The Dinner

I’d just wrapped up a short trip with my daughter, Elara. On the way back, I figured I’d swing by the Hale, our family’s casino, to check in on my son, Cassian. Maybe grab dinner together. I didn’t expect to be mistaken for his latest fling. Correction: not mistaken—accused. Violently. “You think you can just waltz in here like some queen?” she hissed. “I’m the woman Cassian loves! What kind of whore are you? And is this your bastard daughter with him?” She locked us in the basement. No phone. No light. Just concrete walls and the stench of mildew and madness. Then came the fists. She slapped me across the face—again and again—until my skin stung and my ears rang. When that didn’t satisfy her, she pulled a gun and aimed low. The bullet tore through my knee. I bit back a scream, shielding Elara with my body. “You need to die, whore,” she spat. One of her men hesitated, “We should at least tell Mr. Hale first. If we are going to kill these two in his casino.” Lila of course said no. But that man brought Cassian anyway. My son stepped into this dark little room like it was any other Tuesday—until he saw me. His whole body went still. The blood drained from his face. And then, in the smallest, most broken voice I’d ever heard from him, he whispered, “Mom? What are you doing in my basement?”

My husband, Commander Jonathan Shelby, was leaving for the military. During his farewell dinner, our neighbor, Mrs. Murphy spoke with glee, as if she was gloating at somebody else’s misfortune. “You’re truly a magnanimous woman. Commander Shelby gave his military spouse quota to Anna instead of you, and you’re still sending him off!” I found her statement ridiculous. “Impossible. My husband hates pulling strings. In the past, he also had a quota on hand. Instead of giving it to me, he gave it to an educated young man so that he could return to his city.” Mrs. Murphy only grew more animated. “I saw the approval report with my own eyes. Under the column of Commander Shelby’s family member, the name ‘Anna Stewart’ was written on it. “Commander Shelby has been supporting two households for a long time. Weren’t you aware of it?” I felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck me. I turned to look at my parents and Jonathan. Guilt was written all over their faces. My parents took my hand. “Anna is a widow. Being a widow alone has already spoiled her reputation. If she remains in the village, they’d judge her for the rest of her life. “Nancy, you’re Jonathan’s legal wife. You need to help her out.” At that moment, my heart ached as if someone had sliced it piece by piece. Fine. I would be as magnanimous as they wanted me to be. I would personally give Jonathan to his widowed sister-in-law.

For six years, I was the perfect wife. I ironed the linen. I cut the roses. I swallowed every humiliation with a smile. And told myself that patience was the same thing as strength. I was wrong. When my husband sat me down at my own dinner table and ordered me to apologize to his mistress—The woman he had been choosing over me, openly, for years—something inside me didn't Break. It crystallized. I picked up my bag. I walked out into the Detroit Cold. And three blocks later, standing under a streetlamp on East Jefferson, I made a phone call that shattered everything I thought I knew about myself. My name is not what he called me. I am not the powerless orphan he laughed at as I walked out his door. I am not the woman with nowhere to go and no one waiting for her. I am Serena Caldwell—lost daughter of a billionaire empire, heiress to legacy twenty years in the making. And the last woman my husband ever should have humiliated at her own table. He thought discarding me was the easiest thing he had ever done. He had no idea it was the last mistake he would ever make. I spent six years being invisible. Now I am coming back—not as the broken wife he betrayed, but as the woman who will dismantle everything he built, brick by brick, until there is nothing left but the echo of his own arrogance. He wanted me gone. He has no idea what gone look like yet.

