The Drowning

ADRIANNA GREY: Father called me cursed—a mistake that should never have existed. He blamed me for my mother’s death and treated me like a burden he couldn’t wait to discard. In the end, he sold me to the Alpha King, a man worshipped by the kingdom but a devil in private. He made me his sex slave, stripping me of my dignity. Just when my suffering was nearly over, his sister framed me. As punishment, he resold me—this time to another Alpha King even crueler than him. Every day of my life felt like drowning in darkness. I saw no reason to keep living. Then he appeared. My unexpected savior. He risked his life to free me, protected me like I was made of something precious, and treated me with a gentleness I’d never known. He would burn the world to keep me safe. But after everything men have done to me… can I really trust him with my heart? Especially after discovering the truth about what he truly is? ⸻ ERIC BLACKWELL: She was a small, innocent-looking girl in shabby boy clothes when I first saw her, but her doe eyes caught me instantly. After saving her from being burned alive at the market, something inside me changed—something I had never felt in thirty years. Then she disappeared. I searched for her everywhere, only for fate to return her to me in the worst way: she was a sex slave to my boss. Knowing she was in danger, I didn’t care what I had to lose or what I had to do—I was going to save her again. But saving her woke the ghosts of my past, and now those secrets threaten the fragile bond I’ve risked everything to build with her.

"You're here to play nurse, not to pretend you care," he snapped, his cold gaze locking onto hers. "And you are here to waste your life because it's easier than fighting for it," she shot back, her voice shaking but defiant. He wheeled closer, his jaw clenched. "Don't think for a second that you can fix what is so broken." I'm not here to fix you," she whispered, her eyes unrelenting. "I'm here because I believe there's more to you than this bitterness. He was the untouchable golden boy of his family, a magnetic presence destined to inherit a sprawling empire. His charm, his power, and his perfection made him unstoppable until a car crash shattered his life and left him confined to a wheelchair. His once-loyal followers turned their backs, leaving him drowning in the bitterness of betrayal. She was living proof of her family-a forgotten daughter whose dreams of becoming a doctor kept her sane amidst years of neglect. All she wanted in life was freedom, but fate had other plans. Forced into a contract marriage with the epitome of misery, she found herself engulfed in a battle she never asked for. Their worlds collide in a storm of resentment and vulnerability. Underneath his bitterness, though, lies the ruins of a man who had everything to lose-and the dim hope of someone who could help him find it again. As she works her way through his fury, and he pushes against her kindness, a bond forms-a bond neither expected. But with jealous rivals scheming in the shadows and old wounds threatening to tear them apart, their fight for love becomes a war for survival. Can two broken souls find strength in each other, or will the scars of their pasts destroy them both?

I spent my whole life trying to be invisible. I was the girl who was too broken to survive high school, the one who tried to end it all after they had filmed themselves cutting off her hair. The girl who had to be homeschooled for eight years. So when my parents forced me into one final year of university, I made a deal with them. I'll give it a try, if I hated it, I'd disappear forever. I walked those halls with my head down, drowning in oversized clothes, praying no one would notice me. But then I met him. Dreyven. The one person who pushed me so far that I lost control and slapped him. ​But what I didn't know was that he had three identical brothers, and I had just started a war. ​They planned their revenge together: make me fall in love with them, one by one, thinking they were the same person, then break my heart and leave me destroyed. ​I gave him everything: my trust, my body, my heart. ​I thought I was falling in love with one perfect man who kept surprising me with new facets of his personality. ​When I discovered the truth, it shattered me. They were four brothers who had used me for revenge, four men who had passed me between them like a toy, four liars who had laughed while I fell apart. ​So disappeared. ​Five years later, I wasn't that broken girl anymore. I had built an empire. I knew their secrets. I knew their weaknesses. ​And I was going to destroy them the way they destroyed me. ​But revenge had a price and I had to learn that, ​some love stories are simple. But ours was written in scars, secrets, and second chances.

