When Were Fire Hydrants Invented

When my mom texted me, urging me to go home for a blind date, Charles had just finished with me. His warm breath brushed against the back of my ear, sending a tingling sensation straight to my heart. He wiped away the traces on my skin with gentle care, but when he spoke, his voice was chillingly indifferent. "Since Mrs. Shaw is pushing you, you should head back soon." I thought he was jealous, and a surge of sweetness filled my heart. I quickly grabbed his wrist, telling him my feelings. "Charles, I want to stay with you. I'm not going anywhere!" He froze for a moment, then let out a derisive laugh. One by one, he pried my fingers off. "You didn't actually think I was jealous, did you?" Tucking my damp, messy hair behind my ear, he remained as gentle as ever, but his words were almost cruel. "Rose is pure and innocent. I couldn't bring myself to touch her before marriage, so I used you to satisfy my needs. However, now, our engagement is set. She'll soon be my rightful wife. You're no longer needed."

** This is book 1 of The alliance series, each book can be read as a stand alone but the stories do follow on. ** ** Book 2 Freeing Freya now available ** The desire to mate is overwhelming and he can no longer ignore his wolfs need but how can anyone find it in them to love the Alpha's dark secret. He's been careful his whole life to keep it hidden, and there is no way that this timid girl before him will be able to handle it but she has a secret of her own, one that will shake him to his core, if only he can hold onto her long enough to find out.

[Aviation Series #1] After years of despair and continuously witnessing her fiance cheating, Alexandria Aviana Alcantara finally decided to call off the engagement with Damien. On that night, she also made an impulsive decision and slept with another man. A man that made her reminisce the past that she kept on denying. A man that made her realize that maybe, her ex-fiance was cheating physically, but she was cheating emotionally.

Broken and shattered, Andre Torello contemplated suicide. Love failed him, it pierced his heart and left him bleeding. There's nothing left to hold on to, nothing is left when love has failed him. His fiancee left him, she kept him waiting while she walked the aisle with a richer man. He thought love was stronger than wealth and riches, he'd always believed that nothing can break love but it's all a fallacy. But what if love is waiting at the door? What if all he needed to do was glance in a different direction, but it was too late, Andre concluded. There's no love anywhere again. He'd been shattered by love; he is not ready to give in to its deception anymore. Love is cruel. But more than a lost love, something else was waiting, a throne and a lover and Andre Torello had only one option, accept it or get ruined forever.

The Moretti Family's Thanksgiving party was in full swing downstairs—crystal clinks, fake laughs, classic mafia gloss. Meanwhile, I was curled up in a servant's room on the third floor. Jackson Moretti's wife. Legally, anyway. My hands were ice. I gripped the ultrasound report like it could anchor me. Three heartbeats. Strong, steady. It was supposed to be a surprise—his big Thanksgiving gift. To the outside world, Jackson was a polished Stanford grad, running a top-tier consulting firm in San Francisco. But behind the scenes? He ran the Moretti empire—cold, calculated, pulling strings in the West Coast's darkest corners. Three years of marriage and we barely spoke, but I still clung to the hope that maybe... maybe there was something real left. Then I heard him downstairs. "You really not letting your wife come down?" "Isabella?" He laughed. "She'd kill the vibe." Another voice chimed in. "Lina's back, right? Wild you married her twin. Which one do you actually like?" Jackson didn't miss a beat. "Isabella's just a stand-in. Quiet. Predictable. I could tell her to drop dead and she'd say 'okay.'" "So when are you ditching her?" "Dunno. She thinks she matters. I'm just playing her." I slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle the sob. A minute later, I was heading downstairs, numb. I brushed my fingers over my belly. "Sorry, babies," I whispered. Triplets. His. He thought I was blind. Weak. Stuck. What he didn't know? A quiet woman, once she snaps—she can burn it all down.

Jeremy Hansen throws a divorce agreement at Joanna Thompson on the day she finds out she's pregnant with twins. He also gives her 300 million dollars as their breakup fee. Why? Because his true love is back in the country! Joanna doesn't kick a fuss or throw a tantrum. She takes the money and moves out of their marital home without argument. She doesn't expect Jeremy to be so cruel, though—he wants her to abort the children. Why should she listen to him? "You're not going to abort them, huh?" Jeremy sneers. "Do you think we won't have to go through with the divorce if you're still pregnant with my children?" Joanna sneers back at him. A few days later, she accidentally miscarries. After being discharged from the hospital, she and Jeremy finalize the divorce. Three years later, the paparazzi capture Joanna on a street abroad while holding onto a pair of adorable boy-girl twins. Jeremy stares at the photo as his eyes slowly redden. Then, he flies abroad at top speed to stand in Joanna and the twins' way. "You've played me for three years, Joanna! It's high time that you stop with this tantrum." She takes off her sunglasses and raises a nonchalant eyebrow. "Sorry, but who are you?"

After whiskey, betrayal, and the undeniable urge to spite her cheating, gay ex, Maeve Summers had a one-night stand with a gorgeous stranger. Six years later, former detective turned journalist Maeve is horrified to discover he was Aurelian Morgenstein, the mysterious mafia lord she must interview to save her crumbling career. With piercing blue eyes and a jet-black serpent tattoo coiling around his hand, Elian is every bit as tempting as he is dangerous. Especially when her five-year-old daughter, Sia, shares his infamous gaze. Now, Maeve must decide what’s more at risk: her career, her heart, or the truth about Sia’s father.

A Romance Novel Warning! Only Adults Read! Rated M 21+ ____ Kecelakaan kecil yang dialami Dealova Angela -Si aktris ternama- dalam sesi pemotretan dengan Si Tuan Arogan, Galantara Putra Dinata, membawanya dalam suatu masalah yang besar. Dealova terpaksa menerima konsekuensinya jika tak ingin karirnya hancur. Lantas ia harus menerima kontrak rahasia di bawah tekanan CEO muda itu. Apakah isi kontrak tersebut? Dan apakah Dealova dapat terlepas dari perangkap dan jerat 100 hari yang telah dibuat Galantara? Atau Galantara sendiri yang terjebak dalam permainannya?

The day I began working, I found out that the boyfriend I’d picked up off the street was actually a rich young man from the capital’s elite circle. His fiancée sneered at me, “You’re nothing but a bit of fun for us when we’re bored.” “You didn’t really think you were some kind of heroine here to save him, did you?” I was humiliated, my lips trembling. I couldn’t forgive myself—how could I have spent half of my father’s lifesaving money to help him? I even dropped out of school, working three jobs every day, foolishly treating him as the second most important person in my life. Later, my father passed away, leaving me all alone, so I left that city. But who would have thought that the young rich man who had toyed with me would go mad, searching for me all over the world for the next five years?

Sebuah lagu menjadi ikatan penghubung antara Kiran dan Eesha. Lagu yang sama juga menjadi alasan KIran menghilang. Selama dua puluh tahun menunggu, Eesha mulai merasa putus. Hilangnya Kiran di masa lalu, memaksa Eesha menggunakan cara terakhir untuk menemukan Kiran. Bersama dengan sahabatnya, Trika, Eesha menuliskan skenario film Two yang menceritakan kisah kelam di masa lalunya bersama dengan Kiran dan Amartya. Pada hari perealesean film dan lagu yang dulu selalu Kiran nyanyikan, tragedi yang sama dengan dua puluh tahun mulai terjadi lagi. Kini. . . Eesha harus memilih antara menemukan Kiran atau menghentikan tragedi yang sama seperti dua puluh tahun yang lalu. . .