Fool's Paradise Loud House

Nate caught her hand as she turned away. “Say yes, Dahlia.” She didn’t look at him. “To what this time?” His smile was slow, dangerous. “To letting me eat you tonight” Her breath stilled. “You don’t take hints, do you?” “Only the ones that sound like maybe.” His thumb traced her palm, his voice low enough to make her heartbeat trip. She pulled back, just barely. “Goodnight, Nate.” He grinned, unbothered. “Night, wife. I’ll ask again tomorrow.” *********** When ruthless CEO Dahlia Reyes discovers her boyfriend and her best friend in bed together-and plotting to steal her inheritance—she does the most un-Dahlia thing imaginable. She drinks too much and wakes up married to a sex worker. Her “husband,” Nate, is charming, infuriating, and far too comfortable calling her wife. Dahlia’s ready to annul the whole disaster-until she learns she legally can’t for a year. Desperate to save face (and maybe twist fate in her favor), Dahlia decides to use the fake marriage to her advantage. What she doesn’t know is that Nate isn’t the broke drifter and he's watching her with equal parts amusement and admiration. Now, between public appearances, the plotting of the evil people ready to ruin their lives, staged affection, and the slow burn of something too real to fake, Dahlia’s carefully built walls begin to crack. And Nate? He’s determined to make sure she falls-for him, for real, and hard. A story of betrayal, accidental vows, and the slow, intoxicating fall between a woman who doesn’t believe in love and a man who plans to prove her wrong.

Half a year after our divorce, my ex-husband became a trending topic online. His current wife, who had just given birth, jumped off a building. When she jumped, she was clutching a printed, 98-page copy of the "Cloves Family Code of Conduct." The reason for her suicide? She couldn’t buy discounted groceries online. A reporter came to interview me and asked, "Excuse me, were you also given the same family rules?"

Coral learns her entire life had been a lie, she’s forced to come to terms with the fact that she comes from a long line of Pure Elemental Conjurers whose abilities and genetics are very unique in their world. Coral is told she’s a fire elemental, and not just that, she’s what society calls an Elementalist. A unique elemental with the ability to not only control the four main elements of the earth, but has an unlimited amount of power. Her rear ability has only been seen once, on her ancestor, and due to the purity of her family’s bloodline she inherited that ability from that ancestor. Coral will slowly struggle to maintain her sanity among a world of abnormalities, especially when her identity becomes revealed and everyone at the academy finds out she is the illegitimate daughter of Steven Carter and Bella Ray. This revelation puts her directly into the spotlight, and her words and actions constantly draw the attention of students. More than once, Coral will be forced down by her insecurities and fears, and the new revelations regarding her parent’s death.

Three years ago, my girlfriend suffered severe post-traumatic stress after saving my life. She later had a speech impairment that kept her from speaking normally. To cure her, I take on three jobs a day and survive on only bread and water just to come up with the money for her therapy and speech recovery treatment. I happen to be working part-time as a cocktail party waiter one evening when I see my girlfriend, who supposedly has a speech impairment, standing in a fancy dress and being fawned over by the crowd around her. Everyone is calling her "Ms. Holden" and "the heiress of the Holden family". But how can an orphan like her possibly be an heiress?

My girlfriend found out that my water bottle cost $30,000. She then demanded I buy her father an $8 million luxury apartment in the city center. I politely refused. She said furiously, “Don’t be so stingy! He’ll be your father-in-law someday. What’s wrong with getting a head start on being a good son-in-law?” She even compiled all of our expenses during our relationship into a PowerPoint presentation and demanded we split everything. “If splitting everything equally is too much trouble for you, then just cover it all. You can afford it! “My family and I have already discussed it. I’ll give you a one-dollar gift. It means you're my only one. How perfect is that?” When she noticed I was silent, she played her final card. “If you can’t agree, then let’s forget about getting married. “You’ll never see me, your darling baby, ever again!” I looked at the detailed list of expenses on the screen. It even included $2 she had spent on a bus ride to see me. I smiled and said, “Sure. I’ll give you a $143-million gift, with more romantic meaning. And I’ll buy that apartment for your father right now.”

