"You're cold and untouchable. Strangely enough, I've fallen for you, Isabella." Isabella froze, speechless, unable to respond to Zach's words. His dark eyes were intense yet uncertain. But Zach pressed on, "You said your middle name is danger. And you know what? I'm ready to love danger."
CHAPTER 1
Isabella let out a harsh sigh, then dropped the cigarette she failed to light onto the asphalt.
"I hate winter."
Not only because Isabella would have trouble lighting her cigarette, but also because winter was the season when she lost her best friend, the best person in her life, Alisa Horrison.
"Hey!"
Isabella turned around and stuffed both hands into the pockets of her black fur coat.
"Do you think you can do that?"
One of Isabella's eyebrows lifted when suddenly a man-who she didn't even know where he came from-walked toward her. Isabella observed him. He was tall and muscular, wearing a fur coat and a gray scarf with yellow polka dots. He was masculine and adorable at the same time.
"This." Suddenly, he picked up the cigarette butt Isabella had thrown away and showed it with a displeased look. "You can't just throw trash around like this. Plus, this is a campus area. A public place. A place where smoking is prohibited. I'm going to punish you."
"Are you a professor?"
"No."
"Then?"
"I'm Zach."
"I wasn't asking, anyway."
Zach adjusted his coat, then lifted his chin arrogantly. "I'm a teaching assistant here. I work with Mr. Brown. Nice to meet you, Naughty Girl." Zach offered the cigarette to Isabella. "Throw this in the trash, or you will-"
"Or I'll what?" Isabella interrupted.
Seeing Isabella's boldness, Zach got provoked. He pointed at her face, ready to bombard her with a thousand insults. But before he could, a voice from the other side interrupted their attention.
"Miss. Moore? Mr. Troll?"
Isabella and Zach both turned to the voice at the same time.
An older man with white hair stood there. He smiled and waved his hand before walking toward them. Up close, the man adjusted his glasses that had slipped down his nose. He was still smiling and said, "People these days really don't know manners. Shouldn't you be the ones approaching the elderly, not the other way around?" Isabella and Zach exchanged confused looks, suddenly being judged. The old man, Bennedict Cullan, quickly assessed the situation between them. "Ah, forget it. By the way... I'm Uncle Ben. Hi! Nice to meet you both."
Uncle Ben extended his hand, and Zach accepted it promptly, while Isabella just stared, not returning the handshake. This made Ben lower his hand, slightly disappointed and awkward.
"The snow will get heavier, you both should come inside with me."
Zach nodded. "Sure."
"Should I walk with this patrol guy?"
Isabella's words made Zach and Ben go silent. Ben tried to say something, but Zach quickly raised his hand to the air.
"He's a police-"
"What did you just say? Hey, you look younger than me, you should know better!"
Isabella took a step forward, looking defiant. She stared straight at Zach and replied, "Hey, 'the guy much older than me,' isn't minding other people's business also not a good thing?"
Zach's face turned red. He almost exploded.
But Ben quickly stopped him. "Excuse me, guys. We should go inside now or we'll really get drenched."
Zach looked up at the sky, confirming that Uncle Ben's words were true. He snorted and immediately walked into the four-story building in front of them. Uncle Ben raised one hand to give way for Isabella to follow.
The three of them entered the first floor of the building and stopped in front of a room labeled Alisa Harrison and Anne Hathaway.
"So, this is Alisa's room?" Zach asked Ben, who nodded firmly in response.
"As the news spread on social media, Alisa was found here. She... yeah, I don't need to explain any further."
Zach nodded, seeming to understand the direction of the conversation. Meanwhile, he just realized that Isabella was still standing next to him with a fixed expression. Her eyes were staring straight at the door, not budging at all.
Zach cleared his throat, trying to break the awkward silence between them.
"Excuse me, Miss." Isabella blinked, as if she had just woken from a dream. She turned to look at him. "You need to leave. This room is mine."
"Um, actually-" Ben suddenly spoke between them, causing both Zach and Isabella to look at him. Ben smiled and continued, "You'll be sharing a room with Miss. Moore."
Zach furrowed his brows. "What?"
"I'll share a room with this stiff guy?"
Zach shot Isabella a disapproving look. She really was a judgmental girl, always cursing. So annoying!
"Stiff guy?" Zach couldn't accept Isabella's words, so he protested to Ben. "Can you explain what you meant by that?"
Bennedict cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses again. Oh, really, he should buy a new pair of glasses with the hundreds of thousands of dollars he earned each month instead of keeping these worn-out ones. "You, and Miss. Moore, will stay in the same room until you both achieve your respective goals. This is a decision made by the NYPD leadership and Mr. Harrison. I can't change anything, and neither can you."
"But-"
"Sorry, Mr. Troll. I have to go now."
Bennedict hurried away as fast as he could, though it still looked slow. Zach grunted as he watched the CEO's secretary from Golden Group leave from where he stood. It took him a few seconds to process the situation, but suddenly Isabella walked past him and opened the door in front of them.
"Hey! Hey! What are you doing?! You shouldn't do that!"
Isabella turned around. Her face was expressionless. "Why?"
