Hot-Blooded Short Stories & Hypocrisy Face Slapping Novels

I was in the middle of hosting an important international meeting when my younger brother’s sudden call interrupted me. On the other end, his voice was low and trembling. "Matt, someone took my spot for the exchange student program." I rushed to his school right away, only to find him cornered in an office, his eyes slightly red. A cocky-looking boy was pointing at Tim’s nose, his face full of arrogance. "You want to compete with me? I’m the heir of the Smiths in Ardenford. My mom just donated an entire lab building to the school! Who do you think you are?" Even the teacher nearby spoke up in support of him. "Timothy, the Smiths are one of our school’s major benefactors. You’d better be sensible and not cause any trouble." I was about to step forward and confront them when those words—the Smiths in Ardenford—made me stop cold. The Smiths in Ardenford? Since when did my mom have a third son besides me and my brother, Timothy? I immediately dialed her number, a cold laugh slipping from my lips. "Mom, when did you have another son behind Dad’s back?"

Yuri's father calls and tells me to send his son, the Alpha heir and my childhood friend, home to meet his further mate. But Yuri Blevin is lying next to me, fast asleep and shirtless. Thinking it's just a joke, I nudge him and say with a light laugh, "Yuri, they said they've arranged a mate for you. What do you think?" He raises an eyebrow and lazily wraps an arm around my waist. "Then make sure you pick a nice suit for me. I trust your taste will impress her." When I freeze and say nothing, Yuri opens his eyes and lets out a carefree chuckle. "Hey, Ophelia, what kind of reaction is that? We're just casual lovers, right? Don't tell me you actually thought I'd make you my future Luna?"

The whole school thought I was using my family's money to treat Lucas Reid, the broke campus heartthrob, like a dog. When I went shopping, he trailed behind me carrying dozens of bags. Whenever I complained about the heat, he'd stand motionless in the sun for two hours holding an umbrella over me, until one shoulder burned and peeled. Countless girls at school felt sorry for him. Then Celine Lawson, the department's new it girl, turned everyone against me. Suddenly, the spoiled rich girl was public enemy number one. While Lucas was at the lab, Celine and her crew cornered me in a classroom and knocked the latte out of my hand. Coffee splashed all over my shoes. She lifted her chin and looked down her nose at me. "Oops. My hand slipped. "I figured you only drank human blood anyway." Then she slapped a photo on the desk. Lucas's arm was streaked with blood. The students crowding around us pointed and whispered. Celine scoffed. "Get a good look? "Because of you, he comes to class covered in injuries every single day. "You've got a little money, so you think you can walk all over people? You really think nobody can stop you?" She shoved a withdrawal form in front of me. It read, "I voluntarily withdraw from school and publicly apologize for bullying Lucas Reid." "Sign it. Now." She held up her phone and played a video. "Or I'll post this video of you making him stand in a downpour as punishment, and you'll be ruined." I looked at the familiar figure in the photo. Are these people out of their minds? My dad pays ten million euros a year for a top bodyguard from the Middle East. Since when is it a crime to make him do his job?

To honor the last wish of my late husband, Daniel Bennett, I spent twenty thousand dollars on the most lavish Christmas funeral Evergreen Memorial Funeral Home offered. As I watched Daniel's urn being lowered into the ground, I thought he had finally found peace. Then, the following March, local police called to tell me Daniel's body had not been cremated until January. I marched into Evergreen Memorial's reception office with the police record and slapped it on the table. Evergreen Memorial's manager, Martin Hayes, glanced at the record, shut the door at once, pulled a stack of cash from a drawer, and pushed it toward me. "Ma'am, the cremation schedule was fully booked over Christmas. We held the funeral first and used temporary fill for the burial. It's an industry workaround for scheduling delays. Take the money, we'll finish the paperwork, and we can all pretend this never happened." "If you insist on making a scene, we'll sue you for defamation, and you won't even get this compensation." I studied the smug look on his face, so certain he had me cornered, then pulled out my phone and tapped the button to save the recording.