Step2 Naturally Playful Sand Table Novels & Stories

On the night of our fifth wedding anniversary, I set the table, lit the candles, and waited on the couch for my husband to come home. As I scrolled through my feed to pass the time, a message notification popped up–from his old classmate, Susie Cartman. "Angela, thanks to Calvin's seed, I can finally have my own baby." The message came with a selfie–her grinning at the camera, holding up a medical slip in one hand, flashing a peace sign with the other. I touched my stomach, where our child was quietly growing. Calvin… Did you really think everything in life would always go your way?

Ten years ago, the Harrington family went through a home invasion. My mother, a maid, shielded Liam with her life. Holding my hands tight, Liam promised, "Andrea, don't worry. I'll protect you forever." I believed him. Our bond grew naturally, and we had a beautiful daughter together. Then, she was diagnosed with leukemia. In her last days, all she wanted was to spend one birthday with her dad. I called him, desperate to make it happen. "Millie doesn't have much time left. All she wants is one birthday with you. Can you come?" His voice on the other end went icy. "Really? This your latest stunt? Using your dead mom wasn't enough, now it's our daughter for pity? Disgusting." I tried to deny it, but he cut me off. "Don't mess with her head. Learn from Vivian—she's got a real heart." That night, our daughter passed away. Later, Vivian posted on social media: [Finally taking that couples' trip someone promised me!] I didn't scream. I didn't cry. I just texted Liam: [We're done.]

Carrie DeLuca, a not quite normal teenager with lots of behavior issues and a seriously fucked-up life, meets the biggest trouble of her life: a werewolf with lots of anger issues and a clear obsession over her... What can she do? Run as far as possible away from him or stay and try to fight him off? "His strong and big hands tightly gripped around my wrists as he forcefully held them pressed against the door and at the level of my shoulders, feeling my bones hurt so fucking much that I thought they were going to snap after just a little more pressure added. Yet despite the sickening pain I refused to shed a single tear, challengingly looking right back into his glimmering emeralds. "I am not afraid of you," I spat between gritted teeth, noticing that devilish smirk tugging at his naturally pink lips. "How about now?" He wickedly whispered, feeling my entire body fill with pure fear and horror as I watched his eyes change from their emerald green colour to an unnaturally glowing golden, hungrily gazing at me. His hand quickly pressed against my mouth, abruptly silencing that scream that was about to erupt. "Don't bother. No one will believe you,"

She spent her life saving hearts, until the man who ruled an empire of violence shattered hers. Jenna Blake should have been finishing her final year of cardiology, standing at the edge of a future she had built with discipline, sacrifice, and quiet determination. She was gentle, obedient, a healer with steady hands and a soft heart, someone meant for hospitals, not the shadows of the mafia. Everything changed the day Evan Grant stepped into her life. Forced into marriage with the man who commands fear and respect, Jenna loses her career, her dreams, and the life she fought to create. He is feared by all, yet the feared look up to him. Power comes naturally to him. Control is instinct. Compassion is optional. On the day she became his bride, he offered no comfort, only a reminder of the fiery message she sent him during their disastrous first encounter. Yet he also placed a ring on her finger, a token meant only for her, a symbol that even in a world of violence, he claimed her in a way no one else could. Her freedom vanished. Her life was rewritten. But when secrets surface and past betrayals collide, enemies are forced to confront the truth. A dark mafia romance thriller with enemies-to-lovers tension and a second-chance love that could consume them both.

"It started as a prank. So...how did I end up on my knees for my neighbor in his office?" Zoe Justice (20) is finally free—no dorm rules, no nosy RAs, no lukewarm cafeteria mac and cheese. With her grandparents’ inheritance and a playlist full of bangers, she’s ready to celebrate her first night as a bona fide homeowner. New digs, new vibes, and definitely a party worthy of the milestone. She expected a few noise complaints and maybe a fussy neighbor or two. But she didn’t expect the cops to roll up before 9 p.m. and shut down the whole thing like it was some kind of crime scene. Apparently, someone across the street didn’t appreciate her welcome-home energy. And when Zoe spotted him—the smug, too-serious man on the porch, standing there like he owned the cul-de-sac—she knew exactly where the betrayal came from. So naturally, she let her middle fingers and death glare do the talking. Veterinarian or not, Mr. Peace-and-Quiet was officially on her list. And she? She wasn’t going down without a little payback. But what happens when the prank war turns into a love affair neither of them saw coming?

