Loca Tempered Glass

Two weeks before our wedding, Jonah Alston suddenly wants to postpone it. He says, "Sasha says she's having her first exhibition on that day. She'll be alone during the opening, and I'm worried she'll get stage fright. I have to help her. We're just going through the motions with the wedding, anyway. What does it matter whether it's a day earlier or later?" This isn't his first time postponing our wedding for Sasha Lester's sake, though. The first time he did it was because he claimed she missed having homecooked food after undergoing surgery. He'd flown abroad to care for her for two months. The second time was because he said she wanted to head into the mountains to get inspired. He'd gone with her out of concern for her safety. Now, this is the third time. I hang up and look at Austin Everett, my childhood sweetheart. He sits across from me, looking leisurely as he taps his emerald-embedded walking cane on the marble floor. I ask, "Do you need a wife?" On my wedding day, Sasha holds up her glass and waits for Jonah to clink it with his. However, his eyes are red as he watches a livestream—it's the wedding of the scion of Everett Group, the country's largest property development company.

In her first life, Elara Silas was a biological insurance policy a spare part for her sickly brother and a shadow to her saintly twin sister, Elena. Her existence ended on a cold operating table, her heart harvested while her husband, John Grant, watched with chilling indifference. But death was only a detour. Waking up three years in the past, Elara is no longer the obedient dog begging for scraps of affection. Armed with the memories of her family’s ultimate betrayal, she prepares to dismantle the Silas empire from the inside out. Her first move? Rejecting her father’s control to sign a secret contract with his greatest rival: the enigmatic and breathtakingly handsome Orion. Expectations shatter when she meets him. Orion isn't just a powerful jeweler; he is a man haunted by the same ghost. In a world-altering revelation, he confesses the truth: he wasn't a bystander in the first life—he was the man behind the glass, murdered by Elara’s father while trying to save her. Now, two souls who died in the same tragedy are united by a lethal alliance. As Elara returns to the Silas mansion to play the role of the repentant daughter, she finds herself trapped in the same deadly games—including Elena’s blood-soaked frame-ups and her mother’s toxic healing schemes. But this time, Elara isn't alone. With Orion’s shadow looming over the Silas household and a black opal ring hiding a shared secret, the hunt has begun.

Samantha Sonnet, my wife who's also a hospital dean, decides to replace my name with Nicholas Spark, the intern's name on the surgical atlas that I've spent the last three years drafting without my permission. That atlas is then published. I burn the only original draft of the atlas in front of the entire department. Samantha blames me for being brash. "He's just leaving his name there so that he can ensure a smoother project closeout." After dusting the ashes away, I reply, "My academic achievements will always be mine. Since someone else's name is printed on my achievements, that means they are no longer pure." Later at midnight, Samantha hands me a glass of warm milk in an attempt to apologize to me. When I regain consciousness once again, I've already gotten strapped to a surgical table beneath a huge spotlight. I see a scalpel glinting coldly right above me. "You're a man of purity, right?" Samantha murmurs into my ear. "Three people's blood will be coursing through your veins soon enough. You'll be impure soon enough!" At the moment, Samantha is livestreaming an illegal organ removal surgery. As I stare at the camera hovering above my head, I say coldly, "If you've recorded enough evidence, then it's time to turn off the camera! Tell Captain Hardy that I've gotten my hands on the evidence he wants!"

My mother-in-law, Kylie McGowan, told me that she wanted to experience the life of the younger crowd, so I took her to my husband Jerome Callen's newly opened upscale bar for a quiet drink. I had just ordered her a signature cocktail when a woman from the booth across the aisle sauntered over, wine glass in hand. Her eyes flicked over the menu on our table, and she laughed mockingly. "Seriously? You ordered the cheapest drink on the menu? Did you bring this old lady here just to enjoy the free AC? People like you should stay in the gutter. This place isn't meant for penniless people!" I rose to my feet, holding back my temper. "We're paying for our drinks here. What does our drink choice have to do with you?" But she suddenly snapped, grabbed a half-finished beer bottle off a nearby table, and swung it at my head. "My husband's the owner of this bar! I could smash your skull in and still afford the damages! Get out, you pauper! Don't be an eyesore here!" I wiped the liquor off my face as my entire body shook with anger. Then I turned away, started my livestream, and spoke directly to my followers. "Look here, everyone! I'm going live to catch a cheater. Let's go explore my husband's other home."

Drina Federico was born with nothing and lost everything too early. Her parents were murdered, her home burned, and the truth was hidden by money and power. Weak, poor, and invisible, she grows up surviving on scraps in the shadows of Madrid, carrying only pain and a quiet hunger for payback. Dino Fazio is everything Drina is not. A cruel billionaire. A man who rules the city from behind polished glass and blood-soaked deals. To the world, he is invincible. In truth, he is the king of a criminal kingdom built on silence and sacrifice. When Drina steals information meant to expose him, she is caught and pulled into his world. Instead of killing her, Dino cages her. Sure, she is a threat. She is broken, frightened, and powerless, but she refuses to kneel. Trapped together, hatred turns sharp, tension turns dangerous, and the line between enemy and obsession starts to blur. As gang wars erupt and secrets surface, Drina learns the truth: Dino did not kill her parents, but his power made their deaths possible. Revenge becomes a choice, not a dream. Escape is no longer enough. Power is. Forced to choose between destroying Dino or standing beside him to burn the kingdom from within, Drina must decide who she will become. A victim who runs, or a woman who rises. In a world where love is born from violence, and trust is paid for in blood, can two broken souls find redemption or will power destroy them both?

