Zuko Sick

***WARNING THIS BOOK CONTAINS LOTS OF EXPLICIT SCENES, VIOLENCE, AND VULGAR LANGUAGE*** To the world, I am Alberto Morello. A ruthless asshole, merciless, dangerous, the definition of death. But to Francisco Blanco, I am his brother, his best friend, the man that swore to rule the world we live in alongside him. That’s why when he asked me to be the godfather of his only daughter, Isadora, I didn’t hesitate to accept. I may be a coldhearted bastard to just about everyone in this bloody world, but I swore to care for that little girl as my own. What I never expected was for that little girl to grow into the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. I tried to fight the attraction, knowing that it was the one line I couldn’t cross. I couldn’t do that to my best friend, to his sweet girl. I am sick in all ways imaginable, and I couldn’t do that to them, to her… But when they both team up against me to get me to come back home after years staying away, will I be able to stop myself from falling into temptation? And if I do have a taste of the forbidden, will I be able to stop?

I had been dating Andy Lawson for five years. He had gone bankrupt, and during the worst of it, we had to sleep in parks and scavenge leftovers for food. After a hundred days of that life, I was just going to the blackmarket to sell some blood for money when someone sent me a video. [Surprise.] It was a livestream site, set up for rich kids to prank the common folk—and a video of me was pinned to the top. My finger trembling, I tapped on it and saw myself hidden in a corner of a park, munching on leftovers to nourish my frail body. On the split video, Andy was reclining against the armchair of a five-star hotel and savoring his gourmet menu. "Oh, this is amazing! All Andy has to do is say that he's sick, and she's selling her blood for him!" "On the sixteenth prank, she fell into the ocean… And on the fifteenth, she was sent flying in a car crash! Why is she so hard to kill?" "Well, Andy already made it clear that if she survives until the end, he will marry her and swear off women!" "One month to go! Will she die from the pranks, or marry into the Lawson family with pomp and circumstance?" "I'm betting fifty mil that she dies tragically! Hahaha!"

Eight years ago, she sent the most dangerous man in New York to prison. Eight years later, he sat in a Cadillac parked by the Brooklyn Bridge, a cold smile on his face as he said, “A woman like you deserves to be alone.” No one knew she was sick with Alzheimer’s. It had gotten so bad that she could not even remember the way home. Yet, she remembered his face. She remembered every word he had ever said to her. She even remembered the star named “Christine.” On the first page of her diary, the same sentence was written over and over again. “Vincent Medici is the most important person in this world. No matter who I forget, I must never forget Vincent Medici.” She waited for him for eight years, but in the end, what she got was his indifference, news of his wedding, and him saying to her that someone like her did not deserve to be loved. She didn’t argue. Instead, on the last page of her diary, she quietly wrote, “That’s okay. I’m going to be with my mom now.” Amidst the five thousand streets in New York, he never found her again after that.

Serena Alcaraz lives a life of survival working as a waitress, struggling to pay bills, and taking care of her sick mother. She has no time for love, especially not for arrogant, rich men who think the world revolves around them. Enter Damian Cruz, the cold and ruthless billionaire feared in the business world. To stop his family from pressuring him into marriage, he needs a woman who won’t fall for him, someone he can control. When his path crosses with Serena, he sees the perfect candidate. Damian offers her a deal, pretend to be his girlfriend, live in his luxurious world, and in return, he’ll give her enough money to save her mother. Serena knows it’s dangerous to get involved with a man like him, but desperation leaves her no choice. What begins as a cold arrangement slowly turns into something neither of them expected. The poor waitress who wanted nothing from him suddenly becomes the only woman Damian can’t let go of. But in a world full of power, lies, and family expectations, will their fake relationship survive when real feelings start to blur the line between love and the deal?

Broke waitress Callie Brooks is just trying to survive and keep her sick mother alive, till being at the wrong place at the wrong time, changes the course of her life. She witnesses a murder in an alley she should not have been in, and is subsequently pulled into the life of the most feared man in Chicago, Marcus Vane. Marcus is brilliant, ruthless and dangerously possessive and as it turns out, he knows way more about her than he is letting on. Though he is protective of her, his cold and controlling nature prevents her from believing him and she fights to break free, only to find a much older, much more personal truth. Everything is connected to some dangerous people in power; her mother’s sickness, her father’s death, the poverty in her family, all of it, and Marcus has known for a long time. It might have begun as survival, but for Callie, it has become a war and she must decide whether Marcus is her protector or the biggest threat to her life. The Witness He Owns is a gripping dark romance story filled with secrets and survival, and a second chance at a love that blossoms from a big misunderstanding and a truth that was never supposed to be found.

