Window-shopping

My mom always said, "I've never played favorites. "You and your brother mean exactly the same to me." She said it so often I almost believed it. Growing up, anything my brother had, I had too. If he got a new pair of sneakers, so did I. If he signed up for coding classes, I was enrolled in the same ones. Even this year, when we came home for the holidays, my mom smiled as she handed each of us a neatly-packaged designer shopping bag. "I picked these out for you two at the store. One for each of you, exactly the same. "These outdoor brands are expensive, you know. A single jacket costs thousands. I'd never buy one for myself, but I don't mind splurging on you two." I took the jacket. It was well-cut, structured, and looked high-quality. A small warmth stirred in my chest. However, when I tried it on, the collar felt oddly irritating against my skin. Frowning, I pulled back the lining to check. There was a ring of yellowed sweat stains around the label, and tiny flakes of dandruff were caught in the Velcro. A faint musty smell lingered on the cloth, mixed with the stale odor of cheap tobacco. It was sour and impossible to ignore.

"I can help you destroy them both, if you let me." Scarlett's perfect -well, almost perfect- life shatters when she catches her husband with another woman—on the same day she discovers she's finally pregnant after three years of trying. But when his mistress pushes her through a window fifteen stories high, it's her husband's bitter business rival who catches her fall. Dominic Blackwood offers a cold proposition: marry him and gain the resources to destroy the man who betrayed her. It's a business arrangement—revenge wrapped in a wedding ring. No love. No pretense. Just mutual benefit. But as Scarlett navigates her new marriage of convenience with the enigmatic billionaire who saved her life, she discovers that the line between vengeance and desire blurs dangerously with each passing day. When her heart begins to betray her plans for revenge, will Scarlett discover that falling for her devil's bargain is the most dangerous fall of all?

"Stay away from the room at the extreme end of the east wing... Be quiet as much as possible.... Leave at once when the second hand struck 5pm, not a second late!" Those were the three grand rules that she received. Allicia will never have expected her life to face a total turn around after she accepted to work as a caregiver in the house of a man that she never even met before. She had no idea what this unknown person she worked for was called, she had never seen him, not once had he shown his face. He was always hidden in a room in the mansion. Allicia had never been a disobedient girl all her life and she followed the rules while working diligently in the mansion. The only thing she did in the lonely mansion was sit by the window and sing with the birds. Her life went on smoothly and peacefully until an unfortunate stormy evening... It was a painful experience for her, one that she never wished to recall ever again. Not until she met him...

When I hear my boyfriend, Terence Bowen, is trapped in a house fire, I immediately rush back to save him. However, after dragging him out with all my strength, I realize it's just a dummy. Laughter erupts from the house next door. "Ariana Brock is such a fool! She fell for it again!" Through a half-open window, I spot Terence lounging on the couch, casually scrolling through his phone. He looks completely fine. "That's the 47th prank we've pulled on her. Three more to go and we're done." "Serves her right. She shouldn't have stolen Bethany Howard's scholarship. Bethany is the one Terence actually cares about. That's why he decided to fake a relationship with Ariana to get revenge 50 times over. Too bad the game will end soon." I bend over, gasping for air. All this time, the relationship I've worked so hard to protect is nothing but a game to them.

“Where are you taking me?” She asked. He leaned closer, his face calm but his eyes dark with an unsettling intensity. “To where you belong.” Her heart raced as his words sank in. “What does that even mean?” He straightened, his gaze flickering toward the window as the city lights blurred past. “It means we’re going ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒 , Little Bird. 𝑂𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When an ordinary business student catches the eye of a charismatic, successful businessman visiting her college, she’s swept into a world she never imagined. Captivated by his charm and sophistication, she’s drawn deeper into a passionate connection with him, believing she’s found the romance of her dreams. But as strange events and shadows start to disturb her once-peaceful life, she begins to question if her perfect love story might be hiding darker secrets. Unbeknownst to her, someone else has been watching all along, harboring an obsession that could change her life forever. ---