The first thing I do after getting off the plane is to text my wife, Ella Spencer, that I'm safe and sound. Since I'm too eager to send the text, I end up sending the text to my work group chat. Before I can delete the message, the new HR employee, Dexter Brooks, suddenly calls me on the phone. "You're fired." I question him immediately, "All I did was text the wrong group chat! How does that warrant a dismissal?" Dexter shouts at me immediately, "How dare you send such lovey-dovey messages on the company's group chat! I will not tolerate this behavior in my company!" His statement catches me off guard. "Your company?" Dexter's arrogance kicks up a few notches. "What, are you saying that this is your company? Ms. Spencer is my wife! Her company is naturally mine!" After a moment's silence, I send another text to the work group chat. "Ella Spencer, you must be feeling quite smug now, huh? Not only did you claim that the company is yours, but you also switched your own husband out for someone else."

She gave him five years of her life. Her education. Her passion. Her family name. Everything she had and everything she was — laid down piece by piece at the altar of a man and his ambitions, because she loved him and she believed in them. But the moment he reached the top, he discarded her without a second glance and proposed to another woman on international live television. So Mia did the only reasonable thing a heartbroken, furious woman could do. She found a bar. She found a stranger. She found her way into a hotel room and completely out of her mind for one reckless, consequence-free night. Then he tried to pay her afterward. She paid him back. Every bill. Then she slapped him clean across the face and walked out without looking back. She thought that was the end of it. It wasn't even close. Because the stranger she spent the night with turned out to be Cole Ashford — new captain of the Chicago Vortex, the most infuriating man she had ever encountered, and the person sitting behind the interview table when she walked in the very next morning with her whole future on the line. He wants her. He said so plainly, across a professional table, without a single apology for the honesty of it. She told him exactly where he could put that. But Cole Ashford is not a man who lets go of what he wants. And somewhere between the fury and the history and the secret she has spent years running from, Mia is beginning to wonder if the universe placed him in her path for a reason. Or if she is simply foolish enough to make the same mistake twice.

My father-in-law said he wanted to experience "how the young folks have fun these days," so I took him to my wife's newly opened upscale cocktail bar for a quiet drink. I’d just finished ordering him a custom cocktail when a man from a booth across the room swaggered over, glass in hand. His eyes scanned the drink menu on our table, and a condescending smirk twisted his lips. "Only ordering the cheapest well drinks?" he sneered. "Brought the old man here to enjoy the free air conditioning? Trash like you belongs in a dive bar. Who even let you in here?" Anger burned in my chest. I stood up, my jaw clenched. "We're paying customers. What's it to you?" But before I could say another word, his face darkened with pure rage. He snatched the half-finished beer bottle from our table and smashed it on my head. "My girl owns this place!" he snarled. "Even if I crack your skull open, I can afford the payout! You filthy pauper—either get on your knees and lick my shoes dry, or get the hell out of my sight. You're an eyesore." The beer dripped down my face. My hands trembled with fury as I wiped it away. Then, a cold calm settled over me. I opened my phone, switched to the camera, and went live. "Alright, everyone," I said into the screen. "You won't want to miss this. We're going live to catch my cheating wife and see the double life she's been leading."

All the hopes of saving her marriage from crumbling, crashed down for Madeline when her husband, Damien Rosewood gifted her divorce papers on their third wedding anniversary. She failed to give his prestigious family an heir. He accused her of the sins she never committed. Heartbroken and abandoned, she vowed to take back what she lost, her love, her husband. Three years later, she returned as the surrogate of his babies. The table was turned. Madeline had an upper hand over her ex-husband and his family. Slowly, he realized what he had lost and how challenging it will be for him to win her back.

"A great alpha handles pack affairs outside, and chores at home." my mate Luke had posted. I stared at these words. It was a post from my mate, Luke's Instagram. In the picture he was in a vineyard pruning grapes. Chores at home? Luke who would not even help me to clean a table was actually helping someone else. He had left this morning saying he was going on werewolf business, but from these pictures he was at a she-wolf's vineyard in our pack. A bitter smile escaped my lips as I quietly liked the post and put of my phone. Whatever was coming next, I did not know. But I knew it was over.