"You promised." He hisses. "I did promise not to ghost you again and I didn't! The rest is nothing you get to control." A sly smirk appears on his face as he presses his lips to my ear and whispers, "We will see about that." Grabbing my body as if I were made out of cotton candy, he lifts me off the floor. He presses my back fully into the cold wall once again, standing between my legs, and bites into my neck, having me mewl lowly. "What the hell are you doing? The cameras, Ru. The cameras!" I panic, freeing myself from under his teeth. His eyes capture mine as he looks back up at me. "This is my building, remember? The security guards are instructed to delete the tape. And to not call for help or check on anyone stuck in the elevator." *** Ginevra and Ruggerio are meant to hate each other. As heirs to rival families, they have been taught nothing else. As they spend the night together at a masquerade ball without recognizing each other, they ignite a series of events that are as dangerous as they are tempting. Now it's up to them to decide. Stand by the rules of their families. Or give in to their forbidden desire. ⚠️ TW: explicit and foul language, steamy scenes, abuse, SA ⚠️
Ginevra
The sun beams are the gentle cause I wake up. Stretching in my bed, I get up groggily and get into my in-suite bathroom. After collecting my long black locks into a loose bun, I wash my face quickly before putting on some make-up. I love to highlight my dark-brown eyes with eyeliner, especially as it makes me think that it hides my nose that I perceive as too big. Checking my phone shortly, I crack up at my best friend's text about her walk of shame back home she had to do this morning. I get out of my room and close my door behind me. Like my room, the entire home where I live with my family is designed in earthy colors, typical for a Mediterranean display. The amount of natural light streaming through the spacious rooms and the archways in eclectic tiles give the immense property the feeling of a cozy vacation home.
Unfortunately, it is not.
I pass the textured stucco walls decorated with expensive and utterly boring artwork and walk down the marble stairs of my home to get to the kitchen. A maid is already working to set the table and I pass her to make myself a cup of coffee.
"Ginevra, what are you doing? We are eating in about 20 minutes!"
My grandfather stands in the door to the kitchen, looking at me with his dark brown eyes sparkling. He is dressed in one of his signature tailored suits and has a large newspaper clamped under his right arm.
"I just got up, Nonno. I need a coffee and I'm not going to kill my appetite because of it." He steps up to me and pinches me in my cheek playfully.
"Ah, you have to learn to get up sooner, or you'll lose any winning margin you could have against your enemies." I chuckle before taking a sip of my coffee, soothing my nerves.
Enemies! Right!
My grandfather is old school and was born in a territory controlled by the Camorra. He always had some trauma he carried around, even if he had long gotten out of that kind of situation and was living far away. As he came to live here in New York all over from Naples situated in the south of Italy and built a billion-strong group in the building industry, he achieved what many others dream of. He slowly started living more peacefully even if he never lost his usual paranoia. I guess not even an ocean separating you from a problematic place you come from can give your soul some peace.
"I have Fede, he is up early enough for both of us."
He laughs while wiggling his finger at me.
"Give your brother some credit. He works hard for the family."
I smile, sipping my coffee.
Sure, and he got the job I was supposed to have because he is a man.
My family is horrendously traditional, even if emigrated. I'm the first born but my younger brother is the first-born male, hence he is the primary heir. I'm just supposed to marry well and have a lot of children. Actually, as the first born, I'll have to exceed in any marriage choice compared to my younger siblings, as they expect a lot from me.
Hurray me.
As my grandfather receives a phone call, I walk out of the kitchen to get to the small living room facing the large gateway leading to my family's mansion. I'm just in time to see my sister's car drive up the driveway, the gravel scrunching under the tires. She drives around the big round flower bed which constitutes the center of the gateway in front of the house and halts in front of the main entrance. I observe her getting out of her car and waving at me with a big smile. She ties her long black hair in a loose ponytail and proceeds to get my baby-nephew out of the car. As she balances her son and a diaper bag in her arms, our butler runs to her with one of our manservants by his side to help her carry her bag. She doesn't give her son out of her hands though, she never would. I can't see her husband with her, must be on a business trip once again. In my humble opinion I think he is sketchy as hell, but my parents love him, so good for her. If I was a tad more malicious, I would say he is with his second family. Good thing I'm not. As she climbs the stairs to the entrance, I begin walking to the foyer to say hello. She walks in with Rupert and Armin wearing a big smile, flashing me her flawless white teeth.
"Hey, baby-sis!" I shout in a singsong while opening my arms to her.
It looks as if we haven't seen ourselves for years, rather than 2 days ago. But that's what it is with my family, it stands over everything.
"Ginny, hi." She flashes me a happy smile and is about to walk into my hug as she gets interrupted.
