The Drowning

“Let me help you" I pleaded, my hands gripping her tightly. "Fine. If you're so bent on solving my problems, you can marry me then" the lady snapped in frustration, forcing the engagement ring on my fingers. "Let's go get our marriage certificate then" I urged with a knowing smile. ....... Behind the spotlight, Luisa's life is a complexity of lies and scandals. Haunted by the tragic drowning of her sister, which she blames herself for, she built walls around her heart. Her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble when a compromising video threatening to expose the death of her sister surfaces. As the past and present collide, Luisa has to confront her demons and face the lies that she's told. But there lies another secret Luisa has kept hidden - her marriage to a wealthy CEO, which she forced into a union, which was an attempt to escape the shame of being jilted by her cheating fiancee. Their marriage opens a new chapter where lies, deceit, betrayal, and love entwine. As she navigates the complexity of her flash marriage, will she be able to overcome the hurdles that come her way or will she succumb to the nightmares hunting her?

Somewhere between staying silent and screaming for help… she existed. Seventeen-year-old Maren has mastered the art of disappearing in plain sight. Haunted by past trauma, locked in a toxic relationship she can't escape, and drowning under the pressure of school and a world that never cared to understand her, she begins to wonder if life is even worth staying for. No one sees her pain—until he does. The new boy, Kade, has his own shadows. He’s blunt, observant, and completely unafraid to call her out—making him an instant enemy. But when he overhears a moment no one was meant to witness, he realizes the truth: the girl everyone overlooks is barely holding on. As Kade steps deeper into her shattered world, their connection becomes a lifeline. But secrets run deeper than he imagined, and when Maren goes missing, no one believes she’s worth finding—except him. Fighting time, silence, and the lies that built her cage, Kade refuses to give up. Because sometimes, saving someone means proving they were never invisible at all. A heartbreaking, haunting, and ultimately hopeful story about survival, truth, and what it really means to be seen.

To pay for the sins committed by Luisa Duarte against his family, Edmund Stark approaches her sister, Isabella, with a hidden agenda. He traps her into a forced marriage contract, but things don’t quite go as he planned. Will they be able to fix their differences and enjoy their marriage or would they end up getting a divorce? ~ “I told you before, you’re mine! You’ll marry me and bear my children and you’ll be my property until the day one of us dies!” He growled, running out of patience. “Am I to be your possession, your prisoner?” She glared at him with all her might. “Call it as you wish! You have nowhere to escape to!” He declared before pulling her into his lap, holding her tightly in his arms. He crashed his lips against hers, forcing his tongue in her mouth. Against her will, her body loosened in response, she lost the ability to breathe. She could not hear, she could not see, she could not feel anything else, except Edmund taking her mouth like a drowning man in need of oxygen. ‘Isabella is fucking mine! My woman! Nothing is going to change that!’

"It wouldn't be the first nor the last time any one of you Titan Gods had affairs with ‘Greek Gods’ you know," Thaelia twisted her lips. Lukas face hardened and he tried to keep it like that, but one look at her face and a smile broke out of him and he's laughing hard. She accompanied him and chuckled softly, adorably, and it drove the son of Helios crazy. "Didn't know moon princesses could contain that much spite." "What can I say?" She lowered her voice, licking her lips. Her beauty was much more obvious, with her eyes the color of the sea, lined with gold, and lips rose. It was enough to make him realise he's drowning again, only this time it's on the color of her eyes. "You... inspire me." "Inspire you?" "Yes," She smiled sweetly *** There's two things that strikes Talia as she starts reading the book of her past—Lukas was a reckless son of Helios, Ajaxson was the son of Ajax who's head over heels in love with her while she was a moon princess desired by both of them. To add a Greek Goddess Hera made it impossible for her to stay happy with Lukas. It was just not written in the stars. ***

Olivia’s POV The moment Armando left, the dam broke. I sobbed into the silence, my chest heaving with the weight of everything I’d pushed down for so long. I wanted to hold him tight. To kiss him and to tell him how much I loved him and how much I wanted his protection but I just couldn’t because I didn’t trust anyone else and because I never wanted anything to do with love after James. I hated myself for pushing him away. But more than that, I hated that I felt anything for him at all. I sat there, drowning in the storm of my own heart, knowing that love was a battlefield I might never cross again, and yet, for the first time, I wished I had the courage to try. Armando’s POV Back in my study, I poured myself a glass of whiskey, my hand trembling as I lit a cigarette. The tears came slowly at first, hot and unfamiliar against my skin. I hadn’t cried since I was ten years old. But tonight, I wept. For her. For me. For everything we could never be.

