Things Aren't Always What They Seem Novels & Stories

She was supposed to die. She didn’t. Now she’s coming back for everything. Elara Cade thought love could survive anything—until her husband proved her wrong in the most brutal way. Betrayed. Broken. Pushed off a cliff with their three-year-old son. One survived. Barely. Now voiceless and scarred, Elara wakes in a hospital with no child, no identity, and no answers. But a stranger with stormy eyes and a name like a warning—Damien Rhys—refuses to let her slip into oblivion. He saved her life. But Elara? She’ll take what’s left of it and set the past on fire. Ashes Don’t Bleed is a searing tale of vengeance, rebirth, and the quiet rage of a woman who refuses to stay buried.

Antonius Rockwell, the enigmatic CEO of a prestigious company, leads a life of power and influence yet feels a hollow void in his existence. That changes the day he notices Kirsten Zaldua, a diligent delivery girl whose quiet determination and sincerity intrigue him. Struggling to support her ailing mother and balance her studies, Kirsten unknowingly becomes a beacon of hope in Antonius’s sterile world. One fateful afternoon, Antonius watches her collapse from exhaustion in his company lobby. Acting on instinct, he rescues her but conceals his identity, fearing the threats surrounding his life could endanger her. Instead, he sends his brother to assist her, an act he later regrets. To Antonius’s dismay, Kirsten mistakes his brother for her savior and begins a relationship with him. From the shadows, Antonius watches as his brother manipulates her into a toxic situation, leveraging her debts and her mother’s health to control her. Powerless to intervene without revealing the truth, Antonius retreats, heartbroken by his inability to protect the woman who has unwittingly captured his heart. Months later, a chance encounter reignites his connection with Kirsten, leading to an intimate one-night love affair born of misunderstanding. Though their bond deepens, Antonius remains tormented by guilt and longing. When Kirsten discovers he was her true rescuer, a spark of hope reignites between them, but Antonius’s brother, jealous and desperate, threatens her mother’s care, forcing her to break things off. Will Antonius’s love and determination be enough to rescue Kirsten from her nightmare? Or will the weight of her sacrifices pull them apart forever? Only time will reveal if their love can triumph against all odds.

"Turn," he growls, and I can see that he's barely containing himself. I immediately face the wall and wait for the next command. It feels dirty, like I'm his sex toy, but I love it. "Hands on the wall, feet apart," he says. He kicks my feet apart at the same time as he gives the demand, just as impatient as I am. He pulls out my hips so I'm leaning forward, then smacks my ass. He groans deeply in his throat and says, "Seeing your ass jiggle under my hand is f-cking beautiful." I'm squirming, wishing I could put my legs back together to get some friction. "Please Cass, I need it," I whine in a voice that doesn't sound like my own. "You know I can't resist when you beg, my angel," he praises, then slams into me brutally and starts f-cking me hard. *** Alexa relocated to Chicago to work as an assistant and Cassio was exiled by his older brother, the don of the biggest Italian mafia family in New York. Alexa is Cass's assistant at Ombra, the company he built over the 10 years he's been in Chicago. Both are independent and have no interest in love. A mistake at work turns into an opportunity and Cass offers Alexa a contract as his fake girlfriend to keep women away. The two make a great team and in such close proximity they discover that their sexual chemistry is off the charts. Alexa just has one condition and Cass easily accepts. Don't fall in love. As their fake relationship develops, Alexa learns that Cass isn't the upstanding businessman she thought he was and Cass learns that his heart can still beat. Too bad it takes Alexa's kidnapping for him to realize how much she means to him.

My parents adopted an AI daughter. The day she came home, I suddenly became the most hated person in the family. Dad said I was a thorn in his side. Mom thought I couldn't hold a candle to Sophia, the AI. My brother Jack yelled at me, "All you do is make trouble!" I was so furious that I shoved Sophia to the floor. Mom's face went dark. She struck me hard across the face. "Sophia is your sister! If you were even half as good as her, I wouldn't be this angry!" "You're going to the Academy of Exemplary Obedience to learn how to be a proper, obedient daughter." I was sent away to "swap places" with an AI daughter. Three years later, my parents and brother came to pick me up. They called my name, but I didn't move. The headmaster smiled and said, "Mrs. Walker, you have to say 'Activate' before Unit EVA will respond."