My cousin, Tiffany Wilkinson, brought her new boyfriend, Isaac Lloyd, home for the first time. The dinner was going great, chatting and laughing like everything was perfect. Out of nowhere, Isaac locked eyes on me, his face lighting up with fake surprise as he practically shouted, "Wait, don't I know you from somewhere? Aren't you in that 'Elite Escort Group'?" He added, "I swear I saw your rate card in the group photos... It was only 200 dollars or something?" He slapped a hand over his mouth afterward, putting on this innocent act like he had just let something slip. The lively dining room went dead silent in an instant. My relatives' looks turned cold and judgmental, making me utterly uncomfortable all over. "He looks so decent on the outside, but he's actually doing that kind of thing behind closed doors." "You're such a disgrace to the Wilkinson family. Don't even tell people you're related to us from now on." Dad was so furious he slammed his wine glass down, and Mom sat there wiping away tears. I calmly dabbed my mouth with my napkin, then looked at Isaac with a knowing smirk. "Makes sense that I look familiar. I'm with the Vice Squad, and I just busted you in a sting operation last month!"

Sherry Hart never imagined the family business would crumble in her hands. With nowhere else to turn, she strikes a desperate deal with Enzo Blackwood, cold, calculating, and dangerously handsome, the elusive billionaire known for his ruthless business tactics and a heart as cold as his empire's towering glass walls. Enzo doesn’t make deals without control. In exchange for saving Sherry’s Fashion House, he demands 5 years of her life as his Personal assistant. Bound by a contract neither can break, what starts as a transactional arrangement soon sparks fiery clashes as Sherry challenges Enzo's authority at every turn. At the very moment she vows to guard her heart, Sherry resolves to keep their relationship strictly professional. But she's pulled deeper into Enzo’s high-stakes world, where hidden enemies lurk behind designer suits and whispered threats. Enzo reveals a side she never imagined: fierce, protective, and willing to fight for her. But the moments when Enzo shields her from harm, exposing a fiercely protective side concealed beneath his cold demeanor, leave her truly shaken. As secrets unravel and desire blurs every line between them, Sherry faces a dangerous question: Can Sherry trust the man who holds both her career and heart hostage, And when desire turns into obsession, will Enzo risk everything for the woman he swore he could never love or is she just a puppet in Enzo’s ruthless game?

“You really think a chrome leash makes me yours?” Timothy’s voice was a jagged shard of glass, his pulse thrumming frantically against the cold metal of the Blackwell collar. Kan leaned in, the scent of expensive bourbon and gunpowder clinging to him. He captured Timothy’s chin, forcing those defiant lavender eyes to meet his own. “It doesn’t make you mine, little ghost. It just keeps you still long enough for me to show you why you’ll never want to leave.” Behind him, Gideon’s shadow fell over them both, heavy and suffocating. “Careful, Kan,” the enforcer rumbled, his knuckles still stained with the blood of the men who’d tried to stop them. “He’s a reaper. He doesn't want a home. He wants a body count.” One Ghost. Two Predators. No Escape. Timothy Gal is a shadow. A high-level operative for the Nash Rebellion, he’s spent his life as a nameless tool in the war-torn Sopttyi District. He doesn’t feel, he doesn’t miss, and he certainly doesn't belong to anyone. But when a routine surveillance mission in Saati Town goes south, he catches the eye of the two most dangerous men in the Blackwell Mafia. Gideon Blackwell is the muscle—a man of controlled violence and territorial hunger. Kan Nelblack is the mind—a predator with a silver tongue and a taste for absolute submission. They don’t just want Timothy’s secrets. They want his soul.

Due to an accident, my wife and I lost our lives in a massive fire. When we open our eyes again, we find ourselves back on the day we registered our marriage. In our last life, everyone thought we were the perfect couple. Little did they know that my wife, Queenie Lloyd, refused to consummate our marriage. Right before my death, I found out that I was nothing but a replacement for her first love. Queenie had intended to remain chaste for him for the rest of her life. After being reborn, neither of us speaks of the past. By an unspoken agreement, we get a divorce that very day and go on to live separate lives. Eight years later, she attends an industry summit holding her childhood sweetheart's arm. She's now a rising star in the business world. I am dressed in plain clothes. When she notices me, she walks over with a champagne glass in hand. "Mr. Lawrence! Even if you still have feelings for me, you didn't have to disguise yourself as a waiter just to approach me. Are you still trying to convince me to get back together with you?" she sneers. I ignore her and smile as I wave at someone nearby. My son runs over to me and tugs on the corner of my shirt. "Mommy said she's tired, Daddy. She wants to know when you're coming to pick us up," he tells me. Upon hearing this, Queenie's face stiffens immediately, and she almost drops her wine glass.

What can a woman do when her husband lost his memory and was now in love with another woman? Three years ago, I lay in a coma for a year after a car accident. When I woke up, not only didn’t my husband remember me, but he loves another woman, Ashlyn.  But I didn’t give up on us. Two months ago we got drunk, and we slept together for the first time in two years. But the next morning, Jayden was angrier than ever. He was convinced that he was drugged which was just another scheme of mine to win him back… I can’t forget the image of him staring at me with no emotions in his eyes and hands me the Divorce Agreement. Then I find out I was pregnant. The tiny life growing inside me made me stronger. Now it’s been three years and slowly each day got better. I started a little firm as a marketing and financial advisor, putting my education to use. My business partner, Phillip, has been helping me grow the company and we have grown very close. Phillip was so overwhelmed with emotion today since we are signing our biggest deal; his lips are on mine before I can stop him. When I turn around, the man standing at our glass door, glaring in at me and Phillip, is my ex-husband Jayden Brennan himself. Is there jealousy in his eyes? What does he want now?