Kitchen Yoshimoto

` It was a cool, breezy and stormy night. Rain came down in sheets, as a dark figure stood before a house. The house was pretty ordinary, white with blue shutters; it didn't have more than two bedrooms. It looked like a cozy little family home with flowers and shrubs lining the front lawn, and then the smell from the pellet stove smoke invaded his nostrils. He took a deep breath and pulled out an old, rusted compass from his black trench coat. It looked like it could have been from the 14th century, the small, brass disc was dented and the Victorian designs were faded. He studied it as it pointed east, towards the small house. He looked the house over carefully, looking for the best entrance, before proceeding towards the side to gaze into the window. Inside you can see the small kitchen; the brand new, all black appliances off set the linoleum floor. Cabinets filled almost every wall of the small space that made it look more crowded than it should have been. The kitchen opened to a larger room which seemed to be used as a living room and a dining room all at once. The whole house looked crowded, with the furniture in the living room all touching except for a small gap to walk through and the dining room was so close to the sofa, it could have been sitting on it. He stepped back into the shadows as he watched a young couple enter the kitchen. The wife was tall and slender, had strawberry blond hair formed around her face accenting her jaw-line and her deep blue eyes stopped your heart as you got lost in them. Her fair complexion was silky and complimented her soft face.

Winifred Jaeger comes from an ordinary family. She meets Timothy Stringer, a rich heir who falls for her at first sight. He immediately starts pursuing her with gusto. Winifred knows they're from different worlds, so she keeps rejecting him. He doesn't give up, though. When she wants to have food from her hometown, he steps into the kitchen for the first time ever. He cooks for her, relishing in it despite getting scalded. When she wants to have candy, he lines up in the dead of winter to get it for her. The iciness and sharp wind don't faze him. She likes fringe tree flowers, so he gets seeds from all over the world. He covers a mountaintop with them for her. She likes making desserts, so he buys ingredients for her from various places. He's more than happy to test her finished products. When she's in a bad mood, he makes sure to cheer her up despite being sick. When Winifred graduates from college, Timothy spreads 99,999 roses on the field to propose to her. She finally realizes she's long since fallen for him, so she says yes. Everyone says she's lucky to have met a man who loves her so and thinks of her as his only one. Yet it's precisely this man who cheats on her when they're about to get married. He tells her he loves her, yet he almost manically tries to have a baby with his mistress. Heartbroken and devastated, Winifred chooses to leave. It's only after she's gone that Timothy searches for her like crazy. When he finds her, he does everything possible to beg her to go back to him. He paces outside her door and begs her incessantly, his eyes red-rimmed. However, she turns him down calmly. "It's too late—you're a closed chapter in my book, and I'm already on a new chapter." Winifred turns to look at a tall, handsome man standing nearby—Timothy's childhood friend, Cyrus Littrell.

"Oh God!" I moaned softly, the heat of Noah's breath hitting my neck as he buried his face in it. His large arms wrapped tightly around me like he was telling me I was his forever. My arms also found their way around his neck, my hand grabbing his soft blonde hair as his piercing gaze met mine. His lips moved from my neck back to my lips where it was before. His tongue conquered mine while I squirmed inside and moaned in his mouth. I could feel his hot bulge pressing against my stomach. "we shouldn't be doing this Noah" I said breaking the kiss. "Why? Cause you're my brother's wife?" he questioned me, the corner of his soft full lips curling with a smirk. He didn't wait for a reply before going back in for a kiss. This man I was making out with on the kitchen counter was my husband's brother. *** Nana thought she had it all a high-powered career, a stable marriage to her husband Simon, and a future carefully mapped out by their influential families. But behind closed doors, her perfect life unravels as Simon’s cold indifference leaves her lonely and questioning everything. When Noah, Simon’s charismatic younger half-brother, returns from overseas, he’s no longer the boy she remembers. Now, he’s all grown up and offering the understanding and attraction she’s been starved of. As Simon’s betrayals cut deeper, Noah becomes her unexpected confidant, comforting her in ways she never imagined. Yet, beneath his caring facade, Noah has his own agenda, subtly steering Nana’s broken heart closer to his own. Torn between duty and desire, Nana finds herself trapped between two brothers: one who’s betrayed her and one who promises the passion she craves.

"Who is the father of that child, Azalea?" "That's none of your business at all." "You won't be going anywhere until you answer my question. Who else have you been sleeping with besides me!?" "'Sleeping'!? If you remember, Ikaros Alexandrovich, you pinned me down in the kitchen, in a standing position, facing the cabinet, and you did all those disgusting things with me! That's not exactly 'sleeping'! But it was my first and only experience, dammit!"

"Why aren't you ready for me?" His voice cut through the darkness, sharp as a blade. His hands gripped my hips, fingers digging into soft flesh. "How often do I have to tell you about the rules?" "I'm sorry," I whispered, my throat tight. "I was sick again today, and work was—" "Excuses." He ripped away my underwear, the fabric tearing. "You smell like a kitchen maid. Disgusting." I bit my lip until I tasted blood, fighting back tears. Three years. Three years of being his unwanted wife, forced on him by his grandfather's deal. The old man's words still echoed: "You saved my life, child. Let me give you a good life in return." ***** Five years ago, Elena thought she’d left her nightmare behind. Forced into a loveless marriage with the ruthless Nikolai Ashford, she endured his cold accusations and cruel indifference. But when their toxic relationship threatened the life of her unborn child, she vanished, reinventing herself as Mia Thompson—a confident heiress with a powerful empire of her own. Now, Mia’s carefully rebuilt world is crumbling. One of her twins is gravely ill, and the only hope for survival lies in Nikolai, the man who shattered her heart. Returning to his world isn’t just a desperate gamble to save her child—it’s a chance to exact the revenge she’s dreamed of for years.

After one very personal prank sparks an all-out war, Tara finds herself locked in a battle of egos with the Twin captains of the hockey team. Infamous heartbreakers. Menaces with matching smirks. one-liners, and sabotage so insane it makes the school gossip page explode daily. But when a family arrangement forces the twins to move in, the battlefield shifts from school hallways to bathrooms. From cafeteria showdowns to kitchen tension that’s definitely not just about burnt toast. Enemies were easy. Living under the same roof? Complicated. Especially when both twins aren’t backing down. They started this war. She’s going to end it… unless her heart gets caught in the crossfire.