"Morning, Mr. Serious," I say now, setting his usual cup on the table. I add two sugar packets because I can't help myself. He never uses them. He never even looks at them. But I like the idea of them sitting there, taunting him with sweetness. His eyes flick up to mine - stormy gray, the kind that make you feel like you're under interrogation for a crime you don't remember committing. "You should stop doing that." His voice is low, accented, like gravel dragged across velvet. Russian maybe? Or Italian. Or both. Either way, it does unholy things to my stomach. "Doing what?" I ask innocently, sliding the sugar closer to his hand. "That." His gaze drops to the packets. "I don't take sugar." I grin, all sunshine and sass. "You don't know that. Maybe one day you'll wake up and realize life's better with a little sweetness." ●・○・●・○・● Rafael Volkov doesn't do small talk. Or smiles. Or sugar in his coffee. As the mafia's underboss, he's built a reputation on silence, sharp suits, and an expression that could curdle milk. So of course, Lila Parker makes it her mission to crack him. The sunny diner waitress insists on slipping him extra sugar packets, calling him "Mr. Serious" behind the counter, and treating him like a normal guy instead of a walking red flag. He tells her to stop. She doesn't. He growls. She grins. And suddenly, his late-night coffee runs feel less like routine and more like... something he shouldn't want. The problem? In his world, affection is dangerous. Smiles get noticed. Weaknesses get used. And if Lila isn't careful, her little act of kindness might just paint a target on her back. Rafael swore he didn't have a sweet tooth. Turns out he was wrong. ●・○・●・○・● Word Count: 37,478

* C U R R E N T L Y E D I T I N G & R E W R I T I N G * BOOK 1 - THE LOMBARDI SERIES L I L Y At the tender age of twelve, Lily has never seen the world beyond the tiny window of her bedroom. She's never known love, or comfort, or care. Growing up with abusive parents and an older brother who seemingly could care less if she lives or dies, she's only ever had herself to rely on in order to keep her from breaking. At least, that was the case. When her family decides to move from California to New York, Lily finds everything she's only ever dreamt of. Friends, happiness... family? What happens when Lily meets the Lombardi brothers and finds out her entire life has been a lie? - T R I G G E R W A R N I N G this story contains; abuse, self-harm, anxiety, drugs, mental illness, mature scenes (SA), forbidden romance and panic attacks. there will be trigger warnings at the top of each chapter. - BOOK ONE OF THE LOMBARDI SERIES. • Book 2 - IF I STAY - Leo (complete) • Book 3 - BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME - Jack (ongoing) - 1 in #Care 1 in #Help 1 in #Bambino 1 in #LongLostSiblings 1 in #BabySister 1 in #Reunited 1 in #Saving 1 in #Friends 1 in #Childhood 1 in #Anxiety 2 in #Secrets 2 in #LittleSister 2 in #Abused 3 in #OlderBrothers 3 in #Family 6 in #Brothers 6 in #Twins - S T A R T E D - 2O|12|2O21 C O M P L E T E D - 4|O4|2O22 - C O P Y R I G H T ALL RIGHTS RESERVED @shanlivx

He locked his eyes with hers advancing towards where she was standing . Tahira took baby steps backwards, fear evident in her eyes. All she could sense was lust and greed for her body in his eyes. Soon she found her back hitting the wall. Her heart thumped wildly. As soon as he approached her he scooped her towards him sliding his arm around her waist . "Please....don't.." she muttered more to herself and soon found him crashing his lips to hers with full force. Taking out all his frustration he bit them savagely. She muffled a cry trying to loosen herself from his deathly grip. With all the strength she had she pushed him back. He was forced to take a step backwards. Taking her shot she tried to run only to find herself tripping over his foot and twisting her ankle. She let out a scream and fell down with tears streaming down her face. It was only then that he realized what he was doing. With anger and guilt in his eyes he stormed out of the room. On their wedding night Nilay point blankly clarifies that he is in a relationship with somebody else and Tahira will have to put up with that. Will her dream of a fairytale marriage come to an end? Will she hate him or still fall for him?

