The Villagers 1: The Stranger

Living with my aunt and her family was meant to be a temporary, quiet arrangement just helping out and keeping to myself. On the first day of the new year, while everyone else was out celebrating, I stayed home, enjoying the rare silence and catching up on sleep. But when we ran out of water, I reluctantly stepped outside to fetch some, and that’s when I saw him. He stood by the gate of the house next door, effortlessly commanding attention with just a glance. A smirk played on his lips, and a flicker of amusement danced in his eyes behind his blue-ray glasses. At that moment, he was impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, I felt disheveled and barely awake, my hair was a mess and still shaking off sleep. But he didn’t seem to mind. There was something about him an air of mystery that made me wonder who he was and why he was there. Before I could look away, he spoke, “Hi.” Caught off guard, I managed a quick, “Hi,” while trying to pull myself together. “Can I know your name?” he asked. I hesitated but replied, “I’m Clara,” and kept walking. “Can I have your number?” he called after me. “Just as friends.” I almost refused but reluctantly agreed, entering my number into his phone. “There,” I said, handing it back. “I’ll call you,” he promised with a smile, as I turned to leave. What began as a chance encounter soon became an inexplicable connection. He had secrets, but there was something about him that saw through me, understanding things no one else did. The man I met next door wasn’t just a fleeting stranger,he became the reason I started questioning everything I thought I wanted.

I live double lives, but with one very strict rule: never get involved with the clients. By day, I plan weddings I'll never have. Every bride who calls on me gets the wedding of her dreams. And even though no man's ever wanted to end up with me, watching the joy on my brides' faces is enough. By night, I put on a mask and become the comfort I can't find anywhere else. Just an hour of quiet, honest company for strangers who've run out of people to trust. It's not romance - not even close. But I get my own kind of comfort from it too. Then three men walk into my carefully guarded life, all at once, all determined to break my one rule: one I used to hate, one I'm not allowed to see, and one who's already trouble next door. I have a very terrible feeling I only need to be afraid of one of them - the Stranger in My Bed.

Ten years ago, a single mistake bound two strangers together for life. He was a powerful heir who lost the woman he never saw clearly. She was a cleaner who walked away with his money—and his child. Now, fate brings him to a quiet village as a celebrated foreign investor. He doesn’t recognize her. But he recognizes her daughter. When a little girl calls him “Daddy Stranger,” buried truths begin to surface—along with a necklace he has guarded for ten years. Will love survive secrets, fear, and the child standing between them? Or will fate demand its price?

"Who the hell are you?" "What the hell are you doing in my apartment?" A story between two neighbors and an incident that slowly draws them together *Disclaimer* this story has strong language and violence

Evil spirit. A cursed Prince. Death itself dissaray. She just want to go home, but fate has other plans for the young priestess and her odd companions.

My husband, Daniel Thompson, looked down on me. I was just a farmer's daughter in his eyes, and he never loved the son I gave birth to. It wasn’t until our baby turned 100 days old that he held him for the first time. Then, one day, his first love, Claire Matthews, came back to the city. That night at dinner, Daniel, who was always cold and distant, finally smiled. He even reached across the table and placed a piece of meat on Noah’s plate. Noah beamed all evening, clutching onto that tiny gesture like it was a treasure. Just before bed, he whispered to me, "Mom, do you think he likes me now… even just a little?" I wrapped him in my arms, tears blurring my vision as I gently shook my head. "No, sweetheart. It’s because the woman he truly loves is back. It’s time for us to go."