Novel & Cerita Flowers Are Bait Ch 9

On Teacher's Day, my wife, Hera, was promoted to associate professor. Even for our marriage we simply registered without a proper ceremony, yet this time, she specifically prepared a feast at home to celebrate. During the dinner, she took out the flowers a male student had given her and was about to put them in a vase. Without warning, I knocked the flowers out of her hand, flipped over the vase, and, under the bewildered gazes of the whole family, calmly said, "Let's get a divorce." Hera was stunned at first, then angrily snapped, "Stanley Lawson, what's gotten into you? I’m just putting some flowers my student gave me in a vase. What's the big deal?" My mother-in-law, Sarah Swift, chimed in, "Hera just got promoted to associate professor, and it's Teacher's Day. What's wrong with a student giving her flowers? Are you seriously getting jealous over that?" I glanced at the scattered petals on the floor and slowly said, "Yes, it's because of these flowers that I want a divorce."

Cooley Raymond’s life falls apart after his father’s business collapses and his sudden death exposes hidden tax fraud. Forced by his greedy relatives to serve his father’s prison sentence to protect his younger brother, Cooley endures two brutal years behind bars, surviving through silence. Upon his release, he is immediately targeted by gang members collecting his uncle’s gambling debt, with Cooley offered as payment. Just as he is about to be taken, a mysterious and powerful stranger intervenes, saving his life only to reveal he knows Cooley, making it clear that this rescue is no coincidence and that a far more dangerous chapter has just begun.

On the fateful day my asthma struck, Lucas was with his first love, Ariana, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing on the horizon.  He clutched my life-saving medicine, a lifeline that would soon slip through his fingers.  As I lay trapped in the shadows, I witnessed his desperation, his frantic calls echoing in the void when he discovered the shocking news of my pregnancy.  In that moment, everything changed. From that day forward, he became the guardian at my grave, a silent testament to a love that transcended even death.

Iris moves to the small town of Thornwick after inheriting her eccentric grandmother's property, including a sprawling greenhouse filled with rare and seemingly impossible plant varieties. When she touches the plants, she begins hearing whispers - the flowers are trying to tell her something urgent. The town's mysterious benefactor, Damien, appears at her door claiming her grandmother promised him access to the greenhouse. He's desperate because the plants in his hidden garden - which have sustained his humanity for centuries by feeding on moonlight instead of blood - are withering. Only someone with Iris's rare gift can save them. As Iris learns to interpret the flowers' messages, she discovers they're warning about an ancient curse. Damien's maker, the vampire Evangeline, cursed the garden out of jealousy when Damien chose botanical sustenance over embracing his dark nature. The curse will kill both the plants and Damien unless it's broken by the summer solstice. Working together in moonlit gardens, Iris and Damien develop feelings for each other. But the flowers reveal a devastating truth: breaking the curse requires a life force exchange. Iris must choose between her mortality and saving the man she's falling for, while Damien must decide if he can ask her to make such a sacrifice. The climax involves a confrontation with Evangeline in the original cursed garden, where Iris's connection with the plants becomes the key to not just breaking the curse, but transforming it into something that protects rather than destroys.

I had poured my heart into planning the perfect wedding—for my female client. Then I turned a corner and saw her kissing my boyfriend at the stairwell. He chuckled softly. "No wonder you're my wife. You're stunning." She let out a soft laugh. "Your little secret girlfriend still does not know you're marrying me. She actually wished me happiness—can you believe it? So… when are you planning to tell her?" He tilted her chin and said, "Didn't we agree? Once we're married, we each live our own lives. Teresa is the love of my life. I hope you'll keep your mouth shut." She gave a snort of laughter and yanked playfully on his tie. "Relax, babe. As long as you keep treating me right, I won't stir up trouble." I felt like I had plunged into an ice bath. Face pale, hands trembling, I picked up my phone and texted my mentor: [I'm ready to take the transfer to Luminous City.] The reply came not long after: [Three days from now. We'll go together.]

