The Root

My elder sister, the crown princess, died on the road while searching for medicinal herbs to save me. The obsessive merman, cunning fox spirit, and unhinged lion shifter she had entangled herself with all came looking for her. Each one believed he was her true love, and they immediately began fighting among themselves until all three were gravely wounded. When they learned that my sister had died because of me, they turned their fury to me, seeing me as the root of all their suffering. The merman brutally ripped out my spiritual core. "You killed her, so you don't deserve to live either." The fox spirit forced deadly poison down my throat. "Simply dying would be far too merciful for you." The lion shifter imprisoned me and tortured me daily. "That face of yours that looks like hers is the only reason you're still breathing." I carried the guilt of my sister's death, and I suffered in silence to keep my parents safe from their wrath. Three years passed, and I had become nothing more than a broken shell. I fought desperately to escape and return to the royal palace, only to hear familiar laughter echoing from the inner chambers. It was my sister's voice. "Thank heavens you came up with this brilliant plan, Mother. I certainly wasn't about to keep dealing with those disgusting beastmen forever." Rage consumed me. I burst through the doors, determined to kill us both, but her personal guard cut me down with a single strike. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day my sister staged her own death.

She was his motivation. Madison Connor, the only woman he had ever loved, the woman he had hurt, the woman he had left. Billionaire Damien Daniels had three things he needed to accomplish in his life. First, he was going to get to the root of his past. Second, he was going to make the Connors pay. Third, the last thing, he didn't even know. But he knew there was something remaining, a wrong he needed to right. And it was staring straight at him. A dark truth that risked breaking him apart, that could mar his existence. In all these though she was at the center of it all, Madison Connor. Lord help him. She was the one thing he could never have. His enemy's little sister. Eyes like the sea, strawberry blonde curls and those dotted freckles atop her nose; she was his obsession. She was the beginning of his downfall, his damnation and motivation. *** He was the one man she couldn't avoid back then, and the man she couldn't resist. Damien Daniel, her childhood crush who never looked her way even once.Her brother's enemy. She was too small for him, not sexy or beautiful enough for him, too shy to even talk to him.Their attraction was unmistakable, almost beyond control, but as much as she ached to be his, she feared the pressure of his demands. *** Submitting to each other meant they had to break so many rules. Could they? Would they? Their love was forbidden. Their intertwining past threatening to tear them apart. A bumpy ride. So many obstacles and trials. It took days, months and years, but what's meant to be will always be!

He makes you touch the sky when he’s between your legs, claiming your body with a passion that dismantles your defenses. He takes root in your chest, reaches the darkest corners of your mind — and it excites you. Maybe that’s what connected you two. He saw your worst side and loved you. You saw his worst and loved him back. DON, The Pitbull — as he became known for his brutal bites inside São Paulo’s fighting rings — arrived in the city while fleeing a barbaric crime, forced to rebuild his life in the shadows. Today, he is the “King of Tartarus,” ruler of an underground fight club sponsored by powerful businessmen and corrupt politicians. On a cold São Paulo night, his path collides with that of a reckless, drunken girl who runs him over on a deserted street. From that encounter, an uncontrollable obsession is born between them. Louise lives in a world opposite to Don’s. Wealthy, the daughter of influential figures, she once had a perfect life — until she discovered it was nothing but an illusion. It’s when the criminal steps in that she finds her emergency exit. Don is the shot of adrenaline she desperately craves. He is the drug that intoxicates her. The punishment she deserves. And Louise can’t resist. The attraction between them is forbidden, and little by little it awakens the darkest instincts within the criminal. It’s as if he can see a side of Louise that no one else can — a side she fights fiercely to keep hidden. Lou knows Don carries a disturbing past. That he is dangerous and violent. But what should make her afraid and push her away is also what excites her… and fuels a ravenous desire.

Sofia Lorie Andres is a 22-year-old former volleyball player who left behind everything because of her unrequited love. She turned her back on everyone to forget the pain and embarrassment she felt because of a woman she loved so much even though she was only considered a best friend. None other than Kristine Aragon, a 23-year-old famous volleyball player in the Philippines. Her best friend caused her heart to beat but was later destroyed. All Sofia Lorie knew Kristine was the only one who caused it all. She is the root cause of why there is a rift between the two of them. Sofia thought about everything they talked about can easily be handled by her, but failed. Because everything she thought was wrong. After two years of her healing process, she also thought of returning to the Philippines and facing everything she left behind. She was ready for what would happen to her when she returned, but the truth wasn’t. Especially when she found out that the woman she once loved was involved in an accident that caused her memories to be erased. The effect was huge, but she tried not to show others how she felt after knowing everything about it. Until she got to the point where she would do the cause of her previous heartache, Role Play. Since she and Rad were determined, they did Role Play, but destiny was too playful for her. She was confused about what was happening, but only one thing came to her mind at those times. She will never do it again because, in the end, she will still be the loser. She is tired of the Role Play game, which she has lost several times. Will the day come when she will feel real love without the slightest pretense?

My adoptive parents' long-lost daughter came back. She's a wellness influencer. She eats from crystal bowls she "cleansed." Sleeps with a white noise machine. She will only ride in a custom, climate-controlled car. That's not all. She filled our family's Manhattan law firm with Himalayan salt lamps and energy crystals. The espresso in the conference room? Replaced with gluten-free, organic dandelion root tea. "The energy here is so murky," she'd say. "We need to cleanse the world with love and light!" My guilt-ridden parents gave her everything she wanted. Even my fiancé told me, "Ava, you stole twenty years of her Upper East Side life. Can't you cut her some slack?" The day of the final hearing for our firm's biggest case, the entire court had to wait for her to finish her "emotional cleansing meditation." The judge was furious. I stood up. Delivered a flawless closing argument. I won our client $500 million and secured the future of the firm. But at the party, she had a drunken breakdown, fell into the pool, and drowned. My parents and my fiancé blamed me for everything. "You always have to win, don't you? It was a simple, open-and-shut case. You couldn't even let her have that?" They had me committed to a psychiatric hospital. They destroyed my law license and my reputation. They even had me injected with a fatal overdose of sedatives. I died full of hate. The next time I opened my eyes, I was back. Back to the day she was crying on her Instagram Live, begging for the case. This time, I walked straight into our rival's law firm. This "sure-win" case? I'm going to make you lose everything.