Low Taper Fringe

‘Why are the tastiest apples always forbidden? Why do we have to sacrifice our love because our parents got engaged?’ These questions rushed through my mind as he kissed me deeply, pinning me against the wall. I knew that after this, he would say cruel things to me with those same lips, but I couldn't resist him. I loved him but I hated myself for loving him. “Marcus, please. We can't keep doing this.” I begged. But as usual, he ignored my pleas and continued in his caresses, making me want him more. We were lost in our forbidden desires once again, not realizing that the door was left unlocked. Why does my stepbrother keep seducing me? What if our parents discover our secret affair?

When I'm on my break, I decide to help my neighbor, Yvonne Cook, fix the gas valve, which has been leaking gas. But she instantly lodges a report, saying that I've gone against the rules. She demands compensation for the shock that she's suffered as well. I don't bother defending myself. Instead, I just write a reflection report. After that, my squad leader sentences me to disciplinary confinement. Yvonne wastes no time gloating in the tenants' group chat. "It's time to teach these power-abusers a good lesson, anyway!" Three days later, a fire breaks out in Yvonne's apartment. Thick plumes of dark smoke keep rising from the burning apartment. Yvonne wails as she bangs on my door and pleads with me. "Please crack open the door and put out the fire!" I can only sigh from behind my front door. "I'm under disciplinary suspension right now, so I can't break protocol. You should wait for the fire truck instead."

Ian Tost was the prince of the notorious underworld. Everyone in Harbor City knew he spoiled me rotten. He even went so far as to hire ninety-nine female bodyguards to keep me from harm. It did not prevent a kidnapping attempt on me. One of those bodyguards, Cece Yates, ended up with nothing more than a scratch. Ian immediately brought in the nation’s top medical specialists to treat her. To comfort her, he even took her to the Maldives for a vacation and gifted her an island. Not long after they returned from their trip, Beatrix Kazinsky, my mother, suddenly suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. Then, Michael Kazinsky, my younger brother, died in an accident during a competition. I burst into the morgue while in tears, only to overhear Ian comforting Cece. “All right now, it was my fault you got hurt last time. I’ve made Mira’s family pay for it. You’ve got too much grace to hold a grudge against her.” With my nails digging into my palms, I finally realized everything that had happened to my family was Ian’s doing. It was all just because his precious bodyguard got hurt because of me! I stumbled out of the hospital with my brother’s death certificate in a daze. On my phone, messages from that person kept coming. It added up to ninety-nine share transfer agreements, along with his promise. [As long as you want me, my arms will always be open for you.]

All my life, I never truly got to live. Everything I said or did had been at the whims of others. I was nothing more than a doll for people to play with and toss away when they became bored of her. When I finally decided to live for myself and my baby, I died full of regrets unable to accomplish anything. However, the Moon Goddess saw fit to give me a second chance, and I refused to waste it. The first step in my path of revenge and ensuring a good life for the both of us was to enter a contract marriage with Maverick Peterson, a powerful demon werewolf hybrid, and the suspected father of my baby.

Matthew Sinclair Chan, a wealthy bachelor whose marriage was decided by his authoritative father. To escape the situation, he went to the US and there he found a solution to his problem. Harebell was about to take the last semester of her studies in New York when she received unfortunate news from her family, they were scammed and lost a huge amount of money including their properties. Struggling financially, to fund her studies, she took a part time job as a nanny to a wealthy family where she met the escaped bachelor. After discovering Harebell's financial problem, he made a proposition, one that Harebell never expected that she would go through and cannot ignore. A marriage in exchange for her family's release from debt and her brother bail out from prison. But will a marriage last when the foundation was money? What secret will she bear once the contract ends and divorce comes their way? A secret. An affair. A mistake. A confession. The unknown's revelation. What life will she live in the hands of the bachelor?

Children beware, and please give care of things that go bump in the night. It all seems like fun when you provoke mayhem and run through the graveyard to give one a fright. Please heed our warning from dusk until morning giving caution to the naive. Goblins and Ghouls wait on the foolishly brave to pull beyond the hallow grave.

