The Mint

Winona Warren never imagined that on her birthday, her son would hand her a walnut cake that could kill her. As her consciousness began to blur, she heard Asher Rhodes' furious voice. "Carter, don't you know your mother is allergic to walnuts?" Carter Rhodes' childish voice rang out with startling clarity. "I do. But I want Ella to be my mom instead. Dad, you want that too, don't you? Even if I..." A crushing wave of suffocation overwhelmed Winona before she could hear the rest of Asher's answer. In the second before she completely lost consciousness, Winona had only one thought. If she woke up, she would never be Asher's wife or Carter's mother again.

On the day of my wedding, my parents suddenly show up at my house with my fiancé, Yoseph Caldwell. They say they've decided the bride is going to change. "Your sister's terminally ill, and her only wish is to marry Yoseph. You're her younger sister, so be generous and help her out." Yoseph chimes in calmly, "Don't worry. It's just a ceremony. Once she passes, you and I can still get the marriage certificate." When I refuse, my parents tie me up. "We'll let you out once the wedding's over." But not long after they leave, an intruder breaks in and brutally murders me. By the time they finally remember me, all that's left is my rotting corpse.

I've been a goody-two-shoes for 18 years. The only outrageous thing I've ever done is get into a secret relationship with my stepbrother, Kieran Brock, even though my mom and my stepfather, Andre Brock, are still living in the same house as us. During the day, we're stepsiblings who aren't familiar with each other. At night, however, we tangle with each other heatedly in the same bed. During the fifth year of our underground relationship, I accidentally overhear Kieran's conversation with his friend. "When you were 21, you robbed your stepsister of her virginity. Now that you've toyed with her for five years, aren't you planning on giving her a legitimate position by your side?" I feel my heart tensing. Somehow, I look forward to hearing Kieran's answer. As Kieran plays with his lighter, he shoots his friend a flippant smile. "Like you said, she's my sister. She's not meant to be known as my lover. Had I not plan on getting revenge on her mom for ruining my family, there's no way I'd sleep with her! "Also, I've already proposed to Vivian. She's the only woman who is worthy of becoming my wife." I don't break down and demand answers from Kieran. Instead, I pretend to not hear anything as I turn on my heel and walk away. On the day of Kieran's wedding, he specifically tells his friends to watch over the venue to prevent me from causing trouble there. What he doesn't know is that I've already boarded a flight meant for another country. This time, I will never come back.

“Andreas… you’re young. I don’t want to hurt you,” Mia breathed. He chuckled darkly. “Hurt me? I think I’m the one with power here,” he murmured, smirking. “You flew across the world just because I asked.” Her pulse raced as he pinned her to the desk, his fingers sliding beneath her skirt, brushing her damp panties, and his lips grazing her ear. “So…for two weeks, you do exactly what I say. No arguments.” “Yes…” she whispered. “Yes, what?” “Yes… Sir.” “Good girl,” he whispered. “On your knees. Now.” .......... Mia, a 34-year-old, recently divorced musical superstar and single mother, finds herself in an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Andreas Leonardo, the scandalous and hottest soccer player on the planet. Despite their instant attraction, their 10-year age gap and Mia's troubled past make her hesitant. Defying all odds, they ignite a forbidden romance. The media frenzy threatens to destroy Mia's reputation and career. Things get more complicated when Mia's ex-husband, Lucas, blackmails her with compromising photos of her past. Also, Andreas's cheating ex-fiancée, Tania, returned and is desperate to secure a wealthy future for her ailing son. But when Lucas is found dead, Mia becomes the prime suspect, and Andreas risks everything to clear her name. As they navigate their perilous quest for truth, they must also rescue Mia's daughter, who's been kidnapped. Will Mia and Andreas overcome their past mistakes and find love and redemption, or will their rumors tear them apart?

I got into a car crash with my adoptive sister. The first person to rush to the scene was my childhood sweetheart, Jay Porter—the guy I'd been secretly seeing for two years. But Jay went to her first. He didn't even look my way as I sat there, bleeding heavily on the side of the road. I grabbed his hand, desperate to tell him I was pregnant. He just shook me off. "Sorry, Emma. Julia's delicate. I have to get her to the hospital now. Just wait here for the paramedics." By the time the rescue team got me to the hospital, I was out of immediate danger. But my baby... was gone. I wanted to confront Jay, to demand an explanation. Instead, I overheard him talking to a friend. "You played Emma this whole time, just for Julia's sake. Don't you think that's going too far?" Jay's reply was cold. "So what? Julia's just the Bourne family's adopted daughter—she's never been as protected and cherished as Emma, the precious heiress. That's exactly why it has to be me. I'll protect Julia. For her, I'd do anything." So it was all a lie. Every bit of love he'd ever shown me was just an act. After I was discharged, I went straight home and called my father. "Dad, can you make it so I never existed here? Erase all my records from this country."

At a certain class reunion, the former class president brought out the time capsules everyone had written years ago and read them aloud one by one. When it was Harper Langley’s turn, he opened her note and read, [Marry Jayden as soon as possible.] The room immediately broke into teasing laughter. “You two must already be married. Why didn’t you invite us to the wedding?” Before Harper could respond, the man sitting beside her spoke up with a smile. “She’s my boss now. She’s been busy building her company, so she hasn’t had time to get married. If any of you keep pressuring her to settle down and mess with my paycheck, you’re going to have a problem with me.” The speaker was Eugene Rowe. Back in school, he had been Harper’s obsessive pursuer, and she had deeply disliked him for it. He had since become her assistant. Harper did not deny anything. She simply took my hand and smiled, as gently as she always had. I pulled my hand away and smiled at everyone. “I’m getting married at the beginning of next month. You’re all invited.” Eugene’s face turned deathly pale. He stared at Harper in disbelief. She frowned and pulled out her phone. A moment later, my phone buzzed with a message. She texted: You didn’t have to lie to our classmates just to avoid embarrassment. My company is at a critical stage right now, so marriage can wait. I locked my phone without replying. I had not lied. I really was getting married at the beginning of next month. Harper was just not the bride.