365 Nights, Two Stepbrothers, One Me.
I moaned out his name. "Damien, you are not trying hard to get me, yet .."
He smirked and whispered to my ears. "I like being hard, Not "trying" hard."
When Lila Sinclair's mother is sentenced to life in prison, her world collapses overnight. With nowhere else to go, she is taken in by Sebastian Blackwood, her mother's former lover. A powerful, reserved man who agrees to shelter her under strict conditions.
Lila is placed in his household... and into a life she never asked for, sharing a roof with two stepbrothers who change everything.
Damien is danger wrapped in charm...intense, controlling, and impossible to ignore. Ethan, on the other hand, is steady, kind, and grounding...the only place she feels safe when everything else feels like it's slipping away.
But Lila's situation comes with a hidden clause: her stay in the country is temporary. Within 365 days, her legal protection expires. To remain, she must marry one of the Blackwood heirs.
One house. Two brothers. Twelve months of blurred lines, buried secrets, and emotions she was never meant to feel.
As desire clashes with safety and passion wars with peace, Lila is forced into a choice that could secure her future...or destroy it completely.
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Chapter 2
Lila Sinclair's POV
I turned a little to the left, then back to the right, staring at my reflection in the floor-length mirror. My long dark hair tumbled down my shoulders, still damp from my quick shower, while the white sundress clung to my curves in a way I wasn't sure was too much. I pouted at my reflection, then lifted my phone closer to my face where JoJo's grin filled the screen.
"What do you think?" I asked, stepping back so he could see the full fit. "Cute or trying too hard?"
JoJo squinted exaggeratedly, making me laugh.
"Hmm... cute, yeah, but you're definitely trying too hard. You look like you're about to attend your own engagement brunch."
I gasped dramatically. "Rude! This is my first full day in this mansion, Jo. I can't look homeless."
He smirked. "You'd look hot in a potato sack and you know it. But seriously, babe, maybe go with the denim shorts and that little top I like. You don't wanna look like you're waiting for daddy to introduce you to a billionaire husband."
I rolled my eyes but smiled anyway, tugging at the hem of my sundress. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one who has to live here for the next year. I need to make an impression. A good one."
JoJo tilted his head, his tone softening. "Lila, you'll make an impression just by breathing. These people are not ready for you."
That made me laugh, and I spun slowly, still checking myself out. The mansion was quiet, too quiet, and my nerves were buzzing.
"So shorts?" I asked, pausing mid-spin.
"Yes. With that black crop top. Show a little skin. Remind them you're not just some scared little girl they dragged in here."
I was about to reply when a sharp sound cut through the silence, the unmistakable shatter of glass. My head snapped toward the hallway.
"What the hell was that?" I whispered.
JoJo frowned. "Maybe the maid dropped something?"
I shook my head quickly. "No. Clara told me all the staff left for their summer vacation this morning. It's just me here. Well, and..." My stomach tightened. "...them."
JoJo raised a brow. "Lila..."
"Shh." I pressed a finger to my lips instinctively, tiptoeing to the door. My phone wobbled in my hand as I whispered, "I swear I heard something. I'm checking."
He groaned. "Or maybe don't go toward the creepy sound like every dumb girl in a horror movie?"
I ignored him and walked down the next room where the sound came from, It was Ethan's room. I paused. "Uh, Jo, do you think I should...uh...go in?"
"Hey, don't ask me that dumb ass question, I heard nothing." JoJo voiced out his face popping out.
I pushed the door open, stepping into the dim hallway. "See?" I whispered into the phone. "Nobody's here."
And then..
The bathroom door across the hall swung open.
Steam rolled out, followed by a tall figure with a towel slung dangerously low on his hips. My heart stuttered in my chest. He was wet, water dripping from tousled brown hair onto a chest that looked sculpted from sin itself. Muscles carved and lean, abs glistening with droplets that slid down and disappeared beneath that thin white towel.
I froze.
He froze.
And then those honey-brown eyes lifted, locking right onto mine.
"Who's that?" he asked smoothly, nodding toward the phone in my hand.
My throat went dry. Without thinking, I stabbed the screen and ended the FaceTime call with JoJo, cutting him off before he could say a word. The silence that followed was deafening.
Now it was just me and... him.
He arched a brow, a slow smile tugging at his lips. "Well, you're definitely not a maid. So..." He took a step closer, voice teasing. "...are you the new wife-to-be my father brought home for Damien?"
