Smiling Sheepishly

I’d been dead a month before my family even noticed. It wasn’t concern that brought them to that realization. It was my silence after the so-called “dinner” with Adam Rossi, the infamous mafia boss. My father scoffed like always,“She probably shacked up with that bastard. Too busy spreading her legs to pick up the damn phone.” My sister texted me a photo of them smiling under the Christmas tree, ornaments twinkling like nothing was wrong. Bitch, she wrote. You better talk Mr. Rossi into working with Dad, or you might as well be dead already. And my mother—once the softer one—was now colder than the frost on their windows. “I told you, we should’ve sent Gia to charm Mr. Rossi. Serena always screws things up.” They didn’t think I would die. Not until they found my body—broken, rotten, and forgotten—in Adam Rossi’s basement.

The Devil You Called Grimace. Hunger. Love like a curse. They say some doors open only once. She opened hers with three red candles, a drop of blood, and a whisper. Lonely nights, overdue rent, and a heart too heavy to carry — that’s all it took to call him through. Malik. The man made of smoke, shadow, and everything her prayers forgot to protect her from. He came smiling, with promises sweet as sin — protection, money, revenge. Every favor he gave her tasted like salvation until she realized he was feeding on her, one piece at a time. A memory here. A dream there. Her laughter swallowed whole. Now he’s the warmth in her sheets and the whisper in her nightmares. The devil she named, the lover she can’t unmake. Because Malik wasn’t summoned. He was chosen. And love — the kind that burns red under candlelight — always demands a body to keep it alive.

In my last international car racing championship, the front tire of my car suddenly burst, causing the car to roll over. The cars behind me collided with me one by one. After 99 times, I was unrecognizable from the impacts. Just as I reached out to my boyfriend for help by instinct, he kicked me away, my body covered in blood and flesh. “Don't dirty my newly tailored clothes today.” He turned around, picked up the champion who had just crossed the finish line, and spun her around, smiling and saying: “Sharon, only the championship trophy is worthy of you. I will remove all obstacles for you.” Blood stained my entire body. Watching the two of them embrace as the sun set, I felt numb and desperate. What he didn't know was that among these red stains was the child who had just come into this world. At that moment, I gave up on continuing to love him.

“Alex… I’m dying.” Amara’s trembling voice over the phone should have shaken her husband, but the renowned Dr. Alex Spencer simply replied, “Buy medicine and let me work.” The world envied their marriage to the perfect doctor, but behind closed doors, Amara carried every pain alone. Until the day she received two verdicts: brain cancer… and a divorce she signed with her own hands. She walked away, whispering, “This is the last meal I’ll ever cook for you,” leaving Alex furious and unable to accept the truth. And when he rushed into a house decorated with flowers and candles, her smiling picture greeted him instead. She was gone. He fell down, weeping like a child. But something still told him, this was all a setup. That Amara was still alive and he won’t rest until he finds her. Is Amara truly still alive? Read to find out!

Before my crazy grandmother died, she gave me three walnuts. According to her last wish, I cracked open the first walnut on my twenty-fifth birthday. Inside the walnut was a slip of paper. 'Go to the skybridge and grovel at the first beggar you meet' was the instruction written on it. When I looked at the note, I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Still, I did as told. To my surprise, the beggar turned out to be an undercover cop. Only later did I learn that I had long been targeted by human traffickers, and the bow had saved my life. As for the second walnut, my grandmother told me to crack it open before I got married. When I put on my wedding dress, ready to marry the policeman who saved me, I happily opened it. This time, there was a crumpled old photograph inside. In the photo, my fiancé was smiling as he strangled another bride.

"Qubool hai(I accept)," I said with great difficulty and a lone tear escaped from my eyes. I looked at my husband and found him smiling at me. His smile was so mysterious and unusual which created a shiver in my whole system. At the time of Rukhsati(sending off the bride), my mother requested to my husband," Please, take care of her." " Don't worry. I will love her and take care of her so much that she will forget her own family," He replied chuckling but I felt something fishy in his voice. Will he really love me and take care of me the way he is promising to my mother? Erina was just a 22-year-old girl when she was forcefully married to a stranger. She is doubtful about this stranger's intention behind marrying her. Will she ever come to know about her stranger husband's intention?

On Valentine's Day, I set up a candlelit dinner and waited. At 9 PM, my husband, Alfred Johnston, finally texted. [Something came up at work. Don't wait for me.] Then I saw her post. [On a business trip with the CEO for Valentine's Day. Every hotel is fully booked—awkward...] Vivian Bianca, his secretary. Attached was a photo of a guy in a bathrobe, standing by a floor-to-ceiling window. The comments were all 'ooh, CEO's so hot and girl, you're in for a night.' Vivian? Just dropped a smug emoji. So that's what "something came up" meant—a romantic getaway with his secretary. I screenshotted it, posted it on my own feed, and added a smiling emoji. A second later, Alfred called, fuming. "Vivian was joking! Why are you so petty? She's young, not as calculating as you!" I didn't let him finish. "Then let's get a divorce. That way, I won't have to care when you screw around and catch something."

Book 2 of "The Ceo's Secretary The priest who have been smiling since morning joined our hands together and asked Jason "Do you take Lexi Tyler as your lawful wife, to have to hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?" I and Jason's eyes met and he sighed heavily "Yes I do" he answered and everybody clapped The priest faced me and asked me the same question "Do you take Jason Stokes as your lawful husband, to have to hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?" I looked at Jason, he was a little bit scared "Yes, I do" I replied ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Those were our words to each other on our wedding day but Jason didn't keep to them. Jason is a liar and a cheater!

Audrey Wilson must marry an old, ugly man because of her father's unpaid debts. She thought her boyfriend would be her savior, but on the same day, she discovers that he has betrayed her along with her best friend. So, desperate, she has to go to a bar to look for an opportunity, and luckily, she does find it... *** Audrey feel, a strange sensation was emanating from every part of her body. She tried to clench her legs, but was prevented from doing so. Lucien spread her legs and took his c*ck and aimed it at her v*ginal entrance. Smiling, he prompted her, "I'm coming in." With that he thrust hard. "Ah-" Audrey cried out, unlike the moan she had just given. It was a scream from pain, and she felt a ripping pain coming from her bottom. Lucien sensed something was wrong and looked down to check, he saw blood. What was going on here? She really was a virgin!

Zeux Morningstar - The last alpha. He is the CEO of his company. An arrogant and handsome man loves toying with the feelings of the girl he meets. He never loved again when he lost luna. All he wants is to hang out with lots of girls and hurt them. He likes to see girls cry for him. Not until he met Vanessa Lyre. A girl who is sweet and loves to make others happy. She was always smiling, even though she was in pain. Zeux will fall in love with Vanessa's sweet smile. And he didn't want to because he promised himself he would never love again. Zeux must hide his true identity as a werewolf. Vanessa is angry with werewolves because her family was killed by a werewolf. And she had promised herself that once she met a werewolf, she would kill him. What if she knew the man she loved was a werewolf? Will their love win? Or will she do what she planned in the first place? To kill any werewolves she meets?