when his mask cracks

The night before our wedding, my mother needed a fifty-thousand-dollar emergency deposit for surgery. I went to my fiancé, Major Adrian Hayes, hoping he would listen before it was too late. He only saw the number. He paid the deposit in the end, but something between us broke that night. That money became the beginning of every name he would ever use against me. After that, every time I asked him for help, he sent me one hundred dollars. When I was in a car accident, he sent one hundred dollars. When I begged him to attend my mother’s funeral, he sent one hundred dollars. Eight months ago, I found out I was pregnant. I sent him seventy-seven voice messages, desperate to tell him we were having a baby. He never listened. He only sent seventy-seven payments of one hundred dollars. Later, when I started bleeding and was rushed into emergency surgery, I called Adrian and begged him to come to the hospital, to answer the doctors, to save our child. He sent one hundred dollars again. At the same time, Madeline’s Instagram story showed Adrian in his dress uniform beside her at a lavish officers’ charity gala. The comments all treated them like the perfect match. I stared at the screen until my hand went numb. I was begging for him from the edge of an emergency room while he stood under chandeliers beside another woman, looking as if he had already found the wife he wanted. By the time Adrian finally turned his phone back on, his staff officer’s voice was shaking. “Major Hayes... your wife and the baby did not make it.” And in that moment, Adrian went feral.

Tracy Brown moves through the world as the daughter of Ben Brown, one of Ariston continent's most feared crime lords. The truth is darker. She is his captive, kept close and controlled, her life never fully her own. When she watches her mother die at his hands, something in her hardens into purpose. She wants revenge, and she intends to use her assigned bodyguard to get it. What Tracy doesn't know is that her bodyguard isn't who he says he is. Henry Jones is undercover, working to build an airtight case against Ben from the inside. Two people with hidden agendas, orbiting the same dangerous man, each using the other to get what they came for. Somewhere in the middle of the deception,the lines begin to blur. When Henry finally reveals the truth, it doesn't end them. It frees them. Together they dismantle Ben's empire, settle debts older than their partnership, and pull each other out of the darkness they both came in carrying.

Tired of the life of violence, Frank becomes an ordinary taxi driver, hoping to live out his days in peace. However, when he accidentally rescues two girls from kidnappers, he's hired as the driver for one of them, Wendy. What seemed like a simple job quickly turns dangerous—Frank discovers that Wendy is the prime target of multiple powerful forces...

Lydia Nott's mother-in-law falls gravely ill, but Ian Hart, mistakenly thinking the ambulance is for Lydia's ex-boyfriend, blocks its path. At the hospital, he refuses to donate blood and even destroys the blood source needed for the rescue. Despite Lydia's efforts to find help, her mother-in-law dies. Ian skips the memorial to attend Ivy Scott's birthday, only to learn the truth too late. When he tries to expel Lydia from the Hart family, he discovers she's the rightful heir. Stricken with guilt over his mother's death, he is left to face the consequences of his actions.

Nancy Shelton sought revenge on her scumbag ex by falsely claiming that Jeffrey Lester, Johnsburg's wealthiest man, was her boyfriend. However, fate took an unexpected turn when Jeffrey overheard her and became intrigued by her. In a surprising twist, he proposed marriage to bring good fortune to his terminally ill grandmother. They agreed that once his grandmother recovered, they would part ways. But as time passed, love began to blossom between them. Jeffrey soon discovered that Nancy was the legendary Dr. Raven he had been searching for. What started as a marriage of convenience transformed into a passionate love story.

My brother Mitchell sided with his dream girl when she accused me of bullying her. Despite being the only family member I had left, he exploded in anger and sent me away to a boarding school for so-called reformation to learn how to become a meek and obedient little sister. In time, I became exactly what he wanted—a docile sibling who never fought back, never argued. But everything changed the day he saw my medical report. He lost his mind. "Nora, I'm begging you—forgive me and let me be your brother again!"

"Xavier Grant's brother, Zane, steals his SSS-class mecha core, determined to become the world's hero. Little does he know that the core is actually bait, designed to lure in a catastrophic threat. Xavier turns the tables, choosing the F-class mecha that everyone mocks before being exiled to the Wasteland. There, he joins forces with three other outcasts who have been abandoned by society. Armed with the hidden treasure that has been severely underestimated, the four rise from the bottom to build the strongest team in the galaxy. When disaster sweeps across the Capitol, Zane is pushed to the brink, while his hypocritical family comes crashing down."

College student Anna is betrayed by her boyfriend, who tries to sell her virginity at a club. Business tycoon Ryder saves her... but then invites her to sign a BDSM contract, making her his "Kitten". Little does he know that she's actually the angel who saved him when they were young - the one he's spent a decade searching for.

Drowning in debt, struggling actor Theo is hired to pose as a retired billionaire's charming boyfriend. But the job turns into a nightmare when he discovers the billionaire's ruthless CEO son, Cade, is the first love he cruelly abandoned years ago. Determined to make Theo pay, Cade traps him in a dangerous secret affair under the eyes of his father and the entire company.

