have a lot to... unpack, Dr Reyes," he says, with a dark smile. "Let's start with a woman I met two weeks ago at a bar," he says, pulling out a red panty from his pocket.

Her only sin was having a killer body and innocent face which made the dreaded mafia lord, Lord Cassano obsessed with her. Shaking him off was impossible, he was everywhere. And he must have her, whether she liked it or not. It doesn't matter if he needed to cripple her boyfriend, or threaten her with the lives of her parents to make it happen. All he knew was that Aurora was his, and he was determined to keep her, no matter the cost or consequence. **** “Is this what you call love? You psycho! Every other day, I get kidnapped or threatened by your rivals and numerous enemies, get caught in a gun fire and witness your brutality. You have taken away my freedom and molded me into something I don't recognize. Yes, money is good. But this is not the kind of life I want for myself. I can't bear the curse of being your woman, set me free.” I roared, my eyes blazing with fury. I was past caring at this point, I can't survive this mad man. He hated being challenged, he might as well kill me. But to my surprise, psycho cupped my face and placed his forehead on mine with the most tender expression I have ever seen in his eyes. “I'm sorry, baby love. You have underestimated the degree of my selfishness. I will never let you go—unless you kill me.”

Meeting one’s mate was supposed to be a wonderful thing For Aurora however, it was hate at first sight. Attending Twilight Academy had always been her dream. But that dream quickly turns into a nightmare when she discovers she’s mated to the Lycan Prince. Theron Grey. Theron Grey would stop at nothing to make her life miserable. His life's mission, have her kicked out of Twilight Academy. Lycan’s, dominant ones with royal bloodlines, don’t get mated to mutts. Or do they? Because Theron, it seemed, was the exception. ***** ****** “Mates?” I whispered. It couldn’t be. “You’re my mate?” I asked again, my voice barely above a whisper. His expression darkened more. “Don’t ever say those words again,” he growled. Being his mate was disgraceful. A fact he was desperate to keep hidden. What exactly was the Moon Goddess high on when she made this ridiculous match?! “Well then, reject me!” I snapped. I was tired of being treated like I was nothing. “I can’t! That’s the thing!” he roared back. For some odd reason, rejection wasn’t an option. We were stuck with each other. Now, I was trapped in a school with a mate who loathed my very existence and wanted me gone. “This school cannot contain the both of us Leave!” he ordered. I met his gaze head-on. “Over my dead body.” ******** Aurora had been shielded her whole life like a secret. But Twilight Academy would force her to uncover the truth She belonged here more than she ever imagined. And beneath Theron’s cold, cruel exterior, maybe there was something else. A reason he needed her gone. Maybe pushing her away wasn’t just about who she was. Maybe it was about what he was afraid would be uncovered.

"What are you doing?" Alpha Albrecht's voice was low, almost a growl. "I… I'm doing what you want," I replied, my voice trembling. "I'm not resisting." He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. "Why the sudden change, Catriona? You've never been this… obedient." I met his gaze, my heart throbbing aggressively. His eyes scanned my body, lingering on the bruises and marks. His hand reached out, fingers brushing against a particularly dark bruise on my arm. I flinched but held my ground. "You're different," he muttered, more to himself than to me. "Yes, Alpha," I whispered, lowering my gaze. He tilted my chin up, forcing me to look at him. He studied me for a long moment, his expression stern. Finally, he nodded. "Get dressed!" "Huh?" I blinked, surprised by his command. If I remember correctly, he actually forced his way into me on this day. What has changed in 2012? ---------------- Catriona Barclay thought her life was over in Berlin when the ruthless Alpha Albrecht Conrad of the Shadow Pack killed her in 2021. Betrayed by those she trusted most, including her secret lover Finlay, and her best friend Greta, her world ended in tragedy. But, a mysterious force pulls her back in time to 2012, where she awakens nine years younger and armed with a chance to rewrite her fate. Determined to avenge her family's massacre and avoid her doomed future, Catriona devises a cunning plan against everyone who wronged her in the future. In the process, she uncovers truths about her family's true murderers and her rare special ability. She also discovered that Alpha Albrecht, the man she had hated her whole life and swore to bring down, is her fated mate chosen by the moon Goddess. Will she follow her quest for vengeance, or embrace a future she never imagined?

