Gold Reception Desk

“Alastair, whatever human you choose from that building will be nothing more than bait. Surely, Caris is too far gone to understand that this child is more than something to satiate her hunger! Are you willing to risk that for her-” “A human?” I impatiently took a step towards Toran, restraining myself from grabbing him up by the collar. “Yes! I will gladly risk a human’s life!” I exclaimed my words bordering on desperation. “Whether it be a child or an infant. If it brings Caris back! If..if the baby can keep her sane for but a moment long enough for me to get through to her, then I will do whatever it takes.” I hadn’t realized how sure I was about this plan until I said it out loud to Toran. Sure, it was a cruel plan, but I was bordering on desperation at this point. Valene was an infant when she was adopted from the Caring Arms Orphanage by the Alpha of Shadow Veil, Alastair Wade. Life has always been decided for Vali, being a Gold Blood as well as a Vassal to the now widowed Alpha and his daughter Harlyn. Now nearly nineteen years old, Valene has found contentment in being the human servant to the wolf who adopted her and his daughter. Then came the Lycan King. When Ares Barbosa shows up at Shadow Veil with his pack, everything changes for Valene and everyone she holds dear....in ways that she could never have imagined.

I set fire to my painting in front of the entire academy. Thunderous applause erupts from the crowd as everyone thinks it's some kind of performance art. Unlike them, Willow Laurent is distraught. She rushes up and grabs my hand, questioning in a shrill voice, "Cassidy Seymour, have you gone mad? This is your only chance to prove yourself!" I shake her hand off me coldly. My only chance? No… What she means is that it's her chance. In my past life, I created this masterpiece with all my heart and soul. But she stole it from me and submitted it as her entry first. Whether it was the composition, the colors, or even my original dot-stippling technique… She replicated every detail flawlessly. Then, she won the National Young Artists Gold Award, signed with a top gallery, and became a rising star. And what about me? I was condemned as a shameless plagiarist. Insults and curses gradually drowned me. "You shouldn't be an artist!" "Plagiarists are scum! They should just die!" Her fans stormed into my studio, smashed my art supplies, and broke my right hand. As I saw no end to the hell that I was living in, I jumped down from the top floor of my studio. When I open my eyes again, I'm back to the very day she first accuses me of plagiarism.

On the day of our engagement, my girlfriend, Jean Sullivan, is nowhere to be found until late at night. Beside myself with worry, I, Seth Lloyd, frantically reach out to our mutual friends and even consider calling the police. Suddenly, I come across a post about her from her assistant, Callum Cox. "My manager came over to discuss some plans, but the door lock suddenly broke. Does this mean we're going to be stuck in the same room tonight? I can't help feeling a little excited." When I like the post, Jean immediately calls me, furious. "Don't you have any idea how much I earn in a year? Just one day of my lost income would cover what you make in a whole week. "All I did was skip that stupid engagement party, and you start acting all snide. I don't have time to deal with your stingy relatives." My mom, Teresa Whitfield, stays silent, her eyes sweeping over the gold, eight sets of haute couture jewelry, and several property transfer deeds in the private room. With a forced smile, she asks, "Seth, have all these wedding gifts we've prepared embarrassed you?" I sneer, caressing the keys to the luxury car I'm about to give Jean. "No, it's me who's being too generous to her."

After I studied and lived in Descensio for five years, I finally graduated and was ready to return to my home country to take over my dad's company. When I arrived at the Sullivan Group building, I took a picture and posted it on my Instagram story with the caption. 'Since you're the man I love most, I'm here to see you immediately after graduation.' Yet, a woman appeared out of nowhere and slapped me as soon as I arrived at the company's lobby. "It's her! She's the hussy! She had seduced my husband back in high school. Now that my husband has become the director, she shamelessly showed up here to flirt with him. So, I want you girls to beat her up. I'll take the blame if anything happens." While the woman was cooking up a story about me seducing Marcus Lane, a director of Sullivan Group, others around simply looked on coldly and judged me. She slashed my limited-edition bag to pieces and smashed the expensive seal I wanted to give my dad. "You're just a gold digger wearing and buying fake luxury goods. It's just a few hundred dollars. I can still afford to pay you." However, little did she know that everything I had was real. Even if she and her director husband worked for the rest of their lives, they would never be able to afford to pay for the damages.

It was our seventh anniversary. Christopher Quinton proposed to me with nothing but a ring pull. He got his true love a house. When I said no, he rebuked me like I was some sort of gold digger. "I thought my love for you was worth more than anything money could buy. I only got Rachel that house to pay her back for all she did for me. I can't believe you thought I still loved her. You disappoint me." I broke up with him and tossed the ring pull into the bin. Then, I walked off. The next day, Christopher took away my position as VP and told everyone he was getting engaged to Rachel. … Five years later, we ran into each other at a charity horserace. He was a successful businessman, and the woman beside him was Rachel, all dressed in custom-made clothes. I was dressed in janitor attire and stuffing plastic bottles into my woven bag. He mocked, "Look at you, Queenie Dean. Scavenging for a living. Bet you didn't see this coming when you ditched me, did you?" I ignored him. My son had run off, and I had to look for him. The boy noticed the plastic bottles that were strewn across the ground, and he insisted that we stay back to finish his social practice activity here.