Heat flared in my cheeks. "Excuse me?"
He chuckled, the sound low and warm. "Relax, princess. I'm kidding. Kind of." He leaned against the doorframe, unbothered that his towel barely covered him. "So what's your name?"
I swallowed, forcing my voice steady. "Lila. I'm... I'm your father's adopted daughter. he told you right?"
His smile widened, flashing perfect teeth. "Adopted daughter. Mmm... I don't recall him ever saying such but I think that explains why I've never seen you before. Ethan Blackwood." He gave a small bow of his head, his damp hair falling into his eyes in the sexiest way. "Second son. The hottest and sexiest, depending on who you ask."
Despite myself, I laughed. "And what does that mean?"
"It means I'm not Damien." He winked. "Trust me, you'll get it when you meet him."
The way he said Damien's name made me curious and nervous all at once. I shifted my weight, trying not to stare too hard at the water sliding down Ethan's chest. "You scared the hell out of me."
"Sorry about the glass." He lifted his hand, revealing the remains of a broken tumbler still on the counter behind him. "Slipped when I grabbed it. My bad. Didn't mean to freak you out."
Something about the ease in his tone, the way he carried himself half-naked like it was nothing, made me relax without realizing it.
"So," he said, tilting his head, eyes scanning me from head to toe in a way that made my skin burn. "First day, huh? Should I call you Lila...no Lil baby or Sis?"
I chuckled. "I think I would go with Lil baby, God forbid a girl loves Lil tjay."
I shrugged as he gave me a kick. "The way you kiss me while I'm stroking deep insida ya, I swear you ride me so good."
"That pussy blew me away, I've been thinking about your smile." I kept on singing along as we both snapped our fingers.
"No no no...I'm fucking bare down here, don't get me on." We both laughed out loud and for some reasons, talking to him felt safe. He was so free and jovial.
"So, tell me. How's mansion life treating you?"
I let out a nervous laugh. "Intimidating."
"Don't be intimidated. You'll get used to it. This place can feel... cold sometimes." His gaze softened, and suddenly he looked less like a cocky stranger and more like someone genuinely trying to make me comfortable. "But you've got me now."
"Got you?" I raised a brow, unable to help the smile tugging at my lips.
"Yeah. Tour guide. Partner-in-crime. Confidant. Whatever you need." He shrugged, casual and charming. "Trust me, Lila. You're gonna want someone on your side in this house."
I opened my mouth to reply, but the heavy sound of footsteps cut me off. We both turned as Mr. Harrington entered the hallway, his smile warm and fatherly as his eyes landed on me.
"There you are," he said kindly, gesturing for me to come closer. "Ethan, I see you've already met Lila."
"Met?" Ethan smirked, glancing at me. "We've practically bonded."
My cheeks flamed as Mr. Harrington chuckled. "Well, Lila, this is my son Ethan. And Ethan, this is Lila.... the daughter I told you and Damien about."
Ethan looked at me again, eyes glinting. "Daughter, huh? Guess I'll have to behave then."
Mr. Harrington gave him a knowing look but kept smiling. "She's family now, Ethan. Make her feel at home."
Ethan pressed a hand over his chest, mock serious. "Don't worry, Dad. I've got this covered." Then, lower, just for me, "Welcome to the mansion, princess."
"Thank youuuu..." I blushed, as we laughed out.
And in that moment, I couldn't tell if I felt more relieved... or in danger.
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9.7
Eliana Rivera is the firstborn daughter of business tycoon Cassian Rivera. When her father's company falls into debt, he marries her off to the arrogant and ruthless billionaire, Alexander Grayson, as part of a business contract and under the threat of blackmail.
Alexander, the billionaire CEO, never planned to marry, but the pressure of blackmail forces him into a union with a woman he barely knows. Although Eliana doesn't see Alexander as her ideal partner, she agrees to the marriage out of a sense of duty.
Once engaged, however, he barely acknowledges her presence and harbours disdain for her because of her father's actions and their relationship. But as they navigate their newfound relationship, the unexpected desire for each other's touch ignites-a twist neither of them planned, leading them toward an unforeseen love.
8.2
At my ten-week ultrasound, I was supposed to be celebrating the future of the Falcone family. I was Isabella Falcone, wife to the most powerful Don in the south.
