Novel & Cerita Off Brand Among Us

On the day I go to the car dealership to pick up my car, I'm told that the previous salesperson has resigned, so a different salesperson will attend to me. Yet the first thing the salesperson does is say that I paid too little for the car and demand that I pay more to make up the difference. "The other salesperson is truly an idiot. How could he sell a car for 300 thousand dollars in cash? It's no wonder he got chewed out and quit. If you want to take the car, you'll have to switch to a five-year loan with an interest rate of 12%." I'm rendered speechless as he blatantly tries to extort me. "I've already paid and signed the sales contract. You're breaching the contract!" The salesperson scoffs. "So what? The car is with us anyway. If you're not going to pay the difference, don't even think of taking the car with you!" I can't help but chuckle. I calmly pull my phone out of my suit pocket. "Walter, place Mr. Paul Roland's loan application on hold for now. He's earning big bucks for his business. It seems like he doesn't need it anymore."

When Edna Crossby ditches the marriage registration for the fifth time, I block her contact number and social media accounts on the spot. If she's in any of the social gatherings, I turn down the invitations right away. I'd rather take the long route than walk past the cafe Edna frequents. If she attends a team-building session, I take the day off without hesitation. Even when Edna shows up on my doorstep with gifts in hand on Christmas Eve, I pretend that I'm not home at all. I don't answer any calls from her. I don't respond to texts she sends me. Just like that, I completely fade away from Edna's world. In the past, Edna used to be the focus of my life. My emotions fluctuated all the time because of her. When Edna flakes out on me for the fifth time, I finally snap out of my lovesick stupor. I don't want to live life like this anymore. Rather than getting abandoned time and again, I might as well live my life on my own happily.

My husband's first love jumped to her death due to depression and landed right on me as I was passing by. I was rendered unconscious on the spot and subsequently rushed to the ICU. However, my orthopedic surgeon husband stayed by his first love's side to comfort her over her minor scratches. He even refused to sign my Critical Care Notification. "Whoever joined her charade can get lost along with her! Come to me when she's really dead!" he said. It wasn't until he received a death certificate that he realized in horror—the deceased's information was identical to mine.

I was trained to analyze fighters. Not fall for them. Alexander Li is everything I should avoid. Volatile. Dangerous. Untouchable. A man shaped by violence and discipline, hiding secrets that could destroy far more than just his career. As a sports psychologist, I know better than to get involved. But Alexander doesn’t want help. He wants obedience. What I don’t know is that his bloodline is soaked in power. And what neither of us knows is that our worlds were never meant to collide. Because the truth buried in my past could start a war neither of us is prepared for. In a city ruled by blood and power, falling for the wrong man isn’t just forbidden. It’s deadly. The closer we get, the more dangerous the truth becomes. Because some fights aren’t won in the ring. They’re fought in blood. "The most dangerous thing isn’t loving him. It’s surviving what comes next."

The Ice Between Us After a devastating fall shattered her career and confidence, figure skater Lena Hart returns to her hometown of Silver Ridge to heal. But the ice that once felt like freedom now feels like fear every attempt to skate ends in panic, every memory drags her back to the moment she fell. Her coach believes she can find her way again, starting small, a frozen pond, quiet mornings, baby steps. But Silver Ridge holds more than memories. It holds Evan, the hockey star she once loved and lost, the boy who watched her fall long before the world did. Now, as winter closes in, Lena must face the ice, her past, and the man who never stopped believing in her. Can she learn to trust herself, and him, before the ice between them melts for good? A story of healing, second chances, and love that refuses to stay frozen, *The Ice Between Us* will break your heart and warm it all at once.

