"You shouldn't trust me, Ria..." "You don't know when I could ruin you..." It wasn't easy for the mafia boss, Leonardo Romano to reach the highly respected position of a Don; the sacrifices made were irreversible. Beneath the facade of his emotionless mask, hid a broken, vulnerable boy who was slowly losing the will to live. With a stalker on the loose abducting young ballerinas and the power of her company slipping away, the ballet industry's star, Maria Amante, had no choice but to return to her childhood love, who she was separated from years before. Through a fake engagement, the two navigate through their childhood trauma, adverse experiences and most importantly, their dysfunctional relationship that had been destroyed in the past. But with hidden secrets and unrevealed realities, there seems to be more than what they think they knew about each other, the world and themselves. nepenthe (n.) that which chases sorrow away. ∘₊✧──────✧₊∘ *Important Note Inside* Romano Brothers - Book One Featured on Wattpad's Romance Profile Reading List: Fake and Arranged Relations - 08/24.

⚠️BE WARNED⚠️: This book is a dark romance and contains abusive and mature content. Consensual sex scenes aka smut. The smut is heavy, so is my plot, but warnings are put. Consent is always in the chapter. ♥️ ILLICIT DESIRES - A dark-romance mafia novel Rita Barrera cherishes the beauty of Mother Nature, but her love is lethal. She paints her lips with the colors of her venomous flowers as lipstick. One innocent kiss is all it takes for her target to fall dead beneath her lips. Roman Esposito thrives on havoc. A bounty hunter with hands adept at killing, slick with blood, he earned the reputation of the Devil's Hand. He kills without blinking, without flinching. He kills for others. He kills for his boss, Antonio Alessi. But no one ever killed for him, until Rita pressed a deadly kiss onto the lips of an old hag who came for him. He owes her a kiss. He repaid it the only way he knows how, tasting her, in the dark, illicitly, on her other lips, hidden under an emerald thong. Yet the life she took for him remains unpaid. Ironically, the next soul on his list, the one he is sworn to send straight to Hell, is hers. What happens when the hunter collides with his hunt? When desire, danger, and debt stall the hands meant to take her life? Is it truly the debt that binds him, or the illicit taste she left on the tip of his tongue? Started: 02.11.2020 Completed: 19.02.2021 ⚠️⚠️⚠️I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO COPY OR TRANSLATE MY WORK! MY BOOKS ARE MY HARD WORK! I PUT TIME AND EFFORT IN THEM! ⚠️⚠️⚠️

18+ ❝ I'm a man of great restraint but seeing you like this is pushing the boundaries of my self control, so bad that I might just pin you against this wall and fuck the life right out of you. ❞ ******* San Francisco royalty, Killian Fobster is an egotistical, manipulative asshole who will rather fuck an octopus on live television than get tied down to a woman. But when his one-night-stand from two months ago shows up in his office with not-so-pleasant news, he has to make certain decisions that may involve going against everything he stands for. With his vicious good looks, skirt-chasing habits, and cold demeanor, he is the last person a sweet girl like Hope Sterling should be involved with, but desperate times call for rather creative measures, and soon after she finds herself trapped in the sham of a fake union that threatens to blossom into something that may change her life forever.

𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐝. I'm in love with him but he's in love with my younger sister and has made that painfully clear to me. "Who are you in love with?" I ask softly, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm in love with Isabella, your sister. She's the only woman I truly care about," he admits, revealing his feelings for my younger sister after we had just gotten married, it hasn't even been twenty-four hours. "I'll fulfill my role as your husband, but don't expect any love or affection. This marriage is just an agreement between our families, nothing more. Do you understand?" His words are cold, piercing through me like arrows. I fight back the tears threatening to fall and manage to reply, "I understand." But my pain would not last long, not until I meet Mr. Russo, Marcello's father who was that head of the Mafia, a dangerous and powerful man who stole my heart.