His love is needy and possessive but yet, waits patiently for her broken heart to mend. Her innocent heart is forcefully shattered from deception, lies, toxicity and manipulation leading to a failed relationship and another. A third one becomes a taboo. Every man had something that would leave her regretting and in pains when secrets began to unfold. She develops fear to love and be loved by the right man. It becomes more difficult for her heart to open up when those hideous forgotten relationships hunts her back to her bittersweet past. Her hate becomes more intense. Her coldness mixed with beauty, confidence, smartness and determination makes her more alluring and wanted but how can he gain entry to a violently shut heart and how long can he wait for a flicker of hope? In this love hate entanglement, the outcome is uncertain. While one waits endlessly for a romance that would transcend work relationship the other hopes to forever shut down the desperate yearning to feel genuinely loved.

Thirteen men dead within the span of two years. All victims are rich, old and dirty. Authority has no idea who the killer is. But there's only one thing they know. The killer is a woman.

My husband's sister was pregnant when she leapt from the building. Her final phone call wasn't to him. It was to me. When the police asked for clues, I said nothing. When my in-laws knelt and begged, I watched them coldly. Yet my husband never divorced me. If anything, he treated me even better than before. Then, after I became pregnant, my nightmare truly began. He tied me to the bed and summoned a group of vagrants, ordering them to take turns violating me. He said he wanted me to taste despair.

On my sweet sixteen, my three brothers came home with a girl named Sylvie. They said I have to treat her like my family. I didn’t think much would change. But years later, everything did. Jace, my youngest brother, shoved me down the stairs for her. Asher—the oldest, who once promised he'd protect me forever—told me to get out. So I left. Quietly. They thought I was just acting out. So they took Sylvie to France, didn't even bothering to check in What they didn’t know was that I’d signed my name on a contract—one that aligned me with our family’s biggest rival by becoming their youngest chemist. Written in black and white, I could never go home again. The night they found out I was really gone for good? They broke. Every last one of them.

Two months remained until debut evaluation night. Before our unit performance, our main dancer suddenly offered me her center position. I stared at her, confused, "The trainers always praise your stage presence. Why give up your spot?" "You... you deserve center more than I do." Her smile was painfully forced, and she was fidgeting with her practice clothes - obviously not saying what she really felt. Puzzled by her strange behavior, I asked, "Are my moves too big? Am I making it hard for you to perform?" She suddenly started shaking, looking at me with pure fear in her eyes. After what felt like forever, she finally choked out, "Please, just stop. I won't try to compete with you for center anymore!"

I’d just left a creative meeting when a TikTok video popped up on my feed, slamming my company. The title: "Stay Away! This Austin startup is incredibly cheap. The perks are a joke." The video showed off the pour-over coffee from Austin's hottest independent cafe and pastries from a top-tier French bakery. The same ones I’d just had my assistant, Sam, hand out. I frowned. In the company's Slack channel, I tagged everyone. "@here Any suggestions for this afternoon's Happy Hour?" Leo, the new Gen-Z intern, replied instantly with a voice note. “Asher, with all due respect, these snacks with gluten and dairy are so unhealthy.” “A truly visionary company would hire a private chef to customize raw, vegan bites for everyone's dietary needs. That's what respect looks like.” I laughed. It was an angry laugh. The company's daily snack budget was $25 per person. For an Austin startup, that was top of the line. I typed back: "Since it's impossible to please everyone, the snack perk is canceled. I'll convert the budget into a cash bonus for all of you." Less than five minutes later, the TikTok caption was updated. "UPDATE: Y'all, I can't make this up. I made a suggestion about dietary inclusivity, and my toxic boss just canceled all the perks! This is how toxic bosses act. Can't handle a single piece of feedback!"