My boy friend Caleb Ford's childhood sweetheart, Julia Leclair, is losing her hair from chemotherapy. So, he orders me to cut mine off and make her a wig. "Julia's allergic to synthetic wigs. You've been growing your hair for ten years—it's perfect." I refuse, but his friends tie me down. Someone shaves my head to the scalp, buzzing through my thick, glossy hair until nothing's left but a butchered mess. Julia sits in her wheelchair and laughs, saying I look like a toad. Caleb smiles and nods in agreement. He adds with a chuckle, "It's just some hair. Was that really necessary?" But back when I was bullied for having uneven, choppy short hair for six straight years, it was he who stood in front of me. He had his arms spread wide as he shielded me from harm. Now he's the one wielding the blade. One by one, their little circle chimes in. They tell me not to hold a grudge against someone who's sick. Caleb snaps impatiently, "Stop trying to talk sense into her. She can get lost! Did you see that fit she threw over a few strands of hair? It's not like they won't grow back." I turn around and walk away. I never look back. Later, I hear that Caleb begs for my forgiveness by kneeling his way up 9000 steps until his knees are ruined.

Wendy McNaulty never expected her twenties to look like this—sharing a quirky Boston townhouse with her two best friends, juggling a job she doesn’t love, and navigating a love life that’s as messy as the city’s winter slush. With Grady, her charming and overly confident roommate, and Scott, the quiet and steady best friend who knows her better than anyone, Wendy’s life is a whirlwind of late-night pizza runs, laughter, and unspoken tension. When a disastrous breakup pushes her to “figure herself out,” Wendy vows to swear off romance and focus on herself—only to find love and scandal showing up where she least expects it. As lines blur between friendship and something deeper, Wendy is forced to confront her own heart. Torn between the thrill of the new and the comfort of what’s always been, she begins to unravel feelings she’s kept buried for years. But just when she thinks she has it all figured out, an unexpected twist threatens to change everything. In the midst of secrets, mistakes, and the kind of vulnerability she’s always avoided, Wendy learns that true love doesn’t always come in the form you expect—it’s often been standing right beside you all along.

The deal was simple. Fake-date Tyson Blackwood, the campus's most insufferable Alpha, hockey captain and the man personally responsible for my first heartbreak, or watch my scholarship disappear overnight. He needed a girlfriend to make his ex jealous and I needed to stay enrolled. So we shook on it. Terms stated cold and clean: no feelings, no complications, strictly business. The no feeling part was going great. Right up until my heat hit, his rut triggered, and we spent five days in his suite while his rut burned through every wall between us. Now he's looking at me differently. His scent patch fails everytime I walk into a room and the pack that spent years treating me like a joke is watching the hockey captain lose his mind. The hockey captain who chose me as a pawn is now knotting me like I'm the only thing he's ever wanted to keep.

Step into a collection of intense short stories where desire, tension, and emotional risk collide in unexpected ways. Each narrative opens a door into moments where restraint falters, boundaries blur, and long-simmering attraction finally breaks through. Strangers are drawn together by instant chemistry, lovers confront unresolved history, and long-time enemies face feelings they can no longer ignore. These are stories driven by urgency, emotional heat, and complicated connections. The characters are bold, conflicted, and unafraid to act on what they want—even when it leads to messy, irreversible consequences. Every encounter pushes relationships to the edge, where control slips and honesty becomes unavoidable. If you’re looking for stories that are gripping, emotionally charged, and unapologetically intense, this collection delivers raw connection, high stakes, and no easy resolutions.

Sydney Soriano is a daughter that every parent would dream to be their child — responsible, caring, intelligent, kind, and everything you can ask for. Her carefree life ended after an incident that changes her life forever. Her mom suffered from a stroke, which puts Sydney in a complex situation that leads her to drop out of school and take all the responsibilities as the eldest sibling. Then she met Tycen in an online dating app called “Tinder," they spent 3 months talking through the app until they decided to exchange Facebook accounts. He helped her adjust to her new life, persuade her to go back to school, and pursue her passion which is writing, but Sydney didn’t know that she would fall for him, and little by little, Tycen fall for someone else. The time she was ready to confess her feelings for Tycen, Tycen introduced his new girl. She decided not to confess and root for his happiness and cut ties with him. Months passed she met Hade — the desperate rich ghost beside her bookshelf. He proposes a good deal with Sydney and will do everything to repay her kindness if she helps him return to his body. As she begins her investigation about Hade together with Jarred. Everything seems to bring her back to Tycen. She unveiled a story that throws everything she believed into question. And now Sydney is ready to face everything without running away. She's ready to take risks to see wherever it leads her.