I have two kidneys. I've given one of them to my wife, Teagan Holt. In just one year, Teagan and her childhood sweetheart, Morgan Backman, have gone through all 72 karmasutra positions in bed. They can't wait to experience them all over again. My other kidney is given to Morgan. They've used 365 condoms, and the water bill is more than five times its regular rate. Teagan can't even get out of bed every day from how sore she is. Two years later, when Morgan needs another kidney transplant in order to survive, Teagan steps into the manor on her own. She looks everywhere for me, only to see our nine-year-old son, Milo Shepherd, crouching at the doorway. "Milo, as long as you can convince your dad to donate his kidney to Mr. Backman, I'll allow you to come home with me." Milo just stares up at Teagan innocently. "But Mom, you have Dad's other kidney inside you."

My mom often makes an example out of someone when it comes to parenting. Unfortunately, I'm that someone, while my little brother, Raymond Nelson, benefits from it. Ever since I was four years old, my mom had been using this method. If Raymond breaks a bowl, I'm the one kneeling on the floor to pick up the pieces. If Raymond destroys something belonging to someone else, I'm the one writing the reflection report on his behalf. Mom tells me, "You're the older sister here. Since you can't keep your brother in line, you're the one at fault." But Raymond can never get rid of his bad habit of stealing and lying. When Franklin Harris, the owner of a grocery store, comes knocking on our door, Raymond points at me once again. "She was the one who stole your money!" In order to help Raymond get rid of this problematic habit of his, Mom decides to hand me over to the owner. "Sorry, Franklin. It's my fault for not raising my child well. I'll give my daughter to you. You can do whatever you want to her, be it scolding her or beating her up." Little does she know that I will never go home after Mr. Harris takes me away.

Jericho Clay, a sixty-five year old farmer got murdered by his wife and best friend but was reincarnated into the body of one of the most ruthless Mafia boss in history called Giovanni Israel. Giovanni Israel had a criminal empire he wants to protect from his greatest enemy and rival, Lorelei Capello. Jericho made a deal with Israel to save his criminal empire from this mysterious woman. Israel granted Jericho with nine lives to accomplish this impossible mission.

Elizabeth is a wolfless mute slave. After her mother was brutally killed to protect her from rape, her father was murdered by the Alpha of the black river pack. Elizabeth endured endless bullying in the black river pack for revenge. She vowed to kill the Alpha's families and leave with her beloved boyfriend when she turned 18. However, fate played a joke on her. Elizabeth discovered that her boyfriend had cheated on her long ago, and her fated mates were Alpha's twin sons! She declared to reject them as her mates, but the moon goddess had more incredible arrangements waiting for her. One day she will find out that her mates are not only twins, but also the Alpha of Giant Wolf who is 16 feet tall, the prince of Winged Wolf who lives in a cloud castle, the Beta of Fire Wolf who is covered with Untouchable heat, and even the vampire king who is the enemy of all werewolves and the Merman who lives under the deep sea... Why does she have 9 mates? What should she do when all her mates are jealous and desperate to possess her? *** I was kneeling on all fours inside the cage, with a heavy chain tied around my neck. Countless werewolves wearing masks sat in the circular stands, pointing at me, the cheapest auction item. "Look at her huge belly. She's pregnant. Non-virgins aren't worth much!" "Minimum 50 gold coins. If she has a baby girl, you will have two sex slaves then. " I couldn't believe that I, Elizabeth, the most cherished daughter of Blue moon pack's Alpha, would be reduced to being auctioned off as the lowest-priced sex slave in an underground trading market. "10 million gold coins, we want her!" 9 handsome men claimed.

Callie Ruiz never imagined she’d still be stuck at BuyMore after ten years—managing chaos, covering shifts, and shelving her dreams just to keep her family going. Then Eli shows up: clumsy, clueless, and clearly not cut out for retail. She figures he won’t last a week. What she doesn’t know? Eli is actually a billionaire tech CEO undercover, trying to fix the mess he made when he bought the struggling chain. As they work side by side through blackout shifts, awkward shelf restocks, and breakroom drama, something real begins to spark between them. But when Eli’s true identity is exposed in front of the whole store, Callie feels betrayed—and heartbroken.