Amaka Chi

Marco Ricci knew nothing except lies about his life. Marco, seventeen years old, finds a secret rifle and a mysterious notepad in his father's desk, therefore destroying his cozy suburban life overnight. His father has been arrested, not just absent. The family business is structured crime rather than insurance. And the Ricci family name isn't just a name-it's a dynasty he's now expected to protect. Forced to flee his home with the protection of his father's fearsome lieutenant, Marco's life takes a dramatic turn when he meets Ellie Lia at a gas station in the dead of night. Smart and beautiful, Ellie is not only his chemistry lab partner but also his secret crush. To his shock, she is revealed to be Elena Donato, the daughter of his family's most dangerous enemy. The look they share in that pivotal moment hints that Ellie may be just as trapped in this long-standing blood feud as he is. With both families on the verge of war and his father imprisoned, Marco is faced with an impossible decision: to accept the criminal legacy he has tried to escape or risk losing everyone he holds dear. Some family secrets are written in blood-and some ties can't be broken.

Aria Rossi was moments away from marrying into one of New York's most powerful crime families when she fled, leaving behind a devastated groom and a deadly vendetta. Five years later, she's built a new life under an assumed identity in the sun-soaked streets of Miami, believing she's finally safe. As the owner of a thriving art gallery, Aria has buried her past beneath layers of carefully crafted lies and exquisite paintings. But when a mysterious new client walks into her gallery, Aria comes face-to-face with her past-and the man she left at the altar. Lorenzo Caruso, now the head of his family's criminal empire, has never forgotten the woman who broke his heart and tarnished his honor. As old feelings reignite, so does the danger that forced her to run. With enemies closing in from all sides and secrets threatening to unravel everything she's built, Aria must decide: Can she trust the man she once loved with her life, or will their second chance at romance be her ultimate downfall? Just as she makes her choice, a shocking revelation changes everything-and nothing is as it seems. An intricate web of betrayal, hidden identities, and long-buried secrets begins to surface, forcing Aria to question everything she thought she knew about her past, her present, and the man she's never stopped loving. In a world where loyalty is everything and trust can get you killed, will Aria and Lorenzo's rekindled passion be strong enough to overcome the lies that tear them apart, or will their love become another masterpiece in her gallery of deception?

After her late husband's debts leave her poverty-stricken, Sarah Jenkins finds herself with no choice but to agree to her in-laws arranging her marriage to billionaire developer Lachlan Reid. Thrust from her struggling existence into his world of opulence and luxury, Sarah is overwhelmed by the drastic change in her circumstances. As she navigates high society events and lavish vacations, she discovers a side of Lachlan hidden beneath his cold exterior. Against all odds, an unexpected affection blossoms between them. But can Sarah truly trust her growing feelings, or is she merely swept up in the allure of wealth and security? Just as she begins to embrace her new life, a shocking revelation threatens to unravel everything...

Title: THE PLAYBOY CHALLENGE Genre: romance Trope: billionaire, play boy. Blurb: Lenora's life was going downhill quickly. From being fired at her work to being about to be evicted from her apartment, she is exhausted with her life of utter misery. The icing on the cake is when a dangerous man sends his two goon sniffing after her and her sister. They can either find a way to get five thousand dollars in three days or become shark food. A miracle comes in the form of a billionaire's daughter with a bruised ego. The plan is simple, if Lenora can keep billionaire playboy Ian O'Malley's attention for sixty days followed by a humiliating, public break up, she gets enough money to turn her life around. It's supposed to be a simple plan, and she's never meant to start feeling things for the charming billionaire. She can't mix business with emotions, but she's never felt this way before. What happens when a money making scheme with a looming end date begins to feel too real?

The ninety-ninth time Jax Little broke my heart was the last time. We were the golden couple of Northgate High, our future perfectly mapped out for UCLA. But in our senior year, he fell for a new girl, Catalina, and our love story became a sick, exhausting dance of his betrayals and my empty threats to leave. At a graduation party, Catalina "accidentally" pulled me into the pool with her. Jax dove in without a second's hesitation. He swam right past me as I struggled, wrapped his arms around Catalina, and pulled her to safety. As he helped her out to the cheers of his friends, he glanced back at me, my body shivering and my mascara running in black rivers. "Your life isn't my problem anymore," he said, his voice as cold as the water I was drowning in. That night, something inside me finally shattered. I went home, opened my laptop, and clicked the button that confirmed my admission. Not to UCLA with him, but to NYU, an entire country away.

Unlike her twin brother, Jackson, Jessa struggled with her weight and very few friends. Jackson was an athlete and the epitome of popularity, while Jessa felt invisible. Noah was the quintessential "It" guy at school-charismatic, well-liked, and undeniably handsome. To make matters worse, he was Jackson's best friend and Jessa's biggest bully. During their senior year, Jessa decides it was time for her to gain some self-confidence, find her true beauty and not be the invisible twin. As Jessa transformed, she begins to catch the eye of everyone around her, especially Noah. Noah, initially blinded by his perception of Jessa as merely Jackson's sister, started to see her in a new light. How did she become the captivating woman invading his thoughts? When did she become the object of his fantasies? Join Jessa on her journey from being the class joke to a confident, desirable young woman, surprising even Noah as she reveals the incredible person she has always been inside.

