the sharp thorns of trust

TRUST IN LOVE — Volume 1 (Completed) TOTAL CHAPTERS: 238 (All Free) SYNOPSIS: See below To live a quiet life away from high society, 14-year old Alex left home and created a new identity. She changed her name as well as her gender.  The catch? She'd lose it all if anyone found out. To prevent exposure, Alex stayed in the side lines and avoided unnecessary interactions. Her cold demeanor drove the other students away. They eventually learned to leave her alone. It didn't take long for two years to pass by as she spent her days in blissful peace. Her secluded life had kept her safe.  Until… That shattered when Logan Parker caught her with extensions in her hair, make-up on her face, heels on her feet and boobs in her dress. Not one to give up, Alex needed to fool him. But how? How will she keep this web of lies afloat? Will her true identity stay as a secret? Or will her borrowed time be over?  Take a peek and discover the biggest secret in this fiction world! ============== BELIEVE IN LOVE — Volume 2 (Ongoing) TOTAL CHAPTERS: 21 (240-281, Free) SYNOPSIS: Chapter 239 ============== Chapter Update: Daily Mass Release: Monthly Bonus Chapter: Per Milestone Trivia: Each Volume = One book Caution: Grammar errors have not been edited because the paragraph comments would be erased if done so. To keep with the consistency, any recurring error has remained. (@insert_nice_usrn: yeah, grammar nazis, I don't want my dear thoughtful comments erased from existence) ============== DISCORD SERVER: https://discord.gg/nU2ErQwFEq All Rights for the final cover belong to WN users, CailinMatthews, CookieJiyen & insert_nice_usrn for the exclusive use of the novel "Trust and Believe in Love" > Credit for the cover's design goes to WN user, CookieJiyen, in collaboration with WN user, insert_nice_usrn. > Font for the cover's text is from www.online-image-editor.com If you have a very kind soul and want to boost my Cai-ffeine spirit, you can go here: https://ko-fi.com/cailinmatthews

He’s her assistant. Loyal. Obedient. Untouchable. Victoria Sharp built her tech empire from scratch. She's rich, ruthless, and always in control. No scandals, no distractions, especially not from a certain devastatingly attractive executive assistant with bewitching eyes and a voice that could ruin her in seconds. James Mitchell has worked under Victoria for three years, hiding his desire behind professionalism and perfect ties. He knows the rules. He respects her boundaries. But when she starts breaking her own, James isn’t sure how long he can keep pretending he doesn’t want her. What begins as subtle tension, lingering stares, coffee with hidden meanings, after-hours “accidental” meetings, spirals into something hotter, darker, and far more dangerous. She’s used to power. He’s used to silence. But neither of them is ready for obsession. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "If you want these lips, then earn them." James's words hung in the air between them, transforming the atmosphere in Victoria's office from tense confrontation to something entirely unprecedented. Victoria sat frozen in her chair, her lips still parted in silent shock, her mind struggling to process what had just transpired. Earn them. The phrase echoed in her thoughts, foreign and disorienting. "If you want to keep tasting these lips, then you'll have to woo me." The additional statement landed like a second shockwave. Woo him? Victoria Sharp didn't woo anyone. ------------- "Victoria, what are you…" James words died in his throat as he felt the warm, wet heat of her tongue against his exposed chest. Victoria had found the gap in his shirt and was licking his skin with deliberate, erotic slowness that made his entire body go rigid with shock and arousal. The sensation was unlike anything James had ever experienced, raw and intimate and so unexpected that it short-circuited his ability to think coherently. Victoria's tongue was warm and soft against his skin, tracing patterns that sent bolts of electricity straight to his core. This was madness, she knew that. But she was past caring about sanity or propriety or any of the rules that had governed her life up until this moment. All she cared about was the man in her arms and the way he made her feel like she was coming alive for the first time in years. Her tongue found the small mole on under his right eye, and she felt James's entire body shudder at the contact. "I love that mole on you," she whispered against his skin, her voice husky with desire. James's eyes slammed shut at the intimate contact, his body betraying him as a soft groan escaped his lips. The sensation of Victoria's tongue on his face was so unexpected, so boldly sensual, that his pulse hammering against his throat. "I will do as you say, James," she said, her voice husky with desire and determination. "I will woo you." The words sent a jolt of satisfaction through James's system, but it was her next statement that made his breath catch. "However, you should know that I am very territorial." "You just sit down, look effortlessly handsome, and prepare to be wooed," she said, her voice carrying all the authority of a woman who was used to getting exactly what she wanted. "Remember, James," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper that somehow managed to carry more authority than any shout ever could. "You are mine." The declaration hung between them like a brand, marking him as surely as if she'd physically claimed him. Enemies-to-lovers tension CEO x Executive Assistant Office slow-burn with high heat Obsession, betrayal, and emotional redemption One woman who’s never been owned and the man she can’t control If you love dominant heroines breaking their own rules, devoted but strong men, and drama that keeps you breathless, then be ready to be will consumed.

