Thirty-three Thousand

She was never meant to stand beside a billionaire. Now she is one. When Lura David accidentally spills coffee on a stranger’s thousand-dollar suit, she thinks it’s just another bad day. Broke, exhausted, and drowning in bills, she’s used to apologies that fix nothing. But the man she bumps into isn’t just anyone he’s Lord Xavier Blackwood, a ruthless billionaire with thirty days to fulfill a brutal condition: “Inherit this company, or your brother takes everything.” To claim his legacy, Xavier needs a wife. Love isn’t required just a signature on a contract. He never expected to choose Lura sharp-tongued, unimpressed, and utterly indifferent to his wealth. But that’s exactly why she’s perfect. One contract. Twelve months. Three million dollars. No emotions. No attachments. But Lura is not what she seems not the way she fights him, not the secrets she hides from him, and not the way she makes him feel. Xavier’s enemies are watching. Lura’s past is catching up. And the contract meant to save them… might destroy them both. When betrayal splits them apart, Lura disappears Only to return as something Xavier never saw coming: A billionaire. A CEO. Two enemies. Two empires. One love that was never supposed to survive. But after lies, heartbreak, and war… Will they still choose each other?

After her father’s death leaves behind nothing but a ten-million-euro blood debt, Graziella is dragged into the world of the Vitale brothers, men who rule the city’s underworld with violence, power, and a loyalty that has no room for mercy, and who, by law and history, are also her stepbrothers. In their hands, debt is not something to be repaid but something to be owned, and because her father failed them, Graziella becomes the collateral they inherit, allowed to exist only as long as she remains useful and silent. For months, she survives by making herself small, enduring cruelty and indifference alike, learning that in a house built on fear, silence is not submission but survival. To the Vitale brothers, she is temporary, a problem that will eventually disappear once its value is exhausted. Everything changes when the eldest announces his political marriage, a union meant to secure alliances and erase liabilities, and Graziella realizes how easily she will be discarded. Instead of begging, she makes a single request: thirty days as their wife and queen, not as property but as a recognized presence, after which she will vanish forever. They believe she is desperate. They believe she wants protection or love. What they fail to see is that Graziella is not bargaining for affection, but for access. Because in those thirty days, she watches, listens, and learns, and by the time they understand what she has become, the quiet debt they ignored will be ready to rule them all.

DISCLAIMER! MM ROMANCE ! Caleb Foster is late. Again. Snow is still melting in his hair when he pushes open the classroom door, the cold from the rink clinging to him as thirty students turn to stare. At the front of the room, Professor Elliot Ward pauses mid-sentence. His gaze drifts to the attendance sheet, then back to the broad-shouldered hockey captain standing in the doorway. “Mr. Foster,” he says calmly. “I assume the ice rink does not operate on the same schedule as my classroom.”

In the third year of our marriage, my husband's first love got a divorce. He gave her the forty-five thousand dollars we had saved for a house because she was left with nothing and struggling to make ends meet. I urged him to ask for the money back, but he pointed at my face and angrily shouted, "You used to be so gentle and virtuous—what happened? Why are you so selfish, so shallow now?" "Is forty-five thousand dollars really worth you making a fuss over?" "Chloe is starting over with nothing, raising a child on her own. Don't you feel any sympathy for her?" Fine. He was noble, he was merciful. I did not argue further, because the one who needed money for cancer treatment was him, not me.

I am about to book a room at a hotel owned by Luca Conti, a consigliere under my command, when a sharp voice suddenly cuts in from behind me. "Aspetta. That's not your price." I turn around. A woman wearing a manager's badge stands there with her arms crossed, scrutinizing me as if I am an unsightly stain she can't wait to wipe away. "We don't allow prostitution here," she says coolly. "If you're receiving clients, there will be a fine." As she speaks, she hands me a penalty notice. The charges are clearly listed on the paper. "Illegal guest reception fee: 350 thousand dollars. "Special soundproofing fee: 150 thousand dollars. "Special cleaning fee: 100 thousand dollars. "Total fee: 600 thousand dollars." Receiving clients? I have simply come straight from a Mafia cocktail party without changing clothes—that's all. What exactly does she take me for?" I lift my gaze and answer evenly, "You're mistaken. I am not that kind of person. You can contact the hotel owner, Luca Conti, and ask him who I am." A sneer flickers through Sofia Rossi's eyes. She spits to the side, full of contempt. "Still claiming you are not a puttana? Women like you come here every week. Every single one of them swears she knows him. "Our boss is the consigliere to the Russo family, the most powerful Mafia family in Seneriffe. Do you really think he needs someone cheap like you? "I suggest you pay up now, subito, before your client loses patience and drags you into the street and rapes you." I do not waste another word on her. I take out my phone and send a message directly to my secretary, Marco Bianchi. "Notify Luca. Either this manager, Sofia Rossi, disappears from this city, or he does."

