Without Merit Colleen Hoover

Elena had once believed that silence could mean safety. That a gentle hand and a warm cup of tea placed quietly on her desk every morning could be a form of love. Lucien was never cruel—not in the obvious ways. He remembered how she liked her eggs, noticed when she swapped her perfume, and sent flowers on days he knew she wouldn’t expect them. He raised her like one would raise a pet—softly, without question. And Elena, foolish in the way only the very lonely can be, mistook his quiet affection for devotion. She told herself he was reserved. Mysterious. That love didn’t always wear its heart on its sleeve. But when the old flame returned—the one who spoke his language without needing to try—Elena saw it. The difference. He looked at her like a man who had found his lost religion. And Elena? She had simply been convenient. No tears, no scene. Just papers on the breakfast table, beside the eggs he cooked perfectly. She didn’t accuse or beg. She only asked for freedom. He didn’t sign. He chuckled. A soft, dismissive sound. “A cat raised indoors doesn’t know how to survive on the street, Elena. You’ll come back." But she didn’t. She disappeared, like smoke—except she didn’t vanish, not really. She lived. She wore colour again. Laughed at bad jokes. Let strange men hand her coffee and ask for her number. Lucien? He watched. He watched her become someone without him. And it drove him mad. The night he cornered her outside the gallery, rain in his hair and desperation in his eyes, he looked like a man undone. "Elena," he breathed, "please. Look at me. Just once." She did. Calm as ever, and her love already gone.

Selena Vanson, my adopted sister whom my brothers had brought back from the borders, has framed me. She claims that I've laced her birthday cake with wolfsbane. Hence, my brothers throw me into the silver mine, which has long since been sealed off. I scream for mercy while struggling against my bonds with all my might. But all I get is an icy judgment from Leo Wilde, my oldest brother who's the Alpha of the pack. He looks at me with hatred in his eyes, as though he's looking at a filthy beast. "Selena has been taking care of you without minding the fact that you're a low-tier Omega. Yet, you intend to poison her and even kill her wolf out of jealousy toward her blood purity! You deserve to die!" My other two brothers, Luke and Ryan Wilde, have even tied heavy rocks to my limbs for fear that I might escape. "You often act innocent and wronged, but the truth is, you have such a vile heart! Our family is embarrassed to have a lowly Omega like you!" "It's best if you die! No one here wants to see you ever again!" Even my younger brother, Rupert Wilde, who is raised by me, mocks me as well. "Lorraine, you should be sensible. Even without you around, Selly will still be nice to me. But without us, you're nothing but an abandoned mutt." After that, they close the mine's door on me. Silver powder soon rushes into my nose and mouth. I feel as though my body is lit on fire. Pain and agony soon engulf me whole. Once my brothers think that I've been punished enough and want to spare me from the torture, there's nothing left of me inside the mine pit but a pile of blood and bones.

After a brutal breakup and one too many whiskies, Arielle Lawson makes the mistake she swore she’d never repeat—she calls her ex. She never saved his number; she memorized it. Heart memory. Muscle memory. Bad-decision memory. But the man who answers isn’t Daniel. He’s calm. Controlled. Amused by the drunken stranger ranting about betrayal, wasted years, and ruined wedding plans. Arielle hangs up, mortified, convinced the mistake ends there. It doesn’t. Because the number she dialed belongs to Kael Virelli, the elusive leader of a multi-million-dollar anti-government underground syndicate known as The Black Ledger—a man feared by politicians, hunted by intelligence agencies, and obeyed without question. Kael should forget the call. He should erase the number. Instead, he calls back. What begins as anonymous late-night conversations becomes a dangerous ritual neither of them can break. Arielle finds comfort in the mysterious stranger who listens without judgment and understands her in ways no one ever has. Kael becomes addicted to the only person who speaks to him like he’s human—not a weapon, not a myth. Then fate intervenes. When Arielle unknowingly witnesses a violent operation tied to The Black Ledger, the voice she trusts becomes the name everyone fears. Overnight, she transforms from a stranger into a liability—a loose end that Kael’s world would normally erase without hesitation. But Arielle isn’t just anyone. She’s the woman who called him at his most human… and made him answer. Now Kael must choose between protecting the empire he built in shadows or protecting the girl who accidentally dialed her way into his life. Because in a world of secrets, betrayal, and blood money, the most dangerous mistake he ever made wasn’t answering the call. It was falling for the girl who made it.

In the tenth year of my diagnosis with selective mutism, my mother decided it was time to bring home a little brother for me from an orphanage. Her eyes immediately landed on a boy in the back row, but the head of the orphanage opposed without hesitation. "Ms. Lane, this kid has been nothing but trouble since he was small. Just two days ago, he made an old man on crutches play goalie. If you take him home, your life will never be peaceful!" I looked on without the slightest interest. My mother, however, was exhilarated. Pointing at the boy, she declared excitedly, "Then, he's exactly the one I want!" And suddenly, lines of bullet comments scrolled before me. 'The mom cracks me up. Her eyes practically sparkled like spotlights.' 'Our brooding female lead grew up friendless. Her mom's been worrying about that for years. Now she's found this rascal, there's no way she's letting go.' 'Honestly, fate is wild. The mom instantly picks her future son-in-law. In their past lives, the female lead died trying to save him. Now that they've both been reborn, maybe they'll finally get a second chance together.'

