When It'S Thanksgiving

At our Thanksgiving family dinner, my stepbrother brought his beautiful girlfriend to meet the family for the first time. She held up her wine glass and flashed me a malicious smirk. “I heard you had a first love you can’t forget, Summer.” I kept my head low and focused on my food, unsure how to respond. After all, my first love… was her boyfriend. When I was seventeen, my stepbrother Ethan Cole tricked me into crossing the line we should never have crossed, while our parents were blissfully unaware. Even right now, under the table, his foot was rubbing mine sensually. He did not bother holding back. On the table, he held his girlfriend’s hand tenderly as he mocked me with a smirk, “You’re twenty-seven, sis. Your shelf life is running out, and you’re such a plain Jane. Who would ever want you?” I stood up abruptly and looked at him, my tone calm and resolute. “I’m married, Ethan.”

On Christmas Day, eight months pregnant, I struggled through the kitchen,cooking for my husband and his secretary. When I finally sat down, hoping to taste a piece of turkey I didn’t even get during Thanksgiving, my husband shoved me aside like I was nothing. He slid the turkey in front of his secretary instead. “Alison,you’re already so fat. Stop eating. Let Daisy have it—she deserves to enjoy your cooking.” Daisy，chewing on the turkey I had painstakingly prepared, had the audacity to mock me under the guise of playing truth or dare with my child. “So, what do you think your mom looks like?” “Mommy looks like a fat pig on a farm!” “Her stretch marks? They’re like disgusting worms crawling all over her. Even Santa would run for his life!” Their laughter erupted like daggers piercing me from all sides. Humiliation and rage burned through me as my dignity was stripped bare. I demanded an apology from that vile woman, but my husband—my husband!—turned his cold, cruel face toward me and said, “Get out of here.” Pregnant, exhausted, and humiliated, I stood there in shock. Then I snapped. I grabbed the Christmas cake and turkey and threw them in the trash. I walked out without looking back. This wretched family doesn’t deserve a second of my effort or a single ounce of my love!

This Thanksgiving, Elmer Fuller finally agrees to go on a trip with me. But when I wake up in the hotel, I don't see him anywhere. I spend the entire day desperately searching for him, only to stumble across a social media post from his first love. It's a selfie of her and Elmer having a cozy family dinner with her parents. The caption reads, "Someone's finally meeting the parents on Thanksgiving night. Mom and Dad can stop pressuring me to get married now!" Around her neck is the scarf my mother knitted for me before she passed. I left a comment. "Stop using my things to flirt with my husband. Take the scarf off—you can have him." Not long after, she posts an update. The scarf is shredded into pieces and tossed into a dog bed, with the caption, "What trash—too filthy even for a dog!" Elmer likes the post.

Rosé Willian discovers she has been dating a married man on their fifth year anniversary. This news doesn’t only destroy her heart, but her whole life too- her reputation and career alike. She loses her job due to the viral video of her going around in the small city of Ontario. Unable to move around freely in the city without whispering gossips and accusing fingers following her around, Rosé flees Ontario to Washington with her friend, Paula. Rosé’s life takes a new turn when she meets Navy Leonardo, a CEO of a luxurious clothing line, a company where she goes to seek a job as a Blogger of the company. On the first day of her employment, Navy Leonardo receives a message from his father, Mayor Alessandro demanding his presence at the family Thanksgiving, else he will be disowned and canceled from the family will. Meanwhile, his father’s threat is due to the fact that Navy has been absent from home in Italy for about five years following the betrayal of his girlfriend, Clarissa getting married to his brother, while the whole family watched. Receiving the message not only upset him, but it makes him bitter and vengeful. A sudden idea to make his ex-girlfriend jealous and his brother envious, occurs to him, a plus fun would be the panicking reaction of his parents to him, bringing home a low class woman as his girlfriend. Who is more perfect for the job than the down to earth Rosé Willian, the Blogger. Beautiful and younger than Clarissa, but poor enough to make his parents turn. Navy is overwhelmed by the pleasure of a silly revenge that he asks Rosé to be his fake girlfriend, just for a night, not knowing he is in for a twist of fate.

It's Thanksgiving, and I'm waiting for Zeke Jones to come home after cooking up an extravagant meal. When Zeke returns, he doesn't even glance at the meal I've prepared for him. Instead, he proceeds to pack a bag. "I can't celebrate Thanksgiving with you this year," he says. I take another bite of my turkey and say nothing. At the stroke of midnight, Zeke's first love posts a new photo on her social media page. In the photo, she's lying on Zeke's back with a bright smile on her face. The moon outside the window is bright. "Happy to spend Thanksgiving with good company," her caption reads. Instead of hysterically questioning Zeke about the post, I just tap on the "like" button without reacting in any way. Zeke calls me. His voice sounds panicked as he tries to explain himself. "Please don't misinterpret the post. I will definitely spend Thanksgiving with you next year…" I freeze for a few moments, letting out a small laugh. I don't offer him a reply. Next time, he says? Oh, Zeke, I'm afraid there won't be a next time.

After spending a night with a strange man on the night before her wedding, Arianna left the city to start her life afresh. The 22 year Arianna Jason lived her life pleasing those she loved the most, without knowing she was simply a prey that was being nurtured against the day of her ruin. She had tasted the bitter pill of betrayal. She wants to give back to the World and the society what it gave her. But how can she change her sweet, innocent personality to fit into a cruel world and society? Can her sweet nature be contaminated or will she make it through, paddling on the right path?