
Digital Hearts
Odeimor Junior Alfred · Ongoing · 235.9k Words
Introduction
As Arabella stalks Cassian Hawthorne’s cutting-edge tech headquarters, sleek hallways with faultless lighting inside glass buildings, she is thrown into a maelstrom of passion and danger. Her own burgeoning feelings for Cassian, a visionary hellbent on erasing isolation, may not even be her own—perhaps Astra has been playing with her emotions? The callous corporate ambitions of Darius Knight and the dire portents of Dr Vivienne Sinclair push her to face a painful reality: In a world that uses data to stave off want, authenticity is a privilege.
In “Digital Hearts,” every beat of the heart is scrambled to the ticking clock of ethical compromise. As Arabella struggles to distinguish between true connection and artificial care, will she embrace the transformative potential of technology — or resist the human spirit that it threatens to consume?
Will she take the chance to trust her heart, or will Astra’s digital seductiveness claim her agency?
Chapter 1
Arabella Sterling awoke to the gentle hum of her automated blinds opening, exposing the sprawling, neon-lit skyline of Meridian City. Dawn’s early light bounced off glass towers, spilling cheerful colors into her small apartment. The room was a combination of modern minimalism and understated technology—a reflection of the city’s fixation with progress. Smart surfaces showed the schedule for the day, a holographic assistant started reading the latest headlines.
She took a stretch, fragments of a strange dream troubling the corners of her brain. In the dream, an unrecognizable hell-hound had reached out for help, and their voice had ricocheted off a void. That memory haunted her conscience, pulled at it, torturing her with images of her years as a social worker, visiting the worst vulnerabilities that people knew.
As Arabella walked toward the kitchen, she could smell the holographic food-prep assistant preparing synthetic coffee. She got a cup and poured, fingertips grazing the cool, smooth texture of the countertop. The energy of the city was palpable, a never-ending reminder of the technological advance that both eased and choked her.
What was carved out of her morning routine was interrupted by a soft chime coming from her wall display. An envelope on the screen blinked insistently, catching her eye. Out of curiosity, she stepped forward to the display and gently tapped it. With a soft animation, the envelope opened to reveal a sleek and minimalist invitation to a tech conglomerate known for its cutting-edge AI developments: Hawthorne Innovations.
“Dear Ms. Sterling,” the message read, “We are excited to invite you to join in the beta testing of our latest project, Astra — an empathic A.I. that aims to revolutionize how we interact with each other as human beings. Your experience with the work in emotional well-being makes you a perfect candidate to lead this pioneering effort.”
Arabella's heart raced. To be invited by Hawthorne Innovations was both an honor and a mystery. She had, of course, heard things about their ambitious projects, but she had never dealt with them personally. The letter ended with instructions to show up for an orientation session the next morning, and she now felt a jumble of hope and anxiety.
Arabella considered the implications of the invitation while she drank her coffee. This was an opportunity to make a meaningful impact — or was there something more insidious at play? Her instincts, sharpened by years of guiding others through their struggles, told her to be careful. However, the opportunity to contribute to the ethical development of artificial intelligence ignited a glimmer of hope within her.
Electronic music throbbed in the air, the city outside alive with drones and flickering holographic advertisements. From the window, Arabella watched the peaceful morning outside, while the tension boiling inside her beared no resemblanceed. But she feared in taking up this invitation, she would be embarking on a route filled with unforeseen challenges and moral dilemmas.
Arabella stood up as the sun made its ascent into the sky, and covered the city with golden rays. She would go to the orientation with a need to know that technology could be made to really better humanity without sacrificing its humanity at its very core. Unknown to her, however, this decision would tie her destiny with that of Hawthorne Innovations—and the mysterious Cassian Hawthorne—launching them on a path that would challenge the very nature of love, trust, and ethical integrity.
Arabella stepped into the kitchen, the minimalist design of her apartment this clean, muted slate was the opposite of the fracas of feelings in her. Holographic food-prep assistant quickly prepared her breakfast, laying out synthetic fruits and a freshly brewed cup of coffee on the counter. Her fingers hovered over its golden yellow skin before she peeled it open with practiced ease.
