Why Ophelia Couldn't Leave

For the past three months, I've slept only three hours every day just so my team and I can create an app. Thanks to our hard work, the app goes absolutely viral to the point we've garnered over 100 million registered users on the first week of its launch. At the afterparty, my wife, Stacie Woodward, announces that her godbrother, Tory Frost, who's the PR manager, will be the one receiving the million-dollar bonus. She then tosses me a few 50% discount coupons that can be used in shopping malls as my bonus. "You're just a code monkey—why do you need that much money anyway? You can have these discount coupons. Use them on anything you want. At least buy some nice clothes for yourself. Don't go around wearing these rags. You'll just end up humiliating me more." I plead to her in a low tone, "Have you gone crazy, Stacie? My dad needs the money for the best medication in order to save his life! Can you please stop joking around?" But Stacie clings to Toby's arm, looking high and mighty. "Your dad's dying, isn't he? He might as well stop wasting the public resources! I can always choose him a better grave and hold a nice funeral for him when his time comes!" As I look at Stacie's smug face, I just smile at her instead of getting mad at her. She must have forgotten that the app's core algorithm and the user growth model are built using my private, undisclosed technology stack. That means the copyright is mine and has nothing to do with the company. I just smile while nodding at Stacie. That night, I activate the technology stack's self-destruct and migration protocols.

He’s her arrogant boss. She’s his biggest headache. Neither expected to become family... or to fall this hard. Stella Blake is on a mission—climb the corporate ladder, crush her goals, and definitely not fall for the insufferable CEO standing in her way. Rhysand King is cold, controlling, and the kind of man who doesn’t take “no” for an answer—especially not from the fiery new exec shaking up his boardroom. But when a high-stakes merger throws them into close quarters—and an even bigger bombshell reveals their parents are about to say “I do”—their sizzling power struggle turns dangerously intimate. She can’t stand him. He doesn’t trust her. Too bad forbidden has never felt so right. Office tension turns into stolen kisses. Family dinners turn into secret glances. And just when they think it couldn’t get more complicated—secrets unravel, and hearts are put on the line. Enemies. Step-siblings. Lovers? In this scandalously addictive grumpy boss, enemies-to-lovers romance, get ready for boardroom battles, slow-burn heat, and a forbidden love story that breaks all the rules. One bed. Zero boundaries. And absolutely no chance of coming out unscathed.

Dad is famous for being a total simp over Mom in the elite society. Naturally, he views Callie Archer, the stepdaughter whom Mom has brought with her, as his own. But Callie is afflicted with a severe case of walking phobia. Her feet couldn't touch the ground at all. Only when she's stepping on my back can she roam around in the house freely. So, whenever Callie looks in a certain direction, Mom will press my head down and force me to crawl toward Callie to serve as her doormat. The doctor issues a warning to my family that my spine is severely contorted. So when Callie wants to admire the flowers in the yard while wearing a pair of spiked shoes again, I can't endure the pain anymore, so I shiver slightly out of instinct. Callie ends up losing her balance and falling to the ground. She bawls like a baby afterward. Mom rushes over immediately before kicking me in the gut, her high heel lodging into my flesh. "It's extremely rare for Callie to be willing to leave the house! Why must you ruin her mood? Can't you just be more understanding and play your role as a doormat for the sake of your sister's illness?" Meanwhile, Dad scoops Callie into his arms, his heart bleeding for her plight. He coaxes her gently, telling her that he'll buy her new dresses later. I can only curl up on the ground while hacking up blood. But Dad just thinks I'm playing the pity card. He commands his men to throw me into the basement. Apparently, I can only be released once I've learned to stay stationary when I'm supporting Callie. As I clutch my broken ribs, I feel my tears flowing down my face as well as the blood from my injuries. I'm sorry, Dad. Next time, I will definitely not move a muscle, just like a corpse.

After I finished the Luna training that every she-wolf dreamed, I went to my Alpha, Damien, with a request. To break our mate bond. "All this, just because I missed your ceremony to help my late brother's mate, Lilith, with the rogues in her territory?" A smirk twisted his lips, his voice a low rasp. I nodded, silent. "I gave my brother my word before he died. I swore I would protect Lilith. I can't break that vow! Why can't you understand?" he whispered, sighing heavily. "Stop being so childish! Why can't you be reasonable, like Lilith is?" I pushed him away with a chilling calm. Ten years. For ten years after our bond was confirmed, I gave up everything. Every hobby, every dream… all to learn how to be his Luna. Everyone in the pack thought I was helpless without him. That I couldn't even survive without his protection. But this time, I was done. He didn't know I'd already contacted the neutral packs in another land. I was going somewhere his Alpha scent could never reach me.

