The Dogs

Right after I am done with a meeting, I scroll through social media and come across a warning post with my company's location tagged. The title reads, "Avoid this place! Anyone who comes here is a sucker. The company is so stingy that it can't even provide decent snacks." The photos show the Starbucks drinks and five-star desserts I just asked my assistant to distribute to everyone. I frown and tag everyone in the group chat, asking for suggestions about the teatime snacks. A Gen Z intern, Alice Grimes, immediately sends a voice message, "No offense, Ms. Knox, but these mass-produced desserts are full of trans fats. Even dogs wouldn't eat them. A good company would hire Kitchelin chefs to cook on-site. Now that's called having true respect for employees." I laugh in disbelief. My company spends 50 dollars per person on daily tea time, which is considered top-tier in the industry. So, I reply, "Since it's hard to please everyone, we'll cancel teatime from now on and convert it into a cash allowance for everyone." Less than five minutes later, there is a new update in the social media post. "Guys, you won't believe this. I made a reasonable suggestion, and the petty boss just cut our teatime perk! This is how a typical capitalist behaves. They can't handle any honest feedback."

His best friend...His muse...His fantasy...Billionaire photographer Noah Caldwell has spent ten years biding his time for the chance to tell his best friend Raven Crowne the truth. He wants her. With the threat that brought him to her in the first place finally behind him, they begin a hot affair he's only dreamed about. And reality is far better than fantasy. Yet beautiful Raven has her own dark history, one he's trying desperately to release from her. But as their passion deepens and turns into more, his past rises up from the shadows to claim one last victim…and Noah could lose the only person he can't live without.Kelly Moran is a bestselling author of enchanting ever-afters. She gets her ideas from everyone and everything around her and there's always a book playing out in her head. No one who knows her bats an eyelash when she talks to herself.Kelly's interests include: sappy movies, MLB, NFL, driving others insane, and sleeping when she can. She is a closet coffee junkie and chocoholic, but don't tell anyone. She's originally from Wisconsin, but she resides in South Carolina with her three sons, her two dogs, and a cat. She loves hearing from her readers. www.AuthorKellyMoran.comA "Must Read" on USA Today's Lifestyle blog!Exposure is created by Kelly Moran, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

I'm the daughter of Don Falcone. After I got back from studying abroad, my family threw a welcome-home banquet, conveniently setting me up to meet the fiancé my father had handpicked for me—Santino Moretti. My father praised the guy to the skies in his letters: he was the heir to the Moretti family, elegant, ruthless, drop-dead gorgeous, and holding half the city’s underground operations in the palm of his hand. I arrived at the Elysium Hotel right on the dot. Just as I was about to take a seat, a hand shoved me hard. A woman's shrill voice pierced my ear. "Livia, what's a Sicilian peasant like you doing here? This is the Imperial Suite. Do you think you even deserve to breathe the air in a place like this?" I recognized the woman. It was Bella, a bitch who had always had it out for me back in college. She was clearly trying to humiliate me. Instead of getting mad, I smirked. "Whether I deserve to be here or not—is that for you to decide?" Bella sneered, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm Mr. Santino's personal assistant. Today, Mr. Santino is hosting the eldest daughter of the Falcone family here. This isn't an occasion for bottom-feeding trash like you." "Be smart and crawl back to your slum." I pulled out my phone and dialed my so-called fiancé. I wanted to ask him if it was a tradition in the Moretti family to let their dogs bark at the front door.

