Blush Expression

My fiancé’s pampered niece, Jenna Quinn, had just returned from abroad. The moment she got back, she caused a scene at our engagement party, throwing out so-called “evidence” of my alleged affair in front of the media. Zac Quinn had no choice but to leave me with the mess, clutching his hysterical niece as they left. His parting words? “This is just an engagement party. Jenna’s well-being is far more important.” After I painstakingly managed to control the public narrative and was waiting for Jenna to make a public clarification to settle the matter, she instead curled up in Zac’s arms, crying softly. Zac’s expression turned cold. “Jenna only has me, while you have so many people who love you. Why must you target her?” At first, I thought Zac was just being overly protective of his niece, who had lost her parents at a young age—until I saw the two of them kissing. “You’re the precious girl I’ve raised with my own hands. From now on, Nina will be your aunt, and she’ll shower you with love, too,” he said. I clenched the ultrasound report in my hand and, without hesitation, tossed it into the trash. Love that can’t be held onto isn’t worth keeping. I decided to return home, accept my family’s marriage alliance, and fully embrace my role as the heiress of the Walker Corporation.

A soft gasp escaped her lips when Tobias’ hand slipped into her gown and caught one breast. She tried her best to suppress her emotions but her eyes just involuntarily shut due to a pleasurable sensation brought by his warm touch. She blinked her eyes open when he detached his hand from her breast. Tobias distanced himself from her, however, the rage in his eyes was still there as he watched her. “I almost forgot. You told me a few years back, only I can touch you unless I pay you.” Minah's brows furrowed, her eyes fixed on him. Tobias pulled himself away from her, composing himself before he took his wallet out of his pocket. He then pulled out some paper bills and threw them on her. Her eyes darted to the money that he tossed right in front of her. Six violet-colored paper bills. Her mouth was left agape. Six hundred pesos! Minah could feel her blood rushing to her face as insult, rage, and humiliation stirred inside her. She lifted her face once again and threw daggers at Tobias. “I am no whore, you son of a bitch!” His expression grew ominous. “You are filthier than a whore, Damara,” he said firmly, his voice sounding displeased.

Le jour de mon mariage, tout aurait dû être parfait. Je devais avancer vers l’autel, sourire, les yeux pleins d’amour pour Adrian, l’homme qui m’a sauvée, celui qui m’a fait croire en un avenir meilleur. Mais quand mon regard s’est perdu parmi les invités, mon cœur s’est arrêté. Là, assis au premier rang, un homme que je n’avais jamais pensé revoir. Un homme dont le regard m’a traversée comme une lame. Un homme que je connaissais trop bien… **Mon ancien client.** Celui avec qui j’avais passé cette nuit, des années plus tôt. Et aujourd’hui, il était là, devant moi, portant un costume élégant, une expression impassible… Parce qu’il était le père d’Adrian. Mon futur beau-père. Comment était-ce possible ? Que devais-je faire ? Tout avouer ? Faire semblant de ne pas le reconnaître ? Et surtout… que se passerait-il si Adrian découvrait la vérité ? Mon mariage venait-il de s’effondrer avant même d’avoir commencé ?

A young psychologist, Maria Reyes, fresh out of college, decides to take her first freelance case to build her résumé. Feeling bold and free on her graduation night, she let herself loose after getting charmed by an alluring mysterious man. One drink leads to another and another, and she finds herself drowning in passion in his bed. She reads him like a map and falls for his scars before she even asks for his name. But the morning brings the brutal truth, Darian Wolfe is her father's enemy, a ruthless businessman, an heir to the empire sworn to destroy her father's legacy. She vanishes before he wakes, unable to face what has been done. Weeks later after being able to set up her new office, the past begins to blur until her first patient walks through the door. It's him, Darian Wolfe. Her expression freezes when she sees him. He walks around her office uninvited. He takes a seat without a word. The silence between them is thick with everything unsaid. And then, he looks unblinking in her eyes. "I have a lot to... unpack, Dr Reyes," he says, with a dark smile. "Let's start with a woman I met two weeks ago at a bar," he says, pulling out a red panty from his pocket.

Stephanie Ford has given her heart and everything else to Tyler Grover throughout their five-year relationship, only to find out that he has already married his first love, Kiara Grover, on their wedding night. The fake marriage certificate that Stephanie holds is proof that she's stuck in an elaborate scheme that Tyler and Kiara have come up with. This realization leaves her heartbroken and her trust in Tyler permanently shattered. Throughout the past five years, she's gone through a car accident that's apparently staged by others, which has ruined her dreams of becoming a professional dancer. To make things worse, Tyler and Kiara intend to use her as a surrogate mother for their child. Hence, Stephanie decides to go home and enter into a business marriage that her family has arranged for. The next time they meet again, Tyler watches as the cold and aloof heir to the powerful Hawke family of Jetterpolis, Adrian Hawke, pulls Stephanie carefully into his arms. He treats her with utmost care, as though she's the most precious treasure in the world. Tyler's eyes redden instantly. He sinks down to his knees like a madman and begins begging Stephanie for her forgiveness. "Steph, this is all my fault! Please come back to me!" But Adrian shields Stephanie from Tyler, his expression now glacial. "Get lost! Don't you dare taint my wife's sight with your filthy presence!"

