Smug Expression

I gave up on my inheritance right during the time my love for Matteo Rossini ran the deepest. When I was about to leave, Papa looked at me before saying lightly, "I bet that you'll come home in three years." Back then, I didn't take his words to heart. After spending three years overcoming life's hurdles with Matteo, he finally becomes the Don of his family. On the day the inheritance party is to be held, I decide to wear a dress that I've treasured for a very long time but never had the heart to wear. But the moment I walk into the banquet hall, I see Matteo holding hands with a radiant young woman. She's Isabella Ginevra, a popular socialite in the elite society. Isabella flits among the guests charismatically, as though she were the lady of the house. She's capable of engaging in any conversational topic, be it finance strategies or channels to obtain firearms. I try to participate in a conversation, only for Isabella to cut me off with a titter. "I thought you've been spending the past few years being cooped up indoors. It turns out that you know a thing or two about these topics, huh?" Everyone around us falls silent for a brief moment. My expression freezes on my face. Then, I turn to look at Matteo subconsciously. But he doesn't even bother looking my way. Instead, he merely says softly, "We're talking business here, Bianca. You should sit with the other ladies." I clench my fists instantly. But in the end, I opt to not say anything and just walk away. Through the throngs of the guests, I can see Matteo and Isabella chatting animatedly with each other in low tones. For once, Matteo looks relaxed and at ease—an expression that I haven't seen for a long time. Suddenly, I hear a guest remarking, "If someone like Ms. Ginevra were to become the Donna, she'd be of great help to the Don." A chorus of agreements ring out around him. Matteo just smiles in return, though he doesn't deny that remark. In fact, he even toasts to Isabella and drinks to her in front of everyone. That's when I draw to my feet and walk over to snatch the glass out of his hand. "I think so too. In that case, she can have the position as the Donna, then."

The day my mother-in-law discovered she had uterine cancer, she packed up and moved in to our home. “I don’t have much time left. I’m all out of hope!” she choked out. “You’d be cruel to kick me out. Show me some mercy!” I looked at my speechless husband, then at my beloved son I had raised with so much love and care. I asked them, "What do you guys think?" My husband silently made a grim expression and grabbed my arm. “How long are you going to hold on to that little incident that happened after Everett was born? Mom's already so sick." My son echoed his sentiment, “Grandma doesn't have much time left. Of course we have to take good care of her!" I smiled at them and said, “Alright. You guys can take care of her if you love her so much."

"Nadine..." he grabbed my wrist before I could even think of entering my restaurant. His touch created nothing but disgust in me. I turned glaring at him with an unreasonable expression "Stay out of my life, Adrian." But his next words got me scoffing and cussing him under my breath. "You don’t get to decide that for me... Because I’m not leaving, Nadine. I'm not leaving you nor our baby. Not this time." ** Nadine Harper thought her love story with billionaire Adrian Blackwell was over. She’s built a quiet life far from his powerful world, determined to leave the past behind. But when Adrian unexpectedly reappears, the walls she’s built start to crumble. He’s not just here to dredge up old feelings—he’s about to uncover the secret she’s kept hidden for years. Can they face the truth without losing everything? Or will the past destroy their chance at a future?

On the night of my fifth wedding anniversary with Sebastian Gray, he lit up the entire city with fireworks for me. All our friends kept saying what a wonderful man he was—so loving, so romantic. The kind of husband every woman dreams of. At the grand finale, the fireworks burst into words that lit up the night sky: Happy Birthday, Jen. Jennifer Kingsley was Sebastian's first love, his ideal woman, the one who had always lingered in his heart. Sebastian looked at me, his expression almost sheepish. "Ah, it's Jen's birthday too. They must have mixed up the fireworks." That night, Jennifer posted on her social media: "Men are boys till the day they die, always fumbling their way through romance." She added a picture of the fireworks, along with a photo of her and Sebastian standing close under the dazzling display. I liked her post and left a comment: "From school to altar—what a touching love story. When's the wedding?"

~ ALISTAIR ~ I hate him. There’s no point in admiring what you can’t be. I hate his sharp tongue, his smug smirk, the way he looks at me like he already knows how this ends. I don’t like men. Calvin Rutledge is a problem. A problem I can’t ignore. A problem that’s in my face, under my skin, unraveling me one smirk at a time. But the worst part? I want him. And he knows it. Now, every glance burns, every touch lingers, and every fight makes me crave the one thing I swore I’d never want—him. A man. A know-it-all who plays by his own rules. I was never supposed to want him. And yet, here I am… falling. __ ~ CALVIN ~ I know his type. Rich. Arrogant. A cocky football star who thinks the world revolves around him. Alistair Morano is all that—and more. My sworn enemy. My reluctant project partner. My ‘boss’. He thinks I’m just another nerd he can push around. Cute. But here’s the thing—he’s the one being played. By the time he realizes I’m the one pulling the strings, it’ll be too late. Because he’ll be mine. Mine to tease. Mine to break. Mine to ruin. And when he finally falls? I’ll be right there, waiting to catch him, just to break him all over again.

