The Moment Before The Gun Went Off

On the day we chose our college majors, the influencer who was the school's heartthrob held a livestream and announced that he had decided to lead the anti-rat-race movement and would choose to attend a vocational college. The whole class followed him. Seeing the rapidly increasing number of followers, he smiled smugly. "They can do these low-class jobs if they like. I'll change my choice back to Harvard University at the last minute." I tried to dissuade him, but this would cause network congestion. My girlfriend slapped me. "You nerd! Who are you to tell our idol, Zach Simpson, what to do?" In my previous life, I spent half an hour dissuading them, and only then did the students change their college choices. However, Zach failed to change his application due to network lag and was admitted to a vocational college instead. He could not bear the blow and jumped into the river to commit suicide. The students who had entered prestigious universities collectively vented their anger on me. At the class reunion, they poured 99 bottles of beer down my throat and locked me in the karaoke's freezer. "Who cares about the prestige of a prestigious university? You'll just be working for someone else after graduation anyway!" "Why did we follow Zach in the first place? Wasn't it to break this damn rule?" "Zach was leading us to realize our dreams! If you hadn't interfered, I would already have gone to a vocational college with him!" They spoke disdainfully of prestigious universities, yet not one of them chose to drop out. I froze to death in a dark, cold freezer, my eyes wide open. Years later, they became elites in their respective fields, while my parents could only weep looking at my portrait. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day Zach was livestreaming in the classroom. This time, I promised I would not interfere. Instead, I wished them a happy vocational college experience.

On the day I go to the car dealership to pick up my car, I'm told that the previous salesperson has resigned, so a different salesperson will attend to me. Yet the first thing the salesperson does is say that I paid too little for the car and demand that I pay more to make up the difference. "The other salesperson is truly an idiot. How could he sell a car for 300 thousand dollars in cash? It's no wonder he got chewed out and quit. If you want to take the car, you'll have to switch to a five-year loan with an interest rate of 12%." I'm rendered speechless as he blatantly tries to extort me. "I've already paid and signed the sales contract. You're breaching the contract!" The salesperson scoffs. "So what? The car is with us anyway. If you're not going to pay the difference, don't even think of taking the car with you!" I can't help but chuckle. I calmly pull my phone out of my suit pocket. "Walter, place Mr. Paul Roland's loan application on hold for now. He's earning big bucks for his business. It seems like he doesn't need it anymore."

Love was never soft. It was loaded. New York City, 1950. Behind velvet curtains and glittering chandeliers, the city’s elite dance to the tune of money, politics, and blood. Amy Finn is a cold-blooded mafia boss with a reputation as deadly as the gun she keeps hidden in her tailored tuxedo. She doesn’t make mistakes. Not anymore. Especially not with women. Especially not with daughters of the enemy. Eliano “Ellie” Marchetti is young, wealthy, and restless — born into the family that betrayed Amy and the woman she once loved. But when Ellie sneaks into a forbidden warehouse one night and witnesses something she was never meant to see, their lives collide. Obsessed, fascinated, and dangerously drawn to each other, Ellie and Amy begin a slow-burning dance of dominance, desire, and secrets too explosive to bury. But Ellie doesn’t know the truth — about her mother, about the war she was born into, and the woman whose heart Amy once vowed never to touch again. One woman is fire. The other is the match. And some love stories are written in gunpowder.

Ana has never been the type to party or drink. But the one night she decides to let loose, she ends up meeting a man who will shake up her entire world.

When Callie returns home for the summer, staying at her best friend Mia's house feels like slipping back into childhood, until she sees Grayson Carter again. Once her best friend's quiet, overworked dad, Grayson is now older, rougher, and dangerously irresistible. He remembers her as a girl with ink-stained fingers and a reckless laugh. Now, she is a woman who is confident, sharp-tongued, and completely off-limits. Neither of them meant to start crossing lines. But whispered glances turn into midnight encounters. Denial becomes an obsession. And one forbidden moment changes everything. As passion collides with guilt, Callie and Grayson are forced to choose between the love they shouldn't want and the consequences they can't escape. Off Limits is a slow-burn forbidden romance filled with raw chemistry, emotional damage, and a love story that is anything but clean.

After my father passed away three years ago, my mother drifted through relationships, never staying with one man for long. When we moved in with Professor Williams, I was surprised to discover his two adult sons still lived at home. Phoenix seems decent, but Jack? He despises me. He’s convinced my mother is after his father’s money, and that I’m just her useless shadow, dragged along for the ride. Their judgment hangs thick in the air—every glance feels like a scalding brand. And trapped under the same roof, there’s nowhere to hide.