As soon as I receive my year-end bonus, I transfer 100 thousand dollars to my wife, Zoe Steele, so that she can prepare the holiday gifts for both families right away. I even tell her to buy the best quality gifts for our parents, especially the box of premium liquor meant for my dad. On New Year's Eve, I rush home to have dinner with my parents. But weirdly enough, Dad, who's an avid drinker, starts having tea instead of liquor at the dining table. This leaves me perplexed. "Dad, why aren't you cracking open a bottle of liquor for yourself during the holidays?" With a smile on my face, I get up to my feet so that I can carry the box of liquor over. "Zoe had someone buy the liquor for you, you know. I hear that the taste is exceptional." "Stop!" Dad slams his pipe against the table loudly, his face a starking shade of crimson. "Edgar, don't ever send such gifts home. I know that life is difficult for you in the city and that making money is hard. We Kennedys may be poor, but we are people with pride! "Now, everyone in the village is gossiping about us behind our backs! They claim that I've been boasting about your wealth!" Dad's words confuse me to no end. After I unscrew a bottle of liquor, I sip from it, only to feel thunderstruck. This isn't premium liquor at all! This is just mineral water packaged as liquor!

Princess Ruthyelia Celeste Nobingale is the first-born princess of the country of Rinovea. She has a rather goofy and down-to-earth attitude for a princess. She considers this as her imperfections and thinks that she is not fit to be a princess, let alone a Queen. To be a Queen, she needs to be married, but she is in a secret relationship with one of her royal guards, Sir Angelo. Ruthy was in charge of a parade for their village where she meets another man named Noah who was a baker. She meets him once again during the party where a terrorist attack happened, but Noah saved her. To express her gratitude, she offers Noah a new bakery and her parents invited him to work in the palace. In continuation of the party, the royal family of Wierxia was invited to Rinovea to join Ruthy and her family. During dinner, they talked about marriage and the King of Wierxia suggested to marry off his son, Prince Thomas to Princess Ruthy. Princess Ruthy now spends time with Noah and Prince Thomas in which Sir Angelo got jealous of. Ruthy and Angelo then got into a fight that made them both question their feelings for each other. When the new bakery for Noah was finished constructing, they paid it a visit, but they got attacked by terrorists. Sir Angelo, who was with them, got seriously injured and Ruthy realized how much she loves him and how scared she was to lose him. When they got back to the palace, Sir Angelo was immediately admitted to the hospital wing. Princess Ruthy visits him every day and one day, when she was begging for him to wake up while holding his hand, the Queen, her mother, saw it all.

It was a season that felt like heaven was frowning at her, Tracy, trying to recover from an abusive relationship which eventually crashed while being pulled into the anguish of her dying sister which added a major weight on her life , facing a difficult financial challenge so her life can be saved. It could only get worse , serving as a maid under a rich boss lady, Mrs Ava who has a touch of fierce and unmerciful ideology. Things took a turn just overnight when Mark, the only son of Mrs Ava decided to bite his mom's foot by proclaiming a facade of affection for Tracy out of the blue at a dinner right in her presence and her guests , giving a deep romantic kiss. All this was due to his mom stomping his head by trying to merge him with Chloe in a marriage he doesn't have any interest in. Tracy shocked, the whole table burning in rage and sinking in disappointment, it was meant to be a night where Mark would meet his spouse to be and her family, but he used Tracy as a Decoy to burst the bile in the meat and the whole table was displeased For Tracy, she couldn't believe her eyes as the whole scenario led to further dismaying scenes in her life. Mark proposed a contract marriage with all of her needs being met at the expense of her signature after, and Tracy capitalized. It was a blessing at first, but she isn't prepared for what is coming. An endless warfare of which she was no match for, a marriage likened to a punishment, scandals, block sucking enemies who go all the way for their wants and a life full of discoveries

"W-What do you want?" "I want to see the girl who saved me. Do you know who I am?" James sharply gazed up at Delilah's blue eyes. Delilah innocently shook her head at him. "From now on, call me, Mr. J." James Harristian, aka James Belgenza, is the mafia leader of Daga Nero, a splinter group of one of the oldest famous mafia families in Naples. Apart from his powerful ruler of the town who controlled the underground weapon industry in Europe, James was also a successful owner of a high-tech motor company. One day, James was deceived into a scam dinner by his mistress. It strived to kill him, but somehow, he escaped. Being trapped in gunshots with his enemy, a flower girl saves James' life from his shameful miserable death. Delilah is a flower girl who runs a small flower shop in an alley in Naples. She thought innocently helping James to get to the hospital without wondering who the man was. When James has another chance to breathe, he does not feel grateful to his savior unless to kidnaps her. Unfortunately, Delilah turns out to be a collateral of her father's debt, which ran off unable to pay. Therefore, he intentionally kept Delilah in his mansion and added more debts to confine her forever. What will happen when the debt is only a scheme to kill James and Delilah is a pawn? Meanwhile, James falls for Delilah, who tries hard to pay her unpaid debt.

