Vice And Virtue

“I am betrothed to marry you…” Esmé mumbled, shivering from her shoulders down her spine. Maybe it was because her clothes were soaked from the rain or the cold stare that the man was grazing towards her—piercing, cold, and judging. "You’re sexy underneath those already-drenched clothes. I could understand if you wanted to tempt me. But you’re crazy enough to tell me you’re marrying me,” he said with a smirk. She never thought she’d be on her knees in front of any man, crying and begging for him to take her in. Left with no options but to beg for shelter at the hands of the most dangerous mafia in their city, Esmé lets go of shame and pride just to talk to the man who is promised to her. With no parents to support her claim that she is betrothed to the billionaire mafia praised by many, she only has her words which he labeled as lies. But Esmé won’t give up that easily, especially when she has dedicated her life to honor her parent’s words before they were assassinated. It was then that Esmé knew she had to stay alive to avenge her parent’s death. But nothing comes easy, especially when it’s a forced marriage to a man who doesn’t want her. By virtue of courage, trust, and seduction—Esmé will go to the depths of hell just so she’ll get his attention, devotion, love... and never let her go.

When I ran into my ex-husband again, he had just been appointed the new hospital director. In the past, manipulated by my so-called best friend, he misunderstood my sincerity again and again. Because of that woman, he eventually walked out of our marriage. As the vice director, I managed to keep things strictly professional around him, right up until the end of the workday. That evening, the head nurse brought some news. "Dr. Holloway, the Municipal Medical Association is hosting a networking banquet tonight. Leaders from all the major hospitals will be attending." The nurses immediately began discussing whether they could go. Just as I was about to agree, he appeared in the doorway without warning. "Dr. Holloway, you can't go. You're staying tonight to handle the hospital restructuring plan." In full view of everyone, he summoned me into the director's office. Seated behind his desk, he said with an icy gaze, "Everyone else can go. You must stay. If I find out you show up at that banquet tonight, be prepared to deal with the consequences."

She sold her body to shadows so he could claim the moon. Now the moon claims her instead. Omega Nova Voss traded her freedom for love—selling herself to the Moonlit Rose Brothel to fund her fated mate’s ascension ritual. Protected by the kind Madam Vesper, she danced untouched under crescent lights, her virtue a fragile flame in the dark. But when he returns an Alpha, he doesn’t offer his heart. He offers gold to buy her as his concubine, not his Luna. Shattered by rejection, Nova surrenders her first night to a scarred stranger whose touch ignites something ancient and forbidden. His iridescent obsidian eyes swirl with molten starlight. He's is Zephyr Kain, the rarest Lycan King—born under a blood eclipse, nearly immortal, and her true fated mate. Now carrying his quadruplets Nova is branded unworthy: a brothel dancer, forever tainted. As prejudice ignites war and old betrayals rise from the ashes, Zephyr must grovel for the woman he once overlooked, fighting to crown her Queen before his eternal life becomes endless regret. In the whisper of the crescent moon, one broken Omega will either shatter a kingdom... or heal its immortal king.

Cesare Xandri, the rising gangster of the Nalitan mafia, unexpectedly lost a bet at an elite private casino in Ithel, the kind that smells like cigar smoke and blood money. The penalty was simple, he had to call his hard-to-tame pet. The phone was on speaker. The men circled him, whistling and hooting, waiting to be entertained. He asked what I was up to in a relaxed and amused tone. I replied softly, insinuating he was sinful, hiding my defiance behind innocence and fake devotion. When I finished my insult, the room fell silent, then burst into loud and uncontrollable laughter. The call ended. Less than thirty minutes later, the mansion gates were smashed open. He stormed in smelling of gunpowder, a Beretta still in his hand. He pushed me against the wall furiously beneath the Virgin Mary statue. I leaned into him without hesitation, fingers brushing the heated gun, and I met his gaze without fear. I chose virtue and rejected him in my past life, in return I was thrown into the open sea to die. I intended to be his temptation when I got a second chance at life, I wanted to be a beautiful sin that ends his story under the Cecilian sun.

"You can't reject me!" She pleaded with tears glistening her eyes, while he stands there indifferent. Hatred evident in his grey orbs. "Please!" He moves closer to her , entrapping her body between the wall and his big frame. Looking at her from top to bottom in disgust, he seethes at her. "You should have thought about it before sleeping with the bast***" "You should have thought about it before betraying me mate." ............ She was a havoc created by nature, found wrapped in a blanked at the side of a river. Bullied and shunned by the werewolf society. She was a mere rogue who was surviving. Untill he came , hating her. Cursing her and playing with her like a prey. Doing everything to break her like her betrayal has broken her. If only he knew she has not surrendered her virtue by choice, if only he knew she was an innocent. If only he knew he could never break her for she was not a weak pathetic rogue. She was the girl born with the power to summon the strongest known wolf in the world. She was the very soul referred to in the werewolf books of philosophy. She was none other than the summoner. The summoner of the death wolf.