He stole her first kiss on their first encounter, and she accused him of being perverted and arrogant. Her straightforward personality hooked his interest despite the danger ahead. He announced a surrogacy competition to draw her towards him. She left no option but to join the competition only to find out he’s the same person she gave a great lesson he’d never forget. Trapped to the trick played by this ruthless billionaire, she played along with his game and became his wife. His dark secrets gradually unfold, destroying and drowning them into the deep abyss. He suddenly disappeared from her life, but another stranger came in. She could feel his warmth, and they kissed. Warm tears began to roll down from her eyes, soaking the white cloth over them. When he felt her heat tears, he panicked instantly. He did not know why, but he did not want to see her cry. “Darling, don’t cry...” He let go of her, his fingers gently touching her hair. “I won’t touch you, I won’t touch you anymore, okay?” She cried more violently, and she said in a choked voice, “Don’t talk!” “... Why?” He was a bit stunned. Gently biting her lip, she could not help saying, “When, when you talk, you sound like him very much...” He’s so gentle and dotes on her. When he spoke, she even felt that it was not another person, but her husband Joshua stood next to her. Even the way he kissed her was so similar... It was not until this moment that Hazel realized how much she missed Joshua. She was not afraid of waiting. Even if she had to wait for a long time, she would cherish it.

"You're paying for my body. Not for my soul." Alpha King Thomas Blade is a man of pride and power. A year ago, he divorced his wife, Kiara. He threw her out of his pack and out of his life, trying to forget the bond they shared. But fate has a cruel sense of humor. While visiting a high-end bar, Thomas is shocked to find Kiara standing on an auction block. The woman who was once the Luna of the Moonlight Pack is being sold as an escort. Angry and confused, Thomas outbids everyone. He buys her for one night, determined to find out how she fell so low. However, the Kiara he meets isn't the shy, sweet girl he used to know. This version of Kiara is cold, bold, and claims she only cares about money. What Thomas doesn't know is that Kiara is hiding a heartbreaking secret: she is drowning in debt and selling herself only to pay for her dying mother’s medical bills. Unable to let her go, Thomas makes a new deal: He buys her for an entire month. He wants to punish her, but the more time they spend together, the more he sees the truth. Behind her "greedy" mask, Kiara is still the selfless woman. When Kiara’s mother finally passes away, Kiara disappears, leaving Thomas with nothing but the truth. He discovers the poverty and pain she endured alone while he sat on his throne. Now, the Alpha King must hunt for the woman he wronged. To win her back, he will have to beg for forgiveness, pay her debts, and protect her from a dangerous world where wolves are traded like shadows. He broke her crown. Now, he’ll do anything to give it back.

Isabelle Ashford's aristocratic family is drowning in debt and scandal when Dante Marchetti offers a devil's bargain: marriage in exchange for erasing their financial ruin. She accepts, believing she's sacrificing herself for her younger sister's future. But from the moment she steps into Dante's fortress-like mansion, she realizes this isn't a marriage of convenience; it's a beautifully constructed prison. Dante is cold, controlling, and seems to delight in psychological games that leave her questioning her own sanity. He monitors her every move, isolates her from the outside world, and treats her like a possession he's studying under glass. As weeks pass, Isabelle begins noticing inconsistencies. Dante's cruelty sometimes feels like protection. His surveillance system captures threats she didn't know existed. His empire, built on blackmail and coercion, seems designed to destroy specific people connected to her family's past. When she discovers hidden files in his study, she learns a horrifying truth: her father wasn't just a failed businessman; he was part of a criminal syndicate that trafficked information and ruined lives. Dante's parents were among their victims. Her marriage isn't random, it's revenge twenty years in the making. But as Isabelle digs deeper, she uncovers something even more sinister: the syndicate her father once belonged to has been hunting Dante for years, and now they've marked her as their way to destroy him. Caught between a husband who married her to break her and enemies who want her dead, Isabelle must decide whether to escape the monster she married or join him in a war that could consume them both.

Lila Ashworth is believed to be the weakest omega in Silver Moon Pack since the night she was found nearly drowning as a child, when the Elders failed to detect her true powers. She shares the secret of her unexpected pregnancy only with Elena, her surrogate mother, having no idea how it happened. When Alpha Kai publicly rejects her as his mate despite their true bond, choosing duty over love, her rival Raven exposes the pregnancy, leading to Lila’s exile from the pack. During her exile, Lila discovers she carries the ancient Moon Goddess bloodline, making her one of the most powerful werewolves alive. Under the training of Marcus Chen, a former military supernatural expert, she transforms from weak omega to formidable warrior while raising her twin children, Aria and Ash, who display extraordinary abilities. Through her wolf Eryndra, she learns to control her supernatural powers. Years later, Lila returns to Silver Moon Pack intending to collect Elena and take revenge, but finds the pack under threat from devastating war. When pack members doubt her again, she reveals the full extent of her powers in battle. Her return catches the attention of ruthless Alpha King Dante Blackwood, who demands to claim her through forced mating, threatening to kill anyone who opposes him. Though Lila wants to fight back, the Moon Goddess appears in her dreams and warns her against it. Caught between her remorseful former mate Kai and the politically powerful Dante, Lila must navigate deadly pack politics while protecting her children. As supernatural war erupts, she embraces her destiny as the prophesied leader who will unite all werewolf packs.

