The Penguin Press

Durante as férias, meu namorado, Lucas Mendes, pediu que eu fosse até a casa da sua amiga de infância para ajudar a alimentar o cachorro dela. No entanto, assim que cheguei com a ração, um enorme Pitbull me derrubou no chão e começou a me morder ferozmente. Felizmente, um vizinho me salvou do ataque, mas meu rosto ficou com cicatrizes permanentes, impossíveis de serem apagadas pelo resto da vida. Eu estava à beira de um colapso mental, mas Lucas, em vez de me apoiar, me acusou: — Deve ter sido você que o alimentou do jeito errado e o irritou. Você só ficou desfigurada, mas o Nino perdeu a vida! Por fim, a pressão esmagadora me fez pular do alto de um prédio. Após minha morte, vi Lucas abraçado à amiga de infância: — Amor, você é tão esperto. Deixou o Nino passar fome por dias antes. Agora que ela morreu, podemos finalmente ficar juntos. Ao abrir os olhos novamente, percebi que tinha voltado ao dia em que Lucas me pediu para ir alimentar o cachorro.

Receiving a glass of wine from her sister on the night before her wedding was the worst mistake Annalisa could have ever made. Unknown to her, the drink had been spiked, setting her up into having a one night stand with a stranger. But the stranger had been none other than Cristiano Morano, a powerful and ruthless man who controlled half of the city's underworld. To make matters worse, he was also the sworn enemy of her fiancé. Annalisa thought she was going to lose it all, her career and her life, when a scandal about her unfaithfulness broke out. Not only that, she found out her fiancé had been cheating with her blood sister. As her family were about to announce their disowning in a press conference, a dashing man from the audience had come out and said he was going to take responsibility for Anna. They got married, but Cristiano had stated a condition in the contract she signed; He would have full control over her life and career. Would a timid girl like Annalisa survive in Cristiano's world? “You’re mine now, Annalisa. And I always get what's mine.” “W-what do you mean?” “I mean I'll break you,” Cristiano said, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “And then, I'll put you back together again, my way.”

I died on my birthday, but neither my parents nor my husband noticed. They were too busy pouring all their attention into planning my twin sister, Esme Shaw's, birthday party. While she was surrounded by people helping her pick out a gown, I was tied up and thrown into the basement. With what little strength I had left, I forced my broken fingers to press in the code—9395. It was a signal my husband, Edwin Grant, and I had once agreed on. It was a straightforward way to call for help in the event of danger. I never thought I would actually need it one day. But when I sent it, he didn't believe me. His reply was cold, "Claudia, just because I didn't take you shopping for a new dress, you've decided to put on a show? "You can still wear last year's gown. Stop making trouble. I'll see you at the party later." What he didn't know was that Esme had already shredded that gown into pieces. And what he couldn't imagine was that the moment after he hung up, I was already gone. So, when the celebration began, I never appeared. But when everyone saw the birthday gift I had prepared for Esme ahead of time, the entire room lost its mind.

Laila Jones has spent eight years building a quiet, beautiful life for herself and her daughter, Malaya. After her high school boyfriend caved to his racist grandfather and chose football and family approval over her and their unborn baby, Laila left Ohio, moved south, and raised Malaya on her own. Now Malaya is eight, there’s a daddy–daughter dance coming up, and her one Christmas wish is simple—and heartbreaking: she wants to meet her dad. Going home for the holidays was hard enough. Running into Jordan Hall, now the golden-boy quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals, is worse. He’s famous, gorgeous, and acting like he has the right to look at her with regret. Laila is ready to avoid him, yell at him, or both. What she doesn’t know is that after his grandfather’s death, Jordan discovered every letter she ever sent—proof that she kept their baby, begged him to come, and raised their daughter without him. The truth wrecks him, and this Christmas, he’s determined to fight for the family he should have had all along. But Laila isn’t interested in being anyone’s redemption arc. Especially not while his nasty fiancée is calling her a liar to the press and the internet is tearing her apart. As secrets unravel and emotions explode in front of cameras, Laila and Jordan have to decide what matters more: anger, pride, and old wounds…or the little girl who still believes Christmas wishes can come true.

Noah Stark was supposed to marry Genevieve’s cousin but was forced into the arms of Genevieve because his future wife's family treated him awfully, like a criminal, and looked down on him as the dirt underneath their boots until they found out who he was. For a moment, Mr. Cornell stared at Noah, and then he looked down at the resume in his hand, it took him a while before the light bulb spiked in his head, and he shouted, “Cease him!” Immediately, a guard fist slammed into Noah's jaw, and another struck him in the face, gashing his lip and causing Leo to scream and cry louder. ‘Glenn,’ Noah thought as his jaw tightened at the sight of his future wife, sensing his only emotion for her was a feeling of annoyance. “A house help… Cousin, your standard has dropped after your husband's death… How can you degrade from a CEO and governor's nephew to this thing right here.” Glenn said, her tone full of disgust. “Can you please stop, Glenn!” Genevieve snapped at her, tired of the constant smug remark from her cousin. “Watch it, Genevieve.” Mrs. Carnell warned her coldly. “My daughter is right. While Glenn is about to get married to the only heir of the Stark family, you are here fooling around with an idler. If word gets out about this, who would want to marry you again? You are already a widow, and now you are sleeping around with a ‘nobody! You should get remarried quickly to save face before any more scandals appear in the press and ruin this family!’”

