Off My Chest

When Stella Carpenter transfers money to her brother without my permission for the third time, I decide that it's time to give up. I quit my high-paying job and laze around at home all day, gaming and waiting to be fed. It only takes three days for Stella to panic. She points at me and asks what the hell I'm doing. We have bills and our daughter's tuition to pay—we need money for everything! Oh, so she does realize that we spend a lot on our family. Why does she keep taking my money to give to her brother, then?

Marina Hunter is your average teenage girl– detached from the world, absorbed in books and music until she meets the choleric boy across the street, cocky and talented, Darnell McCoy and feels things she's only ever felt once for her best friend, Playboy Jason Kuyper. As Marina tries to navigate junior year at Silver Lake High alongside family drama, an ensuing love triangle, her phobias... A happy ending is pretty uncertain.

Ares is her brother's best friend. Thirty-four, engaged to the perfect woman, and completely forbidden. Yet, Scarlett cannot stop watching him. At twenty-two, fearless, and cherished by her older brother, she knows she should do what is right and avoid the blue-eyed man across from her. Each forbidden glance and touch intensifies their bond, threatening to unravel their worlds and guarantee heartbreak. And Scarlett’s brother has just made her start her internship at his office. Someone is secretly watching, intent on destroying them. As Scarlett gets closer to Ares, the danger around her increases. Secrets, betrayal, and obsession meet at a crossroad in a love they were never meant to have. Yet, I can't resist.

Our seventh wedding anniversary. I sat at the dining table—alone. My phone buzzed, lighting up with two messages. First, from Tom: [Working late at the office tonight.] Second, anonymous: [Tom is incredible. Can you even keep up?] Attached was a picture of him, lips locked with a woman I didn't recognize. I blew out the candles on the anniversary cake. Eyes shut, I typed back: [Let's divorce.]

The day after the new year, during a family gathering, my aunt sneered at me as I worked overtime, reviewing a proposal. "Why are you pretending to be so busy? It’s not like we don’t know you only make three thousand a month. Real money-makers are people like my daughter, a designer so successful she doesn’t even have time to come home!" I ignored her, but she directed her spoiled son to delete all my files while I was in the bathroom. My hands trembled with rage. "This proposal is due in ten minutes—if I don’t submit it, everything is ruined!" She scoffed dismissively. "He’s just a kid. What could he possibly know? Besides, your job isn’t even worth much. If you lose the files, you lose them. Worst case, you get fired." I chuckled coldly but said nothing. She had no idea it was the proposal her daughter had spent an entire month working on. And I was the client who held her daughter’s fate in my hands.

Back in the day, in the legal world, Finn Cross and I were the top dogs. Untouchable. He ran New York, a king in criminal defense, never lost a case. I held down Boston, crushing it in civil court. People in the biz used to say it was a good thing we weren't in the same city. If we were, we’d have gone head-to-head, and it was anyone's guess who'd come out on top. But they never would've guessed. Three years ago, I, Victoria Sterling, quietly married Finn Cross. And just like that, the legend of "Vicky" was locked away. I was willing to leave my career behind, to be the quiet, supportive woman behind the great man. I made his coffee, went with him to all sorts of events, and left a light on for him when he came home late. But when Elena, the one he’d always carried a torch for, showed up again, I couldn't keep up this charade anymore.

I was suffering from period cramps, so I ordered some painkillers. I asked for a woman to deliver my painkillers to me, but a drunken man came over instead. This time, I did not call my brothers for help. I called the police instead. In the past, not only did my brothers send all of their bodyguards to me, but they also rushed back. In the process, they ended up missing the theater performance of our adopted sister, Gloria. Gloria was sad and grabbed a prop to stab herself. My brothers comforted me. “Don’t blame yourself for it. At the very least, you’re safe.” But, right after, they arranged my kidnapping and gave me over to a group of drunkards. “That was just a drunkard. You could have just chased him out. Did you have to call us? Look! Gloria’s dead now! You’re not getting out of this alive either!” When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the time when the drunkard was knocking on the door. This time, I did not call them, and my brothers got to watch Gloria’s theater performance and cheered her on. But once the performance ended, they regretted it.

She thought he was dead, he thought she’d moved on. Now she’s a single mother raising their son, a child he never knew existed so what happens when they crossed paths once again? Autumn and Fray were separated. She was led to believe that Frazier died while in truth, he was diagnosed with colon cancer and had to undergo treatment back in England. Autumn was shocked to see that he was very much alive. Seeing that he has a new girl beside him, Autumn decided it was best not to inform him about their son, Severus. So the question is, what happens when they finally met during their uni reunion? Book 3 of The Autumn Summers Series. Can be read as a stand-alone. ******* Book 1 is The Bad Nerd Boy (Completed) Book 1.5 is Summertime Book 2 is Resisting The Irresistible (Completed)

As I stepped out of my older brother's newly opened supermarket, the alarm suddenly rang. The sales assistant grimly reached out and grabbed me, "Miss, you haven't paid yet." I remembered that my buttons were made of metal, which triggered the alarm. After patiently explaining and easing the atmosphere, I said, "The owner of this supermarket is my older brother. He'll pay the bill." The sales assistant scoffed. "Your brother's the boss? Why not say he's your husband instead? You stole and refused to admit it. Pay up or I'll call the police immediately," she said and crumpled the receipt into a ball before throwing it at my face. I endured the humiliation and unfolded it. A baby pacifier for 100,000 dollars. Two packs of baby wet wipes for 200,000 dollars. Security personnel's hush fee, 300,000 dollars. All of the miscellaneous expenses added up to exactly one million dollars. I laughed in anger. "One million dollars? Why don't you just rob a bank? Go and get Chad Surrey. I want to see how I ended up with such a heartless brother." She rolled her eyes. "Don't pretend if you can't afford it, thief. Is Mr. Surrey someone you can see whenever you want?" When my parents came to help me, I said, "Only one of us exists in this family. It's either me or her."

Kate Horton tries to comfort a depressed patient with suicidal tendencies to make herself look good. However, all she does is aggravate the patient so much that he jumps off the building. Kate cries and says, "I only wanted him to know how much his mother loved him…" To help her get away with it, my boyfriend and professor conspire to make me her scapegoat. I'm cyberbullied, fired, and betrayed by everyone I know. In the end, the patient's family even push me off the balcony. When I open my eyes again, I'm back to the day when Kate tries to save the patient. I'm going to stop her—she's the one who deserves to die, not innocent others!