What will happen when two Alpha Bloods collide? Will sparks fly or will the battle for supremacy begin?  ¤¤¤¤¤ "Leave." A groan left my throat before I shut my eyes, trying to erase the image of her nakedness, but my action was futile — no matter how I tried to block it off, her alluring body kept seeping into my head. "Are you losing it? Should I start commanding you to undress for me, Alpha?" Her voice came out so seductive that my throat suddenly felt too dry. I wanted nothing but to give in. But this was all wrong. I shouldn't cross the line between us. "I believe you have forgotten that I am the Alpha of this pack." I opened my eyes, hands coiling into fists. "And I think you forgot that I am an Alpha as well. You can't tell me what to do, Jace." I let a smug smirk form on my lips before I locked eyes with the beautiful lioness in front of me.  "How sure are you that I can't tell you what to do?" I licked my lips as I began to unbuckle my belt. "On your knees, Amara..." ¤¤¤¤¤ Alpha Jace Galhart had always known what he wanted from the start: to be the perfect Alpha for his pack while waiting for his fated mate. He thought he was doing well until Amara came and showed him that perhaps breaking the rules he set for himself wasn't that bad at all.

My roommate sets me up. She deliberately forces me into a death-trap survival game. As I shut my eyes and wait for death to take me, I realize that the game's bosses can read my mind. "Look at the blood spurting from this baby doll's neck. It's like a fountain of pee." The baby doll is baffled. It's about to launch its ultimate move, but it falters. "Man, look at how this guy is still sweeping the streets when he's so old. Does he not have a pension?" The old man is about to swallow me whole, but he suddenly gets a heart attack. An ambulance takes him away. "Oh, so this is the amusement park's owner. Oh, dear god, he's handsome, albeit a little skinny. I can send him flying with a kick!" The handsome owner's expression darkens. He instantly takes off his shirt to reveal his washboard abs. "Do you still think I'm skinny?"

"Who has been f*cking with you, Amora?" Amora continued to glance down, reluctant to respond to the question. Her face showed an obvious expression of disgust. Amora never imagined she'd ruin her happiness by spending the night with a cold-blooded stranger. Even though happiness was there in front of her eyes, a drunken Amora witnessed a murder on the night of her bachelorette party. Amora feared she was about to die that night, but an unexpected act saved her. Amora gave up her virginity to the man she thought was a cold-blooded killer due to the alcohol she had consumed. Little did she know that she had been tricked by someone so close to her. Amora also never knew that the man she spent the night with was Regis Lorenzo, the son of the most feared ruler in the mafia! What would be the outcome of Amora's marriage when her future fiancé, Chris Walden, caught her in the act? After being abandoned by Amora with no explanation, what would Regis do next? What would Amora do when she found out she was pregnant?

While my husband was chatting with his friend at the dining table, his friend suddenly spoke in Italian. “You married Lyra to write a pardon letter for River. You’ve been showing more concern toward Lyra, but you’re still lying to her and saying that the contraceptives are antidepressants. Don’t you think Lyra will break down if she learns the truth?” My husband wore a complicated expression as he chuckled bitterly and said, “Why let a child be born if I don’t want it? As for Lyra, so long as she doesn’t interfere with River’s happiness, I’ll keep my promise and protect her for life.” No one knew that I had already learned Italian to keep up with my husband. I stood in the living room with fresh hickeys on my neck. In my hand, I held the “antidepressants” and felt a chill run down my spine. So, my husband’s love for me had been fake? My salvation had actually been a meticulously planned lie? In that case, I would help them fulfill their wishes.

When Zora was sick during the early days of her pregnancy, Ezrah was with his first love, Piper. When Zora got into an accident and called Ezrah, he said he was busy, when in actual fact, he was buying shoes for Piper. Zora lost her baby because of the accident, and throughout her stay at the hospital, Ezrah never showed up. She already knew that he didn’t love her, but that was the last straw for the camel’s back, and her fragile heart could not take it anymore. When Ezrah arrived home a few days after Zora was discharged from the hospital, he no longer met the woman who always greeted him with a smile and cared for him. Zora stood at the top of the stairs and yelled with a cold expression, “Good news, Ezrah! Our baby died in a car accident. There is nothing between us anymore, so let's get a divorce.” The man who claimed not to have any feelings for Zora, being cold and distant towards her, and having asked her for a divorce twice, instantly panicked.