The Paying Guests

My mother-in-law, Kylie McGowan, told me that she wanted to experience the life of the younger crowd, so I took her to my husband Jerome Callen's newly opened upscale bar for a quiet drink. I had just ordered her a signature cocktail when a woman from the booth across the aisle sauntered over, wine glass in hand. Her eyes flicked over the menu on our table, and she laughed mockingly. "Seriously? You ordered the cheapest drink on the menu? Did you bring this old lady here just to enjoy the free AC? People like you should stay in the gutter. This place isn't meant for penniless people!" I rose to my feet, holding back my temper. "We're paying for our drinks here. What does our drink choice have to do with you?" But she suddenly snapped, grabbed a half-finished beer bottle off a nearby table, and swung it at my head. "My husband's the owner of this bar! I could smash your skull in and still afford the damages! Get out, you pauper! Don't be an eyesore here!" I wiped the liquor off my face as my entire body shook with anger. Then I turned away, started my livestream, and spoke directly to my followers. "Look here, everyone! I'm going live to catch a cheater. Let's go explore my husband's other home."

I loved Adriano Ferraro—yeah, that Don—for five freaking years. He wasn't just my fiancé; he was my anchor in a world where loyalty got tested, and weakness got you killed. We had it all mapped out—dreams, plans, a future we actually thought we owned. Until I lost our baby. I reached for him, shaking, desperate for anything. But comfort never came. Instead, it was her. His stepsister, propped up. "Don't buy her act. She's just fishing for attention—again." That snake smiled like she just won a prize for emotional torture, dripping venom while fanning the flames. And Adriano? He bought it. He turned away. In that moment, it hit me—I wasn't just grieving. I was completely alone. The kid I carried, the future I built in my head? Gone. And so was I. I walked out. On him. On the Ferraro Family I was stupid enough to think I could belong to. All I left behind was silence. Empty space where we used to be. Now Adriano's drowning in regret, but it's too damn late. The life we should've had, the love we should've built? Dust. And her? The stepsister who ruined it all? She's paying for every lie.

In the bustling city of New York, Mary Jane Carter lives in a rundown apartment with her mother, Lynn Carter. She works a thousand different jobs just to make ends meet but her major job is a daytime job as a barrister in the biggest café in town- la petite bean. She works very diligently, not paying much attention to the fun of life and the people around her. Ever since her father died life has been hard for both herself and her mother, she vowed to make things better for her mother and she works everyday towards achieving that goal. Ethan Cogsworth on the other hand is a rich CEO born into the wealth of Cogsworth enterprises. Although he tends to be rather introvertive, he used to have a lively frivolous past. By fate or coincidence, his path crosses with Mary Jane’s when he comes to have coffee at the café she works with his best friend Clifford Mann. She catches his eye and he begins to chase after her in hopes of winning her heart. It takes a while but Mary Jane eventually decides to give him a chance. Their seemingly perfect love story is put to the test when she finds out about Ethan’s dreadful past. Can they overcome the wrongs and learn to love each other through their hurt? Or will the truth Mary Jane learns of be the end of their relationship as well as Ethan Cogsworth entire career?....

“When I pictured what today would look like, it never involved me standing here, alone at the alter, humiliated, as the prying eyes of guests etched at me like daggers and hushed whispers rose amongst them, with the collective gasps of disbelief. And worse, the whole world was watching this LIVE on every local news channel”. *********************** Hi my name is Clarissa, and my perfect fairytale just turned into a public nightmare. One night before my wedding, I was drugged and woke up in a strange place. Confused, late, and barely holding myself together, I still showed up in my gown, ready to marry the man I loved. Only to be left standing at the altar. Alone. Humiliated and Live on every local news channel. But that's not even the cherry on top. The real heartbreak? Is that not only did he ditch me, but I caught him later…..in bed, sexually tangled in my sister's arms. My blood. So I did what any broken, furious woman would do. I turned to the one man who could ruin him, His powerful, dangerously sexy billionaire father, Victor Gonzales. It was supposed to be a game. A scandalous way to burn them both. But Victor isn’t a man you use and walk away from. He’s older. Smarter. Wickedly dominant. And he’s made it clear, if I play with fire, I will get burned. Now, I’m caught in a forbidden game of lust, lies, and revenge. And the more I fall for him, the harder it becomes to remember who’s using who. He was meant to be a pawn. But he just might become my greatest temptation….and my deepest downfall.

