Waiter Finger Curls

On our fifth anniversary, I came across the Instagram page of a stranger named Serena Reed. The girl lay sideways on a hospital bed, her bandage-wrapped hand intertwined with a man's larger hand. On the man's ring finger was a moonstone ring, with Vincent Carter's name and my own name clearly engraved on the band. Below the photo, the girl had written: "It's just a tiny scratch, but he was so worried he insisted I stay in the hospital. Being loved like this feels incredible!" An hour earlier, Vincent had apologized to me over the phone. "Nina, there's an urgent matter with the patrol team. Don't wait for me for dinner. When I come back, I'll bring you a gift." He was not coming home for our anniversary because he was with another woman. I silently melted down the moonstone ring and sent it to Vincent as a gift. Then I packed all my belongings, including the pup in my womb, and left the Shadow pack quietly, never to return.

The top-tier charity auction in Manhattan is about to begin when my boyfriend’s stepsister spots a pearl necklace she likes. Wanting to buy it as her birthday gift, my boyfriend reserves a bidding seat. But due to a mistake by the organizers, the seat had actually been reserved by someone else before he booked it. An elderly lady dressed plainly says the seat is hers, yet they show no intention of yielding. I force my boyfriend to give the seat back to the woman. But Amy storms out in a fit of anger. That night, gunshots echo through the neighborhood. A stray bullet hits her, and she bleeds out on the spot. He calmly arranges her funeral, yet still keeps his promise and marries me. Soon after, my father dies in what is ruled an accident. On the day of my father’s funeral, he storms into the church with his men. Looking at me kneeling before the coffin, he smiles arrogantly. “Olivia, this is what you owe Amy! If you hadn’t stopped me that day, the seat would’ve been hers! She wouldn’t have run out in anger, and she wouldn’t have been shot! Let me tell you something—your father was killed by me. And now it’s your turn!” Right in front of everyone, he shoots my younger brother—who had been kneeling beside me, begging for mercy—dead with a single bullet. His bodyguards pin me down and drag me out of the church as I watch helplessly, his blood pooling before my father’s coffin. When I open my eyes again, my boyfriend is glaring angrily at the waiter, about to explode. What he doesn’t know is that the plainly dressed old woman in sunglasses is the mother of the current Don of the most powerful Mafia family in New York—the Morretti family. And that Don is famously devoted to his mother.

ADRIAN'S POV My head was pounding, a dull throb that echoed the frantic beat of my heart. I was hot, too hot, my skin slick with an unfamiliar sweat. I knew it instantly: drugged. One moment I was escorting Aria, basking in the glittering lights and dancing with her in the ballroom at her birthday party. Next, a wine from a waiter, a trip to the bathroom, and then… darkness. I blinked, trying to focus on the blur above me. Damien. My stalker. The man who’d been haunting the edges of my life for weeks, whispering cryptic claims of a shared past I couldn’t recall. He was on top of me, pinning me to the plush velvet of some unfamiliar bed. His eyes, usually so intense and unsettling, were filled with a disturbing mix of guilt and desperation. "I’m sorry, Adrian, I'm so sorry I had to do this, but I can't stand seeing you with her. Watching you rewrite our history... please, remember me. Remember us." He leaned down, his breath hot against my ear. "I promise, I'll cherish you this time." Then, his lips crashed onto mine, a fierce, possessive kiss that stole my breath away. His hands moved over me, desperate and knowing, igniting a fire that both terrified and strangely thrilled me. Maybe it was the drug blurring the lines of reason. Or maybe… just maybe, deep down, my body recognized something my mind couldn’t. It responded to his touch with a shameful eagerness, a desperate need that mirrored his own. All I could do was surrender to the moment, to the heat, to the undeniable connection I felt with this man, Damien, as I returned his kiss with a fervor that shocked us both.

Ever thought you were different from the world, that no matter how you tried, you just never fit in? That no body would accept the real you? Things felt the same for Ariana Bliss. It never got better after she realized the head agent of her defense academy that everyone answered to was the most annoying schoolmate she could ever come across. ******************************. "It's gonna be like this for a month." He smiled. Punch him. Break his nose or finger, dislocate his leg, shove a book in his mouth, stuff a pen into his nostrils. Ari's mind kept thinking of several possible ways to hurt him. "You don't know how much I wanna hurt you." She mumbled truthfully. "You can't, cos I'm gonna beat you again. Just like earlier today." He smirked. Arrrgh! "Just ignore. I'm just gonna ignore you for the rest of my life. " She said and the teacher walked in.....

