13 Minutes

Sofia Russo dashed into the elevator, running late for work. But as soon as the doors closed, she found herself face-to-face with the notorious mafia don, Luca Greco. Her heart raced as he pulled her closer, his smoldering gaze sending shivers down her spine. Suddenly, he whispered in her ear, "Two minutes before the elevator stops. Enough time for a quickie." Sofia was taken aback, disgusted by his brazen proposition. She tried to push him away, but he was too powerful. “Disgusting” she blurted. "Sofia Russo," the words rolled off the tongue of the infamous mafia don, Luca Greco, as he pulled her closer, his smoldering gaze locked onto hers. "Ex-husband Tony Moretti. Has a seven-year-old daughter, Isabella." Sofia's heart raced as she realized this man knew more about her than she'd ever imagined. "Give me a chance, sweetheart," Luca demanded, his voice silky smooth. "Let me take care of you and your princess." Sofia was lost in the intensity of his gaze, but she knew better than to fall for a man like him. She'd been burned before and had no intention of repeating the same mistake.

« Mademoiselle Lebrun, nous avions suivi vos instructions à la lettre : le corps ‘mort' vous ressemblait en tous points. Nous devions le livrer dans dix jours, directement sur le lieu de votre mariage avec Monsieur Humbert. » Au bout du fil, la voix calme de l'employé procurait enfin un peu de répit à Doriane Lebrun, dont les nerfs étaient à vif depuis des semaines. « Parfait, je vous remercie », répondait-elle. « Tout est en ordre, rassurez-vous. Aucune suspicion n'est possible : l'identification sera indiscutable. » Doriane sentait alors son souffle lui revenir, comme si un poids immense se soulevait. Elle prenait encore quelques minutes pour confirmer les derniers détails de l'opération avant de raccrocher. Puis, recomposant son masque de sérénité, elle franchissait la porte de la loge privée. À l'intérieur, les rires et les conversations s'éteignaient instantanément à son entrée, comme coupés au couteau.

“To escape a monster, she ran straight into the arms of a devil.” Lila Vance was a debt payment. Wrapped in fifty thousand dollars of French lace, she was minutes away from marrying Marcus Thorne—a man who whispered that she was nothing more than his "property." But Lila refused to be broken. With a ripped dress and a heart full of terror, she bolts from the altar and into the private elevator of the Grand Imperial Hotel. When the doors open, she finds herself in the lion’s den: the penthouse of Adrian Sterling, her fiancé’s most lethal rival. Adrian is a man carved from shadows and sin, a billionaire "Shark" who destroys legacies for sport. When Marcus comes to claim his prize, Adrian offers Lila a choice: go back to the man who will break you, or sign a one-year marriage contract with the man who will own you. As the line between their fake vows and real desire begins to blur, Lila must face a terrifying truth: Adrian Sterling didn't save her out of mercy. He saved her because she is the final piece in a game of revenge he’s been playing for years. In a game of power, who will be the first to break?

My husband, Alex Walter, was the head of the Bodyguard Association. When I was about to be killed by the kidnappers, he was comforting his childhood crush, Susan Miller, who was sobbing in his arms. While the kidnappers stopped for a meal, I called Alex five times calmly. He was angry when he finally answered. "Susan was just rescued from the kidnappers, and she needs me. If you want me to come home, stop using your own kidnapping as some excuse to compete for attention. It is pathetic!" Hearing Susan's sweet and delicate voice in the background, I had no time to argue with him. Instead, I called the Bodyguard Association. The operator informed me that Alex had pulled all the city's bodyguards away thirty minutes earlier to rescue Susan. When the kidnappers returned, they mocked Alex's heroic efforts to save Susan, mobilizing the entire force for her. If I remember correctly, this was Susan's twenty-eighth kidnapping this month. As the kidnappers approached me with guns and tasers, I closed my eyes in despair. Before I died, I used all my strength to send Alex one last text message, [No matter what, I loved you. Move on from me.]

My name is Ivy Lawson. At 3:00 am, I get a call from Christina McSpire, a parent of one of my students. "Hello, Ms. Lawson, I noticed Zoe only spent five dollars on her meal yesterday. Did she not eat any meat?" she asks. Pushing through my exhaustion, I reply, "Don't worry, Mrs. Street. I'll check on it tomorrow." Another half hour goes by, and she calls again. "It's supposed to rain tomorrow. Can you remind Zoe to bring an umbrella?" I can hardly keep my eyes open. "Got it," I reply absentmindedly. A few minutes later, my phone rings once more. "Please make sure Zoe brushes her teeth for three minutes. It's also important that she scrubs each side of her face at least three times." Suppressing my frustration, I calmly respond, "Zoe is in her senior year of high school. I'm sure she's capable of taking care of herself." I expect that to be the end of it, but when I wake up, my silenced phone shows over a hundred missed calls.