Aurora Claramay. She was called ‘ The Villainess Rose ‘.The only daughter of a grand duke, well-protected by her three brothers. Some say that she’s the villainess in this story and some don’t. Her cold and distant-like personality attracted many suitors while her elegance, gracefulness, and perfection are ladies' idols. Many say that she’s unattainable and beyond one’s reach. On the other hand, rumor has it she’s cold-hearted, merciless to those who betrayed her, and non never received her trust. Aidan Wyatt. He called by many as ‘ The Light ‘ who shone as bright as the sun and beamed as the dazzling moon. Just as the reputation had known by all, he is a well-respected person, justice for the wronged, people called him a monster on the battlefield and a hero who brought peace for the empire. An archduke who ruled both the south and the east. Countless offers came before him, marriages, alliances, partnerships, etc. However, being the first knight in command during the battlefield and a great strategist, was not a groundless rumor. Being quick-witted as well as sly as a fox, he manages them effectively. Fate brought them together one night, where the full moon shines brightly, where all the trees and flowers danced together with the wind and where fireflies even fairies decorated the starry night. However, many agreed that they’re both like chalk and cheese and sometimes fight like cats and dogs and maybe, just maybe some butterflies in their stomach. Will love be born between these two or will thorns be piercing both hearts?

Eliza was the true daughter of Alpha Morgan who had been switch at the birth. On the very day she was brought back to the family, the fake daughter Katherine left a suicide note and burned herself to death. “It's all because of you!" Eliza’s elder brother shouted, "If you hadn't come back, Kathy wouldn't die!” And Eliza’s parents looked at her with complex and hesitant eyes, filled with unbearable pain. What’s more, her betrothed and fated mate said: "Such a wicked woman who drove someone to death, I would rather remain unmated forever than mate you! I reject our mate bond." Eliza now understood that they regretted bringing her back... The fake daughter became the family's cherished memory, while Eliza, who had endured countless hardships to please them, was nothing more than a pile of mud. Eliza froze to death next to the horse stable in that dilapidated room, and the fake daughter returned at this moment During the family joy, news of Eliza's death reached them, and they said, "Is she trying this trick? She's not Kathy; if she wants to play dead, throw her out to feed the dogs!" Thanks to the Moongodess, when Eliza opened her eyes again, she was reborn. This time, she will take back everything that belongs to her, she will seek revenge on everyone who has ever hurt her, and she will never forgive.

I am the wife of the capital city’s esteemed tycoon. We were married in secret for three years. At the celebratory banquet, I was about to make our relationship public. However, his first love, Juvelia Shaw, stumbled into the hall clutching her torn collar. “Edwin, save me! Peri Sanders brought along her penniless brother. He just forced a kiss on me in the lounge! “He says he’s your brother-in-law. If I want to get into the Gough family, I have to please him.... Argh! I have been defiled!” The room fell deathly silent before erupting into a chorus of finger-pointing and curses. They accused me of forcing my brother to assault the esteemed tycoon’s woman just to secure his favor. Edwin Gough’s eyes blazed crimson. He ripped off his coat and wrapped it tightly around Juvelia. Then, he flung a glass of red wine at my face. Gritting his teeth, he glared at me. “Peri, bring out that beast of a brother of yours!” “Since his mouth is so vile, let’s pull out his teeth and cut his tongue off to feed the dogs! Otherwise, I’ll make the entire Sanders family pay with their lives!” Amidst the crowd’s looks of contempt and disgust, I burst into laughter. My brother had long since lost his voice. Three years ago, in a fire, he had inhaled excessive smoke while saving Edwin, which had destroyed his vocal cords. His tongue was gone too.

Mia George. A reporter, a tomboy. Never been involved in anything related to having a relationship with any guy. But is quite okay with her not so boring life. She is suddenly endangered, when the man who was thrown into prison because of her is back...and is out to take revenge on her. Alex Friedrich. He's ruthless, cold and distant to everyone around him. A lawyer who hasn't lost any case before. He prefers being alone, in his study with heaps of books. He's more closer to his dogs than humans. But he's bound to know his life will never remain the same when he saved the life of Mia George. Bolu Afolabi. An elegant doctor. She's independent, has it all. She meets Alex and falls deeply for him, hoping reciprocate her feelings. Her love for him, turns into a dangerous obsession and she is willing to take lives down because of him. Charles Douglas. A cop and also a single parent. He believes he's contented. He loves his job, his daughter. Yet he despises women. He's vowed never to have any relationship with them or whatsoever. Ever since the mother of his daughter abandoned his daughter, when his daughter was an infant. His six years daughter goes missing and is brought back to him by a lady. But, what happens when he starts developing feelings for this same lady? Worst, his life and his daughter's is at stake, when an infamous hardened criminal is after him. ****Totally worth reading****