Eighteen days after giving up on Brendan Maynard, Jayde Rosario cut off her waist-length hair and called her father, announcing her decision to move to California and attend UC Berkeley. Her father, surprised, asked about the sudden change, reminding her how she' d always insisted on staying with Brendan. Jayde forced a laugh, revealing the painful truth: Brendan was getting married, and she, his stepsister, could no longer cling to him. That night, she tried to tell Brendan about her college acceptance, but his fiancée, Chloie Ellis, interrupted with a bubbly call, and Brendan' s tender words to Chloie twisted a knife in Jayde' s heart. She remembered how his tenderness used to be hers alone, how he had protected her, and how she had poured out her heart to him in a diary and a love letter, only for him to explode, tearing the letter and yelling, "I'm your brother!" He had stormed out, leaving her to painstakingly tape the shredded pieces back together. Her love, however, didn't die, not even when he brought Chloie home and told her to call her "sister-in-law." Now, she understood. She had to put that fire out herself. She had to dig Brendan out of her heart.

Coleen Maine hated Hayden Michaels with her entire heart. After high school graduation, she thought she had escaped the hell that being a classmate to Hayden was. Being his academic rival was enough to put her, Coleen, at the top of his shit list. To make matters worse, he's the hot, popular jock with a full-ride scholarship he doesn't need, because he has all the money that she doesn't. When Coleen finds herself in close contact with Hayden again out of no free will of her own, she expects things to be the same. But somehow, somewhere between summer and starting their first year at college, something changed. Now, Coleen isn't sure Hayden hates her anymore. Between her new job, college, and her friendships, she finds herself wondering what lies behind Hayden's deep gaze towards her.

"Do I seem like an idiot to you princess?" he sassed taking another agonizinly slow step towards me. "N-no" I stuttered out a blabbering mess, unable to think straight with his sudden closeness. "Do I have to show who you belong to again Bella?" "I-don't know" I whispered out too far gone within the eyes of the silver eyed God like boy standing before me. "Then why do you defy me princess, or is it that you want me to punish you?" I was trapped within his beautiful orbs unable to register the utter madness he just voiced, the word fell off my lips almost breathless begging for him to take me. "Yes" His lips curved to the side showing his God forbidden mischievous smirk of his. I had just now registered the consequences of my stupidity.

Kaida thought forever was the deal with her boyfriend, Liam, the captain of the Runners Hockey Team, until he broke up with her and reunited with his childhood lover, who had returned after several years of being away. Heartbroken and angry, Kaida decided to make her ex-boyfriend jealous by kissing her best friend's older brother, Maverick. Unfortunately, she reignited the flame he'd been trying to quench for years. Now, there was no turning back and no quenching the obsessive flame burning inside Maverick for her. After some time, Liam realized he truly loved Kaida and wanted her back, but Maverick wasn't letting her go. Kaida was his now, and he would go to the end of the earth for her sake. What began as revenge against her ex turned into something twisted and dark: something beyond words and certainly beyond obsession.

I died peacefully in my eighties, only to shockingly wake up seventeen again, still in my childhood bedroom. It was college application day, and everything felt eerily familiar, especially my lifelong dream with best friend Jack and boyfriend Kevin: Princeton, shared dorms, and a future intertwined. But the comfort shattered an instant later. Kevin and Jack, my supposed "constants," calmly announced they were ditching the Ivy League. Their new plan? State University, staying local, all to "support" Brittany, the head cheerleader—a non-entity in my previous life—who claimed her family was in crisis. The betrayal hit like a physical blow. Suddenly, my meticulously organized SAT notes, the very tools of *my* ambition, were handed over to Brittany without a second thought. They paraded her scores, reveling in *her* success, while publicly dismissing my shock and mocking my sudden declaration of choosing UC Berkeley. At the graduation party, they treated Brittany like royalty, their arms around her, their attention solely hers, while I became an irrelevant outsider. The yearbook, a symbol of our unbreakable bond, bore their dismissive scrawls, cementing my abandonment. How could the boys who were my rocks, my future, obliterate *our* shared dream for someone they barely knew? Why did their chivalry translate into such a profound betrayal of me? The sheer injustice and confusion were a cold knot in my stomach. But I wouldn't let their misplaced heroism define me. No longer the girl who silently absorbed their choices, I clutched my Berkeley acceptance, booked a one-way flight, and definitively chose my own destiny. This time, I was playing for myself.

Alicia has felt invisible all throughout high school, and has convinced herself that she likes it that way by hiding in her studies. Until a chance encounter with the schools hottest Logan, sending Alicia's life into a complete tail spin. There's no stopping it now, Logan now sees her, and once he has his mind set, he doesn't let go.

Pregnant for her high school boyfriend at seventeen, Dahlia Harold, the beloved and pampered heiress of the Harold family is rejected and disowned by her parents when she refuses to abort to save the family's reputation. When her boyfriend, William Redford, rejects the pregnancy and breaks up with her to date her arch enemy, Zoey Hushton, she is broken and dejected. With no one to help, she takes to the streets, struggling alone. Five years later, she meets Zac Leroy, the once chubby, meek and poor boy from high school who was bullied by everyone, including William and Zoey. The boy who has always had a secret crush on her was now a drop-dead, dangerously attractive billionaire soccer player. And he has promised to help her get back on her feet with her five year old genius daughter who would do anything to bring her 'mommy and her rich friend' together. The only problems are; Zac is now dating his highschool bully, Zoey Hushton. And William Redford is the captain of the team he has returned to USA to play for.

After having her heart broken by her childhood friend turned boyfriend, Rylie Myers was convinced that love wasn't for her. The arrival of Blake Weston, a hot teen model and playboy who coincidentally turned out to be her new next door neighbor only added to her conviction that all boys were the same. After getting off on a bad foot, a feud ensued between the two with no particular end in sight. Things however took a turn when they accidentally shared a kiss. Both Rylie and Blake were determined to put the incident behind them until circumstances forced them to keep up a charade that involved them being something more than enemies. As fake feelings gradually become real, will Rylie fall for the player next door? Or is she just in for another heartbreak?