Pumpkin Soup

There's a little shop downstairs that sells organ soup. It's always packed with customers. People line up as if bewitched, eager for a bowl. I've often wondered what secret ingredient made their soup so irresistible. This afternoon, I finally found my answer. Floating in my bowl was a piece of human skin—inked with a tattoo I knew all too well. It was the one etched on my boyfriend's arm.

To celebrate Halloween, our company booked an immersive “rural horror” escape room. My boss said whoever could make it to the end without screaming would get a ten-thousand-dollar reward. As a seasoned horror movie fan, I was instantly tempted. The core character in the escape room was a scarecrow wearing an oversized pumpkin head. I admired how well the props were made, but the chainsaw noise was too loud, so I slipped into a hidden compartment, put on my headphones, and scrolled through reels. The next day, I woke up to a strong metallic stench mixed with the sickly-sweet smell of rotting pumpkin. The police told me our boss had canceled the booking at the last minute, and the actor originally assigned to play the character had gotten food poisoning. That pumpkin-headed figure wasn’t one of their staff.

Warning: 18+ Dark Romance "Dont let me use the spare key Orlanda, or you are gonna be doomed," he uttered coldly and now, she could sense he was more than pissed. The air felt thick, charged with the tension between them, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath. She braced herself, knowing fully well that this small act of defiance would not go unpunished. But for now, she had locked him out, and for the first time since being his prisoner, she felt the slightest taste of freedom. "Do your worst! I'm not scared of you," she yelled. ~~~~~ Orlanda never asked for Carlson Jacobi’s help, but when the ruthless gangster saved her months ago, he demanded repayment; betray his stepbrother, or warm his bed. She swore she would never surrender herself to such a man, and so she chose betrayal. But when her plan failed, Oswald Dino Escobar, the billionaire she worked for, and Carlson’s greatest enemy, made her pay the ultimate price. He bought her from her family, not as a servant, but as his property. His possession. His punishment. His little pumpkin! Oswald was a man who had once loved and lost Sophia Lawn, the woman who shattered him, the woman whose death turned him into a beast. And when Orlanda entered his world, he saw in her a vessel, a shadow of what he lost. But the deeper she was pulled into his dark empire, the more secrets surfaced. Secrets that could ruin them both… or bind them forever.

I go to the city where my online boyfriend, Logan Wright, lives to surprise him without telling him first. Instead, I overhear him talking with his friends. "So what if her voice is nice? She's probably ugly as hell if she's reluctant to even send a picture. If the hottest girl on campus hadn't turned me down, I wouldn't even bother messing around with someone like her. "Not only is she ugly, but she's also horny as hell. She keeps saying she has to see what I'm packing down there before we even meet." One of his friends snickers. "So did you show her?" Logan let out a low grunt in agreement. "But it wasn't mine. It was Troy's." His friend blurts, "What the hell? Troy Levine? Your roommate? You said he was at least eight inches. Were you serious?" "Of course. Why would I lie to you? Troy is a real bro. Seeing that I didn't want to send that kind of picture, he offered to do it for me." They freeze for a second, then all burst out laughing. I laugh too. I've heard of body doubles in Showbiz. This is the first time I've seen a body double in online romance. I want every detail on Troy, and I want them in the next three minutes!

Riveria was on the brink of collapse when Ethan Rivers arrived and took control of it. To fulfill his teacher's dying wish, he governed Riveria for three years, turning it into the most prosperous province in the country. However, just as he was about to end the turmoil once and for all, he was framed and imprisoned, and powerful families seized his achievements. They smeared his name, turning him into a public enemy. With Ethan gone, they believed that Riveria belonged to them.  Little did they know that the border forces rejoiced. "Ethan is gone? Hahaha! No one can get in our way now. Let's get started!" Foreign enterprises also jumped for joy. "Riveria is perfect for factories. Without Ethan stopping us now, nobody can stop us!"  Chaos returned, and people began to yearn for Ethan. As they investigated his life, shocking truths emerged.  He was the author of bestselling books and had donated hundreds of millions to the impoverished. He had even provided homes to the families of national heroes. When the truth came to light, the world fell into chaos, the villains panicked, and everyone was filled with regret!

My husband's parents were stung by an unidentified venomous queen hornet and rushed to the hospital. As soon as I heard the news, I hurried to the entomology research institute to seek help from my husband, who was the director, hoping he could assist the doctors with the diagnosis. Instead, he called for security to block me at the entrance. "I don't handle work matters after hours," he said coldly. "Penny's mother is sick, and I need to go take care of her." I tried to show him the critical condition notice from the hospital, but he tore it up in one swift motion. "People die every day. So what if your dad and mom died?" After my in-laws passed away, I filed a lawsuit against Penny Madison, who had deliberately disturbed the beehive that led to the attack. My husband, who had disappeared for several days, suddenly showed up as an expert witness in court. He fabricated a false professional opinion to exonerate Penny. When I decided to leave the country, he lost his temper. "What do your parents' short lives have to do with me? Is it so hard to understand that after a long day at work, I just want to rest? And now you want to drag Penny into this mess. Just because your own family is broken, you want to ruin someone else's? How can you be so vicious? You deserve to lose your parents!" Watching his brazen attempts to twist the truth, I suddenly realized something. He still didn't know that he had become an orphan.