Since the death of her mother, Nikita Azarova has been traveling with her father, who is an archaeologist. On one research trip, her father brings her to an ancient city of Angkor, where she hopes to get a sense of connection with her mother's birthplace. Instead, something happens when they arrive at the Lost City. Soon, Nikita discovers the secret that leads her to activate the Lunar Gate and plunge herself into another realm where gods and demons exist. There are quests to prove courage and friendship tie, the love interests that test the young girl's naive heart. Everything that happens to Nikita is out of this world -literally.
On a hot August day, my father plucked me up like a weed and took all our belongings and went all the way from America to an ancient city called Angkor. He had landed a research job there.
I was shocked. I didn't want to spend my summer vacation in a remote area digging dirt. It was like going to a faraway land in a jungle.
Of course, I had no say in that. It was a blistering hot afternoon when our plane landed. The glaring sun hung high in the perfect blue sky. A few cottony clouds drifted over our heads. My dad and I gathered our luggage and loaded it onto a cart. We had packed almost everything we owned, and it made me a bit worried that we might actually plan to live here.
"Nikita, don't galumph around like that. You're in your mother's homeland at last! Isn't it great? Come on, smile!" Dad tried to cheer me up as we walked down the aisle together. My mom was born a native of South East Asia while my father was an American-born Russian descendant. My dad met her during a school trip to Cambodia over seventeen years ago. And this was the first time I get to see her homeland.
"Dad, give me a break." I gave him a bored look. "I think my brain has turned into a mash."
It was a long flight, and it felt like we were in a blender for hours. I hadn't recovered from the turbulence yet.
"Aw, don't be a little goose! Hurry up, the adventure awaits us!"
"I don't see how digging up dirt is an adventure," I murmured.
"Hey, archaeology is important, gooseberry," he told me. "It helps us understand who we are and where we come from. We may stumble through a tomb or any valuable thing from the past. You may see the great monument from a long distance blocking your vision. You may chance upon a lost sunken city in the ocean. We shall dig into the past to find how it all began and how it was done. Then we may see how our future is going to be. Without people like me, how would you know someone had founded a city starting with a single stone or a dead log?"
In case it wasn't clear, my father was one of the head archaeologists specialized in Asian Heritage Studies.
"Come on, dad," I groaned. "I'm not in the mood to learn a history lesson right now."
My father pouted at me. Don't get me wrong, we usually got along like a pair of oars. He was the only family I had in the whole wide world. When my mother was pregnant with me, he thought I would be a boy since I started kicking way too early. They thought I would grow up to be a kickboxer. Then my dad named me Nikita, which was supposed to be a boy name. It means 'unconquerable'. You couldn't find any girl named Nikita in Russia though. My mom wanted to name me Chandra, 'the light-bringer', which comes from a Hindu god of the moon since I was born on Monday. The two nouns ended up being my first and middle name respectively.
Instead, I was born a girl, and my mother died. My dad still didn't change a single thing. He didn't change my boy name or replace his broken heart. I knew he still loved my mother although a lot of single ladies had expressed their willingness to be his life partner. He was handsome even in his early forties, always clean-shaven. He loved wearing his old fedora hat and knee-high boots like his favorite American movie star in Indiana Jones. Even though I was born a girl, it didn't stop him from including me in all sorts of adventures, most of which were considered 'unlady-like'.
Unfortunately, there was no more project funding for his future research, so we both settled into a dull existence in America. Dad worked at a small museum. He didn't mind it though and always quoted Bukowski's words, 'Find what you love and let it kill you.'
Then just out of the blue, my father got a phone call from his old friend, who sent him some documents on a rare find from a medieval city - famously known as Angkor City. Before I knew it, we ended up at the Phnom Penh International Airport three days later.
The air was hot and humid outside. I could grow crops with my sweat. As I stumbled along with my heavy luggage, my dad was frowning over the map.
"Dad, you're not helping me!" I huffed, trying to push our rickety cart.
"I'm holding a bag of your coloring books, darling," he reminded me, jerking the brown satchel on his shoulder, and let me tell you- that was literally the only bag he was carrying.
"They're my art supplies, not coloring books, and you're still not helping me," I replied. "So where are we going to stay?"
"My colleague has booked us a hotel room," he said over his broad shoulder. "It's about half an hour drive from here. We're going to be in the city for a couple days before I head straight to work."