Half an hour ago, my destined mate finally proposed to me, and we will hold a grand mating ceremony in half a month. The moment I’d been waiting for ten years had finally come. But right at this monment. My Alpha was holding another woman, his fingers tracing her skin. His voice was soft, almost worshipful. “I regret everything. If you want me back, I will break the mate bond with her.” He had no idea I was watching from outside the window—he was so wrapped up in that woman, he didn’t even catch my scent. Right then, it hit me: our mate bond, our ten years together, flash throug in my head. I sent a mindlink to my mother and told her I was going to cut down the mate-bond with Mike. Then I would go back to the Deep Blue pack to run my own. Mike would never know that our mating ceremony would be the day I leave.

The daughter of a powerful high wolf priestess, who was murdered by the Alpha of the Rogues and his harem, was left on the porch of a human couple one stormy night. The High Priestess was killed due to a prophecy stating a child born to a High Priestess and an Alpha will be blessed by the Moon Goddess to become a Celestial Wolf. In a small peaceful town, a young girl named Kiaria is turning 18 under the harvest moon of the Autumn Equinox. Her British and Japanese parents, who are one of the richest people in their town, have invited several friends, business associates and investors to celebrate Mabon with a harvest moon dinner. One of their guests is an Alpha with the name of Io Hemming, one of the most eligible bachelors in the country and a new investor in their business. Little did Kiaria and Io know, they were fated mates. After Kiaria comes of age, her powers begin to grow and one day, when Kiaria was out doing some shopping, she stops a group of well-organized and trained thieves from robbing her father's bank. The Alpha of the Rogues gets wind of this and demands the Council of Wolves honor their agreement. They turn their backs on the Alpha of the Rogues so, the Alpha retaliates and kills most of the elders. The Alpha of the Rogues finally finds out Kiaria is the celestial wolf and orders her death by any means. After several failed attempts to kill Kiaria, the Alpha of the Rogues declares war once again against the wolves. Kiaria and Io lead the wolves to victory however with many obstacles in their path.

Michael Angelo Abaroa is already in his fourth year as a Respiratory Therapy student. His main goal is to pass the Internship and make it to medical school. But things turned upside down when he met Adaleyza Duran. Adaleyza Duran is one of the patients in St. Luke Medical City. Despite having Leukemia, her views in life are positive. She longs for someone who can stay with her despite her condition. Somehow, these two happened to cross their paths. It all started when Adaleyza has mistakenly crashed Michael’s car window. Just like Michael’s shattered car window, will he also let Adaleyza break his heart into shards? Or will he stop her and guard himself up? Will he take Adaleyza’s hand and invite her to the passenger seat as they take their journey together? Or will he drop her off and venture his life journey alone? Dream or Love? Which is which?

My brother-in-law had a sudden heart attack. The doctor said only my wife could perform the specific surgery he needed. It was a critical situation. By the time I finally managed to get through to her, her childhood sweetheart answered the phone. "We're just about to head out camping," he said casually. "We won't be coming back tonight." My heart sank. "Ryan had a heart attack. He needs surgery immediately. Tell her to come back to the hospital—now." Instead, my wife's irritated voice cut through. "Are you done? How dare you make up a lie like that and curse my brother!" Before I could explain, she hung up. When I tried calling back, her phone was already off. In the end, my brother-in-law died because the window for surgery closed. And my wife lost her mind.

There's nothing more shattering than hearing that you're signed off as a collateral to marry in order to clear off your uncle's stupid debts. "So this is it" I pull the hoodie over my head and grab my duffel bag that is already stuffed with all my important stuff that I need for survival. Carefully I jump down my window into the bushes below skillfully. I've done this a lot of times that I've mastered the art of jumping down my window. Today is different though, I'm not coming back here, never! I cannot accept marrying some rich ass junkie. I dust the leaves off my clothe and with feathery steps, I make out of the driveway. A bright headlight of a car points at me making me freeze in my tracks, another car stops and the door of the car opens. There's always only one option, Run!