Stupid Questions

I knock on the door, heart pounding like it always does when I’m about to see him. “Come in,” Justin’s voice calls—cool, smooth, and frustratingly calm. I take a deep breath and walk in, holding the folder tightly. “Here’s the report you requested, sir.” He doesn’t even glance at me. Just keeps typing, his expression unreadable. “You’re late,” he says without missing a beat. I clench my jaw. “There was a delay at the printer—” “No excuses, Joanna. Just do better next time.” Ouch. Professional and cold. As always. I nod, ignoring the sting in my chest. “Yes, sir.” I turn to leave, gripping the doorknob—just one more second and I’ll be out of this weird tension-filled office— “Wait.” I freeze. I turn around slowly. “Yes?” Justin stands now, walking toward me. In his hand, a familiar brown paper bag. He holds it out. “You didn’t have lunch.” I blink. “I’m fine.” “You skipped breakfast too. Eat.” I hesitate. “What is it?” “Chicken pesto. No onions.” My breath catches. He still remembers? “Why are you doing this?” I ask quietly. He shrugs, not meeting my eyes. “I just… remember things.” My fingers brush his as I take the bag. Warmth. Stupid warmth that shouldn’t still feel this familiar. Then, he looks at me—really looks at me. “You shouldn’t skip meals… wife.” Silence. My chest tightens. “Don’t call me that.” But my voice is too soft to sound convincing. I walk out before I say something I’ll regret. His words echo in my mind like a dangerous lullaby. Cold one second. Kilig the next. God… he’s still him. And that’s exactly the problem.

If hurting me was her aim she surely succeeded. She laughed thrilling at my silent anger. She knows I can do nothing even if I want to. I don't have a wolf and she knows it as she showed me her vicious claws. "Stand up," she ordered. Abandoning my food I scrambled up to my feet. "Very unattractive, I wonder how Krist thinks you are suitable for this job." She eyed me with disdain. I watched her pull out a blood dagger and handed it to me. Bewildered I took it. My eyes shooting a million questions at her. "Participating in the Bride Selection is just a tip in the ice," Amanda laughs enjoying my distress. "What matters is that you must kill the Alpha King Damien as soon as he marks you as his bride." I let the blood dagger fall to the ground in shock. They are sending me to kill the Alpha King Damien. Her words and her laughter rang through my thoughts. "...Kill the Alpha King Damien."

Financial reporter Zoey, known for her pride and icy beauty, and with a formidable business acumen, finds herself at the center of a scandal on the very day she and financial tycoon Barlen are to get their marriage license. An insider exposes her, claiming that she loves only Barlen's wealth and that their marriage is merely a product of her exquisite acting skills. Unaware of the brewing storm, Zoey and Barlen are in the midst of obtaining their license when the news breaks. Barlen, upon reading the revelations, 'borrows' Zoey's phone and promptly turns it off, facing the onslaught of public opinion with firm evidence in hand. Surrounded by media reporters, Barlen is bombarded with questions about his perspective on the scandal. He deliberately twists the narrative: "My wife, she doesn't just love my money. Could she possibly love someone else's?" The reporters press on, clarifying their query: "Do you mean she only loves money, not you as a person?" Barlen remains composed: "She loves my money, and I love her as a person. Is there a problem with that?" In a single sentence: He redeems her with all his love and warmth. How could I not be enamored with someone like you?

Serafina Vale didn’t want love anymore, she wanted war and a husband to help her start it. Her ex-fiancé slept with her stepsister and proposed to her on camera, in front of everyone. So yeah—she needed to hit back, fast and publicly. With help from her best friend, Rhea, she was supposed to meet a broke model at a diner. Sweet guy, easy to handle. Just enough to stir drama and ruin the happy couple’s fairytale. But she sat at the wrong table and accidentally proposed to the wrong man. Dorian Everhart was the opposite of harmless. He was cold, unreadable and terrifyingly rich. He absolutely had no business saying yes. But…he did. He married her the same day with no questions asked or rules attached either. She thought she was the one using him. But he didn’t seem to bulge, and now, she’s starting to wonder, who really set this up? Why does her stepsister flinch every time Dorian’s name comes up? and why does he know so much about her family? What the hell does he want from her? And worse….why does a part of her want him to take it?

into the dangerously sensual world of the genetically altered Breeds--and the humans who fill them with insatiable desire... He always knew he would betray her... Anya Kobrin was only sixteen when she first came to Del-Rey Delgado--the genetically altered rebel known as the Coyote Ghost. For six years they plotted to free a group of Coyote women kept in Anya's father's lab. As Anya matured into a woman, she and Del-Rey grew close...but on the day of the ambush, he broke his promise and shot her father. Filled with rage over the betrayal, Anya discovers an even stronger emotion is consuming her mind and body--the animalistic desire known as mating heat. Though Del-Rey feels it with the same intensity, Anya questions whether she can forgive him or trust him again. As they stealthily maneuver to bring the freed Breeds to safety, one question reigns supreme: Can Anya and Del-Rey survive their own heat?

