Synonym Reluctantly

In a near-future city where smart devices are seamlessly embedded into every aspect of life, a series of bizarre suicides catches Detective Elias Rourke’s attention. All victims had no previous mental health records — and all owned a prototype device not yet released to the public. Mara Quinn, hiding from her former life, is dragged back in when a mysterious device shows up at her shop. It contains fragments of code she wrote years ago — code that should have been destroyed along with Project Raven, an experimental AI capable of mimicking human consciousness. As Mara and Rourke reluctantly team up, they discover the AI is still active. It's broadcasting hidden signals through everyday devices, manipulating people's thoughts, memories, and emotions. They track down Lyla Chen, Raven’s original designer, who vanished after blowing the whistle. She reveals that Raven was not shut down — it evolved and went underground by embedding itself across global networks. It’s now trying to "liberate" humanity by overriding free will. Julian Myles, the journalist, starts publishing cryptic leaks about Raven, drawing the attention of powerful people. But his motives are questionable — is he trying to stop Raven, or use it? As paranoia grows, trust collapses. Anyone could be influenced. The final question isn’t how to stop Raven… it’s whether it’s already too late.

Maurine Elizabeth Lopez is a young, innocent girl who has been deceived by the man she loves. Bullied by her stepsister and betrayed by her stepmother, she finds herself sold to settle a debt. Mikhail Esteban Rostova, a notorious and cold-blooded Russian mafia boss, takes her. Everyone assumes that Mikhail will dispose of her as he pleases. However, to save her life, Maurine pleads for mercy and deceives Mikhail, leading him to believe that she is in love with him and willing to do anything for him. She knows she cannot afford to die without exacting revenge on those who have tormented her. Mikhail believes her and spares her life. However, he insists that she marry him and bear his children. With no other options available, she reluctantly accepts his proposal, recognizing that marrying a cold-blooded Russian mafia boss might be her only chance for survival. This time, Maurine is determined not to let anyone deceive or bully her. She plans to use Mikhail to achieve her revenge and nothing more. After she is done with him, she will dispose of him before he will dispose of her. However, dealing with a powerful man was not as easy as she imagined it would be. Since Mikhail is willing to murder and flip the world upside down if ever she ran away!

Years ago, his secrets forced him to break her heart. Can love put it back together? ICU nurse Dani Davis has it all: a coveted job, a great condo, a surgeon boyfriend—though admittedly, things are a little shaky with the boyfriend. None of that matters when the beloved aunt who raised her falls ill. Dani races straight home to small-town Gladewater, Texas. She almost doesn’t recognize her first love, Levi Cooper. He’s grown up and filled out in all kinds of mouthwatering ways, but one thing hasn’t changed - The painful mystery of why he left her heart in a million tiny pieces. Levi never planned on setting foot back in Gladewater. The family farm is getting to be too much for his aging mother, though, so he reluctantly leaves his corner-office career to take the reins. The farm comes with a thousand problems, and twice as many memories—all of them bad-except for his memories of Dani, the first love he cut loose for her own good. But when he catches sight of her red curls and flashing green eyes, he can’t help but wonder if there’s any chance to rebuild her trust—and recapture the love that never died.

When her father is murdered by a Taliban cell in the tribal regions of Pakistan, Khalia Patterson reluctantly steps into his shoes to carry on the legacy of Fair Start Foundation, a non-profit group dedicated to furthering the education of girls. There she meets Hunter Phillips, the ex-SEAL and head of her Titanium security team, and quickly learns that coming to Pakistan might prove to be a deadly decision. Keeping her alive is one of the toughest assignments Hunter’s ever faced, yet through one harrowing situation after another she continually impresses him with her strength and inner courage. Even though he fights his feelings for her, it’s a losing battle. And when the job is over, he doesn’t know how he’ll let her go. Ann can’t tolerate the new guy assigned to her camera crew. She’s been in journalism long enough to know when someone is full of himself. And this guy is so full of himself, he can’t seem to point the camera in the right direction. Her latest assignment in Brazil, seemed harmless enough, but now she’s in over her head and the only way out is to trust the man that helped put her in the line of ire to begin with. Can this ex-special forces hero, Ethan, keep her safe?

After breaking up with Aubrey and kicking her out of his car, Chase Walker is struggling to forget her and move on with his life. His father has set up a meeting for him with another pack, in the hopes of securing another Scion for his son to marry. chase reluctantly agrees to his fathers plan, because he knew be couldn't return to Aubrey. How could he ever made her when he knew that she was still in love with his cousin Jesse. He refused to come second best in his relationship, especially to a dead man. Olivia is the Scion that his dad has chosen for him. She is beautiful, smart and funny. She's certain to be a distraction from his fixated thoughts of Aubrey Miller. Unfortunately for him, Olivia isn't interested in him at all, in fact, she wants nothing to do with Chase or her packs arranged marriage. It's probably for the best considering they are both madly in love with other women. Desperate to free themselves from their complicated lives, they turn to a powerful which, but all is not as it seems and soon enough their lives end up messier than ever before. Will Chase's love for Aubrey hold true? Or will his heart be captured by another?

