[The Wattys 2025 Shortlist] ********** She spent twenty-four years preserving herself for one man-only for him to choose her best friend instead. Tomorrow, they would vow eternity to each other, while she remained nothing but a spectator to a love she had longed for. Desperate, she devised a plan, one final chance to make him hers. A single drop of aphrodisiac, a carefully orchestrated encounter-she would take what was meant to be hers. But fate had other plans. In the darkness of her deceit, she fell into the arms of the wrong man. A ruthless, merciless, and identical in every way except for the shadows that clung to him like a second skin. Her trickery had backfired, and now, she was at the mercy of a man whose hunger knew no bounds. He devoured her, claimed her, and became intoxicated by her taste, scent, and the desperate, helpless moans she never intended for him. She had set a trap, but it was she who had been ensnared. In her desperation, she had tasted her own poison. And he had found a new obsession. *********************************** Started: March 22, 2025 Ended: April 21, 2025 Revised: August 2, 2025

Men were just pretty distractions she used and discarded. Commitment bored her. Control thrilled her. Until the night he just saved her. He wasn't a name she could tame-he was danger wrapped in secrets, a trap she walked into smiling. Now she's the one caged, tangled in silk, steel, and a desire that eats her alive. He doesn't return what he takes; he claims it until it shines only for him. But in the heat of their obsession lies the truth she can't outrun. He might know what happened to her best friend she'd die for. She has to choose between the man who's destroying her beautifully, or the best friend who vanished without a trace. In her twisted possession, she has become the one possessed. And he has found the perfect jewel to ruin. *********************************** Started: May 1, 2025 Ended: July 21, 2025

He was her first everything. She was his only softness in a world built on blood. They were childhood sweethearts-first friend, first kiss, first love-two hearts learning to beat in sync before the world taught them what their last names truly meant. In the world of mafia bloodlines, love means nothing when your name is wrong. Born into rival families, they were torn apart by a war that demanded loyalty over desire. Because in the mafia, love is a liability. Years passed. Families turned colder. Promises burned. Now, she wears another man's ring-a strategic engagement, a future carved in power. She buried every trace of him-of them-beneath silence and duty. Until the day he returns. And steals her. No explanation. No apology. Just chains of memory, venomous love, and a touch that still knows every inch of her soul. He is no longer the boy she loved. He is sharper now. Untamed. Unforgiving. Yet something lingers behind the rage in his eyes-something she doesn't understand. As they run from the enemies hunting them both, she's forced to confront the cruelest truth of all: The past never stayed buried. And the boy she once loved... may be the man who destroys her. *********************************** Started: August 09, 2025 Ended: September 26, 2025

He was born a weapon, sharpened by blood, trained to kill without hesitation. By day, he hides in the quiet halls of a university; by night, he is the mafia's youngest assassin, feared as a shadow that never misses its mark. She was raised in an orphanage, a girl of fragile health and gentle soul. Innocent, modest, and unshakable in her belief that even the darkest heart carries a spark of goodness. Their worlds should never have touched. Yet when fate binds the devil to his lamb, tenderness collides with violence, and devotion becomes a dangerous sin. But in the underworld, innocence is never left untainted. Enemies are quick to notice where his gaze lingers, and in her weakness, they see his only vulnerability. To love her is to defy his bloodline. To protect her is to betray everything he was trained to be. When the choice comes; to take her life, or give up his own? An assassin will finally learn what it means to have a heart. *********************************** Started: September 02, 2025 Ended: November 28, 2025

DO NOT READ THIS W/OUT READING THE RDS1-4! ********** He rules with iron and fire, a heart built for war and vengeance. She burns with quiet rebellion, a soul that dares to challenge his throne. Together, they are bound by a vow that was never meant to be holy-only unbreakable. But when secrets fester in the shadows, and rivals close in with knives sharpened by envy, their empire trembles. Love becomes both weapon and weakness, and every lie carries a price to be paid in blood. In a world where crowns are carved from ruin, and loyalty demands sacrifice, one truth remains: to be vowbound to a monster is to risk becoming one.