"Why? You're asking 'why'? Does it make sense to you to share a room with a stranger you've never met before?"
There was a pause, before Isabella shrugged and said, "We're just sharing a room, not a bed. It's not a problem for me. If it's a problem for you, you can leave. See you."
Zach snorted again, staring at Isabella as she entered the room with an unbelieving expression. "That girl is really crazy!" but also intriguing.
For ten years, Beatrice had known Louis, but that day, he seemed like a stranger. This wasn't Louis. Louis would never strip naked and sleep with her best friend, Kylie. Damn it, her tears almost fell for such cruel people. "I want a divorce." Beatrice didn't mean it when she said it. She still hoped Louis would beg, at least ask her to stay and forgive him. But Louis had changed. "I agree. Let's divorce. I don't want to be with a useless woman like you."
Stella has friends who are loyal to her, but as time goes by, Stella doesn't realize that some of the guys are in love with her. June, Samuel and Harry, they are stuck in a real friendzone. But beyond that, Stella has to find out why her best friends changed after the death of one of their best friends, Karen and why the guys are in love with her.
Alexandra's fiancé is found tragically dead and leaves Alexandra wondering about the cause of Louis' death. But the more Alexandra finds out, the more she is seduced by the handsome and smart Detective Noel Simmons. Alexandra falls in love, but there's terror ahead.
Alicia Perth has a special ability, she has high intuition to detect things. But great terror awaits her when she is asked by Detective Nicholas to help solve a murder in the dormitory. Stuck with two handsome men, Detective Nicholas and Ace Blake, the son of the CEO of Golden Group, will Alicia be able to see the truth behind all these incidents?
Rose never imagined that she would be sold by her own stepfather for personal gain. However, her job at the brothel unexpectedly brought her face-to-face with a handsome drug dealer named Antonio. Their feelings changed, but their lives did not. Can Rose withstand Antonio, who has a dark side to his life?
My marriage to Mathias was supposed to make me the happiest woman in the world. Although I knew he didn't love me, I thought he would fall for me once I showered him with all the love I had to give. Five years passed and Mathias still didn't give a damn about me. Instead, he met his true love and cut all ties with me because of her. He showed her off; something he never did for me. His abandonment pushed me into depression. I was broken in every sense of the word. Even on my deathbed, my so-called husband didn't come to say goodbye to me. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself reborn. I was still Mathias's wife and it was two months before he met his true love. In this life, I refused to be hurt by him again. After talking some sense into my head, I asked him for a divorce in other to escape being heartbroken like I was previously. Mathias tore up the divorce papers time and time again while also shutting me down. "Rylie, stop all this nonsense! Playing hard to get doesn't work anymore!" To show him that I was dead serious, I went ahead to file for divorce. Only then did he panic. He abandoned the "woman of his dreams" and came to my side. "Please give me a second chance, Rylie. I promise to do right by you. You'll be the only woman in my heart from now on. Don't leave me, okay?" A war broke out in my mind after this apology. On one hand, I didn't want to be hurt again. And on the other, I didn't want to let go of the man I loved so dearly. What should I do?!
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."
Kaelyn devoted three years tending to her husband after a terrible accident. But once he was fully recovered, he cast her aside and brought his first love back from abroad. Devastated, Kaelyn decided on a divorce as people mocked her for being discarded. She went on to reinvent herself, becoming a highly sought-after doctor, a champion racer, and an internationally renowned architectural designer. Even then, the traitors sneered in disdain, believing Kaelyn would never find someone. But then the ex-husband’s uncle, a powerful warlord, returned with his army to ask for Kaelyn’s hand in marriage.
She thought he was the villain. He was only trying to save his soul. Rena lives in a world of sunshine, sweets, and simple dreams. Until one reckless decision drops her into a dark realm of secrets, curses and werewolves. Kidnapped, heartbroken. She doesn't know who to trust anymore especially not Logan, the arrogant, cruel Alpha who's keeping her as a hostage. Until she discovers his dark secret. He's been hearing her thoughts all along. Now the walls between them are crumbling. And when feelings grow where hatred once lived, a curse demands that blood becomes a love that demands sacrifice. But how can she give her heart to the one who might need it to die?
Belinda thought after divorce, they would part ways for good - he could live his life on his own terms, while she could indulge in the rest of hers. However, fate had other plans in store. "My darling, I was wrong. Would you please come back to me?" The man, whom she once loved deeply, lowered his once proud head humbly. "I beg you to return to me." Belinda coldly pushed away the bouquet of flowers he had offered her and coolly replied, "It's too late. The bridge has been burned, and the ashes have long since scattered to the wind!"
Charlee was left at the altar and became a laughingstock. She tried to keep her head high, but ultimately lost it when she received a sex tape of her fiance and her half-sister. Devastated, she ended up spending a wild night with a hot stranger. It was supposed to be one-time thing, but he kept popping up, helping her with projects and revenge, all while flirting with her constantly. Charlee soon realized that it was nice having him around, until her ex suddenly appeared at her door, begging for another chance. Her tycoon lover asked, “Who will you choose? Think carefully before you answer.”