Tone Indicators

His iron grip was fastened around my waist and he pinned me on to the wall. "Let go of me!" I gritted. "If I want to right now" he leaned in close, his lips grazing my earlobe. "I can forcefully have my way with you and watch you scream your beautiful melodious tone underneath me" he whispered gravelly. I gasped and tried getting his hands of my waist. "You are my wife after all aren't you?" He teased, his teeth gently nibbling on my skin. I felt a strange heat brewing up inside me and I fought to control it. "Dante let go of me!" I seethed. Slowly, his head ascended from my neck and faced me. He ran a finger along my lips and a devilish smile curled up on his face. * * * * * * Love. Crime. Passion. Strong female lead Alina Fedorov, the vibrant and daring daughter to the Don of the Russian mafia is forcefully put into marriage against her wishes by her father. And her groom is no other than the feared Dante Morelli, the ruthless capo dei capi of the most powerful and dangerous italian-american mafia. He has his base running all through Europe and America with myriads of capos and underbossess at his beck and call. Running his underworld without a heart, he is quick to do away with any one who goes against his orders and his years of training has him equipped for a dangerous life of crime. But none of that will matter when he meets the impulsive and independent Alina Federov. Can love ever blossom between the two especially as Dante craves revenge on Alina for the sins of her father? Or will Alina be able to break down his walls of coldness and have him on his knees for her?

“Get up and strip” The unknown man commanded, his deep voice reverberated through the room bringing me out of my ogling phase. I stared on mortified as sudden realization hit me. I’ve just been bought for a one night stand by this unbelievably handsome man, but that means I’ll loose my virginity tonight!. Feeling his piercing gaze at me, I get up to undress but instinctively move towards the counter for a glass to alleviate the burning feeling creeping through my veins. “God damn it!, why won’t it bulge, I’m positive this zipper is determined to ruin my life”. I said underneath my breath as I dare not spare him a glance. I gulped as I summoned courage to meet his fierce gaze and with an almost inaudible tone I pleaded “It won’t bulge, can you help me?” He closed the gap between us with long strides while I subconsciously retreated till I hit the wall, my breathe hitched as he locked my lips. “Pah!” The sound of a slap resounded through the room, My eyes filled with terror as I raised my hands to cover my mouth. What have I done? I asked mentally still stunned at my action. “How dare you!” He roared and I knew I was done for!. What would happen if a legitimate but outcast daughter of one of the prestigious families decides to sell her body for money and unexpectedly gets into a contract marriage with a cold blooded mafia boss? Will their encounter be just a one night stand? Why would the world’s richest and powerful tyrant choose to enter a marriage of convenience? Find out in <<>> Disclaimer: the book cover isn’t mine, credit goes to google

After many years of trying to have a baby, it finally happens and Ashley Evans is overjoyed. She prepares a surprise dinner for their anniversary only for her husband to come back with another woman in his arms the same night. Ashley is more than shattered when she realizes the woman was not only his best friend but his mistress expecting her husband’s baby. When everything falls apart, will Ashley ever forgive him for what he did to her once he reaches out to her or will she choose a new love in her life? “If anything happens to my baby Ashley! You’ll wish you never knew me!” Jordan shouted his raging tone, shaking everything around them. “Jody! Aah!” Maya wailed, coiling herself into a ball. Ashley couldn’t hold back the whimper that escaped her mouth when her husband bent down to attend to his mistress. “When I come back, I don’t want to find you here! You’ll be hearing from my lawyers,” Jordan said, his voice bold with no remorse as his words trampled on their five years of marriage. Jordan Millers had always regarded his arranged wife as his responsibility, like any other business. When his best friend and lover who pushed him away paves her way in his life and is pregnant with his baby, he finds himself in a dilemma. Deciding to let go of his wife, he makes the biggest mistake of his life, but it was irreversible. Unknown to him, Maya, his lover, was back to get revenge from him for what happened to her years back. When fate makes him meet Ashley, his ex-wife, will he beg on his knees, or will he allow himself to suffer despite loving her?