"You want to know what I am?" his voice is barely controlled. "I'm possessive. You're mine, Summer. Not his. Not anyone else's. Mine." "Possessive isn't love, Luxian...." I said gasping. "Who said anything about love?" His hand wraps around my throat, not squeezing, just holding. "Did you let him touch you like this?" his other hand finds my blouse, ripping it open with one sharp pull. Buttons scatter across the floor. "Did you shake for him the way you shake for me? Did you wet the way your cunt wet for me?" *** Things can't seem to get any worse for Summer, branded as a lunatic, barren, and stabbed in the back by her husband, Rhys Glomarian, and stepsister, Virginia Paraguz. She loses it all in one day. *** It was Rhys' birthday, and he announced to everyone that Virginia was his fated mate and was expecting Rhys' pups. Three years of a nightmare marriage was enough for her. Summer decided to rescue herself from that hellhole, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. None of the guests that night were moved to save her despite her disheveled and scarred condition. They even looked at her with disgust and mockery. But just when she was beginning to lose hope, an unexpected savior appeared – a cursed Alpha, dreaded by all for his ruthlessness. Still, he is the wealthiest and the most powerful of all, Alpha Luxian Alderon. That night, he arrived to rescue Summer from Rhys' grasp and claim her as his fate mate. But her joy in escaping Rhys is cut short when she learns that Luxian comes with a deadly curse for anyone who becomes his mate.

After catching her fiancé in bed with her best friend at their engagement party, Lana Rivera's perfect life shatters in a single night. Humiliated and heartbroken, she feels the scene, desperate to disappear. But running from one betrayal thrusts her into something far more dangerous... Seeking refuge, Lana wanders into an exclusive lounge that feels less like a bar, and more like a secret society. Cigars and cologne linger in the air, Italian jazz hums in the background, and patrons watch everything with sharp, vigilant eyes. But when she witnesses a man executed in cold blood, right into the middle of the club, she realises too late that she has stumbled into the world of Underground crime... quite specifically... the Mafia. Before she can escape, Ezio Benedetti, the ruthless Don who owns the lounge, claims her. At first, she believes she will be killed for what she's seen, but instead, Ezio decides to keep her, to parade her, and to make her part of a world she doesn't understand. When he brings her to his family's most elusive event, Ezio shows her off as his newest prize. But Ezio isn't the only powerful man in the room... Among the guests stands Dante Valencia, the one they call the Mafia King, Don of the most feared family in the city, and Ezio's sworn enemy. When Dante sets his sights on Lana, Ezio refuses to let her go, refuelling the war between the two empires. Now, Lana is caught between two Rival Kings of the Underworld, one who wants to possess her, and one who wants to save her. In a world built on loyalty, blood and power, her heart might be the most dangerous thing of all...

I was dancing in my bedroom when the door open by Dominic and suddenly the music stopped I turned around and smiled shyly "Is there a problem Mr. Russo ? " yes there is a problem, your shaking your ass when you be should be paying attention to my daughter " I hanged my head in embarrassment as he stared down at me " I'm sorry Mr. Russo but Emily is asleep and I got caught up in the music while I was studying. How stupid of me I should have locked the door properly "Its ok but to make it up to me I want you to do that same dance you were doing" what? did he just ask me to dance for him. "Ok" I pressed the play button on the the laptop, I started to dance then it and the music stopped again. "No no I want you to dance you to dance on me" I was shocked, did my boss/ Mafia king asked me to dance on him. "Ook" He walked over to the chair and sat down I started the music again before walking towards him and climbed over him. Before I could start he grabbed my hips and pulled down so I was sitting on his lap. "Start" He demanded. I then started grinding on him slowly moving my hips to the beat, I sudden felt him getting hard as it poked my heat. "Your playing a dangerous game Mr. Russo" I said as I danced on him.

