The Spire In The Woods

"How could you conspire with them. I trusted you Layla!" He was really mad. "I didn't give them the code Damon, okay? I don't know how they got it?" She said. She strangely felt no nervousness or fear. Only the guilty felt fear. "Why didn't you tell me the truth about him? God! We've been dating for almost a year and you never told me he was a ex-convict", he said a shade quieter. He watched Layla look down for a minute and stare back up at him, tears gathering in her deep blue eyes. "If I did tell you, would you still have fallen for me...?" Working in a coffee shop wasn't Layla's dream. She has a degree in Business Administration but getting a got job in America was difficult for minority groups like her. But her boss, William Grey was wonderful, plus, she did get some pretty awesome customers like Damon Prince, the billionaire businessman and New York's most eligible bachelor and some pretty awful ones as well like Logan West, Damon's annoying and stuck-up assistant. After a brief argument with Logan, Damon comes to the coffee shop to make an apology to Layla on behalf of Logan and offers her a check. She turns both down and demands that Logan apologizes or they can forget about their coffee orders. She wasn't going to be pushed around by some rich folks. This intrigues Damon and he gradually falls in love with her. They begin a beautiful relationship but it's not all roses. They soon meet Damon's ex, Yasmin Kyle and Layla's criminal and terrible father, Dario Hernandez. Their trust and love for each other is tested as well as family ties but will they pull through or are something's just not meant to be?

After my father passes away, my mother—now married into the wealthy Hawthorne family—brings me to live with them. Everyone laughs, saying I'm being groomed to become either of the Hawthorne brothers' bride. Even I start to believe it. But later, when I try to marry one of them, both reject me. The older brother says, "I'll need to marry for business one day. Why would I marry her?" The younger one scoffs. "She's older than me. Who'd want an old woman?" But the very next day, the two of them propose—together—to my assistant. I instantly become a joke. After that, I call my mother. "Mom, I'm willing to marry into the Grant family."

Imagine my shock when I found out that my husband, a professor who had proudly embraced a childless life for half of his years, had an affair with one of his own students. She even had his six-year-old son. The day I planned to report him to the university, Zia Thompson came to my door with the child and knelt in front of me. "Maybe you and Zeke were in love once," she said. "But he's over forty now. Who doesn't want to have a child? A legacy?" "I don't need a title," she went on. "I can give up the child too. I just beg you, don't tear our family apart." I looked at my husband, who stood protectively in front of them. I felt terrifyingly calm. "Cut ties with them," I said, my voice flat, "or prepare to be reported to the university. You choose." Without a moment's hesitation, he tore the report letter into shreds. I thought that was his answer. But on the fifty-second night of a bed grown cold and a home echoing with silence, he still hadn't returned. Instead, I received news that Zia was pregnant again. She had graduated by then. The report I never sent no longer posed any threat to them. Zeke didn't bother to hide his fatigue and irritation anymore. "Treat Zia and the kids well," he said, "or keep living alone in that empty house. It's your choice." My heart was already a wasteland. "I have one more option," I said. "I choose divorce."

Maya Rami is a survivor. As single mother in Dubai, she has worked relentlessly to provide the best for her daughter. But when she loses her job at an elite private school due to a scandal she had no part in, her life is thrown into turmoil. In an attempt at stability, she takes on the position of tutoring billionaire Adam Saif's son. Maya expectes that Sami will be just like any other pampered kid, yet he isn't. He's genius, withdrawn, and completely silent. Nobody, not even his powerful father has any idea how to reach him. Then there's Adam himself. Ice-cold, ruthless, and inscrutable, his entire life revolves around control. But behind the hardened facade, Maya senses something else, a man shaped by secrets, not authority. What starts out as a simple assignment soon turns a lot more complicated. The more time Maya spends in Adam's world, the more she sees the cracks in his armor. The late-night conversations turn into lingering looks. The chemistry between them is undeniable, yet Adam has made one thing very clear, he doesn't believe in love. Just as Maya begins to penetrate his defenses, his past comes back to haunt him. The enemies that encircle him close in, targeting everything, including Sami. Now Maya has to make an impossible choice: walk away before she's pulled into the storm or stay with the one man she never imagined she'd fall in love with.