"I'm in need of some nice cold lemonade," I said, pushing my blonde hair out of my face and fanning myself by plucking my collar shirt.
"Don't be a little goose, Nikita, come on!" he said. "We're almost there."
He raised his hand to a taxi driver on the other side of the parking lot. The taxi driver drove his beat-up Toyota towards us. A small man in a white dress shirt and Khaki pants jumped out.
"Where are you going, sir?" the man spoke in accented English. Dad unfolded his map of the modern city and squinted over it for what seemed like forever. He was an archaeologist who could read ancient maps like the back of his hand, but he was hopeless with the current cities. I used to tease him that his mind belonged in the ruins and not the modern world.
"Just give it to me, Dad," I said and grabbed the map from him. I found the location in a blink of an eye then showed the address to the taxi driver. His face lit up in recognition.
"Oh, yes!" the driver said. "Nice hotel and nice view! I can show you around the city if you like. Are you here on a vacation?"
"No, thank you, sir," Dad said. "We're not here on a holiday or anything."
"Oh so you're not visiting the temples then?" the driver asked again while he was loading our belongings into the trunk.
"Actually, I'm doing an archaeological research project here."
"A research project? Oh, I see! A lot of people seem to flock into the country after the latest discovery at Angkor last month," the man said. "They did this airborne laser scan thing and found some traces of alien activities..."
"Er...maybe we should get moving, sir," my dad said to change the subject.
"Oh, right!" the driver hurried to open the door for us.
We got inside the car. The engine roared to life then we left the airport. But along the way, I couldn't stop thinking about what the taxi driver had said.
"Dad," I asked him in a whisper. He looked at me. "What was it about the alien thing?"
"That's just some whacky hypotheses about an ancient spiral near the old city, Nikita," he told me in a low voice. "Don't pay it any mind."
"An ancient spiral?"
"Well, it's some kind of an old stone discus we've found," he added with a shrug. "We still don't know what that spiral is exactly. That's why I'm here. But don't worry; I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with aliens. I just have to work out what the object is with my team."
I didn't expect much from this trip, but this started to get real interesting. Yet the main reason I came here was buried deep under a pile of unsaid things, I want to see my mother's homeland. It was where she was born and raised as a young girl.
For some reason, I had a feeling that this adventure was going to turn my ordinary life on its head.
Hades was well-cast to rule over the land of the dead. But what if Hades, the fearsome monarch of the Underworld was, in fact, a goddess? Everyone called her, 'Lord of the Dead' out of mockery since she prefers the company of women. She was considered an isolated and violent immortal, who loathed change and was easily given to a slow black rage like no others. But then everything changed when the dark goddess met the daughter of Demeter, Persephone. Now the tale of Hades and Persephone will be retold with a sprinkle of twists and turns.
Vivienne Petrovna has an ordinary genius life in the Ultara Academy, but then something about her begins to change. A presence of a beautiful, yet mysterious girl comes into her school and insists on having her after she discovers one of life's biggest shocks. Going through a strange evolution called Awakening, Vivienne thinks it's the least of her trouble, until she's found out about her family secret and starts to realize the whole world is not what it seems. There are other predatory creatures living among humans- and worse, they want to destroy her.
Anastasia Romanov, one of the Last Grand Duchesses of the Russian Empire, finds herself lost in memories and heartbreak. Unable to forget her former love, she wanders around the world, looking for distractions. But then a surprise attack from the Hunters spins her life around. Anastasia meets a beautiful Huntress, whose code name is 'Princess of the Wild', but the girl just wants to kill the Duchess at every chance she gets. Will they be potential lovers or forever sworn enemies? |A sequel to the Romanov Princess Book| Warning: Sexual Explicit, Lesbian story, Rated R: 18+ only.
The whole world has changed. In the year 2054, the human race is no longer the largest population on earth. The global invasion of a new yet not quite new species has forced the remaining people to hide in fear. Just like the other war survivors, Avery Pierce tries to escape death by hiding from them. But when she reaches seventeen, her life is doomed. She is sold as a slave to an old powerful family. Living in a beautiful mansion, she has to serve her owner, the mistress of the house. Will she be treated as a mere slave or maybe something more?
