Face-slapping

I run into my former sister-in-law, whom I haven't seen in ages, during a prenatal checkup at the hospital. Wynne Jenkins glances at my belly. And just like she always does, her face crinkles with disdain as she starts nagging me. "Look at you, wandering around with a pregnant belly at your age," she hollers. "What if something happens to my baby nephew? Can't you be a little more sensible and stop making Sean worry all the time?" She must have forgotten. A year ago, Mom was gravely ill. Her only wish was to see me married with children. I staked everything and proposed to Sean Jenkins. On our big day, I waited from dawn until nightfall—only to receive a 30-second voice message from him. "I won't show up at the ceremony, and I won't marry you. This is what you get for bullying Lav." Mom was so enraged by Sean's recklessness that she suffered a heart attack and passed away. After taking care of her funeral, I erased every trace of myself. With what little I had left, I fled Horton—while Sean was still abroad, skiing with Lavender Quinn. And yet now, Wynne says, "Sean spends more than two weeks every month flying around looking for you. He's lost nearly 20 pounds in less than a year. "He's been waiting for you, Janelle. Now that you're back, please stay and build a family with him." I smirk and raise my hand, flaunting the ring on my finger. "Sorry, I like to keep a low profile. I'm already married, but we kept the ceremony simple. That's why you didn't know."

On the day my boyfriend and I moved into our new home, his ex-girlfriend gave us a mysterious gift. The moment I opened the front door, a swarm of hornets came flying out. I screamed in fright as I felt seven or eight stings from them. His ex, Erica Loft, jumped out from behind the door with a giggle. She shouted, "Surprise! "I went up the mountains to visit a master craftsman. I wanted to get you this specially brewed hornet wine, and I even brought back a hornet's nest for you to decorate your new house with! "Isn't this a great gift?" Erica made a face at us. She was gleeful at the messy predicament I was in. My boyfriend, Joe Fulham, clenched his teeth. He rushed forward to grab Erica by the wrist as he shouted angrily at her. "Are you crazy? Don't you know that hornets are venomous?! Is this really a surprise, or are you trying to hurt us?" I listened to another one of their huge arguments from behind the door, feeling like an outsider in my own relationship. As I felt the stinging pain in my arm, I knew this wedding was about to fall through.

The housekeeper, who was always punctual, was late today. "Madam, I'm so sorry… dinner isn't ready yet. Please don't be upset with me…" "But this time, there was no helping it. I waited downstairs for over half an hour, and no one swiped in. I even called Mr. Gregory, but he didn't answer. That's why I'm late." My hand froze mid-motion as I was changing shoes, and a frown creased my brow. "Lydia," I said, "didn't I have Richard give you the access card?" Lydia Pendel froze, her face blank. "Access card? Mr. Gregory never gave me one." "Never?" I repeated. "Yes," she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead, her voice careful. "All this past month, I've been sneaking in whenever another resident opened the door, or calling Mr. Gregory so he could let me in. "Today, Mr. Gregory didn't answer at all, so I was stuck downstairs, feeling helpless…" That was strange. Because over the past month, the electronic lock on the front gate had clearly recorded swipes from that backup card.

“My husband got his mistress pregnant… so I handed him the divorce papers.” Three years of silence. Three years of contempt. Three years living in the shadow of a man who loved someone else. Rachelle Veronesi, heiress to a fashion empire, fulfilled her end of the bargain: she was the perfect wife to Nikolai Santoro. She endured his humiliations, his cold absences, and the constant presence of Micah—the childhood friend he always chose over her. But the illusion shatters during a family dinner when Micah announces her pregnancy. Rachelle doesn’t cry. She doesn’t beg. She walks away. With nothing but her name and her power, she reclaims her place at the top of the fashion world—stronger, colder, untouchable. Nikolai believes she’ll come crawling back. He thinks she’s nothing without him. He couldn’t be more wrong. Because as Rachelle rises, he begins to uncover the truth: the woman he trusted has been lying to him… and the child she carries isn’t even his. Now, with only three months left before the divorce is final, Nikolai is forced to face the one truth he never wanted to admit— He didn’t lose a convenient wife. He lost the only woman who ever truly loved him. And this time… she’s not coming back.

He accused her of seduction and was mean towards her after a one night stand. In retaliation, Mercedes threw a $1 note at him as payment for his service and a measure of his performance, which she graded to be below average. Meanwhile, her body ached terribly and her walls felt sore. Two days later, she walked to her new office and was sent to the board room to begin her as a personal assistant to the President. Her heart stopped when she realized that the man she ridiculed was Nathan Legend. The multi-billionaire devil everyone whispered about. Graciously, he pretended to not know her to her great relief. Yet, when she entered his office, he locked the door. His face carried no emotions, his eyes piercing, his voice chilled like ice. "You shall spend the rest of your life, paying for the insult you threw in my face, till I tear that $1 note off the wall." She shivered to his word and as if to read her mind, he seethed, "don't even think about resigning because, I would make sure, that no company employs you and if you run, I will find you."

