Cannery Row

My roommate was obsessed with those cheesy “milk-scented girl” romance stories. She wanted to become the kind of heroine from those books. Tiny, soft, and delicate, the type who was supposedly so sweet that even her farts smelled like milk. So she went completely overboard. She lived on dairy. Drank milk nonstop. Even took milk baths. She tried everything, all because she was convinced she’d eventually run into her destined male lead. I believed in letting people make their own choices. What I didn’t expect was for her to go after my boyfriend, the guy I’d basically grown up with. One day, she sent him a carefully posed thirst trap. He replied with one word. “Get lost.” Then she proudly showed me the screenshot, like she’d won something. “Only girls like me, soft and sweet and irresistible, deserve a powerful man’s obsessive love.” “Don’t be fooled by how cold he is now. He’ll be crazy about me soon enough. He’ll want me all to himself.” I was just about to tear into her when a row of floating comments suddenly appeared in front of my eyes. “Fresh one, guys. This host is bold. Coming in with a thirst trap right away? Nice.” “Wait, what? Isn’t this just harassment? The male lead already has a girlfriend.” “Bro, I think you’re in the wrong livestream.”

A curse is cast upon everyone in this village, reducing us to mutes. But once a villager's lover takes three laps around the back mountain and marries said villager successfully, the curse on that villager will be broken. My childhood friend, who's the same age as me, has already gotten married and embraced his life as a regular person. Even my cousin, who's just turned 18 years old, has her curse broken as well. I, on the other hand, am about to turn 30 years old soon, and yet I'm still a mute. Whenever I'm about to get married, all of my ex-fiances, who kept telling me that they'd love me with all their hearts, would do anything just to terminate our engagements right after they came out of the back mountain. In order to proclaim his deep love for me, my tenth fiance, Isaac Jameson, tells me confidently that he'd definitely marry me once he's done with his laps around the mountain. But as soon as his words fall, his expression changes the moment he sets foot into the mountain. To my horror, Isaac picks up an axe from the ground and begins hacking at me with it. "Why are you still alive in this world? Why can't you just die already?" I can only lie on the ground while suffering from intense pain. I have no idea what's in the back mountain and why the same outcome will happen every time. Why is it that the entire village can break their curse so easily, and yet I can never get married despite having gone through it ten times in a row?

“Strip naked and get in the bed." Liam said to the pretty lady. “But I am your best friend's girlfriend." Was her reply, where she stood. “So what are you doing in my hotel room?" Liam raised a brow. “I..I just can't help myself. I can't seem to get you off my head. I love my boyfriend, your best friend Felix but I want to see for myself what everyone is talking about. I want to experience what is making all the ladies seem to go crazy over you," she said shamelessly.... Four years in a row he has been voted as the most handsome man in the world! His father is the richest man in the world! Liam has his name in every girl's lips. They all sing of his praises. He performs like a god in bed and he has a massive third leg like that of a horse! Each night Liam always has a beautiful lady to warm his bed. He doesn't even care to know most of their names; all he is interested in is the treasure in-between their legs. Spoilt, arrogant, naughty and selfish, not even his best friend's girlfriend is spared from his sinful attraction. She too wants a taste of his legendary third leg! . What happens when Amelia, a pretty hotel cleaner, would catch his attention but instead of getting kissed he got slapped! Does she know the implications of what she has done? Can a lowly girl withstand the anger of an arrogant, naughty billionaire? Will their fiction spark an unexpected romance between these two? Find out in this thrilling adventure.

"You don't say no to me, Lilian. You're my property. You belong to me!" His voice was calm, yet the scariest she ever heard. She shivered on the spot as she stared at the dangerous and scary man in front of her. How she suddenly ended up here in a lion's den and there was no hope of escaping, was what she never imagined. She knew her stepmom hated her so much, but if there was one thing she never imagined, it was the fact that she could go to the extreme length of selling her off to a stranger. "Re... Ren... Don't touch me..." Her voice quivered as she pressed her back further into the wall, tears streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably. She wished she could disappear into the wall, but was that even possible in reality? "I beg you, please... Leave me alone," She suddenly fell to her knees when her legs couldn't carry her anymore, and he rolled his eyes momentarily. "I'll spare you tonight, Lilian... Not because of your pleas, but because I am in a good mood. When next I want you..." He paused then squatted in front of her and smirk "I will torture you until you can't take it anymore and beg me to f*ck you so hard, Lilian. I'll make you hit orgasms five times in a row, and I promise that by the time I'm done with you, you'll never remain the same again," He whispered against her ear as a dirty smirk played at the corner of his lips, and her heart sank into her stomach. Will she ever get out of this?