A week before Ara’s wedding, someone sets her up to sleep with a stranger man which leads her fiancé to cancel their wedding and marry her stepsister instead. With a snap of a finger, Ara lost everything she had: wealth, a fiancé, and a family. Three years later, she met a Bachelor Billionaire, Jiro Mikael Rivera, who gave her a job as a caregiver to his sick mother. Upon entering Jiro’s life, uncertain things happen, and her fate changes. She starts to have feelings for her hot-tempered boss which makes her more curious about Jiro’s first and lost love. Ara wants to dig for more information about Jiro’s past, but it turns out that Jiro’s past is just a little part of hers. What would Ara do when she find out that her boss was the man behind her suffering 4 years ago? Can she accept the fact that her child's father was the reason for her tears every night? What would happen if Ara realized that everything that happened to them was Jiro’s plan and not fate? Is love enough reason to forgive and forget everything?

"I never plan of having children, let alone a pathetic mother of my child!" *** Gagawin ni Magenta ang lahat para sa inang may sakit, kahit pa ibenta maging ang kanyang kaluluwa sa demonyo. *** Because of her sick mother, Magenta has no other choice but to accept the job that she never heard of before and is offered to her. She has to work with a business magnate known in the business world as the king of investments as he owned the largest holding company in the country. A billionaire who prefers paying a woman to fill his bed in a one-month contract. And later, she had to pretend as his wife. Magenta didn't know him until she accepted the job of being his woman for a month. When she met him in person, all of a sudden, she felt reluctant to sign their contract. Brooding and mysterious, he's every inch of a dangerous man. But the thought of her mother gives her the strength to sign the contract with the devil. He is the first man she gives her innocence to. But she did not just give up her pride and dignity. She surrenders her heart, but it seems like he has no intention of taking it.

One reckless night. One forbidden man. And an action that destroys everything. When Aria Hayes takes a chance on a dazzling stranger, she never expects the one-night stand to follow her into her new job. The man who lit her body on fire? He’s not just anyone—he’s Liam Voss, the ruthless billionaire CEO who just became her boss. Liam demands silence. He has a fiancée, a reputation, and an empire to protect. But when Aria discovers she’s pregnant—with his triplets—her world shatters. She runs. She hides. She swears she’ll raise her children alone. Until fate forces her back into his orbit. A sick child. A desperate plea. And a man who refuses to feel… yet can’t stay away. But as lies unravel, secrets explode, and betrayals cut deep, the rules change: Will Liam defy his powerful family to claim the woman he once rejected? Can Aria forgive the man who broke her heart when he’s the only one who can save their child? And when passion collides with power, will love be enough—or will it all come crashing down?

“You weren’t supposed to fall for me.” A bitter laugh escapes me before I can stop it. “Then what exactly did you think this was going to be?” Alexander stays silent. “This vacation,” I continue, my voice rising. “The way you touch me. The way you look at me when you think I’m not watching. Sleeping in the same bed every night and holding me. What was I supposed to feel?” **************** Ethan Cole has nothing left but debt, a sick sister to protect, and pride he was ready to lose. So when Billionaire Alex Veyron offers him a simple arrangement, he signs. The contract comes with money, protection, no deadline, but has only one rule….. Do not fall in love. It should have stayed professional. Instead, stolen glances turn into heated nights. Power games turn into obsessions, and the man Ethan was supposed to use becomes the only one willing to burn the world for him. When secrets from the past refuse to stay buried, Powerful enemies circle and Family ties twist tighter than either of them expected, love might be their only way out. But in a world ruled by money and control Breaking the one rule might cost them everything.….

I am diagnosed with severe systemic lupus erythematosus, and I only have three days left to live. When my husband rejects my 188th plea for help, I take my test results and enter the hospice care center. "Hello, I'd like to schedule my own cremation process and apply for government aid." Ten minutes later, they arrive. Before I can speak, my lawyer husband, Jasper Horton, coldly slaps me across the face. "You're faking a terminal illness just to steal attention from Janice?" My doctor brother, Casey Carter, snatches the medical report from my hand and scoffs at it. "Lupus? If you're going to fake being sick, at least make it believable. Only one in a million people gets this." I endure the pain in my body, return to the counter, and hand in the application form and my medical records once more. The staff member sees the butterfly-shaped rash on my wrist and sympathizes with me. "I have no family left," I say. "I'm requesting cremation in three days, location doesn't matter. I just don't want my death to burden anyone."