When my son asked me about his father while crying once again, I pointed at the television. Samuel Shaw, who had just made it into the top three of the wealth rankings, was being interviewed. He said he had achieved fame and success, and the person he hated most was his childhood sweetheart and ex-wife. “She abandoned me when I was gravely ill, all for the sake of money. But it was that very betrayal that pushed me to rise from the ashes in my darkest hour.” The reporters grew excited and suggested contacting me on the spot. "She must be filled with regret, begging Mr. Shaw to take her back!" My phone rang right then. I answered and immediately asked for money. "Samuel, my son is sick. Could you lend me sixty thousand dollars?" He abruptly hung up the phone and said with a cold laugh, "Knowing she's living so miserably gives me peace of mind." Looking at the kidney failure report in my hand, I silently wept. Six years ago, I secretly donated one of my kidneys to Samuel. Now, his son was suffering from the same disease and didn't have much time left.

My online boyfriend is my university professor and the future werewolf king, Sarek. And me? I’m Mila—just a human hunter’s descendant scraping by in the cracks of an era where species coexist in uneasy peace. What he doesn’t know is that his online girlfriend, whom he wishes to tear apart a thousand times over, is sitting in the very last row of his classroom. The online relationship was never meant to be real. It started as revenge to get back at him for failing me. But who would’ve thought this werewolf was so starved for affection that he’d fall deeper and deeper in love? Again and again, he pushed to meet in person. However, if we ever really met face to face, I’d be torn apart and swallowed whole—bones and all. To save my life, I made a split-second decision and broke up with him. The result? The “abandoned” werewolf king lost his mind. Classes dragged on for three extra hours, and homework increased fivefold. For the sake of my classmates’ mental and physical health, getting back together… wasn’t entirely impossible. There was only one condition: he could never find out who I really am.

The timid Lily Parker found herself entangled with a man who saw no equal in others—Julian Sterling. For Julian Sterling, even if he had a thousand women in his lifetime, Lily Parker could never belong to another man.

Elaine is a twenty-five year old woman who has been married to a mob boss since the day she turned eighteen as an alliance for her family. Damitri was a loving and caring husband always doting on Elaine until a horrible accident turns him into a monster. Someone close to Damitri will betray him by helping Elaine escape after he put her in a coma for five weeks. Meanwhile three thousand miles away, Tristan, an Aplha with a reputation that makes most grown men shake in their boots is growing restless. He does not have his mate and is not sure when he will meet her. Even though his pack has been thriving since the great war he is feeling more lonely than ever. When an unexpected human comes onto pack territory looking to buy a cabin deep within the forest Colt asks Tristan to come in to approve the purchase. As soon as he opens the door his wolf Hades stirs and is practically jumping up and down in his mind screaming 'Mate! Mate! Mate!" In the same moment three hundred miles south of where she is another Alpha will sense his mate as his own. They knew this day was coming but will he be able to share her with another as they promised? Tristan knows he must take things slow with Elaine since she is human but when bounty hunters and those wanting his mate come for her he will need to make a drastic decision. Will Elaine think Tristan is completely insane or will her need to live make her more excepting of his bombshell news? Will both of her Alpha's be able to save her in time before history repeats itself?

I stare at the email on my screen, unable to move my fingers. Tomorrow is our company's crucial product launch, and I just learn that the patent for the algorithm I spent three years developing is now filed under Matthew Ashford's new assistant, Sophie Bennett. I storm into Matthew's office to confront him. Sophie sits on his desk with her legs crossed, looking completely innocent. She claims that she filled out the form by mistake. "It's just a clerical error. The patent still belongs to the company. What's the big deal?" Matthew stands up from his chair, positioning himself in front of Sophie. I can't believe what I am hearing. "Matthew, this is my research!" "Emma, you're thirty-five. Why are you picking a fight with a twenty-three-year-old intern?" He frowns. Then, he turns to Sophie. "Starting tomorrow, you're the new CTO. Emma needs… some time off." I'm utterly stunned. A decade of marriage and five years dedicated to building a company together have been shattered by a few casual words from him. Thirty minutes later, Sophie posts a photo on social media of herself sitting on Matthew's lap. They are both clinking champagne glasses. "So lucky to have the best boss ever. I'll make sure to be his loyal kitten." Below that, Matthew leaves a comment—three red heart emojis. I shut my laptop and pick up my phone. "Hello. Is this Mr. David Langley from Novara Group of Sundale Valley? This is Emma Whitmore. I've changed my mind. I'm ready to join you." I pause. "And by the way, about that unreleased algorithm upgrade, I have the complete technical blueprint. Make me an offer." Later, I fly to Tallisport with an eight-figure check in hand, while Matthew goes frantic trying to find me.