The End Of Innocence

I had fallen in love with my father’s friend—the man I was supposed to call “uncle,” Kael Viremont. For a while, I thought he loved me too. We even had this silly little promise—that if I turned twenty-seven and still want to be with him, then we could be together, publicly. Five days before my twenty-seventh birthday, I overheard him saying he’d never liked me. That he was going to marry his childhood sweetheart. And as if that wasn’t cruel enough, he was planning to use the wedding to cut me off for good. So I did the one thing I should’ve done a long time ago—accepted that he and I would never belong to the same world… and disappeared from his life for good.

My husband, Gavin Chapman, is giving his secretary, Natasha Gardner, exactly what she wants. He's making her his wife. To pull it off, he fakes a lab accident, pretends to have amnesia, and brings her home. In his office, Gavin wraps his arms around Natasha and murmurs indulgently, "Not just Mrs. Chapman. Even if you want to pretend to be the vice president for a week, I'll let you." My eyes dim, but I let the lie go on. The next day, at a press conference, Gavin holds Natasha's hand and tells the world she's his real wife. He even threatens to kick me out of the company and take over all my research data. Dozens of cameras swivel toward me, waiting for my outburst. But I stay silent and simply sign the termination papers. Gavin doesn't know that the pharmaceutical project he believes will be done in seven days isn't quite finished. There's still one final step, and I'm the only one who knows how to do it.

Governed by the royal family, St. Bartholdi is a small European country surrounded by lavender fields, where Anna Madeline Lechner and her friends are trying to survive royal life and find themselves caught in a web of lies with major consequences. In the 21st century, Maddie is tired of the absurd rules and social barriers imposed by the Queen, and is determined to overcome all obstacles in search of her freedom. On the other hand, the palace's newest security guard, Matteo Bertozzi, has left everything he knew in his native Italy in search of a new life, and gets much more than he bargained for. Faced with so many restrictions, the small wooden hut in the middle of the lavender field becomes a perfect fragrant refuge, where rules disappear, time almost stops, and fantasies become reality.

Staring straight into her eyes, a playful smile curls his lips. "If you agree to be my pet for a year, then you and your father will be free." The devil whispers coldly, with his eyes full of desire. To save her father who stole from the ruthless mafia lord, Theo Rodriguez. Everyone surrenders to him, but she dares to confront him. Even though she is trembling with fear, her tearful eyes show determination. She knows this will drag her to hell, but still, she says yes. Will this deal that started as a pleasure trade by force grow into more? Will they crave and fall for each other? Or will they just break up when the contract expires, leaving their passion behind?

"Why did you leave the party in such a hurry earlier?" Ignoring her sarcasm, Kaleb changed the subject. He just had to ask! The audacity he had! Sasha smirked. "Did you want to enjoy seeing the girl you just a few minutes ago making a friendly chat with your girlfriend?" she snapped, her wound reopened. "Oh, so you left because of Claire?" Again, Kaleb's voice was mocking. "No, I left because of me," Sasha recoiled, and it was her stupidity sending him a text. "And what about you and Samson? I see the way he looked at you at the party. He seems to really like you and the both of you seem really familiar with each other. What do I make out of that?" Kaleb sounded different, odd even. —---------- When Kaleb Luthor decides to move back to the town he grew up in, Sasha Sullivan is bombarded with a lot of emotions. This is a guy she has had a crush on for as long as she can remember, and this is her chance to make him see her more than just his sister's best friend. But as she gets closer to Kaleb, Sasha realizes that he's a totally different guy from the one she has built up in her head, but she still can't let him go. A one night stand was all she needed… But she isn't prepared for the consequences that one night could bring…. And what an affair with Kaleb Luthor would do to her friendship with her best friend, Tilly Luthor.

Clara Nguyen is a fox princess from a demon kingdom. After saving a human with marble, she fainted and entered the modern world. She becomes an ordinary person without magic. Clara is always looking for her marble. During a shopping trip, she tracked down and discovered the whereabouts of marble. The magic gem is in the body of Jonathan- Owner of a comic book publishing company Omen. She hastily kissed him to get the jewel back but failed. The marble only returns to her if the kiss is voluntary. To get the marble back, she becomes an Omen employee to make Jonathan fall in love with her. She is determined to make him kiss her voluntarily. Will Clara’s plan succeed, or is she the one who will fall in love with Jonathan first?

Luca let himself be kissed, feeling Scarlett’s skin beneath his hands. He caressed her back, slowly moving his way down. This time her senses were alert and not muddled from the ale. His coarse hands moving through her body made Scarlett shiver with pleasure. ***** In a world where humanity battles to survive the constant attacks of the blood-drinking Hova, the warrior tribe of women called the Karainas fight back. With their fire magic, they have defended their lands for centuries. Scarlett is the first person to become a Karaina without having any magic, and she has the strength, skills, and speed to prove her worth. But her journey partners her up with the most unlikely allies of all: the enemy.

The wife of a renowned designer thought I was not good enough to be seen with her. So, when the award ceremony came, she brought along her young, handsome secretary, someone who suited her image much better. I did not argue or make a scene. I ignored the secretary's quiet provocations and stayed perfectly calm. My wife, taken aback by how 'sensible' I had become, must have thought I had finally given up on her. For the first time, she did not sneer or mock me. Instead, she spoke gently for once, and told me to stay home and wait for her. She even promised a 'big surprise' for my birthday. I lowered my eyes and nodded, hiding the heaviness inside. She did not know that today, I was walking away for good.

"Work Hard, Play Hard" Archie is never without a beautiful woman or a glass of good scotch in his hand, which drives his ultra-wealthy, conservative parents to distraction. To force him to take life more seriously, his father threatens to name his cousin the CEO of the company Archie helped build from the ground up if he doesn't marry a girl of their choosing. To appease his parents, Archie proposes to Leticia and gives her the family heirloom ring. Archie's best friend Josh thinks he's making a big mistake and invites him for a week's holiday in Ibiza, telling him it's a stag party. With his boyfriend Charlie, Josh aims to convince Archie to face his true self and his long-buried truth. Archie initially clashes with the outgoing, gregarious Charlie, but soon finds himself drawn to him as Charlie returns the attraction, pushing Archie to explore this connection even at the risk of losing Josh's friendship. But Archie's return to the real world makes him realize that his love for Charlie could cost him the CEO position and the love of his parents. Forced to choose between a chance at true love and familial loyalty, Archie makes the ultimate decision, but either one will destroy lives and hearts.

My husband had a severe addiction for physical intimacy. However, in the seven years of our marriage, he never touched me, not even once. To suppress his urges, he soaked himself in bone-chilling ice water every night. His arms were covered in needle marks from constant injections. It broke my heart to see him like that. I offered myself to him many times, but he insisted on simply giving me a restrained kiss on the forehead before saying, “Don’t be silly, Summer. I’m not like those animals. How could I ever bear to hurt you? For you, I’d gladly live the rest of my life in a platonic marriage.” This strange, almost obsessive restraint of his lasted seven years. Despite the numerous times he pushed himself far enough to end up hospitalized, he still refused to cross that line. Then, on our wedding anniversary, a young woman named Anna Brandt came in for her ninth hymen restoration surgery. After the anesthetic was administered, her cheeks flushed red. As her mind grew hazy, she started crying weakly like a lost kitten. Looking at the love bites scattered across her body, I shook my head and assumed she was just another girl who had gone astray. That was until I heard her last tearful whisper. “John Shaw, you jerk.” My hand trembled and I nearly dropped the scalpel. Because my husband’s name also was John Shaw.