Banquet Of Chestnuts

She kissed the wrong man and became his wife. Leslie Webster has always been the family’s dirty little secret; an illegitimate daughter forced to live in the shadows while her half-sister basks in the spotlight. Her only solace is her long-term boyfriend... until she catches him in her sister’s arms. Heartbroken and humiliated at a glittering banquet, Leslie kisses the first man who walks in just to prove she still has a shred of dignity left. But the man she kisses isn’t just anyone. He’s Saint Baxter, the cold, untouchable billionaire who never lets a woman near him. And days later, he sues her for harassment. A story of revenge, redemption, and forbidden desire. When an unwanted kiss becomes the spark that burns down two empires, only love can rise from the ashes.

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.

“ …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?

I was pregnant, but his lover came back. - "My lover is back." When he smiled and told me this news, I hid the pregnancy from him and left him. I always knew he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend, but when his father asked me to marry him, I said "yes" because I loved him. After leaving him, I gave birth to the baby alone. "Darling, I've been looking for you for a long time." At the banquet, a familiar deep male voice sounded. I suddenly turned around and saw the handsome face that I had been longing for. "You have mistaken me for someone else." My nose was sore and I tried to hide the child behind me, trying to escape. "Don't go," he holding me in his arms. "I miss you very much."

“Lucien has exhausted my patience,” I said. The wolves flinched backward and a tremor ran through the silverfang forces. “You have ten seconds.” I took a breath. “Nine” *** Betrayed on the very night of her wedding, framed for the murder of the Alpha King, and executed alongside a stranger she barely knew, Princess Mia Esbond expected the story to end in blood. Instead, she woke up at the banquet the night before it all happened. This time, she’s not here to survive, she’s here to burn everything down. Allies will turn into enemies. Enemies will become weapons. And in the heart of it all stands Orion Vale, the infuriating, dangerous heir who might just be the only one she can trust… if she doesn’t kill him first. *** “You wanna know what I've become,” I asked, driving my blade through his neck. “Alpha-Killer should be appropriate.”

When Matthew Sinclair accused me of selling company secrets, I expected my girlfriend to stand by me. Instead, Selena Oxford told me to apologize. To the man who framed me. That was the moment I understood that trust was not something you pleaded for. You either had it, or you did not. I resigned the same day, cut every tie, left a ring on the table that she would never wear, and walked out of her life without looking back. I believed we would never cross paths again. Eight years later, at a black-tie banquet, Selena spotted me across the crowd. I was dancing with another woman, moving through the room as if I belonged there. In front of everyone, now known as a corporate powerhouse, she met my gaze with red-rimmed eyes and asked, "Was it for her? Is that why you left me eight years ago?"

I create a fake account, add Lucas Bennett's lover, and then help her with advice and strategy. "A little drama keeps the spark alive. If you don't stir things up now and then, how else will he remember to pay attention to you?" So on my birthday, he spends an hour in the bathroom coaxing her to eat. On our fifth anniversary, Lucas sneaks off to a hotel and spends an hour tangled up with her. Lucas spends less time with me, but their relationship grows stronger. On the night of the company banquet, when Lucas is entertaining important clients, I tell her, "Lucas' girlfriend will be there too. If you don't ruin this contract, they'll be tied together forever." That evening, she picks up a glass of red wine and dumps it over my head. Lucas, who's been fawning over my dad, completely lost his composure.

Three days before our wedding, I tell Gabriel Miller that I want to terminate our marriage once and for all. He just smiles helplessly at me. "Is it because I hooked Katherine's bra for her?" I nod in response. "Yup." The helplessness in his smile grows. "Kat is so clumsy. The last clasp came loose and she couldn't fix it herself. There were so many guests at the banquet last night, so I had to lend her a helping hand." Upon noting my lack of response, Gabriel pushes a Victoria's Secret giftbox in my direction. But I refuse to accept it. We've been together since our years in our hometown all the way till our time in Marise. Over the years, we've grown older and more mature. It's been 18 long years. Now is time for me to let go of this relationship once and for all.

On the Lunaris Festival, the palace banquet glittered with candlelight. It lasted until the Crown Prince rose and dismissed every consort of his for the sake of his first love, the woman he had never stopped idolizing. Everyone else accepted the gold coins from the prince and returned home for reunions. I had nowhere to go. I found a rope and hanged myself at the gate of the Withered Court. I had been reborn into this world and spent 21 years locked in the System's mission. It demanded that I court four designated male leads and earn absolute affection from at least one of them. I failed every route. The final path collapsed in my hands. The System offered one last mercy. If this body died, I could return home and reunite with my family. As my consciousness slipped away, I thought I heard someone scream my name, as if the world itself were breaking.

At the company's annual banquet, my wife, Amelia Sanford, publicly announces that she is gifting her assistant, Zayden Craig, a private jet worth 20 million dollars. Zayden wraps his arm around her waist gleefully. "Thank you, Ms. Sanford. I will definitely repay your kindness." I do not argue or make a scene. I simply turn and leave. But Amelia comes after me to give me a scolding. "Why are you jealous? What is wrong with me giving my top assistant a plane? You are incapable of doing anything right, and you still have the nerve to make a fuss?" I smile bitterly and don't bother to explain. I am the one doing all the work, but all the credit goes to Zayden while she pretends not to see it. It is time to walk away from this rotten relationship.