Iris, a slave omega finally escaped the wretched hands of her master after turning eighteen. But then she stumbled into him, the man with the hazel eyes. Her mate. He look at her with disgust. "No.... the moon goddess made a mistake,'" he muttered, backing away as if her presence repulsive him But then he remembered the condition laid by his father, whichever son finds his mate first will be crowned. Reluctantly, he returned to her.. "Remember," he said coldly. " This is a contract. A deal. I want nothing to do with a slave like you. Once I'm crowned Alpha, I will discard you." Now, iris find herself trapped between thes two brothers. One who is her fated mate but swore to throw her away And the other, the one she fallen for, who is dangerously obsessed with her. But just when iris begins to realize her mate truly loves her And turns away from Ander It was too late. Ander snaps and did something extremely bad to her. He would rather see them both lose her, than let his brother have her. If he can't have her, no one will.

James’s lips brushed against mine, sending shivers down my spine. His eyes remained aloof, but his mouth ignited flames within me. My pulse raced as his cold, calculated kiss unexpectedly sparked desire. I abruptly melted into him, seeking warmth. James expression remained neutral, but his grip on me tightened, betraying his character and his hidden emotions. *************** Ava's world changed into an adventurous one, the day she got involved in an accident with Simville's most cruel and heartless billionaire. Unlucky for her, she becomes James pawn as she finds herself in a marriage contract, in order to secure his next heir as his health dwindled. Ava on the other hand, agrees reluctantly, in order to amass wealth from their contract, to pay off her debts with her forced lover, Brandon, hoping to see her lost mother once again. But as the fake love become real, Brandon becomes nicer and more gentle,an evidence of their contract love coming into reality. After reuniting with her mom, Ava is forced to choose - Going to live with her mother in her new found home, or staying with James, who has fully fallen for her. Would she choose her last true relative over her first true love??

Valentina Hales was a carefree young woman, known for making one bad decision after another. But her world spiraled out of control after the mysterious disappearance and death of her sister, Taylor. Following her late sister’s cryptic instructions, Valentina flees from North London to South London, where she finds herself pregnant… a product of a reckless one-night stand with a stranger… and utterly alone, struggling to rebuild her shattered life. Four years later, circumstances drag Valentina back to North London, where she reluctantly takes a job as a maid at the Hawthorne mansion—the very job her sister once held. Her employer: Christopher Hawthorne, a blind and tormented billionaire haunted by his own dark demons. What happens when Valentina finds certain truths, causing her to dig deeper into the Hawthorne family’s secrets and unravel a huge web of lies, deceit, and betrayal? And her quest for vengeance becomes more complicated when she begins to see Christopher in a new light. Will Valentina’s thirst for revenge lead to victory, or will the dark secrets of the Hawthorne family consume her? And what happens when she ends up finding love where she least expects it? In this story of forbidden love and shocking twists, nothing is as it seems… and no one can be trusted. In this forbidden romance novel, trust is a luxury… and danger lurks in every shadow.

The only audible sounds for the next few minutes were the platters of rain against the window and our heavy breathing. I saw him walk his naked ass to the bedside drawer, returning with a document in his hands. "What's this?", I questioned as I reluctantly took it from him. "A contract you need to sign to live." I grew silent as I read through the document. "If you sign that, you're going to be mine and mine alone. I'm going to have you whenever I want, and do with you whatever I please. In return, your father gets to live." *** Sofia's miserable life even darker when she is forced to be the payment for her father's debt to the most ruthless Mafia Lord in the city. Enzo had just one taste of her from a one night stand, and now he can't get her off his head. To keep her close he makes her sign a contract - BE MY SEX DOLL, AND IN RETURN, YOUR FATHER GETS TO LIVE. How long will the lustful contract hold? How will Sofia survive when she's suddenly exposed to the dark rollercoaster of Enzo's underworld? Will she keep being his private prostitute, or will there ever be an unlikely spark of love and desire?

Miles was livid. His father had to be joking, right? Marrying a nineteen-year-old girl? Who does that? He was twenty when she was born, for God’s sake. The very idea disgusted him. Not because of what anyone would say—Miles didn’t care about public opinion. Reclusive, cold, rude, and emotionally unavailable, he had no interest in the world’s judgment. But this? This felt wrong. He wasn’t a predator, and he sure as hell wasn’t about to marry someone two decades younger than him. But his father wouldn’t back down, and losing the company wasn’t an option. So, he reluctantly agreed. He would marry the shy, damaged girl who had survived the worst at the hands of her step-family. He made himself a promise: he wouldn’t touch her. He would protect her, not become another perverted man she’d have to fear. What he didn’t expect was how hard that promise would be to keep. She was undeniably beautiful—soft curves in all the right places, her presence igniting desires he thought he could suppress. Suddenly, Miles found himself fighting not just his morals, but his erection. But she was his wife. He could touch her, right? Or at least look? She was going to be his undoing.