"Happy Birthday!" Caroline opened the door to Dillbert's office. He was Caroline's boss and lover. Caroline brought a cake that she made herself early this morning especially for Dillbert. But Caroline's eyes blinked when she saw Dillbert hugging a beautiful woman in a knee-length white dress. My intention was to give Dillbert a surprise but instead he got the surprise. The cake she was holding almost fell but Caroline reflexively held the cake with her other hand. Caroline hurriedly changed her shocked expression and bowed respectfully. "Who is she darling?" The beautiful woman asked while looking at Caroline with a cynical look. She looked at Caroline from head to toe. "She is just my personal assistant." Dillbert answered quickly without hesitation. Then Dillbert turned to the beautiful woman in his arms and tightened his embrace, as if afraid of losing her. "Just a personal assistant," Caroline thought. It's true that she's Dillbert's personal assistant but she's also his girlfriend.

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."

Amelia never expected her hidden secret to come out open in the middle of her father’s cherished porcelain collection. When she confessed her forbidden feelings, it was not just her father’s prized possession that shattered... it was their entire world. Bryan, a stern and overprotective father, had always seen his best friend, Ryan, as a trusted person, a man with a billion-dollar empire and a charming smile that can win over anyone. Anyone except his daughter... or so he thought. But Amelia wasn't the little girl he remembered. She was a grown woman now, strong-willed and hopelessly in love with the one man she’s not supposed to want. Ryan, for his part, knew he was walking on eggshells. Falling for his best friend’s daughter is the ultimate betrayal, but keeping his feelings bottled up was worse. When Amelia’s bold declaration crashed intotheir lives, secrets, guilt, and unspoken desires came to light, threatening to destroy everything. “ I’m a woman, Dad. I know what I want, ” Amelia said, but did she truly understand what was at stake? The silence that followed was deafening. And it was only the beginning.

“This is Abraham Blackwood, heir to the Blackwood empire, one of the richest families in the country." The moment I stepped ahead, he turned slowly and my breath caught in my throat. The shock of seeing him again struck me like a bolt of lightning. No… It can’t be him. But it was. Sitting there, casually sipping tea, was him—the man from the bar. The same piercing blue eyes locked onto mine, his expression shifting from mild amusement to disbelief. His sharp blue eyes pierced through the room and locked onto mine with an intensity that made my breath freeze in my throat. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. The memories of the night in the bar flooded back—his arrogance, his rude comments, his piercing gaze that had felt so unsettling. I stared at Alexander, still in shock. The man sitting across from me wasn't just any stranger. He was a billionaire—an heir to a vast fortune. My brother had been friends with him for years, and their families had arranged this marriage as part of a business partnership.

Suddenly, I was slammed against a cracked pillar. A strong arm pinned me by the throat, not enough to choke me, just enough to let me know I could be. And then I saw him. Amber eyes. Fierce. Burning. Too wild to be fully human. Too focused to be feral. Face contorted in boredom. The strange yet familiar man.. His body pressed against mine, tall, muscled, furious. I felt the tremble of his restraint as if the beast inside him was clawing to get out. “Smells like blood,” he growled, breath hot against my skin. “Yours?” I smiled despite myself, excitement seeping into my veins much to my annoyance. “Disappointed it’s not?” He didn’t blink. Just stared at me with that maddening, unreadable expression, as if I were a puzzle he already intended to break. I jerked my knee toward his groin, fast and vicious. But his reflexes were faster. He caught my leg. Held it midair, balancing me with one hand as if I weighed nothing. And for a heartbeat, we just… looked at each other. His eyes weren’t just amber. They were gold. Like molten metal cracked open under pressure. He was beautiful in that brutal, savage way, the kind of man carved from war and grief, not born. And I hated him for it.