The Cold Start Problem Novels & Stories

My daughter suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and urgently needed to be taken to the hospital. However, the ambulance was blocked by my wife's car. She was carrying the man she had always loved, who only had a cold. She refused to move and even got into a fierce argument with the paramedics. She said, "Whether your patient lives or dies has nothing to do with me. I have a patient in my car as well. Why should I give way?" In the end, my daughter missed the critical window for treatment and passed away. From that moment on, my heart was completely dead. I took my wife to court.

Julian Vance is the disciplined, fiercely proud captain of the university ice hockey team. His sworn enemy is Kael Sterling, the arrogant and explosive star player of their rival school. When a brutal game ends in a locker room confrontation, a dangerous bet sparks a dark obsession. But the stakes shatter when Julian's mother and Kael's father unexpectedly marry. Now, forced to live under the same roof and play for the same team, their fierce rivalry turns into an agonizing forced proximity. Society's rules dictate they are forbidden, and their mutual hatred demands they stay apart, but the electric tension between them refuses to be ignored. As the ice melts and boundaries blur, Julian and Kael must decide if their forbidden connection will cost them their dreams, or if surrendering to each other is the ultimate victory.

To drown away her pain from a harsh breakup, Jayda went to a bar to get wasted. She met Sebastian Miller, The multimillionaire with the worst personality but incredibly sexy. She had a one night stand with him, creating a bond that binds them forever!

“Darlene Roberts, you're under arrest for the death of George Martins.”I look up with misty eyes only to see a bunch of cops, guns blazing and aimed at me. Funny enough, I don't even freeze neither do I panic. My attention goes back to my ex lover whose limp body is still warm with blood oozing from his forehead and chest. His shirt is torn and his big eyes are staring blankly at me. I've managed to help shut his mouth which was agape and his twisted lips. It seems he had put up one hell of a struggle before he gave up the ghost.“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in the court of law.Does the cop mean what he has just said? I mean, I'm not the murderer here. I rushed here to help as soon as I could!

My younger sister, Sofia Moretti, and I grow up on milk. While our peers are showing no signs of growth, both of us are blessed with an early puberty. Our father, a mafia Don, is worried that we might get tricked into giving our bodies away to young men at an early age, so he has been nurturing two confidants for us when we were still kids. After we come of age, Dad makes each of us choose one as a fiancé. Sofia is the first one to pick Dante, the tall, well-built, and cold-looking older brother. The only choice I have left is Luca, the younger brother who has gotten partially disfigured by an enemy and often wakes up in fright due to the nightmares. In my previous life, I knew that once I rejected Luca, who had PTSD from his past, he'd definitely get kicked out of my family. No one would be able to protect him anymore. So, I took the initiative to accept the marriage proposal. Since Luca tended to jolt awake from his nightmares and tremble violently, I moved to the room next door so that I could guard his door at all times. Whenever Luca was insulted or mocked by my uncles and relatives at family meetings, I'd dig out my pistol and slap it onto the table to shut them up. I spent three years accompanying Luca to therapy sessions. That was how I learned to pick up on every symptom he exhibited before he went into his anxiety mode. I thought I'd be able to touch Luca's heart by offering him my own. But when an enemy family set up a trap that resulted in my and Sofia's kidnapping, they plunged poisonous blades through our stomachs and forced Luca to choose to only save one of us with an antidote. That was when Luca gave the antidote to Sofia without hesitation. "Sorry, but Sofia needs the antidote more than you do." It turned out that Luca had been in love with Sofia this whole time. After Luca picked Sofia up and was about to leave, he murmured to me, "If there ever is a next lifetime, I'll use my life to pay this debt." My final memory of that lifetime consisted of the scorching pain that ate through my organs left behind by the poison. When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day I'm supposed to pick out my fiance.

