Late Stage Capitalism

Amelia Thompson just wanted to finish her last year in highschool in peace and move on to the next stage of her life but little did she know that she would come across the drop dead handsome Blake Andrews. It was love at first sight for the both of them but still, Amelia knew she couldn't afford to fall for a playboy like Blake. Despite all odds, Amelia knew that battling her feelings for Blake would be difficult but she was ready. Or was she?

At a concert, I went wild, shouting at the top idol on stage, “Tony Townsend, spray on my face!” That night, my brother had me pinned against the ancestral altar, a ruler pressing down on the back of my neck. “Lift your head. Tell me, what did you want that idol to do to you?” Later, he shoved me down onto the mattress, his fingertips grinding against my swollen lips. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

"You either fuck him or you will no longer be a ballerina in my company." The director’s words made me freeze for a moment. My throat went dry, my body numb. This wasn’t supposed to be part of the deal. I trained my whole life for the stage, not to be someone’s prostitute. "When?" I asked, tears already forming in my eyes. "TONIGHT." That one word shattered everything inside me. It wasn’t a request, it was an order.

When we get too much involved in the act of pretending, we lose the idea of knowing the pretense of others. Isn't that how it works? We don't know the acts we do thinking good for the others even to the extent of hurting them to save them from major hurt will cause them to go through much more than we can think of. Sometimes it is not too late to correct the pretenses but sometimes it is late to amend them. Let's see whether it is too late or just in time.

Running late for work, I had no choice but to call an Uber. As luck would have it, my boss turned out to be my Uber driver. We stared at each other awkwardly. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Let me guess... running late?" Me: ... Later, he docked my pay. I gave him a one-star review.

"Dear ex-wife, I want you back!" ~~~~~~~ Stacy, a strong and devoted wife, discovers the painful truth that her husband Nathan has been cheating on her with her best friend Rita. The betrayal strikes deep within her heart, and unable to tolerate the breach of trust, Stacy takes the brave decision to divorce Nathan, severing all ties with him. Life after the divorce proves to be a tumultuous journey for Stacy. With shattered dreams and a wounded spirit, she finds herself grappling with the challenges of starting anew. In the face of adversity, Stacy musters the courage to reinvent herself and discovers an unexpected path in the most vibrant city of dreams, Los Angeles. Drawn to the allure of the city's nightlife, Stacy finds solace and empowerment as a stripper in one of Los Angeles' premier clubs. With a newfound sense of freedom, she embraces her sensuality and unleashes her hidden talents on the stage, captivating the audience with her mesmerizing performances. The neon lights and pulsating music become her sanctuary, where she can momentarily forget the pain that still lingers in her heart. However, fate has a twisted sense of irony in store for Stacy. One fateful night, as she prepares to grace the stage with her magnetic presence, she receives an unexpected request: to strip for a VIP client. The name sends a chill down her spine, for it is none other than her ex-husband Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The story of the prince and princess is a fairy tale. So what's the story of you and me? She stood in the dark, looking up at the stage filled with lights, and she saw him shine like a radiant sun. He was in a place filled with light, and he reached out my hand to hide that light so that he could see her better. “Indeed, your eyes don't see the light. That light is so beautiful, and it’s radiating from you….”

Kheious, a BS Nursing student let go his dream to be an idol because of their social status. As a son of a health care worker abroad, his auntie wants him to focus on his studies and be a Licensed Nurse someday, so he could follow his mom in Canada. Everything was going smoothly in accordance to the designed plan not until he met Anaia, a BS Accountancy student from their university who encourage him to purse his stage dream. —Azureriel

Studying abroad can be incredibly lonely at times. That night, I was in my room, indulging in a little treat for myself, when my best friend suddenly burst through the door. "Doing it yourself is no fun. Come on. There's a super cool cabaret show going on. Let's go see it together!" On stage, my friend was reclining in a chair behind the curtain, with two strong-looking men on top of her. "Come on. Join us for a group dance..."

Growing up without a father figure and getting one at a later stage in Jordan's life wasn't only hard to take in but she also got an extra luggage of a Step Brother She now had attached to her from her Mother's remarriage but her life's drama doesn't end there as she meets the young billionaire CEO who turns out to be her father's step son and she gets caught up in between them both.