Coraline Abbott thought she had escaped her dark past. After her brother's mysterious death, she fled her father's estate in Florence, hoping for a fresh start in New York. She built a new life-working at a luxury hotel, engaged to a banker, and finally at peace. But everything shatters when a mysterious hotel guest, Kaiza, takes a strange interest in her. Then, during a vacation in Greece, she receives proof of her fiancé's betrayal-right before masked men abduct her. She wakes up in a lavish prison, face-to-face with her captor-Kaiza. He reveals a shocking truth: she was promised to him years ago in a secret deal between their families. Her father broke the agreement, and her brother died trying to interfere with Kaiza's dangerous world. Coraline despises him, but as she fights to escape, she uncovers a greater enemy-the Nightshade Mafia, the real ones behind her brother's murder. Caught between hatred and an undeniable pull toward Kaiza, Coraline is trapped in a dangerous game of power and obsession. But when Nightshade targets her, wanting to kill her, Kaiza's obsession turns to vengeance. And he would do anything to protect his Coraline even if it's walking in the midst of hell.
Eight-Year-Old Kaiza;
"Discipline is the path to mastery."
That's what Father always says. I don't fully get it yet. I mean, I'm only eight. But I have seven tutors teaching me different things, so maybe I'm supposed to understand more than most kids my age.
Father is strict. Everything he does is about control. He talks about discipline like it's a religion-something you follow no matter what. He's cold with Mother, but I think that's just how he is. He believes power is everything.
"Speak only when needed," he tells me, his voice deep and sharp. "Be fierce, always. Control is power."
His lessons aren't just about learning-they're about winning. He doesn't just want me to survive in this world; he wants me to own it. To make people listen when I speak. To make them afraid. I started handling a gun just two month ago and I practice every day how to shoot. Sometimes I go hunting with father too because he says it enhances my way of thinking when I have to catch my preys. I shot a rabbit once and wanted to cry when I saw it got hurt but I got spanked by father for showing weakness.
Mistakes aren't allowed. If I get something wrong, there's always a punishment. Sometimes a slap, sometimes no dinner. The bruises on my arms and legs stay hidden under my clothes. No one can know what happens at home.
Outside, we play the perfect family. At events, Father smiles and shakes hands, acting like he's not the same man who punishes me for slipping up. He puts a hand on my shoulder, squeezing just hard enough to remind me-"Don't mess this up."
I watch him, study him. How he moves, how he controls a room. I copy everything because one day, I'll take over the family business. I have to be ready. I have to be ready because father wants nothing less than perfect.
Tonight, we're at a huge estate in Florence. It's fancy-big marble floors, endless vineyards outside. I stand near the window, pretending to listen while men praise Father and their wives smile politely. That's when I see her.
A girl, maybe a little younger than me. Dark chestnut hair, freckles. She looks out of place, her eyes distant like she doesn't want to be here. I know that feeling. I've felt it at different occasions and even now i feel it. Boredom and eveything in between, i was tired of the facade.
Then, she slips out of the room. The girl and without thinking, I follow.
She moves through a side door into the gardens, and I keep up, dodging past adults too busy talking to notice me. The garden is massive-hedges trimmed into silly shapes, roses everywhere, making the air thick with their annoying sweet scent but i like that it's very quiet and no adult was here.
She stops by a fountain, staring at the water like she wanted to wish upon it with a coin. I hesitate, then step closer.
"Hi," I say. "I'm Kaiza. Are you okay?"
She looks up, eyes flickering with surprise before settling into something calmer. "I'm Coraline," she says softly. "I just needed air. It's too crowded inside."
"Yeah," I nod. "It is. It's quieter out here." I say and listen to the breeze whistling and the way it played and carried the leaves about.
We stand in silence, just listening to the water. It's nice, not having to talk and to just exist as a person. As a child and not whatever it is father wants me to be. He already made me handle a gun.
After a while, I ask, "How old are you?"
"Six," she answers, her voice is a little wobbly.
She wipes her sleeve across her face, and I realize she's been crying. I hesitate, then take her small hand and pull her down to sit beside me on the fountain edge.
"Why are you sad?"
Her fingers trace circles on the stone edge of the fountain. "M-My mom died," she stutters in a whisper. "And my father... he doesn't care. He just tells me to behave. To do what I'm told. But I miss her."
I don't know what to say. I just nod. I get it, in a way. We're both stuck in lives that don't care how we feel. My myother was dead too, at least that's what father told me but i never really got to meet her much. I can barely even remeber what she looked like unless I stare at the tall painting of her that seats in fathers study just behind his chair on the wall. She was never a part of my life even before she died so I never cared much after but I still miss her sometimes, the presence of a mother I never really felt. Some of fathers men say I look like her,I have her pretty green eyes and her nose. I don't really know, i'm just a kid.
"I'm sorry," I manage to say. "It's hard, isn't it? Trying to be what they want us to be."
She nods, shoulders shaking. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm all alone."
I squeeze her hand. "You're not alone. I'm here. I'll keep you safe."
She looks at me for a long second, then smiles-a small, shaky smile, but it makes her freckles stand out more.
I don't really know who she is, and maybe I lied when I said I'd protect her. But in that moment, she trusted me. And that meant she was mine now.
We sit there, quiet, holding onto something neither of us can name.
Then, a loud voice calls her name from the house. She sighs, standing up and brushing off her dress.
"That's my brother. I have to go," she says, looking down at me. "But we'll see each other again, right?"
I nod. "Yes, Coraline."
She walks away, back into the bright lights of the house. I watch until she disappears inside.
We'll meet again, my Coraline.
Rachel used to think that her devotion would win Brian over one day, but she was proven wrong when his true love returned. Rachel had endured it all—from standing alone at the altar to dragging herself to the hospital for an emergency treatment. Everyone thought she was crazy to give up so much of herself for someone who didn’t return her feelings. But when Brian received news of Rachel’s terminal illness and realized she didn’t have long to live, he completely broke down. "I forbid you to die!" Rachel just smiled. She no longer needed him. "I will finally be free."
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
Elin spent twenty years deeply loving her husband, finally marrying him just as she'd always dreamed. But reality shattered her illusions—he wasn't the man she believed. Instead, he callously destroyed her family, crushing her heart beyond repair. At her lowest point, Ruben, equally betrayed that night, approached her steadily. "Marry me, Elin. I'll help you take revenge." Yet, after their wedding, she quickly discovered he was dangerously unpredictable. "I made a mistake. Let's divorce..." Ruben slid his arm possessively around her waist, whispering a chilling promise, "Only in death."
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town’s richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. “Way to go, honey!”
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."