Banana Banana Meatball

A parent in my son's preschool group chat tagged me out of nowhere. "Theo's dad, your son's lunches always look pretty nice. Starting tomorrow, pack one for my daughter too." "I'm not asking for free food. I'll give you ten dollars a day. That adds up. You can make a little extra on the side." I stared at the message, almost laughing from how absurd it was. My son has severe food sensitivities and a fragile stomach. Every ingredient in his meals is specially sourced, and a single lunch costs far more than five hundred dollars to prepare. And this man thought ten dollars could buy it? I replied with two words: "Not happening." The next day, my son came home crying. His lunch had been taken by another child, and the teacher had scolded him for being selfish. Fine. Since they wanted to push this far, I would show them exactly how far I could go.

When I was seven years old, a handsome man Mom brought home gave me a box of mangoes. That day, Dad watched me happily eating the mangoes as he signed his name on the divorce agreement. Then, he jumped to his death. From that day on, mangoes became a lifelong nightmare for me. So, on our wedding day, I told my wife, Irene Johnson, "If you ever want a divorce, just give me a mango." She held me without saying a word. From that moment on, mangoes became forbidden for her as well. … On the fifth Christmas Eve after we got married, Irene's childhood sweetheart, Steven Carter, placed a mango on her desk. That same day, she announced that she was cutting ties with him and fired him from the company. That day, I felt that she was the woman destined for me. ... Six months later, I return from overseas after closing a billion-dollar deal. At the celebration dinner, Irene hands me a drink. After I drink half of it, Steven, the man who was kicked out of the company, stands behind me and grins. "Is the mango juice good?" he asks. I look at Irene in disbelief, but she is holding back a laugh. "Don't be mad. Steve insisted I play a joke on you. I didn't give you a mango, just a bottle of its juice. "But I think Steve is right. There's something wrong with you for not eating mangoes. Look at how much you enjoyed it just now!" she says. I keep a cold expression, raise my hand, and splash the remaining mango juice onto her face. Then, I turn and walk away. Some things are never a joke. Mangoes aren't, and neither is my decision to divorce.

Jordan Hayes never meant for one desperate lie to summon the devil himself. Disowned by his family for being gay, scraping by at a smoothie shop and dodging creeps at his night job, Jordan's life is already a nightmare. When a persistent harasser corners him, he blurts out the first thing that comes to mind: “He's my boyfriend.” The words summon Damien Voss—tall, lethal, and terrifyingly beautiful. The ruthless mafia heir doesn't just play along. He claims the title. Permanently. One fake boyfriend ploy becomes a dangerous game. Damien starts showing up everywhere: outside Jordan's apartment, waiting for his shift, calling him “boyfriend” with a smile that promises ruin. Every time Jordan tries to run, Damien pulls him closer—possessive, obsessive, and far too aware of Jordan's every fear, every scar. Jordan thought he was using a monster to scare off wolves. He was wrong. The monster wants to keep him. Now Damien has a plan: leverage Jordan to destroy his father's empire. And if Jordan fights back? Damien will break him. Or make him his—body, soul, and screams. In a city of neon and shadows, one lie binds them forever. Hi, boyfriend. Welcome to hell. Warning: 18+ Dark romance. Obsession, stalking, violence, power imbalance, trauma. Reader discretion strongly advised.

What do you do when you find out your fiancé is the biggest douche on Earth? A Liar, and a traitor? Your heart shatters into a thousand pieces. Madison finds out that her longtime boyfriend Gustaf has leaked videos of them together all over the internet for the whole world to see. Disappointed and heartbroken, she decides to leave her boyfriend without confrontation. With no money of her own and no , she calls Stanley, her big brother who raised her. Stanley agrees to let Madison move in with him. As two former orphans, her brother is overprotective of her, but so is her brother's best friend, Victor Giovanni, who she has been trying to avoid for the last few years. Why? Because crushing on your brother's best friend never ends well. Madison knew she had to bury her emotions for Victor years ago. Victor is infuriatingly handsome and wealthy. Madison doesn't know how he can afford to live a life in such luxury, but she knows it might be better to be kept in the dark because some secrets aren't meant to be revealed. But what do you do when you return home only to find out your childhood crush is now a beautiful man full of mysteries?

My girlfriend Chloe Bennett's childhood buddy, Daniel Miller, binds himself to a transfer system. Everything he eats gets sent straight into my stomach. He creates a live stream channel and eats nonstop for 12 hours a day to rake in money. Meanwhile, I end up in the ER with acute pancreatitis. I try to explain everything to Chloe, but she just looks at me like I've lost my mind. "How could something that ridiculous exist? If food could magically transfer, nobody would starve in the world. You're just jealous he's making money from streaming." Afterward, Daniel's every live stream triggers another pancreatitis episode, sending me back to the ER until I'm barely holding on. I get tested, but the doctors can't figure out what's wrong. They even want to admit me to psych. Later, in a desperate bid to outdo another streamer, Daniel downs ten pounds of mashed potatoes at once. The overload destroys my spleen and stomach, causing massive internal bleeding that kills me. When I open my eyes again, I'm back on the day of Daniel's very first live stream. This time, I rush out and order 20 takeout dishes before him. "This time, I'm eating first."

At the court, my daughter, Hannah Wright, accuses me of being a sexist tormentor with violent tendencies. With tears running down her cheeks, she slowly takes off her clothes, revealing her wounds to everyone present. "She's a monster! She buys mangoes for my younger brother, Rodney, and yet she makes me kneel on the floor while munching on the peels! "Then, she beats me up in public and even strips me naked before forcing me to kneel and apologize! On top of that, she doesn't feed me at all!" Everyone gasps in shock before glaring at me angrily. They are all waiting for me to get sentenced to hell and back. But what Hannah refuses to bring up is that I can't let her eat any mangoes due to her severe allergy. If she were to have any, she'd go into shock immediately. I beat her up because she had the audacity to switch out the tea leaves to sheep droppings just to pull a prank on an elderly family member during her funeral. Naturally, I punished her because she actually mixed weed killer into Rodney's milk and tried to feed him with it! At the end of the day, Hannah remembers the pain she's been through, yet she completely forgets about the atrocious misdeeds that she herself has committed!