It was the holiday season and I was on my way home when the traffic on the highway came to a standstill. Suddenly, a Maybach came speeding down the emergency lane and slammed right into my car. The driver jumped out and started yelling, jabbing his finger in my face. “Are you blind?! Don’t you know cars turning should yield to those going straight?” I frowned. “My car broke down and this is where I’m supposed to be. You’re the one who broke the traffic laws, yet you’re blaming me for this?” “Traffic laws?” he scoffed, full of arrogance. “I’m the law in Jacksboro City. That Volkswagen piece of junk you’re driving is not even worth one of my Maybach’s tires!” Then he pulled out a baseball bat and smashed it down on my car. He even threatened to break my legs and demanded compensation. I sneered. “Sure, this may be a Volkswagen… but why don’t you take a closer look at the special clearance permit on the windshield?”

Meet Emily Collins, the devoted secretary with a knack for mismatched fashion, and Oliver Sterling, the brilliant but enigmatic CEO. Their worlds collide when Oliver, facing an unexpected ultimatum from his grandfather, turns to Emily for an unconventional solution. While Emily dreams of saving a million dollars and bidding goodbye to her corporate life, Oliver's goal is to introduce his secret actress girlfriend to his family. Caught between family expectations and a reluctant girlfriend, Oliver proposes a daring deal to Emily: a six-month contract where she pretends to be his girlfriend. The offer comes with a tempting promise—enough money to fast-track Emily's savings goal. As the two plunge into their fake romance, cue the funny twist—Emily knows every quirk and detail about Oliver, right down to the size of his ring finger, but Oliver doesn't know a thing about Emily. With the lines between reality and pretense blurring, the stage is set for a romantic collision where one is poised to fall in love, and the other is destined to fall even harder.

The 99th time Owen Anderson slides a ring onto my finger, his adopted sister, Monica Morgan, calls again. And just like that, for the 99th time, he ditches me at the altar to be with her, who's having another depressive episode. I'm fed up. I yell after him as he walks away, "Go ahead! Walk out on me, and I swear I'll marry someone else!" He doesn't even flinch. Instead, he snaps, "Can you stop being so unreasonable? We can get married anytime, but Monica's the only sister I've got." Then, he turns and walks away, leaving me standing there like a complete fool. What he doesn't realize is that this time, I mean it. Later, when he gets down on one knee for the 100th time, his older brother, Chris, slips an arm around my waist and says, "Sorry, Owen. She's your sister-in-law now."

"Today marks three years of our marriage, yet you've never looked into my eyes, hugged me, or shown any physical intimacy. Your father and everyone else think I'm barren! No one would believe that we've never been intimate. I'm tired of living this lie! I'll have to tell your father the truth; perhaps they'll stop blaming me!" Aurora exclaimed angrily, her frustration boiling over. "If you dare breathe a word of that to my father, mark my words; it'll be your last day. I'll personally strangle you, you old hag!" Caspian threatened, pointing a menacing finger at her. Aurora was treated disdainfully by everyone; the man she got married to never for once showed her love, not until she got a secret revealed to her by her grandparents. She planned to get revenge secretly on those that have hurt her in the past while working towards achieving her most incredible dreams and desires!

"You're just my credit card. You're worthless, Jemima. And your ugly face makes me want to puke." Those were the words Jemima Wilson heard on her two-year anniversary—from the boyfriend she'd sacrificed everything for, while her best friend lay naked in his bed. Hours later, she woke up in a hospital bed with a ring on her finger and a husband she never chose: Khalid Greyson, her cold, demanding boss, and the CEO of Greyson Corporation. Their marriage was arranged by their mothers, sealed by contract, and built on nothing but obligation. But the man who pinned her against the wall on their wedding night, who touched her like he owned her... he's nothing like the emotionless husband she expected. Now Jemima must decide: lock away her broken heart, or give Khalid the chance to be the only man who can truly claim her. But in a world where being the CEO's wife comes with enemies lurking in every shadow... will she survive long enough to choose him?

Looking into the eyes of the brilliant Gregory Green, the world around her disappeared. The grin on his face grew wider as he watched a star struck Willow, gaze deeply into his eyes. Picking up her hand in front of all in the room he shouts ," she is mine! The room was silent and Willow snapped out of her hypnotic trance,looking at the ring on her finger, she tried to tug it off. To her surprise it felt as if it was getting tighter. Gregory watched her struggle,his laugh echoed in the room as he slowly leaned in. Willow stepped back,assuming he was diving in for a kiss. Pulling her into him,his hot breath tickled her ears as he whispered," this is no ordinary ring,babygirl. you are mine forever!" She shook her head , a clear indication of her saying no but the guests at the diner started to applaud. No one dared go against Gregory Green,the richest man in the city. No one dared! Until he forcefully wedded Willow Winter, a waitress in a little diner! A mischievous Willow sets alight to his life,until he claims her heart!