Sans Sakin Thi

When Miles Morretti abandons Lila at the altar for the third time—choosing his manipulative stepsister Valeria over her yet again—Lila makes the most impulsive decision of her life. She calls Alexander Calvert, her childhood best friend, and asks him to be her groom. Ten minutes later, she's married to the right man. For three years, Lila poured her heart into Miles and her talent into his company, only to watch Valeria steal credit for every success while Miles remained blind to the truth. But walking away from Miles means walking away from the empire she built—and watching it crumble without her. As Lila's new marriage blossoms into genuine love, Miles finally realizes what he's lost. His company is failing, Valeria's lies are exposed, and the woman he took for granted is thriving without him. But some mistakes can't be undone, and some chances don't come twice. A story of betrayal, empowerment, and discovering that the love you've been searching for might have been right beside you all along.

On our Christmas break road trip, my cousin Felix Lloyd spotted some high-powered speakers at a highway rest stop. He had to have them—said he wanted to "blast it." "It's Christmas. We finally get to see everyone! We need some vibe!" My wife, Lana Ramsey, smiled and helped him pay. "Young people have energy. They know how to enjoy life." I yanked the power cord out. "Those aren't for regular cars. This is an EV. Overload it, and the whole system fries. Then what—just stuck in the middle of nowhere?" Lana's parents, Vincent and Donelia, booed me, calling me a buzzkill. Felix cranked the volume all the way up. Lana glared at me. "Say one more word and get out. I'll drive." Later, the speakers fried the battery system. We were stranded in total darkness on a rough mountain road. They finished the last of the food, then shoved me out to "go find help." I slipped, rolled down the slope, and died. When I opened my eyes, I was back—right when Felix jammed the speaker plug into the charging port. I grabbed a few more subwoofers and handed them over. "One isn't enough. Add more. That's how you really crank it."

* "I'm a fairy, the last of my kind. I'm not all rainbow wings and fairy dust. I am chaos and mayhem. Blood and death. I am here for revenge!" My mate holds me against the floor as she looks down at me defiantly. It's so cute! She even has a wee little knife to my throat as she yells at me. I can't help but get excited about how much fun this is going to be. "Fuck, that's hot baby doll." I say seriously as my dragon starts to purr for her.* The revolution began when a strong group of shifters known as 'The council' decided that magic wielders held too much power in this world. They have hunted and killed men, women and children alike, basking in their spot at the top of the food chain. They have no idea what is waiting in the shadows, hiding under their beds and ready to slit their throats. The resistance, led by one little dangerous fairy they call 'Slayer'. She is ready to lay down her life to bring back balance to the world and nothing will stand in her way. Not even the cinnamon roll dragon, broody vampire, smitten hellhound, loyal werewolf and cocky siren who all claim that she is their soulmate, and they won't take no for an answer.

When I was ten, I bugged my brother to come home for my birthday. He died in a plane crash that day. They never found his body. After that, my parents saw me as a total screw-up. They blamed me for his death. Every year on his memorial day, they forced me to kneel at the cemetery and repent my mistakes. I did that for eight years. I figured I'd spend my whole life paying for it. But on my 18th birthday, some creep stalked and murdered me. Right before I died, I tried calling for help. But my mom chewed me out. "I bet you're just dodging your duty to make up for James. You're full of crap. If you hadn't forced him to come back, he would have been alive. This is what you deserve." She hung up, leaving me staring at the dead screen. My last hope was dashed. She was right. Someone like me meant nothing but bad luck to those around me. I didn't deserve to exist. But then, eight years after his death, James showed up with his pregnant wife. When they heard I was gone, they fell apart.

Planning revenge on your best friend's ex for treating her like a tissue is good and all. But the popular good boy accidentally being the victim of it is not.

