Very Short Bedtime Stories

Four days after my death, my four-year-old daughter finally sensed that something was terribly wrong. The fridge door slammed into her forehead when she tried to get a snack. Normally, I would've been there in a heartbeat—arms open, kisses ready, whispering, "You're okay, sweetheart, Mommy's here." But this time, I just lay on the bed, cold and still.​ She didn't understand. She thought the sweet treat would make me respond. So she held the final piece of chocolate up to my mouth. "Here, Mommy. Have some chocolate..." But I didn't even blink. She climbed into my arms, clutching my clothes tightly. "Mommy... Mommy, wake up..." She waited for me to stroke her hair, to tell her that everything was going to be fine. There was only silence.​ Completely lost and scared, she found my phone. "Daddy, why is Mommy still sleeping?" she asked, her voice filled with desperation.​ In response, Oliver sent a photo of himself having Christmas Eve dinner with his childhood sweetheart. His voice was icy cold when he replied, "She's just sleeping, not dead. It's Christmas Eve, and I'm busy. Tell her to stop playing games and come apologize when she's done sulking." Then he hung up.​ But when the truth finally hit Oliver—when the coroner's report came, when the police knocked on his door right in the middle of his laughter, when he realized I'd been lying dead for four days while he toasted—he broke.

"How can you say that about me, Nathan? I never had a kid!" Aaron Fuller protests. My wife, Jenny Green, stands protectively in front of him. "That's enough! You can't slander Aaron just because you're jealous of him. Just you wait, Nathan. I haven't settled the score with you for calling Aaron this afternoon and insulting him!"

During summer break, I took my son, Luke Thorne, diving at our private beach. Ralph Foster, a hotshot TV actor, suddenly showed up with a whole entourage and barged in. "This is a private beach that Gloria personally secured for me to entertain VIPs. You two nobodies had better get lost right now!" He threw his weight around and even dragged my wife, Gloria Stokes, out as a threat. When he learned who I was, he went a step further and mocked me as a kept man living off my wife. I actually laughed. I was the head of the Thornes, the most powerful family in Frenkinston. Since when did I become some freeloading, useless husband? On top of that, Gloria's film studio and every bit of her backing came from me. But when Gloria arrived, she sided with Ralph and actually tried to force Luke to put on a show for some sleazy investors. Sneering, I made a call that only the head of the Thornes had the authority to make. "Shark Vanguard, clear Crescent Bay. Now."

At one in the morning, the general manager posted the project assignments in the group chat and tagged everyone. I reviewed my responsibilities carefully, going through each detail to make sure I understood exactly what was expected of me. When I was done, I typed a simple "OK" and hit send. Two seconds later, my phone rang. It was him. As soon as I answered, his voice came through, icy and sharp, filled with unmistakable disgust. "Eric, I'm very disappointed in you. I must have been blind to trust you with anything important." My mind went completely blank. "What… what do you mean?" I asked, the words slipping out before I could stop them. What he said next was something I never could have imagined.

"Good afternoon sir. Deposit po ulit?" saka ako ngumiti ng pilit. ''Yes please. Sabi ko naman sa'yo araw-araw akong babalik e. Ibigay mo na kasi number mo." "Hay naku sir, ako ang magbibigay sa'yo .." "Claire ano ba, wag ka nga.." putol ko sa sasabihin pa nya. "O sige. Let's date then." A happy-go-lucky Australian-Filipino man change his ways for a naive and strong-willed woman, how they fell in love despite their differences and how beautiful their relationship has become after so many struggles they've met along the way. The sweetness and bitterness of their love journey and how they conquer to stand with each other from kilig moments to a whirlwind romance... Get hooked with Andy and Ash and be inspired with their love escapades.

