Harvard Ping Pong Table

A week after I gave birth via C-section, Mark Whitman invited his friends over to celebrate the birth of our son. The crowd was boisterous—more than a dozen people. Not one of them bothered to remove their dirty shoes. The wooden floor was soon covered in muddy footprints. Mark came into the room and, without a hint of concern, ordered me out of bed. "Everyone's waiting outside. Don't just hide here and rest—you're embarrassing me in front of our guests." I had no choice but to push through the pain, forcing my body to prepare a huge meal for the large crowd, all on my own. When I carried the final bowl of steaming soup to the table, Lily Hoyte—whether intentionally or not—jabbed her hand against the wound on my abdomen. My hand trembled from the sudden pain, and the bowl slipped slightly, spilling the hot soup onto Lily's shoes. Mark's face darkened instantly. "What the heck did you do, Cammy? Lily rushed here right after her plane landed from overseas to see our son, and this is how you treat her?" The crowd quickly chimed in. "Come on, Cammy, no need to be so petty." "Mark and Lily grew up together. If there was really something between them, do you think you'd even be here now?" "Do you even know how much those shoes cost? They're limited edition—easily over ten thousand dollars. And you just ruined them." Lily stood up awkwardly, her eyes misting with tears. "If Cammy doesn't like me," she said softly, "then I'll leave. I don't want to be a bother." But Mark grabbed her hand in an exaggerated display of protection, his voice harsh as he turned to me. "Wipe Lily's shoes clean. Right now." His partiality for Lily made something sharp twist in my chest. My lips quivered as I fought back tears. "The wound on my stomach hasn't healed yet. I can't bend over." At that, his expression grew colder. "Don't use childbirth as an excuse. If you can't bend over, then kneel and wipe them. And if you won't, get out of my house!"

"Did you hear me, Luca DeLuca? I want a divorce. You betrayed me far too much. Last night was the final straw for me." I snarled, clenching my fists at my sides. I was proud of myself for remaining strong in front of my so-called mate. He always made me feel like a weakling. Still, he did not answer. Did he even hear me? "Luca?" I tapped the table until he finally looked up at me. "For God's sake, Serafina. Are you blind as well as stupid? Can't you see that I am busy?" Luca growled at me, causing me to be silent. He did despise me. The truth finally settled in my gut like a stone in that very second. I was nothing to him. He did not even care about me. Not one bit. For three long years, Serafina stood by her fated mates side, hoping that one day he would love her. But, each day caused more pain and suffering for Serafina, especially when she found her mate entangled with his ex lover. The one who truly had his heart. With his betrayal and rejection towards her, as well as the shame and disappointment her mother threw at her, Serafina finally snaps and demands a divorce, leaving the DeLuca estate and returning to her childhood sanctuary. Unfortunately for Serafina, her mother is not going to give up the idea of gaining power and greed, she forces her daughter to marry an old widowed Alpha despite Serafina’s refusal. Will Luca see sense before he loses his fated mate for ever or is it to little to late for his cursed Luna?

Under the Moon Goddess, I was once the happiest Luna of the Black Pack. Alpha Mike cherished me, cradled me in his palms, and bestowed upon me a name and glory. But on that day— I lay on the operating table as he slit open my abdomen himself, offering my liver to his white moonlight, Lina. My husband held Lina’s hand, whispering tenderly in her ear: "Don’t be afraid. Anna’s life is worthless—yours is the one that matters." As the anesthesia wore off, agony seared through me. The doctor gasped: "She’s in her differentiation phase! Forcing the surgery will cripple her for life!" Yet Mike didn’t even glance back, leaving with Lina in his arms: "Just an Omega. Saving you is her privilege." Later, I knelt before the witch Jery, trading all my memories for freedom. When Mike stormed into the shop, roaring at my amnesiac, bubble-blowing self— I shrank into the witch’s arms, trembling: "Sister… who is this madman?" His eyes burned crimson as he tore our contract to shreds.

“In those two years, you will do everything I ask of you, no questions asked,” he stated, his tone firm. I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off. “I’m not done. During those years, you are not allowed to be with any man, young or old. No dates, no clients, no flirting. If you so much as smile at a man, the contract is broken” "And if you break any part of the contract, you’ll pay me the full amount, plus 200% interest. And I always collect my debts, Elizabeth, one way or another." His voice deepened into a threat. I swallowed hard and stared at the table in front of me, my heart racing. If I didn’t sign it, my sister could die. --- When the broken meets the unlucky, sparks ignite. Elizabeth James has always considered herself unlucky, but nothing tests her resolve more than her sister’s life-threatening illness. Desperate to save her, she accepts help from Richard—a powerful billionaire with his own demons. His help comes at a price: two years bound by his rules, doing whatever he says, no questions asked. Haunted by the betrayal of his ex-wife, Richard lives by a single regret: ‘I wish I made her pay.’ When Elizabeth—a young orphan who bears an uncanny resemblance with his ex—enters his life, a misunderstanding convinces him she’s just another gold digger. Manipulating her into an impossible deal, Richard plans to humiliate her and make her break. But what begins as a calculated act of revenge spirals into something unexpected. Richard finds himself drawn to Elizabeth in ways he never imagined could ever happen again.