On the mysterious and vast fantasy continent of Estella, magic and miracles coexist, and ancient families and emerging forces intertwine to create a complex and ever-changing power map. Among them, the ducal family, as one of the oldest aristocracies, not only has a long history and endless wealth, but also controls the key power that can shape the fate of the continent. However, behind this glory, there are also countless unknown secrets and simmering disputes.

“Look at the mirror, and tell me to whom you belong, Violette.” Noah cupped me in between my thighs harshly, making my breath haywire. “Answer me!” His tone dropped even low, followed by his dangerous growl. “Y..you,” I answered in a strangled whisper and gasped when he slipped two fingers inside me in a swift motion. “Again. To whom you belong, my dear?” He asked again, pumping his fingers in and out on my wet and slickly sex. “You, Noah.” “Good. Remember that before you let someone lay their hand on you. Now, open your legs wider for me.” *** Violette Daley never knew that her life would turn upside down after her brave attempt to escape to the Lycan's land. She only planned to stay for a day or two and then slip away to the human's land. But her plan was ruined after accidentally freeing a dangerous Lycan— Noah, in the cave. What started as a mere promise between the beast and her for her safety suddenly took a twisted turn. Now, she was to follow him, and worse, he claimed her as his mate. Before she knew it. Violette was already trapped in the sea of beasts, and Noah was the only one she could depend on to survive.

In this magical realism world, Eirika graduated high school and had to leave her human friends and secret crush to go home to her pack. A celebration of her return turned into a cold-blooded massacre. Wounded and trapped, she was found by Arric; the son of the man who was responsible for her misery. But neither of them knew. When Eirika found out Arric’s true identity, she escaped and went looking for refuge in her uncle’s Pack. Accepted and given a new identity, she joined the new pack members to train and found out that Nigel; her high school crush, was the Pack’s trainer. Determined to seek revenge, she challenged herself to learn all she could and set out on a suicidal mission of vengeance that landed her in a dungeon. Nigel found her and they both went on the run. But Arric wasn’t about to give up his mate, even if she wanted his father’s lineage wiped out.

What did we do when we were stuck inside during COVID? Some learned new skills, like making sourdough bread or crafting. Some caught up on their Netflix watching, learning all about the Tiger King. And some learned way more about themselves than they would have if the world hadn’t stopped. Samantha and Ashton finally gave in to the love and passion that had been eating them up alive, but they never acted on because Ashton is Samantha’s brother’s best friend. Cole comes to terms with his sexuality with the help of his gay roommate, Kent. Alexis gets stuck overseas with her boss and learns exactly how domineering Jonathan Wilson can be. And couple Jaime and Jorge work to get their roommate Andie out of her shell.

The yacht I'm steering crashes into a huge wave, scaring my husband's junior, who has a heart condition. So, my husband orders someone to tie me up and dangle me in the ocean by a rope. He even tells the captain to head straight into the waves. "You know Wren has a heart condition, yet you still scared her! How can you be so evil?" I beg him to let me go and tell him that I was following a charted path; I didn't mean for anything to happen. However, he just mocks me. "You've been a yacht driver for so long. Haven't you experienced anything like this before? I'll make you go through what Wren did! Let's see whether you'll pull this again!" After a day and night of this torment, he relents and decides to pull me back up. It's too bad he doesn't know that the waves have already torn me to shreds.

I'm betrothed to Hylton Miller from the moment I'm born. For as long as I can remember, he protects and loves me like I'm already his wife. Even if I get a tiny splinter on my hand, he holds it carefully as he gently clips it away. That is, until the young woman his family sponsors offends a client and is about to be sent to Zubania. He drugs me with a glass of wine. When I wake up, I'm in a foreign country and trapped in an illegal factory. Here, I endure inhuman abuse, torment, even humiliation... At my lowest, when despair almost swallows me whole, that sponsored young woman appears before me in a pristine, custom-made white gown. She smiles sweetly and presses the play button on a voice recording. And from the speaker comes the voice I long for every day and night. "It's fine. Alina's the young lady of the Winslet family—they won't do anything to her. But Priscilla? She's different. Worst case, I'll make it up to Alina when she gets back…" In that moment, it feels like someone tears my heart open with their bare hands.