Kurt Rosanna. A 24-year-old assassin with a particular lust for killing 'evil people'. This lust causes him to get excommunicated from his work, leaving him jobless. He thinks, however, that this is a good thing because being an assassin meant always looking over your shoulder and being weary of those around you. Now free to do whatever he wants; he decides to turn his life around and live a much better one. That was the plan... until it wasn't. He began seeing people who weren't actually there. Heart palpitations, throbbing headaches, a bleeding nose, everything he felt about himself was wrong. Whatever was happening to him, his body couldn't take it anymore. And so, he fainted. ........ "Hey! Wake up lad!" SPLASH! He got sprayed with water.... magic??? Join Kurt as he navigates and overcomes a new Earth. A place filled with magic, a lunatic cult and academy students who thinks the world revolves around them. Spoilers: It doesn't. . .. ... "I love you, Rosie. No one else can have you, I'll make sure of that." - Diana Valentine ====== What to expect in terms of romance, No Yuri, No NTR, Yandere, Possessive MC, No Harem

Summary of the Story: The Price of Misplaced Trust The story follows Rina, a kind and intelligent girl whose life takes a tragic turn after she rescues her long-lost friend, Leva. While Rina offers Leva loyalty and a home, Leva—hardened by a troubled past—responds with envy and betrayal. Through manipulation and lies, Leva poisons the mind of Rina’s mother, causing her to turn against her own daughter and embrace Leva instead. Feeling abandoned and broken, Rina finds a brief moment of solace in caring for a stray kitten, but its eventual death plunges her back into despair. In a cruel twist of fate, Rina is accidentally struck and killed by a car driven by her own mother, who was searching for her in a state of distress. Upon realizing she has killed her daughter due to her blind trust in Leva’s lies, the mother loses her mind. The story serves as a haunting warning about the dangers of hasty judgments and the devastating consequences of misplaced trust.

[WARNING: MATURE CONTENT] Every piece of her armour will fall under the young General's scrutinizing gaze. *Daily updates / Revised&Resub.* *********************************** Where are you to hide when war comes to find you, but in plain sight, among the fighting armies? Come read the Tale of Tales, Where Flowers shed their petals To unveil deadly blades... *********************************** Soo-Ah, the girl with the heart of a flower had to disguise herself as a boy. It was the only way she could call the battlefield home. But all guises fall under The Generals' scrutinizing gaze. Can she put her trust in Sung-Ho, but most importantly can she trust herself? Time will tell, and a long-lost friend. Follow Soo-Ah as she grows up, unaware of the disaster coming her way, fighting to keep her identity and her life, and thrust into the care of a man who was born to beguile her reason. But now that she got reunited with Jung-In, her beloved childhood friend, she finally has an ally. Unless he has his own plans for her. ************************************* This novel has a historical setting, in old Korea, when the great Silla people unified the lands of the Three Kingdoms. It is a slice-of-life story seasoned with some spice on the side, that will carry you from the rural setting of old villages through the tents of a military camp and all the way to Seorabeol, the capital city. 18+ rating - explicit scenes of sexual nature, mild violence, death on the page. The story is divided into a 3 books series(projected chapter count: 200) [Cover design by author_aruel]

“The one you don’t have feelings for will be the one you fall for. But the one you think you adored once will be the one you will hate with your soul. Beware of the sweet honey that will blind your judgment, but follow the scent of flowers. They will be the answer to your hunch. And remember, you are nothing but a pawn to these up high, so keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.” When Akila, a normal young girl, is kidnapped to have an offspring in order to provide an heir for her king, she is thrust into the middle of a power struggle between the gods and the mortal realm. After being captivated by her emerald green eyes, Ramses IV decided to make her his queen. Who could have predicted that a chance encounter would eventually result in the end of his reign? In the midst of the anarchy, the sorcery, and the magical beings, how far would Akila go to save her child? Would Ramses choose to make his new family his priority? His Sister? Or his kingdom? Disclaimer... This book might be built on some real facts and accurate events but the story and its characters are all made up and doesn't represent how the Egyptian history was or its reality. This entirely is a work of fiction and shouldn't be taken as reference to anything related to this civilization and its history.

