They Keep It Cool in Public, But in Private... Chloe always knew how to keep things professional. In public, she and her boss, Fred, maintained a safe distance-no flirting, no kissing, no asking personal questions. Just a purely physical arrangement behind closed doors. But then, an intern showed up at the company, and suddenly, things started to feel... off.
Mid-December, the temperature hit its lowest of the year. Snowflakes drifted down onto the streets, coating the bare branches in a layer of pure white.
At Race Corporation's annual party, the place was packed. Employees from every department were dressed to the nines, their faces lit up with relaxed, joyful smiles. After a year of hard work, this was the one night they could finally let loose and unwind.
Chloe, like everyone else, was relieved to catch a breather from the heavy workload in the marketing department.
Too bad she couldn't drink tonight.
"Chloe, not getting anything to drink?" Anna asked as she passed by.
Anna was one of Chloe's teammates.
Chloe leaned against the wall and shook her head. "Nah, just took some meds."
"You okay? Want me to help you sit down or something?" Anna asked, concerned.
"I'm fine, just an old issue. Don't worry about me-go have fun." Chloe smiled. "I'll just hang out here."
Anna hesitated but, hearing the certainty in Chloe's voice, didn't push further. "Alright, take care."
Watching everyone enjoy themselves, Chloe couldn't help but feel a little bummed. She'd had a sudden stomach ache around noon, and while the meds helped, the lingering dull pain was still there.
She had considered skipping the party, but since her whole team was attending-and as the marketing manager, she didn't want to kill the mood-she figured she'd show up, make an appearance, and leave early.
The party had only just started. Everyone was holding champagne glasses, chatting away, when the room suddenly quieted down.
Chloe looked up.
A tall figure was making his way to the stage.
Gasps spread through the crowd, followed by excited squeals laced with admiration and giddy excitement.
"HOLY SHIT, our boss is fine as hell!"
"NO KIDDING! I literally came to this party just to see him up close."
"That face is UNREAL-right up my alley."
"Forget the face, I wanna know what that BODY feels like."
"GOD, just thinking about it is sending me."
Chloe overheard the hushed, breathless exchanges between a few colleagues nearby. A couple of drinks in, they clearly didn't feel the need to hold back, openly discussing their thoughts on the man on stage-complete with starry-eyed stares.
The tall man stopped at the center of the stage, cleared his throat lightly, and began his speech.
"Thank you all for your contributions this past year. Our performance has improved compared to last year..."
His voice was deep, steady, magnetic.
Not only was he good-looking, but he also had the kind of voice that drew people in. No wonder the younger employees were completely smitten.
From where she stood, Chloe watched as the lights illuminated his towering figure. Even in a crowd, his presence was striking.
She didn't bother hiding the way she was looking at him.
This was one of the rare moments she could openly stare at Fred in public.
Only when lost in a sea of people could she gaze up at the brightest light on stage without drawing any suspicion.
To everyone else, Fred was just the company's CEO, and she was just the marketing manager. A typical boss-subordinate relationship. In the office, they barely interacted.
The speech lasted a few minutes before Fred stepped down, and the night's entertainment officially kicked off with performances and party games.
Chloe glanced at her watch.
With everyone's attention on the dancers on stage and the energy in the room heating up, she slipped away unnoticed. She made her way to the coat check, retrieved her coat, and pulled out her phone to call a cab.
It was a Friday night, and traffic was crazy. Still, she got lucky-only had to wait ten minutes before a ride showed up.
Stepping outside, her heels crunched against the freshly fallen snow. She walked carefully, not wanting to take an embarrassing tumble.
Her nose was already red from the cold by the time she reached the car.
She climbed in quickly, sighing in relief as the heater began to thaw her frozen fingers. Snowflakes tapped gently against the window, twirling for a fleeting moment before melting away.
Once she could feel her hands again, she pulled out her phone to check the notifications she'd been ignoring.
She dialed back, and as soon as the call connected, Teresa's excited voice burst through.
"So? Have you thought about it? My friend's little brother is seriously good-looking!"
Ah.
Right. The matchmaking thing.
Teresa had been trying to set her up for a while now. Chloe had already brushed it off once, but Teresa was persistent-especially since she was personally close to the guy.
"What do you think? I sent you his picture just now," Teresa pressed.
Chloe hadn't even had the chance to look at it yet. She hummed vaguely. "Seems alright."
"KNEW IT! Totally your type, isn't he?" Teresa's voice shot up with excitement. "When do you wanna meet him?"
"Uh... maybe sometime later."
"Oh, don't give me that 'I'm too busy' excuse! It's the end of the year-your company doesn't have any major projects left!" Teresa was practically jumping through the phone.
"He saw your photo and got totally hooked-he really wants to meet you."
"...Ugh." Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose, already regretting answering the call.
"COME ON, you're single! What's the harm in giving it a shot?" Teresa encouraged, then added with a suggestive tone, "He's an athlete, by the way. Stamina's top-notch... you know what I mean."
Chloe definitely knew.
Teresa had a habit of preaching about the importance of a fulfilling "personal life."
If that was the reason she should agree to this... well, Chloe wasn't sure how to respond.
Yeah, she was single, but it wasn't like she was that deprived.
Not nearly as much as Teresa seemed to think.
Still, with Teresa nagging her ear off, Chloe finally caved. It was just a meetup, after all. No big deal.
"Fine. I'm free next week."