Children beware, and please give care of things that go bump in the night. It all seems like fun when you provoke mayhem and run through the graveyard to give one a fright. Please heed our warning from dusk until morning giving caution to the naive. Goblins and Ghouls wait on the foolishly brave to pull beyond the hallow grave.

I vowed to transfer schools with my childhood friend when he claimed he was being bullied. But the day before we were to finalize the transfer, he backed out. His friend teased him. "Man, you faked being a punching bag just to get rid of Alice Wiley? That's cold. You two have been thick as thieves since forever. Are you really cool with her going to a new school alone?" Shane Page brushed it off. "It's just another high school across town. Not a big deal. I'm tired of her always being up my ass. This works out perfectly." I stood frozen outside the door for a long time. Finally, I turned and walked away. On the transfer form, I crossed out Oatheport High and filled in the international academy my parents had been pushing for. Everyone seemed to forget that Shane and I were never equals.

After I bought my new home outright, my relatives organized a housewarming party to celebrate. During dinner, my nephew Leo suddenly said, “You’re just a spinster living alone in a huge apartment. What do you need all that space for? I happen to be getting married soon. That’s a huge deal. You should transfer the place to me. I’ll even cover the transfer fee.” I was stunned. “Are you out of your mind?” His mother Linda said, “How can you be so ungrateful? Him using your place for his newlywed life is doing you a favor. It’ll bring you good luck! Other people would jump at the chance!” The son and mother were united against me. “Anyway, tomorrow’s a great day. Grab the property deed and come with us to transfer ownership!” I rejected them without hesitation and called them crazy. Who knew they would get so furious that they would storm into my brand-new apartment and go on a rampage, smashing everything in sight. They even said smugly, “We need to show you our family doesn’t get pushed around! Go ahead and call the police! What proof do you even have that it was us?” What they did not know was that I had installed surveillance cameras on the day I moved in.

Selene gave her all her love, her loyalty, her life. But when she learned the truth behind her husband's betrayal, it was already too late. Now reborn, she's no longer the naive wife they once controlled. This time, she's playing by her own rules. And payback… is only just beginning. But being back is only the beginning. What Selene didn’t expect… was that this new life wouldn’t follow the same script. Her past may have been tragic, but this present? It's unpredictable. The players have changed. The game is messier, new enemies new allies and new secrets. And everyone’s out to get what they want and Selene is caught right in the middle of it all. And then… there’s Collins. Collins never believed he’d be able to feel desire again — not with Sarah, the fake girlfriend he barely tolerated. Not with the desperate women who threw themselves at him. He had long accepted that he’d been broken beyond repair, emotionally and physically dismantled with no urges. Until that night. The M&D Corporation party. when the drug hit. He felt it — the spinning, the heat, the blur. And all he wanted was to get away. And in his struggles to hide he stumbled into the wrong restroom while shoving a figure out of his way in his haze… only to be met with a spark that shouldn't have existed. It should’ve ended there. But fate doesn’t let go so easily. Because the woman? She’s married off-limits and complicated..

During my night shift, I refused to help my adopted sister administer fluids to her patient. After the wrong drug is given, I watch a seven-year-old boy die after he suffers an allergic reaction right before my eyes. In my previous life, the boy's family stormed the nurses' station after I'd just finished administering his IV medication. The next thing I knew, I was violently beaten up. "You poisoned my grandchild by giving him the wrong medicine!" But the fluid I introduced into his bloodstream was a simple glucose solution. It couldn't have led to such a disastrous outcome. When I was on the brink of passing out, someone called the police. I thought help had finally arrived, but I was sorely mistaken. The police officer—my brother—pinned me to the ground. "We found your prints on the drug vial. You're a murderer." Then, my childhood friend, a forensic pathologist, held up an autopsy report and accused me of the same crime. "The patient's time of death is around 5:00 am. That's the same time you administered drugs into his system." Unable to prove my innocence, I was ultimately beaten to death by the boy's enraged family members. My brother and my childhood friend had always loved me. Even on the brink of death, I couldn't understand why they would do this to me. Now, I open my eyes and find myself back on the night it all began.