Yogurt Shake

“Joe…” Her eyes closed and he lunged forward. She went down so fast, he almost missed her. Maggie slid down the wall, limp and pale, and he went to his knees and grabbed her shoulders before her head hit the floor. He pulled her up against his chest, touched her cheek. She was freezing cold. “Fuck, Maggie,” he muttered. “What have you done to yourself, baby?” He stood up, cradling her in his arms, and walked over to the sofa. He set her down on it and memory washed over him: making love to Maggie right here, her hot and writhing under him as he thrust inside her. God, he still remembered how hard she came that one night, hard enough to shake his whole body with her spasms. **** Two years ago, Maggie Branson walked in on her boyfriend in bed with another woman, and walked out without a backward glance. She never planned to see Joe Carlisle again. But when he offers her a high-paying commission she can’t refuse, Maggie decides to take the money, do the work, and get gone. Fast. Joe, however, has other plans. Two years ago, Joe was an arrogant, cheating disaster, and he knows it. Maggie was the woman he should’ve fought for, and this commission feels like his last chance to prove he’s changed. She’s not buying it. Then tragedy rips through Maggie’s life, and it’s Joe who shows up... steady, remorseful, and impossible to ignore. As grief strips away old defenses, Maggie is forced to confront the past she buried and the man Joe might have become. The question isn’t whether Joe wants redemption. It’s whether Maggie can forgive the one betrayal that broke her heart – and risk trusting him again.

“Tell me, Eleanor, do you like seeing me like this? Do you like seeing me angry with you?” he yells, banging the spot above my head. I keep my mouth shut so I don’t say the wrong thing and make him angrier. “Fucking answer me,” “N-N-N-o-o,” I stammer. “If you don't, then why don't you ever listen to me? The spanking wasn’t enough? Do you need me to unleash my beast on you before you listen to me?” he asks, and I shake my head. “Then give me a reason why I shouldn't take you across my legs right now and give you twenty lashes on each ass cheek for laughing at something Evan said,” he says, and I pause for a minute. “You shouldn't spank me because it's my right to laugh or not at what Evan said.” “You see, Eleanor, that's where you’re wrong. Only I can tell you if you can laugh or not.” “Excuse me?” I ask, looking at him confused and wondering if he’s on something. “I own your laughter, Eleanor.” “No, you don't.” “I do. And not just your laughter. I own all of you.” ------------- Eleanor Brown is a lovely lady trying to make ends meets. She lands a job after an unfortunate event happens to her. She is excited and can't wait to start a new chapter in her life. Unknowing to Eleanor, this new chapter of her life will be filled with a lot of troubles. Her boss, Jason Crawford, believes Eleanor wants to work for him for other reasons, and since he can't fire Eleanor, he decides to make things difficult for her. Will Eleanor survive working with a boss who hates her, or will she quit and back off the deal even though she needs money?

At 10:00 pm sharp, a food deliveryman wearing a cap knocks on the door of Unit 502. "Excuse me, are you the one who ordered delivery?" Unit 502 is an apartment that's rented out to multiple people. There are three rooms here altogether. The one opening the door is my roommate, William Yates. He has his headphones on and is currently immersed in a game. So, he waves a hand impatiently. "It wasn't me." The deliveryman wastes no time in pulling out a machete. Immediately, he slashes William's throat in one fluid motion. Next, the deliveryman opens the door leading to another bedroom while holding the takeout. "Did you order delivery?" That room belongs to a gym trainer named Leon Holton. He's obviously taken aback by the deliveryman's presence. "Nope. Who are—" The deliveryman doesn't give Leon a chance to finish his question. He reacts by plunging the machete into Leon's heart. When I'm done with my shower, I open the bathroom door to see large puddles of blood on the floor as well as the deliveryman, who's wielding a machete. "They weren't the ones who ordered delivery. Did you do it?" Scared out of my wits, I subconsciously shake my head. "It's not me! I don't know anything—" Before I can finish speaking, the deliveryman hacks me to death. When I open my eyes again, I've gone back five minutes in time before I get murdered in cold blood. Almost immediately, I rush out of the bathroom, only to see the alarmed expressions plastered all over William's and Leon's faces. That's when I'm certain that everyone has gotten reborn. Suddenly, the doorbell rings loudly. A suppressed masculine voice echoes afterward. "Excuse me, are you the one who ordered delivery?"

Andrea Reeves, the new hire in finance, is all looks and no brains. On payday, she mistypes my wages in the payroll system, sending only one cent to my account. Because of that, my payment fails when I try to buy Mom's life-saving medication, and she dies full of regret. Before I can confront Andrea, she bursts into tears, smudging her mascara and makeup. "Ms. Walton, I'm so sorry. I accidentally sent your pay to the janitor you fired. The one who's a single mom. Can't you just think of her as your other mom?" Norman Halt, the finance director—and my husband—immediately shields her behind him. "Don't blame Andrea. If you didn't have enough money saved up, why are you pretending to be the dutiful daughter now?" I nearly faint from crying so hard. Wracked with guilt, Andrea shows up at the funeral with an entire marching band in tow. The mourning hall turns festive and lively, leaving my family and friends stunned. I lose it and yell at her to leave, but she looks completely hurt. "It's already so tragic that she dies from an illness. I just want to give her a joyful send-off!" Furious, the asthma I've managed for years flares so abruptly that my hands shake as I take out my inhaler. She slaps it away and screams, "How could you use such illegal substances? That's against the law!" Blue-lipped and gasping, I crumple to the ground. In my final moments, I hear Andrea's tearful voice. "This is all my fault. I'm an idiot… I didn't realize it's just medicine…" Norman covers for her. "It's not your fault. Spread the word that Ms. Walton died of grief over her mother's passing." That night, my body is cremated. My death goes silent and unnoticed. When I open my eyes again, it's payday all over again.

