Charlie Bucket Smiling

When I learned that Holly Jones had gone to deliver cold medicine to her young assistant, even though she knew I was trapped in the elevator and suffered from claustrophobia, I asked for a divorce. Holly signed without hesitation. Smiling at her best friend, she said, "Jim is just throwing a little tantrum. His parents are gone, so there's no way he'd really divorce me. Besides, there's a thirty-day cooling-off period before it's finalized. If he regrets it, I'll graciously forgive him and take him back." The very next day, she posted a couples' photoshoot with her assistant, captioned: [Capturing your every sexy moment.] I counted the days. Calmly, I packed my belongings and made a phone call. "Uncle, buy me a ticket to Hudson City."

Meet Usha Mehta, sitting there calmly on the wedding stage looking as beautiful as ever in that red sari. But observe clearly her face in all the chaos of the few people running here and there in a hurry to conduct a perfect wedding. Is she smiling happily looking at the wonderful arrangements? No way! Nevertheless, she is taking deep breaths so that she will not strangle the man sitting beside her. So talking about man, let’s see what he is doing. Well, he is also looking handsome but doing the same thing, and that is taking deep breaths not to strangle the girl sitting beside him. They both are looking with wide eyes, imagining the guests saying loudly “You both can’t escape this marriage.” Poor them! Or is it really? Well, we just have only one option and that is to look at their journey from starting.

One side We have Julia Cameron, a bubbly, jovial and carefree girl who is always smiling and trying to make everyone around her happy. On the flip side We have Liam Black, he's always sitting at the back of the class and doesn't talk or care about anyone. He doesn't have any friends and people leave him alone. That is until Julia comes into his world and forced him to care. Liam finds that Julia is not like everyone around him, she refuses to back down and little by little the ice around his heart starts to melt. And then tragedy struck. Liam and Julia find themselves fighting a foe they can neither see nor touch. Will their love be enough? Will the pain be too much for Liam? Or will love force him to stay by Julia's side forever?

As the upcoming tour approached, the dance troupe suddenly revoked my position as the lead dancer. Anxious to get an explanation in person, I lost my footing due to my distracted state and tumbled down the stairs. While enduring the sharp pain and preparing to call for emergency services, a notification popped up on my phone screen: “Redwood Dance Troupe: Welcome our new lead dancer, Averil Wells, and our generous sponsor, Julian Ford." The accompanying photo featured two smiling faces—my husband of seven years, whom I had secretly married, and his pampered mistress. Julian had his arm wrapped around Averil's waist as he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. Meanwhile, Averil clung to Julian's neck, her face radiating shyness and delight.

My mom treated me like the dirt beneath her shoes but worshiped my cousin like a queen. Since I could walk, I had scrubbed clothes and cooked meals, but I would still be yelled at or smacked if I messed up. On the contrary, my cousin twirled in princess dresses and played the piano. She was cherished by my aunt and uncle like she was the center of their world. Then came the day everything changed. At my cousin's birthday party, my mom got drunk and spilled the secret—she switched me and my cousin at birth. It turned out that I wasn't her daughter; I was my aunt's daughter. I was over the moon. Finally, I thought I'd found my real family, people who might actually care about me. But when I told my aunt, she just smirked. "You think I didn't know? I don't want you. You'll never be my daughter." Her words hit me like a bucket of ice water. I couldn't understand. Why didn't anyone want me? But that day, I made a vow—I'd never beg for anyone's love again. Years later, when I got into Mayward University—the best educational institution in the country—I threw two DNA test reports on the table in front of them. For the first time, they both looked terrified.

She is in Law school. He breaks the Law every day. Her father calls her sunshine. He is called the Overlord of the Bravta. She is pure. He is tainted. They are a match made in hell. *** “There is no going back after you sign this contract,” he tilted my head so I met his sinful smirk and distracting eyes. “After this, you are mine, Sweet little thing. You’ll not be able to run or escape me. Because no matter where you run to, even though I have to turn this world upside down, I will find you and bring you right back to my side because you are bound to me.” I laughed. “Trying to scare me?” I took the pen from him and signed a contract with the Devil. ***** When Julia found out she was dying soon, she decided to do the one thing she had been scared to do all her life before she died. Fall in love. She had her bucket list planned out and all she needed was a heartless man who wouldn’t lose his heart to her in the 6 months she had to live. And Valentino Damon was the right man for the job since she was more than convinced he didn’t own a heart. He was the devil and he might be the most significant risk she might ever take but what does one have to lose if they were going to die soon anyway?

The air between them became hotter as she bit her lip, trying to stop herself from smiling so much. The closet was dark and stuffy, so small that their bodies were almost touching, her heart thumped like crazy. "D-Derek" She called out as he hummed in response, holding unto his sides for some unknown reason. "Will you be my boyfriend?" She blurted out, closing her eyes so she wouldn't see his reaction, he groaned, it almost broke her heart but when she looked down, she saw his shirt was now soaked. Blood trailing down his abdomen which made her gasp, slamming open the closet door. "Somebody call an ambulance!" She yelled as the guy she had just asked out dropped limp to the ground like a pack of soggy spaghetti. *A Nigerian themed novel* |16+

It was him. The man I had just been accused of murdering in cold blood. The man whom I've been forced to consume poison because of. Or, had I seen a ghost? Why was my supposedly dead husband standing in the midst of those people, smirking in accomplishment. As the venom of the poison spread through my body and like I was going to rip apart because of the pain, I gave in to the paralysis that rushed me and then closed my eyes shut, tears finding their way out of my closed eyes regardless. “P…please, G… God,” I mumbled with the final breath in me. ~~~ And, suddenly, my eyes were opened, and I was standing in front of him. And he was smiling widely at me, asking what I thought of the wedding dress. But, this was weird because this was from three years ago. Then, my eyes dropped on the calendar. Was I hallucinating? I… I have been reborn?!

I’d been dead a month before my family even noticed. It wasn’t concern that brought them to that realization. It was my silence after the so-called “dinner” with Adam Rossi, the infamous mafia boss. My father scoffed like always,“She probably shacked up with that bastard. Too busy spreading her legs to pick up the damn phone.” My sister texted me a photo of them smiling under the Christmas tree, ornaments twinkling like nothing was wrong. Bitch, she wrote. You better talk Mr. Rossi into working with Dad, or you might as well be dead already. And my mother—once the softer one—was now colder than the frost on their windows. “I told you, we should’ve sent Gia to charm Mr. Rossi. Serena always screws things up.” They didn’t think I would die. Not until they found my body—broken, rotten, and forgotten—in Adam Rossi’s basement.

Daisy is a normal girl in the modern world. When she lost consciousness due to a traffic accident, she dreamed that she went to Mighty Era. Mighty Era is a rich kingdom in the period when feudalism was flourishing. However, underneath the outward prosperity is the struggle between the royal forces to compete for the throne. The king has no heirs, and poor health. He tries to keep the throne among the Royals with remedies and a kind of Royal bloodline. All of the Aristocrats are only thinking for themselves, opening a picture of the royal ceremony, but the inner bond has completely rotted. Daisy got off to a bad start. Daisy is a normal girl, without any talent to use in Mighty Era. She even can not speak Mighty Era's languages. Her appearance is not appreciated in Mighty Era even though in the modern world she is considered a beautiful girl. Daisy even nearly lost her life for being suspected of being a spy. She must study hard and live cautiously. Daisy is forced to marry Charlie Aristocrat for saving her life. If Daisy can back home or just be a chessman in Mighty Era? The answers are in this story.