"Let me go." Anna tried to get out of Xavier's grip, but he tightened his grip and hid his face in her neck. Anna's eyes widened in shock. His intentions were dangerous. Before she could do anything, he leaned and licks her neck with his hot tongue and start tracing it to her earlobe. Anna pushed herself away from Xavier with full force and slapped him in the face. Xavier’s face suddenly turned red. Till today, nobody dare to slap him, he was Mafia king. He squeezed Anna's hair in his fist and grabbed her jaw. "To this day, no one has dared to deny me and you dared to slap me. Now you will pay for it.” He yelled furiously. "Yes, I raised my hand and I will raise it again. Humans are not beasts but you are a beast and you are not even ashamed of it,” Anna said with a tone full of hatred. "If you talk to me like that in the future, I will kill you and what did you say I am a beast? Why don't I show you to be a beast?" He leaned on her lips again and didn't back down until Anna's lips started bleeding. - This is the story of Mafia King's love that turned into obsession.

Love…. You could lose yourself in it or find yourself. It all depends on you. Jealousy…. It drives one to the edge of madness. It paralyzes the mind, and drains the heart, damaging the soul. It teaches you what it takes to care. That's what their relationship was made up of. His eyes made her shiver with pleasure, it took her to euphoria. That's what she felt whenever she was with him, but not every day was sunshine and rainbows. He made her cry, he made her feel pain. He taught her the real definition of love; pleasure and pain. She liked how cold and rough he could get and he liked how innocent she played. He liked teaching her new things and she liked learning from the best. They'd survive the intoxication of each other. They made it further than they thought they would on the grounds of love, jealousy and pain. "What are you looking at?” he asked looking in the direction she was looking, “So... That's your type, huh?" he whispered in her ear with his hand on her thigh, clearly pissed. Siana moved away slightly from his warm breathe blasting on her face and his hand squeezing her thigh firmly. "Everyone out now!" he shouted then a smile came bursting through it all. She was alone shaking with fear and anxiety. She knew how he'd get whenever he was displeased, she knew the kind of psycho he was. He pulled her up from the chair and pushed her up against the wall, her hands enfolded in his and her breath breaking. He looked down then back up at her with a tiring look on his face and sighed "You know you really drive me crazy." his lips hovering over hers.

Born an oddball, destined for power. Avyanna has been judged all her life—too dark, too tall, too different. But with her father’s love and her best friend Alcinder by her side, she endured. Until her father’s death shattered her world, leaving her uninterested in claiming the Alpha title, much to her spiteful Twin brother’s delight. Then the dreams began. And with them, a power she never asked for. Alcinder has always been an anomaly—a werewolf without a wolf, cursed to be mateless. Declared an outcast by his pack, he finds solace only in Avyanna and Elektra, a gifted healer with a heart as fierce as her magic. But when Alcinder’s aunt, Velda, and her vampire mate Salvatore unleash an army to wipe out the werewolf packs of Alparos, their world is thrown into chaos. Now, Avyanna must embrace the power she once feared, Alcinder must uncover the truth of his missing wolf, and Elektra must wield magic stronger than ever. The war for survival has begun. And destiny does not wait for the unwilling.

Three years after our breakup, I ran into my ex-girlfriend, and she had her new boyfriend by her side. "Hey, isn't that Henry the expert?" Diego Stanley taunted with a smirk. "Three years post-breakup, and you're slumming it here playing with clay?" I furrowed my brow, ignored them, and carefully moved the Victorian-era porcelain musician figurine onto its preset base in the display case. When I wasn't biting, he reached out to grab the figurine from my arms. "What's this junk you're treating like gold? Let me take a look." Cynthia Wyatt frowned, her voice laced with that familiar arrogance. "Henry, I've given you three years to shape up, and you're still the same loser? Come on, hand over that clay doll to Diego. Don't kill the vibe. If you play nice, I might even reconsider our old engagement." As Diego's hand neared the figurine, I dodged quickly and barked, "Hands off! It's a historical artifact!" Diego got pissed off and shoved me hard. "Some flea market find, and you're acting all high and mighty?" In the ensuing scuffle, I lost my balance, and the figurine slipped from my grasp, crashing to the floor. That sealed their fate. This entitled pair was about to go bankrupt trying to fix it.

Eight years of loyalty—wiped out by three days of her batting her lashes. At the bonfire, I swore the Alpha would finally mark me. Instead, I watched him fasten a sparkly little pendant around her neck. When the fire broke out, he ditched me—flames snapping at my heels. Said I could "handle myself," then played hero carrying her out. She showed up at my herb shop all smug, called me a "mutt no one wants." Then he showed up—Alpha on his knees outside my door, begging for another shot. I nodded toward my shelves. "These heal every wolf in Stormborne... except the Alpha who couldn't see what was right in front of him."