During a family dinner, I, Ingrid Sutherland, bring up divorce. My husband, Samuel Ziegler, lets out a cold laugh in exasperation. "Are you mad just because I peeled a banana for Whitney two days ago? I can't believe you're still throwing a tantrum over that now! She's my sister-in-law. What's wrong if I show her a little bit more care?" He did the same thing in my past life. Ever since his older brother, Charles Ziegler, got seriously hurt, Samuel always put me last and prioritized taking care of the supposedly weaker Whitney Lovette. Whenever I voiced my dissatisfaction, he would criticize me while standing on an irrefutable moral high ground. He would say, "Why can't you be more understanding and cut Whitney some slack?" When it was Whitney's birthday, she proposed going on a skiing trip. But then, an avalanche hit us. Samuel protected her the whole time and led her down the mountain. However, he left me to die in the avalanche. It was then I realized that Whitney was not just his sister-in-law, but also the one he loved. When I remain silent, Samuel chuckles derisively. "You'd better not regret it." It's like he's sure I'm just throwing a tantrum. In one fluid movement, he glides a pen across the bottom of the page, confident and composed. But this time, I'm really giving up on him for good.

My father, Benjamin Ward, was bedridden, paralyzed, and unable to move. The AI model he spent his entire life developing—a model powerful enough to cure terminal diseases—had been stolen and published under someone else's name. Humiliated beyond endurance, he suffered a stroke and collapsed. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even write. I swore I'd find the thief who destroyed him. My girlfriend, Maris Dawn, wept and promised to help me uncover the truth. But at a dinner party, when her first love proudly announced that he'd been specially recruited by a national research lab thanks to that very model, she immediately grabbed my arm, whispering, "Don't make a scene. Grayson just wants a good future. Don't ruin his life." Grayson Vale smirked with disdain. "The old man was about to retire anyway. Think of it as recycling waste." My vision went red. I charged at him, ready to make him pay for what he'd done to my father. Maris tripped me before I could reach him. She threw a check for ten million in my face. "Here's for your dad's medical care. Don't be shameless, alright? Grayson is a rising star. You're just a broke grad student. You should learn your place." I tore the check apart, piece by piece. That check could never buy the Dawn family a future in the world of science.

"Are you warm for me Belle? " "Scorching. " She whispered back as he traced his hand along her inner thigh. She could feel the ache between her legs. Christian nibbled in her ear and whispered huskily. "Then let me turn the heat off. " Isabelle blue has her life under control, a boyfriend, a trustworthy best friend and a caring family until her cousin accuses her of drugging him and forcing herself on him. Sam produces photographs of the scene during a get together dinner, depicting Isabelle on top of his unconscious body. No one believes her including her father who disowns her. To worsen it all, Isabelle can't remember what happened during the party that Sam claimed she had abused him. In search of emotional support, Isabelle goes to her boyfriend's place Dylan. She is not prepared to find her best friend in the hands of her boyfriend, moving sensually in passionate love making. Thrust in a world of hurt, she finds herself in a nearby park in darkness. She almost succumbs to the betrayal but one man lurking in the shadow comes to her rescue. She ends up having sex with a stranger who turns out to be her patient the very next day. What happens when they can't control their feelings towards one another? Will Christian help her uncover what happened the night Sam took the pictures? Will Christian and Isabelle survive hurt, betrayal and secrets? Or will they end up being lethal enemies?