Proper Table Manners

The silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating. Kourtney paced in front of him, her heels clicking against the dusty floor of the abandoned villa. The contract lay untouched on the table, just inches from Travis’s restrained hands. Her plan had been reckless, but it was all she had left. “I didn’t want to do this,” she murmured, voice shaking. “But you gave me no choice.” Travis tilted his head. “You think tying me to a chair will change how I feel?” “No. But it changes what you’re allowed to do,” she said, forcing a smirk that didn’t reach her eyes. He didn’t flinch. “What happens after the wedding, Kourtney? When your father finds out? When Kim finds out?” She looked away. “Then it’ll be too late. I’ll have what’s mine.” “Money?” he asked. “Or revenge?” That struck something in her. Kourtney turned to him, face darkening. “You chose her. You loved her. But what about me, Travis? You never even gave me a chance.” “You think forcing me into marriage will give you love?” “No,” she whispered. “But it’ll give me power.” Travis met her eyes. No fear. Just sadness. “This isn’t you,” he said softly. “You don’t know me anymore,” she replied, backing away. “Sign the contract, Travis. Or I swear, I’ll make sure you never walk free again.” Travis looked down at the paper, then back at her. “You’ll lose yourself in this, Kourtney.” She swallowed hard. “Then maybe losing myself is the only way I survive.”

"Help me tighten this?" Her voice trembles as she turns her bare back to the doorway. Calloused fingers brush her spine – but it’s not her stepmother. It’s Asher Voss, SU’s star quarterback and her new stepbrother, smirking in the mirror， "Next time you mistake me for Mom..." His breath scorches her ear. "...I’ll leave a real mark." To survive the sweltering New York summer before college, Wendy Wu makes a deal with Asher: Act like strangers once school starts. He’ll remain the untouchable quarterback; she’ll be just another exchange student. No eye contact. No acknowledgement. Ever. But when her father’s long hauls and her stepmother’s busy schedule force Asher into babysitting duty, the lines blur: In the kitchen, he catches her weeping over a shelter documentary and lifts her against his sweat-drenched chest. Garage doors rattle open – his grip tightens: "Hold on. Unless you want them to see you like this." At a party, her friend spots a cherry hair tie on his wrist before he drags her into a dark hallway: "You didn’t want to see me?" His whiskey-laced kiss brands her lips. "Yet your eyes undressed me all night." In a restaurant, a rival girl glares through the window. He traps Wendy’s thigh under the table， "Call me ‘brother’ and I’ll save you."  Their secret collapses. Wendy ends it, and he freezes her out in public， "Do I know you?" Until a rain-lashed night when Ahser, drenched and desperate, pins her to the wall， "Don’t tell me you do not regret the breakup" His teeth find her collarbone. "I have to admit it-- I miss you." Can a love forged in stolen touches survive the spotlight? Or will their step-sibling bond shatter them both?

☆☆☆☆ "So, Tyson, do you just lurk around waiting to interrupt people or is that a special service you offer?" He leaned against the table, his gaze locking with mine. "I'd say it's a special service, but only for certain people. I wouldn't want you to think I'm not paying enough attention to you, love." "Is that so?" I raised an eyebrow, challenging him, "Because I was under the impression you enjoyed making my life difficult, not keeping an eye on it." He chuckled, crossing his arms. "Well, it seems like you could use the excitement." "Oh, trust me, my life's exciting enough without you stirring up trouble." I scoffed, but the corners of my mouth twitched upwards in a reluctant smile. "But, perhaps I'm the kind of trouble you need." ☆☆☆☆ Ashley, the daughter of a millionaire, moves to a new city and hopes for a fresh start. With her sharp wit, she often finds herself at the center of school drama, not by choice, but by circumstances. Intent on maintaining a low profile at her new campus, her plan quickly falls apart when she mistakenly parks her bike in a reserved spot. Tyson, the school's notorious bad boy, is not just a troublemaker, but he's the youngest gang leader to be a part of a powerful mafia, feared by many but understood by few. Despite his fearsome reputation in the streets while other leaders might see him as a mere boy, Tyson is fiercely loyal to his inner circle, showing a side of him that few ever see. What will happen when their paths cross? ☆☆☆☆ 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 #1 𝐨𝐟, 𝐇𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. "𝑫𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎." ☆☆☆☆

