Hirohiko Araki Aging

With a bag of vegetables gifted by the previous tenant in hand, I was on my way to collect rent from the third household when I unexpectedly ran into someone at the entrance of the community. The man frowned, his eyes fixed on the vegetables I carried, as though he couldn't fathom how I had ended up like this after leaving him. Following his gaze, I instinctively shifted the vegetables behind my back. My eyes dropped to the muddy water on the pavement, and I never would have imagined bumping into my ex-boyfriend—the one who had grown up with a silver spoon—in this aging neighborhood. He noticed my movement, and for a moment, something flickered in his expression: a mix of pity and recognition. "Since you've already learned your lesson," he said, "come back with me." At his words, I instinctively stepped back half a pace. "Who said I'm going back with you?" My rejection seemed to sting, darkening his face. "I know you're still blaming me for giving Rachel a child," he muttered, "but it's been three years. Isn't it time to stop? As long as you come back, we can be the same as before." Three years, huh? How quickly time had passed. Thinking of my little girl at home, still babbling her first words, I couldn't help but smile and shake my head. "Let's leave it at that. Go home and live your life with Rachel. My daughter's waiting for me to go back and make her food."

"Know your place." "I only married you out of pity, don't try to cross your boundary." "Let me take the credit for this, madam. You're the wife of the heir; you don't need these small scraps." The hurtful words, neglect, and humiliation were everything Ava McQueen was used to, but who told her to be in love with this man? 25-year-old Ava McQueen only wanted one thing: To get back her husband's love and be worthy to stand by his side, but what she got instead was his cold back and the ridicule from his family. Ethan McQueen, the charismatic heir of the McQueen Empire, had only married her to look good in front of his grandfather, the aging patriarch of the McQueens, Kenneth, but his heart was solely for his childhood friend and first love, Victoria Blackwood... or so he thought. Abandoned and trapped in a loveless marriage as a replacement for a woman she'd never measure up to, mistreated by her husband and his family, belittled at work, she presses on, steadfast in her love... until she lost the one thing she'd gained from her love... her baby. Ava seeks a divorce and, determined to forget Ethan completely, she leaves, and suddenly, Ethan sees she's not who he thought she was. Because the woman who was trampled and thought to be a helpless orphan golddigger was actually a billionaire heiress! Determined to topple his empire, as hidden truths and dangers surface, Ethan realizes he might have lost a gem while hoarding stones, and she might be the key to his sanity. But will Ava help him find the solace he craves? Or will she tear everything down and let him be swallowed by the darkness he once trapped her in?

When my parents got old, they needed someone to take care of them. Katerina—my younger sister—was off to Amiraka with her smug husband Chris. Meanwhile, I was crammed into a two-bedroom in Bellavaro with my husband Pavel, who drove a taxi. Mom had no retirement savings, so guess who she dumped herself on? Yep—me. Dad took the cash and ran straight to Katerina. Our place was tiny, but we still gave Mom the master bedroom. She hated it. Constant complaints, constant drama. According to her, life with me was pure misery. Every night, she'd hop on video call with Katerina, gushing about Amiraka like it was heaven, while throwing shade at me for not "taking care of her properly." Meanwhile, I was drowning—trying to hold it together for Mom, help my daughter prep for exams, support a husband with spine problems, and check in on aging in-laws. Mom didn't care. She wanted a plane ticket to Amiraka to party for Katerina's birthday. I snapped. We had a blowout fight, and she collapsed—brain hemorrhage. Even in her hospital bed, she stared me down, whining Katerina's name like a broken record. Then she spat out, "I should've never picked a useless daughter like you!" My chest cracked in half. I blacked out. When I woke up—I was ten years younger. Back to the day they decided who'd get stuck taking care of them. This time, Mom didn't wait. "I want Katerina to take care of me. It's my turn to enjoy life!"

WARNING: MATURE CONTENT. RATED 18+. 90% STEAMY Selene never expected the thick darkness her life was about to plunge into. A young, new-adult wolf raised under the strict expectations of her aging father and the proud legacy of her ancestors, she’s lived by every rule—rules meant to keep her from losing to the rival dynasty threatening to claim the throne from her family, the prestigious Ravencrofts. But the one person she thought would protect her shatters her instead. Her father’s cold, public humiliation cuts deeper than any enemy’s blade, all because of the one flaw she can’t control—her heat. It surges too often, too powerfully, even outside mating season… and now it’s a curse she can’t escape. Broken and burning for release, Selene seeks reckless oblivion in the city’s most dangerous den of demons—a forbidden club dripping with sin and shadow. There, she collides with a sinfully irresistible stranger drawn to the wild, unrestrained heat she can’t hide. One night is all it takes for him to brand himself into her body and soul—a night of decadent, breathless pleasure she’ll never forget. But when the haze fades, Selene learns the devastating truth. The man who consumed her? Her older sister’s Alpha husband. He’s already tasted her. He wants more. And he’ll stop at nothing—no law, no loyalty, no taboo—to claim her completely. Now Selene is caught in a storm of forbidden desire, torn between resisting the man who could ruin her and surrendering to the sinful pull that could destroy them both. Because the only thing more dangerous than his touch… is how much she wants it. YOUR REVIEWS AND COMMENTS WILL BE SO MUCH APPRECIATED. PLEASE 🥺 🥺