Banquet Of Chestnuts

I quit and dipped. City threw a parade. Only Jenna Blake—my oh-so-gifted junior who claimed she could "see through killers' eyes"—lost it. At her celebration banquet, she went full drama queen: "I owe everything to Kate Mercer. Please, bring her back!" I laughed. Cold. Not happening. Last time around, I was the hotshot detective. But every clue I found? She dropped it first like she read my mind. People started saying I was washed. So I went all in—three months, no sleep, cracked a massive trafficking ring. Led the raid myself. She beat me there. Again. Place was cleaned out. Boom. She's the city's golden girl. I'm the clown with no game. Pressure got ugly. My head snapped. I died chasing the last scumbag. Then—bam. I woke up. Same day. Raid morning. Round two.

I'm the true heir to an affluent family who got switched at birth. But when I'm reunited with my family, they suddenly announce their bankruptcy. The sprawling mansion is repossessed, leaving me, my wife, and my parents to sleep on the streets. My parents are so furious that they end up getting admitted to the hospital—one gets a stroke, and the other passes away. My wife gets her legs broken by one of the creditors, and my son is so frightened that he becomes mentally impaired. To bear the astronomical medical bill, I work countless part-time jobs and put myself through the wringer. Everything changes when, one day, I accept a job as a temporary driver. I go to a lavish hotel's banquet hall. A celebration for a gold wedding is being held there, and I see my late mother and paralyzed father sharing a kiss onstage. My crippled wife is dancing offstage as she enjoys the festivities. Meanwhile, my son speaks fluently in a foreign language as he speaks with a foreign child.

“ …if you ever loved me… please…don’t…” “The crown had decreed justice by measure for measure.” His strong fingers secured my chin, then he poured the amber liquid into my eyes. It feels like my eyes are being carved out from the inside. The world goes black. ***A conspiracy, Hope went from Luna to criminal. Hope is the daughter of Clinton, Alpha of the Blue Rock Wolf Pack. At 18, Hope became the fated mate of Keith, the son of the Alpha of the neighboring Lotus Pack. They fell in love and got married. Three years later, Hope and Keith were invited to attend a banquet held by the Alpha King’s daughter, Princess Lilith. During the event, Princess Lilith fell down the stairs and became blind. Hope was accused of being the culprit. Keith gouged out Hope’s eyes, and she died accidentally. Hope is reborn at the age of 18. Can she still accept Keith as her mate?

Every year, my wife, Jessica Lowe, prepares a huge surprise for me on our wedding anniversary. On the night of our tenth anniversary, she enters the banquet hall with a scantily-dressed male model. She demands that I take off my suit and put it on him instead. I refuse and take out a divorce agreement. In retaliation, Jessica slaps a thick stack of photos onto the table. The photos show me at my most humiliated, shameful, and pathetic moments. She sneers, "Michael Jefferson, you talk about divorce all the time. But each time, you always end up crawling back to me with your tail between your legs, begging me to take you back. "Tell me, what will your comatose mother think if these pictures of you get out? Will she finally wake up in the hospital from shame and embarrassment?" However, Jessica doesn't know that my mother, Eleanor Brown, passed away months ago.

Dad attends a banquet with his ex-girlfriend, and they make headlines. Everyone mocks Mom for this, saying that she hasn't gotten anything out of her relationship with Dad. They make fun of her for giving up her successful career for his sake to end up with nothing—she can't even tell a homewrecker off. Mom looks at me tiredly after bawling her eyes out. "He let me down first, so I don't want him anymore. Do you want to leave with me, Rosie?" Just then, my phone pings. I've received a text from my boyfriend of seven years. "I'm just going through the motions and registering my marriage with someone else, Rosalie. You'll still be my girlfriend!" After a brief silence, I nod and tell Mom I'll leave with her. On the day of the double weddings, Mom and I disappear after a fire at our villa.

My life completely fell apart when I turned 18. My father's beta killed my family, took control of our pack, and replaced my father as the leader. "Survive, Emilia," were my mother's last words to me as I became his slave. To disgrace my family, the traitors made me serve guests at a banquet and shot at me. Just when I thought I was going to die, a man stood in front of me. He exuded the strongest ALPHA aura and looked at me with dangerous eyes, saying something that made me tremble: "I want this woman." Who was he? Why did he want me? Why were his eyes filled with desire and hatred when he looked at me? "Emilia, you must atone for your father's sins," he said as he tied me to the bed, pinning me down. I felt like this time, I wouldn't be able to escape.

Alina believed that Alpha Caleb was her true mate, but as secrets unravel and the truth comes to light, she discovers that she is merely a pawn in a game of deceit and manipulation. Her dreams shatter when she learns that she was never meant to be Caleb's mate but merely a substitute for his deceased wife. Betrayed by the one she trusted the most, Alina attempts to escape the pack and seek freedom. But as she runs away, Alina's path collides with Prince Alaric, her true mate. Haunted by past betrayals, she struggles to trust him, even if they are fated to be together. Alaric, a royal werewolf prince, had tirelessly searched for his mate, but to no avail. Attending a banquet at Caleb's pack, he unexpectedly finds her, but she is hurt and broken. Despite the odds, Alaric vows to heal her wounds and win her trust, determined to show her the love and devotion she deserves. Will Alina open her heart to the one who has been searching for her all along?

At the wedding, just as I was about to exchange rings with my fiancée, her conniving boyfriend intentionally pushed his son toward her. Right in front of everyone, the boy looked up with teary eyes and asked, "Mom, why are you marrying this man? Don't you want me and Dad anymore?" My fiancée, who never lied, smiled, took the child's hand, and said, "I was only pretending with this man earlier. Now I am going to marry your father." The banquet hall buzzed with whispers. Everyone expected me to get jealous and blow up. Instead, I said the child came first and calmly handed the ring to the boyfriend sitting below the stage. Seeing how cooperative I was, my fiancée grinned and promised she would give me a healthy baby boy someday as a thank you. However, she seemed to have forgotten that we had not officially tied the knot yet. Truth be told, I had no intention of ever doing so.

On the day of the wedding, the bride Elina only wore a veil, a wedding dress, quietly sat in the car and went to her husband's house. No banquet tables, no close friends, no joyful atmosphere… This wedding was inherently just a cover, as well as a transaction, but the person who pushed her to this path was her biological mother. In order to treat her sister's illness, she directly sold her to the rich, but everyone knows how fierce and dangerous these powerful families are. She pushed her into a place full of snakes and would rather kill her. She married him – Levi Simon. A silly young master of the Levi family. I thought life would live in the dark, but it's all just the beginning. "I'll protect you from now on." Absolutely not letting her suffer, he stretched out his arms to hug an abandoned daughter like her in his arms. The fool who was sold. They come together to give each other the so-called love.

I, Darcy Cowell, have been secretly married to my husband, Frank Winston, for seven years. He is the president of a company and has just hired a new assistant. The new assistant, Johanna Scott, is well-behaved and has a voluptuous figure. Scandalous rumors about her and Frank quickly spread throughout the company. Feeling uneasy, I seek Frank out for answers, only to overhear him telling his good friend over the phone. "I'm not interested in her. My wife, Darcy, will always be my only love." I am filled with warmth and relief at those words. A fire suddenly breaks out at the company banquet, and I get crushed under a falling cabinet. Yet, as my life hangs in the balance, Frank turns to run toward Johanna. When I next regain consciousness, I find that I have survived but lost my unborn child forever. This time, I truly lose all faith in Frank. Our child is gone, and I want him gone from my life as well.