Romans & histoires The Truth Beneath

Rivergate's most elite social circle had always shared an unspoken rule. Men were free to play the field as they pleased, drifting from one woman to the next. Women, on the other hand, were only allowed a single, discreet indulgence on the day they came of age—a privately hired "life assistant" meant to take care of their physical needs. … On my coming-of-age day, I picked Elliot at first glance from a hundred applicants who came in for interviews. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, looked composed and restrained, and carried himself with a calm maturity that set him apart. He was steady, meticulous, and obsessively clean. The only condition he agreed to was that there would be no bodily contact—hands only. And after every encounter, he would scrub his hands with disinfectant alcohol a hundred times. Over five years, the empty bottles alone were enough to circle the villa seven times. I used to think that one day, I'd help him overcome his barriers and truly make him mine. That illusion shattered the night I got drunk and accidentally wandered into Elliot's room. Hidden beneath his pillow was a DV camera, and inside were several videos of him pleasuring himself. On the screen, the same man who had always been calm and rational with me was staring at the lingerie of the adopted sister who had caused my mother's death, his Adam's apple bobbing as he moaned her name, "Chloe… I love you…" Only then did I realize that every step he had taken toward me had never been about me at all. It had always been a carefully concealed, long-nurtured love for her. So, it was very odd that he cried when I took my adopted sister's place in marrying someone else.

Sage Whitmore’s world is turned upside down when her beloved Bluebird Café—her late mother’s legacy and the heart of her hometown—falls into financial ruin. Desperate to save it, Sage finds herself making a dangerous deal with billionaire Damian Cross, a man as ruthless as he is enigmatic. The terms: work as his personal assistant for one year, and she’ll earn the chance to reclaim her café. Damian is a master strategist, a man who rules New York’s corporate empire with unrelenting control. To him, Sage is a puzzle—unpolished, stubborn, and brimming with passion. As Sage steps into his high-stakes world, she discovers that behind Damian’s cold, calculating exterior lies a man haunted by secrets and driven by more than just power. Their undeniable attraction sparks a battle of wills as Sage refuses to be a pawn in Damian’s games. But with each passing day, the line between business and desire begins to blur. When betrayal and long-buried truths come to light, Sage is forced to decide: trust the man who could ruin her, or walk away from the one thing she can’t deny—her heart. Beneath the Steel and Silk is a story of ambition, redemption, and a love powerful enough to shatter walls—or build something unbreakable.

When I'm taking Mom and Dad to experience the cable car ride, an infinite display of fireworks suddenly bursts from the bottom of the mountain. Soon, they form a sentence in the air. "Our romance will never fade away, even if we die. Yvonne Shaw, my heart belongs to you always." Right away, I realize that my husband, Henry Glover, has specifically prepared the fireworks display just to please his childhood sweetheart, Yvonne Shaw. Under the powerful attacks of the fireworks, the cable lines begin to shake and tremble violently to the point they are about to snap. My fingers tighten around my phone so much that they've turned white. I scream into the speaker, "Henry Glover, have you gone nuts? Stop it! Mom and Dad are still in the cable car!" But he merely chortles in return. I can hear Yvonne's delicate voice egging him on in the background. "Why should I stop? When Yvonne's parents were lying in the ICU and waiting for help three years ago, you screwed up their life-saving surgery despite the fact that you never failed a surgery before! "Today, I want you to have a taste of what it feels like to lose your loved ones as well!" After that, the bodyguards' responses echo from the other end of the line. Henry orders, "Add another huge batch of fireworks and aim them at the cable car. Just keep firing at it!" Yvonne's titters are like poisoned honey. She continues egging on Henry. "You're amazing, darling! Make those two bastards turn to ash!" The cable car sinks all of a sudden. Mom and Dad are so frightened that their complexions turn deathly pale. With bloodshot eyes, I use all of my strength in roaring at my phone. "Henry Glover, your own parents are the ones trapped inside the cable car right now!"

A curse is cast upon everyone in this village, reducing us to mutes. But once a villager's lover takes three laps around the back mountain and marries said villager successfully, the curse on that villager will be broken. My childhood friend, who's the same age as me, has already gotten married and embraced his life as a regular person. Even my cousin, who's just turned 18 years old, has her curse broken as well. I, on the other hand, am about to turn 30 years old soon, and yet I'm still a mute. Whenever I'm about to get married, all of my ex-fiances, who kept telling me that they'd love me with all their hearts, would do anything just to terminate our engagements right after they came out of the back mountain. In order to proclaim his deep love for me, my tenth fiance, Isaac Jameson, tells me confidently that he'd definitely marry me once he's done with his laps around the mountain. But as soon as his words fall, his expression changes the moment he sets foot into the mountain. To my horror, Isaac picks up an axe from the ground and begins hacking at me with it. "Why are you still alive in this world? Why can't you just die already?" I can only lie on the ground while suffering from intense pain. I have no idea what's in the back mountain and why the same outcome will happen every time. Why is it that the entire village can break their curse so easily, and yet I can never get married despite having gone through it ten times in a row?

