The Dinner

Selene, the loyal best friend, accidentally has a wild one-night stand with a tall, bearded stranger in a motel during a snowstorm—raw, unforgettable sex she thinks she’ll never repeat. The next day at Gwen’s family dinner, the stranger walks in: it’s CK—Gwen’s lifelong childhood crush and family friend, now their new roommate. Guilt crashes in as Selene realizes she slept with her best friend’s obsession. But the chemistry is too strong to resist. Secret hookups ignite in their shared apartment (kitchen counters, shared bathroom risks, late-night motel dates). They agree to date in hiding—Gwen can never know. Every stolen moment is hotter because it’s wrong. Close calls multiply. CK’s quiet depression cracks around Selene. External pressure builds from ex Megan at his new law firm job. When Gwen starts noticing marks, deleted texts, weird vibes, and the growing distance between her two closest people—the secret begins to crack. The truth explodes at Gwen’s surprise birthday party (puppy reveal, friends, cake). After fallout and healing, Selene and CK reunite months later—no lies, just honest love. Hopeful but scarred ending.

After I bought my new home outright, my relatives organized a housewarming party to celebrate. During dinner, my nephew Leo suddenly said, “You’re just a spinster living alone in a huge apartment. What do you need all that space for? I happen to be getting married soon. That’s a huge deal. You should transfer the place to me. I’ll even cover the transfer fee.” I was stunned. “Are you out of your mind?” His mother Linda said, “How can you be so ungrateful? Him using your place for his newlywed life is doing you a favor. It’ll bring you good luck! Other people would jump at the chance!” The son and mother were united against me. “Anyway, tomorrow’s a great day. Grab the property deed and come with us to transfer ownership!” I rejected them without hesitation and called them crazy. Who knew they would get so furious that they would storm into my brand-new apartment and go on a rampage, smashing everything in sight. They even said smugly, “We need to show you our family doesn’t get pushed around! Go ahead and call the police! What proof do you even have that it was us?” What they did not know was that I had installed surveillance cameras on the day I moved in.

At dinner, Tiffany White grabs my fiance's phone and spends 100 thousand dollars on a designer bag. She even sticks her tongue at me. "Come on, Meredith. You're loaded. You won't mind such a small amount, right? Shawn and I share everything. His money is my money," she says. Everyone at the table waits for me to lose my temper or smile and let it slide like a saint. Instead, I calmly take out a voice recorder and my laptop from my bag and adjust my gold-rimmed glasses. "100 thousand meets the threshold for criminal filing. Since you said you two share everything, I have to ask—is this embezzlement or an illegal transfer tied to an improper personal relationship? "Oh, and what you just said about 'his money is my money'? I recorded that. According to the supplemental clauses in our prenup and the company bylaws, I'm officially initiating an asset-freezing order against Shawn Harrison." I turn to Tiffany. "Enjoy your free meals in prison, Ms. White." Shawn is livid. "It was just a joke, Meredith. Is it really necessary to ruin me over this?" I hit the "enter" key. "Sorry. In my book, there are no jokes—only bad debt."

Rae just wanted to lose her virginity and forget the name of the boy who ruined her first time. So when her wild best friend dares her to visit Club Obsidian - a secret invite-only pleasure club where older men pick submissive girls for one unforgettable night - Rae agrees. She expected nerves. She expected heat. She didn’t expect a hot and sexy tattooed stranger in his forties with a tongue piercing, three rings, and a voice that could melt bone. He didn’t ask for her name. He just whispered, “Dance for me, kitten.” And by morning, Rae was ruined - in the best way possible. But her world shatters when she walks into her mother’s house… and finds him standing in the living room. Because the man who owned her body last night? Is her stepfather’s brother. Her step-uncle. Now he’s living in the pool house, teasing her at dinner, flexing shirtless by the pool, and whispering filthy things when no one’s around. He says it was supposed to be one night. But the way he touches her? The way he stares at her like he’s starving? He doesn’t want to let go. And neither does she. Even if it means losing everything.

On New Year's Eve, my husband, Max Davis, took me to a private dinner hosted by a big industry player. We had barely made our way around the room when a strange woman suddenly shoved me into the pool. When I insisted on checking the surveillance footage and calling the police, Max firmly held me back. He warned me to "remember my place" and not embarrass him in front of everyone. In the brief time I changed into another gown, I returned to find that same woman perched on my husband's lap, her red lipstick leaving traces on his collar. "Max, you're right! That nasty scar on her stomach really does look like a centipede. It's so hideous!" She giggled with mock innocence, adding, "It's been so fun messing with your wife. Next time, can I slap her when no one's looking?" Meanwhile, Max gazed at her like she was the only woman in the world, gently tracing his finger over her nose. "Of course, you can," he replied, eyes still locked on hers. "I'll even tie her hands behind her back for you."

