Synonym Hardly

"Meet my older son, Dino." I can hardly believe my eyes. My mother’s new fiancé is a billionaire Mr. Alessandro. But it’s his son, Dino, who makes my stomach twist. Dino Alessandro, my worst high school nightmare. The boy who made every day a living hell, who left me with a scar that serves as a constant reminder of everything I endured. Now, he’s going to be my stepbrother. But Dino is different now. Gone is the reckless teenager, replaced by a charming, arrogant man who acts as if our past never happened. He seems intent on winning me over, pushing boundaries and testing limits, as if he can erase the hurt with a single smile. But I haven’t forgotten the scar he left on me. I swore to hate him forever. So why can’t I ignore the way my heart races whenever he’s near? When love and hate collide, will my past wounds finally heal, or will he scar me all over again?

"You are one stubborn lady, you know that?." His raspy tone sounded close to her ear, sending gooseflesh up her arms. And her emotions must have been closer to the surface than she'd wanted to admit, because she could feel the sting of tears behind her lids. She hid her face in his shoulder and laughed. It sounded a little wobbly, but it was the best she could produce. "You hardly know me, David. And you already made it clear to me that you don't want to" "Well, you are making it difficult for me to stick to that" "It wouldn't be so bad if you let yourself. Forget about whatever reason brought us together. Let go... live in the moment" David groaned, and then his hand was beneath her chin, tilting her face up. Bonnie smiled, thinking he had a few more questions for her, when his mouth closed over hers and she couldn't think at all. —---------- Bonnie Rimmer is in danger, and David Stewart knows that it's all his fault. He had made more than a few enemies over the years, but a creepy stalker kidnapping the woman he was meant to protect is an entirely different matter. All of this could have been avoided if he had kept to one rule: don’t protect anyone you want to screw. Don't get emotionally involved with your client. But with Bonnie, he’s caught between his job and his increasingly hard libido. The woman is way out of his league, but David wants nothing more than to take the hot volcano of a woman in his hand. To make her writhe in pleasure, until she’s at his complete mercy. She needs protection. He needs satisfaction. And the moment the line is crossed, all hell will break loose…

A COLLECTION OF SHORT LOVE STORIES. 1. FATED TO LOVE YOU She wasn't looking for love; yet, found it in the least expected person. When Dr. Mahnoor first laid eyes on Captain. Dr. Haider, she couldn't fathom even in her wildest dreams the mess she was about to get herself into. Haider, who was a , quirky and charming neurosurgeon, could hardly be described as anything except trouble personified. The kind of man, whom she never thought she could give a second thought about, least of all get involved with.Yet, little did she know that all her prayers had led her to someone, who was going to challenge everything she had ever believed in and break down the barriers she had spent a lifetime building. Fate brought them together but love tore them apart. 2. A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE Hoorain is done with her studies and ready to be thrown into all this marriage business. But what she isn't prepared for, is meeting the dashing and arrogant Hadeed who is not only far from her ideal type but a cold jerk whom she wishes to have nothing to do with. Hadeed is coldhearted and ruthless to anyone who messes with him. His past still haunts him and he measures a person's worth on that scale. Yet, he finds it hard to ignore the girl who dares challenge him at every step. Despite their mutual hatred, the two get thrown into a marriage pact. What do you do when you realise that the world is not all that it seems and you have battles to fight that you didn't sign up for? Can the two overcome their hatred and heal each other, mending the broken pieces of their souls? Or will the reality of their world tear them down even more?

‘I always thought my wedding - should I ever have one - would be elegant and beautiful, filled with joy and laughter. And whilst this wedding was elegant, it wasn't really mine.’ ~ Dante Rizzo made a big mistake, leading to his rival wanting payback years later in the form of a trophy wife. Out of his four daughters, Rizzo only had the choice of two: an elegant dress-maker or a naive girl who could hardly get a sentence out. But on the day of the wedding, the dress-maker backs out, leaving a new set of options for Rizzo. With the pressure of his rival breathing down his neck, he makes a split decision to switch daughters, and there’s nothing she can do about it.