I'm Alpha Bruce Smith's most docile and understanding daughter. In fact, I'm the type who obeys literally anyone's orders. When my parents pick me up at the Rogues' den and take me back to the pack, my adopted younger sister, Andrea Smith, begins making fun of me. "I thought the Rogues killed you for sure! I never thought you'd be able to return to the pack, safe and sound! You really are lucky! Why can't you just die already?" With hollow eyes, I just nod quietly. Then, I extend a claw and move to stab myself in the neck without hesitation. My parents are terrified out of their wits. They quickly stop me from hurting myself. But my older brother, Tobias Smith, remains impassive about my condition. "You really love attention that much, huh? What makes you think you can still remain my sister, anyway? You might as well drink some wolfsbane and die!" That night, I grab a bottle of poison and down it immediately. Tobias discovers me afterward. He whisks me to the hospital anxiously. When the doctor tells him that I'd die if he were two minutes later in discovering me, Tobias' complexion turns pale. Some time after that, when Andrea snatches my necklace from me, she loses her balance and falls down the stairs. Her fiance points at me while exclaiming, "It's just a necklace! If anything were to happen to Andrea, you'd better pay the price with your life!" Pay the price with my life, huh? I don't hesitate to draw the silver sword out of its hilt on the wall. Then, I slash my throat with it. My parents happen to witness it. Shell-shocked, they scream at the top of their lungs. "Call an ambulance! Hurry!" Tobias tries to stem the blood flow with trembling hands. He's completely stunned by the ordeal. What everyone doesn't know is that they've been calling me a lowlife during my five-year stay in the Rogues' den. Even if I could live 100 times over, those lives are nothing compared to Andrea. Even if I gave my life, it would never be enough—because to them, my life was never worth anything in the first place.

Kelly had everything she could ever want. A loving family and a devoted boyfriend, Leo, who also happened to be the Alpha of their pack. But all of that changed the day her father adopted her half-sister, Merry. From that moment on, Kelly’s world turned upside down. She lost her father's affection, and worst of all, Leo broke off their relationship without any explanation. But that didn’t stop Kelly from winning Leo back. And just when she thought all hope was lost, Kelly discovered she was pregnant with Leo’s child. Her dream of building a family with Leo was finally coming true. But before she could even say anything, the truth cut even deeper than she could imagine, after finding out the reason why Leo had left her. He left her for her adoptive sister Merry. But that’s not all, Merry was now carrying the Alpha’s heir.

Imagine being born into a wealthy family that thinks you don't deserve a place at the table because you're different. Imagine being told you'll never be loved for who you are. Imagine believing this is true until you meet that one person who doesn't care what the world thinks of you. At 26, Dana Travis had resigned to a life of art and listening to her voice on her small recorder. But when she meets the unusually handsome Alex Logan, a billionaire CEO, who asks her to sign a contract marriage for two years with him, Dana says, “why not?” Imagine your hands stuck in the cookie jar, imagine owning the cookie jar. Like all agreements with an expiry date, Dana and Alex's contract of a delicious marriage ends . . . but not Dana’s feelings. But Alex is a billionaire, while she's . . . nothing, just a pretty girl with a big imagination. Or is she just that? Could Dana somehow get Alex to believe her feelings are true, or is she in this alone? “It was just a contract,” Dana tells herself. “Nothing more.” But it is clear there is more. Dana caught feelings, hard. What woman wouldn't after being deliriously loved by Alex Logan. It was supposed to be a contract, no strings attached. But now there's a whole pregnancy attached, and a heart that beats only for Alex. But Alex seems to have moved on with a new catch, the undefeated beauty, Jodie . . .

I'm the heir of the York family in Yarrowdale. My parents request that I choose either June Langley, my female bodyguard or Jasmine Turner, the low-income student that my family has been sponsoring as my wife. I had had a crush on Jasmine for a long time. On the day I was supposed to draw lots, I tampered with the box and chose her as my wife. But after we got married, Jasmine plotted to let the butler's son, Marcus Lockwood, take my place as the new heir. Just like that, I fell from grace and became the impostor that everyone looked down on. Then, I was cast out of my own home. Jasmine then introduced Marcus and their illegitimate child into the York family. Her actions gave my parents heart attacks, leading to their deaths. Before my death, I witnessed Jasmine gifting the Yorks' shares to Marcus. She even shattered my parents' urns just to appease him. "Tristan, you had spent your life in luxury. Now, it's Marcus' turn." When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day I'm meant to choose my wife by drawing lots. This time, I've changed the names on both lots to June Langley, my loyal bodyguard.

Zoey has been beaten down her entire life—by her pack, by fate, by the cruel truth that she has no wolf. When war pushes the packs together, her body becomes a battlefield of its own, bruised, burning, and starved for something she’s never been allowed to want. Then she collides with a dangerous male who looks at her like pain makes her irresistible and defiance makes her his. Desire turns savage, jealousy turns deadly, and love threatens to be the most violent thing of all. In a world ruled by blood, dominance, and marks, wanting him could ruin her—but being claimed by him might finally set her free.

I’ve always been the unwanted child—the invisible one. The rebel no one ever tried to understand. And yet, I never resented my perfect, beloved sister. All I ever wanted was for her to be happy. But one cruel twist of fate—and a devastating betrayal by someone I trusted—changed everything. I woke up in a stranger’s bed, losing the one thing I had guarded so carefully. Back then, I thought that was my greatest loss. I was wrong. Because not long after, my sister introduced me to her fiancé. And the man standing in front of me… was the same stranger from that night. Now he haunts me—day and night, in my dreams and in my waking hours. And just when I start to believe the nightmare might finally fade with the dawn, Alan walks back into my life. This time, he has no intention of letting me forget. Not the insult I dealt him. …or that one unforgettable night.