She was picking through her dinner while she went over what the invitation from Hawthorne Innovations had contained in her head. She had always regarded the company as a pioneer in the field of AI, but it seemed to her tricks were notoriously hard to pin down. With years of work dedicated to ethical technology development, Arabella had a keen sense of where the boundaries lay between the service of the greater good and the despicable manipulation of human weaknesses. This invitation seemed like a proposition metaphor—or a possible snare.
Her reverie was broken by her wall display gently dinging. This time, it was an alert about the upcoming tech conventions in the city — stuff she had tuned out in favor of more hands-on community work. Her past and present roles made for a stark contrast that neatly illustrated the balancing act she was trying to perform between technology and humanity.
Arabella put her banana down, her eyes on the invitation again. The holographic screen glittered with Hawthorne Innovations' sleek logo at its center, a beacon of advanced progress. She reread the message over and over, lingering over the fine print. It contained no hidden clauses or overt demands — just an honest offer to contribute her skills to the development of Astra.
A knock on her door startled her out of her reverie. And she opened it to the sight of a messenger drone hovering just outside, buzzing gently as it delivered a small package. Arabella took the delivery, noticing the elegant calligraphy inscribed upon the drone, a subtle but sure sign of Hawthorne Innovations' attention to detail. It intrigued her; she carried the package inside, unwrapped the layers, and discovered entwined, plush beings, and high-diddle gadgets — probably a prototype, maybe even the holy interface to Astra's sentient Database.
With each familiar sight, excitement mixed with trepidation coursed through her veins as she examined the device. What part would she have in this grand experiment? The invitation had indicated an opportunity to influence the future of empathetic AI, but Arabella couldn’t shake the undertones of hostility she’d noticed earlier. Years of experience leading others had developed her instincts, which whispered caution.
Arabella called her friend Dahlia Kensington, a razor-tongued digital ethics journalist who had a knack for exposing corporate hucksters. They had worked together on projects shining a light on unethical practices in the tech world, and Arabella trusted Dahlia’s judgment completely.
Dahlia answered, her voice peppy as ever. "Hey, Arabella! Just saw your message. Congrats on the invitation! Sounds exciting."
“Thanks, Dahlia,” Arabella said, sounding worried. "But something feels off. Hawthorne Innovations isn’t exactly a transparent company. Why would they specifically ask for me?”
Dahlia listened, the wheels of her analytical mind turning. “Perhaps they recognize something special in your heritage. Or maybe they’re hoping to rehabilitate their image vis-à-vis an ethical person like you. Either way, stay sharp. These large tech companies are like black boxes — full of secrets you don’t want to know.”
Arabella nodded, taking in her friend’s advice. "I will. I just hope that this opportunity will be what it says it is, to help people with no hidden agenda.”
Dahlia chuckled softly. “When has that ever been so simple? Just watch your back and don’t be afraid to bail if it gets sketchy.”
Arabella hung up the phone feeling reinvigorated. Though she understood that the road ahead wouldn’t be easy — competition would be fierce and technologies constantly evolving — her dedication to a future of ethical innovation eclipsed any notions of fear. Arabella looked up from the package she had just received from Hawthorne Innovations—her conscience still nagging her with Dahlia's serious tone—and braced herself for the blinding eye of the media, not knowing that on the other side of the world, her new partner lurked in the shadows.
The driverless taxi moved like a ghost over the elevated highway as the panoramic windows provided Arabella with an unhindered view of Meridian City’s beating heart. The city pulsed with life—floating billboards blared targeted ads at pedestrians, drones zigzagged between skyscrapers, ferreting out mechanical deliveries like clockwork. The way that AI had embedded itself in virtually every aspect of life was impressive, but also a bit spooky.
Arabella scanned over the holographic dashboard, which had already adjusted the route according to live traffic data and her preferences. She saw a billboard advertising the latest tech-fest, vibrantly colored and blinking, a reflection of the city’s fever dream of innovation. This aspect of the convention brought the promise of cutting-edge developments, pictures of solutions take live, from companies such as Hawthorne Innovations.