For two years, Bryan only saw Eileen as an assistant. She needed money for her mother's treatment, and he thought she'd never leave because of it. To him, it seemed fair to offer her financial help in exchange for sex. However, Bryan didn't expect to fall for her. Eileen confronted him, "You love someone else, yet you always sleep with me? You're despicable!" The moment she slammed the divorce papers down, he realized she was the the mysterious wife he married six years ago. Determined to win her back, Bryan lavished her with affection. When others mocked her origins, he gave her all his wealth, happy to be the supportive husband. Now a celebrated CEO, Eileen had everything, but Bryan found himself lost in another whirlwind...
After three loveless years, Neil's betrayal deeply wounded Katelyn. She wasted no time in getting rid of that scoundrel! After the divorce, she devoted herself to career pursuits. Rising to prominence as a top designer, skilled doctor, and brilliant hacker, she became a revered icon. Neil, realizing his grave mistake, tried in vain to win her back, only to witness her magnificent wedding to another. As their vows were broadcast on the world's largest billboard, Vincent slid a ring onto Katelyn's finger and declared, "Katelyn is now my wife, a priceless treasure. Let all who covet her beware!"
Three years ago, Cecilia was left battered and alone by the man she loved most, Alston, yet she bravely completed the wedding ceremony while pregnant. Three years later, although they were married, they grew apart over time. Cecilia focused on her career, no longer foolishly believing in love. But her transformation instantly threw Alston into a panic... And what is the secret from 11 years ago that Cecilia has always been reluctant to reveal? *** "She went to a law firm, met with a lawyer..." A lawyer? Is Cecilia suing someone? Who? Is there any recent litigation against the company? Alston suddenly chuckled coldly, "Who could she sue? I'm the CEO of this company. How come such a matter doesn't come to me first?" The assistant swallowed nervously, speaking softly, "Sir, there's no litigation against the company. She met with... a divorce lawyer."
June Rivera was divorced by her husband after three years of marriage to be with her sister who was pregnant for him. Kicked to the curb with a divorce and rejected by her parents, she struggles to make ends meet and get a job until she saves Luis Ambrose from an accident - the only child of Rafael Ambrose, a widowed man and the CEO of Ambrose Corps. When little Luis asks to have her as a nanny, and Rafeal's mother pressures him to get married, they draw a contract. To be Luis's Nanny and his fake wife for one year in exchange for 50 million dollars!
He has all the traits that you wished for your dream man to have. Power, money, perfection, handsomeness and a body like a Greek God. But he's inlove. He's inlove with her. For him, she was the completion of his dream, a perfect wife and a mother to be with his children. He would give her everything including his own life. He would sacrifice his world for her. But she left him. She betrayed him. She broke his heart into pieces. And he turned into a cold, heartless, rude and an arrogant billionaire, who would do everything to show her that she's no longer important into his life. Even though the truth is the opposite of what he is doing. His heart still aching for her. And that's when he met me. I applied as his Personal Assistant to fulfill my bucket list of dreams. To explore my life and experience everything. He offered me a deal. He asked me to marry him just to show his ex that he already moved on. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "She's pregnant." He blurted out and i almost stumbled on where i am standing. I just gripped the backrest of the couch to support my weight. The pain creeping in my heart is unbearable but i managed to stay calm. "Wow! Congratulations!" I said faking my excitement as i remembered him saying... -cheating would not be the reason to break our marriage- of course i couldn't accuse him of this as 'cheating' because she was the real reason why we are pretending as a couple. He still love her. He's still inlove with her. And that's when i made the biggest decision in my life. Taking all my strength and a piece of my heart that still hanging on a thin rope... I left him. Taking also my biggest secret in me... that i've already fallen inlove with him. And somehow i learned a lesson; 'Loving someone who doesn't love you back isn't as hard as loving someone who still inlove with his ex and who only uses you to get her back again into his life..'
Two years ago, Ricky found himself coerced into marrying Emma to protect the woman he cherished. From Ricky's perspective, Emma was despicable, resorting to underhanded schemes to ensure their marriage. He maintained a distant and cold attitude toward her, reserving his warmth for another. Yet, Emma remained wholeheartedly dedicated to Ricky for more than ten years. As she grew weary and considered relinquishing her efforts, Ricky was seized by a sudden fear. Only when Emma's life teetered on the edge, pregnant with Ricky's child, did he recognize-the love of his life had always been Emma.