After being left at the alter by the love of her life, Briella's life starts falling apart. With the betrayal of her ex-fiancé and her ex best friend, she falls into a deep depression, but still keeps a smile on her face. Billionaire Alexander Romero is the heir to his father's company. One rule states that the person next in line to the company must have one thing before they could inherit it. A wife. But when an innocent little girl catches his attention, he finds himself feeling possessive and obsessed with her. An obsession that lead him to trapping her in a contract. She was the light in his dark world. ---- Chapters with * have been edited Highest Ranks: #1 in Betrayal of 106K stories - 9/2/22 #1 in Wattpad of 94.7K stories - 2/17/23 #1 in Book of 89.7K stories - 2/17/23 #1 in Manipulation of 7.6k stories - 10/30/22 #2 in Husband of 13.4K stories - 6/10/23 #3 in Betrayal of 106K stories - 9/3/22 #3 in Manipulation of 7.6k stories - 11/9/22

1St in #possesive 1ST in #abuse 1ST in #arrangedmarriage 1ST in #hatelove 1ST in #rich 1ST in #tortured The next thing she knew was that she was slung on his muscular shoulder. She thrashed her legs, but he carried her as if she weighed no more than a bag of feathers. "Caelum please!" She begged him but he ignored her as he walked through the corridors and into the bedroom. And threw her on the bed. While she was busy recovering her breath, he threw his coat on the floor and started unbuttoning his shirt. "W-what are y-you doing?" she asked. Her face paler than paper. "Exactly what married couples do, love." He said dropping the shirt on the floor, His voice so full of viciousness that she almost choked on them. She dragged herself back on the bed sobbing, "no.." He grabbed her legs and pulled her towards himself. He crawled on top of her. He looked into her terrified eyes and whispered, "You make me do terrible things, my dear Rose." He wiped a stray tear from her chin before grabbing it. "I will bruise your lip and scar your knees and love you too hard.." he brushed his lips on hers, "I will destroy you. And when I leave, You will finally understand why storms are named after humans." ........................... Rosette never had an easy life, and after the death of her mother, when she thought things couldn't get worse, her life started going fully downhill. She was tortured beyond repair in her own house. She could only dream of being loved. She dreamed of getting married and finally breaking free from all these cages, but fate had other plans for her. Her life going totally downhill, turned upside down when she was married to the biggest business tycoon in the city. Will this marriage totally wreck her? Would the promise of love be fulfilled? Would she ever be able to break free?.... Read the story to know :) Cover by ~ @__AK__WRITES Note: This story contains sexual and violent content.

Rebel Simmons was just a girl who was dealt a shitty hand in the game of life. Despite her harsh and abusive upbringing, she worked hard, and studied harder. With an IQ of 252. she's a certified genius and is working towards her Masters Degree in Computer Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford University. When tough times hit and she's desperate for money, she steals $5 Million from an offshore bank account. Little did she know she was stealing from the most ruthless Mafia Boss in the world: Dante Vino. • MATURE THEMES 18+ • Cover designed by Holly Thurston

"Either you become a cheater and fuck me, or you break up with her and still fuck me. I'll win either way." . . "I usually get everything I want. But it wasn't the same case with him. I could show off my sweet smile and flutter my lashes, but that still wouldn't make him mine." At the ripe age of nineteen, it's an understatement to say that Aurora Amoretto's love life is a bit... bland. But what she has yet to discover, is that there will be a certain man who will change that.

When 20-year-old Fallon Lopez lays eyes on a man who's quite a few years older than her, she immediately feels an attraction toward the mysterious man. She finds herself being drawn to him, feeling a spark grow between them and the tension grow thicker by each passing minute. Though, who knew that he was the man she could never have? . . . "You're playing a dangerous game." "Maybe losing has a sweeter taste than victory."

Will be removed 1/1/24 for publishing available on amazon and KU! • 2022 Watty's Romance Shortlist • Caught between her ex and his brother, Maxwell toes the line of love and friendship in the shoes of a 'grooms woman' who refuses to settle down. ****** Fresh out of college and working in her dream role as a graphic designer at one of the most prestigious fashion companies, Maxwell feels that her life is finally falling into place. When the news of her oldest friend (and ex-boyfriend) Finn's wedding brings her back to her parent's vineyard, she assumes 'grooms woman' duties to the man she chose to leave behind all those years ago. Luca, her ex's older brother and now a billionaire CEO, is also back for the first time in over four years, bringing a storm of change with him in the night. As the wedding festivities bring the two closer than ever, Maxwell finds herself undeniably drawn to Luca, much to Finn's increasing irritation. The two struggle with the consequences of their attraction as the sexual tension and emotional connection grows between them, forcing Maxwell to question whether her happiness and desires are worth ripping their families apart and changing the course of her future forever. [[word count: 120,000 - 130,000]] Most Impressive Rankings #1 - friendstolovers #1 - college #1 - friends #1 - collegeromance