Raphaël Sauvage had resigned himself to his misery and to his darkness. Work was all he lived to do anyway and he had no plans to change anything. Nothing was worth changing for. Until she appeared. WARNING: May contain scenes of explicit romance, extreme violence, physical abuse, also may contain mention of demonic existence. BEWARE. With her loud mouth and her audacity to challenge him, Isabelle Fourie blew into his house as loudly and chaotically as a tornado. And she didn't give a damn either. For the first time in his life, Raphaël found himself losing control over his tightly reigned heart. He hated it, hated how she, his maid, could have such power over him. She drew him in with a force that was insanely strong, making Raphaël want to send her back where she came from. But with his orphaned nephew whom he must take care of, a child who responded only to Isabelle, Raphaël must ignore the protests of his darkest demons and their complaints over the light Isabelle brought into his life, to hesitantly find a way out of his darkness. Even if it killed him.
The wind blew wildly outside. The rain and grey skies perfectly matched his mood.
Raphaël Sauvage sat in his home office, listening to the rumble of the thunder. The power of the sky was evident in the deep, rolls of thunder and the flashing lightning.
He found it exceptionally beautiful.
He swiveled his brandy in its glass, his jaw clenching.
Her eyes flashed in his memory.
The blue-green sparkling as she threw her head back in laughter.
His dear sister.
Fresh anger burned through him as he remembered her death, with deep sadness following hot on its heels.
His dearest sister. Dead.
There was a knock at the door.
Raphaël looked up as Rosa, his housekeeper, entered.
"Raphaël," she said.
"Hm," was his answer.
Reaching over with a sigh, Rosa took the glass of brandy out of his hand.
He let her. Rosa had been around for as long as Raphaël could remember.
She was there even before his parents died. Her presence replaced theirs and he was grateful.
He looked up at her, his eyes a strong steel grey.
"Raphaël, you must not think of it," she said quietly, her Italian accent slight. "It will only hurt you."
He nodded, silent.
Rosa sighed. "I will be gone this week, you know this. My niece will be here, however, to take over my duties."
Raphaël frowned. "I don't want a stranger here, Rosa." His husky voice resonated through the office.
"Oh, I assure you, she will not get in your way. Besides, she's been here before. Many times, when you both were little... but you were younger, you may not recall."
He nodded, silently picturing the red-cheeked little face he remembered from when he was little. Rosa sighed again, reaching over to pat his hand as she turned to leave.
"Rosa."
She stopped and turned back to him.
"Yes, Raphaël?"
He hesitated. "How... how is he?"
Rosa nodded. "He is peaceful. I have put him to bed now."
Having gotten his answer, Raphaël nodded and turned in his chair, facing the glass behind him as the sky cracked up with light.
"It's been weeks since he arrived here now and you continue to avoid him," Rosa said sadly. "You must speak to the little one, Raphaël, you're his Uncle. He must know you. He needs much help."
Raphaël dragged a hand through his hair.
"J'en sais pas, Rosa. How... what do I say to him?"
"One step at a time. You, like your father, are very wise. You will find a way, Raphaël. "
He scoffed, nearly spitting out a curse at the mention of his father. "Wise, my ass."
"Raphaël-"
"The child," he said before she could tell him to mind his manners and all such. "...he still hasn't spoken?"
"Not one word," said Rosa.
Rosa watched Raphaël turn to her and the anguish in his eyes tore at her heart.
The sky was lit up for a moment, casting a flash of light over his face. To Rosa, it was like seeing a ghost. From birth, he resembled his father. The dark looks, thick brown hair. That intimidating height and those wide, large shoulders, his stubborn chin and hard, grey eyes. Many trembled in the presence of Raphaël Sauvage.
How proud she was of him.
"Isabelle will be here tomorrow morning," Rosa said softly and left, closing the door quietly.
Raphaël leaned back in his chair, consumed by his own darkness. His own pain was dragging him down and drowning him, mercilessly. So, how in the hell would he help this child?
