This Is 40

He was my first love. My biggest regret. And now? He's my stepbrother. Five years ago, Cade Blackwood James disappeared after one perfect night that changed everything. Now he's back, more dangerous than ever, and living under the same roof. Our parents just got married. They think we're strangers. They're wrong. Every rule says we should stay away. Every touch says we can't. And when he backs me against the wall and whispers, "You've always been mine," I know we're both going to hell. But first? We're going to burn. He was my first. He'll be my last. Even if it destroys us both. Forbidden. Explosive. Unforgettable.

A decade has past since Evangel set her eyes on the man she hated with her whole heart. Her ex boyfriend Trenton Wade. A handsome playboy who broke her heart several years ago. She never expected to see him again and was shocked to find him at her father's birthday as handsome as ever with that devilish smirk on his face pleading for her to smack it off. Worse of it all she never expected to find out that her father has arranged a marriage between her and the bastard. Never. Hell will freeze before Evangel agrees to marry the bastard and she will do everything in her power to make sure it doesn't happen. Trenton Wade has had everything handed over to him. The word responsibility has never been used in the same sentence with his name. All he had ever cared about was women and having fun. He was the resident playboy. A reckless mistake on his path is about to drown his father's company and he must find a way to save it or risk losing everything to his half brother. What better way could he find than running towards their company rival for help, only the help comes with a price. He must marry his daughter. A daughter that turns out to be the woman he hurt years ago and hates his guts Will Trent be able to convince Evangel to marry him and what happens when two others comes into the midst. A drama filled with a lot of twist is what you get.

24-year-old, Zackary “Zack” Hernandez has aquaphobia, or a person who has a fear of water. Determined to cure his phobia and to reunite with his childhood friends, he decided to go back to the lake house where he was born and to also figure out the truth behind his nightmares that seemed to happen in the lake house. Before going there, here are the only things they expected to happen: have a blissful reunion, have extraordinary birthday celebrations, a relaxing vacation, to meet his grandparents and sister again, and of course to go back home safe and sound. But what they did not know was they only got themselves on the serial killer's hands and now it's impossible to go back. The shocking, gripping, and wicked THRILLER story of family, betrayals, and heinous crimes. That will surely make you think of how much knowledge do you know about the history of your family.

“Who am I supposed to be this time — the boy they love, or the man they lost?” Eli, a 25-year-old orphan who’s fought his whole life to survive, finally lands his dream job. But before he can take his first real breath of happiness, a freak accident claims his life. When he wakes up, he’s in the body of a 19-year-old boy with his same name, a rich family, and everything Eli never had. But behind the family’s perfect smiles lurk whispers of betrayal, greed, and death. Then, the memories come. Not just his own — but those of another man: a brilliant young CEO, poisoned by his own stepmother and stepsister. Two souls. Two deaths. One body. And one haunting question: Why him? As Eli’s worlds collide, so do the people who once loved them. — The CEO’s secret crush who swore revenge. — The orphan’s loyal boyfriend who refuses to move on. — The young heir’s fiancée who senses a stranger behind familiar eyes. Now burdened with three lives’ worth of pain, love, and unfinished stories, Eli must uncover the truth behind his rebirth… and decide whether this second life is a chance for redemption — or the cruelest punishment of all.

On New Year's Eve, I waited at home with a box of sparklers, hoping Jake Thompson would come. Instead, an earthquake struck. Trapped under fallen debris, I prayed for his safety. Little did I know, Jake was putting on a grand fireworks display across the city for his high school sweetheart who had just returned from abroad. The whole town buzzed with excitement, wishing them a lifetime of happiness together. Meanwhile, I had lost my hearing in the disaster, with no hope of recovery. When I tried to break off our engagement and leave town, Jake stood before me, his eyes red-rimmed and pleading. I couldn't understand a word he said. I simply wished him, “May you always have a day like today, year after year.”

My roommate was a classic bimbo. When I went to arrange a jogging meetup, she mistyped it as a hookup and sent it straight into the group chat, then burst into tears and claimed she didn't know how to retract the message. When I went to meet my jogging buddy, she told everyone that she ran into my "hookup buddy." At the end, she even covered her mouth and giggled sweetly, saying, "I always mix words up." After a few stunts like that, my reputation was utterly ruined, and the entire class shut me out. Later, she used her "clumsiness" as an excuse to spike my milk with sleeping pills, causing me to miss a major exam. She even dropped toxic bacteria into my water cup and killed me outright. And all of it was over something that stupid: the guy she had a crush on had casually helped me carry my luggage on the first day of school. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very first day of freshman orientation. This time, I am going to let her experience what it felt like to be ruined—and killed—by a so-called idiot.

I know I shouldn’t want him. Or them. There’s my best friend’s father, whose low, velvety voice makes my pulse stutter whenever he speaks. My stepbrother, whose accidental touches make my skin burn with unspoken tension. And my sister’s mate, whose cold, lingering gaze betrays a hunger I shouldn’t see. Every glance, every brush of skin, drags me deeper into temptation. Every heartbeat reminds me that wanting them is dangerous, forbidden… and maybe reckless. I’m caught between loyalty, morality, and desire, and every moment I give in only makes the fire stronger. Some lines aren’t meant to be crossed. Some fires are impossible to resist. And I’m learning the hard way… forbidden has never felt this good.

Ethan Ring lives in a province with all his life. His life is perfect. He is rich, and he runs their farm; he's in charge of it. But he did not go through college, and that's fine. A decision was made one day when he decided to live in the city. He wants to experience the life of living in the city, hearing the bus's horns, screech, and hearing people talk about different things. Mostly, he wants to experience going into college, finish a degree.His stay in the city was more than studying. He'll meet two men that will drastically change his life – and help him discover his identity. One will give him pain, and one will give him happiness. One is a student, and one is a professor. The question is: which is which?It will be him who decides how his life will turn out.Every decision that he makes is meant to happen. Everything is meant to be.

Over the weekend, I went with my best friend to one of the premium auto shops owned by my company to get her car serviced. Just as we were about to leave, someone stopped me and ordered me to wipe down her car. I explained that I didn't work there, but she got angry anyway. She flipped a 10-cent coin at my face. "Consider it an honor that I'm letting you wash my car. A broke girl like you has probably never even seen a luxury car in her life! I'm trying to broaden your horizons, and you're not even grateful?" I shot back, "You're right. I've never met a car owner who can only spare 10 cents. Consider my horizons broadened." She exploded on the spot. "Do you even know who I am? The chairman of the Penzo Group is my mother-in-law! Scared now?" I paused for a beat, then calmly called Leo Penzo. "I hear your mother went behind my back and found you a new wife?"

Every person who crossed to our life have a past that we want to be concealed and buried. There are things that happend that we don't want to talk about. And we are one of those people who wants to forget what that person did. And there are secrets we are hiding that we can't stop from the day it would be revealed. ************ Once upon a time, a girl named Ultear Acosta tried to pursue the man she loves but at the end of the day. She was tired and finally stumbled. Ultear was tired because Sting never tried to look at her and paid a bit of attention to her. Eventually, she fell out and got injured. Ultear was the only one who lost the battle, as she was the only one who is fighting for it either. But in her returns. Destiny once tested her again by the strength she had built up over the years. To fight the battle, she loss. Would she fight again for her happy ending, or would she just let the fear take her and run away again?