"I despise everything about him," Ayisha Duffel always says whenever her path crosses with Kian, the Academy's heir and campus crush. They don't get along, just like cats and dogs. Their relationship is perfect when they are on campus, but when they are outside the campus, they despise each other to the moon and back. How did it all start? Why has it gotten to the point where the relationship has already been contracted? Will they be real in real life? Will they truly love one another? But what if you know that the person you're learning to love's life is in danger? Can you give up your life for him/her? Come on in and let's figure everything out together.

My husband was working over the holidays, again. He’d been sent out of town to oversee one of the Family’s dock operations and a string of gambling houses.. I decided to buy a ticket and surprise him. Only business class was left. Staring at the five-figure price, I gritted my teeth and spent a year’s worth of savings. Then I couldn’t even figure out how to pull down the damn tray table. The socialite seated next to me let out a cold laugh. “Never flown business class before?” I forced an awkward smile. “My apologies. You must be… important. You have that aura.” “Oh, me? No. The man who keeps me is important. He’d charter a private jet if I asked. Business class is practically slumming it.” I blinked. “A… keeper? That’s rare.” “Not really. I’m his secretary. I mess up a lot. Cost him a fortune. He yells at me until I cry. And then, well… crying leads to other things.” She winked. “You know how it is.” “Funny,” I said, my voice tight. “My husband has an assistant who helps him manage accounts for the docks. She’s always messing things up too.” “You’re married?” She looked me over, head to toe. “My man has a wife about your age. Says he’s sick of her. That touching her is boring. Says I’m more exciting just brushing my hair out of my face.” She leaned closer. “I told him I wanted to see him for New Year’s. So he told the wife he had to work.” The diamond on her finger caught the light. It was identical to the wedding band I’d lost. My body went cold. No. Matteo was just a low-level enforcer. A foot soldier the Family occasionally trusted with small operations—dock shipments, backroom gambling, nothing more. When did he become a Don?

Two women fighting different fates. Freya should be content as Luna of Rising Star but everything about her twisted mate repulses her. Even when she has a chance at happiness she's forced back to where it all began to try and save the people she loves. Including Zeke, her damaged, gruff bodyguard. Zena doesn't give a f--k. Until she suddenly has to, when her coven demands her talents. But her casual attitude has left with her with one unrequited love, one obsessive stalker and a quiet, heartstruck man who will battle everything to prove she's more than a tool for everyone else's Fate. Book 2 of the Shadowlands Series (Can all be read standalone) Book 1: A Damaged Alpha Book 2: The Luna Who Wants Everything Book 3: Resisting the Beta (2024) First Generation: White Forest Pack Series (can all be read standalone) Book 1: A Banished Alpha Book 2: The Luna's Rejected Assassin Book 3: The Beta's Prize

Right before my wedding, my fiancé, Benjamin Gray, holds another wedding at an old settlement with his true love, who has lung cancer. He holds Jennifer Robinson close and smiles tenderly at her underneath the starry sky. "According to the local customs here, the woman whose wedding is held first is considered a man's actual wife. I might have already registered my marriage with Samantha, but she's more like my mistress." Everyone cheers and blesses them as they toast each other and enter their room for the night. I witness all of this, but I don't cry or kick up a fuss. Instead, I make an appointment for an abortion. I've loved Benjamin for 15 years, but I still can't compare to Jennifer, who is my stepsister. If that's the case, I'll let him go. Later, I join a geological exploration and research team in the South Isles and am cut off from the world. All I leave behind is a divorce agreement and a divorce gift. Benjamin has never cared for me, so it's odd that he loses his mind overnight after my departure.

One night was supposed to be enough. Damien Vale never does repeats. The cold-hearted CEO takes what he wants and leaves before sunrise. But when he spends one explosive night with the sharp-tongued bartender who calls him on his bullshit, the rules shatter. Now Damien shows up at the bar every single night at the same time. No explanation. No promises. Just raw, filthy need that neither of them can quit. Kai swore he’d never fall for another rich man who treats him like a dirty secret. Yet every night he finds himself waiting, aching, letting Damien push him further than he’s ever gone. One night became every night. And soon, neither of them will be able to pretend it’s still just sex.