Thousand Kisses Deep

Years after graduation, someone suddenly tags me in the class group chat. "Mr. Warren is gravely ill, Mira. Aren't you going to do anything? You really are heartless!" I only realize what's going on when I click on the fundraising link in the chat. Our high school homeroom teacher, Joseph Warren, has late-stage cancer. Thus, Lyra Fairfield, the class belle, is leading a fundraiser and patient-donor matching process. "I'll donate ten thousand dollars. My husband is the director of Waverly General Hospital, and I've already asked him to arrange a VIP ward for Mr. Warren." Right after I send that message, the group pounces on me. "Mira, you contracted an STD back then and tried to pin it on Lyra. She didn't even hold it against you, and now you're trying to steal her thunder? You're unbelievable!" "I can't believe you're still lying through your teeth during such a serious situation. You never change, do you?" Lyra immediately defuses the tension. "Mira, I don't blame you for what happened in the past, but you really shouldn't impersonate the director's wife. I've already arranged the ward and surgery, and I'm donating another 100 thousand dollars to Mr. Warren!" I'm this close to laughing out of sheer anger. She's the one who scratched her name off the diagnosis report and framed me for having an STD all those years ago. I never even confronted her about it, and now she's playing the victim? Lyra soon posts a photo in the group chat, showing off her husband's car. Yet, when I see the man in the passenger seat, I guffaw. Isn't that my husband's driver? When did he start running a hospital?

After half a month of nonstop overtime, I secured a contract worth over ten million, pulling the company back from the brink of collapse. My boss, Richard Gray, was overjoyed. At the celebration party, he called me the pillar of the company and announced that he would reward me with a bonus. However, when the end of the month came, and I opened my payslip, I froze. Negative 250 dollars. A negative commission? I actually owed the company 250 dollars? I immediately called the finance department, asking if there was a mistake on my payslip. They replied, "No mistake. This is the cost calculation formula that Mr. Gray personally instructed us to use. He said you'd understand once you saw it." I went straight to Richard for an explanation. He laughed. "The contract that you signed, after factoring in the concessions, upfront resources, and hidden expenses, left the company with a net loss of 150 thousand. Since the loss was due to your personal decisions, you're responsible for five percent. That totals to 7500. "Considering how hard you worked, we deducted it from your base salary first. But your salary wasn't enough, so you still owe the company 250. Don't worry. The company treats its employees well. We'll write that off." Soon after, he awarded 100 thousand dollars to the newly arrived intern. I watched the newcomer, probably connected to Richard, cheerfully treat the entire company to dinner with her bonus, and something inside me just snapped. From that day onward, I did the bare minimum. I clocked in. I clocked out. Nothing more. Later, when a critical project went catastrophically wrong and the company faced a colossal compensation demand, Richard came begging me to fix it. I just smiled and said, "Sorry, Mr. Gray. I've already resigned. If there are any problems, you can ask the intern who got the 100 thousand dollar bonus to handle it."

She thought she was just a contract wife, a convenient arrangement to keep his reputation spotless and his empire stable. But when Duke Austen’s billion-dollar empire begins to crumble, he turns to her, the woman he once treated like a business deal, and suddenly, his coldness melts into obsession. He protects her like she’s his only weakness, kisses her like he’s afraid to lose her, and holds her like she’s the only thing keeping him alive. Until she discovers the truth. She was never just his contract wife. She’s been his real wife all along. And she’s the only one who didn’t know. Now, between love, lies, and a hidden marriage certificate that could destroy everything, she must decide if she will fight for the man who deceived her, or finally walk away as the woman he can never own?

Betrayed by her boyfriend and stepsister, Rihanna Smith was sold to an exclusive club catering to the darkest desires of powerful men. Desperate for freedom and revenge, she agreed to marry her first client, a blind and crippled man with only one rule: never get pregnant. What she didn’t know was that her husband was Dustin Crawford, a zillionaire who could buy the entire city with a snap of his fingers. She used his power to destroy everyone who wronged her… but broke the contract the moment she conceived. After completing her revenge, she vanished without a trace. Five years later, she returns, only to be greeted by a man who stands from his wheelchair, kisses her deeply, and says, “Wife, do you think if I were blind I would marry you?” Now that she knows the truth, one question remains: Even if their marriage was a game…is she ready to play again?

“Elena, I’ve found my fated mate… and I’m marrying her…” After waiting a year for her husband to return home from war, Elena Dooley didn’t expect that instead of hugs and kisses, she would be welcomed by a royal decree legalizing her husband’s second marriage with his mistress. Suddenly, Elena was pushed aside from being a Luna as if she were the third party between the two. But being born into a warrior pack and the daughter of an Alpha of the most respected and powerful warrior pack, Elena stood her ground. She asked for a divorce that would totally take a toll on Bryson’s family. With marriage in ruin and a heart bleeding from betrayals, would Elena trust a man again to be her mate after she rose to be the great warrior she always dreamt to be? Especially if she met the King’s brother, Prince Deacon, who was feared by the kingdom and the Rogues so much that he was given the title of god of war.