It was then that Arabella noticed—as the taxi made its way through the cityscape—that the AI systems around her were having some subtle glitches. On a stormy afternoon, a weather update on a digital billboard had called for lots of sun. In the vicinity, a fleet of delivery drones interrupted flight, hovering in midair, rotors stopping before they started moving normally again. Such minor imperfections were rare, but they were hints of a nebulous flaw in the otherwise perfectly calibrated technological veneer of the city.
She skimmed over a large holo-screen in front of her, displaying a news report about AI being used in public services. The presenter, an AI-generated avatar with lifelike mannerisms, talked about the pros and cons of empathetic AI companions like Astra. Arabella shivered as the segment quietly mirrored her own ethical dilemma. It sounded too much like what Hawthorne Innovations would expect from H.
The holographic advertisements flickered, as a burst of energy disturbed the city of Skytopia, warping their pictures into liquid forms before snapping them back into focus. The self-driving taxi creaked a bit, briefly breaking its smooth gliding pattern. Arabella felt a momentary quickening of heart rate — these glitches were coming more regularly than usual, a possible sign of stresses in the city’s AI infrastructure.
She looked out, saw a drone delivering medical supplies to a nearby building on a trajectory soft enough that its payload poured harmlessly into the street. The drone quickly corrects, and continues its way without missing a beat. Arabella couldn’t shake the feeling that the small disturbances were more than simple technical hiccups; they were splotches of a deeper malfunctioning underneath the smooth surface of the city.
Her train of thought was interrupted by the appearance of a familiar face on the side of the billboard—Cassian Hawthorne, the enigmatic head of Hawthorne Innovations. He was waxing lyrical about Astra’s ability to revolutionise human relationships, his magnetism almost escaping the confines of the hologram. Arabella wavered between interest and wariness. As she later told me, she had only seen his professional persona, but there was an intensity in his eyes that suggested a personal drive far beyond the corporate kind.
As the driverless taxi neared her destination, Arabella couldn’t shake the feeling that Meridian City, with its technological wonders, was hovering at the edge of something monumental. The glitches served as a reminder that even the most sophisticated of systems can trip up, and she thought about whether Astra’s development could serve as a spark that would lead to broader changes — some good, and some that could be perilous. Arabella got out of the taxi and took a deep breath, bracing herself on the way into Hawthorne Innovations. The hidden tensions of the city mirrored her own internal struggles, priming her for the ethical battles and emotional entanglements to come.
Last Chapters
#201 EPILOGUE
Last Updated: 1/20/2026#200 CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED
Last Updated: 1/20/2026#199 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED NINETY-NINE
Last Updated: 1/20/2026#198 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED NINETY-EIGHT
Last Updated: 1/20/2026#197 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED NINETY-SEVEN
Last Updated: 1/20/2026#196 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED NINETY-SIX
Last Updated: 1/20/2026#195 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED NINETY-FIVE
Last Updated: 1/20/2026#194 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED NINETY-FOUR
Last Updated: 1/20/2026#193 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED NINETY-THREE
Last Updated: 1/20/2026#192 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED NINETY-TWO
Last Updated: 1/20/2026
You Might Like 😍
Let Them Kneel
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.
But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.
Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.
When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.
For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.
Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.
But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.
And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.
Especially him.
She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.
Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
What the Heart Wants (Book 1 of the Alpha Faros Series)
Not loving him will cost more.
Derek has one goal: survive high school without drawing too much attention or pissing off his pack’s alpha.
As the youngest son of the alpha, his life is governed by lycan hierarchy, tradition, and politics. With no signs of awakening a lycan spirit, his only value is what he can do for the pack’s image. He knows he’s only ever one misstep away from exile… or worse.
Then, he finds a boy trapped in a locker on orientation day, and everything changes.
Derek shouldn’t want Nikolias. He’s off-limits. A risk Derek can’t afford.
So why does it feel like he’s the only thing worth fighting for?
Nikolias has just lost everything: his parents, his home, and any sense of peace. Sent back to the town his family left years ago to live with his prejudiced and controlling uncle, who wants nothing to do with anything—or anyone—not human, he’s trying to do everything in his power to get out quickly.