Since it's already the end of the year, the music app I use produces a report on the songs I've listened to in 2025. The keyword of my report is "resonance". Over the year, I don't spend much time listening to the songs on this app. My girlfriend, Sienna Fletcher, is the one who's been using my account this whole time. There's a row beneath the keyword that's written in a tiny font. "You had listened to this song with someone at 4:00 am on December 1st. It turns out that love can go beyond a night's sleep." My breath gets hitched in my throat. December 1st is my birthday. But that night, I had gone to bed at an early hour. Meanwhile, Sienna had left hurriedly after cutting my birthday cake with me with the excuse that she needed to pull an overnight shift at the company. For some reason, I tap onto the unfamiliar-looking profile that has been interacting frequently with my account with a trembling finger. Their keyword of the year is "favor". My heart skips a beat at the sight. Then, I tap on the details. "Over the year, you've listened to songs with this user 688 times in the middle of the night. Every time you do, it's a secretive conversation meant for your souls." The next thing I know, I receive a message from Sienna. "Babe, I need to work overtime tonight again. You don't have to wait up for me. Just go to bed early." At the same time, a new post is uploaded on the unfamiliar profile. It features a photo of two hands that are intertwined together. "I love working overtime with her the most. I want to listen to songs with her forever."

Everyone warned me never to fall for Dante Moretti. They said he was the ghost of the Velasco family—an underboss who ordered hits without blinking, his heart colder than the barrel of his gun. But when he bent me over that mahogany desk, his mouth against my ear commanding me to say his name, I was stupid enough to think that was possession. It took me an entire year to see the truth. The photographs locked in his study drawer were never of me. The woman in white waiting for him in the cathedral district on Sunday mornings was never me. The girl who took a bullet for him, the one he called his "salvation"—her name is Elena Abate. And Elena happens to be my stepmother's daughter. My father is trying to sell me to a half-dead Agosti heir for five hundred million to save the family. My stepmother is scheming to erase me from existence entirely. And the man I thought would burn this city to the ground for me? On the day I needed him most, he was lifting Elena up a flight of stairs, cradling her like something sacred. They all thought I was just a pawn to be moved around their chessboard. They were wrong. If Dante can't let go of his precious white moonlight, his "salvation," then I'll become someone else's "widow." If Elena believes she's already won this game, I'll let her watch from the front row as a woman with nothing left to lose burns it all down. My name is Serafina. Remember it. Because I am about to become the reckoning none of them saw coming.

He took a step into the room and stopped as he heard her breath hitch in her chest, and she shrank back slightly in fear. “What is your name?” His raspy voice carried across the room. He pulled off his shirt, revealing the beautiful, intricate tattoos that designed his skin. He noticed her eyes shine with interest. He caressed the side of her face with the back of his hand. She stiffened on the bed as hand traced down her shoulders. When his hand cupped her breast and massaged her hard nipples, it was like she came to life. She swung with all her might, burying the pointy end of a comb into his abdomen. He cursed under his breath as she slipped away from his grasp and made a run for the door. He bound across the bed in one leap and pressed her face and chest against the wall. Growling under his breath, he gripped the neck of her cloth and tore it away. “You. Have. Not. Answered. My. Question -” His sentence was cut short by a knock on the door, and his brother walked in. ************ Claire Fischer had a perfect life. A perfect family. A loving fiance she was supposed to marry and rule over the pack. But it all changed as soon as her father died. She caught her fiance cheating and a family secret looms overhead. After being betrayed twice in a row, she decides that she can't take it anymore and she leaves the pack, placing her life in the hands of fate. Would fate treat her better than her pack? Or did she just get into an even worse situation because fate is not kind to anyone, especially a wolfless mutt with alpha blood, and a cursed Lycan king on the hunt.

