The Final Play

Why is the world so cruel?” Nora had spent fifteen years of her life being the perfect daughter, obedient, loyal, and silent. She cooked, cleaned, and sacrificed her dreams to please her father, believing love was something she could earn through pain. But on the day of the will reading, her world shattered. Every property, every piece of her father’s empire, was left to her younger sister. All Nora got was a letter with three empty words: “Forgive me, Nora.” With nowhere to go and nothing to live for, she finds herself entangled with Adrian Cole, the city’s most arrogant billionaire playboy, a man known for breaking hearts, not healing them. He’s everything she swore to avoid: proud, dangerous, and emotionally untouchable. But when their paths collide, secrets unfold, secrets that link their families, their pain, and their pasts in ways neither expected. What starts as a cruel game of seduction soon turns into a storm of emotions neither of them can control. He played her heart... Until he realized she was the only one who could break his.

Because of a bet, the heiress of Lacroix Incorporation, Verena Lacroix was employed by the exclusive bachelor in the city, Remmington Accardi, as his personal maid. Verena wanted to deflect Remmington as much as she could, but fate played with her as both of them got caught in a passionate situation, and what happened next was an unforeseen one-night stand. To prevent issues between them, Verena resigned from her work even without Remmington’s consent. But after two weeks of hiding from Remmington, she learned that she was bearing his child. But things were not as easy as they seemed. Because the bet that occurred was just supposed to find dirt on Remmington Accardi—to prove that he is undergoing illegal business underground—and Verena was supposed to be there as a secret spy. To bring light upon Remmington Accardi’s false appearance to the people. However, she got pregnant with his child. And the worst part is, he started looking for her everywhere. Using his control underground as a mafia boss. Now, fate will play with Verena again. Because no matter how she hides, Remmington still finds her. And in this fated play of theirs, will Verena choose the right thing? Or will she fall for his charms? Will Remmington find the heart to change? Or will he make Verena suffer in his arms?

Alora Steppingstone spent her teenage life practicing in shooting range, boxing ring and running field. She moved to New York and trained by her uncle to be a great mafia herself to avenge once she gets back in the Philippines at 18 years old. Since her parents died in front of her, all she wants to do is to kill the family Spencer who lead the biggest assassin organization and the culprit of her family's murder case. She promise to herself that she will kill Mr. Robert Spencer including his family but when she met Calter Vin, everything has change. When Alora strives to unfold the truth about her family's death and set aside her romantic feelings, at the end of the story, the question is to whom will she shoot her final bullet.

I had been dating Andy Lawson for five years. He had gone bankrupt, and during the worst of it, we had to sleep in parks and scavenge leftovers for food. After a hundred days of that life, I was just going to the blackmarket to sell some blood for money when someone sent me a video. [Surprise.] It was a livestream site, set up for rich kids to prank the common folk—and a video of me was pinned to the top. My finger trembling, I tapped on it and saw myself hidden in a corner of a park, munching on leftovers to nourish my frail body. On the split video, Andy was reclining against the armchair of a five-star hotel and savoring his gourmet menu. "Oh, this is amazing! All Andy has to do is say that he's sick, and she's selling her blood for him!" "On the sixteenth prank, she fell into the ocean… And on the fifteenth, she was sent flying in a car crash! Why is she so hard to kill?" "Well, Andy already made it clear that if she survives until the end, he will marry her and swear off women!" "One month to go! Will she die from the pranks, or marry into the Lawson family with pomp and circumstance?" "I'm betting fifty mil that she dies tragically! Hahaha!"

In an East London lock up, two film makers, Jimmy and Sam, are duct taped to chairs and forced to watch a snuff film by Ashkan, a loan shark to whom they owe a lot of money. If they don’t pay up, they’ll be starring in the next one. Before the film reaches its end, Ashkan and all his men are slaughtered by unknown assailants. Only Jimmy and Sam survive the massacre, leaving them with the sole copy of the snuff film. The film makers decide to build their next movie around the brutal film. While auditioning actors, they stumble upon Melissa, an enigmatic actress who seems perfect for the leading role, not least because she’s the spitting image of the snuff film’s main victim. Neither the film, nor Melissa, are entirely what they seem however. Jimmy and Sam find themselves pulled into a paranormal mystery that leads them through the shadowy streets of the city beneath the city and sees them re-enacting an ancient Mesopotamian myth cycle. As they play out the roles of long forgotten gods and goddesses, they’re drawn into the subtle web of a deadly heresy that stretches from the beginnings of civilization to the end of the world as we know it. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Jessica has some explaining to do. Not only has she lied to her best friend, but she is lying to the father of their daughter. But it's not her fault that she fell in love with the man the day they met. Jessica remembers that day like it was yesterday. His smooth skin, sparkling smile, and beautiful eyes are something that haunts her dreams every night. Jessica had told Christine that the father knew about Adamelia, but that was a lie. Jessica had told the father of her child that she doesn't love him, but that was also a lie. Jessica has even told herself that she has moved on. That was a huge lie. Wallowing in shame and guilt, Jessica has decided that it is her punishment. She was the one who created the web of lies in the first place. Now she will do everything in her power to right her wrongs.

