A Cup Of Coffee

Mon petit ami, Miles, m’avait enfin invitée au dîner de Noël de sa famille. J’ai perdu connaissance en chemin. À moitié consciente, je l’ai entendu murmurer : « Désolé, Eva. Ces voyous ont dit que tu étais exactement le genre de fille de leur patron. Trop belle pour ton propre bien, bébé. Ce n’est pas ma faute, c’est à cause de ça. » « N’aie pas peur. Si tu m’aides à rembourser ma dette… peut-être qu’ils me laisseront te récupérer. Je me rattraperai. Pour le reste de ta vie, je te le jure. » Il m’a fait passer par l’arrière d’un casino en me poussant dans un fauteuil roulant. Le casino de ma famille. Et le patron à qui il était en train de me vendre… c’était mon frère. Depuis que nos parents sont morts dans une fusillade, mon frère avait pris sur lui l’entière responsabilité de ma vie. Il était devenu bien plus qu’un frère : une figure paternelle, un protecteur. Mon idiot de petit ami aurait dû avoir peur. Il n’avait pas la moindre idée de à quel point mon frère me protégeait farouchement, ni jusqu’où allait sa cruauté envers quiconque osait me faire du mal.

Scarlet is not a simple woman. She planned to seduce the old and long-reigning Mafia boss of the Ronaldo family, even if it meant becoming his mistress. Moreover, she is a vengeful woman who regrets nothing and is not afraid of anyone. But she was stolen on the day of her wedding and got married with a stranger. Because of certain arrangements she agreed to, Scarlet was stuck fulfilling a dying mother’s wish; in return, she hurt him with unbearable pain and left him with a broken heart. Malachi had better plans for her, but she still wanted to enter the mafia world until he could no longer hold a grip of her. Scarlet was finally granted her freedom on the condition that she leave their only child, Alona, in his care. He continues to live a normal life outside the Mafia Circle as a single father and manages their coffee shop. Scarlet thinks she can live without a man until she finds out who she was before. Losing him now is definitely what she lives to regret. She realized what she truly wanted for her life after he was gone. Now she swears to make things right with him before he makes a vow to another woman who is willing to fulfill his dreams and build a family. How much will she dare to make him fall in love and bring him back to her arms again? How will she make her daughter give back the love and trust to her mom, who hurt her father?

I’d just left a creative meeting when a TikTok video popped up on my feed, slamming my company. The title: "Stay Away! This Austin startup is incredibly cheap. The perks are a joke." The video showed off the pour-over coffee from Austin's hottest independent cafe and pastries from a top-tier French bakery. The same ones I’d just had my assistant, Sam, hand out. I frowned. In the company's Slack channel, I tagged everyone. "@here Any suggestions for this afternoon's Happy Hour?" Leo, the new Gen-Z intern, replied instantly with a voice note. “Asher, with all due respect, these snacks with gluten and dairy are so unhealthy.” “A truly visionary company would hire a private chef to customize raw, vegan bites for everyone's dietary needs. That's what respect looks like.” I laughed. It was an angry laugh. The company's daily snack budget was $25 per person. For an Austin startup, that was top of the line. I typed back: "Since it's impossible to please everyone, the snack perk is canceled. I'll convert the budget into a cash bonus for all of you." Less than five minutes later, the TikTok caption was updated. "UPDATE: Y'all, I can't make this up. I made a suggestion about dietary inclusivity, and my toxic boss just canceled all the perks! This is how toxic bosses act. Can't handle a single piece of feedback!"

All Jasmine ever wanted was love… but in her world, love only exists to destroy. After four years in a loveless marriage forced by her mother, Jasmine finally signs her divorce papers—yet all she’s left with is a gaping wound in her heart. In a quiet coffee shop, she finds comfort in a magnetic stranger on the brink of his own divorce. One conversation turns into a soul-stealing kiss—wild, forbidden, and impossible to forget. But fate is cruel. Her perfect stranger is Galvin Walton, the impeccably attractive, ruthless billionaire husband of her flawless, vicious sister, Cashmere. Forced to spend Christmas at the Walton mansion, Jasmine is trapped, watching Galvin play the role of the perfect husband… while his hungry eyes follow only her. And the nightmare is only beginning. Edwin Monroe, her ex-husband, returns, claiming the divorce was never valid and she still belongs to him. When he notices the heat in Galvin’s gaze, his possessiveness becomes feral. Two powerful, obsessive men want her and hate each other. None of them is willing to lose. In a mansion where secrets are weapons, loyalty is a currency, and desire is the most dangerous game of all, Jasmine becomes the spark of a deadly obsession when all she wanted was a fresh start. That kiss was a promise of passion, but giving in won’t just shatter her family, ruin her future, and cost her everything… it will set the Walton dynasty ablaze and burn them all to the ground.

Nora Jensen has a plan for everything. Senior year? Mapped out. College applications? Done. Feelings for Cole Whitaker, Millbrook High's infuriatingly charming hockey star? Absolutely, categorically, not part of the plan. But when Cole shows up at her locker with that look — the desperate one he'd never admit to — and says you owe me one, Nora finds herself agreeing to the most ridiculous favor of her life. One family dinner. One fake girlfriend. Simple, clean, transactional. Except nothing about Cole Whitaker turns out to be simple. Not the way he remembers her coffee order without being asked. Not the way he describes his favorite color as pre-game ice, before they turn the main lights on. Not the way he looks at her on the porch after dinner like she's something worth keeping — and she's supposed to be pretending he isn't looking at all. Nora made a deal. She just didn't read the fine print. The part where fake dinners turn into real conversations. Where negotiated terms start feeling a lot like feelings. Where the boy you agreed to pretend to love somehow becomes the one person you can't imagine pretending about. The rules were simple. Don't hold his hand. Don't look at him like you like him. Don't fall. Two out of three isn't bad.

SECOND CHANCES AT SUNRISE Years ago, Yara and Jamal were young, in love, and certain about forever—until life pulled them apart. Their relationship didn’t end in chaos, but in painful silence. Jamal, determined to build an empire, chose ambition when fear whispered that love would slow him down. Yara, brilliant and proud, walked away without demanding the closure her heart quietly begged for. Now, Jamal Adeyemi is a confident and charismatic CEO—one who commands industries, decisions, and attention. Success follows him everywhere, yet something essential has always felt missing. Yara, now a celebrated designer, has built her own creative world with warmth, resilience, and independence. Her heart didn’t turn cold—it simply learned caution. Fate reunites them over cinnamon-flushed coffee in Lagos. The spark remains, but neither believes that old love guarantees a new beginning. This time, Jamal does not rush or assume. He shows up—with patience, sincerity, steady action, and emotional wisdom he once lacked. Lunch dates lead to long conversations, honest moments, and a healing coastal getaway where past wounds finally find voice. But second chances demand more than nostalgia—they require trust rebuilt, fears confronted, and love proven through presence and honesty. In rediscovering each other, Jamal and Yara learn that the safest kind of forever isn’t loud—it arrives like sunrise: Soft. Steady. Certain. Earned.

His best friend...His muse...His fantasy...Billionaire photographer Noah Caldwell has spent ten years biding his time for the chance to tell his best friend Raven Crowne the truth. He wants her. With the threat that brought him to her in the first place finally behind him, they begin a hot affair he's only dreamed about. And reality is far better than fantasy. Yet beautiful Raven has her own dark history, one he's trying desperately to release from her. But as their passion deepens and turns into more, his past rises up from the shadows to claim one last victim…and Noah could lose the only person he can't live without.Kelly Moran is a bestselling author of enchanting ever-afters. She gets her ideas from everyone and everything around her and there's always a book playing out in her head. No one who knows her bats an eyelash when she talks to herself.Kelly's interests include: sappy movies, MLB, NFL, driving others insane, and sleeping when she can. She is a closet coffee junkie and chocoholic, but don't tell anyone. She's originally from Wisconsin, but she resides in South Carolina with her three sons, her two dogs, and a cat. She loves hearing from her readers. www.AuthorKellyMoran.comA "Must Read" on USA Today's Lifestyle blog!Exposure is created by Kelly Moran, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

In the midst of a bustling city, a young and ambitious CEO, Maya, finds herself entangled in a web of deceit, betrayal and love. As the only child of a multi-millionaire, Maya took over her father's cosmetic company, Stanbic Corporation after he fell ill. As Maya navigates the challenges of being a CEO, she faces opposition from Mike, a ruthless businessman known as the "Red Devil" of the cosmetic world. Mike has been trying to acquire Stanbic Corporation for years but Maya's father had always managed to stay one step ahead. With Maya's father out of the picture, Mike sees an opportunity to finally get what he wants. Meanwhile, Maya meets Alexander, the son of the president, in a coffee shop. Despite their instant attraction, Alexander keeps his true identity a secret, preferring to live a humble life but their relationship is put to the test when Mike discovers Alexander's true identity and begins to use it against him. As the story unfolds, Maya's world is turned upside down. She discovers that her father had an illegitimate child, Christi, who has been seeking revenge against Maya and her family. Christi forms an alliance with Mike, and together they hatch a plan to destroy Maya's reputation and take over Stanbic Corporation. As Maya fights to clear her name and protect her company, she must also confront the demons of her past.

After my sister died, I ran to the human world to chase my own dreams. I was determined to live out my days as a lone wolf. Then I met him: Alpha Blake, in the city on pack business. He was gentle and strong. He hated territory wars, just like me. All he wanted was a peaceful life for his pack. We weren't fated mates, but the pull between us was undeniable. He promised me I would be his one and only Luna. Then came the Moon Festival. He invited me to his pack. He wanted to perform the bonding ceremony, he said. A declaration of our love to the entire werewolf world. I thought I had finally found my salvation, the one who could heal my broken heart. I was so happy to go home with him. I never expected him to drug me that night with a cup of poisoned wine. Only then did I learn the truth. He was selling me to the Alpha King, Roric, to pay off his pack's debt. He'd approached me in the first place because I looked just like Roric's dead mate. He tied me up and delivered me to Roric’s estate, a sick smile twisting his face. "Consider it an honor. One night as the Alpha King's plaything, and our pack's debt is cleared. Worth three years of pretending, wasn't it?" The silver poison paralyzed me, but I couldn't help but laugh. He had no idea. Roric's dead mate? That was my sister. And Roric? He was the man who grew up with me, practically my own brother. He'd personally delivered the lost princess of the Silver Peak Pack right to her own doorstep.

My mother was once adored and protected by three men. As such, I had three fathers. After her death, I was raised by one of the greatest doctors, the richest man in Theala, and an award-winning actor. For 13 years, I was showered with overwhelming adoration. That was until three years ago—the day they adopted Erin, an orphan girl. From then on, they began to dote on her. When she accused me of stealing her necklace, they tore my room apart in their search, smashing my most cherished music box in the process. They only felt remorse when they saw me sobbing over the shards. As compensation, they bought me every music box they could find. When she claimed I mocked her for being an orphan, they forced me to write a hundred apology letters as punishment. They only massaged my hands in remorse upon seeing them trembling so badly that I could no longer feed myself. When Erin accused me of shredding her gown, they locked me in the dark basement, starving me for three whole days. When I was let out, they were filled with remorse upon realizing how much weight I had lost. Their bloodshot eyes watched over the grand feast they prepared as an apology. All of that lasted until Erin poisoned my cup of water. I kept coughing up blood as my body grew weaker by the day. Daniel only diagnosed me with malnutrition and made me take prescribed supplements. Unbeknownst to him, those supplements only hastened the poison's effects. After I collapsed at school, I went to the hospital for treatment. "You only have three days left to live," the doctor said. Why then… Why did my fathers drown themselves in sorrow and kill Erin after my death?