It's Thanksgiving, and I'm waiting for Zeke Jones to come home after cooking up an extravagant meal. When Zeke returns, he doesn't even glance at the meal I've prepared for him. Instead, he proceeds to pack a bag. "I can't celebrate Thanksgiving with you this year," he says. I take another bite of my turkey and say nothing. At the stroke of midnight, Zeke's first love posts a new photo on her social media page. In the photo, she's lying on Zeke's back with a bright smile on her face. The moon outside the window is bright. "Happy to spend Thanksgiving with good company," her caption reads. Instead of hysterically questioning Zeke about the post, I just tap on the "like" button without reacting in any way. Zeke calls me. His voice sounds panicked as he tries to explain himself. "Please don't misinterpret the post. I will definitely spend Thanksgiving with you next year…" I freeze for a few moments, letting out a small laugh. I don't offer him a reply. Next time, he says? Oh, Zeke, I'm afraid there won't be a next time.

The room fell into a stunned silence. The council members exchanged glances, unsure of how to proceed. King Magnus continued, his voice resonating with power. "I wish to claim her as my mate." He said. The whole grove grew silent as the impact of his words drove home. The wolves turned to each other in disbelief. I could see the effort Jax was making trying to control his temper, his voice was close to the edge. "Sorry my Lord. Did you say you want to claim her as your mate." Lycan King Magnus's gaze turned piercing, his voice steady but filled with a warning. "You heard right so I won't repeat myself. You forget, Jax, that I have the power to claim Sophie as my mate seeing as you just rejected her. Or are you prepared to face the consequences of standing in my way?.." Rejected by her Alpha on her third wedding anniversary after she caught him cheating on her with his sister, Nikini, the timid Sophie Liam is at a crossroad in life. The brooding Lycan king, King Magnus unexpectedly claims her after the rejection. Just when she's had a fresh start with him and finds herself growing attached, her former mate, Alpha Jax comes back into the picture to take her back. Would she forgive him and take him back or stay on with her new found mate.

Having dated for five years and been married for seven, she had never missed his birthday in the past 12 years. The 12 gifts from previous years were carefully placed in the storage closet. However, this year's birthday gift...

"You whore!" A masculine voice. "You philanderer!" A feminine voice. "I'll kill you in this house!" He bellowed as he charged straight to the woman and started beating her up. The little boy stood at the door and watched his parents go about their daily routine, tears spilled from his eyes. He stood in the shadows, just watching and crying. If he speaks out loud, they'll remember him and his father will beat him also. No one remembers him. Not unless they want to beat him too. Then he saw the blow, heard the awful sound. The blow that made a difference. The blow that made that day stand out from every other day. His mom stopped screaming, she laid there on the floor, staring into nothingness. Dead. "Gia." His dad paused mid-beating. No answer. "Gianna!" He patted her white arms turned red from being beaten. Terror filled the little boy's system, a sound escaped his mouth, drawing the man's attention. "Oops. I've forgotten about you." He said to the little boy. "Mom's dead..." The little boy said in a tiny voice. The man looked down at the lifeless white woman, "Seems like it." He looked at the boy with an eye filled with menace. "You'll pretend you didn't see a thing. You'll......" The siren rang outside. The police had arrived. A neighbour had alerted them when he heard the noise. He watched as the policemen pointed their guns at his father. He watched as they took his father away. He remained hidden, his blue eyes returning to the woman who laid on the floor, with eyes as blue as his. She was staring right at him. Finally, she sees him. Only in death, did she really see him. Something died in that little boy that day. Replaced with bitterness.

Mom, Dad, and Jesse—my younger sister—went out to sea on a trip, but they were caught in a tsunami, and all three perished in the accident. I was left all alone—just as I was about to start university—burdened with nothing but a mountain of debt. In the end, everything I had saved for my university tuition, along with the house Mom and Dad had left me, was taken by debt collectors. I was then forced to work in a shady factory, laboring 16 hours a day, sleeping in a shabby ten-person dorm, and surviving on nothing but thin, flavorless broth. I finally cleared the last of the debt when I accidentally discovered that Jesse—who was supposed to be dead—had appeared on television and become a famous dancer. Mom and Dad even gave an interview about her success. It turned out they had taken out a massive loan and faked their deaths to flee to Pravia for Jesse's dance studies, leaving the entire debt for me to deal with just as I was supposed to start university. I went to confront them, demanding the truth, but they threw me out like trash. I was then hit and killed by a speeding truck at the side of the road. "How could Lorraine be such a nuisance, not even having the decency to die far away from our doorstep?" I have been given another chance, reborn on the day they faked their deaths.