Dynasty's life begins with a lot of promise when she’s young, but it all changes suddenly when tragedy strikes—her parents are gone. She ends up living with Beverly Catchings, a bitter woman who desires revenge. Growing up with Beverly, who has a twisted view of men, Dynasty starts to lose her trust in them. Beverly fills Dynasty's mind with anger, especially towards a man named Sheppard Choi, whom she blames for their suffering and her time in the hospital. Under Beverly's influence, Dynasty decides to take revenge on Mr. Choi. Yet, when she finally meets him, he turns out to be very different from what she had imagined. As she learns more about him, she questions everything she’s been told. Was Beverly being honest about her own past and even about what happened to Dynasty's parents? This realization sends Dynasty on a journey of self-discovery as she faces deep themes of loss, betrayal, and the potential for love. She struggles to break free from the pain of her past while trying to figure out who her true enemies are and who she can really trust.

I never meant to kiss him. It was a stupid mistake—a reckless moment fueled by too much adrenaline and the thrill of a party I should never have been at. But when my lips brushed against his, the world stopped. His hands gripped my waist, his breath tangled with mine, and for a fleeting second, I forgot who he was. Liam Blackwood. My stepbrother. The guy who had tormented me since the day our parents married. The brooding, tattooed bad boy with a reputation that made girls weak in the knees. I should have pulled away. I should have screamed. Instead, I let him deepen the kiss, let his touch set my skin on fire. Now, we’re trapped in a dangerous game of stolen glances, whispered threats, and undeniable chemistry. Every moment alone is a ticking bomb. Every brush of his fingers makes me crave something I can’t have. He’s forbidden. Off-limits. But the way he looks at me? The way he makes me feel? It’s only a matter of time before we cross the line again. And this time, there will be no turning back.

“Is Batman my daddy?” my son Jackson pipes up from the back seat. Of course not! But telling him that his father is Asher Giordano, leader of New York’s deadliest mafia empire is out of the question. He found us anyway. “What have you done with Jackson?” I demand. “My son?” Asher asks calmly, looking around my small apartment disdainfully. “The one you’ve been hiding from me and forcing to live in this…pigeonhole?” Our son, not yours. “You’re the one who left me at the alter without as much as a ‘see you later’. If you left me a forwarding address to contact you at, I must have missed it.” Asher regards me coldly. I don’t know this man. The boy I fell in love with was warm, giving and open. This man in front of me is frostier than the arctic with his glacial eyes. “I know you know who I am and what I’m capable of, so don’t try anything stupid, Emmeline. There’s nowhere you can run where I can’t find you.” “Gosh, Asher, that’s like a line straight out of a movie. Have you been practicing delivering it in front of a mirror?”

Not every love story ends in happiness, and sometimes, the most painful twists come not from fate, but from our own choices. Yeonho loved Vaani—but he couldn’t save her. Zane loved Vanessa—but his own actions led to her death. Now, Zane has been granted a second chance—an opportunity few are ever given. Thrown into a time he never knew, with questions that have no answers, Zane must unravel the mystery of his survival and the purpose of his unexpected return. What is he meant to do in a world where he never existed? Can he right the wrongs of the past, and what sacrifices will he make to ensure his future? The clock is ticking, and Zane's journey to redemption is about to begin. Will he find the strength to rewrite his fate—or will history repeat itself?

Aria's life was chillingly quiet until a True Mate came along in the form of Relaz. He was noisy, extremely talkative, and especially annoying. Once allowed, there was no end to his gabbling. But when Aria realizes that Relaz is more than he seems, much more than just a carefree, always smiling and talkative man, he is something much more ruthless, will their relationship be put in jeopardy or will they try to work together irrespective of their misunderstandings and solve a puzzle, when they realize that the people around them are planning their destruction? Teaser... " You aren't my Relaz. That's right. I should get lost? Then no problem. All this while, you've been seeing me as nothing more than baggage, an extra load, right?" "I-i" Relaz stuttered. But he still didn't end up saying anything nor did he turn to look back at her. Aria laughed mockingly, "You're right. I'm so stupid. How could I have blamed the mood goddess all this while when she had given me such a treasure like Relaz as my mate. Now that he is no longer here, nor can I see the ghost of him, I've realized, how much the moon goddess had loved me. But it's a pity, I'm so stupid. Stupid, stupid..." She raised her hands and started slapping her cheeks with each 'stupid' she said and backed away slowly with tears on her face, desperately hoping that she could see the trace of the mate who once held, and loved her like no other. It was a pity she left too early and didn't manage to capture the tear that had managed to escape his tightly closed eyes, nor did she see the cold expression he wore all along, cracking and revealing immense grief. For what is love? Pain. Sacrifice.