But then he meets Derek again, and all of his plans vanish in the soft, yearning flecks of gold in Derek’s green-hazel eyes. He’s drawn to Derek in a way that’s impossible to deny, and he thinks Derek feels the same way, despite the danger their relationship holds for him.
As Moonshadow's politics turn deadly, Derek and Nikolai are caught in the crossfire of a war that had started long before they were born, and their bond becomes a threat and a lifeline that neither can afford to sever.
Because the heart wants what it wants….
And it never asks permission.
TW: Graphic Violence, Suicide Ideation, Suicide Attempt, Child Abuse, Cult-Like Behavior
The Hockey Alpha's Fake Girlfriend
Then there’s Rafael. Dark. Untouchable. The boy everyone talks about but no one really knows. He should be the last person Vivienne gets close to, yet she can’t look away. He pulls her in with a kind of danger that feels both terrifying and safe, like he sees the parts of her no one else can.
But Rafael carries secrets—secrets that could destroy them both. And the closer Vivienne gets, the harder it is to tell if he’s her way out… or the reason she never escapes.
The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
I didn't tell him to stop.
Instead, my fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though it was my only anchor. Something in him snapped—something he had been holding back for too long. His mouth found mine in a kiss that wasn't tender, but hungry, desperate.
I gasped into him, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me as if afraid I might vanish.
"You drive me insane," he breathed against my mouth, his lips trailing to my throat. "I can't lose you, Ella. Not you."
My head fell back, a soft sound escaping me as his fingers memorized my waist. My anger melted beneath his desperation.
"James..." I whispered, more plea than protest.
His hand caught mine, fingers threading together tightly. "I'll bring him back. I swear it. Just... don't turn away from me. Please."
The word please—low, ragged, almost broken—undid me more than anything else could have.
Ella never imagined she would marry the man she had secretly loved for years in such a way.
When her brother Theo faced twenty-five years in prison for massive embezzlement, the ruthless business tycoon James Lancaster offered her a deal: marry him in exchange for her brother's freedom.
This wasn't a fairy tale proposal, but a carefully orchestrated revenge. Because in James's heart, Ella was the culprit who had killed his sister Cecilia. He wanted her to pay the price—to atone with a lifetime of suffering.
The Alpha Who Hated Me
"Why isn't it working?" he demands.
"Because it's real," I whisper. "Whether you want it or not."
"Then I'll make it clear another way," he says.
He turns to address the entire cafeteria. His voice carries to every corner of the room.
"Let me be perfectly clear," he announces. "She's not my mate. She's not my anything. She's just a sad little girl who needs to learn her place."
The silence that follows is deafening. Hundreds of students stare at me with pity. With disgust. With relief that they're not in my position.
I sit there shaking. My wolf curls up in a corner of my mind and whimpers.
But he's not our mate anymore. He made that clear.
He's nothing to me.
She came to survive. He was born to rule. Fate made them mates. And that’s where the nightmare began.
Evangeline has spent her whole life on the edge, unwanted, unclaimed, and surviving in the shadows of Crescent Moon Pack. A omega by blood and an outcast by choice, she’s learned to keep her head down and her scars hidden. But when her dying uncle asks her to enroll at Blackclaw Academy, a school built on bloodlines, brutality, and unforgiving rules..... she agrees. For him, not for herself.
She expected whispers. Glares. Even cruelty.
What she didn’t expect was Ronan Nightbane.
The Vampire Prince's Hybrid Bride
I Found the Babies
"When..." He growled in my ear, "When we will be getting married, I will be your only king, do you get my point? Only one queen, no misters or mistresses. Just me, just you, and yeah, our babies."
I shivered.
Alyssa Reynolds found herself in a situation, while returning home from work, and she had three choices:
Simply walk away and forget that you ever heard the sound of wailing infants.
Call the police and inform them about the innocent wails.
Follow the sounds of the wails and take the matter in your hands, deciding what to do later.
Being a kindhearted soul and a sucker for babies, she found herself choosing the third option, finding the two little lives.
