Short Sad Story

At the New Year’s team-building event, the intern, Lilith Woods, did not obtain my approval and changed our suburban trip to a seven-day tour of Baline. “Mr. Lucian Stone, I hear a change of scenery can really spice things up. Don’t lock up tonight. I’ll come by for a deep dive into our collaboration.” She pretended to be drunk and fell into my arms while slipping the room key into my pocket in the process. To avoid suspicion, I did not return to the hotel. However, in the middle of the night, the police called me in for questioning—someone had reported a dine-and-dash. Only then did I realize that the reserved budget of $100,000 for the accommodation had long since been exceeded. Lilith had upgraded their room to a presidential suite, feasted on high-end seafood buffets, and even used company funds to buy luxury handbags! When I showed up at their private room, the interns were still casually taking king crabs and several unopened bottles of the Macallan Whisky with them. “Mr. Stone, you’re just in time. Could you please settle the bill?” Lilith looked utterly righteous as she said this with a grin. “Young people like us make mistakes, while adults help to pay the price. You’re not exactly short on cash, anyway. Just think of it as buying my happiness.” I stared at the $700,000 bill and paid it in silence. The next day, the payment invoices made their grand entrance in the group chat, accompanied by my pinned message. [Upon financial review, this team-building event does not meet reimbursement criteria. All expenses will be shared equally among the seven participants.] [Each person will need to pay $100,000, payable immediately. If payment needs to be deferred, please print the proof and submit it to the President’s Office.]

My husband, Luca, had a childhood sweetheart named Sophia. Years ago, during a brutal gang shootout, Sophia shielded him from the worst of the bloodshed, and since then, she had suffered from severe PTSD. Because of that, Luca would push aside family business every year and fly to our estate on a secluded island off the coast of Sicily to spend three months “helping her recover.” “Victoria, she lost her mind because of me,” he told me. “I’m responsible for her. I hope you can be magnanimous.” So, I nodded. And eventually, I got used to the fact that every year, my husband would disappear for three months to fulfill what he called a moral obligation. That was until the day I flew in without warning to inspect the family’s money-laundering network on that island and saw him. In the town square, under the bright Mediterranean sun, Luca was standing there with a five-year-old boy by his side. “Papa, how long do we have to hide on this island?” the child asked. “I want to go to New York. I want to see the Empire State Building.” Luca laughed gently and scooped him up in his arms. With his other hand, he held Sophia’s. “Antonio, be good,” he said affectionately. “Papa’s position is… complicated. When you turn eighteen and pass the family’s initiation ceremony, I’ll kill that woman and her dead old man. Then, I’ll take you back to New York to inherit the entire Corleone family.” I stood in the shadows, unseen. Slowly, I lit a cigarette. The smoke curled around me as their voices drifted over, the conversation getting more vicious as it went. Sophia leaned into his chest, her tone sweet and coy. “Luca, I’ve been with you for seven years without a name or a title. How much longer are our son and I supposed to live like ghosts?” Luca sighed. “I don’t have a choice. The old man in the Corleone family is still alive. I married Victoria just to get her territory. Don’t worry. I’ve been adding something to her milk every day. She’ll never get pregnant in this lifetime. My family bloodline will only continue through you.” The last thread of reason in my mind snapped. In the six years of marriage we shared, I had been infertile. I’d taken countless hormone injections to stimulate ovulation. I’d knelt in church and prayed more times than I could count. Yet, all along, the devil poisoning me was my own husband. The initial shock faded quickly into rage. I crushed out my cigarette and pulled out my phone. Then, I dialed my uncle, the family’s clean-up man. “Uncle Rocco,” I said calmly, “Luca betrayed me. He betrayed the family. Order a coffin in the finest black walnut for me, and make it large, large enough to fit a family of three.”

I'm Alex. I'm twenty-one years old, and soon to take over my father's position in the pack, the Alpha of Silver Crescent Moon. And, I'm a girl! Yes, that's my secret. In fact, it's my whole Alpha family's secret. People at first glance take me as a girl. Short hairs, sharp jawline, muscular body, rough nails and my name that's enough to verify me as man in their eyes. When my mom was pregnant, my father was under Elder's pressure. Only having a male offspring as his heir could save his Alpha's position in the pack. He did everything in his possession, prayers to the Moon Goddess, offering sacrifices, doing witchcrafts. All that to have a son. However, the Goddess didn't seem to be impressed by his practices and delivered him me instead, a girl, the last thing he ever wanted. Though devastated by the news, he did not give up. He lied the world that his wife had birthed a boy, forced the witch to make me appear masculine, ruined my female scent and did everything he could to make the world believe his lie. But, his audacity... He asked me to attend the Kingdoms' Mating Festival to choose my mate! I thought navigating a ballroom full of eligible she-wolves was my biggest threat. But, I was wrong. Something worse was waiting for me. Rosemary Thorne, the daughter of high ranking Alpha, was found disheveled and screaming in the forest. She pointed a trembling finger at me and suddenly I became the physical assaulter. If I remain silent on this, I'll get excuted for the crime I could never commit.