Moao was a feared Necromancer who plunged the nations into chaos on her quest to rid herself of the curse by the God of Reincarnation. After her death as the feared Necromancer, she expects to find herself in a new world as a newborn baby. However, she wakes up in the same world as Mo Zao, a completely different person. Soon after, she reunites with her greatest enemy: Raylon, the Prince of the Phoenix nation who suffered as a result of her dark desires. Raylon's righteous and fair personality was completely transformed. He now killed on a whim, was quick to anger, and had a violent nature. What was the point of her returning to the world she ruined? Was she meant to fix her wrongs? Was she meant to be punished for her sins? And what will happen if the Phoenix Prince discovers her identity? Updates daily (~1500 words per ch)

Villains roam the world without any retribution. Demonic sects wage war against the Orthodox and emerge victorious. Neutral tribes stand by and do not help the worthy – they only look to profit from others’ misfortune. Meanwhile, fresh dangers brew beneath the turbulent waves... Might is right in the world of cultivators, and evil often goes unchecked. Isaac Dahl is born in the barren and chaotic lands of Northern Tundra. He shows promise, yet his sect holds no hope for him. ‘He might be an intelligent child, but his talent is mediocre. Bah... what can he amount to?’ Without resources or help; without kindness nor assistance from others, there is only oneself. Human relationships? Love? Kinship? I only see benefits, as others are unreliable. I can only believe in myself. This is the truth that Isaac realises. This is the truth that his sect – which proclaims itself as a Blood Path Sect – fails to notice. They are naïve. His heart is cold and his gaze is determined, but Isaac’s path forwards will not be an easy one. It will be filled with obstacles, danger and disaster. Will Isaac clamber over the bodies of those who stand in his way? Or will they drag him down with them?

In a remote village shadowed by an ancient, cursed castle, Belle Laurent has always been the girl who reads forbidden things. Restless, sharp-minded, and haunted by desires she barely understands, she offers herself in her father’s place when the Beast of the castle comes to collect a long-overdue debt. The bargain is simple and absolute: her freedom for his. The creature who accepts her is Ravyn — once a high fae lord, now a monstrous, horned exile bound by a centuries-old curse. The magic that holds him is tied to an enchanted rose; when the last petal falls, he will either be freed or lost forever. Belle is meant to be a temporary distraction, a mortal diversion while the petals continue their slow descent. Instead, she becomes the one thing the curse never accounted for. What begins as captivity deepens into a dangerous, mutual obsession. Inside the living castle — with its shifting corridors, semi-sentient servants, and gardens of luminous white roses — Belle and Ravyn are drawn into a slow-burn claim marked by psychological warfare, power exchange, and escalating intimacy. Dreams bleed into waking life. A blood bond forms. Belle’s latent Sight awakens. And when she discovers the true conditions of the curse, she chooses not to run from them. On the night the final petal falls, Belle takes Ravyn completely and speaks his true name in the moment of mutual climax. The curse breaks. Ravyn is transformed — still powerful, still marked by horns and golden eyes, but no longer only a beast. The castle itself begins to heal. For a brief time, it seems they might simply be allowed to exist. They are not. The breaking of an ancient high-fae curse by a mortal woman through mutual claim sends shockwaves through the hidden political world of the fae. The Blood Court takes notice. A conservative faction led by the patient and ruthless Lord-Inferior Caelthas decides that the precedent is too dangerous to leave standing. What follows is not a simple siege, but a long, sophisticated campaign to reframe the bond as unstable, illegitimate, and in need of external correction. Belle and Ravyn are forced to defend not only their territory, but the right of their claim to exist without supervision. They endure narrative warfare, procedural traps, the arrival of a Court observer, and finally a specialist-grade magical assault designed to force a catastrophic feedback event through their true-name bond — an attack engineered to look like the claim itself collapsing under its own nature. They refuse to break. In the aftermath of the failed strike, the political ground shifts decisively. The Blood Court issues a formal determination: the resonance assault is condemned as external aggression, the bond is reaffirmed, and the pair are left under a status of Observed Autonomy — contained, recognized, and no longer an open question of legitimacy. Caelthas’s campaign collapses. The long war over the right of the claim to exist comes to an end. What remains is quieter, harder, and more alive than victory. In the recovered gardens of white roses, Belle and Ravyn begin the work of living after the fight for their legitimacy is over. The castle settles into a new kind of peace. The bond, tested by desire, blood, true name, and every external instrument raised against it, endures. And in time, the next generation moves between the luminous blooms — proof that the claim was never only a wartime necessity, but a living thing that outlasted the war fought over it.

Decorated Baltimore police officer Cameron Andrews played "rogue cop" so she could legally be sent to prison to work undercover to solve a case the DEA hadn't been able to crack. Now that she's out, she's assigned to investigate a designer drug on the streets of Baltimore. It’s already taken the lives of nine young people and no one knows where it's coming from or who's making it.<br><br>After fighting to protect a young woman in an alley, Cam is hired to work for one of the men her superior thinks may be close to the drug ring. But a very alluring woman is determined to seduce Cam, and she just may hold the key to it all.<br><br>Can Cam elude the woman’s advances and find the drug manufacturer before her cover is blown? Or will her life end before she can report her findings?