Fruits Basket Valentine's Day

"Mommy, you have to be the first person to come pick me up, okay?" These are my daughter Dorothy Grant's final words to me when she walked me out of the house this morning. But when I stand at the kindergarten's entrance with a box of Dorothy's favorite strawberry shortcake in my hands, the security guard just stares at me as though I lost my mind. "Ma'am, this place might be where Sunflower Kindergarten is located, but it has already closed its doors for three years. This place is now a retirement home." I rush into the "kindergarten" instantly. The spot where the slide used to be is now replaced by a row of flowerbeds. The room that used to be the classroom now hosts a bunch of elderly people, who bask in the sunlight. With trembling hands, I call my husband, Chester Grant, on the phone. He sounds very exasperated and exhausted over the phone. "Honey, we've been married for five years, and we choose to be childless. You've never given birth before."

It was the day of our marriage. We were supposed to meet up at the City Hall, but my fiancee stood me up. I waited for her the whole day, and the only answer I got was a picture from her assistant. My girlfriend sat astride on his lap, and her arms were wrapped around his neck while they were locked in a deep kiss. "Sorry, Mr. Terraton. Sophie insisted on comforting me. You don't mind, do you?" I demanded answers from my girlfriend, but that only made her impatient. "He donated his blood to me. Yeah, I was with him, but so what? Man up, will you?" That killed any love I had for her, and I called my soon-to-be ex-girlfriend's sister. "Hey, Sylvie. Yeah, about your proposal. So will you marry me?"

"Are you sure you want to change the bride's name to Jasmine Shaw, Quinn?" Quinn Sullivan's voice was resolute. "Yes, I'm sure. Do as I say." She sat in silence for a long time after hanging up. She recalled what she saw after her engagement party. Her fiancé had his arms wrapped around another woman in a swaying car. He whispered sweet nothings into her ear, looking like he couldn't bear to leave. Quinn didn't understand. She and Nicholas York had gone through so much to get to marriage. How could he cheat on her? Well, it didn't matter. She was willing to give him her blessings since he was in love with another woman. He could marry someone else, then. She would give him the wedding of his dreams.

Isolde and Adrian had been the typical high school couple, so it comes as no surprise to anyone who knows them, they had been unbreakable since high school. But when Isolde fiery and ample best friend Aria, returns to the home town for the wedding after five long years, the couples relationship spirals downward. All it takes is one drunken night of passion between Adrian and Aria to spotlight the many problems in his relationship with Isolde. They both begin a grimy affair at the expense of those around them, and as all three of their lives begin to spiral out of control, more secrets unshackles. Nobody will be left out when the whole truth comes to light……

In a luxury boutique, a male influencer and I are eyeing the same watch. I'm about to give it up when I hear the salesperson yell at me in a shrill voice, "Get your filthy hands off it right now! Mr. Parr saw it first. How dare you compete with him? He's an important customer of our store!" I freeze and see Alan Parr staring at me with utter disgust, his arms crossed. "You think a country bumpkin like you deserves that watch? Do you even know how much its accessories cost? A pauper like you definitely can't afford it!" he snaps, then holds up a card and signs the receipt. However, the name he signs is my wife's. The supplementary card he's holding is the one I gave my wife for her allowance.

My fated mate's secretary was pregnant. He brought her home on my birthday. Then he stood there and gave me orders like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Alina has bad allergies. Be careful when you cook from now on. Don't use anything she's allergic to." "She's pregnant. She needs me next to her at night. Move your things into the guest room." I didn't say anything. I picked up the suitcase I'd already packed and walked toward the door. Alina hugged Dominic's arm and let her voice go soft and small. "Dominic, if Mia's upset about it, just forget it." Dominic let out a cold laugh. "Let her sulk. She'll come crawling back in three days." Alina smiled. So did the servants. To them, I was just a stray Omega Dominic had picked up off the street. The only reason I had a place in this house was because I was his fated mate. Without him, I had nowhere to go. What none of them knew was that my real father, the Alpha King, had already sent a private jet to bring me home. This time, I really was leaving.

