Coworker

“Why are you like this, Axel?” she asked in a low voice, her tone slightly breaking. “Why won't you just leave me alone?” For a moment, something inside me stirred. I reached out slowly and placed my fingers under her chin, lifting her face. She tried to look away, but I wouldn’t let her. Tears pooled in her eyes, but she bit her lower lip stubbornly, trying to keep them from falling. But that tiny act of defiance… God, it did something to me. I wanted to pull her closer, to claim her, to make her mine and never let anyone else touch her. “One year,” I said finally. She frowned. “What?” “I want you,” I said clearly. “For one year, you’ll be my woman. In exchange, I’ll take care of you, your needs, your family’s protection, your brother’s freedom. Everything.” *** After catching her scumbag boyfriend in bed with her coworker, Olivia Brooks did what any heartbroken woman might… she drowned her sorrows at a club. One too many drinks later, she ended up in the arms of a dangerously handsome stranger. What she didn’t know was that the man she mistook for a gigolo was Axel Reynolds, a ruthless billionaire with a taste for control. Olivia tried to move on and bury the memory of that reckless night… until fate delivered a cruel twist. Axel Reynolds wasn’t just anyone—he was her step sister’s soon-to-be husband. Now, trapped between guilt and desire, Olivia wants to hide the truth. But Axel has already found her, and the devil never lets go of what he claims.

I won eight million overnight. The first thing I did was rush to the hospital to pay for my son's surgery and treatment. That was when my phone rang. Ian, a coworker from the company, called, "Something urgent came up! You need to get back here right this instant!" My wife, Mara, took the bank card from my hand, and said with an gentle and understanding voice, "You can give me the PIN. I'll take care of our son's hospital bills. Go. Work is important. Don't worry about us." In my previous life, I didn't hesitate one bit. I trusted her completely and hurried back to the office. My son never made it into surgery. Instead, the police came for me. It turned out that Mara and Ian had conspired together to frame me, pinning the crime of embezzling company funds on me. The very money Ian had stolen. With no money for treatment, my son died in the hospital. My parents, shattered by grief, suffered fatal heart attacks one after the other. And I, rotting in prison, ended my life in despair. After my death, my soul drifted to the holiday villas of Moldeves, where Mara was on vacation. I heard her laughing as she spoke to Ian, "That idiot won a fortune and wasted it on that useless sick kid. He dragged me into a miserable life." Laughing even harder, she added, "Now, their whole family is dead, and we get to enjoy wealth for the rest of our lives. Consider it compensation from that idiot! Haha!" Then, I opened my eyes. I was back in the hospital corridor, at the exact moment my wife reached out and took the bank card from me. This time, I still told her the PIN.