Valeria was just a wife on paper. Three years of a hellish marriage with the only man she had ever loved but it ended in divorce one rainy night. “Sign them. I can no longer stand to see your face or pretend like I don't want to strangle you with my bare hands everytime I lay eyes on you.” He barked coldly, throwing the papers on the table in front of her. She couldn't say it was unexpected. It had always been a matter of time. Once childhood friends, everything had gone to hell because of one woman, Isis Whittaker, Luka's late fianceé. An unfortunate accident. An incriminating message. Somehow, Luka came to believe Valeria was responsible for the death of the woman he loved and took it upon himself to punish her personally. Three years of torment and being labelled a murderer. She'd never thought the ending would be so…cathartic. Her hand lightly grazed her stomach as she signed the papers. Terrified of how she would explain she was pregnant from a night of passion he didn't even remember, she no longer needed to tell him. She would make sure he was never going to find out that she was carrying his son, the heir to the Thorne Empire. But then again, things never quite go as planned, she should have realized this by now…

At our Thanksgiving family dinner, my stepbrother brought his beautiful girlfriend to meet the family for the first time. She held up her wine glass and flashed me a malicious smirk. “I heard you had a first love you can’t forget, Summer.” I kept my head low and focused on my food, unsure how to respond. After all, my first love… was her boyfriend. When I was seventeen, my stepbrother Ethan Cole tricked me into crossing the line we should never have crossed, while our parents were blissfully unaware. Even right now, under the table, his foot was rubbing mine sensually. He did not bother holding back. On the table, he held his girlfriend’s hand tenderly as he mocked me with a smirk, “You’re twenty-seven, sis. Your shelf life is running out, and you’re such a plain Jane. Who would ever want you?” I stood up abruptly and looked at him, my tone calm and resolute. “I’m married, Ethan.”

“I was promised to his son… but his touch is all I crave” I never thought I’d see him again. I thought my biggest mistake was losing my virginity to an attractive stranger. Turns out, the actual mistake was me signing a contract to marry his son. One reckless night in New York with a powerful, older-looking mysterious man should have been nothing more than a secret buried deep in the ground. But when I’m forced into an arranged marriage to secure a dangerous alliance, I realize my sin has come back to haunt me. Because the man standing at the head of the family table, the one who is watching me with dark, knowing eyes and a cold smirk is the same man who once had me beneath him. Now, he is not just a forbidden temptation. He’s my future Father-In-Law. I am now trapped in a contract I can never escape, caught between duty and desire. But in a world filled with duties, love might be a deadly game, and I just became the most dangerous game on the board.

My husband took our six-year-old daughter on a fishing trip, but when his first love called, he left her alone to answer his phone. With no one watching her, our daughter fell into the sea, and we never recovered her body. Heartbroken, I called him and begged him to return, but his voice was cold as he said, “Cheyenne, today’s Queenie's birthday. Can you stop being such a buzzkill?” When I stumbled back home in despair, I found his first love clinging provocatively to him, a smug smile on her face. “What’s got you so upset, sis-in-law?” she sneered. I let out a cold laugh and flipped the dining table over. “As long as you’re alive, I’ll never be happy.”

Amelia's leg tapped against the table as she asked, "What are your thoughts on love?" Her hands were clasped together on her lap, but her eyes sparkled with curiosity. Lucas met her gaze, a smirk playing on his lips. "Love is a waste of time," he replied. "It's a tool designed to weigh people down. Without it, we could achieve so much more." Amelia's eyes lit up with interest; he had just ticked almost all her boxes green. "I agree," she said, her smirk matching his. "Love is nothing but bullshit. We could save a lot of time by keeping our relationship minimal." With a proactive glint in her eye, she added, "What do you say? We should get married to fulfill our filial duties." _____________ Their marriage was a facade, a contract between two individuals who didn't believe in love but were forced to get married to fulfill their obligations. Everything was going as planned, until suddenly... "Have you eaten, dear?" "How is my baby?" "Is he doing well?" Lucas's words, once empty and mechanical, now held a tender tone. Amelia found him falling for her, and she seemed to be falling too. Why were they succumbing to the very thing they once scorned? Love, once a distant possibility, was now becoming an option. But would they choose it?

BOUGHT! BOUND! OWNED! Kyomi King is the first born child in her family, meaning she has to scrape and fend for herself and her brother, now that her parents are gone. Her life is not all sunshine and rainbows because not only were they orphaned when they were young, but they live in a country without legal papers, making the two siblings always on the receiving end of bad things. She slaves for his only family to put bread on the table and keep the roof over their heads, enduring endless sexual assault from her boss and the customers. But it is her life, and she has learned not to thirst for things that are out of reach. Until one day when her very own flesh and blood walks in followed by a bunch of mobsters, then brazenly sells her to them without much of hesitation. Betrayed, she finds herself trapped in a world of darkness, only to discover her inner strength and blossoms into an unstoppable force. All with the help of the man who owned her. Vincenzo Russo.