I know I shouldn’t want him. Or them. There’s my best friend’s father, whose low, velvety voice makes my pulse stutter whenever he speaks. My stepbrother, whose accidental touches make my skin burn with unspoken tension. And my sister’s mate, whose cold, lingering gaze betrays a hunger I shouldn’t see. Every glance, every brush of skin, drags me deeper into temptation. Every heartbeat reminds me that wanting them is dangerous, forbidden… and maybe reckless. I’m caught between loyalty, morality, and desire, and every moment I give in only makes the fire stronger. Some lines aren’t meant to be crossed. Some fires are impossible to resist. And I’m learning the hard way… forbidden has never felt this good.

"I escaped the nightmare, but woke up in a living hell.. " Lyla Harrison is drowning in unsubstantial debt, with a father in a coma and a highschool life that threaten to murder her sanity, Lyla is left with no one to turn too. But when her stepmother suddenly reappears with an offer she can't resist, Lyla heeds to her desperation and takes up the deal. Only to be double crossed once again. Things turn for the worst and she’s sold to Cedric Abernathy, the ruthless and terrifying leader of the Abernathy Mafia Family. Cedric doesn’t just claim her as his wife, but possesses her as his pet. Lyla’s hatred burns, but the more she fights him, the tighter his grip becomes.

Everyone warned me never to fall for Dante Moretti. They said he was the ghost of the Velasco family—an underboss who ordered hits without blinking, his heart colder than the barrel of his gun. But when he bent me over that mahogany desk, his mouth against my ear commanding me to say his name, I was stupid enough to think that was possession. It took me an entire year to see the truth. The photographs locked in his study drawer were never of me. The woman in white waiting for him in the cathedral district on Sunday mornings was never me. The girl who took a bullet for him, the one he called his "salvation"—her name is Elena Abate. And Elena happens to be my stepmother's daughter. My father is trying to sell me to a half-dead Agosti heir for five hundred million to save the family. My stepmother is scheming to erase me from existence entirely. And the man I thought would burn this city to the ground for me? On the day I needed him most, he was lifting Elena up a flight of stairs, cradling her like something sacred. They all thought I was just a pawn to be moved around their chessboard. They were wrong. If Dante can't let go of his precious white moonlight, his "salvation," then I'll become someone else's "widow." If Elena believes she's already won this game, I'll let her watch from the front row as a woman with nothing left to lose burns it all down. My name is Serafina. Remember it. Because I am about to become the reckoning none of them saw coming.

#Second place Winner hopwriter short storystorm " Don't say anymore word than you already have, don't..." I stuck a finger out at him, sauntering away on my heels when a hand wrapped itself around my arm. Breathlessly he whispered, "You know that I do love you and...fine, what exactly was I supposed to do?" "Protect me and stand up for me. That is what you do for someone who you claim you love!" ************ Out to spite her ex-boyfriend after he had broken up with her on her birthday, Daphne slept with a stranger who turned out to be his uncle while trying to rebuff his words that she was unwanted by others. Was she ready for the wild chase that followed when he found out years later that she had been pregnant with his heirs and that she had been hiding the truth all this while? Faced with the ruthless CEO, known as the beast, who wasn't ready to back down, Daphne does everything possible to make sure her kids wouldn't be taken from her, but what happens when love gets in the mix of it all? Would she be able to conquer these weird feelings and give in her all amidst her scars? And with how deadly he turned out to be? And faced with her ex who still wants her back, what choice is she going to make?

**Strictly for adults** HANA You don't fall in love with your enemy. If you do, then, be prepared to embrace their dark side and welcome their secrets. Because you don't know them like you know your friends. I left a man at the altar just to fall in love with his brother. We have nothing in common but our damaged soul. It is cruel how you can love a person like that only to find out that it was forbidden, all the way long, and you were forced to fall apart by fate. Our tragic pasts paved way for our beautiful future until his secrets were revealed. I never fit in his world, no one could ever; for he was born to kill, to bring death. From enemies to lovers, hating to loving, strangers to family, then to complete strangers, Hana and Bash are all you need. Their love will make your heart warm, they make you laugh, and their distance makes you cry. Find out more about their forbidden romance. **No incest**