All


The sound of the gurneys almost deafen my ears, and the light from these doctors' torches is blinding me but I keep running towards the scene. It is 12 o' clock. In the midnight, I know even though I don't look at the clock over my head. With sweaty palms and terrific faces, five gurneys are wheeled towards the emergency rooms by the late night doctors. Even though their mouths are shut tight, I can hear millions of inaudible sounds coming out of them. Each of the gurneys are being wheeled by two personnels, and each time they pass me by, i peer into them to see the victims' faces clearly because I can not see them from where I am.
The first face I see is badly disfigured. It's got a big mark from the forehead down to her upper eyelid, her lips are charred and her jaw is almost totally detached from the rest of her face. Hot drops of blood trickle down her head to her chest and her dress is soiled. She looks like she is no longer breathing and just as the ambulance pass by me, I see something in her hands-A red neck piece. She is clutching it tightly like it is her whole life. My red neck piece. Yes, this victim is my only sister, Jamie but I do not cry. I mean, I always want to cry but I can't. So my face is firm and peaceful, but I am screaming inside me. My legs are hitting the air and I'm ripping my hair inside of me, but outside? I am standing tall. Somehow, with all the swiftness as they pass by me, her hands shake and she loses hold of the red neck piece. As thick and shiny as my hair, our hair(hers blonde and mine black). It falls from her hands and drops at my feet just as soon as the second ambulance approaches me. I bend to pick up my red neckpiece-the one thing that binds my sister and I together but whoosh...it is air. I can see it on the cold tiled floor but when I try to pick it up, it is not there. I fall and shiver with the noise in my head but I cannot cry. I get up quickly to take a look at the second victim but I can't see 'its' face-the whole body is wrapped in a blue satin material that looks and smells like death. I wait for the third but it moves so fast I can't get a proper picture of her, but I do know it is a female.
The fourth has blood dropping from his nose and his eyes are shut tight like he is in another world. The fifth body is wheeled upstairs and I hurriedly follow it. As I climb the staircase after them, I see a woman descending it; her countenance looks disheveled but her heart is dancing. She is jumping and laughing inside of her. When I look into her eyes, that's what I see but she does not see me pass. I stop staring at her and follow the ambulance which is now being rolled into the theatre with calculated moves. I want to see who the victim is, but they are so fast that they enter and lock the door before I can catch up.
I sigh and hesitate for three minutes and then I remember the red neckpiece-the one that fell from Jamie's hands. "Jamie!" I scream in my head. Then my feet begin to move very fast down the stairs. I do not have the power to stop them from moving and they only stop at Emergency Ward 1 and I suddenly and supernaturally find myself inside without using the door.
The neck piece still lay there, close to the reception. There on the bed in the emergency Ward lay my sister Jamie with her pale face and bloody body. Her left eyebrow is now gone and her nose and ears are bleeding. Her lips are still charred and a man in white coveralls keep wiping blood off her face and body every now and then. There are three men around her, plus a woman, pushing and pulling some strange machines on the wall and on the floor, to save her.
The woman is placing a stethoscope on Jamie's chest. I watch her from the corner I am standing. She does it three times and then she stops, placing her head on the side of the bed which isn't bloodstained and I see, from her eyes two drops of tears fall into the soft bloodstained bed where Jamie lay. Just then, the three men stop pushing and pulling the machines, they shake their heads from side to side as if on cue and one of them proceeds to cover my sister's body with a long blue satin cloth- the same one the second victim has on his whole body. I shiver, seeing this cloth because I know it is used to wrap corpses in readiness for cremation. Suddenly I find my voice.
"Don't! She's not dead! Don't cover her up!" I scream. My lips shiver as reality dawns on me. My whole body utter a yelp but they do not even look at me
"Hey Doctors! Jamie's my sister, she cannot die! Please save her" I mutter under my breath because raising my voice doesn't help.
"Pack her up quickly, the poor girl has given up" one of the men say to another and I try to cry but tears do not come. My eyes sting badly. I watch one of them roll her body like a burrito and wheel it out of the theatre. My feet scurry after him but it is all hopeless, so I soon stop going after him.
I go up the stairs towards the fifth accident victim like a defeated warrior and lay my head on the door of the ward like a wounded child. For some reason, I do not want to see any more of these gory sights. So I turn to go, but, I hear a voice
"Hello" I hear someone say to me. I turn around swiftly to face a tall man in white coveralls. His head has hair as black as coal and his voice sounds like several elephants trumpeting. I think he is a doctor here but I am shocked because he can see me, hear me. When he opens his mouth, I see that his teeth are very long and that his eyes shine in the dark. Dark red eyes, and with fingers that look like claws.
"Please sir, I need you to save my little sister. Please stop that man from taking her there. I do not want her to go there" my voice is breaking but my eyes are as dry as a tree in summer.
He moves his head from side to side and opens his mouth to talk. "You're a spirit", he says, "I have noticed you roaming about in the past hour and that's why I have come up to you. I am no doctor. I am here to save you" he raises his arms and... 