Yvonne Larson, my housekeeper, has always been punctual, but she ends up being late today. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Carter. Dinner's not ready yet. I hope you won't mind. I had no choice. I waited for over half an hour, but no one got the door for me. I even called Mrs. Carter a few times, but she didn't take my calls. That's why I ended up running late." Halfway through changing into my house slippers, I pause and frown. "Yvonne, didn't Susanna give you the access card to the apartment?" Yvonne looks confused. "The access card? Mrs. Carter never gave me any card." "Never?" "That's right," Yvonne confirms timidly while wiping the sweat off her brow. "For the past month, I've always had to call Mrs. Carter and ask her to open the door for me. She wasn't picking up her phone today, so I had to wait outside…" That's strange. I've checked the logs before. The access card has been used multiple times throughout the past month.

I discovered two things after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. I was first on what appeared to be a fake marriage certificate with Julian Fitzgerald. I had raised my son for six years, and he was already aware of it. In fact, he wanted his mother to be someone else. It was then that I realised my life was just a hoax. Seven years of not being in touch with my family, keeping myself solitary and making sacrifices but it was all just plain cruel. So, I did three things. The husband and son who had betrayed me, I went missing. In preparation for our seventh wedding anniversary, I called off the romantic dinner reservation made a month ago. Besides my participation in several health-related group discussions, I also left my son's kindergarten parent groups. These groups were all designed to improve the well-being of my husband and son. My second action was to contact my physician and request a stress evaluation. I requested a special prescription to prevent any complications that might arise during my international travel. The third person I contacted was my older sister, whom she had not been in touch with for seven years. My words were, "To marry in a place where I don't belong to my family is just miserable."

I messed up—big time. Blurting out at a family dinner that my boss, neighbor, and best friend’s brother, Arnold, asked me to be his wedding date was not my finest moment. Mortified, I’m ready to apologize and smooth things over with his family, but Arnold? He’s not having it. Instead, he doubles down, proposing a wild plan: a fake relationship that suits us both.The deal? Three months of playing the perfect couple while my toddler and I live in his house, rent-free. In return, Arnold shields me from my toxic ex, and I help him dodge the town’s relentless matchmaking efforts. It’s the perfect arrangement—until the lines between fake and real start to blur.Arnold’s not just playing a role. He’s reading bedtime stories to my son, cooking us meals, and kissing me like the world might end if he stops. With every tender touch and stolen glance, he makes me feel seen, desired, in a way I’ve never known. The guestroom feels colder each night when his strong, tattooed arms are just down the hall, calling to me.As our forbidden kisses deepen, so does the risk. Are we crafting a love that could break us? Or are we building something breathtakingly real?

Born into a blended family, Chantelle grew up on the sidelines, raised with love by her grandmother after her mother's death. Shut out by her father Gérard, dominated by his new wife Rhonda, and relegated to the background behind her pretentious stepsister Mégane, she learned to survive in silence. When her grandmother is diagnosed with a terminal illness, Chantelle's world crumbles. With no family support and overwhelmed by medical bills, she accepts a desperate proposition: one hundred nights for one million euros, with a wealthy man whose identity she will never know. The rules are simple. A blindfold over her eyes, a stranger's touch, and silence. He never speaks. She never sees. He leaves her with anonymous bank transfers... and the haunting scent of his perfume as her only memory. Twelve nights pass. Then, forced by her father to attend a family dinner, Chantelle comes face to face with Mégane's fiancé: Collen Wilkerson—the cold, unapproachable CEO of the powerful corporation where she works as a simple employee. He is a man she knows only from a distance. Arrogant. Untouchable. But when he steps closer, a familiar scent wraps around her, and the world stops. It's his perfume. The same as the masked man. She has already spent twelve nights in his arms. And there are still eighty-eight to go.

One Night. One Mistake. One Deal That Changes Everything. Sienna thought her four-year anniversary dinner would end with a ring, not a breakup. Shattered and drowning in heartbreak, one reckless night leads her into the arms of a sinfully attractive stranger. But when morning comes, reality hits hard, and she flees without a trace. Back home, her life is anything but stable. A wicked adoptive mother, a spiteful sister, and looming medical bills for the only father figure she’s ever known weigh heavily on her shoulders. Just when she thinks things can’t get worse, she meets her new boss at Weston Corp—Lucas Jones. The same tattooed stranger from that unforgettable night. Lucas, bruised by her disappearance, wastes no time making her squirm. Then he offers a shocking deal: pretend to be his fiancée for six months and he will pay off her father’s hospital bills in full. Now Sienna must survive working under the gaze of her arrogant, dangerously charming boss while keeping their past, and their growing chemistry, a secret. But enemies lurk in the shadows, and secrets from the past begin to unravel. What will happen when Sienna discovers that her tangled fate with Lucas isn’t a coincidence but destiny? A sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance filled with secrets, revenge, and a love that might just rewrite the past.