Romans & histoires Christmas Classics

We were stuck on the highway in the middle of the Christmas travel rush. My husband’s childhood friend had not only taken the passenger seat from me, but she had also propped her bare feet up on the center console. “Don’t take it to heart, Yvonne. I’m just a casual person and like to be my true self, unlike you and your fake propriety,” Michelle Gail said. As she spoke, she snatched my phone right out of my hand and read a holiday greeting from a male colleague aloud. “Oh, you have quite a few backup options, don’t you? I bet you cheated on Charles a long time ago.” My husband, Charles Carter, however, only defended her. He said, “She’s just being casual. Don’t be so petty as to hold it against her.” I smiled. They did not know that I had accidentally been bound with a system before. As the system had bound the wrong person, it promised to fulfill one wish for me unconditionally as compensation. Without a moment of hesitation, I swapped the system for the “Forget Common Sense System” and bound it to Michelle. Since she was so “casual,” why would she need a sense of shame? Why would she even need to wear clothes? Since the highway was so congested, she might as well go for a wild run on the road!

On Christmas people should be with their loved ones in the safety of their homes, but I don't have any loved ones, and I'm in the one place that I hate, where I swore never to come back, afraid that I'll get even more broken, and it seems that the more I try to get away, the more obstacles I encounter. "I know a shop not very far from here, and they have the best mechanics in town. If you want, I could come with you and give you directions, I'm heading that way anyway, and for your kindness, I'll make your biggest wish come true," Said the old crazy Santa that jumped in front of my car out of nowhere. "Can you teleport me from here? In another city, country, even on a deserted island? Anywhere but here?" I know that it wasn't nice of me to be sarcastic, but he's the reason why I have to prolong my say here. "No." His short answer was said in an amused tone of voice, but I don't find anything funny right now. "But that's just because that's not your biggest wish." He states it as a fact as if he's never been more sure of anything in his life. I bite my tongue and pray that I won't see the two people I used o love the most, and which now, I despise the most, the two people responsible for my nightmares and my broken being.

All Jasmine ever wanted was love… but in her world, love only exists to destroy. After four years in a loveless marriage forced by her mother, Jasmine finally signs her divorce papers—yet all she’s left with is a gaping wound in her heart. In a quiet coffee shop, she finds comfort in a magnetic stranger on the brink of his own divorce. One conversation turns into a soul-stealing kiss—wild, forbidden, and impossible to forget. But fate is cruel. Her perfect stranger is Galvin Walton, the impeccably attractive, ruthless billionaire husband of her flawless, vicious sister, Cashmere. Forced to spend Christmas at the Walton mansion, Jasmine is trapped, watching Galvin play the role of the perfect husband… while his hungry eyes follow only her. And the nightmare is only beginning. Edwin Monroe, her ex-husband, returns, claiming the divorce was never valid and she still belongs to him. When he notices the heat in Galvin’s gaze, his possessiveness becomes feral. Two powerful, obsessive men want her and hate each other. None of them is willing to lose. In a mansion where secrets are weapons, loyalty is a currency, and desire is the most dangerous game of all, Jasmine becomes the spark of a deadly obsession when all she wanted was a fresh start. That kiss was a promise of passion, but giving in won’t just shatter her family, ruin her future, and cost her everything… it will set the Walton dynasty ablaze and burn them all to the ground.

Anna’s life has always been a journey of survival. Born with bipolar disorder and lost as a child, she was taken in by a struggling farmer’s family who never truly accepted her. Ridiculed, unloved, and married off to a man who despised her, Anna’s world seemed destined for hardship. Yet, through it all, she held onto the small kindness shown by her adoptive father, the only beacon of hope in her bleak existence. Fifteen years later, Anna's talent as a dancer catches the eye of a wealthy audience at the Edgewood Group’s annual Christmas party. But it’s not just her performance that turns heads—it’s the birthmark under her arm and the locket around her neck, the very signs her long-lost grandmother has been searching for. Suddenly, Anna is thrust into a life she could have never imagined, reclaiming her true identity as the heir to a powerful empire. As Anna navigates the complexities of her newfound wealth and status, she must confront her painful past, including the toxic marriage she was forced into and the mental health struggles she has battled alone. With the support of her grandmother, Anna begins to forge a new path, discovering her strength and resilience. "Finding Anna" is a poignant tale of identity, redemption, and the enduring power of hope. Follow Anna’s journey from the streets of hardship to the heights of power as she learns to embrace her true self and reclaim the life she was meant to live.

During the holiday season, a flood hits. The company's warehouse is submerged up to the third floor. Due to the emergency, I have my assistant tell everyone to come back a day early to help. I promise that the company will provide stipends and extra time off to make up for this. But on that day, a Gen Z employee goes live across the internet to report me. "Oh, my God. It's 2025, yet there are still companies forcing employees to adjust their time off and work overtime! Is this heartless boss so broke that she needs to exploit us like this? Will she die if she doesn't squeeze us out of every drop of usefulness? Company notices override the law. Impressive stuff, this is!" Soon, the company ends up on the trending list due to criticism from the online community. Even the regulators come knocking to hold us accountable. In the end, the company is forced to cancel the notice. A lot of equipment isn't salvaged in time, resulting in significant losses. The employee even posts a victory lap. "Give the boss a tiny lesson—see if she dares to force overtime again!" I'm so angry that I laugh out loud. I tell my assistant to cancel the annual benefit we give all employees—an entire month of paid time off for Christmas and the New Year holidays. If we have to stick strictly to the law, then fine. Have it your way!

Stella's heart soared at the thought that only her son would be returning home for the Christmas holiday. It was a dream come true for her, one she had been looking forward to. Her heart was filled with sheer bliss until the moment she laid eyes on Trevor after five years, standing by the door with her son. The object of her wildest fantasies and long hidden secret. Trevor, in the flesh, with that knowing, seductive smile on his face that makes her thighs throb with desire. Stella scolded herself for even entertaining such sinful and forbidden thoughts, knowing that he was her son's best friend. But her body, her traitorous body, reacted instinctively to his presence, every part of her awakened by his mere gaze."Stop it, Stella!" she scolded herself again. "This is wrong."But she couldn't help it. Trevor had a way of making her feel alive, and the knowledge that he would be spending two weeks in her home only added to her inner turmoil. One look, one smile, one touch from him, and she was already trembling with desire. She knew it was wrong, but it felt so right.God help her, knowing that these two weeks with Trevor would be a tempting disaster waiting to happen. But she couldn't resist the allure of his presence, and she feared that her deepest secret would be unraveled in the process, turning her world upside down.

Every Christmas Eve in Port Saint Giovanni, the Camerlano family hosts the Claiming Rite at Saint Giovanni Manor. Twelve girls stand in a line. Whoever receives the white-gold signet pin becomes the heir’s publicly acknowledged bride candidate. I am Grace Sorrento, the bastard daughter of the Sorrento family. If I do not receive that signet tonight, by sunrise I will be put on a plane to Chicago and married off to a Rizzo, a man rumored to have killed two former fiancées. Adrian Camerlano, the boy I grew up with, swore to me in blood three days ago that the signet would be mine. But when the moment came, his hand turned. With a smile, he pinned it on Lucia, the orphan his family had sponsored. Then he leaned close to my ear. "Let Lucia have her moment. No one has ever really looked at her before. Don’t worry. This is my estate. No one will dare arrange your marriage without my say." I grabbed his sleeve, but he removed my fingers one by one. "Lucia has no roots and no last name. Tonight is all she has. But you are a Sorrento. Even without the signet, no one will touch you." That phrase, no last name, drew every gaze in the ballroom toward me, full of pity and quiet mockery. The next morning, I boarded a flight to Chicago. When Adrian heard, he made one call to Port Saint Giovanni Air Control. "Ground every plane. Nothing leaves today!"

Eight years into marriage, and Fabian's mom finally gave me and my son her stamp of approval. Invited us to spend Christmas in his hometown. My son—Luca--and I were hyped. We picked out a gift for her and hit the road with Fabian. Right as we pulled into the village, Fabian's old friend called—crying, claiming she'd crashed her car. Fabian panicked. Left me and Luca in some random snowy mountain town and sped off. It was pitch black. Snow dumping down. Then Luca screamed. He'd stepped on a trap and dropped into a pit. Blood everywhere. I called Fabian, totally panicked. He goes, "Stella, Roxana's in a wreck. I need to be with her. Stop making everything a competition." Then he hung up. Blocked me. No time to fall apart. I wiped my face, called an ambulance. Too far out. By the time they got there, Luca was already gone. Cold. Broken. Gone. I held him and screamed until my lungs gave out. Meanwhile, Roxana's posting in the social media. All smiles in Fabian's arms. His face soft. Loving. [Highway jam turned into truth or dare. One word—"accident"—and he came flying. So happy.] I exhaled. Tagged Fabian. [Let's get a divorce.] This joke of a marriage should've ended forever ago.

My dad is a fan of tough love parenting. When I was a kid, there was a time when I obtained full marks on two subjects. But he told me, "Your grades don't mean anything in life. If you were a true man, you'd leap down five floors without batting an eyelash." Some time later, I was awarded for my act of bravery. But Dad scoffed in my face. "Not even a hair is harmed on your head. Why should you be awarded anyway?" I thought Dad wanted me to go through more training in life. On Christmas Eve, he ditched me on a snowy mountain under the guise of wanting me to go through more training. He didn't give me a tent or a lighter. Later on, Dad even brags about his parenting method to his relatives and friends. "A real man should survive and thrive in a desperate situation! I told Julian that he can forget about being my son if he can't even make his way back to the summit!" But the red dot on the GPS tracker installed in his phone hasn't moved for the past three hours. The truth is, I've already frozen to death in the mountains. Trapped in my fist is a crumpled, torn scrap of paper. Meanwhile, my soul is currently floating above the dining table while watching Dad brag about his tough love parenting.

As Christmas approached, my fiancé Marcus Shadowhowl, the next-in-line Alpha of the Shadowhowl pack, rejected my invitation for a date and instead planned to take his assistant Sienna Nightsky to the beach on a vacation. Known as the perfect Luna-to-be, I didn’t cry or beg. I even thoughtfully helped him plan the trip. He kissed me gently and said, “Lorelei, you’re the most understanding werewolf in the world.” I smiled as I saw them off—then turned around and went to have an abortion. Why? Because in my past life, I had begged him to stay with me using the pup in me. But in the end, Sienna was brutally murdered at the beach. Outwardly, Marcus still treated me tenderly, but in his heart, he blamed me for her death. When I was about to give birth, he tricked me into going to the beach and issued a ruthless order to his subordinates. “Are we really going to dissolve the Luna’s child with silver? That’s too cruel!” “Yes. She killed Sienna. This is the punishment she deserves!” It was only then, in utter agony, that I realized Marcus had always held a grudge against me. Now that I’ve returned to the time before everything happened, I didn’t stop him from going on vacation with his assistant. Everyone laughs at my foolishness. But what they don’t know is that Marcus will eventually regret it and beg me to come back to him.