Luke Walter is the owner of the biggest writing company in the whole world while Anna Mines is a young innocent girl trying to make ends meet. Luke Walter turned into a chronic womanizer and kinda drunkard after the death of his first love whom he cherished and loved so much. After Anna Mines had worked tirelessly as a laundry attendant, she eventually goes into prostitution so that she could fend for her siblings. There, she had a normal one night stand with a random customer and discovered that she was pregnant for the man. The aftermath effect was hell for her because it was shameful and traumatic for her to undergo parenthood alone without a partner. Although, a whole lotta people encouraged her to abort the baby, she persistently disagreed and decided to keep her baby. Luke Walter was very unlucky and unfortunate after his usual night one-off sexual escapades because he was so drunk and got into a terrible accident that affected his spinal cord thereby rendering him impotent and unable to bear children again in life. He was left shattered and heart broken. The news of the accident was all over the press and the friend of the Anna came to tell her about it. Her friend brought out her phone and showed her the life videos and pictures of the rich billionaire. She burst into tears because she couldn't believe that her baby daddy was the richest young man in the whole of their country. She never actually wanted to own up that she was the mother to Luke Walter's son. Do you think Anna would eventually begin another phase of life with Luke?

I thought divorce would free me from Roland Voss, the man who turned our marriage into a gilded prison. But walking away from a Voss isn’t freedom. It’s war. The press calls me a gold-digger. His lawyers call me a liability. And Roland? He just smirks across his mahogany desk and murmurs, “You’ll never escape me, Aliyah. Not while you carry my name.” I swore I’d never shatter again until I met him. Dominic Voss. Roland’s younger brother. The man I shouldn’t even look at, let alone want. He sees the cracks in me no one else bothers to notice. When the world turns its back, Dominic leans close and whispers, “Let me protect you. Even if it means going against my own blood.” Every stolen glance is treason. Every brush of his hand sets me on fire. And when Victor Hale, a rival billionaire with teeth sharper than Roland’s, circles closer, I realize I’ve become the prize in a game where men like them never lose. But I’m not the same woman Roland once broke. This time, I’m willing to risk everything, scandal, ruin, even the wrath of the dynasty that branded me theirs to choose the man who makes me feel alive. The question is… Will my freedom cost me my heart? Or will loving Dominic ignite a war that none of us survive?

My name is Addison Calder. During my first heat as an adult werewolf, Morgan Flint suddenly announces that he wants to end things. I can't stop crying—not from a broken heart but because the torment of my mating cycle is consuming me from within. Gripping his sleeve tightly, I lean closer, attempting to kiss away the tension. Impatient, Morgan shoves me toward his older brother, Tucker Flint. "Hey, Tucker. Addie's drunk and losing it. Can you help calm her down?" As Tucker steps forward, Morgan leans in and whispers, "Keep an eye on her. Don't let any other men get close. I'm only breaking up with her for now. Once I'm done fooling around, I'll get back together with her." Tucker nods and gently lifts me into the car. "It hurts, doesn't it?" he says softly. Overwhelmed by the pain, I clutch his tie with tears streaming down my face. "Please… Help me," I plead. Tucker's pupils contract, his voice low and hoarse. "And how exactly do you want me to help you?" In a flash, I lean in and press my lips to his. "Kiss me… or let me kiss you." Our passionate kiss melts away much of the tension gnawing at me. Noticing Tucker's reddened ears, I grab his tie once more. "Will you take me home?"

To cheer up his pretty assistant, my boyfriend brought her to attend a party. I had to bail him out after he was arrested by the police. The charge? Public indecency after consuming illegal substances. When I arrived at the police station to pick him up, he was still trying to comfort his assistant, paying no heed to the possibility that I might have seen the lipstick marks on his neck. After seeing that I wasn’t saying anything, my boyfriend assumed I was upset and explained impatiently, “Winnie was in a terrible mood that day, and I was just there to keep her company. We didn’t take part in any public indecency! It was the other guests who were messing about!” What a terrible excuse. If it was any other day, I wouldn’t be this calm. This time was different. I will no longer press him for answers like a mad woman. As I walked past the police station entrance, an officer looked at my boyfriend and his assistant, who were still all over each other. With eyes full of sympathy, he asked me, “Your partner?” I glanced at my boyfriend, whose focus was entirely fixated on Winnie, and shook my head. “No, just an acquaintance.” At that moment, Winnie was leaning against him, seeking his comfort. I pulled out my phone and texted my dad silently. “I agree to marry President Lee. I’ll leave the wedding preparation to you guys.” “I’ll be back in five days.”

He slammed me hard against the brick wall and instead of feeling pain, I felt excited, in between my legs started misbehaving as he stared at me closely.His body so close, his golden brown eyes peering into mine, I could literally feel his hot breathe fanning over my neck.His gruff voice called out my name."Karen, how long will you keep being stubborn? How long will you keep on disobeying your Alpha?" Instead of fear engulfing me,I could only smirk at his pissed self."Have I been disobeying you, Andrew?" I couldn't help but smirk again.He groaned and pressed me harder into the brick wall, his body close to mine. I could now feel something hard press hard into my thigh.No matter what, I sure enjoy the feeling of that, the feeling to know that he is always turned on by me - by my so called stubbornness. It made me smirk at him again.Oh you'll get us killed, Karen, stop smirking at him, will you? My inner wolf warned but I didn't listen to her.I suddenly felt one of his hands on my pants. My eyes widened immediately."You've pushed me too hard, Karen, I'll surely punish you today" his gruff voice blew hot breathe over my neck."To my office, now!" He ordered finally moving away from me.