Cherry Picked

" Stop! just stop right there, Revan," Shaina said as she moved closer to the door, her hands sweaty with nest-like hair, she looked like a mental patient who ran out of the hospital. " Shaina, all I want is to talk to you why you are always looking at me with accusing eyes like I killed you? " Revan asked in an irritated tone. Little did he know he actually killed her. all the previous bitter memories started to flash in front of her eyes as her breathing ragged, Revan moved closer to her as she picked the vas from nearby to hit him and escape from his hold. she was not going to fall for his words again, she was not going to trust him again like she did in her previous life. " Shaina I am not going to do anything trust me," Revan said trying to cool her down but she was too scared to trust him, hell how can she trust the person who killed her. " you killed me Revan you killed me-- " she was about to say more when she felt his lips moving against hers. she tried to pull away but he held her neck and pulled her closer by her waist, all she wanted was to fight him but she couldn't. She gave in as he kissed her passionately, " I Love you Shaina, and the way you kissed me back, clearly states you do too " he whispered once he parted his lips from hers. Shaina's eyes teared as she looked at him and did what she wanted to do from the moment she saw him again in her life, She slapped him and ran away from his hold leaving a shocked Revan behind.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU FIRED ME!” she screeched, looking like she’d just lost a leading role on Love & Hip Hop. “I’M THE BEST EMPLOYEE YOU EVER HAD, YOU STUCK-UP BITCHES!” Then boom, she picked up her laptop and chucked it across the room like she was auditioning for the shot put in the Olympics. Trevor gasped. “Not the MacBook!” “I’M NOT LEAVING! YOU’RE GONNA HAVE TO DRAG ME OUTTA THIS MUTHAFUCKA!” she screamed while kicking over her filing cabinet and knocking the shared Keurig onto the floor. The damn machine sputtered its last brew..... Without Warning follows the unexpected and passionate love story of Sienna Carter, a strong,  witty, but unconfident woman who wasn’t looking for forever, and Knox Michaels, the charming younger brother in a powerful Chicago family known for their business, influence, and drama. What begins as heated encounters quickly spirals into something deeper, something neither of them saw coming. Their chemistry is undeniable, but with family secrets, jealous exes, workplace politics, and complicated loyalties surrounding them, navigating their relationship is anything but simple. When Sienna discovers Knox’s dark past, the once thought to be the carefree bachelor is thrown into a whirlwind of fear, surprise, and overwhelming love. Determined not to lose her, Knox steps up, claiming his future with Sienna even as both of their families reel from the news. As the two try to merge their worlds, tensions flare, siblings clash, friends turn into rivals, and unexpected alliances form. With an announcement party meant to bring everyone together turning into a powder keg of secrets and emotions, Sienna and Knox must decide if their bond is strong enough to survive the storm, because love, like life, doesn’t always come planned. Sometimes it comes, Without Warning

Exactly Five years ago, I discovered my union with my ex-husband was all a cruel lie. Before we married, my best friend Mirabel had introduced him to me as her brother. He was a poor talented but unrecognized fashion designer then, so I picked him up and helped him build his career with my father’s wealth. We later got married, and he eventually coerced me to sign off my father’s asset to his name and reeled by my undying love for him, I did. I trusted and believed that nothing could ever break us apart that I never saw Austin’s betrayer coming! First, I found out my best friend wasn’t his sister. They were a couple who had been having an affair under my nose, and it had been their plans to steal my heirloom. More heartbreaking enough, the day I found out was the day I discovered I was pregnant after three years of marriage. Austin, having gotten what he wanted, divorced me and threw me on the street with his seed growing inside me. He didn’t know, and I never intended to tell him. All I wanted was to hurt him back and take back everything he stole from him. However, helpless and left with nothing, I couldn't fight Austin back. I relocated to another city where I gave birth to twins who had rare talents. Five years later, their Talents brought me unexpected fortune. Now the most powerful and influential woman in the world, I could finally bring my bastard ex-husband to his knees... As if fate was on my side, everything fell right into place until it all came crumbling down again!