My sister is 5 years younger than me and the pride of the family, after Federico, of course. That's not because she got an awesome degree or a special high honored award, but because, at the tender age of 21, she is already married and has gifted my family with another male descendant. As soon as she is through the door and about to hug me, she gets attacked by two little rascals appearing like a summer storm.
"Roberta, Roberta!"
My two twin brothers hug her at each side shouting her name out loud. She laughs as she ruffles Gioele's black hair.
"Let me say hello to Ginevra, you two ankle-biters."
She finally gets to free herself to hug me, and I squeeze her tight.
"How are you doing?" I whisper, caressing her back.
"Alright, a bit lonely." She sighs and I squeeze her arm gently with a sad smile before leaning down to my nephew.
"And how is our baby boy?"
I'm tickling my nephew in her arms as my grandmother appears under the archway separating the foyer from a small reception living room reprimanding us like she, and she unfortunately does, owns the place. Her dark gray eyes move down to the cup in my hand in disgust.
Nerthus goes by many names. Hiding from an unpleasant past, she keeps her true identity a secret while working as an escort. As she covers an appointment with a mysterious new client for a sick colleague, she thinks it will be a one-night thing as he is known to never book an escort twice. Until he books her again. When her other clients start mysteriously canceling their appointments, she suddenly finds herself in a tricky, but quite alluring situation. She tries everything to resist his irresistible temptations that threaten getting her fingers burnt. But she risks it anyway. Will Nerthus realize her mistake too late? And will she be able to resist her forbidden desire for her mysterious new client? *** TW: explicit and foul language; frequent sex scenes; violence; SA ***
"I, Riccardo Saviano, future Alpha of the Grey Shadow Moon Pack, reject you, Artemisia Guerrieri, Daughter of Alpha Franco of the Blood Moon Pack, as my mate and future Luna." One single sentence. One stupid single sentence was all it took to disintegrate my life. And the day of my birthday, on which this sentence was audaciously uttered to me, I lost the love of my life, my future mate, and my wolf, all at once. As I'm still assembling the pieces of my shattered heart years later, there they come. Like lightning out of a crystal blue sky. My Mates. But wait... If I am mated to triplets, how come I'm about to be mated to 5 gorgeous men? *** TW: explicit and foul language; spicy content; explicit sex scenes ***
“Drive this woman out!” "Throw this woman into the sea!” When he doesn’t know Debbie Nelson’s true identity, Carlos Hilton cold-shoulders her. “Mr. Hilton, she is your wife,” Carlos’ secretary reminded him. Hearing that, Carlos gives him a cold stare and complained, “why didn’t you tell me earlier?” From then on, Carlos spoils her rotten. Little did everyone expect that they would get a divorce.
On her wedding night, Natalie's stepmother set her up to marry Jarvis, a disfigured and disabled man. Fortunately, she managed to escape, but little did she know that later she would fall for the man she was betrothed to.Jarvis pretended to be a poor man, but he didn't think that he'd fall head over heels for this woman.Their life went on until one day, Natalie found out her boyfriend's little secret."Huh? How could you have billions of dollars' worth of assets?" she asked in disbelief.Jarvis didn’t know how to respond.Being met with silence, she gritted her teeth angrily. "They said that you couldn't walk, but as far as I can see, you're strong enough to run a marathon."Still, he remained silent.Natalie continued, "They even said that you only have a few years to live. What about now?"Finally, Jarvis opened his mouth to explain. "Honey, this is all just a misunderstanding. Please calm down. Think about the baby.""Jarvis Braxton!"The man knelt down immediately.
Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"
Lucille was one of the most skilled female assassins, and on the previous night, she embarked on a top-secret mission. However, the mission's details were leaked, leading to her untimely demise at the hands of a traitorous companion. She never discovered the identity of the person who betrayed her before her death. But by some miracle, she was granted a new life, and was reborn as a girl with the same name. Determined to uncover the truth and seek revenge for her family, Lucille seized her second chance at life. She planned to avenge her loved ones. However, her plans were complicated by Joseph, an apparently frail man who was actually skilled in martial arts. And he seemed to fall for her deeply, now this newfound knowledge only added to the complications of Lucille's revenge plan...
For two years, Ashton had poured his heart into his marriage, yet Emalee's heart remained cold. Despite his dedication, Emalee presented him with divorce papers. She bluntly stated she could not remain married to a man whose net worth was less than a million dollars. Ashton signed the papers, closing one chapter of his life and stepping into a new beginning. Then, Ashton revealed his secret identities: a music mogul, a medical expert, and a martial arts master—each persona impressive enough to stun the world. As Ashton’s true capabilities came to light, Emalee was overwhelmed with deep regret.
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..'