What Does It Mean To Play Devil's Advocate

In the underworld littered with only the worst people imaginable, it is very important to know who you can trust and who you can't. Where death is just a breath away and one mistake can cause an all-out war between powerful groups of people, trust is something earned, not given. Eden Maschera, the leader of an organization known as The Aberrants with their signature letter 'A' in all the clubs, restaurants, hotels and everything else they owned, knows this fact. To get where he is, he's had to make many sacrifices. With blood-stained hands, he watched over all the people under him with an iron fist and unwavering ideals. No one knows to be more cautious against other people than him, not after what he's been through. But, all that is thrown out the window when he meets a pretty, naked, black-haired man in a club with who he did not get along instantly. Even though several things happened just in the course of that night. In a world of betrayals, heartbreaks, lies, secrets and death, what will become of the two? Read to find out. Updates every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (GMT+8) P.s. Not my artwork

Lumi-as someone who's being told what to believe and hope in everything as she grows up-reckons that living is a way to comply with and entrust one's entire life to serving superiors on top of the hierarchy. Who will not think of that way anyway? Being harbored in the lands of Castellanos, it is engraved in her mind that she lives to pay her debt of gratitude to the family who sheltered her, who protected her from all the cruelties the outside world has to offer behind those fences. What they're doing is to protect her life and welfare-that's what they told her. So there's no other way to live but be the gullible and obedient yokel of the Castellano clan, because they're doing everything just for her safety. But that's before her life turns upside-down as she discovers a strange note from the attic. "To whoever finds this message, they erased us. This is all that remains. Remember us, please." What does the note want to convey? Is it just one of those mundane trivial stuff found in an attic like the usual when someone decides to clean it? Or is it something connected to her... "safety?" For sure it is for her safety. That's what they always tell her. But what one hears is not always the version of reality. Most of the time, it is the most convenient scheme to twist and bend the truth. That... That's what they will never tell her.

When I joined my pregnant wife at her class reunion, I heard the thoughts of her male bestie. 'Once she kicks her bum husband to the curb, the money's all mine!' He was snuggling up to my wife, raising his glass in salutations with a perfect smile, but I still caught the flicker of disgust in his eyes. 'Stupid sow thinks I'm in love with her? Who would care about her if it weren't for her money?' He had no idea that Mary's family had gone bankrupt long ago, and her life of luxury now was all thanks to me!

Fate has entwined the lives of Bianca and Niko through a reluctant, forced marriage, thrusting her into a world she never imagined. As she navigates the complexities of her new life, Bianca feels herself gradually succumbing to the enigmatic devil she is bound to call her husband. Niko, has magnetic presence and piercing gaze, possesses a rare ability to dismantle her carefully constructed defenses, awakening within her a whirlwind of emotions she never knew existed. In this tumultuous sea of conflicting feelings, Bianca is left to ponder a haunting question: what does one do when escape feels impossible, and she finds herself hopelessly in love with a man whose very essence is shrouded in danger, offering no assurance of her safety? ***THIS IS BOOK TWO IN THE DEVIL'S SNARE SERIES*** ***Book One is : His Pretty Little Liar - The Devil's Snare - Book One***

Kierra Hail had already lost everything—her child, her marriage, her dignity. Betrayed by the man she once loved, cast aside for his mistress, and left to rot as he stripped her of everything she owned. But the cruelest blow? Her daughter’s death, a tragedy her husband could have prevented if he had only chosen her life over his secret lover’s son. Now, broken and gasping for one last chance at survival, Kierra dials a number she swore she’d never use. A man who calls her princess. A man who doesn’t forgive. A man who owns the underworld. Sebastian Novair—heir to the infamous Noir de Costas Syndicates and a merciless mafia king with blood on his hands and fire in his veins. Years ago, Kierra saved him. Now, he’s back to collect his debt—with interest. He offers her power, vengeance, and the sweet taste of retribution. But making a deal with the devil has its price… and he’s more than willing to make her pay in ways she never imagined. He’ll ruin her enemies. He’ll break her chains. And he’ll claim what’s always been his— her.

They called her a burden. His fiancè called her a nuisance. Cecelia Morrow was a pawn of her family, sacrificed for their wealth and power. When she caught her fiancé in bed with her sister, the day before their wedding, her desperate plea to escape was met with disapproval. Forced to choose between a loveless marriage and a life of hate and misery, she made a desperate call to her childhood friend, the one person she knew could help her disappear. He was the king of the underworld, a man who hated women. But tonight, everything changed. Lucien Belucci, the infamous Mafia King, had never met a woman who could tempt him, but on his way to a wedding arranged by his brother, he encountered a runaway bride and for some reason, his man that he could never get up was now hard in anger. So when she demanded for his help, he took the chance. "What do you think about getting married today?" A dangerous alliance. A desperate escape. Their worlds collide in a storm of betrayal and passion. Two souls, bound by circumstance and driven by a need for lust and freedom, find themselves in a deadly game where love and revenge become intertwined. Will their escape lead to a new life, or will they be consumed by the darkness they've unleashed?

Andy Williams is a nineteen year old Senior struggling to balance her school life, after hours job and moonlighting as a rock star. When her band is booked to do the end of term concert her cover is blown and she struggles to cope with the groupie, who just happened to be her Mathematics teacher, Miss Gweneviere Sheldon.Her English teacher, Miss Preston, offers to tutor her during the holidays and they start to get really close, perhaps too close? Uncomfortable with the situation Miss Preston calls everything off and sends Andy spiralling into a world of alcohol and drugs.Andys band tries to help Andy get over Miss Preston but ends up making the situation worse. Andy rethinks her actions during a couple of days in the hospital, she quits the band, changed her school schedule and starts extra Mathematics lessons to make up for lost time.She makes new friends, finds a new job. Her life seems to be back on track when a tragic accident happens on a school trip that leaves Andy temporarily paralyzed.She makes it through with the help of family and friends and reconnects with the band. With a little hard work Andy graduates and is free to pursue Miss Carol Preston.

"You promised me your virginity and your body. I was foolish to pass on the first, but like a debt collector, I am here to take the latter which belongs to me. Your body is mine, Rosianna." . . A loved one who became a stranger and a heart filled with secrets... . . “Oh, Rosy,” Santos whispered, his voice sending shivers down her heated body. “Do you remember?” “What?” she asked, even though she feared that she already knew what he was asking. He leaned closer to her ear. “That night six years ago? Right here, in this house, in this room...you begged me to take your body” Her eyes closed at the pain of the memory. “Let me go, Santos. I don’t want you anymore.” she lied. Pressing his body against hers, his hand slid underneath the towel and caressed her there. She leaned into him and throatily. He nibbled at her ear, and whispered, “That’s not what your body is saying, darling.”

Laya’s world is falling apart—haunted by a past she can’t outrun and a future she never chose. When shadows resurface and loyalties are tested, survival might cost her everything.

I was raised to be invisible. In the kingdom of Avelaine, a maid’s life is meant to pass quietly—unnoticed and unchanged. I knew my place in the halls of Hawthorne Palace, until Prince Roman Davenport looked at me as though I was something more than a shadow. He belonged to the crown. I belonged to silence. What grew between us was never spoken aloud. It lived in careful glances, restrained words, and moments stolen where no one was meant to see. Loving him was dangerous—not because of scandal, but because it asked for something I was never meant to have. In a world ruled by duty and inheritance, some desires are not forbidden by law… but by reality itself.