Suzy has been secretly in love with Leonard for seven years, and when she finally became Mrs. Xu, everyone laughed at her for suddenly flying up the branches as a pheasant who turn into a phoenix.
But she didn't care, what she cared about was that Leonard was finally hers.
When Suzy first married Leonard, she felt that it didn't matter if he didn't love her, it would be fine if he would love her in the future.
But Leonard had no heart.
She has money, beauty, and a perfect body. Why should she waste her life on Leonard who was a robot with no emotions?
The divorce agreement Suzy prepared has been directly signed by Leonard. From now on, the sky was high and the ocean was wide. She walked brightly with young and fresh men by her side.
After the divorce, Leonard was able to see his ex-wife's scandals on the trending list within three to five minutes. Yesterday, she was sharing dinner with the head of a start-up company, and today she was building a nest of love with a rookie actor.
Leonard held his mobile phone in one hand, and typed, "You should all go screw yourselves! This is my woman!"
Suzy, who has been living a colorful life, asked, "Who are you, sir?" 
Ariana York is a proud woman, but she sets her pride aside to pursue Elijah Linden, a cold, distant man. Her wish comes true, and she finally marries him. However, after marriage, she realizes he has someone else in his heart.Ariana becomes the laughingstock of the city's upper crust. Once, she fights with Elijah and jumps off a building. The debacle is recorded and uploaded online—the whole city mocks her.When Ariana wakes up, she's lost all her memories of Elijah."Who are you, mister?""Pulling the amnesia trick isn't the trend anymore, Ari. I won't divorce you."Ariana turns and leaves without hesitation.Three years later, an adorable little girl accidentally runs into Elijah. He sees the woman he's dreamed of countless times approach, and he blurts out, "Ari, is this our—"Ariana is holding a handsome man's arm. "Mr. Linden, allow me to introduce you to the father of my child!" 

Wynter Quinnell has never known that she's not related to the Yates family by blood. When her childhood sweetheart and the rest of the world turn on her, the Yates family kicks her out and tells her to search for her biological parents in the hole she'd crawled out from…Wynter laughs it off. She's about to stun everyone by revealing her secret identity, but it turns out the "hole" the Yates family had mentioned is actually the richest family in Kingbourne, the Quinnell family!Over the course of a single night, she goes from the Yates family's fake daughter, who's despised by everyone, to the actual daughter of the richest man in the country. She also has six brothers who absolutely adore her!Her eldest brother is a domineering president. "Let's pause the meeting right here. Get me a ticket back to the country—I wanna see who are the people who have the nerve to bully my sister!"Her second-eldest brother is a famous celebrity. "Cancel the function. I'm gonna take my sister home right now."Her third-eldest brother is a god in his industry. "Postpone the competition. Nothing's more important than my sister."This rocks the country!The Yates family regrets every wrong move they make, and Wynter's childhood sweetheart tries to win her back.But before she can reject him, Dalton Yarwood, the president of Yarwood Corporation and the son of the renowned Yarwood family, proposes to her. It makes her the talk of the town! 

In her past life, Vivian Grant was seen as a powerless beauty trapped by the cold and ruthless Alexander Brooks. Even he believed she never loved him. But when enemies closed in, it was Vivian who sacrificed everything, including her own family, to avenge him.Now reborn, Vivian refuses to hide her strength. She's revealing her true identity, claiming her power, and rewriting her fate. No more submission, no more misunderstandings—this time, she'll take control of her life and her love.As regretful brothers beg for forgiveness and powerful enemies fall at her feet, Vivian has one goal: to rise without mercy and make the man she once loved fall for her all over again—on her terms. 