He’s outlaw danger. She’s sworn to save lives. Their collision is anything but clean. Dr. Sienna Blake’s quiet night shift explodes into chaos when a gunshot biker crashes into her ER—bleeding, armed, and refusing to die. Breaking every rule, she saves the nameless outlaw with nothing but her skill and a reckless need to keep him breathing. But Jax Maddox, Vice President of the brutal Hellborn MC, never forgets the woman who defied logic and law to pull him back from the edge. He disappears into the night… Only to return—bloodied, armed, and standing at her door. “You saved me. Now you’re mine.” Thrown into the heart of a ruthless biker war, Sienna’s life spirals into a world of danger, secrets, and brutal loyalty. Jax doesn’t just want protection—he wants possession. And he’ll scorch the earth to claim it. He’s everything she’s trained to fight. But what if her heart craves the very thing that could destroy her?

Vice and Victor have a plan. Five years in the spotlight to make their fortune, then move into the background, with their own record label. Fast and smart is their motto. Romance will have to wait, especially since their idea of an ideal romance, involves both of them and one woman. When their manager, Aaron, asks them to collaborate with a chart-topping popstar who wants to gravitate into rock, they are dubious. A frequent flyer in the gossip columns over the last twelve months with a history of drug and alcohol problems, they fear she will be difficult and volatile to work with. After being roofied by her music producer, Mirage has learnt the hard way that it is not an equal world. Without proof, she cannot pursue legal recourse, and she is locked into completing another album with her rapist. Meanwhile, Mr Rich has been feeding the industry lies about her having dependency on alcohol and drugs, and the gossip mags have seized upon the stories, slowly tearing her professional reputation into pieces. But Mirage is not a fragile damsel in distress, she is a pop-rock chick, and she is fighting back.

Despite my parents' objections, I stay by Julian Grant's side for ten years. He goes from having nothing to building his own empire. The moment it's time to fulfill our ten-year promise, I proudly tell my parents I'm going to marry him. But then, he gives the vice president position meant for me to another woman. I confront him only to overhear a woman's hesitant voice behind the door. "Mr. Grant... you gave me the VP role, but what about Ms. Jones? Aren't you two getting married?" Julian's tone is cold and sharp, though his face is calm and unaffected. "Noelle's been with me for ten years. Who else would even want her? Relax—she won't dare make a scene." The words hit me like a slap to the face. Without another word, I turn and make a call to my arranged marriage contact. "Are you free?" I ask. "Let's get married."

Laurel must be willing to lose her father who died in an accident, as a result of the careless actions of a rich kid who is reckless, as well as losing her mother who died due to illness. Everything could be solved with their money and Laurel was disgusted by it. However, the years passed and Laurel's life seemed so lucky, as if God had always given His love to Laurel, and she was grateful for it. Then, she met Aaron, a CEO who had succeeded at a young age with his own efforts. They fell in love, went through everything with a pleasant little drama, until they got married. Even so, the problems never end, until one day Laurel learns a striking truth. Aaron was that young man, the young man who drove so irresponsibly that her father died. All is revealed. All the conveniences that Laurel got, all came from Aaron who did it out of guilt. Meanwhile, Aaron, who initially did everything to get back at his sins in the past, actually fell in love with Laurel. Then, what is their next story? Will Laurel be willing to forgive Aaron or vice versa?

My mother-in-law is extremely frugal. She reuses paper others have discarded, carefully saving the unmarked portions. She even takes the black waste oil from the kitchen range hood and uses it to cook our meals. She says, "Frugality is a virtue—it brings blessings!" I try tirelessly to convince her otherwise, throwing out all her filthy items to protect my family's health. But while she praises me to my face, behind my back, she uses my baby's food scissors to clip her grimy toenails. My child eventually dies of a lung infection, leaving me heartbroken. My mother-in-law, however, points her finger at me, saying I'm unlucky and that I've brought misfortune to their family. Even my husband blames me. In the end, they use a knitting needle to pierce my throat and stab me to death. When I open my eyes again, I find myself back on the day I first see her picking up dirty paper. The first thing I do is hide all the high-quality tissue paper I had stocked up on before my pregnancy, pretending I knew nothing. She calls these blessings, right? Fine. The blessings of this miserly frugality—she can reap them all herself!