After being married to Caden Lancaster for seven years, I find a diamond ear stud that doesn't belong to me in his suit pocket for the first time. What's more, I haven't worn jewelry in a long time. I calmly place the stud on the dining table in the living room and wait for Caden to come back with our son, Felix Lancaster. As soon as Felix walks in, he spots the sparkling stud and says with disdain, "Mom, you're wasting money again." I hold back the urge to hit him. I ignore him and shift my gaze to Caden, who is standing behind him. "Explain yourself. Whose earring is this?" I say coolly. Caden doesn't speak. He stands there as if he is frozen in place. His handsome features stiffen. Seeing the scene, Felix suddenly bursts into laughter. "Dad, did you find me a new mom? That's great!" My six-year-old son imitates the mocking tone he heard from short videos and shouts at me, "Having a plain Jane mom like you is so embarrassing! Get out of my house! This looks like Ms. Sulvan's earring. That's great! I want her to be my mom. She's pretty, gentle, and she really likes Dad." Every word cuts deeply into my heart. Upon hearing this, Caden loosens his clenched fist. He takes two shoehorns from the cabinet behind him and smacks Felix on the head. He hands both of them to me and asks in a low, grim voice, "Which one do you want, honey? The wider one or the thinner one?"

A forced marriage between a human girl, ugly and fat at first sight and a very handsome and rich alpha? Thanks, but no thanks! For six months she was his luna and yet he has never seen her in this time! He left her alone and lived in his packhouse. She was underage at the time of their marriage because she was adopted and none knows her real age , but things are never easy in the world of werewolves. And when you discover after divorcing that your ex-wife was your fated mate , all you have to do is learn that the sky starts at the ankles, right from where you stepped on it. But Meredith and Max's story is not a sad one. It's just another story about what happens when karma hits you with all its might. It is a story about mistakes , reconciliation and forgiveness. But most of all, it's about love.

Sweet girl hurt and sad, Trapped in her own mind, driving her mad. Solace in her exotic friends and treasured haven, Hope for something sweet, settle deep in her cravings. He watches lovingly with the help of a friend, In hopes to put her poison life to an end. A story told full of passion and life, Ending in a dance with a knife and a wife. There's more to meet the eye. A journey she doesn't have to face alone. Whether its in her head or a forever present being in her life, Raelynn will get through it.

This is a real life account of one Dillon Vera, a highschool student who struggles to deal with the challenges of life, school, and dealing with his growing attraction to a yet unknown face. The kicker is that the attraction he has is for a man, and he is scared of the reactions of the people he loves. Watch Dillon's story unfold over the course of eight years with this special someone, as he discovers that life has a lot of unexpected surprises, both happy and sad alike. This is a real account of Dillon and his friend's life, their love, and how they grew as people and traversed their wonderful, but problematic, world.

“เสียงเธอเพราะดีนะ เหมือนนักร้องอาชีพ” “นายก็เล่นดนตรีเก่งนะ เล่นเป็นทุกอย่างเลย” “เธอมาทำอะไรแถวนี้ เห็นมาทุกวัน?” “อ่อ…ฉันทำงานแถวนี้น่ะ เลยมาบ่อย ฉันขอมานั่งร้องเพลงด้วยได้มั้ย” เจลีนเอ่ยพรางยิ้มให้ชายหนุ่มชุดดำที่ใส่แมสสีดำสนิทปิดใบหน้า เอาจริงๆเธอไม่เคยเห็นหน้าตาของเขาด้วยซ้ำไป แต่กลับหลงรักเสียงเพลง เสียงร้องของเขา ชายหนุ่มลึกลับ เย็นชา คนนี้นั่งร้องเพลงเปิดหมวกที่หน้าคลับแห่งนึงเกือบทุกคืน และเจลีนก็มาที่นี่ทุกคืนเช่นกัน “ทำไมถึงทำเป็นไม่รู้จักลีนด้วยคีย์!” “ฉันไม่รู้ว่าผู้ชายคนนั้นของเธอจะรักฝังใจหรือหน้าเหมือนฉันขนาดไหน แต่ฉันไม่ใช่ผู้ชายคนนั้น! เลิกยุ่งกับฉันแล้วไปซะ!” เสียงแกร่งกร้าวของมาเฟียหนุ่มเอ่ยขึ้นทำเอาหัวใจดวงน้อยๆของเธอแตกสลาย “นายไม่รู้จักฉันงั้นเหรอ .. ฉันเฝ้ารอนายทุกวัน ฉันทำอะไรผิด …”

“คุณหนูจะกลับเลยมั้ยครับ” “กลับเลย หงุดหงิดมาก” เสียงบ่นของนานี่ที่ดูจะไม่สบอารมณ์ ก่อนที่จะเดินปึงปังขึ้นรถไปโดยมีบอดี้การ์ดส่วนตัวเดินตามไปติดๆ เมื่อกลับมาถึงคอนโด นานี่ก็ล้มตัวลงนอนบนเตียงโดยที่ไม่ได้ถอดแม้กระทั้งรองเท้า “คุณหนูอาบน้ำก่อนดีกว่าครับ เดี๋ยวผมไปเตรียมนมอุ่นให้” “ทีโอ ... นายทำอะไรอ่ะ” นานี่เอ่ยทั้งที่ไม่ยอมลืมตาเมื่อรู้สึกว่าบอดี้การ์ดคู่ใจกำลังทำบางอย่าง บอดี้การ์ดหนุ่มค่อยๆถอดรองเท้าส้นสูงออกจากขาเรียวก่อนจะเดินเอามันไปเก็บที่ชั้นเก็บรองเท้าสุดหรูของนานี่ “นายดูแลฉันดีกว่าเมียอีกเนอะ”

เขาหล่อ แต่เขาร้าย เขาดี แต่ไม่ใช่กับเธอ เมื่อแม่บ้านจำเป็นต้องมาปะทะกับเจ้านายมาเฟียผีดิบ จุดจบจะสุขหรือเศร้า