“This means nothing!” I warned as I kissed Richard passionately. He chuckled darkly against my lips as he pressed me against the wall. “I'll make you belong to me, Lexi,” No, you…” I didn't finish my sentence before he crashed his lips on mine, kissing me like he was thirsty and I was his only water supply Lexi Cameron despises Valentine's Day. After a string of heartbreaks and betrayals—each tied to the holiday—she has sworn off love. But when her meddling friends book her a date through a Valentine’s escort service, her plans for a quiet, uneventful day are upended. Enter Richard Whitewood: handsome, charming, and carrying secrets of his own. What starts out as an awkward arrangement quickly spirals into a night of unexpected passion. But the next day, Lexi's world is turned upside down when she discovers that Richard wasn't what he said he was. He is her new boss and the CEO of a billion dollar company. Caught between her need for a job and her intense attraction to Richard, and the tangled web of lies, ex wife and family betrayal surrounding him, Lexi must navigate a path tapered with danger and desire. As their personal lives and professional lives collide, their connection deepens but not without a cost. When enemies conspire to tear them apart and Lexi's life is put in jeopardy, Richard must risk everything to protect the woman he loves. Can their love survive the weight of secrets, betrayal and dangerous family feud? Find out on Billionaire Valentine Escort

"Callum, why don't you spend more time with me?" As Callum Kilbourne's Beta, Lena Morrison keeps using sending documents to him as an excuse to badger him. Her voice is sickly sweet to the point I feel like puking. Thanks to my sharp sixth sense as a werewolf, I know immediately that Lena has feelings for Callum the first time she follows him into this house. At first, I thought even if this mate bond started from a mistake, at least my daughter, Mia Kilbourne's presence would serve as an anchor for both Callum and me. We'd at least make an effort to keep things peaceful on the surface. But when my five-year-old goes missing, I spend the whole night calling Callum on the phone. All I can hear is a cold, repetitive dial tone in return. The next day, Callum finally comes home, reeking of alcohol and carrying the faintest trace of an unfamiliar perfume. Suddenly, I feel exhausted. I don't even have the energy to fight with Callum anymore. A moment of silence later, I look up at him. "Let's break the bond, Callum." The Alpha, who's used to keeping everything under control at all times, suddenly glares at me with bloodshot eyes. He grabs me by the neck and pins me on the wall immediately, his claws soon tightening around my neck. "Break the bond, you say? What right do you even have to bring that up, Ayla Townsend?"

After eight years together, I took a hit for my surgeon boyfriend. Milton Woodard vowed I could ask for anything. Everyone assumed I'd seize the chance to propose, locking him down for good. Instead, I looked him in the eye and said, "Let's break up." Then I walked away without a backward glance. Milton smirked, betting with his buddies that I'd come crawling back in under three days, calling me a desperate lapdog chasing his attention. He was dead wrong because I'd been reborn. In my last life, I proposed to him and won. Overwhelmed by the news, his first love threw herself off a rooftop and killed herself. Milton unleashed his grief-fueled rage on me. On our wedding night, he slashed my face and locked me in a dank, claustrophobic basement. When I got pregnant, he force-fed me supplements until the baby grew too big for me to deliver. I hemorrhaged, torn apart, and died in agony on the birthing table. Now, reborn on the day I saved his life, I was done playing his fool.

My mom wants me to report every single detail in my life to her every day. I only get to receive my allowance once I do so. One phone call is equivalent to me receiving one cent. "My dear daughter, I love you so much, you know. Just let me know whatever you're doing every day. Only then can I relax." I don't have the heart to let my mom down, so every day I put all of my effort into coming up with something. That way, I can only gather enough money to buy the cheapest food in the cafeteria. But the food isn't enough to sustain me, leaving me hungry every day. Finally, I break down emotionally. That is, until I receive an allowance from my dad, who's supposed to be dead for many years…