À quelques minutes de deux cérémonies de mariage prestigieuses à Chicago, deux vies basculent. Emmanuella Johnson, jeune femme d'une beauté fragile et éthérée, et Logan Smith, héritier au charisme sombre, sont lâchement abandonnés à l'autel, laissant derrière eux une humiliation publique et des familles dévastées. Face au désastre, Leslie Johnson, la mère ambitieuse et stratège d'Emmanuella, voit dans leur malheur commun une opportunité. Elle propose une solution radicale à Logan, se marier l'un à l'autre. Un mariage blanc, une bouée de sauvetage mutuelle pour sauver les apparences, éviter le scandale et gagner du temps. Sans se connaître, poussés par le désespoir et la fierté blessée, les deux jeunes gens disent « oui ». Ils deviennent époux devant une assemblée médusée, unissant leurs destins par un pacte né du chaos.

Richard Lorde’s childhood friend had just become a widow. On our fifth wedding anniversary, he brought his childhood friend and her daughter into a karaoke box and removed my ring right before everyone. “Lily needs a proper status right now. It’s no longer right for you to wear that ring. “Resign from your job tomorrow and take care of Lily and her daughter.” Everyone in the room fell silent as they waited for me to blow my top off. But I said nothing. I calmly brought out the divorce agreement I had already signed, put it on the table, and left. My best friend stood up to advise me against it, but Richard just swung the wine glass and snorted. “Let her. She’ll come begging for my forgiveness before tomorrow.” When I slammed the door shut, I heard laughter from the room. What they did not know was that half an hour ago, I had received a message telling me that my visa application had been approved. The person in charge of picking me up had been waiting at my house ten minutes ago. This time, I was not turning back.

Najwa Anastasia. Perempuan yang sudah menjadi yatim piatu semenjak ia berusia 13 tahun, dan tinggal di panti asuhan. Setelah kedua orangtuanya meninggal. Najwa di buang oleh Om dan Tantenya, yang tega meninggalkan ia di sebuah panti asuhan pada malam hari. Setelah menikah dengan Beni. Najwa merasa kebahagiaan akan datang, tapi ternyata salah. Beni justru menggangtung kan urusan finansial pada Najwa. Keluarga Beni yang ikut mengusik, rumah tangganya. Hingga sang Ibu mertua menjodohkan Beni dengan wanita cantik bernama Delia yang berprofesi sebagai pramugari. Delia Anjani. Ia adalah wanita dari keluarga kaya raya, membuat Laras mertua Najwa silau akan semua itu. Semua terbongkar dari percakapan grup WA Keluarga Beni. Betapa sakit hati Najwa melihat mereka merencanakan pernikahan Beni dengan wanita idaman mertuanya. Tapu Najwa tak tinggal diam, akankah ia bisa membuat Beni menyesal. Ternyata keluarga Delia masih ada hubungan dengan Najwa. Memori masa lalu bangkit kembali. Kekayaan itu ternyata adalah hak Najwa. Semua yang di kenakan Delia, itu seharusnya adalah menjadi milik Najwa. *Apa yang akan di lakukan Najwa pada keluarga penghianat itu?*

Nina became friend with Dewey at 13, they got really close over the years and she fell in love with him. At 18, she found out he was his mate, her joy knew no bound but the joy didn't last a day as he rejected her heartlessly. Broken and dejected, she ran into the woods to cry out her sorrow, it was such a painful experience but she didn't expect to meet an handsome man in the wood, she jumped on the man and seduced him to make love with her and he in turn satisfied her to the brim. Ten months later, Nina stood as a slave with her two handsome children by her arms before the most ruthless and aloof alpha king, Roland, who was popularly known for killing his late wife for cheating on him with a slave. His hatred for slaves knew no height, infact, it made him gave an order that slaves are not permitted to give birth to children nor have children lesser than three years old with them. Nina wouldn't allow her babies to be separated from her. About to sentence Nina to a lifetime in the Deungeon for disobeying his order, Nina confessed to him that her twin boys were his. In a world where DNA test doesn't exist, how will Nina prove to him that her twins were for him? Will he let go of his deep rooted hatred for slaves and accept the mother of his children or will he destroy her for disobeying his command?

Sharon Deleon, the campus belle, has secretly stuffed a folded piece of paper into my pencil case five minutes before the start of the postgraduate admission exam. A series of comments streak across my vision. "The paper is filled with answers to the exam questions! Sharon has already lodged a report to the teachers. The school proctor will be here soon. Once that paper is found in Cassandra's pencil case, her admission recommendation will be terminated immediately!" "Hmph! This is all that nerd's fault for standing in Sharon's way to success! The proctor is Sharon's uncle, after all! Cassandra's doomed today!" The next thing I know, the proctor strides into the classroom angrily. He makes a beeline to my seat right away. "Someone has reported you for cheating. Dump out the contents in your pencil case right now!" I just do what I'm told with a blank look. There are only a few pens in sight. The folded piece of paper, however, isn't there. Sharon widens her eyes in shock. "How could this be? But I'm very sure that I—" Before she can finish speaking, a folded piece of paper containing the answers falls out of her pocket. Everyone doesn't know that I'm capable of reflecting misfortune by nature. Whoever sabotages me will get a dose of their own medicine instead.