Shrek Holidays

On the first day of every month, my mom will give me my allowance based on the number of times I had checked in with her last month. "You'll receive 20 dollars for greeting your parents once in the morning and once in the evening. But last month, you only hit ten days' worth of quota, so you can only receive 200 dollars. This also means your 300-dollar punctuality fee will be deducted as well. "After adding on 150 dollars for your basic necessities, you shall receive only 350 dollars for this month's allowance. Remember to write a reflection report on your lack of punctuality later. I'll only transfer you the money if your report is acceptable." I become so overwhelmed by anxiety that my voice starts trembling. "I was busy with my finals last month, Mom! I had to line up outside the library at 5:00 am every day just so I could secure myself a seat! That's why I couldn't call you in time!" In a choked-up tone, I plead to my mom, "I need 600 dollars for the train ticket all the way home during the holidays! 350 dollars really isn't enough for me! Mom, can you please—" But my mom cuts me off firmly, "The allowance system is something that I've specifically designed for you so that I can help you get rid of the bad habit of wanting to receive everything without putting in hard work! Why can't you just understand that I'm doing this for your own good?" After that, she ends the call mercilessly. Just as I'm filled with despair and helplessness, a blond appears before my eyes. He's willing to buy my train ticket for me, but in return, I need to leave with him.

Liam, my stepbrother, has been a pain in the rear for three years. We fight every time we talk. Every time we see each other, we remember that moment, which we never talk about. The one in the yard behind where our parents had their wedding dinner. The event that almost made everything bad. Our parents are now going for a trip to celebrate their first anniversary, leaving us all alone in the house. Simple plan: we'll stay on different sides, ignore each other, and act like we're working. But then there's a fire on my side of the house, and all of a sudden I have to share a floor, a hallway, and a wall that is too thin to be safe with him. The worst times are at night. I hear him. I can feel him. And every disagreement ends too close. Every stare stays too long. Every breath turns into heat I can’t escape. We’re supposed to protect our parents’ happiness. We’re supposed to act like good brothers. But how do you pretend you hate someone when all you want is to drag him into your bed? Then the holidays arrive with our whole extended family. We’re forced to play perfect boys while nearly pulling each other apart behind locked doors. And just when I think things can’t get worse, Liam’s cheating ex shows up begging to take him back. The jealousy nearly wrecks me… and reveals everything. But the real disaster hits one night with a broken condom and a hurried hospital visit. Two scary weeks that make us imagine a life we’re not supposed to want. A future that feels too good to lose. The test is negative. But the damage is done. We want each other.

My husband was working over the holidays, again. He’d been sent out of town to oversee one of the Family’s dock operations and a string of gambling houses.. I decided to buy a ticket and surprise him. Only business class was left. Staring at the five-figure price, I gritted my teeth and spent a year’s worth of savings. Then I couldn’t even figure out how to pull down the damn tray table. The socialite seated next to me let out a cold laugh. “Never flown business class before?” I forced an awkward smile. “My apologies. You must be… important. You have that aura.” “Oh, me? No. The man who keeps me is important. He’d charter a private jet if I asked. Business class is practically slumming it.” I blinked. “A… keeper? That’s rare.” “Not really. I’m his secretary. I mess up a lot. Cost him a fortune. He yells at me until I cry. And then, well… crying leads to other things.” She winked. “You know how it is.” “Funny,” I said, my voice tight. “My husband has an assistant who helps him manage accounts for the docks. She’s always messing things up too.” “You’re married?” She looked me over, head to toe. “My man has a wife about your age. Says he’s sick of her. That touching her is boring. Says I’m more exciting just brushing my hair out of my face.” She leaned closer. “I told him I wanted to see him for New Year’s. So he told the wife he had to work.” The diamond on her finger caught the light. It was identical to the wedding band I’d lost. My body went cold. No. Matteo was just a low-level enforcer. A foot soldier the Family occasionally trusted with small operations—dock shipments, backroom gambling, nothing more. When did he become a Don?