She needed one night. He needed one woman. Drowning in debts and desperate to survive, Ana Thompson agrees to a one-time job as a stripper. It’s supposed to be just one night, a quick way to pay off her stepmother’s endless demands. But that night, she collides with Fred Nork, the cold-hearted billionaire CEO of Majesties, a luxury women’s brand that thrives on elegance. Haunted by her past and overwhelmed by shame, Ana disappears before morning, leaving behind only a bloodstained sheet and the memory of her first time. Fred wakes up alone, confused, and with an unfamiliar ache in his chest. He doesn’t know her name. Weeks later, Ana’s world spirals further out of control. Homeless, pregnant, and rejected, she clutches the only lifeline she has, Fred’s business card, slipped into her bag the night they met. But when she walks into Majesties, hoping for help, she finds him… announcing his engagement to Tiana Monroe, a viciously poised heiress with a heart of ice. Shattered but not broken, Ana does the unthinkable. She applies for a cleaning job at Majesties. She begins working at the bottom rung of Fred’s empire. But Fred notices her. He doesn’t recognize the woman who once lit his world on fire, but something about Ana pulls him in again. Now, with the world watching, Fred must make an impossible choice: cling to the legacy he’s built with Tiana by his side, or risk it all for the mysterious woman who slipped away. Ana has a choice too: can she trust the man who once seemed so cold with her heart… and her child’s life? In a world where love is a weakness and power means everything, can a single night rewrite destiny?

When my father's business collapsed, he racked up an astronomical debt to the Andor family. And when they finally came knocking, he did what no loving parent should ever do—he collateralized me, his only daughter, handing me over to Cassian before vanishing off the face of the earth. For ten long years, I stayed by Cassian Andor's side. He treated me with a tenderness so indulgent it bordered on worship. There was nothing I asked for that he would not give; there was no whim of mine he would not entertain. Everyone in our world knew me as his princess. I grew up believing with certainty that once I came of age, he would sweep me into his arms, march me down the aisle, and make me his wife. But reality—cold, brutal, and as dazzlingly cruel as the world we lived in—had other plans. Instead of the ring I had dreamed of, Cassian gifted a breathtaking pink diamond—the very symbol of eternal devotion—to his assistant, Heidi Torres. As if that wasn't betrayal enough, he threw a lavish celebration in her honor, a veritable explosion of flowers. He knew I was deathly allergic to pollen. Yet he still left me stranded there, drowning in a sea of blossoms. Eventually, I collapsed in a violent asthma attack, gasping and clawing for air, teetering on the edge of consciousness. And Cassian? He merely tightened his hold around Heidi in his arms and cast me a cold glance. "Your allergies have been fine for ages," he said with a sneer. "Why the sudden drama today? Don't tell me you're faking it." At that moment, as I lay there humiliated and struggling to breathe, I realized there were exactly seven days left until my twentieth birthday since when I could register a marriage.

[MATURE CONTENT 21+] I'm not sure if I'm here, at the moment, I don't know if I'm screaming or begging him to stop as the weight of his hands on my back feels more apparent. Maybe I'm just helplessly drowning in my despair with only silent tears running down my face. Nothing matters because even my mind could not wander off and protect me for long enough to silently surrender to a horrific situation. "You lied to me, You lied to me! You said you wouldn't do this if I " The words slip away as I sob and cry out in pain. "Hm..”" Alejandro lets out a breathless chuckle, "I did?"One of his hands leaves my hip, reaching down to wrap around my throat, forcing my back into an arch so I'm faced with the reflection of myself in the mirror. It is so I can watch the deranged, lustful look in his eyes as he roughly thrusts himself in and out of me while choking me against his hand at my throat.This is cruel. This is disgusting. This is shameful. But it makes Alejandro smile in pleasure, in pride, that he's able to break me and bend me into his will. "I believe I said that I was fine if you wanted to wait, " he admits. "However, I never said how long. "The reflection of myself in the mirror is someone unrecognisable; she's broken, and angry. I can see my eyes darken in misery, in hatred. The mirror also provides me with Alejandro's expression, filled with contentment and satisfaction. "I HATE YOU," I spit out with every inch of dignity that I may have left. The statement left no mark on Alejandro, instead, he thrusts into me harder, making me cry out but I didn't care, not anymore.