I took my parents-in-law, Edmund and Macy Hale, out to a restaurant. When it was time to pay, we ran into my husband’s female assistant, Vera Rhodes. Seeing Mrs. Hale packing up the leftover bouillabaisse she had been drinking, Vera marched over and slapped the takeaway bag out of her hands. The soup splashed all over Mrs. Hale in an instant. "If you can’t afford to eat here, then don’t come," she sneered. "Look at you, reeking of poverty. How do people like you deserve to be Mr. Orion Hale’s in-laws? Don’t embarrass him." I asked the restaurant to prepare a fresh portion of fish soup to go. Before anyone could respond, Vera slapped me to the ground. "This is a members-only restaurant. You’re using Mr. Hale’s card, aren’t you?" she mocked. "Can’t you earn your own money? You need his money to support your hillbilly parents?" Mr. Hale was so enraged that he was rushed to the hospital. I called Orion and asked him to come sign the surgery consent form. He laughed coldly. "Vera already told me everything. Your dad even needs to trick me into paying medical bills now? Has your whole family gone insane from poverty? "If you’re going to die, then hurry up and die. Just don’t die in front of me. It’s bad luck."

Book 1 - You'd better watch out. The danger is not just lurking in the dark. accompanies each of our steps. Instinct drives them.In a world full of monsters, there are those who are willing to risk their lives to save humanity from ruin. The hunters.After the trauma of her childhood, the ambitious young Grace decides that she will be one of those who hunt down the monsters and does everything she can to achieve this goal. She only wants one thing, to take revenge on the beings that her parents once snatched from her. But when Grace is forced to meet the grouchy Reese and his troubled brother Nick, she has to admit that the monsters of this world not only lurk in the dark shadows of the night. She is drawn into a vortex of intrigue, power struggles and greed for money and soon finds herself confronted with a creature that is more dangerous than anything known before.-------Book 2 - You'd better watch out. The danger is not just lurking in the dark. accompanies each of our steps. Instinct drives them.In a world full of monsters there are those who are willing to risk their lives to save humanity from perdition. The hunters.Finally, the years of hard work are paying off, Grace is officially a Venator and with Reese at her side she believes she can cope with anything that fate throws at her. But an unbelievable message from Jilin pulls the shadows from the past and stirs her thirst for revenge. Grace takes on this challenge and gets a stone rolling that cannot be stopped and slowly not only she begins to doubt her sanity.

At the dinner celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary, I held the pregnancy test report in my pocket, planning to surprise my CEO husband. However, the moment the doors opened, I froze. A stunning woman stood there with her arm intimately linked through my husband's. She clung to Charles Lawrence with the ease and confidence of someone who clearly belonged at his side, carrying herself like the lady of the house. Neither Charles nor the guests found it strange. If anything, they seemed entertained. Someone even joked, "Mr. Lawrence and Ms. Cooper aren't just ideal partners at work. Their chemistry is something to admire as well. I've personally reserved the presidential suite at Jubilee City's finest resort for Mr. Lawrence tonight. You can be sure no one will disturb you." Fiona blushed and slipped shyly into Charles's arms. He lowered his head and kissed her hard. They fit together so naturally, so intimately, that the sight was unbearably glaring. My thoughts flashed back to the night before, when Charles had pressed me into the bed. In that moment, I had caught sight of a strange message sent by someone named Fiona: [Everyone in the company thinks we've slept together.] Charles had explained that Fiona was only his assistant, a forty-year-old woman, and that the message was nothing more than a punishment from a lost game, a foolish dare. That explanation had dissolved my suspicion and anger. Then, I finally saw the truth. I was the one who had lost everything. Inside my pocket, the pregnancy report was crushed into a tight ball. I forced the tears back, stepped away, and opened the invitation from the National Aerospace Research Institute on my phone. Without hesitation, I tapped Accept. Three days later, I would vanish completely from Charles's world.