Bandung Tea Plantation

On the eve of my wedding, my parents returned from abroad, and my fiancée, Seraphina Vale, went into the kitchen to host them, preparing her specialty—passion fruit tea—for everyone. My parents, Edward and Eleanor Blackwood, and I had barely taken our first sip when the bodyguard, Alaric Sterling, standing beside her, burst into laughter. “You really are a family,” he said. “All of you drinking toad eggs as if they were passion fruit, savoring every mouthful.” Nausea rose instantly, and my parents and I retched uncontrollably, after which I swung my fist and went straight for him. But Seraphina shoved me away. “You were the one who called Alaric a toad before,” she said. “I was just helping him get even.” Alaric looked at me smugly. “Aren’t your parents biologists?” he said. “You should be thanking me for the hands-on experiment.” I lifted the scalding soup and splashed it at Alaric. Seraphina screamed as she ordered the other bodyguards to break my hand. “You insulted Alaric first,” she said. “That’s why he retaliated. What right do you have to lay a hand on him? “If anything happens to Alaric, you won’t get away with it.” I watched Seraphina hurriedly escort Alaric away, her face tight with concern. I turned to my parents. “Can you ask her if she’s still willing to marry me?”

At the family tea-tasting event, I openly admit that I am terrible at it. I also announce that I am cutting ties with the White family and giving up my inheritance rights. My father trembles with anger and points at me while furiously questioning, "Are you out of your mind?" My fiance, Liam Ford, holds the fake heiress, Laura White, in his arms. He snaps, "Juliana White, if you can't handle losing, then don't agree to compete in the first place. The way you are acting now is an embarrassment to my family and me!" Only I know that I am not crazy. In my previous life, at this very tea-tasting event that determined who got the right to the inheritance, they joined hands to drag me down in the most humiliating way. Laura beat me and uttered every tasting note I came up with first. Again and again, I try to prove myself, only to be refuted by her each time. She became the celebrated tea prodigy, while I turned into a laughingstock who made a fool of herself. In the end, I suffer a mental breakdown and run out of the house, only to be hit and killed by one of Laura's fans. No one bothered to claim and bury my corpse. When I open my eyes again, I am back at my first family tea-tasting event after being brought back to the White family.

Right after finishing a meeting, I opened a forum and saw a warning post. The location tag was our company. The title read: “Red flag! What a cheap company. Anyone who joins is a total sucker. They can’t even afford a decent coffee break.” The photo attached showed the expensive coffee and five-star desserts I had just asked my assistant to distribute to everyone. I frowned and tagged the entire group chat, asking if anyone had suggestions about the afternoon tea. A Gen-Z intern who had just joined, Julian Hayes, instantly replied with a voice message: “Boss, no offense, but these assembly-line desserts are full of trans fats. Nobody would eat them.” “A truly humane company hires a Michelin chef to cook and slice everything fresh on site. That’s what real respect for employees looks like.” I laughed in disbelief. Our company’s daily coffee break budget was thirty dollars per person—already considered top-tier in the industry. So I replied, “Since it’s impossible to satisfy everyone’s taste, we’ll cancel afternoon tea from now on and convert the budget into cash for everyone instead.” Less than five minutes later, that post was updated: “Guys, can you believe this? I made a perfectly reasonable suggestion and the lame boss immediately canceled the whole coffee break perk! This is the true face of corporate greed—can’t handle even a little bit of honesty!”

I should have been the Northern Pack's future Female Alpha, but my mate Alpha King Aiden Blackwood asked me to give it all up. He insisted on keeping me glued to his side 24/7, claiming he'd die without his mate's touch. I loved him so deeply that I agreed. For seven years, I have been both his perfect Luna and his capable Beta, making his pack stronger day by day. I feel it's all worth it, everyone knows Aiden loves me desperately. Because I have trouble sleeping, he spent $10 Million to buy precious "moon tea" from a witch so I could rest well. But they don't know that every night when I fall asleep, Aiden brings Sarah—our kitchen omega—to our bed. The same wolf who called me "Little moon" would fuck her right beside my unconscious body. The day the doctor told me I was pregnant with twins, I discovered it all. I held back the burning in my heart and chest, and with a weary gaze, I spoke to the Goddess of the Moon: "Goddess, I wish to leave this world." "Would you be willing to give up all this, my child?" I gently rubbed my belly and nodded firmly. The goddess sighed and said: "In three days, I will take you away."