Two little lives that changed her whole life, her love life included. Her life now revolved around the babies as diapers, vomit and shit seemed to surround her.
Just when she thought that now it's just her and the babies, her whole world flipped over and she found herself living under the same roof as the egotistical, obnoxious and hot-as-hell Terence Powers, the business tycoon who was not going to let the woman fend off for herself and the babies alone.
BROKEN TRUST
Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.
Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.
Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother
"What is wrong with me?
Why does being near him make my skin feel too tight, like I’m wearing a sweater two sizes too small?
It’s just newness, I tell myself firmly.
He’s my boyfirend’s brother.
This is Tyler’s family.
I’m not going to let one cold stare undo that.
**
As a ballet dancer, My life looks perfect—scholarship, starring role, sweet boyfriend Tyler. Until Tyler shows his true colors and his older brother, Asher, comes home.
Asher is a Navy veteran with battle scars and zero patience. He calls me "princess" like it's an insult. I can't stand him.
When My ankle injury forces her to recover at the family lake house, I‘m stuck with both brothers. What starts as mutual hatred slowly turns into something forbidden.
I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother.
**
I hate girls like her.
Entitled.
Delicate.
And still—
Still.
The image of her standing in the doorway, clutching her cardigan tighter around her narrow shoulders, trying to smile through the awkwardness, won’t leave me.
Neither does the memory of Tyler. Leaving her here without a second thought.
I shouldn’t care.
I don’t care.
It’s not my problem if Tyler’s an idiot.
It’s not my business if some spoiled little princess has to walk home in the dark.
I’m not here to rescue anyone.
Especially not her.
Especially not someone like her.
She’s not my problem.
And I’ll make damn sure she never becomes one.
But when my eyes fell on her lips, I wanted her to be mine.
Cursed Beauty and her Three Alpha Mates
Cast out by her pack for being wolfless and plagued by uncontrollable heat, Maya has spent her life surviving humiliation in silence.
Fate drags her into the path of Kael Draven, the ruthless Lycan King who claims her… only to reject her.
But Kael is not the only Alpha bound to her.
Finn, her childhood best friend and the rising Alpha, loves her with a devotion so fierce, he spends four years locked away in the most ruthless dungeon only to keep her safe.
Xander, a rogue wolf who can make even Alphas bow to his will, has waited centuries for her to be reborn, and he has no intention of losing her again.
Three Alphas.
Three claims.
One cursed destiny.
They called her wolfless. They thought she was weak. But she is done hiding, and this time, she's rewriting the rules.
Accidentally His: The Billionaire’s Wife in High Society
Five years later, Freya Myers returns to the city with a pair of exceptionally gifted twins, desperately trying to conceal their existence from the world. But when she interviews for an internship, she unexpectedly encounters Declan Castle—the very same man from years ago—as her interviewer. From then on, Declan Castle becomes a persistent, demonic force haunting her!
Five years ago, a single, desperate mistake changed Freya Myers's life forever. Intending to secure a future with the man of her dreams, she ended up in the wrong room, stealing the 'seed' of the wrong man. That man was Declan Castle—the cold, ruthless, and enigmatic CEO of the world-renowned Castle Group.
Now, Freya has returned to the city as a struggling single mother, hiding a pair of genius twins from the world. When she lands an internship at the Castle Group, she hopes to remain invisible. But fate has other plans. Declan Castle, a man who has remained mysteriously untouched by any woman since that fateful night, instantly senses something familiar about the new designer. He has spent years searching for the woman who 'ruined' him, and now that he has found her, he has no intention of letting her go.
Forced into a high-stakes marriage of convenience with the domineering CEO, Freya must navigate the treacherous waters of high society while desperately guarding her children's true identity. Between a scheming stepmother, jealous socialites, and a series of deadly secrets, the walls are closing in.
What started as a game of cat-and-mouse and a quest for revenge soon ignites into a passion that neither can control. In a world where power is everything and betrayal is a way of life, can Freya protect her heart and her children, or will the relentless Mr. Castle claim everything she’s been trying to hide?












