The Silent Waters

In a world where power is forged from ruthlessness, Mario reigns as the unyielding mafia king. When tragedy strikes and he loses a sister to cold-blooded murder, he takes Gia, the daughter of his enemy, hostage—not just to punish her father, but to bind her heart to his in a twisted pact sealed with marriage. Gia finds herself trapped in a life she despises, harboring a deep-seated hatred for the man who stole everything from her. Yet amidst the darkness of captivity, a flicker of something unexpected begins to ignite between them. As the walls close in and the intensity of their shared space compels them to confront their feelings, Gia finds herself torn between escape and the emotions that bind her to Mario. As she plots her escape, a secret unfolds—one that will change everything. A baby is growing within her, a symbol of both uncertainty and hope. With the stakes higher than ever, Mario must decide if he can truly win her heart after the pain he has inflicted or if he is doomed to forfeit love in pursuit of his revenge. Will Gia and Mario discover a way to heal their broken past? Can their shared destiny be forged from the ashes of betrayal? As they navigate the treacherous waters of their intertwined fates, brace yourself for a gripping tale of resilience and the profound power of love that might just redeem them both, if only they can find the courage to embrace it. *** "I'm sorry... That guy meant nothing to me." My voice trembled. "I don't care if it meant nothing to you. I don't want another man's hands on you," he said firmly. I nodded, "Yes. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." "It can't happen again, Gia, because you are mine."

Aria never thought the forest behind her house was anything more than a place to breathe. But the night the moon burned white and the world fell silent, something inside her woke up — claws under her skin, a heartbeat that wasn’t only her own, and a stranger with gold eyes waiting at the edge of the trees. Kai is next in line to lead the Blackthorn pack, and he knows what Aria is before she does: rare, powerful, and exactly what their enemy wants. If Darius gets to her first, she won’t just be claimed — she’ll be used as a weapon. But Aria isn’t anyone’s pawn. Under Kai’s watch, she learns to control the fire rising inside her — to breathe, to choose, to fight. Each lesson pulls her deeper into the pack’s world… and closer to the Alpha-to-be who swore to keep her safe. The forest hums with danger, rival packs are closing in, and the full moon is coming. Aria must decide if she can trust the bond growing between her and Kai — before the next pull drags her across a line she can never uncross.

Isla Hart gave up her dreams for love. But when love gave up on her, she had no choice but to fight for herself. After marrying the man she thought was her first, and forever, love, she gave up everything: her career, her family, her identity. For six years, she lived quietly as a devoted wife and mother, convinced that her sacrifices were for a greater good. Until the day he whispered another woman’s name under anesthesia. Until the woman showed up, pregnant with twins, claiming to be the real love of his life. Humiliated, heartbroken, and called unworthy by her husband’s family, she takes her three-year-old daughter and walks into a stormy night with nothing but a suitcase, a broken heart, and a single phone number to call. But rock bottom is where her story truly begins. With the help of an old friend, and a man she never saw coming, she’ll find the courage to start over, the strength to stand tall, and the power to prove that she is, and always was, more than enough. A story of betrayal, resilience, and second chances in love, Unworthy No More is a heart-tugging journey from silent suffering to radiant strength.

Kendra Hayes lives by one rule, stay invisible. Straight A’s, no drama, no mistakes. But when Professor West, the man who controls her grades and her future, starts blurring the lines between mentorship and something far more dangerous, her silence becomes a cage she can’t escape. Then Axel Cross storms in. The campus golden boy. Star quarterback. Infuriatingly confident and the last person she expects to notice the cracks in her perfect facade. One glance changes everything. He sees what no one else dares to, and suddenly Kendra has something she’s never had before… an ally. But West plays a long game and he never loses. With every step Axel takes toward her, the professor’s hold tightens. Rumors ignite. Secrets surface. Loyalties shatter. And Kendra is caught in a deadly tug-of-war between the boy willing to risk it all for her, and the man determined to own her completely. She can stay silent and survive… Or speak up and lose everything, except maybe her heart. If West doesn’t destroy them both first.

"I love you, Swara. I promise that I'll never let a single drop of tear come out of your eyes," he said while holding her hands. "I don't believe in promises anymore. Promises are lies," she said while jerking her hands back. ♡♡♡ Swara Gadodia, a simple and shy girl who chooses to be silent most of the time because of reasons known only to her. Having grown up with a non-loving stepmother, who hates her, Swara longs for love, always. Enters her life, Sanskar Maheswari, a rude and arrogant man who has no room for love in his life. In fact, he doesn't even believe in the concept of love. Both are completely different from each other, but as they, opposite attracts. Destiny plays its own game, and both are tangled in the web of love. But life is not so easy. Something tragic happens, which is to test their bond. Will their love pass the test? Or, will it crumble down? Will they be able to fulfil the promises they made to each other? ♡♡♡ He is the sun while she is the moon. He is as raging as fire while she is as calm as water. Will these two opposites ever fall in love?

