Bewitching Branch

My husband's childhood friend says she wants her crystal beads to soak up some of the good luck in our home. Because of that, he scatters the beads on the floor, making me slip and miscarry. I'm in agony as I lie on the operating table. I call my husband incessantly, but all he does is block my number. I lie in the hospital ward after the operation. I see my husband's childhood friend's social media update—a photo of him worshipfully holding out a certificate while getting down on one knee. It's captioned, "He loves me so much! I said I'm interested in running a business and he actually set up a company for me!" On the day of the branch company's grand opening, my husband's childhood friend wears an expensive custom-made gown. Meanwhile, I wear her discarded goods. I'm barred from even entering the building. I suppress my bitterness and call my lawyer. "Are the divorce procedures done?"

My cafe's sales have doubled recently. On the day before the celebration party, my younger brother, Ian Kingston, comes looking for me. "Vivian, I'm going to marry Louisa soon. We should dissolve our business partnership." He adds, "Louisa mentioned that she and I work better together as husband and wife. She intends to open a cafe with me so that we can spend the rest of our lives together. "Vivian, you'll marry into another family someday. This cafe is a business under the Kingston family, so you should withdraw from the partnership right away." Louisa Nott has yet to become Ian's wife, but she is already thinking of taking over the Kingstons' assets? I post an announcement on my family group chat right away. "My own brother decides to dissolve our business partnership because of his girlfriend, so I shall be opening a branch of my own. When the time comes, everyone here is welcome to my cafe to sample my food. It'll be completely free of charge!"

On the day we're supposed to register our marriage, my girlfriend Jenny Sutton has me removed from the city hall. She walks in with her childhood sweetheart, Ronald Walsh. She looks at me without a flicker of guilt and says, "Ronald's kid needs his legal status sorted out. Once we divorce, I'll marry you." Everyone assumes I'll wait. I'm the devoted fool who's already waited seven years, so one more month seems trivial. That night, I go along with my family's plan and leave the country for a marriage of convenience. I cut myself cleanly out of Jenny's life. Three years later, I return to the country with my wife, Ellie Olsen, who's a CEO, to pay respects at her family's graves. A last-minute issue pulls her away, and she asks the local branch to send someone to pick me up. I didn't expect Jenny, not after three years. "You have dragged this out long enough. Come back. Ronald's kid will be starting kindergarten soon. You can handle the school runs."

I was pregnant. On my way to deliver documents to Tristan Goldberg, a flash flood struck. Desperate, I dialed his number, praying he’d answer. After a few rings, the call connected. But instead of Tristan, a woman’s voice answered. "Tristan, whose number is this? Do you want to answer it?" There was a brief pause, and then Tristan’s voice, cold and indifferent, cut through. "It’s just my maid. Ignore it. Hang up." And just like that, the call disconnected. Staring at the torrent rising around me, my pulse quickened. I texted him, begging for him to send a rescue team. Minutes passed as the waters climbed to my waist, churning and relentless. Then, a message from Tristan finally appeared. Tristan: [What kind of ridiculous story are you making up now?] Tristan: [Emily, do you think you're eighteen, playing these childish games? I want that document in my hands within thirty minutes, or we're getting divorced.] A surge of terror shot through me as I looked up, catching sight of a heavy branch snapping loose and crashing down. In an instant, everything went dark.

On the same day we were registering our marriage, my boyfriend, Levi Salfolk, had someone throw me out of the clerk's office while he led his childhood sweetheart inside. He looked at me nonchalantly. "Rosalie's child can't be illegitimate. I'll marry you once we get divorced." Everyone thought that the lovestruck me would wait for him for another month. After all, I had already waited for him for seven years. However, I went overseas that night, accepting the arranged marriage my family had set up for me and disappearing from his world. Three years later, I accompanied my husband back home to pay our respects to his ancestors. Something came up, and my husband sent someone from the local branch office to pick me up. Unexpectedly, I met Levi, whom I had not seen since I left. "Enough with the fooling around. Come back. Rosalie's child is starting preschool soon. You're in charge of picking up and dropping off the child."

Celeste was an abandoned princess, and a wolf-less she-wolf who held no value to her father. Horres was the ruthless Alpha of the Iron Fang Pack-a ticking time bomb. As a peace offering to a rival pack, Celeste Holmes knew her life would be difficult as the Luna to an Alpha who would give anything to wipe her pack from the surface of the earth. Even then, she felt it was her ticket to escape her father’s clutches, yet nothing prepared her for the horror awaiting her. People said Alpha Horres was scary, but to Celeste, he was a demon. Alpha Horres Thorne had everything planned out for the daughter of his nemesis. The humiliation, pain, torture, and everything that could break her was set the moment her father thought of offering her to him. Horres enjoyed watching her bleed. Relishing her despair, and seeing the helplessness on her face gave him the energy to plot more schemes against her evil father. Everything was supposed to move perfectly, but there was a flaw in his plan. After that fateful night, he experienced every single pain he inflicted on her, just the way she felt it. Even her subconscious fears and insecurities were felt by him. Didn’t they say Celeste Holmes had no wolf? How then did she do it, or did Alpha Holmes’ daughter succeed in bewitching Horres while he was enjoying his time torturing her? Did he lose in his own game of chess? How would he take revenge when he couldn’t even hurt her anymore? Was he supposed to just surrender and love her now? What about his grievances?