~ A forced bride's depressing world collides with a wounded gangster on the run. Will this collision bring more chaos or will it be start of a new beginning? ~ FULL SUMMARY, AESTHETICS AND EXCERPT INSIDE. Cover by @Emalax

~~~ Ryder's face turned angry as he pushed me back up against a wall. His face hovered inches from mine. I could feel his hot breath on my lips that smelled like cinnamon. With his chest pressed up against mine, my heart was beating rapidly while he smirked and leaned closer, if that was even possible. "Don't mess with me Ruby. You won't like the consequences." "And what would those be?" I asked breathlessly. His lips brushed against my ear and I drew in a breath. I could feel him smiling. "You'll see." ~~~ Ryder Daniels is arrogant, cocky, and your typical bad boy. He fights, rides a motorcycle, and attracts as many girls as a local Starbucks would. With his Greek God body, every girl falls for him, but he only breaks their hearts by playing them. Ruby Buchanan is the new girl, but not the nerdy one that would get picked on, but a fighter. After her parent's divorce, she had to move from sunny California to cold Pennsylvania. The only way she can get the stress and frustration out from her is to fight. With an unexpected run in with the school's hot 'bad boy', she needs to stay away from this annoying prick with his perfect looks and smirk. She also unfortunately finds out that he's her neighbor. But after spending time with Ryder, will she be able to keep her feelings at bay? Or will she realize that there are deeper feelings toward Ryder than she thought? And when Ryder finds out the twisted past about Ruby, will he run to the hills, or fight for her? ACTUAL COMPLETION DATE: 1/27/2015 This book is now published on Barnes and Noble NOOK, Amazon Kindle, Apple iBookstore, Lulu, and Kobo bookstores FOR FREE!

{FIRST BOOK IN 'THE GIRL IN THE HOODIE' SERIES} {2014-2018} A girl moved to California two years ago. No one knows what she looks like. All they know is that she wears a hoodie. *~*~*~* "HOLY SHIT, NOAH! WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU LET THE TROLLEY GO?! COME BACK! OH MY FUCKING LIFE, FIZZY DRINKS UP AHEAD--" BANG FIZZ POP "...am I dead?" I'm suddenly grabbed by the back of my hoodie and pulled up from the ground and out of the mess of the opened bottles of fizzy which had exploded when the trolley and I crashed into them. My hands instantly go to my hood and I sigh in relief to find that it hadn't fallen off through all of that. I turn my head and look the the employee who's holding me, his face completely red and the vein in his neck throbbing. "Wassup, dude?" I smile sheepishly. *~* {HIGHEST RANKINGS: #1 in Funny #1 in Sad And #1 in Cancer apparently }

BEING PUBLISHED BY W BY WATTPAD FREE STORY. PAID BONUS CHAPTERS. Two complete opposites. One assignment. After making it through her freshman year at the University of Southern California. Avalon Miller planned to get through sophomore year and every year after that by doing the same thing. Fitting in. What more could she possibly want? Apparently, a confident and sexy football player who has every girl falling at his feet. Everyone except Avalon, anyway. Her plan for staying under the radar vanishes into oblivion when she must spend the entire semester with the football players, including the senior heartthrob and star quarterback Noah Jackson. When Avalon crashes into his life and doesn't fall to his feet like every other girl, it's a breath of fresh air. One he can't get enough of. He introduces her to the life of a football player, but never expected to take an interest in her along the way. Something no one, not even him, expected as he doesn't date. Both of them are holding back from loving again due to their past relationships but love is something he didn't even know he was looking for until she walked into his life and something, she didn't know she was missing until she falls in love with him along the way. A journalism major and a football player...what could possibly go wrong? [The Jackson Family Series Book 1]

#1 Amelia has had a tough life and it all got even worse when her dad returned from his trip. He sold her to the Perez family for money. How could he do such thing? Will she ever feel happy again? Being forced to marry the one and only Ezra Perez. One of the greatest mafias out there, of course she wasn't going to be happy. It all feels like a never ending nightmare. Knowing all the rumors about him is enough to know that he is a cruel monster. His only mission in life is to get revenge and kill people. Are these rumors true? Is he as bad as Amelia thinks? *** She is a strong girl who knows how to smile through pain. Her bubbly personality is what Ezra Perez hate about her, but somehow he likes being around her. He is a boy who's been following his dads orders his whole life. He knows only how to be cruel to people and therefore doesn't let anyone get close to him. He has never met a girl like her and it drives him crazy because he can't stay away from her. Highest rankings: #1 tiktok #1 romancefanfiction #2 mafialove #2 enemy #2 mafiastory

'When I first saw you I said Mashallah and then I said Inshallah' ...... From innocently stalking to fumbling through conversations, she's a walking disaster of charm and sincerity, even if it doesn't always come out right. He's the type to hold his patience like a shield, but even the most patient man can't avoid the chaos that follows this cute, no-sense girl wherever she goes "I am so close to smacking your head with this pen now. Don't get on my nerves anymore and tell me what I said the next step would be!" The patient man, who can no longer be called patient, glares at the poor girl who is pressing her lips tightly together, trying not to let out a sniff, while holding the hem of her shawl so tightly that it will definitely leave wrinkles. "You said..." she starts quietly but ends up bursting when she cannot remember exactly what he taught her. "That you wouldn't be rude! But you're so rude! I don't want to learn from you!" she tried. But couldn't hold back from snapping at his rudeness. Sniffing, she glares at him as he looks at her, clearly annoyed. "You're impossible," he mutters, shaking his head. Yet somehow, there's a smile hiding behind that stern look because nobody can ignore her cuteness. "Jerk," she mumbles to herself before quickly glancing up with wide, innocent eyes, hoping he didn't hear. It's a love story that's as sweet as it is ridiculous, filled with more laughter than either of them ever expected.