Numbers You Should Never Call

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

We already know life is unfair to most of us, but we still preserve, for our uncertain future. A story of a man who gave up on life because of a mistake he thought was the right decision and solely immersing himself through games to escape in life. 3 years passed in the blink of an eye. Jc, slowly finding out the meaning of fun in life. When he met the game called 'Glory Legends'. Then one day, he got scouted by a powerhouse club to be a professional player hoping that this will be the chance to get back on track in life again, Or so he thought until he met again, the source of his hopelessness. Follow the tale, as they pave their way through life, love, and glory together.

Elijah Morris has been fooling around for four out of the five years we've been married. And from the very first month, he openly betrays me. Meanwhile, I spend my time warding people off with expensive contracts, one after another. Eventually, all that's left between us is constant fighting. One day, his younger stepsister, Abigail Wright, returns. And just like that, he finally settles down. That's when the system tells me that I can finally go home. For the next five days, I no longer ask about his schedule. I don't care if he is with Abigail, nor do I care if she is pregnant with his child. I even move out of the master bedroom myself, listening to them going at it all night. The fifth day after Abigail's return is our wedding anniversary. Elijah bursts into the room, tears up our marriage certificate in front of me, and smashes my most treasured vase into pieces. He grips my throat tightly and growls, "Why did you put mango in Abby's cake? She's allergic, and she almost died! How could you be so cruel?" For the first time, I don't argue with him. Instead, I go along with his accusations. "So what?" I then pick up a shard from the broken vase on the floor under his disbelieving gaze. Then, I draw it across my artery. Just like that, I end my life in this world.

UNDER HEAVY EDITING. ***** He chuckled at her desperate attempt to make the lie believable. "Pretty little liar, your face betrays a lot, sadly" he placed his hand on her cheeks, his face dark "you can't run from me, Maya; no matter how hard you try to, I'll always find you. Even in the deepest part of hell, And when I find you, you get punished according to how long you were away from me, understand?" His tone was so soft and gentle it could have fooled anybody but not her. She could see through him, and She trembled under his touch. "Y-yes, maestro" **** Though her sister commits the crime, Maya Alfredo is turned in by her parents to be punished by the Ruthless Don Damon Xavier for selling information about the Costa Nostra to the police. Her world is overturned and shattered; she is taken to the Don's Manor, where she is owned by him and treated like his plaything, meanwhile knowing his intentions to destroy her. But then things get dark in the Don's Manor, with the presence of Derinem Xavier. Maya doesn't stand a chance in Damon's furnace. Will he destroy her and everything she loves for the sins he thinks she committed? Or does luck have other plans for her? Note— This is a dark romance. Not all lovey-dovey. ML is a psychopath. Trigger warnings!!! **** TO READ THE EDITED VERSION, PLEASE LOG OUT AND LOG IN AGAIN.

กูอยากลองมึงทำให้กูหน่อยดิ! ได้ดิ เพื่อนขอใครจะกล้าขัดละ หึ!!!!

"Saya pesan kamu!" tegas Kim yang mengeluarkan nada suara baritone yang cukup besar, dan begitu terdengar maskulin oleh telinga Sasi. "Pesan saya, maksudnya?" tanya Sasi tak paham. Bahkan raut wajah Win pun terlihat bingung dengan ucapan atasannya yang terasa aneh. Kim mengubah posisi duduknya menghadap Sasi sekarang. Fokus kepada perempuan itu yang sedang berdiri di hadapannya. "Iya, saya pesan kamu untuk menemani saya malam ini di sebuah hotel berbintang," tukasnya sambil tersenyum. "Saya akan memberikan apapun yang kamu mau, dengan syarat berikan tubuh kamu ke saya." Kim mengucapkan kalimat tanpa bersalah dan berdosa.

My blood ran cold. Not just because of the words, they’d done worse than the scheme. They mocked me. Rewrote my pain as a punchline. Danced on the grave of my dignity like it was confetti. I staggered back from the door, suddenly aware of how my hands were trembling. Of how my chest rose and fell like I was still being dragged underwater. I could still feel it, the betrayal. The nights I cried myself sick. The baby. The blood. The gaslighting. The cold stares. The silence. No, this wasn’t just a memory. It was a resurrection. I pressed my hand to my chest, grounding myself. This body? This moment? It was mine now. Not theirs. Not his. If this was a curse, I’d break it. If this was a second chance? I’d weaponize it. Let them laugh. Let them bask in their borrowed joy. Because from this moment on, I’m not playing the quiet, obedient pawn. I’m the storm they tried to silence. The reckoning wrapped in silk and scars. They don’t deserve peace. Not after what they did to me. I’ll make them feel it. The same agony, the same betrayal. No, worse. Double. And the Kensingtons? Oh, they won’t be spared either. Their blood's just as soaked in my suffering. I lived by their rules in my last life. In this one? They live by mine. And mercy? Yeah, I left that behind in the last timeline.