To kill is to live. Elena has been living by that principle since she was fifteen, when she was disowned by her parents for the sole reason that she was not a son who could continue their family's legacy. The night she was thrown out, she was chased by a pack of wild hybrid dogs down the woods, and almost died if not for the help of Henry. He brought her to the House of Spades, an infamous guild of the most priced assassins. Even after knowing what place she was into, Elena accepted the offer to be an assassin. She wants to prove to everyone, especially to her parents that as a female, she can be a strong and skilled fighter that could equal a man. Blood flowed from her hands the moment she learned how to use sword. Now that she's nineteen, she's ought to do the biggest mission she ever had: To kill the Raven Pack's Alpha. She had everything planned for the big night. She will kill the Alpha at night of the pack's celebration when everyone is most likely distracted. However, when she went to the Alpha's chamber that night to slaughter him, she was surprised when the Alpha was anticipating her arrival, calmly sitting on the bed, eyes gold and blazing. Elena didn't want love in her life, let alone love. That's why when she wasn't able to resist him on that one night, she's willing to move mountains just to avoid him. They met in the city again, but this time she was filled when regrets when Rage died in front of her. A hundred years later, they were reincarnated as normal people in human world and had completely forgotten about their past life. Will they have their happy ending this time?

After my sister's death, I signed a five-year contract marriage with her mafia husband, Horton Falcone. I became the stepmother to my five-year-old nephew, Luca. On my birthday, I wore my late sister's diamond cross necklace, not realizing what it was. At the family dinner, Luca walked up to me with a glass of red wine and threw the wine in my face. The red wine dripped down my cheeks, its sharp scent stinging my eyes and staining my white dress. He tilted his head back to look up at me, his eyes as cold and cruel as his father's. "Don't think you can replace my mom just because you married into the Falcone family," he said with a malicious grin. "You're the reason she's dead." "I wish you were the one who died. Then I could smash your gravestone instead of celebrating this stupid birthday." "I swear, when I grow up, the first thing I'll do is dump you in the Hudson River myself!" The memory stung as sharply as the wine, and all I could taste was despair. I stared at the child I had spent five years raising as my own, a sharp pain pulsing in my chest. I had thought I could devote myself to the Falcone family, that I could win him over with my love. But now, I was just so tired of it all. It was a family with no love, a child who saw me as his mortal enemy. I stopped deluding myself. It was time to let go. But after I left, that arrogant father and son came crawling back to me like whipped dogs, begging for my forgiveness.

On Christmas, I canceled a delivery appointment for the daughter of New Hork’s richest man. Instead, I flew overnight to deliver the baby of my brother, the Mafia boss, and his fiancée. The moment I stepped into the delivery room, she was already writhing in pain. Yet she suddenly grabbed my hand and demanded to know if I was a virgin. Seeing that she was already three centimeters dilated, I assumed the pain had muddled her mind. So I casually replied that I hadn’t been one for a long time. That was when she completely lost it, kicking me hard in the stomach as she screamed, “Get out! A shameless woman like you isn’t worthy of touching my son?! “Switch to a virgin doctor right now! Don’t pass your filth onto my child! Disgusting! “And take away all those imported supplements you brought! Even dogs wouldn’t eat them!” I stared at her as she rolled around on the bed and fell into deep thought. I genuinely couldn’t understand how a woman who got pregnant before marriage and was still living off my brother got the confidence to look down on someone else for not being a virgin? Calmly, I removed my gloves and called my brother right in front of her. “Your fiancée says I’m dirty, so I won’t be delivering this baby. Let her give birth on her own. “Oh, and I’ve canceled the top-tier delivery suite I reserved for you, too. After all, I wouldn’t want them to offend her eyes.”