The night before our wedding, Jason Scott receives the cancer diagnosis of my adopted younger sister, Helena Sanderson. His expression falters, and he says indignantly, "We'll cancel the wedding tomorrow, Victoria. Helena is very fragile now. I can't risk upsetting her at this point in time." I reply, "I don't agree with it! Why would my wedding upset her?" Jason doesn't show any displeasure after my rejection. He even thoughtfully prepares a glass of milk for me. … When I wake up the next morning, I realize the house that should be full of excitement is eerily quiet. Anxious, I dial Jason's number 99 times. He only picks up the call on my 100th try. "Where did my wedding dress and shoes go?" I ask. Jason falls silent for a moment. His tone is apologetic when he replies, "I'm sorry, Victoria. Helena wants to experience being a bride once. I can't let her leave with regrets. Please bear with this for now. I'll make it up to you once she passes away peacefully." As the line goes dead, I sit frozen on the bed, unable to recover for some time. … A month later, while Jason is on his honeymoon, I send the livestream of my wedding announcement with his rival, Frank Lawrent, directly onto his phone. Jason regrets it bitterly.

When Seth Gibson told me his legs were crippled and that only snowmelt from a mountain's peak could cure him, I did not hesitate. I scaled the mountainside, climbing over 15,000 feet just to get some snow for him. When I staggered back, bruised and scratched, cradling the snow outside the hospital room, I overheard cruel voices down the corridor. "Seth, today's the deadline. Nevaeh still isn't back. Could she have died up there?" "I heard that the mountain's pretty high. She might have gotten altitude sickness. What a shame! She's already risked herself for Seth ninety-nine times. This was supposed to be the last time before the game ended." "Serves her right! She used to bully Janice, Seth's childhood friend, didn't she?" I saw Seth through the crack in the door. He was standing at the window, his legs perfectly intact, and his expression ice-cold. "Enough," he said flatly. "If she dies, the game ends." I froze in disbelief until it finally sank in. Seth had been pretending all along. A laugh nearly escaped me. What a relief! I could finally get rid of this weight on my shoulders. I pulled out my phone and called his uncle. "I'll marry you," I said.

The day before our wedding, my fiancé invites our family onto a cruise ship. He says he wants to test the authenticity of my feelings for him. He shoves my mother off the ship when the waves are at their choppiest. Then, he jumps into the water, too. I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. I panic, not knowing what to do. My mother had already choked on a lot of water, but she pushed me away weakly. She cried, "Save Adrian first! He can't swim!" However, after I drag Adrian Lawson onto land and go back for my mother, I find that she's already stopped breathing. Adrian watches me cry, his expression frosty. "Drop the act. Your mother was a swimmer when she was younger—how can she be dead? I can't believe you didn't save me first. "Vi is right—you don't love me enough. Our wedding is postponed. It'll happen only after you've reflected on your mistakes and I've received an apology from you and your mother." After that, he leaves while holding Vivian Sinclair's hand. He doesn't know that my mother can no longer swim after a major illness a few years back. He's shoved her to her death.

I accidentally saw a notification pop up on my husband’s phone saying that an automatic transfer had been completed when I was using it for navigation. Immediately after that, his ex-girlfriend, Wanda Blake, sent him a message on WhatsApp: [I’ve received this month’s 10,000 dollars for child support. Thank you, Koah. I don't know what I would have done without you.] I froze. “Child support? “Koah, you told me that the money you send every month was for medical expenses for your mother’s treatment!” Koah Quinn’s expression stiffened as he explained, “Honey, don’t misunderstand. I just felt that life has become really hard for her because she’s a woman raising a child on her own. Her ex-husband refuses to pay child support, so I wanted to help her out…” I touched the old watch on my wrist. The one I had not replaced in years to save money, and felt extremely disappointed. “Your monthly salary is only 6,000 dollars. Where did you get so much money to send her?” He was silent for some time before finally admitting. “I used the money we had set aside for the new house’s downpayment.” I was stunned. He had taken the money my parents had scrimped and saved for decades for me as downpayment for a home and then transferred it to his ex-girlfriend as child support.

My parents were award-winning teachers, having nurtured countless outstanding students. However, I had always been the last in line, failing every single class. After yet another gentle warning from my homeroom teacher, my dad finally snapped. "How did I end up with a kid this dumb? You're deliberately trying to torture me, aren't you?" He disappeared for three days. When he returned, he had a boy with him. "From today on, Josh is the only true child of this family. You are no longer allowed to call us Mom and Dad. "Get out! You'll only earn the right to be my son once you can actually pass your exams." The next time I saw them was at the hospital during a check-up organized by their school for all the staff. The head of guidance recognized me immediately. "Yale? Isn't this Shane from your family? "He works here now. And Josh's condition, there's hope for him! You should have him contact the new Dr. Cunningham right away." Seeing me in my white coat, my dad's expression shifted again and again. "This kid… switched jobs and didn't even tell me." I subtly used my coat to cover the badge hanging on my chest. It read: Department Director: Asher Cunningham