Aged Like Fine Wine

On the night of my 30th birthday, I waited until the early hours of the morning, but my husband, Theodore Hawk never showed up. Instead, I came across an Instagram post from his childhood sweetheart, Emily Gallagher. [What romantic is not the starry night, it is having you by my side.] In the picture, she was wearing a delicate, sky-blue camisole that revealed just enough to charm and seduce. A man stood close behind her, his hand firmly gripping her waist. The scene was set in the seaside villa that Theodore had gifted her, their figures intimately entwined under the soft glow of the night. Someone had commented beneath the post: [I can’t stand you two being this lovey-dovey all the time! Just get married already!] Emily had responded with a shy-face emoji. I had just liked the post when Theodore, who I had failed to reach all night, blew up my phone with calls. "Are you out of your mind, Camilla? Emi and I grew up together! If we wanted to be together, we would’ve done so long ago! Why are you being so petty?" Looking at how Theodore gently held her in his arms, comforting her, I realized something. Letting go of someone you’ve loved for seven years... can take only a moment.

Pernahkah kamu melihat makhluk yang kamu kira hanya ada di dunia dongeng sebelumnya? Seperti elf, alkemis, penyihir, vampire, werewolf, orc, dan lain-lain. Aciel pernah. Aciel adalah laki-laki beruntung yang nyawanya diselamatkan oleh perempuan cantik bertelinga panjang dan runcing, ketika dia sedang bertugas menyelidiki hewan-hewan yang tiba-tiba saja menjadi liar dan tidak terkendali. Apakah kalian tahu makhluk apakah yang telah menyelamatkan Aciel? Aciel bekerja sama dengan makhluk itu untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini, dan tak disangka-sangka penyebab semua ini adalah karena dendam masa lalu yang belum terselesaikan. Tidak hanya menceritakan tentang dendam, cerita ini juga menceritakan sebuah petualangan, pertarungan, pertengkaran, dan juga percintaan. Seperti kisah dongeng pada umumnya. Akankah kisah Aciel juga berakhir bahagia seperti dongeng-dongeng pengantar tidur lainnya? "Pasti! pasti! semuanya akan berakhir bahagia!" harap Aciel. cover by : I.Salsabilla

Six has a lot to handle between caring for her drug-addicted mother, raising her three year old brother and going to school. She seems to have everything under control, but she's had to make some touch choices and do some things she isn't proud of to get to this point. Axle is a spoiled rich kid on his third attempt at senior year who never takes responsibility for anything. He's got a quick temper and is prone to letting jealousy cloud his judgment.They are complete opposites on paper yet they can't seem to stay away from each other. Will they be able to stay together despite Six's messy past and present?

At seventeen, Tiana’s world shatters when a cruel twist of fate forces her into marriage with Nikolai Toriaga — the arrogant heir to a billion-dollar coffee empire and the same boy who made her life hell in high school. For eight long years, she endures the cold silence and lovelessness of the Toriaga household. But in secret, Tiana earns a PhD in Business Administration and quietly becomes a billionaire, investing her allowance in cryptocurrency and major company shares. When Nikolai’s father dies, Tiana assumes the marriage is over. The man who forced it is gone, and so is the reason for Nikolai to stay. Her fears are confirmed when he shows up to the funeral with a world-famous model on his arm, while Tiana remains his estranged wife. Determined to reclaim her life, she steps into the spotlight, taking a job at Lancaster Group — a global chocolate brand — and reconnects with Ryan Lancaster, a former classmate who once secretly adored her. She expects the long-overdue divorce papers, but instead, Nikolai starts coming home… watching her, wanting her. When she finally confronts him, he fiercely responds, “There’s no way we’re getting a divorce, Tiana.”

Nina Whyte finds herself trapped in a marriage that is going very differently from how she imagined. Being married to the gentle, handsome and wealthy Cody Whyte, she expects their marriage to be like a fairytale but reality dawns on her when she finds herself cuffed with a serial cheat. This leads her to make drastic decisions that lands her in a middle of a crime scene being targeted as the main suspect. It is in the toughest moments in her life that she learns that, sometimes letting go makes room for something new and that sometimes love finds you at your lowest and lifts you up to places you can’t imagine.

