Laughter Joker

Steven Zimmer, the assistant of my wife, Lucy Quinn, has lost in a truth-or-dare session. Lucy doesn't hesitate to file for a divorce from me for the ninth time. In the courthouse, I hear the staff member asking Lucy curiously, "Your husband is like a well-trained dog now. You've already married and divorced him nine times! Aren't you worried that your husband might ditch you for real?" Lucy merely smirks at her. "Do you know that the more ruthless you are when you abandon your pets, the harder it'll be for them to live without you? In fact, they will just become more obedient and docile. As long as I curl a finger at him, he'll definitely sink down to his knees and beg me to remarry him." Everyone bursts into laughter after that. They bet that I'll plead pathetically to Lucy to remarry me for the tenth time in less than a day after I've obtained the divorce certificate. Lucy even declares that she'll stream the tenth wedding proposal on the Internet when it happens. But the next day, Lucy keeps waiting for me to show up at the city hall while clad in a wedding dress. All she gets is a text from me. "No more proposals. This is the end between us, Lucy."

At the award-giving ceremony of the end-of-the-year gala, my boss, George White, suddenly announces that he will be adding a bonus round on a whim. "This is the annual department evaluation! The department that comes last shall come onto the stage and receive a tiny encouragement from me!" The huge screen lights up at that moment. The sales achievements accumulated by all departments are being shown in a ranking system. The sales department is ranked first. The operations department comes second, and the marketing department gets third place. As for the administrative department, the sales achievements shown on the screen are none. After all, that department has no KPI to achieve at all. George beams at us from the administrative department. "Everyone from the administrative department, come on up and receive your prize!" Two people can be seen carrying a basket of brooms up the stage. Everyone bursts into laughter instantly. "Come now, sweep away your bad luck with the brooms! Try not to come up as the bottom-ranked department again next year!" George personally thrusts the brooms into our hands. Camera flashes go off beneath the stage—people are clearly taking photos of us. The people from the sales department are the ones laughing the hardest. "Finally, the peeps from the administrative department are getting the recognition they deserve!"

I'm a nationally certified animal trainer running the Lion King, Caesar's final assessment. I've barely stepped into the enclosure corridor when the steel guillotine door slams down behind me. My wife's laughter crackles over the loudspeaker. "Everyone, we're doing the ultimate challenge today! We're locking the so-called number-one animal trainer in the Lion King's enclosure and taking bets on whether he wets himself in ten minutes!" Caesar crouches low and rumbles a warning. I reach for my tranquilizer gun but stop cold. The liquid isn't the right color. In a phony sing-song voice, the veterinarian, Hugh Archer, says, "Lucian, I forgot to mention, I swapped your tranquilizer darts for pepper spray so you won't hurt Caesar by mistake. "You two are so close. Just win him over with love!" I look at Caesar, his eyes bloodshot from the stimulant, and it clicks. Hugh still resents that I stopped him from touching a tiger with his bare hands a few days ago. I tune out the trash blaring over the loudspeaker, pull a remote from my pocket, and hit the button. It's the master switch for the electric fence gates around every predator enclosure in the zoo. If I don't make it out, no one does.

..."forgive me but i'm calling off the engagement." Isabella who was smiling as she listened to his speech suddenly widened her eyes in horror. "What do you mean by you're calling off the engagement! You're joking right?" She burst into laughter thinking that it was a prank. "I'm not joking Ella, I'm in love with someone else." He held her hands apologetically trying to calm her down as she was losing her cool. "Who is she?" She barked angrily as she couldn't stay calm any longer. ... She had always been treated poorly by her parents and younger sister but treated it like some kind of training. It got worst to a point that people began calling her 'Cinderella.' She always longed for a prince charming who would wipe away her tears and love her dearly. She did find her 'prince charming.' He promised to marry her but then he called off their engagement on the engagement party. She was shocked to find out that her fiancee and younger sister had an affair behind her back. She wanted to end it all but then the real 'Prince Charming' came along. ..."Marry me. I would take revenge on everyone that had hurt you."

What happens when a dying nerdy girl becomes the obsession of a cursed vampire? Ivy Smith has always been the quiet girl with oversized glasses, baggy sweaters, and a stack of books in her arms. But behind the laughter and sarcasm, she’s dying. Nineteen years old, running out of time, and still a virgin. All she wants is one taste of love before death takes her away. Her plan was simple—lose her virginity to Jaxon, the hottest guy in school. But then she saw him. Dante Gomez. Her best friend’s father. Her professor. The man who should have been completely off-limits. The man who kissed her once and ruined everything. Because Dante isn’t just any man. He’s a vampire, cursed with immortality and desperate to be human again. One reckless kiss transfers his Crimson Stone into Ivy’s body—he can only take it back if she dies. Now, they’re bound together by hunger, secrets, and a dangerous desire that could destroy them both. He wants his stone. She wants his touch. Will Ivy give her heart to the boy she always dreamed of… or surrender her soul to the forbidden man who craves her?