On the day I got pregnant again, August decided to give up on gambling and work to provide for the family. I was so touched that I cried. With trembling hands, I handed him the money I had saved up after working odd jobs for a year. Two of the bank notes fell on the floor, and I picked them up before running after him. When I reached the end of the alley, I saw the mafia members who always came to our doorstep to demand repayment of our debt. They treated August respectfully. Apparently, his poverty was just a facade. “Mr. August, do we still need to surround your house and demand payment tomorrow?” August sat in a Lincoln limousine and said nonchalantly, “No need.” He stared at the ring on his finger and sighed. “It’s been years. It’s enough to prove that her love for me is real. She once worked so hard to pay off my debt that she suffered a miscarriage. “I already betrayed her once. It’s time to tell her about my true identity so that she doesn’t have to work so hard anymore.” But Ivy, his childhood friend, pouted. “You can’t! It’s not time yet to reveal the truth! What if she’s like your previous girlfriends and only cares about your money and your identity as a mafia boss? “You should wait a little longer and see whether she wants to have this baby.” August gave a wistful nod. “Alright. I’ll do as you say. In any case, she has been with me for so long. I don’t think she can leave me now.” I clenched the money in my hands and turned around. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I no longer wanted to live this lie dressed as love.

"Ella! You belong to me. Your body, your soul, all of you is mine, Alpha Marcus says. You're destined for me! You can run anywhere, but in the end, I will find you, you are meant for me." Ella struggled to catch her breath as she sobbed. She felt the pain that Marcus was with someone else, he was her mate, but he refused to get close to her, even though everyone feared him. She hated him, yet she had seen the good in him. She drank until she was drunk and then made her way to Marcus's room. She entered the room but didn't find him, so she headed to the bathroom where she found him in the jacuzzi, his massive muscles dripping with water. Marcus took the towel that hung nearby and asked coldly, "Ella, what are you doing here?" She was swaying, nearly falling, and said, "Why do you punish me like this? I'm hot and tempting. How can you not be affected by my presence?" Marcus realized she was drunk, picked her up, and asked in concern, "Are you okay?" He stood close to her, making it hard for her to breathe. It was as if she was about to have a breakdown. She was about to leave, tears streaming, but before she could make any more moves, Marcus immediately trapped her, placing his arms on either side of her. Both of them swallowed hard when their eyes met. A strange, powerful, but addictive feeling surged between them. "You have to stay here, Ella," he said. She looked at his half-opened lips. Intense and unwanted thoughts filled her mind as her breaths escaped her. Ella stated painfully, "I'm sure you feel it too, Marcus... You're my mate."

As the youngest daughter of the Costellos, I had always lived in my sister’s shadow. That was until five years ago, when she betrayed the family and ran off with a street thug. I took her place and completed the wedding with Elio Ross. Over the years, he loved and indulged me, but we never got a marriage license. He always said family matters kept him busy, and that, with or without it, I was his wife in his and the family’s eyes. I believed him. Until today… I watched as Elio walked out of the church with my sister Alyssa, who had been missing for five years, both of them wearing the family rings that symbolized their union. At the church entrance, three black SUVs opened their doors simultaneously, and my three brothers stepped out in tailored suits. “The ceremony’s done? We’ve already booked Antonio’s to celebrate Alyssa’s return.” They climbed into the cars, expressing their joy, while no one noticed my pale, shattered face across the street. Later that night, under the guise of apology, my sister let a venomous spider bite me. “A substitute is always a substitute. Now that I’m back, it’s time for you to die.” I screamed for help. However, my husband and my three brothers only rushed to hold my sister, who had pretended she had fallen, without a glance at me, writhing from the poison. They called in every specialist from the hospital, only to tend to my sister’s scraped knee. That was the moment my heart truly broke. After being dragged back from death’s door by the doctors, I made my decision. I picked up the phone and called the International Private Island Exchange. “That isolated, uninhabited island… I’ll take it.”

[ NOW ONGOING. ] ‘I can’t wait to make you mine, Lorelei.’ I read the text with a naughty smile. That’s Leo. The man I fell in love with via chat. I thought it was dumb to love someone you’ve never met, but look at me now. ‘I can’t wait for you to rip off my underwear.’ I texted and sent. Shivers ran down my spine while waiting for his response. Sexting through casual texts has become a thing I enjoy with him now. I bit my lips as I stared at our chat, anticipating. Just then, someone barged into my room. I put my phone down like I was doing something wrong. It was my mother. She has a worried look on her face. My father and stepmother walked in holding an envelope. I stared at them confused. “Pack your things and leave. You will get married on Thursday.” My father said cruelly. My brows creased and I tried to object but he held out the papers. “You don’t have a say in this Lorelei. I already sold you out.” What is he talking about? How can he arrange my own wedding? I knew I wasn’t my father’s favourite child, but this is next level hate. “Go and live with your husband. He bought you. And darling, there’s no turning back.” My stepmom added with a smile and threw the document on my bed. I picked it up and read the first page. ‘This contract seals the marriage between Ace Salvatore and Lorelei Stanley.’ Ace Salvatore? The man rumoured to be the devil himself.... My phone made a gentle ding and I looked at it. It was Leo. Tears cascaded my eyelids. How can I marry someone when I’m in love withsomeoneelse?

Liam closed the door behind and walked closer, step by step, striking fear in the girl. Nora backed away, her body hitting the icy wall. He stared at her, his deep cello voice resounding in the room.“Nora Shahan, have you forgotten what I told you three years ago? Don't provoke me. But time and time again you kept testing my patience.” He picked up her jaw harshly and continued. “Tell me, how should I punish you?” Nora met his eyes, which were filled with a coldness, making her hair stand on end. This was the real Liam, cold and heartless. She was foolish to think he had changed for the better. A pang of bitterness welled up in her heart and she closed her eyes, letting the memories from the past flood into her mind.-Three years ago, Liam had warned her to never appear in front of him and Nora had been well behaved, staying as far as away from him. Whenever he'd go north, she'd go south. Even when they were in the same class, she'd stay at the opposite end. But fate played a cruel joke on her when she got locked down at his place. He assumed it was one of her tricks to climb into his bed. But she was certain she has fallen into an elaborate trap. With his family using despicable means to destroy everyone around him, can Liam successfully get her out of that hell house? How will Nora survive living under the same roof with the person who's been nothing but a nightmare all her life while learning his darkest secrets that would entangle them together and bring their entire world crashing down with it?

My younger brother had opened a high-end beauty salon, so I took my mother there for a facial. We picked the most expensive package, but the moment the mask was applied, Mom's face began to burn. When we peeled it off, her entire face was covered in rashes. I called for the director, but she looked impatient. "Oh, that's just a normal detox reaction." I was stunned. "Her face is practically ruined! What products are you even using?" "Ruined?" She flared up like someone had stepped on her tail. "Your mom's skin is just too bad to handle premium nutrients! Once our products are opened, they're non-refundable—got it?" I pointed to the brochure. "It says right here—'gentle and non-irritating, full refund if any adverse reaction occurs.' Is this how Stellan Fallow taught you to run a business?" She crossed her arms and lifted her chin high. "I am the boss! You and your mother look broke as hell—clearly here to mooch a free treatment. Now that it didn't work, you're trying to scam us for money? "Let me tell you something—this set costs 38 thousand, and with my emotional damages and lost wages, that's a total of 100 thousand. If you don't pay up today, I'll have the police take you both in!" A hundred thousand for a product that ruined someone's face? It was no wonder Stellan suddenly wanted to open a salon—it turned out he and his girlfriend were running a scam together! I was about to call Stellan, but before I could, she hit the video dial first. "Bubby, get over here—two broke idiots tried to freeload a treatment and now they're trying to shake us down for money!"

One of Ethan Sterling's closest friends got drunk and humiliated me. Called me a nobody orphan who married above her station, said I'd never be accepted by the Sterlings, that I wasn't fit to sit at their table. Ethan smashed a bottle over the man's head. He announced in front of everyone that if anyone ever disrespected me again, he'd make them pay. When I was pregnant and the morning sickness was so brutal I couldn't keep anything down, he went and scheduled a vasectomy. He didn't want me to suffer through another pregnancy. This was a man who loved me like I was his whole world. And yet — when I was lying on the operating table about to give birth, he was standing right in front of me with his arms around Iris, putting on a show for anyone watching. Iris was the daughter of another old-money family and she'd donated bone marrow to save Ethan's mother's life. The night before her own engagement, her fiance betrayed her, and the trauma wiped her memory clean. Now the only thing she knew for certain was that Ethan Sterling was her husband. In her world, I was the homewrecker — the scheming woman using the bastard in her belly to force her husband into a divorce. Ethan promised me it was all an act. Just repaying the debt for his mother's life. Once Iris recovered, he'd walk away from her immediately. But when I picked up the surgical consent form for him to sign, and his first instinct was to pull Iris behind him — to shield her — I knew. His heart had already drifted off course. The fairy tale of a Cinderella marrying into high society was over. Time to wake up.