[WARNING; THIS BOOK MAY CONTAIN STEAMY AND SEXUAL CONTENT, WITH SMUT SCENE. UP TO 18+. PLEASE BE AWARE] “Tell me you like it, Leah.” His voice was barely a whisper, yet it was heavy, commanding. I closed my eyes, trying to breathe, but the air around me felt suddenly thin. “You don’t want me to stop, hmm?” He was standing too close. Too dangerous. And in that almost nonexistent space between us, I knew—the most terrifying thing wasn't him, but myself. Because I truly didn't want him to stop. *** Leah Bennett never intended to fall for the wrong man. She only ever wanted to survive in a city that was slowly swallowing her whole. But everything changed the moment she moved into the Hale family home—a stately mansion that held secrets darker than the San Francisco night. Adrian Hale, the man who should have been her protector, instead became a temptation she couldn't pull away from. Ethan Hale, his son, was the love she was supposed to fight for. Caught between two loves and one single sin, Leah learned that some feelings are too powerful to resist—and too dangerous to truly possess. **** AUTHOR NOTE : Before you continue reading: Be warned—This book contains explicit adult erotic romance, lots of smut, sensual fantasy, and erotic musings. If this is not your cup of tea, please leave now.

In the cold, sunless Silver Peak Pack, power is everything, and Maya Ashley has none. To the rest of the wolves, she is a "runt"... a lowly servant who cleans the floors and cooks the meals. But Maya is hiding a secret that could get her burned alive: she is the world’s only Vampire Werewolf Hybrid. The pack is ruled by Alpha Kael, a warrior who is slowly losing his mind. Kael suffers from ‘Killer’s Fever,’ a violent madness that turns Alphas into feral monsters. No medicine can help him, except for one thing: Maya’s blood. For months, Maya has been secretly drugging Kael’s nightly tea with drops of her own blood. It is the only thing that keeps the Alpha sane, but it has created a dangerous side effect: Kael has become physically addicted to her presence without knowing why. As the Blood Moon approaches, Maya’s clock begins to tick. Ancient lore states that on this night, a hybrid must choose a side. If she mates with a wolf, her vampire half dies; if she mates with a vampire, her wolf side is lost forever. The stakes explode when Prince Victor of the Vampire Kingdom arrives at the borders. He doesn't want a wife; he wants to eliminate the ‘hybrid mistake’ to prove his strength. He publicly exposes Maya’s fangs, turning her own pack against her. At the same time, Maya discovers a heartbreaking truth: her own mother was the witch who cursed Kael with madness as revenge for an old war. Now, Maya is trapped between a Prince who wants her dead and an Alpha who is addicted to her blood.

Married for five years, Lorenzo, the underboss of the Moretti family, had never been without a woman. He found my “noble lady” posture stiff and vanilla. Dancers from Trinacria, headliners from the city’s nightclubs, his rotating stream of mistresses could fill the entire estate. Yet whenever I was displeased, whether it was throwing drinks or kicking someone out, Lorenzo never intervened. He’d only lit his cigar with casual amusement and said, “Relax. It’s just fun. No one can touch your position.” Then a clumsy, naive maid appeared. Unlike the others, she wasn’t flashy. However, when Lorenzo returned, bloodied, she’d hand him a cup of warm tea, her eyes red-rimmed. She watched him with pure admiration while he handled the family business. Lorenzo said the estate felt cold and lifeless except for her. He said only when she panicked did he feel like a hero being needed, rather than just a husband in a political marriage. Until she accidentally broke an antique vase left by my mother… Before I could react, Lorenzo stepped in and shielded her trembling form, glaring at me as if I were the enemy. “What’s wrong with you? If you’re crazy, go see a shrink. Don’t scare her like a rabid dog!” Watching his careful, protective expression, I smiled. I guess it was time for the Moretti family underboss to be replaced.