He closed his eyes, his mind running wild with thoughts as he silently wished and prayed, willing his demons not to visit him tonight.
Having been a villain for over six centuries, you'd think Rogan was used to the sad endings to his every story. But he wasn't. He was bitter, angry and frankly, bloody tired of it. Living in a new kingdom, Rogan goes about trying every method to break the spell that keeps him alive so he could embrace the peace of death but, to Rogan's annoyance, even death evades him! But that wasn't all fate had to throw at him. After handing him an ugly path in life, saddling him with a life he didn't want, fate suddenly decided it wanted to throw a wild-haired, infuriatingly clueless forest girl into Rogan's path. However, despite annoying him, the girl proves useful, and according to the Villain Book of Evil Laws, it was only right for a villain to use others, so Rogan decides to keep her. When Rogan realizes that the girl's life was being threatened by enemies far greater than her, he finds himself stuck between going ahead with his plans of self-destruction and destroying his excellent Villain reputation by saving her. Maia wanted only one thing. To survive. If a short-tempered, sharp-tongued Vampire Sorcerer was her only way to do that, then so be it! Maia would stick to him like glue, no matter how many times he glared at her with his swirling dark eyes and spat out curse words like a snake did venom! Sadly, her safe little spot besides the Sorcerer darts back and forth between chilly cold and steaming hot, making Maia suddenly realize that perhaps being besides him wasn't as safe as she'd thought.
Life was perfect until she met her boyfriend's big brother. There was a forbidden law in the Night Shade Pack that if the head Alpha rejected his mate, he would be stripped of his position. Sophia's life would get connected with the law. She was an Omega who was dating the head Alpha's younger brother. Bryan Morrison, the head Alpha, was not only a cold-blooded man but also a charming business tycoon. His name was enough to cause other packs to tremble. He was known as a ruthless man. What if, by some twist of destiny, Sophia's path were to intertwine with his?
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but Carrie made the mistake of falling in love with Kristopher. When the time came that she needed him the most, her husband was in the company of another woman. Enough was enough. Carrie chose to divorce Kristopher and move on with her life. Only when she left did Kristopher realize how important she was to him. In the face of his ex-wife’s countless admirers, Kristopher offered her 20 million dollars and proposed a new deal. “Let’s get married again.”
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
Cheated by husband, betrayed by friend and rejected by family. It all came down to her inability to conceive within three years of marriage. She was tagged a barren woman and they made it appeared like a plaque, she has no place to hide her face. Her husband got divorced on the account that he wants to be with someone else, who will bear him a seed, someone who will show the fruit of his hardwork and masculinity and the only woman he choose was the closest person to his wife. Elena was broken, shattered and wounded. But she made a decision, she would move on, she will not accept the fate imposed on her as a barren woman. And humanity cannot decide her fate! This is the story of Elena Scott and the happy life after…
The dream of everyone with regards to marriage is to be able to find that special someone and settle down with them. Even arranged marriages grant you an opportunity to meet your partner briefly before the wedding. How will you feel about waking up in the morning with someone sleeping next to you who is not just anyone but your legally married partner yet with no memory of how that had happened in just a few hours of going out the previous day? This is the story of Jason Haward and Julia Harrison, two strangers trapped in a marriage they never planned. The quest to find out why led to the unfolding of a mystery which made them realize they are both living a lie. To find out more, read this amazing story of love, betrayal, revenge and murder.
Sheila had her back against the wall when her family tried to force her to marry an awful old man. In a fit of rage, she hired a gigolo to act as her husband. She thought the gigolo needed money and did this for a living. Little did she know that he was nothing like that. One day, he pulled off his mask and revealed himself to be the world's top magnate. This marked the beginning of their love. He showered her with everything she could ever want. They were happy. However, unexpected circumstances soon posed a threat to their love. Would Sheila and her husband make it through the storm? Find out!