Like cats and dogs—that’s how Nick and Jessica’s relationship was. Jessica became Nick’s temporary secretary because his male secretary had to take a leave. Nick was allergic to female secretaries, believing that none of them were trustworthy and that they all had hidden agendas. That’s why he never hired a female secretary. But this time, he had no choice—he couldn’t handle everything on his own without a secretary. And Jessica was the only one available, personally trusted by his best friend, Andrei. Even though he was "allergic," he had to endure it—after all, it was only for three days. But how could he possibly endure it when, in less than a day, she was already making a mess of things? She was only proving his belief that female secretaries were unreliable. And how could Jessica prove that she was a professional and skilled secretary if her temporary boss—grumpy and seemingly carrying the weight of the world—had already judged her without giving her a chance? How long could they put up with each other? And could love possibly bloom when, from the very beginning, they already had the worst impression of one another?

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.

Have you ever had “A Man Who Got Away?” Sarah Kate Wright, a beautiful heiress to Wright Diamond Corporation, let Carlos Ronaldo slip through her fingers. He loved her, but she did not see him. He left Braeton City without saying goodbye. After nine years, Carlos became widely known as “The Devil” on court. Hot, famous, and rich, he became every woman's desire. He returned to Braeton City and came face to face with… the girl he left behind. *** "Why did you leave without a word?” Kate asked, looking straight into his grey eyes. "You were my world, but you did not see me,” Carlos replied. It was funny how the tables turned because after Carlos left, all Kate could see was him. *** Book 4 of The Wright Family Series Book 1: Mommy, Where Is Daddy? The Forsaken Daughter's Return Book 2: Flash Marriage: A Billionaire For A Rebound Book 3: I Kissed A CEO And He Liked It Book 5: I Fell For The Boy His Daddy Was A Bonus Each book can be read as a standalone. Follow me on social media. Search Author_LiLhyz on IG & FB.

Joy Santos only wanted a quiet life in the province. But one messy fight, one sosyalera enemy, and one powerful matriarch later—she finds herself shipped off to Manila as a personal maid, buried in debt, and completely out of her depth. Enter Attorney Caelius Montemayor: rich, ruthless, perfectionist... and unfortunately, her new boss. He’s everything Joy can’t stand—suplado, Englishero, and constantly correcting her Bisaya-tagalog grammar. She’s everything he hates—baduy, tactless, and always one step away from disaster. Their worlds were never meant to collide. But under one roof, bickering turns to tension, and tension turns to something neither of them can control. Just when feelings get too real, Joy disappears—without warning, without goodbye. Years later, she’s back. Not as a maid, but as a fierce new lawyer… and Caelius’ biggest rival in court. What she doesn’t know? He’s still not over her. What he doesn’t know? She’s hiding more than just her heart. Some battles aren’t fought in the courtroom—they’re fought where it hurts the most.

After being condemned across the internet for plagiarism, I stood before everyone and announced my retirement from writing. My boyfriend, Carter Xavier, who had been furiously accusing me just moments ago, froze in shock. “What are you doing? Don’t you still have debts to pay?” Ruby Quinn—his precious and the so-called victim of this scandal—immediately panicked. “Vera, you don’t have to punish yourself like this. I’m willing to give you a chance to start over.” I remained firm, my expression cold and unmoving as camera flashes exploded around me. In my past life, these two had humiliated me, plotting together behind my back to steal my work. My painstaking efforts had built Ruby’s reputation as a so-called genius author. But not this time. Without hesitation, I deleted the pen name I had used for the past six years. I had spent enough time struggling in a cramped rental apartment. It was time to return home and claim my family inheritance. As for Ruby Quinn— Let’s see how you finish the rest of that stolen manuscript without me.

In a world where the broken are hunted and the powerful are feared, refuge is a dangerous promise. Alejandro was never meant to lead. Bound to an ancient force known as Inferno, burdened with power that bends wards, spirits, and history itself, he becomes Alpha not by ambition, but by necessity. When the unwanted, the cursed, and the discarded begin to arrive at his mountain stronghold, the Haven of Shadows is born. It became a sanctuary for vampires, witches, rogues, humans, and beings too dangerous to exist anywhere else. At its heart stood Zenith a nineteen year old human luna. A healer whose touch mends more than flesh.The one thing powerful enough to ground a god. As Alejandro’s fated mate and Luna of the Haven, Zenith becomes the calm within the storm, altering scents to make enemies live as family, healing wounds the world refuses to acknowledge, and reminding monsters of the humanity they have buried. Together, they build something fragile and unprecedented. A home without hierarchy, a family without fear. But sanctuary never goes unnoticed. As war looms and loyalty is tested, Alejandro must decide how much of himself he is willing to surrender to protect the woman who reminds him he is still a man, and the home that proves monsters can choose something better.