She was sent to kill. Instead, she might be the one destined to end it all. Lea, a top-tier assassin for the secretive High Table, has never missed a mark—until now. What was supposed to be a routine mission turns into a long-term “quest” in the quiet town of Mystique Gore, assisting a cold, commanding man in a mansion older than memory. Strange? Yes. Dangerous? Definitely. But what’s worse? The mission wasn’t for a target... it was for *her*. Marked by a power she doesn’t understand and haunted by dreams that aren’t hers, Lea finds herself entangled in a world she never believed existed—one ruled by vampires, witches, and werewolves hiding in plain sight. And at the center of it all is Ivan, the enigmatic master of the house who knows more than he says... and watches her like she’s already his. As her assassin instincts clash with ancient prophecies, forbidden truths, and a mark that binds her fate to something much bigger, Lea must uncover why the High Table sent her here—and why the supernatural world is afraid of *her*. They say she’s the beginning. They say she’s the end. They say she must die to keep the peace. But Lea doesn’t take orders. She gives them.

Elena had once believed that silence could mean safety. That a gentle hand and a warm cup of tea placed quietly on her desk every morning could be a form of love. Lucien was never cruel—not in the obvious ways. He remembered how she liked her eggs, noticed when she swapped her perfume, and sent flowers on days he knew she wouldn’t expect them. He raised her like one would raise a pet—softly, without question. And Elena, foolish in the way only the very lonely can be, mistook his quiet affection for devotion. She told herself he was reserved. Mysterious. That love didn’t always wear its heart on its sleeve. But when the old flame returned—the one who spoke his language without needing to try—Elena saw it. The difference. He looked at her like a man who had found his lost religion. And Elena? She had simply been convenient. No tears, no scene. Just papers on the breakfast table, beside the eggs he cooked perfectly. She didn’t accuse or beg. She only asked for freedom. He didn’t sign. He chuckled. A soft, dismissive sound. “A cat raised indoors doesn’t know how to survive on the street, Elena. You’ll come back." But she didn’t. She disappeared, like smoke—except she didn’t vanish, not really. She lived. She wore colour again. Laughed at bad jokes. Let strange men hand her coffee and ask for her number. Lucien? He watched. He watched her become someone without him. And it drove him mad. The night he cornered her outside the gallery, rain in his hair and desperation in his eyes, he looked like a man undone. "Elena," he breathed, "please. Look at me. Just once." She did. Calm as ever, and her love already gone.

Just as my wealthy boyfriend and I were talking about getting married, his mother dismissed me as an unrefined girl and demanded I attend a finishing school to learn how to be a proper wife. Looking at Zach’s pleading gaze, I gave in. I endured relentless psychological and physical torment for three months. However, on the day I was discharged, I overheard a phone call between Zach and his friend. “Zach, if you don’t want to marry Cathy, why didn’t you just tell her? Why did you have to send her to that hellhole to suffer? That finishing school your family runs is a freaking torture chamber. Constant beatings, electric shocks, forced kneeling for hours… No one comes out of there the same.” “You don’t get it. Jen is about to get engaged, and I can’t risk Cathy ruining it. As long as Jen is happy, I don’t care who I marry. Cathy grew up poor, so she can endure a little hardship. Three months of hardship for a lifetime of Stein money is a fair trade.” My vision blurred with tears when I heard those cruel words from his mouth. I thought. “Zach, since you loved Jenna so much, why did you have to toy with my feelings?”