Merciful Lies Lies can be merciful. It just depends on the why. Anna:I knew the second I saw him, my life would change forever. When my brother offers me as payment to Nico Fury, the king of the Vipers, how can I refuse? Tattooed, built, and tall, he was the only man I saw when I walked into the room. It was like he occupied all the available space, sitting on his throne of blood, sweat, and lies. Nerves assailed me, but I owed my brother too much to let anything happen to him. One night. That was all. But it would leave me wrecked. Actions always had consequences. Six months later, my brother was killed by a rival organization, and now they were after me. There was only one place I could go to keep my unborn baby safe. I just hoped the king would be merciful. Nico Perfect things didn’t exist, at least not in my experience. But she was pretty close. I had her in my bed for one night, and I couldn’t shake the memory. No, I wasn’t meant to keep soft things like Anna Keller. My life belonged to my crew, and we were a vicious group. Hell, we weren’t called Vipers for nothing. But she was different. She made me want, and I loved and hated her for it. Anna was light in a world of constant darkness. She was all warmth and beauty like no other. And I craved her like a drug. Six months had passed since I took her in return for clearing her brother’s debt to me, but that man attracted trouble like honey did flies. It wasn’t long before I learned Sam Keller had gotten himself killed. Less than an hour later, Anna came back to me, on her knees, asking for sanctuary. I knew the moment I saw the swell of her stomach she was carrying my baby. Anna thought coming here would protect her, but she was walking right into the Viper’s nest. Before I was finished, my little runaway would be begging me for mercy.

Around the seventh month of my pregnancy, I overheard a conversation between my mate, Zane Andrews, and Ciara Phillips, the she-wolf I had taken in out of compassion after her family was brutally slaughtered by rogues. In a sultry, flirtatious tone, Ciara purred, “Zane, my love, if your wife discovers that the fertilized egg I planted in her womb isn’t truly hers by blood, she’ll be devastated—perhaps to the point of despairing suicide, don’t you think?” Zane snorted, his voice dripping with disdain at the mention of me. “It’ll work for us if she simply dies from heartbreak. Damn it. I can’t shake the worry that she might sever our bond and leave me with nothing. Let’s keep this under wraps until our child inherits all her assets. Only then will we reveal the bombshell, plunging her into darkness.” Ciara giggled, praising Zane for his cunning. My claws itched to lash out, but I held back, knowing the time for confrontation wasn’t yet. My heart sank as their betrayal cut deep. Years ago, I had defied my pack elders’ warnings about Ciara being a potential threat, taking her in and grooming her into our pack's doctor, funding her education out of sheer empathy. Now, I regretted every moment of my kindness. To think that my mate, who had once begged for my protection for his fragile pack, had the audacity to betray me. If not for my support, his pathetic pack would have crumbled long ago, leaving him nursing his wounds in a dark corner, fretting over survival. After a long moment of contemplation, I made my decision. I would feign ignorance to their schemes and play along by giving birth to Ciara’s baby. Two decades passed. Ciara’s child grew up, bearing the name Simon Andrews. Aware of their treachery, I still transferred all my assets to him. Once the paperwork was completed, Ciara boldly approached me in front of the entire pack, a maternity DNA test in hand. With a smug smile, she declared, “Leia Holland, look at this! I am Simon’s biological mother. Leave h

The cold seawater engulfs me, its relentless pull dragging me into the abyss. I kick desperately, my lungs burning, but the surface drifts farther and farther away. "Save me, Kane… save our child…" Pain lances through my body as I clutch my stomach, shielding the fragile life within me. The child I never thought I'd have, the child who was supposed to be our blessing. Through the watery haze, I see Kane Porter standing on the jagged cliffs above the shore. His tall, commanding figure is framed by the moonlight, his golden eyes burning with hatred. The alpha of the Nightfall Pack, the man who once whispered my name with reverence, now looks at me like I'm filth beneath his feet. His voice cuts through the roaring waves, sharp and merciless. "Don't think I don't know what you've done, Selene." The currents tug me deeper. My strength wanes, but his words stab deeper than the water ever could. "You drugged me with a philter, hoping to make me mark you—hoping to force your way into the position of my Luna. Because of your selfishness, Arya is gone. You destroyed her mind, pushed her into madness!" A shadow of despair twists across his face, but it vanishes beneath pure fury. "She fell from that cliff because of you." I shake my head, but I can’t speak. The sea is swallowing my voice. "Do you know what it’s like to wake up every day in torment? To live knowing the woman I loved died because of you?" His eyes glint like a wolf ready to tear out his prey's throat. "I want you to feel every ounce of that pain. I want you and your cursed child to die with her." The waves crash above me, and darkness claws at the edges of my vision. When I open my eyes again, I'm taken back to the day Kane's philter takes effect. He approaches me, his face flushed and his breathing rapid. He's already undone his buttons. "Hang on, Kane. Arya will be here soon!" I back away and open the door behind me. Then, I run off.