Loved for two full decades by Stephen Rimmer of the Rimmer family, Crystal Hoffman believes she is finally about to walk down the aisle—only to be brutally betrayed right before the wedding.
In the name of love for Amy Knott, his new flame, Stephen turns cold and merciless. He hurls cruel insults at Crystal, forces her to kneel, and even threatens her mother's life, crushing every bit of her dignity.
Her mother dies tragically, her unborn child is lost, and she is left penniless. In the blink of an eye, Crystal is dragged from paradise into hell.
At rock bottom, she makes a clean break. Leaving her homeland behind, she goes abroad to pursue the dreams she once had. Through sheer talent and grit, she gains admission to a top university and meets Julian Herring, her guiding light.
While she steadily rises to become a brilliant new star in the pharmaceutical world, Stephen, obsessed with his new lover, allows her family to bleed the company dry, ultimately ending up with nothing left to his name and abandoned by all.
By the time Stephen finally comes to his senses and goes abroad to search for Crystal, she is no longer the woman he once knew.
She now wields real power, and she exacts revenge for every humiliation she once suffered, with interest, as the scumbag and the vile woman are made to pay a heavy price.
This is a story of betrayal and redemption, vengeance and self-discovery, in which the daughter of a lowly maid rises against all odds to seize control of her own destiny. 

In a treacherous web of deceit, she found herself betrayed by both her boyfriend and her own sister. To make matters worse, her adoptive father, driven by greed, took her life mercilessly.In a desperate bid for freedom, she fought her way through a blazing fire, risking everything to save him. Little did she know that he would repay her selflessness with betrayal of his own.Six long and grueling years passed before she resurfaced, armed with a determination for vengeance. With her twins by her side, she vowed to take back what was rightfully hers.Enter Mr. Young, a man of towering height and striking handsomeness. His sarcasm, arrogance, and undeniable power made it clear that women should keep their distance.But one day, a shocking twist occurred—the legendary man brought his little daughter to work. The revelation sent shockwaves through everyone around them.In a remarkable transformation, the once aloof and unfeeling man became possessive and overprotective, unable to hide his jealousy. The arrival of the twins only intensified the situation.The twin brother, with an air of arrogance, warned, "Daddy is despised by everyone, so stay away from our mother!"The twin sister chimed in, saying, "Give me another brother, and I'll give you my mother!" 

Ryan Pierce leaves me at the altar three times, each time for his precious first love, Natalie Grant.
The first time, she threatens to jump off a building. The second, she says she's moving abroad. The third, she sends a message, saying she's agreed to an arranged marriage.
On that day, the unflappable Ryan unravels. He abandons a church full of guests and turns me into a public joke once again.
My call to him is a final ultimatum.
"Come back now, or I will marry someone else today."
He only laughs in response. "Nat is young, so her dramatics are expected. But you are a grown woman. Are you also resorting to the same cheap tricks?"
My fingers clench around the phone. He knows it's one of Natalie's ploys, yet he chooses to indulge her anyway. That's when I finally let go.
Once he's finished soothing her, he turns his attention back to me as an afterthought.
"Choose a date to reschedule the wedding," he tells me. "Don't worry. It will be even grander than before."
At that moment, the man standing beside me smiles and interrupts him, "You will have to excuse us. My wife and I have a plane to catch." 
“ I, Alpha Lake Rush of the Rush Pack, hereby reject you, JoJo Wyatt, as my mate. However, you will need to keep working to pay off your debt.""Wait, what?"At the tender age of eleven, JoJo Wyatt had been forced to grow up faster than most. Coming from a challenging family background with a distant father and a fragile mother, JoJo realized early on that she had to take responsibility for herself and her younger sister. Her focus was solely on survival—love and romance held no appeal for her, especially after a devastating experience. She swore off relationships with men, but that changed when she began working for him in an unconventional role, trying to pay off roughly 7.8 million dollars for her mother’s hospital treatments.Alpha Lake Rush, 30, was known as the most formidable Alpha in the country. Though burdened by his own struggles, he had learned to be strong and decisive. His past experiences had led him to reject two of his mates. But when fate brings him JoJo, who is working to pay off her debt, everything changes. What happens when his destined mate turns out to be the one person he never expected—his third chance mate? 