On the first day of every month, my mom will give me my allowance based on the number of times I had checked in with her last month. "You'll receive 20 dollars for greeting your parents once in the morning and once in the evening. But last month, you only hit ten days' worth of quota, so you can only receive 200 dollars. This also means your 300-dollar punctuality fee will be deducted as well. "After adding on 150 dollars for your basic necessities, you shall receive only 350 dollars for this month's allowance. Remember to write a reflection report on your lack of punctuality later. I'll only transfer you the money if your report is acceptable." I become so overwhelmed by anxiety that my voice starts trembling. "I was busy with my finals last month, Mom! I had to line up outside the library at 5:00 am every day just so I could secure myself a seat! That's why I couldn't call you in time!" In a choked-up tone, I plead to my mom, "I need 600 dollars for the train ticket all the way home during the holidays! 350 dollars really isn't enough for me! Mom, can you please—" But my mom cuts me off firmly, "The allowance system is something that I've specifically designed for you so that I can help you get rid of the bad habit of wanting to receive everything without putting in hard work! Why can't you just understand that I'm doing this for your own good?" After that, she ends the call mercilessly. Just as I'm filled with despair and helplessness, a blond appears before my eyes. He's willing to buy my train ticket for me, but in return, I need to leave with him.

Arabella Winters made a desperate choice to save her father’s life: sabotage Sebastian Bancroft’s engagement to the Windsor heiress. Her mission was simple, create a scandal that would destroy his wedding plans. And she succeeded. But Sebastian Bancroft is no ordinary billionaire. As the ruthless head of the Bancroft mafia empire, he’s a man who never forgives betrayal. To make Arabella pay, he traps her in a dangerous game of revenge, a contract marriage designed to humiliate and control her at every turn. What starts as cold, calculated vengeance begins to turn into something darker and far more dangerous. The lines between hatred and desire blur as Arabella finds herself falling deeper into Sebastian’s complicated world. Now, she must decide whether to play and submit to his rules or risk everything to rewrite the game against the mafia billionaire who refuses to let her go. Excerpt: “Did you really think you could cross me, Arabella? That you could disrupt my plans and simply walk away unscathed?” Her voice faltered, though she tried to hold her ground. “I… I didn’t have a choice.” “Oh, you had every choice,” he murmured, stepping closer. His breath brushed against her skin, sending a shiver down her spine. “But now, my vixen, you’ll live with the consequences.” He tilted her chin up with a surprisingly gentle touch, though it only amplified the tension in the air. His tone dropped, low and dangerous. “You’re mine now.” Before she could respond, his lips claimed hers, not gently, but a claim. It wasn’t the kiss of a man seeking affection; it was the kiss of a man who wanted submission. And, despite every instinct telling her to resist, Arabella found herself unable to pull away…

"Sierra, what we have between us stops today. She's back," he looked at me calmly. “The woman at the restaurant is Cassie?” I pretended to be clueless. I didn't want divorce. “Yes and she’s back, you know what that means right?” He looked at me seeking confirmation but I played dumbfounded. “What happens to us, what we’ve built?” “There’s no us Sierra, when are you going to get that through your head, I’ve never lied to you about my feelings for Cassie,” he said still no emotion in his eyes. “But you married me, I’m your wife now,” I muttered in a low tone, as much as I wanted to shout I still was in a lot of pain. ** Son of the richest family in the city, Damian made his name on his own as one of the most successful lawyers, instead of taking over his father's business. He is the dream lover: rich, dominant, protective, loyal —IF he loves you, I was unfortunate as I am not the one he loved. ******* After Damian ended their marriage for his ex, Cassie, Sierra moved to Texas to start anew. Only for her to return five years later as a rich, successful woman and a mother of triplets. The triplets looked exactly like Damian. Damian’s dormant heart beat again after seeing her, he wanted a second chance; was Sierra willing to forgive him after what he made her go through? Was she willing to throw the cold aura she built around herself, will he be able to win her heart again now that secrets left buried were hatched and most importantly was Cassie going to lose Damian without a fight? The answer is no. How will Damian and Sierra overcome it? Or will they ever?

3 years after getting married, I am still a virgin. "Lucien, let's get a divorce," I said in a peremptory tone that was long overdue, the most decisive farewell to this absurd marriage. We had been married for exactly three years—three years that, for me, were filled with nothing but endless loneliness and torment. For three years, the husband who should have stood by my side through every storm, Lucien Sullivan, had completely disappeared from my life as if he had never existed. He vanished without a trace, leaving me alone to endure this empty, desolate marriage. Today, I finally received his message: "I'm back. Come pick me up at the airport." When I read his words, my heart leapt with joy, and I raced to the airport, thinking that he finally understood my love and was coming back to me. But his cruelty was far worse than I could have ever imagined—he was accompanied by a pregnant woman, and that woman was Carla, my closest and most trusted friend. In that moment, all of my previous excitement, all my hope, and all of our shared laughter and tears turned into the sharpest of daggers, stabbing into my heart and leaving me gasping for air. He should know that it was his own hand that trampled our love underfoot, that his coldness and betrayal created this irreparable situation. But when he heard those words, he desperately clung to this broken, crumbling marriage, unwilling to let it end—almost as though doing so could rewind time and return everything to how it used to be. "Aurora, come back. I regret everything!" Regret? Those simple words stirred no emotion in me—only endless sadness and fury. My heart let out a frantic, desperate scream: It's too late for any of this!