On the day the Cole family went bankrupt, Adrian Cole left behind a suicide note and went alone to the snow mountains to end his life. I chased after him without hesitation, searching for him in the snow for a full ten hours. Just as despair hollowed me out completely, I saw his secretary, Zoe Bennett, livestreaming Adrian's proposal on social media. One of his friends joked in the comments, "You're about to be a groom. Aren't you afraid your woman will get mad?" His reply was icy cold. "I only promised her the title of Mrs. Cole. She shouldn't even think about anything else." Another comment followed. "She's marrying in with ten billion in investment. Is she really willing to swallow that kind of grievance?" I could almost see Adrian sneering as he typed, "She got ten billion for the position of Mrs. Cole. She's not losing out. If it weren't for her, Zoe wouldn't have been forced to go abroad. These last few days are my compensation to Zoe." My fingernails dug deep into my flesh. Calmly, I burned everything that had anything to do with him. On the day of the wedding, he went mad searching for me everywhere. In the upscale venue across the street, I had just slipped on a diamond ring given to me by another man, Julian Cross. Unbeknownst to him, while he was calculating the countdown to our breakup, I was also preparing to marry someone else.

"She is just another challenge, tougher, but not impossible... I won't back down, no way! She will fall for me, I guarantee it!" I smirked. Theodore Adams often called Theo, a Playboy at his prime sets his Target on his new boss despite the fact that he hates her guts, he's just after her money and control over her(No feeling attached). Gabi Moroñe new boss of MRC with no social life apart from her work, she has a little quirk up her sleeves when it comes to Playboys whom she despises. When she discovers Theo's true intentions, will she fire him? Will she utterly disgrace him? Or will she let the game go on and watch him try to win her over even though she knows she could never like him?

On my 18th round of IVF, I accidentally overheard a conversation between my husband and his secretary. Yvonne asked, "Babe, do you really have to have a baby with her? What about us?" Zayn explained, "Don't worry. I've already switched the eggs with yours. So, Candice will actually be carrying our child, and you won't have to suffer through pregnancy. When the child grows up, all the Summers fortune will be his!" I pretended I did not hear a word, focusing instead on raising the son I worked so hard to bring into this world. 18 years later, my son was celebrated as a "computer genius", and he returned home after earning his doctorate. I transferred all my shares and real estate to him without hesitation. That was when Zayn finally decided to come clean and said, "Candice, the truth is, Luca is actually mine and Yvonne's. Let's get a divorce, and it's time for Lucas to be reunited with his biological mother." I simply smiled and replied, "I agree to the divorce." After weaving this web for 18 years, it was finally time to reel it all in.

"You look like this is the last place you want to be just because I'm here. Am I really that vile?" Timothy said nothing. Instead he gritted his teeth and shoved his hands into his pocket. Even in her anger, Chloe noticed him... Every inch of him... And his smell. She could pick out his unique scent. Rough. Masculine and mouthwateringly . It made no sense to her, but she was attuned to his every nuance. The man she had called her best friend until a dizzying series of events dissolved the title like sugar in hot water stared at her dispassionately. It was a good thing they were outside and she hoped that he couldn't see the hurt and disappointment on her face. The look wasn't just in his eyes. It seeped through every shrug, every curl of lips she had once thought were the most perfectly created set of lips on earth. She looked deeper, pathetically desperate to find something else. Something more. A reminder of those times when they would talk to each other for hours, and resume conversations the moment they saw one another again. But clearly the Tim she knew had been replaced by a harder, edgier version of a Timothy Kavell - Packard. He was hard and edgy and cynical to start off with. If she had known that he hated her this much, she wouldn't have agreed to his parents' offer to have dinner with them. She had agreed because a part of her had hoped that somehow, they would fix things and be friends again... And she was just beginning to see how wrong she had been....