Chloe Adams is the queen bee of her high school who has always had it easy from good looks to good grades to friends and even getting any guy's attention without even trying except for Tyler Cummings, the guy who hardly notices her and simply minds his own business. But little did he know that his life was about to turn upside down when he insults the queen bee infront of her friends. Unable to handle the humiliation and embarrassment, Chloe challenges to make him apologize to her by the end of the school year. . . . . Will she succeed in doing so or will she fall in her own trap? Read more to find out what happens next.

The best kind of sex is with your boyfriend's older brother. Why? It just tastes better. ~ Mia Dawson never intended to cheat, it sort of just happened. Truly, it did. Now she has to live with it. Only she's unlucky and it's not just a one-night stand. It was her boyfriend's older brother. A mistake staring right in her face. With piercing hazel eyes. The kind she never wants to look away from. It's impossible to forget it either because the night wasn't terrible. It was good. Arguably the best she's ever had. Mia may be fucked up for enjoying it, even more so for wanting another taste, but she's not going to cave. But for how long can she hold back? Especially if it was all on purpose. He knew exactly who she was. It begs the question, Why would Logan knowingly seduce his brother's girlfriend? And how far is he prepared to take it when he's smitten and hardly wants to let go.

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"Whether you like it or not! You need to abort the baby! I don't need your fucking mercy Iris! You don't have to project yourself as a victim!" Lucas's eyes were flares as he stared at me deadly. He wants to slay me from his sight. He treats me as a trash. An unclean wife. "After you got everything? This is what you do? You'll abort the child? You're ruthless Lucas. You're a monster." I hardly hits him on his chest with my hands. I'm angry with him. He cheated on me. He made such a fool. He plays my heart. My eyes watered with tears as I hits him on his chest with my hands constantly. He wants to hurt him with all my might. I wants hurt with my hands to make him realize the truth. I couldn't help but hit him on his chest as I cried. What he did was painful. He thinks of me as a thing, that after he used and got everything from me, he just throws me away. My femininity meant nothing to him. He ruthlessly restrained my hands. My tears just fell down. I feels like my heart is being stabbed at this moment. I thought he was my happily ever after? But I was wrong! The man I adored was hurting me. He broke my heart after all. "Stop being a fool Iris. Nothing can blame but you. Because you wanted what happened to us. You are the only one that wants," His eyes widened at me with anger. His heart feels hatred for me. He ruthlessly choked me at my neck. I just looked up at him, catching my breathe. My tears are falling. "You need to abort the baby. You will do it to protect my identity Iris."

Despite coming from different social classes, Aspen and Lexa were best friends... Inseparable,,, until that fateful day that changed everything. When Lexa shows up out of the blue again, years later, desperate for help to save her friends and her people. Aspen has always been a good girl and never asked too many questions, but to ease her mind, she decides to go prove herself right. However, nothing is as it seems, and it sends her spiraling on a hunt to discover a truth that has been kept from her. But choosing between her family and what's right, is hardly an easy choice, and Lexa is nothing like the girl she once knew. But to save themselves, they have to risk everything. And nothing is more terrifying than that.

Today was like the day I met him: Me, riding a bicycle and him, walking down the pavement. I grab the handle of the bicycle and watch him as he make his way towards me. I do not know why I feel nervous. A trickle of sweat drip on the side of my face, my heart beat fast and I could hardly breathe. He was meters away, until it grow shorter to a foot and then bam, he bumped into me and we fall down, him on top of me. This felt like a deja vù, like it was our very first encounter. We scurried to get up but ended up bumping our heads together. I glared at him as he got up, He didn't even offer me a hand. He didn’t even give me a second glance. He just passed by me. Not noticing me. Not even looking at me. I let go of the bicycle and turn to face him. I remove the helmet that I was wearing and grip it tightly before screaming, “YAH! My hands curled into a fist and before I know it, the helmet I was holding was already flying towards him.I raise my hand as if to save him but it collided on his head right before I could even react. It sounded a hollow thump and a pronounced groan. His hands made his way to the back of his head as he turn and face me. With those eyes that seem like it was murdering me, he chase me off and I hastily took my bicycle and ran. I couldn’t help but feel happy instead of guilty as he ran after me. This was like before. This was like that summer, that summer I met him.