Di usia yang hampir 40 tahun, pengusaha sukses dan tampan cukup banyak wanita yang wara wiri dalam kehidupa seorang Samudra Abimanyu. Tapi selama ini belum ada yang benar-benar mampu membuatnya terpikat. Rata-rata mereka hanya “mampir” sebentar sebelum digantikan oleh wanita-wanita lain. Tidak hanya para temannya yang menjulukinya playboy bahkan beberapa majalah dengan terang-terangan menyebutkan bahwa dia adalah casanova, mungkin ada benarnya saking seringnya dia gonta-ganti perempuan. Satu pantangan Samudra adalah tidak akan mengencani pegawainya, dia tidak ingin merusak citra dan profesionalitas kerja dengan love affair di kantor. Dan sampai saat ini dia tidak pernah melanggarnya, biarpun tidak sedikit staff wanita yang kepincut dengannya. Bos muda, kaya dan ganteng. Sabrina. Why on earth sosok wanita ini tiba-tiba sibuk mondar-mandir di pikirannya? Semenjak kali pertama interview, sosoknya rajin nongol tanpa diundang ke kepalanya. Seperti tidak ada wanita lain saja, pikirnya sinis ke diri sendiri. Walaupun banyak bergonta – ganti pacar, dia memang tidak terlalu sibuk untuk memikirkan perempuan. Buat dia pacar adalah selingan diantara kesibukan pekerjaan, selingan untuk mencerahkan hari, pelengkap untuk dibawa ke resepsi bukan untuk memenuhi pemikiran. Mendapatkan pacar baru buat dia sama mudahnya seperti membeli jas baru, sekali lirik bisa dipastikan perempuan akan tersipu – sipu kepincut. Tetapi Sabrina lain. Ada sesuatu tentangnya yang menyedot perhatian Samudra. Cantik, yes…tapi lebih dari itu. Gayanya yang anggun tapi terkesan berjarak, ada sesuatu darinya yang menyedot perhatian Samudra. Seperti black hole yang menyedot semua energi dan masa di sekitarnya, Sabrina juga menyedot semua fokus dan perhatian Samudra.

Cerita tentang dua bersaudara Savana dan Maura, tanpa mereka ketahui mereka mencintai pria yang sama yaitu Aksa. Hubungan mereka berdua yang memang tidak pernah baik menjadi semakin buruk setelah Maura mengetahui Aksa akan menikahi Savana. Namun akhirnya niat Aksa terlaksana dengan dukungan ayah Savana walaupun ditentang oleh Maura dan Ibunya. Namun setelah menikah rumah tangga Aksa dan Savana tidak berjalan lama, sebab Savana dituduh membunuh Erik mantan pacarnya, Savana mendekam dibalik jeruji besi dalam kondisi hamil, seolah dipermainkan oleh takdir Savana juga diceraikan oleh Aksa suaminya. Setelah kejadian itu Aksa menikah dengan Maura, beberapa waktu kemudian, Savana kaget melihat keduanya sudah menjadi sepasang suami istri. Hidup terpuruk Savana tiba-tiba bertemu dengan Xabiru Adiguna yang merupakan konglomerat muda dan mereka menjalin hubungan spesial hingga menikah, yang tidak disangka Xabiru menikahi Savana dengan motif balas dendam. Xabiru merupakan kakak kandung Erik. Bagaimana kah kisah Savana selanjutnya? "Tidak ada satu orang pun Ayah di dunia ini yang rela anaknya dipermainkan dalam pernikahan." –Papa Rangga "Karena hancurnya rumah tangga bukan selalu karena orang ketiga, tapi karena tidak adanya rasa saling percaya." -Savana

I'd rather die. That's what Lauresse San Forte words. She was taken to a prison cell and had not eaten for days. She was taken with the other girls as a means of a business, bought with a price in a life she did not know. Ashton Sid Del Aveiro was in pursuit of finding his only sister when Lauresse met him in a situation they didn't expect. In a world Lauresse has never been, she was brought with a price for the price. The price that needed her to act as his wife in the eyes of his rivalry, elite families, the organization, and his business associate. For Lauresse's safety. He had a goal, and she had her to be free again. But it won't make an easy way when she needs to dive into his world and into his life. In a game she joined, they were dancing in the system that Ashton would surely be his greatest fall if he let feelings rule him over his mind. His life was nothing but about the organization and as part of the family. He needs to keep it safe even if it's too risky. Life has one meaning, his family. His only sister. His father's happiness. His mother's sanity. But her, his greatest mistake yet his most significant happiness.