During the holiday, I took my whole family on a trip. Just as we were about to head back, more than ten police cars surrounded us at the guesthouse. The police showed a video. In it, under surveillance cameras, I drove to a forest near a popular tourist town the day before and dumped a corpse. Even more frightening, there was a strange woman sitting in the car. After throwing away the body, the two of us immediately engaged in intimate acts inside the car. Hannah Walker slapped me hard across the face. "No wonder you insisted on going to that tourist town to buy snacks for us—you were using it as an excuse to go on a date! "After doing something so inhumane, you still had the nerve to do such filthy things in the car?" However, yesterday, I had clearly gone to the town alone to buy snacks and returned. There was no such horrifying experience at all. Without another word, the police opened the trunk. When the searchlight swept across it, it was filled with bloodstains from the victim's body. In the corner, they also found the murder weapon with my fingerprints on it. I had no way to defend myself. I fell from being a rocket engineer, a hero in the country's aerospace field, to a death row prisoner. Due to the severity of the case, I was sent to the execution ground in less than a month. My parents and child, who had been on the trip with me, were blocked at the guesthouse by the victim's family and beaten to death. However, even as reality dawned on me, I still did not understand what had happened that day. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment I was about to leave to buy snacks.

No one knows that Ingrid Steele, the CEO who's currently talking about how her company bans office romances on the podium, has begged me to do it with her eight times in a row last night. Her secretary leans in and murmurs into my ear, "I heard that our cold and aloof CEO has plans to reveal her husband's identity recently. Rumors say that she even plans on throwing him an extremely grand wedding just to make it up to him." Warmth floods my heart at that moment. It's then I decide to make the great news of me winning a billion dollars in the lottery a wedding gift for Ingrid. Our daughter, Gaby Newman, no longer has to hide anymore in life. The three of us can publicly spend time together as a family now! The next day, I put on the suit that Ingrid has given me eight years ago. Then, I enter the wedding venue. As soon as I open the door, I see Ingrid leading her first love, Hank Conley, up the stage. After they exchange rings with each other, they share a sweet kiss in front of everyone in a tight embrace. In the end, Ingrid tosses her wedding bouquet at the guests. Coincidentally, it lands right in my hands. Someone next to me gives me a light shove. "What are you waiting for? Give them your blessings already!" I just clap for the newlyweds while walking toward them. "Congratulations, you two! I hope that you can live happily ever after and that you'll have a bundle of joy soon! No, make it 108 babies, how about that?" As soon as my words fall, I turn on my heel and stride away. As expected, Ingrid doesn't chase after me. She doesn't even bother calling me nor explaining everything to me.

Wealth, fame, power, Alpha Davien is the stereotypical playboy who has both the looks and commitment issues. Leading one of the most powerful packs in the whole of New York, life couldn't be much better for him. That was, till his father made an announcement that changed his all so perfect life. With his father stepping down from chairman and their company merging with their number one rival. Davien was left with no choice but to agree to a marriage between himself and the heir of their rivals to preserve the peace and keep his inheritance. Infamous for rejecting three mates in a row, Davien is certain that his so called marriage would end as miserably as any other of his entanglements. However, on the night of his engagement party to Silvia, the eldest daughter and heir to the company, a surprise guest arrives at the event. Kian Saint. The nineteen year old rebel son of the rival company, rumoured to have gone to prison abroad and was deported. Tension rises when Davien and Kian both discover that they're actually each other's mate! Determined not to lose his inheritance, Davien offers Kian a large sum of money with the intention of rejecting the mate bond. Things go south when Davien hears what Kian has to say... "Do I look stupid? Why should I accept this small amount when I can become your husband and have all your money to myself?" Conflicted, he tries to approach Silvia but is left stunned at what she has to say. "I'll admit, I'm a bit shocked myself, but I'm glad Kian has a mate! As long as you keep my brother happy, I won't run your company into the ground." Left with no other choice, the playboy Davien marries an omega seven years younger!