I was born into hardship, but my beauty led to my adoption by the Maddox family. When I was 18, they brought home two boys. Dustin Holland, a piano prodigy, quickly bonded with my sister, who was the darling of our social circle. Nathan Holland remained in the shadows. He didn't like to talk, laugh, or even show the normal emotional fluctuations of a person. His stubborn, wooden gaze was like that of an abandoned stray dog. Diagnosed with emotional detachment disorder, he became my project. I vowed to heal him. He locked me in a dark room, scarred my face with a branch, and encased my favorite doll in plaster. I forgave it all, thinking he was just traumatized. The elite in the circle mocked us, urging me to abandon him, but I kissed him publicly, declaring, "I love Nathan. Anyone who hurts him will pay." Then a fire tore through our home. Nathan stepped over my broken body to save my sister, his eyes wet with rare tears. Turned out, his disorder had a cure. It was just not me. Reborn on the day they arrived, I looked at the taciturn boy and sneered, "Dad, must we take in every stray?"

A wolf howls. The forest stills… for a moment. Then, all wildlife burst into motion. Every living thing, from the smallest lizards and toads to the great brown bears and powerful mountain lions, flee. Spiders scurry to the top of their webs. Birds take flight. Squirrels leap from branch to branch. Wide-eyed deer and elk jump over brush and fallen logs. A lone wolf pauses, but tucks his tail and turns to join the escape. The wind whips through the forest, causing leaves to fall and tall pines to groan. Thundering hooves and paws make the forest floor shake. Finally, the forest stills. The wind gusts slow to a gentle and warm breeze. The wildlife seem calm once more and return to their foraging, napping, or grazing. The wolf howls again. ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Amerie moved to a small town in Montana for a fresh start and to follow her dreams. Things are starting to look up and feel right again. Then, the town seems to turn upside down when someone goes missing in the forest. Some locals fear the legend of the Wolf Man may be real and claim the beast is to blame, claiming it wants revenge for mistreatment of the forest. Amerie rolls her eyes and joins the search parties, but an unfortunate fall leads her to discover more than she signed up for as she comes face to face with a large, white wolf. The secrets of the forest have been waiting to reveal themselves to her.

The Hot Series (Book 1) Story Of a Mysterious Professor, a girl full of life and Mr. Stranger. He gave me a grin as they all student left, I averted my eyes to show him my fake anger. He strolled to the door and shut it close. "Sir, what are you doing?" I asked dramatically as he locked the door. He turned around, his lips drawn up into a naughty smile. "I need to spend some private time with my student." He's sauntering to me, gazing at me, having desires in his bewitching black eyes. My heart started racing, only with the thoughts of what he'll do to me. I'm excited to spend some time with my Hottie Professor in the classroom. This is making me excited. I'm looking at him in anticipation. "But your favourite student is still angry with you." I turned my face on the other side as he reached in front of me. "Then her professor has his own to pacify his favourite student." He cooed, holding my chin with his thumb and finger. As he turned my face to him, I pouted angrily. "Oh, really? So what are those ways ?" I sassed, removing his hand from my chin. As he abruptly grasped my bare waist, I shivered because of his touch. He lifted me from the floor and made me sit on the desk. We gazed into each other eyes passionately in utter silence, the only sound we could hear is our heartbeats. He started coming close to my lips, gazing into my eyes fondly. His warm breath caressing my face.

After my rebirth, I avoided my family and my boyfriend like the plague. When they tried to throw me a birthday party, I faked an urgent business trip to dodge it. When my parents pleaded with me to move back, I secretly bought my own house that very night. When my boyfriend popped the question, I spun on my heel and married someone else. In my previous life, my sister and I were swept away in a raging flood. By sheer luck, a jagged tree branch snagged my clothes, saving me from the depths, but my sister drowned in the merciless current. My parents, consumed by grief and rage, gripped my throat and screamed, "If it weren't for you, Andrea would still be alive!" My boyfriend acted like it was no big deal, offering half-hearted comfort before we tied the knot. But on our wedding anniversary, during a family cruise, they cornered me on the deck and shoved me overboard. "Time to taste drowning yourself!" they hissed. It turned out they had never gotten over Andrea's death. My boyfriend had never forgotten about her. When my eyes fluttered open again, I found myself back on that fateful day. This time, I vowed to live for myself, reclaiming the joy they'd stolen from me.