Natalie Walker is a fake heiress who spends two decades acting as Diana Ashcroft's walking blood bank. When the true heiress returns, she's immediately kicked out of the house.
The true heiress mistreats her, and everyone mocks her. Then, the world is stunned when she suddenly turns out to be the only daughter of the Walker family, the country's wealthiest and most mysterious family.
Natalie's birth parents and five brothers dote on her like mad. Her allowance is boundless, and she can splurge on whatever she wants. She can drive any limited-edition sports car and buy haute couture if she wants…
She also has a fiancé who's supposedly the wealthiest man in the world. However, he either avoids meeting her or gives her the cold shoulder. He even comes knocking, saying that he wants to call off the engagement.
Natalie thinks it's perfect. Unexpectedly, after calling off the engagement, he pesters her, wanting to be affectionate with her all the time.
Natalie is irritated. "Can you have a little shame, Mr. Ex-Fiancé?"
Marcus Holden says, "What is shame? Can I eat it? Can it help me win my wife's heart?"
"Get lost."
"You're only telling me that because you love me. Why haven't you said it to anyone else?"
Everyone realizes that the revered Marcus is actually a hopeless romantic who only has love on his brain.
Meanwhile, Marcus wants nothing more than to beat his old self up for being blind. 
The first time Iris Lynd met Thomas Franklin, he locked her out on the balcony, threatening her to stay away from every man in his family!But upon their second encounter, he pinned her against the wall of the hallway, forcing himself on her!She had believed that she would get a fresh start in Franklin Manor but was unaware that it was the devil's trap—for she was the daughter of a sworn enemy!However, after the endless drama…"Iri. Give me a hug.""Iri. Run and I will break your legs.""Iri, you're the light of my life…"Iris's voice was choking with tears of despair. "Let me go, Thomas. I don't love you."Like a dragon guarding its treasure, he whispered into her ear, "Our fates are bound to each other now. You're mine in life or in death, Iri!" 
Right before sitting for our college entrance exams, Samuel Stafford insists on calling off our engagement because he's fallen for Madison Locke, a woman who saved his life.His parents vehemently object to it, so Samuel and I get married as planned after we graduate from university. However, Madison dies in an accident, and it's revealed that she's pregnant. From then on, endless humiliation and insults await me.Up until his death, Samuel doesn't realize Madison was a promiscuous woman. She wasn't pregnant with his child at all.After being reborn, I learn my lesson and boldly pursue Evan Stafford, to whom I owe a favor. I become Samuel's aunt.Heh. This time, I'm going to give Samuel and Madison my full support so they can end up together. I'm going to make Samuel enjoy the feeling of being cuckolded! 




Anna kindly saved a man. But she did not expect that she saved an ungrateful man who deflowered her later.
She took a needle and stuck on it, causing him to become impotent and not be able to have sex with another woman again!
Her adoptive parents schemed against her and made her marry into a wealthy family in place of her good friend. She was surprised to find that her newlywed husband was actually impotent...
Anna seemed to understand something. She left the divorce agreement and ran away.
During her escape, she found that she had a child in her belly.
Her rich and powerful husband angrily chased after her. "Anna, explain why you stuck a needle on me! Cure my sexual dysfunction, R-I-G-H-T N-O-W!"
She thought that he would torture her after taking her back, but out of her expectation, he pampered her a lot.?
The reporter asked, "Sir, didn't you say that she was an impostor?"
Louie held Anna in his arms, "Bullshit! I only wanted Anna from start to finish!"
"And, the baby in her belly!" 
After a heated confrontation with her husband and mistress, Brianna was pushed down to stairs.She thought she would die but when she woke up again, she realized that she traveled back two years ago, when it was not late for her to correct her path.The first thing she needed to do when she was reborn was divorce that scum.She saved from the darkest time but he lied to her and murdered her in the end.This time, she would not repeat the same mistakes anymore.She would bring the glory of her family back and make those people who betrayed her pay the price!However, in the process of climbing up to the peak of her career, she met a very intimidating and handsome man who kept on messing with her head through his bold attitude.Brianna doesn't want to be involved with another man again, for she has proven to herself that they will just drag her down, but her constant incidents with him are slowly breaking the wall she built to protect her heart.Brianna will surely choose her career over a man this time, but it’s possible to choose both, right? What if he hurt her too?No! She won’t risk it but…“You have to run away from me, Bree. Coz I’m done running away, I’ll chase you now.” 