She needed one night. He needed one woman. Drowning in debts and desperate to survive, Ana Thompson agrees to a one-time job as a stripper. It’s supposed to be just one night, a quick way to pay off her stepmother’s endless demands. But that night, she collides with Fred Nork, the cold-hearted billionaire CEO of Majesties, a luxury women’s brand that thrives on elegance. Haunted by her past and overwhelmed by shame, Ana disappears before morning, leaving behind only a bloodstained sheet and the memory of her first time. Fred wakes up alone, confused, and with an unfamiliar ache in his chest. He doesn’t know her name. Weeks later, Ana’s world spirals further out of control. Homeless, pregnant, and rejected, she clutches the only lifeline she has, Fred’s business card, slipped into her bag the night they met. But when she walks into Majesties, hoping for help, she finds him… announcing his engagement to Tiana Monroe, a viciously poised heiress with a heart of ice. Shattered but not broken, Ana does the unthinkable. She applies for a cleaning job at Majesties. She begins working at the bottom rung of Fred’s empire. But Fred notices her. He doesn’t recognize the woman who once lit his world on fire, but something about Ana pulls him in again. Now, with the world watching, Fred must make an impossible choice: cling to the legacy he’s built with Tiana by his side, or risk it all for the mysterious woman who slipped away. Ana has a choice too: can she trust the man who once seemed so cold with her heart… and her child’s life? In a world where love is a weakness and power means everything, can a single night rewrite destiny?

She tried to win him back. The kidnappers did not get the memo. Nora Hale’s life used to read like one of her bestselling novels - perfect husband, dream career, book tours- she was living her best life. Now, after two years of crippling writer's block, looming deadlines, and a husband who has packed his bags, her story has hit a brutal plot twist, and Nora is desperate to have the happy ending she’s used to writing. Naturally, she does what any logical, emotionally sane woman would do – plan a dangerous trip to Paris to rekindle the spark with her husband (and maybe spark a new book while she’s at it). The plan? Simple. The outcome? Absolute chaos. Between real criminals, fake ransom notes, French police, and one soon-to-be ex-husband, Nora’s romantic rescue mission quickly turns into an international disaster. But somewhere between the mayhem and macarons, Nora and her husband rediscover something they’d lost – the spark that started it all. Now if only she can keep him from finding out the truth behind the worst (and best) idea she’s ever had before the credits roll. Because in love and fiction… sometimes the best stories are total disasters. Billionaire romance story.

Just before her husband and son have her locked in a psychiatric ward, Nora Yates wakes up—reborn, wide awake, and done playing nice. Two men who never truly loved her? Who used and discarded her? Fine. She’s cutting them out for good. When she signs the divorce papers and walks away, the world cheers—including the internet. Oddly, the only one upset is her adoptive sister, the mistress. “Come on, Nora,” she pouts. “I only borrowed your husband and son for my birthday. Was that really worth all this drama?” “You’re lucky to have a husband and son like that. You should count your blessings.” Nora lets out a sharp laugh. “Then consider this ‘blessing’ my personal gift to you. After all, trash belongs in the dumpster.” She walks off without a second glance—glowing, untouchable, and ready to run the world. Soon, her business is booming. Suitors line up. The woman they tried to destroy becomes the woman everyone wants to be. Years later, now a titan in her field, she sits down for a high-profile interview. “Ms. Yates,” the reporter asks, “it’s rumored that Mr. Luther, CEO of Luther Corp, is your ex-husband. Do you still keep in touch?” Nora smiles politely. “Sorry. I’m a widow with no children.” Then she turns to the camera, smiles straight through the lens—at the ex-husband and son losing their minds behind the scenes—and adds, “Just remarried. Baby girl on the way.”

As New Year's Day approaches, a new hire who has only been with the company for six months, who is a mama's girl, calls the police and tries to have me arrested. She suspects our company is some kind of a scam. But the truth is, the company exceeded its performance targets this year. That is why I prepared a million-dollar year-end bonus, a ten-day premium trip to Graceland, and equity grants for my employees. Yet, she waves around a video her mother sends her, claiming that high-paying jobs like the one I offered are all traps. Not only that, she slanders my company all over the internet. Netizens become outraged and call me a scammer disguised as an entrepreneur. Having become the target of public criticism, I simply issue a notice, saying, "The company will immediately begin transfer procedures, and all perks are canceled." As soon as the announcement comes out, my employees, who have just taken out loans to buy homes and just gotten their visas for the trip, are completely stunned.