"Tell me, Mr Blue. Was it worth it? Is it worth it? Will it be worth it?" It wasn't and it never will be. Not in Erin's eyes tinted blue. Not in the eyes of the hopeless young man doomed to the clutches of fate; doomed to eternal pain. Did beauty lie between the cracks of fate? Does the Moon know of the Sun who died every night to let the Moon breathe? Erin, a poor, hospital bound boy just wants to be like everyone else, to love someone. Every day, he escapes to the virtual world with his wings of freedom, creating his own reality where things goes the way he wants. That world gave him a real, painless body, with infinite possibilities. Life got that much harder when, Uriel, a rich boy enters this realm and steals Erin’s world. The man who says the ugliest of words with the smoothest of tones. Does he help Erin, or dig him deeper? OR Erin wanted love and got pain instead. Things changed, and so did Uriel. INCLUDES: futuristic virtual reality, Persian mythology (minor), romance, sci-fi, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, rich/poor dynamic, mythology, distance, cold families, battles, quests, stars and moon metaphor. WARNING: includes mentions of depression, swearing, and sexually explicit content.

During the five years that Sophie Lord was married, she had been continuously doing IVFs and was finally able to become pregnant with Luke Shaw’s child. That same day, she saw Luke at the hospital with his secretary, Helen Jones. He was accompanying her for a pregnancy test. Sophie was devastated and asked Luke to choose between her and the child in Helen’s womb. “Let’s not make a fuss, Sophie. I’ll explain everything to you when I get back. You need to calm down first. I’m keeping this child no matter what.” He carefully supported Helen as they left, but what he didn’t see was the blood trickling down Sophie’s legs. Later on, when Sophie disappeared from Luke’s life, the latter brought down completely.

"I'll accept the hospital's offer. I leave for Italvia in two weeks." Vanessa Jahn stood by the window, pregnancy report in hand. On the other end of the call, Rob Lambert, the hospital director, sounded thrown. "Wait—what? After all this time? I've been trying to get you on board for years." She let out a humorless laugh. "Guess it finally felt like time for a change. Anyway, I've got a lot to wrap up before I go. We'll catch up later." She hung up. The ache in her heart lingered as she glanced back down at the report.

I set up a company cafeteria for employees with an abundant meal daily worth 150 dollars per person. Meals are prepared by a world-renowned master chef. Every day, I only ask my employees to contribute a token of one dollar. Instead of gratitude, all I get is their envy of the neighboring company. "I wish we had that. Their healthy lunches cost them nothing, and the company covers everything." "Yeah. Free salads always seem to taste the best." Before long, this chatter spreads through the office, and the new hires carry it into the company's group chat. "Mr. Shaw, can we switch things up? All this rich, heavy food is just too much for us!" A few of the senior employees quickly jump in. "Yes, Mr. Shaw! We're not asking for anything extravagant. We only want something like the healthy lunches the other company gives out for free!" Perfect. They ignore my lavish 150-dollar meals that cost them almost nothing, yet they pine over the neighboring company's modest lunches. I scroll through the chat, feeling nothing but sharp irony. I immediately send a company-wide email. "Attention, everyone! By popular demand, and so you can all experience a truly free lunch, the cafeteria's daily meal is reduced from abundant to simple starting today. "Snacks and fruit options are discontinued and replaced with the same healthy lunch set offered by the neighboring company. The company will cover the full cost. Enjoy your meal!"

According to company policy, anyone who achieves the feat of being the top salesperson for three years in a row will receive a thousand-square-foot apartment as a bonus. To achieve this goal, I work day and night, chasing every order I can find. But once I finally meet the criteria, I'm told that the policy has been abolished. Saul Hurst, my direct superior, brushes me off with a bonus of 500 dollars instead. Smirking at me, he says, "Being good at sales is all well and good, but you still need to improve your understanding of the company's rules and values. "Young people need to stay humble and know their place. Don't keep trying to show off. It isn't good to constantly hog the spotlight." I don't lose my temper. Instead, I manage to stay unusually calm as I took the "massive bonus" I got in exchange for three years of hard work. Two days later, our company headquarters conducts its annual sales evaluation. When one of our clients offers me a sales deal worth eight million dollars, I turn it down on the spot. After all, I believe that part of what it means to be professional is to do as my superior says. Since I'm supposed to stay humble and know my place, I've chosen to keep a low profile and not do anything that puts me under the spotlight. Besides, even if our branch fails to meet the total sales target, I'm not the one who's going to be held accountable for that.