They have known each other since they were young, yet his bride isn't her. After being drugged, the wealthy man, Bradley Judd, saves her by spending a night with her. When they meet again, five years have passed. She returns to the country with a pair of twins, trying her best to keep them hidden. Nevertheless, he still finds them in the end.

Christina's adoptive mother gives her a brutal choice: Christina can give her virginity to a 70-year-old rich man, or watch her brother be killed. She chooses the former, but those plans are jeopardized when the old man seeks pleasure elsewhere. Who would have thought his son, Logan, would become her Mr. Right? "Sleep with me, right now!" Christina begs...

Hank Carver, a descendant of Tina Carver, falls for Wendy Shaw, but Kyle Leed, who secretly loves her, targets him—forcing him to drop out and work as a delivery courier. When his great-grandmother Tina returns, she reshuffles Xancent’s elite families, elevating the kind-hearted Hank. Through trials and revenge, justice is served, and Hank and Wendy finally unite as true lovers.

Clara unexpectedly sleeps with Asher. However, Mandy later takes credit for it. Worse, Asher mistakenly believes she is the daughter of the man who saved his life. So he promises to marry her. On the other hand, Asher's stepmother forces Clara to marry Asher. So he suspects Clara to be a spy and insists on divorcing her. When will he find out the truth?

Ethan Cole poured five years into his fish farm. Just when he hit 100,000 a month, the village chief's son seized it for one dollar. He pumped in toxic feed and hormones to get rich fast. But it backfired: fish rotted, banned drugs found, bankruptcy and prison followed. Ethan didn't fight. He started over with integrity and built a supply empire.

On my eighteenth birthday, Alpha called me up in front of the whole pack and told me to choose—one of his sons as my mate. Whichever I chose? He'd be the next Alpha. I didn't flinch. I picked Cayce, his eldest. The room went dead silent. Everyone knew I used to be stupidly in love with Kain, the younger one. I'd confessed at every pack dance. Took a silver dagger for him once. Cayce? Coldest, meanest wolf we had. Total menace. No one got close. But they didn't know the truth. In my last life, I was bonded to Kain. On the day of our Bonding Ceremony, he slept with Lena, my cousin. My mom lost it. Shipped Lena off to Duskwolf Pack to get bonded to their Beta. Kain? He blamed me. Paraded in she-wolves with Lena's same ice-blue eyes. When he found out I was carrying his pup, he made sure I saw him with every one of them. It was torture. When labor hit, he locked me in the dungeon. Blocked everyone out. My pup got crushed. I died hating him. Maybe the Moon Goddess felt sorry for me—she gave me a second shot. I came back. This time? I let Kain keep Lena. Didn't think he would ever regret it.

On my eighteenth birthday, Alpha called me up in front of the whole pack and told me to choose—one of his sons as my mate. Whichever I chose? He'd be the next Alpha. I didn't flinch. I picked Cayce, his eldest. The room went dead silent. Everyone knew I used to be stupidly in love with Kain, the younger one. I'd confessed at every pack dance. Took a silver dagger for him once. Cayce? Coldest, meanest wolf we had. Total menace. No one got close. But they didn't know the truth. In my last life, I was bonded to Kain. On the day of our Bonding Ceremony, he slept with Lena, my cousin. My mom lost it. Shipped Lena off to Duskwolf Pack to get bonded to their Beta. Kain? He blamed me. Paraded in she-wolves with Lena's same ice-blue eyes. When he found out I was carrying his pup, he made sure I saw him with every one of them. It was torture. When labor hit, he locked me in the dungeon. Blocked everyone out. My pup got crushed. I died hating him. Maybe the Moon Goddess felt sorry for me—she gave me a second shot. I came back. This time? I let Kain keep Lena. Didn't think he would ever regret it.

Lauren, the heiress of Galaxy Group, spent eight years married to Carson, entrusting her assets to his family. While picking up her daughter Xena from kindergarten, she encountered Rose, who wore the same outfit and carried the same bag, prompting Lauren to suspect Carson's infidelity when she discovered the bag was fake. When Xena suffered food poisoning under her mother-in-law's care, Lauren found Carson and Rose at the hospital with their illegitimate child. After her daughter was safely treated, Lauren resolved to take revenge. As Carson and Rose basked in their facade of wealth, Lauren exposed their lies and evicted them from her home, reclaiming what was rightfully hers.

My sister fled on the day of her Bonding Ceremony. I was forced to marry the Lycan King known for his brutality. Six years later, she returned. Still as bold and brazen as ever, she pressed a crimson kiss against Kael’s collar—right in front of the entire Council of Elders. Kael went rigid. Then she turned to me, her eyes gleaming with mockery. “Little sister, thank you for keeping my throne warm all these years. Now that I’m back, it’s time you gave me back my place as Luna Queen.” Silence swallowed the hall. Everyone remembered what happened when she ran away. Kael had nearly slaughtered half a rival territory in his rage. So now? I wondered too. Would this unpredictable, brutal King lose his mind for her once again?