“Please, don’t marry him. I love you. How am I supposed to live without you?” Williams’s voice broke as he pleaded, desperation seeping into every word. Slowly, deliberately, Elodie slid the engagement ring off her finger. Without hesitation, she hurled it at him, the sharp metallic sound of it hitting the ground cutting through the air like a knife. “Get lost, Williams,” she spat, her tone icy. “I never want to see your face again.” Williams stared down at the ring, the very one he had chosen with so much love and care, now lying discarded like it meant nothing. Without another word, he turned and walked away, his steps heavy. He didn’t look back, and with every step he took, the distance between them felt insurmountable. As his figure disappeared from view, Elodie stood frozen, her body trembling. The tears she had been holding back finally spilled over, and she collapsed to her knees. The ring, still glinting faintly on the ground, caught her eye. With shaking hands, she reached for it and cradled it in her palm. Her sobs grew louder as she pressed the ring to her lips, her tears soaking into her skin. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice barely audible through the sobs. “I’m so sorry, Williams.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the struggle for dominance, Elodie Richards unknowingly becomes a pawn— an object of a cruel joke that shattered her once blissful life. Falling prey to an evil scheme, she let go of the one thing that mattered most in her life; Williams Storm. When the truth comes to light, will Elodie be able to right her wrongs and win back the heart she shattered into pieces, even when Williams' once–loving eyes are filled with nothing but contempt for her?

Aurora, be honest with me. What do you truly desire?" Zane asked, his gaze unwavering as he stared deep into my eyes. "I'm...confused," I admitted in a low tone, struggling to maintain my sanity. Just then, my phone chimed. I swiped the screen to see a message notification, it was from Mark. It read. 'We have a history together, Aurora. A future.' A tear streamed down my cheek as I stared at my phone. "Well?" Zane's voice snapped me back to reality. "You have to make a choice." "But-" my lips quivered as my mind reeled. "But what if I can't?" He let out a sigh as he took a step back. "Then you'll lose everything." -------- Aurora's tenth anniversary was supposed to be a celebration of a decade of devotion with Mark.. Instead, it became the day her whole world shattered. Dumped and heartbroken by the only man she had ever loved and trusted, she kept the secret of her pregnancy to herself. Seeking momentary oblivion in a bar, she finds her surrendering to a one night stand with an unforgettable stranger. Fate's cruel test continued when Aurora starts a new job, only to find the man from her one night stand was Zane, her boss. Zane's interest in her was evident, while she was hesitant, still nursing the wounds from Mark's betrayal and the burden of her pregnancy, she tried her best to resist him in every way possible. When an accident forces hee secret into the open, Zane jumps to the conclusion that the child was his, but kept it hidden to himself. After few months later, Aurora finally told him the truth, but to her surprise, he wasn't disappointed and still insisted that he wanted them both regardless who the child's biological father was.

Ivy never planned to fall, literally, into Liam’s arms. But the day she bumped into him in the hallway, everything changed. His girlfriend noticed. The school noticed. At first, it was side eyes and some attitude. Then came the rumors. Just as the drama became unbearable, her world crashed, her parents died on the same day.  She had to move in with an aunt who she barely knew.  She stopped going to school, because the pain became unbearable. When she finally returned to school, the tone changed. There were new whispers, but only about her. To the girls like Claire and her group, Ivy was a pity seeker. She was beautiful, quiet, soft, so obviously, they thought she was faking it. Especially when the boys, including Liam, started being nice to her. Even her best friend, Sophia, changed after a new girl, Maya, showed up. Soon, Sophia turned against her, started acting mean. Another betrayal. Ivy was losing people faster than she could have ever imagined. And when her aunt suggested going to therapy, Ivy finally cracked. Ivy didn’t ask to be strong, she was shoved into it. She wasn’t eased into being strong, wasn’t given the time to learn, or grow into it. She learned to talk back. She learned to slap back, literally. When Sophia humiliated her in public, Ivy hit back without apology. But that didn’t mean Ivy was suddenly strong on the inside. She still cried when she was alone. Still felt broken. This isn’t some perfect girl story. Ivy’s not a superhero. She’s just trying to make it through each day without falling apart. She’s just trying to breathe without breaking. And maybe, somewhere in all that mess, she’ll find her own kind of peace.