Hard Work Paid Off

“It’s still her.” Three words. That was all it took for the carefully constructed world of my last five years to shatter into dust at my feet. Zane didn’t even have the decency to look away as he said it. For twenty years, I had been the third wheel. The reliable shadow to Jovienne’s brilliant sun. I had buried my own feelings for Zane so deep I almost forgot they existed, only daring to dig them up and confess them after Jovi had left the country and broken his heart. We built a life. A marriage. I truly believed, in my foolish, hopeful heart, that it was my happy ending. Now Jovienne was back, and the illusion was gone. The love of my life saw me only as a consolation prize. As my world collapses, the last person I expect comfort from is her husband—a man as cold and polished as he is powerful. Vance sees the same betrayal in my eyes that he sees in his wife's. Leaning in, his voice a dangerous whisper, he proposed the unthinkable: "They are living in the past. Let's be each other's revenge. What do you say, Nerissa?" I should avoid at all costs. It was a game that could burn our broken worlds to the ground. But as I looked into his eyes and saw the same raw, humiliating betrayal reflected back at me, the answer poised on my lips wasn't "no." It was a terrifying, thrilling question. “What,” I whispered, my voice steadier than I felt, “did you have in mind?”

J'ai aimé Luc Dupont pendant dix ans, mais il a dit : « Elle ne m'intéresse pas. » Et puis il a passé ses jours et ses nuits avec une autre femme… En tant que son amie d'enfance pendant dix ans, lui et moi n'avons pas eu de bons résultats, alors je ne voulais plus être son second choix. Plus tard, j’étais sur le point de me marier avec une autre personne. Au milieu de la nuit, Luc a frappé à ma porte en disant : « Claire Moreau… » « M. Luc, puis-je vous aider ? » Ensuite, la voix sexy d'un homme est venue de la chambre à coucher : « Chérie, où as-tu mis mes sous-vêtements ? » En entendant cela, Luc a titubé et a craché une bouchée de sang devant moi… Peu de temps après, je suis tombée sur le blog de Luc : « Il y a des gens à qui l'on manque pour la vie. Ce n'est pas parce qu'elle t’aime maintenant qu'elle t’aimera toujours. Alors, chéris-la. »

He pressed him against the door, breath hot, voice ragged. “If you don’t want this… tell me to stop.” A pause. A heartbeat. “I can’t.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some obsessions aren’t meant to be touched. Some men aren’t meant to be loved. And some desires don’t care. This collection isn’t about perfect love. It’s about the one you weren’t supposed to want— Another man. Your brother’s best friend. Your enemy’s son. Your professor. Your fake fiancé. The man who shouldn’t look at you like that. The man you can’t stop wanting. Every story is a man falling for another man when he shouldn’t—and doing it anyway. Fast-paced, emotionally sharp, and dangerously seductive, every story in Burnt Offerings dives headfirst into the hunger we deny, the rules we break, and the lovers we were warned to stay away from. Some affairs stay in the dark. Others start wildfires. This isn't a love story. It's all the ones you swore you’d never tell. All of them about men who should have walked away from each other… but didn’t.

Fafa, Ome, Ocha, Naga dan Atha tak pernah menyangka akan mendapat hukuman aneh dari Silvianita. Bukannya dihukum biasa, mereka justru diarahkan masuk ke gua crystal yang ternyata menjadi gerbang menuju dunia lain bernama Crystalville. Crystalville dipenuhi penduduk dengan antena di kepala dan sayap di punggung, membuat kelima remaja itu merasa asing sekaligus takjub. Dalam kebingungan, mereka bertemu Marca, anak kecil berambut bob yang selalu setia dengan snack kentangnya. Kehadiran Marca membawa warna baru di tengah perjalanan mereka. Namun, ada pertanyaan besar yang belum terjawab : untuk apa Silvianita mengirim mereka ke sini? Apakah benar hanya hukuman atau ada misi tersembunyi yang harus mereka selesaikan?

I slipped into a vegetative state because of an accident. For the next five years, my wife, Ella York, remains devoted to me. She turns down all of her admirers and has chosen to raise our child on her own. At the same time, she exhausts herself from taking care of me to the point that she suffers from stomach bleeding. Everyone advises her to find a new man to settle down with. But Ella exclaims in a choked-up tone, "I'll always be Zack's wife for as long as he lives!" When I miraculously wake up from my comatose state, the first thing I do is file for a divorce under the condition that Ella leaves this marriage without a cent to her name. All of my family, friends, and relatives are pissed off at me, to say the least. "You bastard! Ella has stayed by your side for the past five years! How dare you cast her out the moment you wake up!" As I gaze at Ella's tear-streaked face coldly, I say to everyone else, "Go ahead and check the security footage at my son's kindergarten. Then, you'll understand how Ella has taken care of me over the past five years."