"YES! It's a done deal!" Teresa practically squealed. "I'll tell him right now!"
After hanging up, Chloe noticed an unread message on her screen, received ten minutes ago.
"Where are you? Don't see you."
Her stomach flipped.
No name. Just a string of numbers.
But she knew it by heart.
She quickly typed back. "On my way home."
The reply came almost instantly.
"I'll be there in twenty minutes."
Just two weeks after their wedding, Raphael left for the other side of the world on business. Two years later, when he returned, Grace barely recognized her own husband.      Everyone knew their marriage was nothing more than a business deal between two powerful families. To Grace, it was simply the last hurdle on her way to freedom. She barely knew her husband. All she really knew was that he was rigid, dull, and emotionally detached-like a financial machine. She figured he must find her just as insufferable-dramatic, and high-maintenance. When Grace placed the divorce papers in front of Raphael, stating that she wanted to end this loveless marriage, he merely looked at her, his gaze warm yet unreadable. He gently took her hand and murmured in a husky voice, half-smiling, 「Hmm? Did I not please you enough last night?」
Lena Carrington and Alaric Winfield have been rivals since childhood, always competing with each other-from school to adulthood. When Lena's family faces a financial crisis and her fiancé of three years heartlessly dumps her, all her old friends turn a blind eye, leaving her to fend for herself. One day, she runs into her ex-boyfriend, who's with his new girlfriend, eager to watch her hit rock bottom. Frustrated and unwilling to give in, she then bumps into Alaric, her lifelong adversary. "Beg me, and maybe I'll help you," he says, arms crossed, watching her with amusement. "I'd rather die than beg you. Keep dreaming." But later, she turns back. "Fine, help me! Name your terms." He gives a slight smile, "Deal." One night, she accidentally kisses him, and soon, she starts to notice that something about Alaric is changing...
Sofia Levine married a man she had known for less than 24 hours. The marriage was the result of an agreement between their grandfathers. At first, her half-sister even tried to take her place in the marriage, after all, Rome Beckett was the sole heir of a wealthy family. With his good looks, he was the object of many women's affections in the city. Rumor had it that Rome Beckett was cold and aloof, and many were waiting to see Sofia become the laughingstock of the high society as a discarded wife. After the wedding, they treated each other with respect, and Sofia believed that, in time, there might be a little love between them. That is, until one day, she overheard him casually talking to a friend, saying, "It's nothing more than fulfilling the familys' wishes." It was a business marriage from the start, and she had developed feelings she shouldn't have. She quickly moved out of that home. In the pouring rain, the once-proud man, humbled by love, held her hand with trembling fingers. "Let's go home, please?" The male lead, from indifference to deep devotion.
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
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."
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
6 years ago, Lydia suffered a brutal betrayal orchestrated by her own husband and step-sister, who drugged her and framed her. In a twist of fate, she ended up having a one-night stand with a stranger. Don't even remember what he looked like. Later, in the throes of death, she discovered the truth about her mother's death all those years ago. In the blink of an eye, she lost everything. 6 years later, Lydia returned with her genius son, vowing to exact revenge on all her enemies! Little did she know, she encountered an incredibly familiar man at the airport! *** The man was briskly pushing open the door to the restroom, heading to the urinal. Even with such a mundane action, he did it with unparalleled elegance and grace. Lydia, following him in a daze, saw his fierce lower body and suddenly snapped back to reality. She let out a high-pitched scream, instinctively covering her eyes with her hands, her cheeks flushed, and stood there stiffly, unsure of what to do. Lambert furrowed his brows slightly but remained calm as he continued to relieve himself. The sound of water hitting the urinal made Lydia's face even redder. She angrily shouted, "You pervert!" Little did Lydia know that Lambert, seeing her in this state, had a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Memories from many years ago flashed through his mind, and his heart couldn't help but stir. It was her!
After my family's sinister plots collapsed, they lashed out at me, taking their rage to a violent level. Cornered and desperate, I married Jaxton—the town's most sought-after bachelor—due to an unplanned pregnancy. Love had no part in this marriage; I assumed he married me purely out of responsibility, his heart belonging elsewhere. The moment I chose to let him go and turned to leave, he grabbed me and pinned me down hard. "Jaxton, you promised you'd never touch me!" I snapped, glaring fiercely. His eyes flashed arrogantly as he leaned closer. "You're the one who started this!"
"Ahh!" She was in a moaning mess. She did not want to feel anything for this man. She hated him. His hands began to move all over her body. She gasped when he pulled down the back chain of her dress. The chain stopped at her lower waist, so when he zipped it off, her upper back and waist were exposed. "D-Don't touch m-ummm!" His fingers rolled around her bare back, and she pressed her head against the pillow. His touches were giving her goosebumps all over her body. With a deep angry voice, he whispered in her ear, "I am going to make you forget his touches, kisses, and everything. Every time you touch another man, you will only think of me." - - - Ava Adler was a nerdy omega. People bullied her because they thought she was ugly and unattractive. But Ava secretly loved the bad boy, Ian Dawson. He was the future Alpha of the Mystic Shadow Pack. However, he doesn't give a damn about rules and laws, as he only likes to play around with girls. Ava was unaware of Ian's arrogance until her fate intertwined with his. He neglected her and hurt her deeply. What would happen when Ava turned out to be a beautiful girl who could win over any boy, and Ian looked back and regretted his decisions? What if she had a secret identity that she had yet to discover? What if the tables turned and Ian begged her not to leave him?