But when the nurse called my name, the man who stood up beside his pregnant mistress was my husband.
In the sterile silence of that waiting room, he chose her. He later confessed he was being blackmailed by her family-a weakness that was a death sentence in our world. That night, he moved his mistress into our home, into my bedroom, and locked me away like a prisoner in the staff quarters. He wasn't imprisoning his wife; he was guarding an asset. He needed the legitimate heir I carried to save his crumbling empire.
His betrayal was absolute when his own mother and my adoptive parents arrived while he was away. They forced me to sign divorce papers, then told me they were taking me to a clinic. His mother pulled out a gun and pointed not at my head, but at my stomach.
"We're terminating this complication," she said coldly.
As they dragged me from the house, my world went dark. But through the haze, I saw a fleet of black cars blocking the gate. An army of men poured out, led by a face I had only ever seen in a photograph. Days earlier, locked in my room, I made a single phone call to the only man more powerful than my husband: my biological father, the head of the Chicago Outfit. And he had come to collect his daughter.
8.5
Alexandrea woke up with a splitting headache in a strange hotel bed, terrified to find a brutally handsome, half-naked stranger beside her.
Before she could even scream, the door burst open. Her adoptive mother, Ivette, stormed in with a swarm of reporters and flashing cameras.
"How could you disgrace our family name like this?"
Ivette sobbed, putting on a theatrical performance of a heartbroken mother. It was a setup to completely ruin Alexandrea's reputation in front of New York's elite.
For ten years, Alexandrea had lived in a house of horrors. Her back and arms were covered in silvery scars and puckered cigarette burns left by Ivette's vicious abuse.
Yet to the public, Ivette had carefully crafted Alexandrea's image as a wild, ungrateful, and manipulative liar.
Trapped under the duvet, Alexandrea was drowning in shame, her voice lost in the storm of accusations.
She didn't understand why her adoptive family hated her so much, treating her worse than a stray dog while using her brother's future to keep her chained.
But what she understood even less was the stranger beside her.
Instead of panicking, the man slowly sat up, his presence alone silencing the frantic room. He was Ace Griffith, the billionaire heir who owned half of Manhattan.
He wrapped his suit jacket around her trembling shoulders, looked Ivette dead in the eye, and dropped a bomb.
"I will be marrying her."
Then, he carried Alexandrea away from her ten-year prison, ordering his men to dig up the Terry family's darkest secrets and her true identity.
7.5
I was the supreme architect of reality. Now I'm trapped in a womb with my twin brother Jaden, and he's already trying to kill me.
Born with a Void Lord core, Jaden is a gluttonous black hole that started draining my life force before I even had eyelids. Unfortunately for him, my ancient soul came with me. I crushed his consciousness, chained his dark power, and established the only rule that matters: Sister is God.
Three years later, he's a whimpering, chocolate-donut-obsessed mess who cries when I threaten to cancel snack time. I've got a demonic shadow bird enforcing my orders and a mother who has no idea her adorable daughter is secretly terrifying.
But when assassins hunting my family corner us in the forest, I have to stop playing cute. They see a toddler in pink overalls. I show them what an architect of reality looks like.
My twin is a Void Lord destined to consume worlds. He still flinches when I raise an eyebrow. Some hierarchies are eternal.
8.8
Bella Danvers aka Isabella Powell is a 20-year-old college student who encountered the hot and ruthless CEO of the Rinaldi Corporation, Gabriel Rinaldi. They had a forgetful one-night stand that took a turn for the worst. Will he be able to find her before he is forced into an arranged marriage? Will she be able to tell him the news? Or will they be forced apart?
7.4
Our Affairs
7.4
For three long years, my husband Richard has refused to touch me. All because of one tragic accident that stole our three-month-old baby... an accident that wasn't even my fault.
I tried everything to win him back. I begged, I cried, I seduced. Nothing worked.
Desperate and burning with unmet desire, I found myself drawn to my new boss, Teddy. With one smoldering look, he awakens the fire I thought had died inside me. I crave him. I need him. But I'm still married... and I still love Richard with all my heart.
Then came the business trip that shattered everything.
In a single night, I discovered Richard's secret-he's been cheating on me all along.
Rage and years of pent-up hunger collided. That night, I finally unleashed.
But after the trip what becomes of me, my husband and my boss, even his lover.