Years Of Rice And Salt Novels & Stories

At 32, Freya Hart has successfully run her father's wine company and turned it into a billion-dollar company. She is to inherit the company but there's one problem: a marriage contract her parents signed years ago with the Wilson’s family. She has to marry Mark Wilson, the son of the Wilson’s family - unless he decides he doesn't want her. Hoping to get out of the contract, Freya plans to make Mark reject her. But her plan completely backfires. One heated encounter with the arrogant businessman, and he becomes obsessed with having her. Now Mark, who she can't stand, won't leave her alone. As they clash in the business world, their hatred starts turning into something else - an attraction neither of them expected.

Antonio Rodriguez reigns as the ice-cold mafia king, a man whose heart is locked away behind walls built by betrayal and ambition. But when Isabella Albero finds herself auctioned to him by her own father, her life is thrust into chaos. Desperate to reclaim her freedom, she forms a plan to buy herself back, unaware of Antonio's obsession with her. Isabella is not naive—she’s fierce, resilient, and unwilling to be anyone’s possession. As their paths intertwine, the tension between obligation and desire escalates, awakening feelings neither saw coming. Just as Isabella begins to crack the icy armor around Antonio’s heart, her vengeful ex emerges from the shadows, determined to reclaim what he believes is rightfully his. Will Isabella shatter the chains of her past? Or will she uncover a truth that could tear her and Antonio apart? *** "I own you, Isabella. Every little part of you has my name on it," Antonio taunted me. "If I see you with another man again, I will make you watch as I slit his throat."

At my wedding, my wife’s bodyguard was wearing the same suit as me. He was standing to one side. When I was saying my vows, he suddenly stepped forward and slapped me. I covered my face and looked at my wife, Amelie. She looked calm, as if she knew this would happen. Seeing that she was not reacting, the bodyguard smirked and slapped me again. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth. The guests below the stage were flabbergasted, even as rage burned within me. “Call the police!” “You can’t call the police!” Amelie finally said. My parents also suddenly shouted, “No one is allowed to call the police. Anyone who does would be opposing the Bennet family!”

Two marriages. Four lives. One tangled web of betrayal, secrets, and revenge. Justin and Kyla were once college sweethearts who had nothing but love and ambition. Together, they built everything from the ground up—a business, a home, a life that seemed unbreakable. Ella and Zach, on the other hand, were forced into a loveless marriage to merge empires and protect family wealth. With money to burn but no affection between them, their union was a gilded cage. One summer, a chance meeting between Justin and Ella at a luxury hotel ignites a reckless affair. What should have been a fleeting fling spirals into something darker—an obsession neither of them can walk away from. But when Kyla and Zach cross paths—two wounded hearts bonded by betrayal—their cold business deal begins to spark with unexpected fire. They both want justice. They both want payback. But what if, in the process of destroying the people who broke them, they find something neither expected? Something dangerously close to love. But could anything happen between these two?

At a young age, Lushiane Meradeltas tasted the bitterness of life. Having an incomplete family is such a pain in her heart. But, someone caught her attention. That's the start when she tasted the sweetness of life. But conflicts started to show up, giving her a tasteless life. How could she endure life's challenges? If forgiveness and acceptance are the solutions to one's problem, can she do it? How can she be loved, if she keeps on running?

She is rejected three times, one by her mate an Alpha`s son…secondly by her fiancé a Witcher Hunter, and finally her soul mate, a Vampire Prince. But they say that the fourth time is the charm right? as she gets kidnapped by him. He is a ruthless and coldhearted Alpha King of the Barbaric Rogues, who hates her.

In a land of mystery, mayhem, love, hate, betrayal and redemption. There lives a princess of great beauty and grace. Angelina is the only daughter of the King and Queen of Avareen and heir to the thrown. She lives in a Kingdom of mystical creatures where magic and the riddles of life exist in a whirlpool of nature's beauty.On the day of her eighteenth birthday, a celebration is underway, where all the princes' and Kings' of neighboring lands will come to win her heart and make her their Queen. Uniting them in a peaceful reign of two kingdoms joined together under holy matrimony. All seems to go well until that fateful night that will change her life forever. An evil is lurking in the shadows that threatens to darken the brightness of her days and steal the lives of those she loves. It's patience is eerie. It's deceit, cruel. It's horror, unimaginable. It's manipulation, unending. It's form, a man. But will he succeed in corrupting her innocent heart? Or will her innocence and kindness be his saviour?

Eight years ago, Lena Hale vanished from Adrian Vale’s life after a single winter night that shattered everything between them. Adrian believed she betrayed him for money and walked away without waiting for an explanation. Lena left carrying silence, fear, and consequences she could not explain without causing more damage. Neither of them ever recovered. Now Adrian is a billionaire whose life is ruled by control, calculation, and restraint. His mother is gravely ill, and her final demand forces him toward a marriage he does not want, meant to provide stability before she dies. Adrian approaches the obligation with emotional distance, convinced love is a weakness he outgrew long ago. Lena is barely surviving. Her father’s debt has turned violent, placing her family in danger and forcing her into impossible choices. When her best friend asks her to cover a single escort assignment, Lena agrees, believing the money will keep her family safe. She does not expect to encounter Adrian. When their paths cross in a luxury hotel, the past detonates. Adrian sees Lena exactly as his old belief requires her to be, a woman who trades herself for money. Lena sees the man she once loved stripped of softness, and certainty in his judgment. An arrangement that binds them together under the guise of necessity rather than forgiveness. As they are forced into proximity, cracks begin to form in Adrian’s certainty and in the version of Lena he believes he understands. But just as the possibility of reconciliation begins to take shape, forces outside their control resurface. Jaden, the same man whose actions destroyed their relationship eight years ago, is determined to destroy their marriage now. Obsessed with Lena, he will do anything to claim her for himself. Can their love survive it?

The Price of Vulnerability follows the journey of Mr. Wells, a charismatic yet emotionally unavailable man who has built a wall around his heart after a painful past. As the successful CEO of a leading tech company, he hides behind his stoic demeanor and seductive allure, unwilling to let anyone get too close. Enter Naomi, a driven and intelligent woman who crosses paths with Wells during a high-stakes interview. Confident in her abilities yet struggling with her own hidden desires, Naomi finds herself inexplicably drawn to Wells. Despite his cold exterior and unwillingness to commit, there’s something about him that sparks a longing for more—a desire for trust, love, and a connection that goes beyond surface-level attraction. As Naomi navigates her new role as Wells’ secretary, she discovers the fragile layers of his heart. Slowly, she begins to unravel the mystery of the man behind the business mogul persona. But in the process, Naomi finds herself confronting her own vulnerability, torn between the power of her ambition and the intense pull of her feelings for Wells. In The Price of Vulnerability, trust, love, and desire collide as two people with guarded hearts risk it all to face the pain of their pasts and the possibility of a future together. Will Naomi break through Wells’ emotional walls, or will the price of opening up be too great?

Beatrice is back to face her greatest threat since. . .well, the last time! In Cooper’s Cove a hapless team of archaeologists unleash the vengeful spirit of a 16th Century witch on the sleepy seaside town of Dorsal Finn. Hexes and curses fly as Beatrice and her friends must find out what links the appearance of this incredible foe and The Spirit of the Ocean, a super-yacht hosting the biggest celebrity charity event the town has ever seen. As the population of Dorsal Finn succumbs to witchcraft, so Beatrice must gate-crash the party with her motley-crew of friends and allies in the hope of stopping the witch's sinister plan, and save everyone from endless oblivion. . . Again. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing