Don't Open Your Eyes

"There should be rules if we are even going to do this," he said without looking at me. "I have always lived by the rules." He slid a file towards me. "This is the contract. The rules are stated there." I opened the file and glanced through it. "You can take it home and study them; give me feedback tomorrow evening. But I will read out the rules for you now because they start now, and in case your brain can't comprehend them, then I can explain." Anger seethed through me, and I almost threw the file back at him, but when I thought about the money involved and how it would benefit little Sophie, I bit my lower lip to push back the anger. He continued. "Rule number one; don't you fall in love with me." His eyes flipped up to me. "Crystal clear," I said. "That would never happen." Ellen never had fun in college. One night she decided to have fun with her friends and slept with a handsome stranger who disappeared before she woke up. A month later, she found out she was pregnant and searched everywhere for him, but to no avail. Five years later, she moved to a new city and met the same man she never thought she would ever see again. He didn't remember anything about her, and he was now a cold, arrogant man who needed a wife, and she needed money. They agreed to contract marriage with strict rules, one of them being never to fall in love with each other. They were sure they wouldn't break the rule, but as sparks grew between them and became too much, they found themselves trying hard to keep to the rules. Who will break rule number one between them?

For the past three months, I've slept only three hours every day just so my team and I can create an app. Thanks to our hard work, the app goes absolutely viral to the point we've garnered over 100 million registered users on the first week of its launch. At the afterparty, my wife, Stacie Woodward, announces that her godbrother, Tory Frost, who's the PR manager, will be the one receiving the million-dollar bonus. She then tosses me a few 50% discount coupons that can be used in shopping malls as my bonus. "You're just a code monkey—why do you need that much money anyway? You can have these discount coupons. Use them on anything you want. At least buy some nice clothes for yourself. Don't go around wearing these rags. You'll just end up humiliating me more." I plead to her in a low tone, "Have you gone crazy, Stacie? My dad needs the money for the best medication in order to save his life! Can you please stop joking around?" But Stacie clings to Toby's arm, looking high and mighty. "Your dad's dying, isn't he? He might as well stop wasting the public resources! I can always choose him a better grave and hold a nice funeral for him when his time comes!" As I look at Stacie's smug face, I just smile at her instead of getting mad at her. She must have forgotten that the app's core algorithm and the user growth model are built using my private, undisclosed technology stack. That means the copyright is mine and has nothing to do with the company. I just smile while nodding at Stacie. That night, I activate the technology stack's self-destruct and migration protocols.

Isn't it amazing for you and your childhood best friend to attend college together? That's what Emma and Mila thought, not knowing that college days held a lot for them. What they had in mind was nothing like what they faced in reality. Mila has always been the extrovert, wise and reliable one while Emma was the introvert and naïve one. Despite their differences, the two girls had a strong friendship and an amazing bond that many people wished for. When Emma starts hanging out with her new group of friends at college, her friendship with Mila will go downhill and no matter what Mila does, Emma won't listen to her best friend. Things will get worse between the two girls and their friendship will get tested in many ways. Will their friendship be strong enough after all the things they will go through to make them hold onto each other?

-Who are you?" Finally, he stopped the silence. His words were strong, angry, and loud. "-What?" I felt so confused still couldn’t let my eyes from his new look. And his actions of killing without any emotions made my voice trembling. "-I...TOLD...YOU...WHO... THE FUCK... ARE... YOU...?" With stiff teeth he seemed to lose his patience, slowly and frighteningly, he asked, no, ordered to me, without lifting his eyes from me, with every word he took a step closer to me until I could smell the sweat, dirt smell of his ammunition from him. His hard chest-like rock was so close that it barely touched my body. I was shivering he was so scary and I still wanted him badly. "-Are you joking with me? How to understand, who am I?" I whispered... I stopped our deep gaze, even though it wasn't easy. -"What's happening here? Where are we? Why are you...." I couldn't finish one of my hundreds of questions when my husband turned his eyes away from me to his men. -"Take that strange ‘pause from his lips, his eyes traveled from the top of my head to my legs" bitch, to the cell, that little mouth soon will be open for me. And she will talk as well too."

A COLLECTION OF SHORT LOVE STORIES. 1. FATED TO LOVE YOU She wasn't looking for love; yet, found it in the least expected person. When Dr. Mahnoor first laid eyes on Captain. Dr. Haider, she couldn't fathom even in her wildest dreams the mess she was about to get herself into. Haider, who was a , quirky and charming neurosurgeon, could hardly be described as anything except trouble personified. The kind of man, whom she never thought she could give a second thought about, least of all get involved with.Yet, little did she know that all her prayers had led her to someone, who was going to challenge everything she had ever believed in and break down the barriers she had spent a lifetime building. Fate brought them together but love tore them apart. 2. A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE Hoorain is done with her studies and ready to be thrown into all this marriage business. But what she isn't prepared for, is meeting the dashing and arrogant Hadeed who is not only far from her ideal type but a cold jerk whom she wishes to have nothing to do with. Hadeed is coldhearted and ruthless to anyone who messes with him. His past still haunts him and he measures a person's worth on that scale. Yet, he finds it hard to ignore the girl who dares challenge him at every step. Despite their mutual hatred, the two get thrown into a marriage pact. What do you do when you realise that the world is not all that it seems and you have battles to fight that you didn't sign up for? Can the two overcome their hatred and heal each other, mending the broken pieces of their souls? Or will the reality of their world tear them down even more?

I always think that all of his actions meant nothing but a friendly gesture. I always warn myself not to think too much about the way he treated me. I always think that I'm not that much of a significant girl to him. I used to think that it's okay to not think much because I don't want my expectation to be high because I'm sure the fall will hurt like a wench. I just don't really want to overthink about those things. But wasn't I already overthinking for the fact that I think to not overthink?

Vianna Shina, she didn't really have any goals in mind as she moved through life. An orphan she learned to live her life alone and was an independent person. She was an artist and most of her day was consumed by charcoal and due dates for work she needed to complete. She thought the most dangerous thing in her life was forgetting to eat and passing out on top of one of her canvas and ruining her work. That was until one night while in her studio a loud crash came from outside and what she found changed her life.

Amalia Brown is a 17year old girl living in Camel City with her family. She lost her mum at the age of 8 and since then, her life has never been the same. she lived in a harsh and unbearable condition but didn't complain so long as she was spending time with her dad, But when her dad passed away, she had no reason to stay back cause her stepmother, Lizzy will only torture her to her death. she prefers to die in the excess cold than to die in the hands of the people she calls her family. She ran away from home, willing to fend for herself...What wi happens when she comes across a middle-aged lady who takes her in and treats her with love and tenderness? will her past stop her from accepting this unconditional love that is given to her or not? Jace Bartley is a 24-year-old business tycoon. he lost his parents at the age of 15 in a car accident and was left to take care of his little sister, Sophie, and manage his dad's company. He never believed in love. what will happen when he comes across a young girl crying alone in a field as he found himself drawn to her? will his unknown girl be able to sway his belief or not? Ethan is a 24-year-old electrical engineer...he found himself falling for Amalia at first sight but couldn't summon the courage to tell her...what will happen when Ethan finds out that Amalia is in love with someone and not him? will he be able to accept it or not? Amalia finds herself in a dilemma of choosing between Ethan and the mysterious man...Will she choose Ethan or the mysterious guy she experienced her first kiss with?

Maggie didn’t expect much from her new job—except stress and long hours. But she wasn’t prepared for Daniel, her sharp, but humorous and unreadable manager, whose professionalism leaves no room for mistakes. Eager to prove herself but already stumbling, Maggie struggles to meet his high standards. Yet, as tensions rise and the pressure builds, Maggie begins to see glimpses of a different side of Daniel—a side even his longtime girlfriend may not fully understand. But he understands her, unexpectedly. The line between admiration and something deeper blurs with every late night in the lab. Maggie always avoids crossing boundaries… until the boundaries start shifting on their own. What is Daniel actually thinking? Sometimes fate has special plans for her...

Divine Zuma, aka Vines has given up on ever finding a mate and love. In a land where the alpha must have a mate to ascend the throne,he is rejected as alpha King and exiled as a sentry to the northern border. What happens when one fateful evening a frightened and injured young lady,Aliyah stumbles through the border and turns out to be his mate? He does not trust her though especially when she claims she is unable to shift to her would form because of a curse. With so many hidden enemies,will he let her break down the many walls he has built up around his heart and let himself be loved or defy the moon goddess and reject his mate?