My family was the wealthiest in River City, with assets worth trillions. On my eighteenth birthday, my brother, Calvin Chester, gifted me an entire jewelry production line while my parents built a private museum and named it after me. The greatest hardship I’d ever faced? Learning how to spend my inheritance. Then I met Dario Darwin. For him, I cut ties with my family and helped him build his empire from scratch. But when I was three months pregnant, he demanded I drink on behalf of his assistant, Fran Fallon, a woman “slumming it” as an intern while secretly being the heiress to another fortune. “Stop pretending,” he sneered. “You’re not like Fran, raised in pampered luxury. You’re older, so act like it and take care of your juniors!” Then, to the clients leering around the table, “My wife’s just being dramatic. She can hold her liquor. Don’t hold back—pour her another!” Amid their jeers, he left with Fran, abandoning me to a room of drunken men. Years of sacrifice, only to be humiliated. I scheduled an abortion and called him. “We’re done.” Through the phone, Fran’s simpering voice chimed in, “It’s my fault that Clea is upset… I should quit and go home to my family’s billions.” “Ignore her. She’s faking it,” Dario cooed back. On the day Dario signed the divorce papers, my parents and Calvin came to take me home. Our marriage came to an end, but his tragedy was about to begin.

"Lakukan dengan benar!" ujar dua penerus kelompok besar mafia yang menjalani hubungan palsu demi mencegah pecahnya perang antara dua kubu. Naniana Kradse selalu menganggap sandiwara yang ia jalani hanya demi menjaga daerahnya dari kehancuran pasca perang, Ascian Vade Bellion juga hanya menganggap hal konyol yang ia jalani semata-mata demi menjaga keselamatan ibunya. Tetapi ketika perasaan mereka ikut campur, semua menjadi lebih nyata untuk disebut sandiwara, dan semakin rumit untuk disebut hubungan atas pura-pura. Di saat keduanya sadar adanya perasaan yang tak seharusnya, di saat itu mereka harus memutuskan haruskah memperjuangkan hubungan asli yang terlarang atau mengakhiri semuanya dengan baik dan kembali berdiri di sisi masing-masing, sisi berbeda di mana mereka saling menatap tajam layaknya musuh yang tak dapat lagi disatukan.

Celeste Delgado is a woman who will do anything for money, para maipagamot ang Mama niya na may sakit sa puso. In desperation, she had to come to the bachelor party as stripper and sell herself for money. In exchange for 20 million, she spent a hot night with a stranger. After four years, she accidentally saw the one she was with that night. The man still remembers who she is, and what a warm night they shared. She immediately hid her daughter, but the DNA test cannot lie! Idris Gonzalo, is a heart surgeon, one of the youngest billionaire in Asia, and the heir of Gonzalo Empire. Anong gagawin niya kung malaman niyang may anak siya? What if their daughter wants a happy family but Idris canʼt be happy knowing that Celeste is a liar and the reason why his ex-fiancee left him? Kaya pa ba itong ayusin ng pag-ibig?

Brandon Athaya Putra, seorang CEO muda yang baru saja mengambil alih perusahaan besar rumah sakit milik keluarganya. Seumur hidupnya ia tumbuh dengan keluarga yang selalu mendukung segala keputusannya, sampai suatu hari sang Ibu memutuskan untuk mempertemukan putra sulungnya itu dengan putri pemilik perusahaan salah satu merek permen terbesar di Indonesia. Alih-alih fokus mengurusi kencan tersebut, Brandon malah tertarik pada seorang gadis muda bernama Anna Zaela Cantika yang sedang menjalankan magangnya sebagai dokter muda di rumah sakit milik keluarga Brandon sendiri. Di sisi lain, Anna sendiri, gadis yang terkenal dengan kepintarannya, sedang membutuhkan duit yang tidak sedikit untuk membayar biaya semester kuliah akhirnya. Kabar baiknya, sahabat yang ia miliki ternyata adalah gadis yang akan dijodohkan dengan Brandon, gadis tersebut kemudian menawarkan Anna untuk menggantikannya saat kencan nanti dengan menjadikan uang sebagai imbalannya, tanpa berfikir panjang Anna pun segera menerima tawaran tersebut. Apakah yang akan terjadi selanjutnya pada Brandon dan Anna?