I was vacationing in St. Moritz, Switzerland with my mother when Vivian from the Valenti family office sent me a photo. The woman in it lay on the cold marble floor of the estate, her coat stripped away, her body covered in blood. No one stood near her, as if she had already been set aside like a problem to be dealt with. It was hard to tell if she was still breathing. A voice message followed, her tone sharp and controlled. “Elena, don’t assume that marrying the Don and being called Donna means your small-town family can step onto Valenti property.” “The lakeside estate Mr. Valenti just acquired is a family asset. Letting someone like your mother stay there breaks rules.” “I act on the Don’s behalf. It is my responsibility to remove people who should not be there.” “This is what happens when someone crosses a line.” I went still. Then I looked up at my mother sitting across from me. She held her tea, calm as ever. I lowered my eyes and enlarged the photo. The moment I saw the woman’s face, my chest tightened. It was not my mother. It was Luca’s. I called Vivian immediately. “Have you lost your mind? That’s Luca’s mother.” She gave a light laugh, her tone cool and distant. “Mr. Valenti has always been clear. Your mother is yours. His mother is his.” “The Valenti family does not take in outsiders.” “You may be Donna, but that does not mean your family steps inside with you.”

Mikkel Solar has been living his life as a drifting shadow at the borders of his pack for the past 11 years. His only companions being his parents. His 'condition' has rendered him an outcast of society, a being they see as a curse. Upon reaching the age of maturity, the supernaturals of Europe are deemed worthy of entering the land of Rhodes, a place that refines the finest warriors, witches, healers and leaders. Aged 22, Mikkel finally finds himself the opportunity to escape to the land of neutrality where legally he was free to abide in without the threat of being harmed. However, will he pass the entrance exam and will the Land of Rhodes find him worthy of enrollment? Meghaal Singhe a studious human who just wants to get her degree has been housing at the Cosmic moon pack for the last month. Mikkel finds in her the friend he never had. The friend he always wanted and needed. The Two best friends fight their way past figures of Authority and superstitious stigma that stand against them as they force their ways past the gates of Rhodes. But what they do not know is that a storm is brewing. A storm that links the two of them to everyone and everything that plays a part. Betrayal, negligence, broken hearts and newfound love are the cups of tea they're in for. This story does not only focus on Mikkel and Meghaal. It just starts out with them. There will be 3 other protagonists who will have their very own story within it. Each one of them will have a problem of their own, and each one of them will be connected to one other. T/W This story contains mxm, mxg, gxg, mxmxm, depression, suicide, mental health, and rape.

As soon as I receive my year-end bonus, I transfer 100 thousand dollars to my wife, Zoe Steele, so that she can prepare the holiday gifts for both families right away. I even tell her to buy the best quality gifts for our parents, especially the box of premium liquor meant for my dad. On New Year's Eve, I rush home to have dinner with my parents. But weirdly enough, Dad, who's an avid drinker, starts having tea instead of liquor at the dining table. This leaves me perplexed. "Dad, why aren't you cracking open a bottle of liquor for yourself during the holidays?" With a smile on my face, I get up to my feet so that I can carry the box of liquor over. "Zoe had someone buy the liquor for you, you know. I hear that the taste is exceptional." "Stop!" Dad slams his pipe against the table loudly, his face a starking shade of crimson. "Edgar, don't ever send such gifts home. I know that life is difficult for you in the city and that making money is hard. We Kennedys may be poor, but we are people with pride! "Now, everyone in the village is gossiping about us behind our backs! They claim that I've been boasting about your wealth!" Dad's words confuse me to no end. After I unscrew a bottle of liquor, I sip from it, only to feel thunderstruck. This isn't premium liquor at all! This is just mineral water packaged as liquor!