Adhira, murid SMA yang jago matematika itu harus terjerat berbagai kasus demi mengungkap kematian kedua orang tuanya. Sebuah undangan rapat rahasia dari aliansi keluarga konglomerat datang padanya. Dari sana Adhira pun tahu bahwa dia ternyata juga putra seorang pengusaha berlian merah yang kaya raya. Namun setiap kali petunjuk baru muncul, para saksi mata satu per satu mati. Di usianya yang keenam belas tahun, Adhira terjerat kasus pemerkosaan yang menyeret dirinya ke penjara dan mengalami banyak siksaan. Penderitaan yang tak terelakkan itu membawa Adhira pada kenyataan bahwa orang-orang yang selama ini terlihat begitu luhur dan agung tak lebih dari orang-orang keji yang menggunakan segala cara demi mendapatkan keinginannya. (PERINGATAN: cerita mengandung adegan seksual eksplisit, kekerasan fisik dan seksual, percintaan sesama jenis. Mohon jadi pembaca bijak)

Mariyah Aragon's only goal in life was to give her family a better life. In order to achieve this goal, she needs to study and work hard to pay off her parents' sacrifice for her. And she achieved it. One night, she was ordered by her mom to return a white handkerchief and pay a sum of money her mother borrowed to her Aunt Helen, she obeyed her by thinking it was just the only order to her But she was deceived by the person she least expected to do it. Her mom literally paid her debt. Neither a money nor a letter of extension for the payment was given, she was the payment. She is the payment. She swallowed hard as she stared at those pair of dark grey eyes. Shels standing alone with him in his open balcony, doesn't know why she was there and how did she get there. But her mind can't seem to perceive what is happening after hearing those words to him. Did she hear him right? Was she really married to him? And what really shook her world, was she really married to the Alpha?

Kesialan Hifa bermula ketika tanpa sengaja dia memilih wahana internship dan bertemu dengan Ifan, musuh bebuyutannya yang angkuh dan menyebalkan. Ifan selalu menindasnya pada saat menjalani stase klinik dulu. Yang lebih parah, Hifa harus jaga bersama Ifan selama bertugas di rumah sakit. Meskipun begitu, Hifa memiliki dokter pendamping bernama Gatta yang begitu baik padanya. Namun, persiteruan hebat yang kerap terjadi secara perlahan meruntuhkan benteng pertikaian di antara mereka. Ifan menyelamatkannya dan Hifa menyembuhkan cedera masa lalunya. Akar kebencian pudar dan benih cinta tumbuh. Kedekatan yang asing ini pada akhirnya mampu mempersatukan mereka dalam perputaran roda yang seirama.

“Come with me,“ he ordered.  “I'm not going anywhere!“ Freya stood her ground, looking up at his blank face.   Something flashed past his dark eyes as he heard her. “You really have some guts, don't you?“   “Well, I don't care what this is. I don't care why I'm in a wedding gown and why I'm being treated like I chose this. You could kill me if you want. But I'm not—”   “Is this about the kiss, my Lady?“ he asked, sounding amused.  Freya wanted the ground to open up and swallow her at that moment. Her face went scarlet red and she almost forgot the other reason why she was angry. “Why should I care about the fact that you didn't kiss me? I barely know you and—”   “Right.“ That was all he said before he gently grabbed her waist and crushed his lips on hers...

A Gen Z employee named Sylvie Mercer has reported me to the Department of Labor by claiming that I've forced all employees to work on the year-end holidays. But the truth is, I've given the entire company a nine-day vacation just to celebrate the year-end holidays. Those who are willing to work overtime shifts will be paid three times their usual salaries and given an additional five-thousand-dollar bonus. Sylvie keeps crying on the internet about how all the employees, including her, are forced to trade their lives for money. Thanks to her, the entire Internet keeps bashing me. So, I decide to follow the public opinion by releasing an announcement. "In order to ensure all employees' health, the company's doors shall be locked during the year-end holidays. Do note that the electric supply will be cut off as well. No one is permitted entry into the company." As soon as the announcement is released, the employees who plan on earning extra money in order to pay off their mortgages all rush toward my office in alarm.