When friendship bleeds into love

Modern

Twenty minutes before the "Wedding of the Century" at The Plaza, I stood outside the Presidential Suite in a fifty-thousand-dollar Vera Wang gown. I was the girl from a West Virginia trailer park about to marry Hugh Maxwell, the golden heir to a billion-dollar defense empire. I pushed the door open only to find Hugh pinned against the bed with my own stepsister, Floy. She was wearing my bridal diamond necklace, and the sounds of their laughter scraped against my eardrums like sandpaper. I didn't scream; I listened as Hugh grunted that once the wedding was over and the trust fund unlocked, he'd dump "that hillbilly trash" on a bus back to the mountains. They weren't just cheating; they were planning to steal my family's land deeds and leave me with nothing. When I set off the sprinklers and exposed their naked bodies to the paparazzi, the Maxwell family didn't apologize. They called me a "greedy peasant" and threatened to ruin my life unless I signed a new deal to save their crashing stock. I realized then that I was never a bride to them. I was a transaction, a rounding error in a ledger to be used and discarded. They thought my poverty made me weak and my silence made me a victim. "If we don't have a marriage certificate by midnight, the bank freezes thirty percent of our liquidity," their lawyer warned. So, I gave them exactly what they wanted. I used a loophole in their hundred-year-old family covenant and married the only other direct heir available. I didn't marry Hugh. I walked into the ICU and married his uncle, Fleet Maxwell-the legendary war hero who had been in a vegetative state for months. Now, I am the matriarch of the Maxwell dynasty. I've suspended Hugh's executive powers, exiled my mother-in-law to the Swiss Alps, and taken control of the family vault. They think I'm just a gold-digger waiting for a "corpse" to die so I can collect a fifty-million-dollar widow's payout. But last night, as I lay beside my comatose husband, the man they called a vegetable gripped my hand back.

Modern

Aira Cole has always believed that friendship is safer than love. In the fast-paced world of corporate deadlines and late-night projects, Aira and Noah Reed found something rare each other. They weren't lovers. They weren't even flirting, at least not openly. They were best friends. The kind who sh

Horror

The white light faded, leaving me in a Louisiana swamp, mud squelching under my boots. My head throbbed, a familiar echo of the screams and blood from the last game. The System' s voice, tinny and cold, declared my status: "Active. Choice: Continue or Perish." Another round, another nightmare.

Mafia

I died alone on a cold hospital bed, my father gone, my life shattered by my best friend Madison and my boyfriend Kevin. Madison had drugged me, sold me to a cartel in Cancún, and watched a video of my humiliation go viral. They turned everyone against me, Kevin branding me a slut, my university e

Romance

Although it is June, the Little Child about whom I shall sometimes write in these pages this morning brought me a few violets. June violets. They sound unconvincing and even sentimental. However, here they are in their vase; and they are all white but one.

Romance

Siddharth Singh Raizada and Arjun Kumar Bhalla are just like two poles apart. If Siddharth likes to mask his pain by his ruthless behavior, Arjun loves to hurt more by his venomous words. If Siddharth could control his anger to hide his emotions, Arjun could do to any extent to make Siddharth lose

Romance

Meera and Arjun, best friends turned lovers, navigate the bustling streets of the city, their love story as vibrant as the cultural tapestry that surrounds them. From the cozy cafes to the monsoon-soaked streets, their relationship weathers life's challenges. Their journey is a celebration of friend

Fantasy

"Kairi, please! Wake up! Please fight Revioryx control!" - Aries (Panic) "I won't let you go. You promised to be with me. And you can't take back what you said to me either. Or I would be really angry." - Kairi (Stern) "Kairi, I was lying just now." - Aries (Smiling gently) "Which one? The one yo

Romance

Going against her parents' wishes, Molly insisted on getting married to the man she loved. Yet, she didn't find the happiness she hoped for within her marriage. After being cheated, deceived, and even imprisoned by her husband, she became overwhelmed by desperation and decided to commit suicide. Bu

Romance

Their story began with a little dangerous game. The rules were simple. If she won, he would do one thing for her; if he did, then she would have to stay with him forever no matter what happens. All she wanted on was to win and then take the life of the man who had betrayed her. Read on to see if

Romance

Ava's mother gets married again, and she finds herself living under the same roof as Ethan Thompson-most handsome boy in his school and son of the wealthiest millionaire in town-who is now her stepfather. What begins as an uncomfortable adjustment turns out to be more complicated when she realizes f

Literature

This collection of works from master of the historical romance genre Stanley J. Weyman spans a diverse array of settings and situations, ranging from love set against the backdrop of London to an action-adventure story that transpires amidst the peaks of France. From his finely observed characters t

Romance

Emir, after being abandoned, became a bitter man who disbelieved in love, his only focus in life is work. Betrayed by his ex-girlfriend, he dedicated himself exclusively to his career, to become a successful publicist. One morning he meets a journalism student, fearless, sassy and much younger than

Romance

Being the daughter of the Richest woman in the city, Emma Lillian Always earned for her Mum's attention but her mum was always absent from her life. At the long run, Emma found love but it wasn't the kind of a family her Mum wanted her to get married in to. Would her Mum allow her to marry the Gu

Romance

After graduating from High school, Emma Lillian and Ben found themselves in a situation they never expected. Emma's Mum found her a suitor because she didn't like Ben as he was not a billionaire. Emma couldn't leave Ben and things got worse when she found out Ben's New girlfriend was pregnant for

Romance

ln the world of the wealthy and influential Robert Family, 23-year-old lookalike twins Tyler and Tyson are set to inherit the Golden Hotel empire. Tyler, the charming and friendly one, and Tyson, the cold and calculating one, navigate love, family, and identity. Their 17-year-old sister Valerie, a b

Modern

My decorated PMC team leader wife, Sarah, asked the impossible: be a live target for her protégé Dylan's shooting qualification. I agreed, suppressing my own combat medic skills and hidden past as my CIA father’s son, all for her, trusting she’d ensure safety with “non-lethal” rounds. The instant th

Romance

I stood outside our bedroom door, the cool wood pressed to my forehead. My wife, Victoria, was inside, her voice low and urgent. "Liam, stop it. He could be home any minute." Liam. My paralegal. I froze when I heard his next words: "He needs to know you're not some broodmare, Vicky. That pregnancy s

Modern

My seven-year-old daughter, Lily, was fighting leukemia. Every penny I earned as a waitress and delivery driver went to her mounting medical bills, while her father, Mark, claimed his hardware store was "struggling" with "no money" for his own child. Lily dreamed of learning the violin, and I care

Romance

What happen when your childhood memory is back? What happen when your childhood best friend who havent meet you about five years is back? The one who not just a best friend for you but it's also your first love and your first kiss and this is happen to Madison when she moves to Lima and meet the one

Modern

"Whatever comes of it after this [in Russia] every one in the world should be plainly told of what took place in those first weeks. For it was a dazzling revelation of the deep, deep powers for brotherhood and friendliness that lie buried in mankind. I was no dreamer; I was a chemist, a scienti