Our company was having a team building event in the Huka Islands, where every employee would get their own room. As I prepared to check in, my colleague from the same department, Yvonne Caruso, suddenly snatched my ID from my hand. "The rooms are full. The rest of you should find another hotel." I did not say anything much but took my ID back to hand it to the employee working behind the front desk. "One room, please. Thank you." However, Yvonne pushed me away viciously and berated me, "I told you to get lost. Are you deaf?!" I was not prepared for it, and I hit the corner of the front desk hard. I felt a sharp pain in my waist and immediately lost my temper. Yvonne was infuriated when I pushed her back, and she roared at me, "How dare you push me! My dad is the real boss behind this company. He's the Don of the Carusos. Cross me and you won't even see it coming when you die!" I was taken aback and broke out with laughter a second later. The Don of the Carusos, Ian Caruso, was my father. Why did I have no idea that he had another daughter apart from me?

Samara comes closer to me, now studying my face. Her eyes are wandering all over my facial features. I contort my face in confusion at her weird stares, "Umm, hey-" "Listen, can you wear my wedding dress and be a bride at my place?" She questions. Ec-excuse me? I give her a long stare. I think she is joking and would burst into laughter any minute...but she doesn't. Her face has no trace of humour. "What?" I quirk up my brow. "You've to be a bride at my place." She repeats with no hesitation. Cold shiver trickles through me. .... An Accidental Bride. A Mistaken Groom. A Marriage Neither Saw Coming. 18-year-old Sanaya Frances was finding a way to pay for college. Becoming a cook in the grand Hobsons estate seemed like the perfect opportunity—until a twist of fate lands her in a wedding dress, hidden behind a veil, taking vows meant for someone else. Ashar Hobsons, 25, a powerful businessman, thinks he's marrying his childhood fiancée. But his world turns upside down—he’s been tricked into marrying a stranger. Two strangers. One unplanned marriage. No easy way out. And definitely… no room for love. Or is there?

“I, Julius Armstrong, reject Doris Charles as my mate.” The laughter came right after. This was the second time my mate rejected me because I cannot talk. In the pack, they call me dumb not because I am stupid, but because I am mute. When I turned eighteen, my first mate rejected me for that reason. Today, it was the Gamma. He is twenty-one, the same age as the Alpha and Beta. This was his third rejection. The first girl was too fat, the second was too short and now, I was dumb. I never wanted to attend the mating ceremony. I knew how it would end, but my stepmother forced me to go, and my stepsisters came just to watch me get mocked again. The next day, wolves who had found their mates returned to officially claim them before the Alpha and pack leaders. I went only because I was forced, just to stand there and watch my stepsister get chosen. Then something happened that no one expected. The Alpha claimed me as his mate in front of everyone. Was I shocked? Yes. Did I believe him? No. Did I think it was a cruel joke? Absolutely. Because no Alpha would choose a rejected, mute girl like me.

Isn’t it funny how love works? I have always loved Dreston, and he has always been the one for me—my first love. As a child, I loved him, as a teenager, nothing changed. And now, even as his wife, I still couldn’t love him any less. But he only ever loved Tina—my teenage best friend. She came into our lives and didn’t just take him away from me. She took my happiness, my laughter, and even the girl I used to be. I still remember her words to me: “You knew he was mine, yet you married him.” She made me feel like I was the villain. Maybe I was foolish to believe that love alone would bring him back to me. But nothing changed. He would always love her. I finally gave up the day I signed the divorce papers. I learned to let go, to move on, and to start fresh. And just when I had finally decided to start my life again—just when the universe rewarded me with a man who loved me unconditionally… Dreston came running back. Now he wants a second chance.

One night before our engagement, Darren Finch insisted on throwing a singles party aboard a cruise ship. He made it clear I wasn't invited. But in the middle of the night, I got a call saying he'd fallen overboard. Panic overtook me. Feverish and disoriented, I stumbled to the deck and dove into the sea without a second thought. The night waters were icy, sapping the strength from my limbs. As I was pulled back onto the deck, shivering and soaked, I heard laughter ring out from the crowd. Carrie Specter, Darren's childhood sweetheart, stood above me. She gave a soft, lilting laugh. "Seeing how far you're willing to go for Darren... I can finally hand him over to you without worry." At that, Darren wrapped an arm smugly around her waist. "Carrie, you really do know me best." "I told you," she beamed, "Paula would pass your test." I let out a cold laugh, slipped the engagement ring from my finger, and flung it at his face. "No, thanks. I wish you two eternal bliss. Just don't ever drag me into your drama again."