I've been with an award-winning actor for seven years. We've been secretly married for five of those seven years. For the sake of his career, I drink so much that I get a stomach perforation. I also allow others to trample over my pride and dignity. Yet he goes on lakeside dates with another woman and kisses her underneath the fireworks. He even has the nerve to tell me not to be unreasonable. Later, I get caught in a landslide when I'm on a business trip. I make one last call to him in fear. All I hear is him singing his lover a birthday song. I ask for a divorce after losing hope in him. That's when he suddenly begs me not to leave. He even announces our relationship to the world on the day he wins an award. Our seven-year relationship is finally public, but I don't want it anymore.

One reckless night. One stranger’s bed. One marriage certificate she never meant to sign. Tessa Hayes only wanted to forget her cheating ex for a few hours. Instead, she wakes up hungover, sore, and tied by law to Owen Carter — the cold, infuriatingly gorgeous billionaire CEO every woman wants but none can tame. Owen doesn’t want an annulment. He wants a wife. For one year, Tessa will play the role: smile for the cameras, survive his controlling family, and help him secure the biggest deal of his career. In return, he’ll give her more than she ever dreamed of. But fake kisses spark real flames. And when jealous exes, a ruthless rival, and a leaked marriage contract threaten to expose their secret, Tessa realizes she's in, deeper than she ever planned. Because falling for her accidental husband? That was never part of the deal.

Angela Celeste secretly has a crush on her hot and sexy boss, Xander Whithold. He is the dream of every high-class woman in New York. Everyone in New York knows Xander as the god Adonis. As his secretary, Angel doesn't have the guts to cross the line. She will only admire Xander from afar while working as his secretary. But things change so fast when they accidentally run into each other at the club. Xander sees Angel in a different form. She doesn't look like Ms. Celeste, his very formal secretary at the office. Angela shows a different side of herself, wild, passionate, and sexy. He can't control his possessiveness towards Angela when a stranger approaches her. Xander grabs Angela's hand and kisses her. Impulsively, he tells the man that Angela is his girlfriend, while Xander has a fiancée who has been engaged to him since he was a child.

“You drive me crazy, but I don’t mind being crazy for you,” Zane groaned, his fingers trailing my inner thighs, his ragged breaths hot against my skin. “Za…ne.. this… is wrong,” I stuttered, my voice low. “I’m… getting married to your uncle tomorrow..” In the cutthroat world of Chicago’s NHL, Zane Callahan rules the ice, his raw power hiding a past of dark secrets and betrayal. When rookie journalist Lila Harper is sent to interview the brooding hockey star, their clash sparks a firestorm of enmity and undeniable desire. As Lila fights to prove herself in a hostile newsroom, Zane battles his demons, their stolen kisses igniting a dangerous obsession. But a web of enemies—led by a vengeful twin and a manipulative predator—threatens to tear them apart. With secrets unraveling and lives on the line, Zane and Lila must confront their pasts to forge a love worth fighting for. Will they conquer the shadows, or will the ice claim their hearts?

I put my t-shirt down, my hands shaking. I try to ignore them and stare at my reflection in the mirror. My hair color is dark brown and a vague hint of golden. My dad used to say that my eyes are ocean blue. A guy in my history cl once said that I had perfect s. Another guy said that I had a great body. They wanted to date me. And I dated few of them. I brush my fingers in my forehead. Then my dark, thick eyelashes. The side of my nose. My s. I run my hand at my neck, then across my collarbone. Am I beautiful? Honestly, I don't know. Maybe I'm not. "You were wrong, Angelina Valentine." A voice inside my head suddenly whispers. "Calm down, Angel," another voice whispers. It's the voice I loved. His voice is fading away. My hands start shake again, my breath rapidly quickening. I am losing control. I have to do something. "Goddammit!" I punch the mirror with my fist. It shatters into thousand pieces. My reflection has shattered into thousand pieces, too. The mirror now looks to me like an art. And my bloody knuckles. "I am sorry, Edwin. I can't promise you anymore, because you left me." I bite my to stop myself from crying. I won't cry. What's the point of crying? My sixth sense is suddenly alert. Somebody is watching me. I spin around. A guy is standing in front of the door, leaning against it. He wears a tight blue shirt, the sleeves folded. His black hair is ruffled and his hands are folded across his chest. The probable most amazing thing about him is his eyes. They are dark green. They are dangerous, beautiful and incredibly unreadable. And they are watching me.