Yasmin has survived five years of Cole Martinez’s cruelty—his icy contempt, his mother’s vicious words, and the humiliation of watching him parade his mistress around town. She’s learned to stay quiet, stay small, and never fight back. But two pink lines on a pregnancy test change everything. Cole made it clear he never wants children. If he finds out about the baby, Yasmin knows exactly what he’ll demand. Yet for the first time in years, she feels something stirring inside her that’s stronger than fear—a fierce, desperate love for the tiny life growing within her. Now she faces an impossible choice: stay silent and risk everything when her secret shows, or find the courage to run from the only life she’s known. In Cole’s world, defiance comes with a price. But some things are worth fighting for, even if it means losing everything else. Can Yasmin break free before it’s too late, or will her secret become the final chain that binds her forever?

“Dalawa silang nagmamahal sa kanya… Pero sino ang ama ng kanyang dinadala?” Elora Lior Alvarez never thought she would fall into a dangerous, forbidden love with her CEO, Clyde Rio Illustre. Alam niyang engaged na ito—pero paano niya pipigilan ang pusong hindi marunong lumaban? When Clyde’s fiancée, Iris Saavedra, returns and their marriage finally pushes through, Elora’s world begins to crumble. Then comes Chion Ryu Illustre—Clyde’s cold, enigmatic half-brother. Behind his distant eyes and silent ways, Elora begins to feel a warmth she never expected. His quiet devotion awakens a forbidden spark she can’t ignore. But just as she starts to heal, fate plays its cruelest card—she’s pregnant. Is the baby really Clyde’s… or does it belong to Chion? Now, trapped between two powerful billionaire brothers, Elora faces the hardest choice of her life: Will she cling to the man who first stole her heart, or surrender to the one who’s silently proving he deserves it?

He saved her from the fire. Now, she's the only one who can save him from his throne. Eltonia has spent eleven years as the Alpha's Omega, loving him in silence. She's his attendant, his confidante, and the only one who can ease the pain from the scars that haunt them both. But Alpha Oreon is running out of time. The council has given him an ultimatum: find a mate by his thirtieth birthday, which is two months away, or be dethroned. As his wicked uncle, Abram, schemes to steal the pack, he unleashes a "selection" of potential mates, each one more disastrous than the last. First comes a loud-mouthed shrew. Then comes a silent, deadly assassin. While Eltonia is forced to serve the very women vying for her Alpha's heart, she's trapped in a slow-burn battle of her own. She must protect Oreon from his enemies, his potential Lunas, and his own inner demons... all without revealing that she is the true mate who's been by his side all along. Can her secret love save him? Or will the vipers in his court destroy him—and her—first?

He wanted a blonde. He got a wildfire. I married him in her place. Wore her dress. Lightened my hair. Played the silent, obedient bride. Because when your stepmother sells your sister to a billionaire obsessed with legacy and looks—and your sister runs—someone has to take the deal. So I did. Cassian Drevane doesn’t want a wife. He wants a symbol. A blonde. A mannequin. Not a woman with secrets, a spine, and a mind that won’t stay quiet. But I wasn’t just playing the part. I was studying him. And the more he tried to control me, the more I saw the truth beneath his ice. He never wanted me. Neither did I love him. Now we can’t live without each other. Not because of love, but because of something deadlier. In a world where secrets are currency and love is a luxury no one can afford, one lie can destroy everything. What began as a marriage built on deceit slowly turns into something dangerously real — a slow-burning war between duty and desire. In a house filled with whispers, shadows, and betrayals, love becomes the most dangerous secret of all.

Eidolon Avenue: Where the secretly guilty go to die. One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards. The sequel to Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast (“a great read...powerful and jarring” - Cemetery Dance) returns to the voracious Eidolon as it savors The Second Feast. A narcoleptic man in apartment 2A battles a vengeful past determined to rob him of everything as he runs from the barbaric disaster of a delusional love. A woman in 2B, reinventing herself to please a callous boyfriend, discovers the horrors that wait in the shadows of her self-renovation. The man in 2C, a teacher at the nearby Catholic girl’s school, collapses beneath the brutal consequences of his lecherous desires. An older woman in 2D, after decades dedicated to the church, is cornered at last by the grisly carnage beating at the hollow center of her faith. And a college student in 2E, hungry to escape an ignored life of invisible anonymity, finds herself captured between the pages of a ravenous book. All thrown into their own private hell as every cruel choice, every drop of spilled blood, every silent, complicit moment of cowardice is remembered, resurrected and relived to feed the ancient evil that lives on Eidolon Avenue. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing