A Curl's Best Friend

"Shut down for rectification, fined $500,000, plus $300 compensation per customer. That’s the penalty from the Food Safety Bureau. Let’s see if you dare serve us gutter oil again!” Yves Larson, a part-timer at a construction site, sends me a provocative text purposefully, as though he's worried that I don't know what's going on. I just stare at the sign that says "closed for renovation", which is hung on the front door of my eatery. Never would I expect that the budget eatery that I've opened for the sake of the workers will be transformed into a blade that's aimed at me, thanks to the very same workers. That night, I sit in the apartment that my dad has left to me before his death. There, I spend the whole night smoking. Early the next morning, I head over to the bank and withdraw the money left behind by my dad, which is 260 million dollars. Half a month later, my eatery is open for business again. Work resumes at the construction site as well. Yves leads the construction workers to the restaurant at lunch. "I've taught him a good lesson last time. This time, I'm very sure that he won't have the guts to serve us cheap food made of shitty ingredients!" What he doesn't know is that the original eatery is already demolished. In its place stands a luxurious five-star restaurant. I stand in front of the main entrance as I perform a welcoming gesture to the workers. "This is a five-star restaurant that offers a private dining experience to you. The minimum bill for each table is 4000 dollars. You're welcome to dine here."

When twenty-five-year-old Solyn Fairchild survives a brutal attack outside her apartment, the police call it a random mugging. Solyn knows better. The man who tried to strangle her whispered her full name, as if he had been waiting for her. Terrified and running out of places to hide, she reluctantly agrees to move into the safest home her father can think of. The home of Dr. Calian Winslow. Her father’s most trusted friend. A man Solyn barely remembers, yet cannot forget. Calian is everything her father swears by: brilliant, elegant, composed to the point of being unreadable. But behind the calm exterior lies a darkness Solyn senses before she even steps through his door. Calian feels nothing and fears nothing. A rare condition has kept his emotions frozen since childhood. Until Solyn moves in. She is the one thing his careful control cannot contain, the only person who makes his pulse rise and his cold veneer crack. As the stalker escalates, leaving messages that echo Calian’s own research, Solyn is pulled deeper into the shadows of his past. Every step she takes toward safety draws her closer to Calian’s dangerous orbit. Every stolen glance, every forbidden moment, every slip in his voice makes it harder to remember the rules that should keep them apart. Her father trusts him. Her attacker fears him. And Solyn is falling for the one man who could ruin everything. Because loving Calian Winslow might save her life or cost her everything she has left.

🥉3rd place in the writing competition "Me and My Womens" [21+, harem] Marvin Rock is the dream of many women because of his wealth and power, but his sincerity surpasses everything. His wife said proudly, "Not only loyal, you are also mighty!"

My biased mother brought my sister, Irene Baxter, to help me with my child. But one day, I forgot to bring a contract to work. When I returned home, I saw two bodies entwined. To cover up their secret, my husband, Sam Hodgson, and Irene pushed me off the tenth floor. It was only after my death that I realized I had been nothing more than a tool for carrying on the family name. "It's better that she's dead. Now my sweet girl can be a mom without having to go through childbirth." "Sleeping with her was revolting; she was like a block of wood. Irene is so much better." Even Irene had regrets. "Still, we shouldn't have pushed her down. She was smashed beyond recognition—otherwise, we might’ve been able to sell her corpse for a pretty penny." When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day they pushed me off the building. This time, I wouldn't let any of them off the hook.

My sister, Yvonne Jones, tried to murder the childhood friend of a rich heir in order to seduce him. Yvonne poisoned the woman's drink and pulled out her oxygen tube after she was sent to the hospital. When the rich heir arrived in a rush, Yvonne cried in his arms daintily. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I failed to protect her." I witnessed everything in the ward but didn't say a word about it. In my previous lifetime, I stopped Yvonne from poisoning the woman. I knew the rich heir would never let her get away with it if he found out about it. Yvonne was forced to give up her plan and even praised me for my foresight. However, she ended up poisoning me instead and stabbed me in the heart with her dagger when I got dizzy. "This is your fault! Die! If you hadn't stopped me, Sean Graham would've been mine!" When I opened my eyes next, I had returned to the day of the poisoning.

My husband, Zeke Larson, rushed to the police station at night because his childhood sweetheart, Snow Lowell, had run over my father-in-law and killed him. Snow clutched Zeke’s jacket and trembled in fear. “Zeke, I’m so scared. I didn’t mean to kill anyone.” Zeke pulled her into his arms at once and glared at me like he wanted to kill me. “You were in the car too. Why didn’t you stop her?” I almost laughed. He was the one who insisted that Snow drive. He said she had just gotten her license and needed more practice, so he pushed her to take his car and give me a ride. “Forget it. He’s already dead. There’s no point arguing now. “We’ll just say your dad ran into the road without looking, and that’s how Snow hit him. “We can settle this privately. Snow has a performance in Vienne next month. She can’t have a stain on her record.” I froze for a moment. When he repeated himself, I finally realized that he thought the person who died was my father. I looked at Zeke and saw how natural it all seemed to him. I could not help but laugh. “This is not a private settlement I have the right to be part of.”

Three months after my baby was born, I found out my husband, Joe, was cheating. The other woman? Hailey. Pregnant and smug. Joe actually got on his knees, begging for a divorce. I said yes. Until I could find a place, Joe's mom, Claudia, let me stay at the house. "Hailey," Claudia said, "you'll handle all the household responsibilities now." Hailey, all fake enthusiasm, chirped, "I'll take good care of this family!" Claudia replied, "Great. You'll start your day at five making breakfast. When Luca's hungry, you'll feed him and change his diapers. Once he's down for a nap, clean the house, grocery shop, and prep lunch. Laundry in the afternoon, tea service mid-day, then bathe Luca and cook dinner. After that, you'll put him to bed." Hailey's face? Priceless.

She has someone to get rid of. Megan Zendel is betrayed by her boyfriend and now she wants revenge so when Leonardo Valenti offers her a deal to be his fiancée for a year so she can make her ex-boyfriend jealous, she agrees to it. Unknown to Megan, Leonardo also approached her with an ulterior motive. The condition of the deal is that none of them must fall in love with each other. But what happens when love gets into the picture of their deal and Leonardo's motive is exposed?

"Arch your back Arielle, let me see that fresh little pussy of yours" Aiden groaned beneath my legs, while Ryan chuckled in my ears, biting and teasing my earlobes, "Show us that fresh little pussy, Ari" And I did, I arched my back, baring myself in the presence of my two Alpha mates. *** I was secretly in love with my best friend, Aiden. But it was impossible, we were forbidden. He's the Alpha prince and would soon find his mate. And me, I'm a lowly omega. My parents are workers for the Alpha. And I was no match for Lauren. The school's queen bee who was obsessed with Aiden. She was everything I wasn't. Nor was I a match for Ariana, my twin sister who Aiden seemed to have a liking for. I would kill my feelings for him and get over him, moreover I needed to find a mate soon. Once the bond happens, I would lose every feelings I had for my best friend. That was what I thought till we found out we were each other's mates. And not just his mate, his's too. My other best friend, Ryan. I was his mate too. And then I found out I wasn't no ordinary wolf. An ordinary Omega torn between two Alpha Mates.

I spent my entire childhood living in poverty, being bullied by my mother and her boyfriend, and eating their leftovers. After an incident at home, I fled and now work as a maid for a cold CEO. Everything was fine until I started having strange, unsettling dreams about him. Hardy: He is the mysterious heir to the Rovio Group, the country's richest billionaire. He is a ruthless businessman who prioritizes money over everything else. He is known for being a decisive and controlling figure within his vast economic empire, and there are rumors that he has even killed his own brothers to secure his position as CEO. I, on the other hand, am just a maid who has developed feelings for her boss. Will our relationship turn into a romantic love affair?