In the shadowed swamps of the South, where ancient cypress roots drink deep from the earth, something older and far more dangerous stirs. Rio never asked to be reborn into darkness, but as a fledgling vampire trained by the ruthless and alluring Odessa, he’s learned quickly that survival demands both strength and sacrifice. Haunted by the family he left behind, Rio carries the weight of his choices—yet he can’t ignore the fragile bond forming with Junie Elowen, a newly turned vampire whose bright green eyes hide grief, fear, and an untapped power that could change everything. Odessa’s control slips as her complicated attachment to Rio deepens, forcing him to question where loyalty ends and obsession begins. But greater threats rise when Cassian—an ancient vampire and Junie’s sire—emerges from the shadows, determined to claim what he believes is his. Power struggles ignite, alliances fracture, and the swamp itself seems to whisper warnings of blood yet to be spilled. A story of forbidden bonds, found family, and the price of power, Blood Beneath the Cypress is a dark, atmospheric tale where love and loyalty are as dangerous as the monsters lurking in the night.

i escaped one monster only to belong to another. and somehow, the devil beneath the chapel feels safer for me. they did warn me about the devil beneath the church but they never warned me he would become obsessed with me.

Amara Wilson's life was a silent prison under her stepfather's abuse. Driven by greed and debt, he sells her into a transactional marriage with the formidable Italian Mafia boss, Emiliano Valenti. For Emiliano, cold and scarred by betrayal, Amara is a mere contractual solution—a means to an heir, with a strict expectation of obligation, not love. Amara accepts her fate, hiding the secret of her brutal past and the bruises beneath her elegant new facade. ​The silence breaks when Emiliano spots a fading handprint on her neck. This tiny mark ignites a furious, unexpected protectiveness, clashing with his ingrained cynicism. His suspicion leads him to task his right-hand man, Matteo, with an investigation into the Wilson family. Matteo uncovers a shocking web of manipulation, violence, and treachery surrounding Amara’s stolen inheritance and her father’s suspicious death. As Emiliano learns the full extent of her stepfather's cruelty, his indifference transforms into a burning need for justice and vengeance. ​Forced into shared quarters, the terrified Amara finds unexpected solace in Emiliano's demanding presence, even waking up safe in his arms. Emiliano, battling the ghosts of his past, struggles with the confusing pull he feels toward his quiet, resilient wife, determined to become the protector she desperately needs. As their opulent world clashes with Amara's dark secrets, their transactional arrangement begins to unravel. Can a marriage born of debt and fear ignite a slow, consuming love strong enough to withstand the violent path of retribution? This is a story of healing, hidden strength, and a powerful Mafia boss who finds the greatest treasure in the heart of the woman he bought.

Her blood launched a thousand werewolves to fight in a war. For centuries powerful werewolf packs have been fighting for power. And now, they are not just fighting for power and influence, but fighting to have Luna and her blood. She was the alpha prince mate. A human mate with powerful blood that can give werewolves strength. Hector was bound to protect his human mate. They found themselves in a situation where they need to protect each other until their last breath. Their love for each other became a possible strength in an actual weakness.

The Heart Beneath the Thorn — A Modern Beauty and the Beast Retelling 💔 In a glittering city of fortunes and façades, The Heart Beneath the Thorn reimagines Beauty and the Beast through the broken glass of betrayal, redemption, and forbidden love. Emilia Grace, a fierce yet quietly bruised soul, is just trying to survive. Between juggling hospital shifts, family debts, and the ghosts of her past, she’s never had the luxury of dreaming. But fate has a cruel sense of humor when she’s assigned to care for Max Carter—the cold-hearted billionaire who once made her school years a waking nightmare. Max was the golden boy with the cruel smirk—the privileged heir with everything, except peace. Years later, a tragic accident leaves him scarred, not just physically but emotionally. Isolated and emotionally exiled, Max is now a man haunted by his past choices and a legacy wrapped in barbed wire. When Emilia walks back into his life, she's no longer the girl he mocked—she's the woman who might just be his undoing. Forced into each other’s orbit, what begins as a war of words slowly melts into lingering stares, late-night confessions, and an unraveling of everything they thought they knew. Max, the beast of her memories, begins to reveal the tender man beneath the mask—a man who collects poetry he never shares, who builds gardens no one sees, and who might have always loved the girl he couldn’t protect. But trust doesn’t bloom easily in thorn-covered soil. And when old enemies, buried secrets, and a scandalous inheritance come to light, Emilia must decide: can she love the man who once broke her, now that he’s the only one trying to piece her back together? A tale of enemies-to-lovers, second chances.

He ruined her family to make her his. But what happens when love starts to ruin him instead? In a world where love is a luxury and trust is a lie, one woman learns that even a heart built on revenge can still break for love. Amelia Rayna James has always believed that love is a luxury she can’t afford. Her life takes a dark turn when her family’s fortune collapses overnight, leaving them buried in debt. To save them, especially her reckless younger brother, Oliver. Rayna agrees to an unthinkable deal: a contract marriage with the cold and ruthless billionaire, Denzel Connor Adams. Behind Denzel’s sharp suits and icy demeanor hides a man scarred by a violent past, a secret he’s spent his life burying. What Rayna doesn’t know is that Denzel planned her family’s downfall just to make her his. Thrown into a world of power, deceit, and forbidden desire, Rayna must navigate jealous rivals, a manipulative ex-lover who claims to be Denzel’s child’s mother, and a best friend whose loyalty will end in tragedy. As her fake marriage turns dangerously real, buried truths threaten to destroy them both. When betrayal, blackmail, and death tear through their fragile love, Rayna faces a final choice to walk away from the man who shattered her family, or risk everything for the only love she’s ever known. In a world where everything has a price, can love survive beneath the layers of luxury?