What Does Cringe Mean

“What’s the first thing about me?” And I dare not forget. “You’re reserved…god!” “And by reserved, I mean…?” He asks gently, a tone that’s opposite from the strength in his action. “Talk to me, Milaya. By reserved, I mean what?” “You don’t share…” My teeth clenches hard. “And I’m yours…” Then light explodes behind my eyelids. "Good girl," he praises. *** Liliana Hoxha's fairytale life shatters when her sister is killed and her husband is kidnapped and brutally murdered. What she doesn't expect next is to be abducted by Damian Kastorov, a ruthless Mafia Don driven by rage and revenge, who believes Liliana's husband is connected to his girlfriend's death... As Liliana's held captive in Damian's mansion, hatred ignites into passion, and Liliana soon uncovers a shocking truth: her sister's tragic fate is tied to Damian's past and her husband's dark secrets. Trapped, Liliana must choose between escaping the monster she's fallen for or succumbing to his dangerous allure. Will their forbidden love be their salvation, or will it destroy everything? What if it's the latter?

Ae Doona is a 22-year-old recluse who has given up on her real-life to focus on her online personality as a relationship guru on Rebbit. Doona was a victim of bullying growing up, and this affected her in later years. As a university student in Seoul, Doona is withdrawn, has no close friends and is very antisocial. Her mother (Ae Mishil) thinks Doona can have a fresh start in Busan. The joy of her move is short-lived as she bumps into Sochun the very same day. Sochun was one of the boys that regularly tormented Doona while in middle school. When Doona agreed to relocate, she hoped Sochun had moved out of Busan, better yet, Korea. So their inevitable meeting was just as surprising to her as it was for him. As much as she resented Sochun, she always wondered what she had done to make him despise her. On arriving in Busan, Doona bumps into Chihun on the elevator. Sensitized by years of bullying plus a newfound fear of the opposite forces Doona to cringe and recoil when standing close to a man. She soon comes to trust Chihun, and likewise, he sees her as something more than just a nuisance. The two become close friends by healing one another's wounds. Doona finds out the details of Chihun's past relationship that caused him to lose interest in women and dating. Chihun learns more about Doona's convoluted past. All the while, Minji starts to realize that her grip and control on the men in her life is slipping and she decides to manipulate Doona so she can get what she wants. Doona might not be bright to her ploy, but with the help of her new friends, Doona can stand up for herself against yet another bully.

"You guys know what the situation is like in this industry this year. I need to cut our end-of-the-year bonus by half in order to overcome this difficult period." My boss, Peter Hurley, claims that things are difficult in the industry right now, yet his wrist still showcases the luxury watch that he's just bought. My 20,000-dollar bonus is reduced to 700 dollars. In addition, I also received a plaque that says "Award for Outstanding Contribution". "This plaque is worth a lot, Soren. It represents the acknowledgement this company has for you. Don't be so petty when it comes to money." As I stare at the plaque in my hand, I can't help but scoff furiously. "Fine. I won't be that petty when it comes to money. I hope you won't be that petty either when you're paying next month's rent." Peter is stunned momentarily. "What do you mean by that?" I toss the plaque into the trash can. "What I mean is, I'm the landlord of this building. From next month onward, the rent will be increased ten times. If you refuse to accept the new rent, you can pack up and scram."

"I love you..." His pitch increases as rage joins in, but still, he manages to retain gentility in his voice. "...but that doesn't mean I can't slit your throat, peanut!... DON'T ANGER ME." Blood drips down my wrist as his blue eyes tore me down, I could feel my fragile, lean wrist trapped within his muscular grip. As he screamed, my heart skipped into my mouth, memories filled my head, memories on how I willingly walked into a trap set up by the devil himself. **** Cupid strikes yet again, boring a deadly arrow in her chest... Krystal Gomez begins a pursuit. Little does she know that soon, she'll become his prey.

Damien Sterling is evil. He is so evil he wants me to pretend to be his fiancee before he can help me find my missing sister. The same woman he claimed to be his first love. "Call it what you may. I'll only help you if we work together on something." Me? Work together with Damien Sterling? "What do we work on?" "You mean, what are we working on?" A beat of silence. Then, he spoke. "We are going to get engaged. I mean, you're going to act like we are engaged. For six months." "Ha!" I cackled, face blank of expression. Then, a burst of laughter escaped me. While he watched me like I was crazy, I just kept on laughing. "Are you crazy? I'll be playing house? With you?" "I'm serious." While playing house with the billionaire devil, I must let go of my dream to be the top investigative journalist of Westmore Times and avoid falling for my missing sister's first love. Will this be possible when we are stuck in the same building, filled with heat and forbidden passion crackling between us?

After a very public break-up between the university's 'it' couple, all eyes are on the heartbroken Quarterback, Caleb Briggs. His life had been laid out in front of him for as long as he can remember. After one drunken night with a dream girl, he wakes up alone and is determined to find her. Little does he know, she doesn't want to be found. The last thing that Violet wants is to draw in extra attention. It's bad enough that she's the football coach's daughter, but to be dragged down in the gossip mill as The Rebound? Not on her life. When she breaks her father's one rule to keep away from his team and sleeps with the school's quarterback, she is prepared for the consequences. That doesn't mean that she isn't planning on running from them for as long as possible.

[Completed] When widow Magnolia De Solange was gravely wounded and saved by the Duke of Salicera, she could not help but imagine what a life of comfort and safety would mean for her and her son. She knew that it was only wishful thinking. But when she was ready to leave the duke's house, he made her an offer that she could not refuse.

“You are my husband?” “Yes, Lena.” “And you made me feel like I was a whore!” Tears rolled down her eyes as the reality donned on her. Helena is forced to sign a marriage agreement by her stepmother, who wants nothing but to throw her out of the house, she signs it regardless but doesn’t know who her husband is, she never cared to look at his pictures or know who he was and after four years she still hasn’t met him because he works in another country, that’s all she knows about him. After four years, she works as a secretary to her mean and arrogant boss. Although she hates it as she works with him but what was shocking was when she finds out her mean boss is her husband.

How does it feel, then, to be kissed by an unlovable brute?——I find it amusing that I didn't even have to track down my runaway bride. She simply climbed into my car, completely oblivious to the fact that I am the man she was running away from. I could catch her. Hunting women down is the last thing I want to be doing, truly. I mean Ruby no harm, even though she unknowingly said some awful, untrue things about me in the car. In time, she’ll learn that those things aren’t true. I’m not like my parents. Still, I have no choice but to marry this girl. She’s barely eighteen, three years younger than me, but it’s fate. All of this mess started about a month ago.

After giving my son, Cameron Spencer, one of my corneas, he had a memory distortion and confused me for his father's childhood sweetheart, Joanna Lister. Such dreadful news caused me to be in so much pain that I refused to wake up. However, during the time that I was semiconscious, I heard my son and my husband's conversation. "Dad, does this mean Joanna will keep me company in the future?" "Yes, it does. You've put on a great act, son!" My attending surgeon couldn't stand their heartlessness and said, "Mr. Spencer, your son’s eyes are fine, but you lied to Mrs. Spencer in order for her to donate her cornea for Ms. Lister. If Mrs. Spencer finds out, I'm afraid..." "There's nothing to be afraid of. She loves Cameron and me so much and she's an orphan as well. There's nowhere she could go after leaving us. Joanna's all alone in this city and she's almost gone blind. We can't waste any more time!" I lay on the bed as my hopeless tears soaked the pillow. All they cared about was Joanna. But what they didn't know was that I was dying due to the operation.