Jermaine's voice echoed in Dylan's condo unit as she caught him with someone else. "All this caution I've taken for myself, and for what? For you!" Jermaine exclaimed. "You're too paranoid, Maine. What do you think of me? Chasing you just because you won't give me what I want? Are you gold?" Dylan scorned her, "Hey, Maine, if you can't give it to me, I'll find it elsewhere! Just leave, you're causing us unnecessary trouble!" That marked the beginning of her downfall. It was her last semester in business administration, but her former boyfriend shattered it all. She became her own investigator, trailing him wherever he went, until her parents found out. They sent her to the province to reflect. There, she met her uncle's best friend, Demitri, a man left behind by time. He offered her an opportunity she couldn't refuse. "Marry me, and together we'll seek revenge for all the pain we've endured!" he proposed. "Bu--but why me?" she was confused. "Because I know, nothing's gonna happen between us. Besides, our gap means a lot to me, looks like i'm your uncle. I just want to take revenge. That cheaters need to receive their karma!"

Sophia Hayes is thrilled when she wins a ticket for the exclusive boat cruise she's dreamed of all her life. But her excitement is dampened by a rumor from a trusted source: her millionaire ex-boyfriend, Charles, will also be attending. Determined to avoid the humiliation of facing him single, Sophia convinces her high school friend Robert, a wealthy playboy, to pose as her boyfriend. Robert agrees, eager to shed his notorious reputation and fend off gold diggers, while also seeking to placate his meddling family. On the lavish cruise, Sophia and Robert's convincing act as a couple quickly captures the attention of social media and the city's gossip columns. However, things take a turn when Robert detects Sophia's lingering feelings for Charles, and Sophia realizes Robert might never give up his playboy ways. A misunderstanding leads Robert into a one-night stand, while Sophia finds herself dancing with Charles. When Charles publicly declares his love for Sophia, she humiliates him, igniting his desire for revenge. After the cruise, Sophia and Robert must continue their fake relationship to maintain appearances. The situation becomes increasingly toxic as an anonymous threat promises to expose their charade and Robert's one-night stand results in a pregnancy scare. Forced to take a family vacation together, Sophia and Robert must navigate their fake relationship in close quarters. As they act intimately to maintain the facade, they begin to confront their true feelings for one another.

I was an unfortunate omega, auctioned off like a lamb, sold to a ruthless Alpha billionaire named Dominic Bloodhound. I was meant to be nothing but a plaything, a pet. Except, Dominic didn’t treat me like any of those things, he barely even looked at me, but my mother was right… all Alphas are the same, cunning, ruthless, and devoid of emotion. Dominic never bought me out of the sheer kindness of his heart, he bought me because of the witch doctor he’s been hunting in secret, and I couldn’t let him use me to hunt my own bloodline. Now standing there after barely having escaped, he looks down at me with his gold eyes gleaming. “Join me,” he said simply. “And help me bring Dominic to his knees.” I take his hand, ignoring the voice in my head, screaming that I’m making a deal with the devil. “Then let’s destroy Dominic Bloodhound.” The enemy of my enemy is supposed to be my friend, right? **** Lyra Graves strikes a dangerous bargain with an Alpha, but as she dives deeper into the world of deception, forbidden attraction, and mysterious power, there’s only one question that haunts Lyra’s mind. What if the real monster isn’t the Alpha she seeks revenge against, but the one she’s slowly falling for? An Omega with everything to lose. An Alpha with everything to prove. And a bond that refuses to die. Flip the page and jump into the town of Ravenshire, where it all began...

On the company's designated monthly day off, Gigi Lott, Donald Hoover's secretary, posted an Instagram story. The caption read, "So what if you're the boss of me when we're at work during the day? At night, I'm the one on top!" In the photo, she was lying atop a water bed covered in rose petals, and the usually stern Donald was kneeling down to massage her feet for her. From his pocket hung a brand new golden necklace. Just that morning, I bought several gold bars and gave them to Donald while beseeching him to make our relationship public. He happily took the locket from me, but when I tried to take a photo of us with our phone, he smacked my phone out of my hands, smashing it into pieces. With a look of pure derision, he declared, "Why don't you take a good look at yourself in the mirror first? You really are a motherless wretch who wasn't raised right. Look at the lengths you'd go to just to ruin me!" Throughout the last five years, I had meekly gone along with his demand that we keep our relationship a secret, claiming it was because office romances were forbidden. But now, I was abruptly hit with the realization of how laughable it all was. The next day, I sent my father a message. "I admit defeat. I'm willing to come home and inherit the family business."

My grandfather, Terry Sims, suffered from bipolar disorder and was prone to anger and mood swings. My mother, Catherine, was his only chill pill. On the day they were hunted down by enemies, my mom went into early labor and lost her life in an attempt to save him. Devastated, my grandfather could not see a way out of his disorder and poured all his love into me. He would pull out the tongues of those who mocked me and fed them to the dogs. The families of those who hurt me would meet their end. It was known to the people of Mistvale that the granddaughter of Terry Sims was untouchable. Due to my congenital heart disease, he reluctantly sent me abroad for medical treatment. After my surgery, I rushed back to his side for his birthday, thinking of giving him a surprise. However, I was mistaken for a gold digger by a carer and locked in the basement. “Of all the things you can do for your age, you throw yourself at men. Since your parents won’t restrain your behavior, I’ll have to do it for them.” She pulled out my tongue, dumped acid all over me, and dug out my snewly transplanted heart to give as a birthday gift to my grandfather, who had been waiting for my return. “Mr. Sims, the skank tried to impersonate Ms. Sims, but I got everything sorted out for you.”