On the day the SAT scores were released, the police showed up at my front door. They said I had murdered three of the top students in my class. The evidence was conclusive. However, on the day it happened, I had been sitting alone at home, drowning in regret over my poor exam performance. "Worthless girl! Useless burden! How did this family end up with a monster like you?!" My grandmother screamed at me, hurling insults as her fists and kicks rained down. The only thing that could have proven my innocence—the security camera—had been unplugged by her the night before. She said the camera gave off radiation and claimed that we installed it to harm her. In an instant, I became the disgrace of everyone around me. After I was convicted, my parents couldn’t bear the blow. They both took their own lives. As for me? Under the crushing weight of public outrage and endless condemnation, I spiraled into depression and died. Even at the very end, I never understood why every piece of evidence pointed straight at me. Then I opened my eyes again and found myself back on the night before the scores were released.

He straddled me, his hips swirling in slow, maddening circles. His body was right there, pressing into mine, and I couldn’t escape it; I didn’t want to. His hands found mine and guided them to his chest, and when my palms touched his warm skin, I was gone. My pulse was a blur of frantic beats pounding in my ears, drowning out the crowd's cheers and whistles. With his face inches from mine, Alec leaned in. His breath ghosted over my lips, his smile, cocky, knowing, playful, and somehow tender all at once. “You okay there?” he asked with an amused tone, and I opened my mouth, desperate to say something—anything—but nothing came out. My throat was dry, my skin was on fire and my mind was completely blank. All I could do was stare at him, completely mesmerized by how his body moved against mine and that wicked smirk on his lips. Before I knew it, heat pooled low in my belly, spreading downward, and I instinctively clenched my thighs together to stop the throbbing that ignited between my legs, but it was too late as I dampened the soft leather.

She stepped into the role to save her family… and walked straight into a trap. Mira Chen never imagined her own best friend would sell her out. When Victoria begged her to pose as a billionaire’s girlfriend for a week just until she returned from an emergency Mira said yes. She needed the money. Her father was drowning in medical debt. And the job sounded simple enough. But nothing about it was real. Especially not the part where Victoria *never planned to come back.* Now, Mira is stuck playing pretend with Tyler Dalton a cold, calculating billionaire with eyes like ice and a temper as sharp as his tailored suits. He believes Mira’s part of the game. Another liar. Another woman using him. And he intends to use her right back. Except Mira isn’t who he thinks she is. And the more she fights back, the more Tyler wants her for real. As the web of lies closes in and the truth behind Victoria’s betrayal is exposed, Mira is left with no one to trust… except the man who was supposed to be her biggest enemy. But falling for Tyler might be the most dangerous mistake of all. Because in his world, love is a weapon. And Mira just became the perfect target. She was only supposed to fake it. Now the lies are real… and so is the heartbreak.

My uncle’s rival, Emmett Meyer, saved me twice. The first time, I was drowning after a shipwreck—until he cut through the waves on a speedboat and dragged me ashore. The second time was after someone had slipped drugs into my drink. That night, I seduced him, a hardened man ten years my senior. In the dim glow of a private room, he guided my hand downward and growled, “I want you so bad, Babe.” He took me ruthlessly, ignoring my sobs and pleas. From then on, Emmett—the untamable “Prince of Silverbridge”—abandoned his reckless ways and devoted himself to me. Or so I believed. Then one day, he coaxed me into his Rolls-Royce and captured our tryst on camera. I flushed with embarrassment and secret delight. Later, as I hurried after him to return some documents he had left behind, I heard the sneers whispered in the hallway: “You’re so wild, Emmett. Everyone heard your girl moaning.” “Damn, the car rocked so hard I thought you’d break it.” “Hey, if Franklin Reed ever finds out that his precious niece has been your plaything for three years… think he’ll have a heart attack?”

I waited for Alex for over five years. I endured the whispers of the clan, the mocking gazes, the judgment from his family who never thought I was good enough. Still, I waited—because I loved him. I believed in him. I trusted that he would choose me in the end. But the truth shattered me. One evening, I saw his laptop left open. And on the screen—countless photos of Elsa. His childhood sweetheart. His first love. It felt like a knife twisting in my chest. While I was drowning in problems, silently begging for his support, he was smiling by her side. All those years I gave him... all that waiting… I got nothing. So I left. Broken. Exhausted. Done pretending I was okay. I traveled far from our pack, seeking solitude under the excuse of pack relocation. But the truth was, I was trying to stitch myself back together—one breath, one step, one bitter tear at a time.But now… he’s gone mad looking for me. Why, Alex? Why do you search for me now, after crushing me so completely? When I stood by you, you looked past me. Now that I’ve finally let go… Why do you care?