"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" I seethed.
Harper's mouth fell open. "Did he just say what I think he said?"
I blew out a huff of air through my nose in aggravation. "Yep."
All I saw was the word the dog mouthed, but in the end, that's all I needed to see to make it seem like the end of my world.
The word that made my life SO complicated from that point on was...
'Mate'
{•}~{•}~{•}~{•}~{•}~{•}~{•}~{•}~{•}~{•}~{•}~{•}~{•}~{•}~{•}
Maria lives in House Crimson as one of the highest-ranking vampires of her house. The second, to be precise. It's not because she's fought in countless wars, or lived so many hundreds of years, or can make people bend to her will with a threatening glare. She hasn't/doesdon't do any of those things. She's only 17.
Her rank might have something to do with her bad@ss nature and undeniable knack for leadership, but who's to say for sure?
Nevertheless, she's only second to the master and mistress themselves, who also happens to be her aunt and uncle.
Yeah... not great leaders, those two. They're cowards who abandon their house after the first signs of an invasion. Disgraceful.
Now, Maria is left to try and fix things on her own with the werewolf invaders. But of course, there will be. . . complications along the way. 

"You are so daring. Do you know that? What will I do with you?" He asked, gazing into her sparkling, beautiful eyes."Permit me to love you, Andy. That's all I want." She responded with so much boldness and sincerity that it almost, just almost, made his stone heart melt. But who could ever melt his stone heart?A billionaire who gave up on love even before experiencing it because all that life threw at him were nothing but rejections since birth. Nobody ever wanted him, and she was a poor and naive girl with family problems weighing her down. She has never been in love, and love is not on her list of priorities.Two extremely different people were brought together by unavoidable circumstances, or perhaps fate. Call it whatever you want.When their worlds collide, their goals get compromised by their undeniable burning desires for each other, and this fire melts down their fears, worries, and beliefs in the blink of an eye. An insecure single father and a naive maid are swimming in the ocean of an unnamed fire that threatens to consume them both if they rebel against its spark. Call it lust. Call it addiction. Call it obsession. Give it the tag you see as best fitting. But truth be told, theirs is a milestone of a complicated, challenging, but prodigious, heart-stirring romance journey like no other. 







Everyone says that Mabel Silverstone is the most virtuous wife in the military family compound. Never once has she felt jealous of the meticulous care her husband, Elliot Foster, shows for his first love, Zoe Young. On the contrary, she even takes the initiative to take care of Zoe, the most important woman in Elliot's heart.On this day, Mabel wakes early to prepare breakfast. Zoe has only caught a cold, but Elliot has shirked all his military responsibilities to personally take care of her. He even asks Mabel to send their meals to the hospital every day.When Mabel leaves the compound, thermos in hand, dawn has just broken on the horizon."Are you going to the hospital to deliver food for Zoe again?" her neighbor, Winnie McMahon, asks while carrying a grocery bag. She shakes her head, looking frustrated. "You're the most virtuous wife in this entire military compound. You never get jealous even though Colonel Foster treats Zoe so well, and you even wait on them hand and foot. In my opinion, you need to grow a backbone!" 




DARK ROMANCE "Sir, I am in a dire need of loan. Its very important, my friends life is at stake. I assure you I'll try my best to return the loan asap." She breathlessly said it all. Her eyes were filled with hope and expectations. He was her last hope.
"Miss Sheharzaad," Shehryaar said, while standing up from his chair causing her to instantly stand up.
"Yes sir" she replied, her voice troublesome yet confident.
He walked towards the other side of the table and sat on the chair parallel to her.
"Keep sitting, please." He said, like a gentleman and she sat down. She tightly held her hands together. A life could be saved by his single yes.
"Sir please," she pleaded.
"I agree. You can have the loan, but I have a condition."
"I agree to your every condition sir" she replied with a little smile of victory on her face.
"Think before you speak, Miss Sheharzaad."
"I trust you."
"I want a one night stand with you." He dropped the bomb.
............
"Every women is nothing but a , a and you're also one of them." He said making her wriggling double against the ropes, which tied her.
"You're wrong." She replied with a sheer determination in her eyes.
He harshly gripped held her chin and bobbed her head up towards him.
"Oh, I'll prove it to you then." He spoke with an immense intensity and a promise in his eyes.
"You'll now serve me as my personal escort, Sheharzaad." He declared and threaded his fingers into her silky locks, pasting his lips on hers, her brutally.
He didn't trust womankind and she was a strong woman.
He wanted shatter and break her into pieces so he could satisfy himself. 
"Katelyn, your love disgusts me." When Ethan forced her to apologize to that woman, completely ignoring whether she lived or died, Katelyn finally came to her senses that her marriage was a joke. Ethan had never cared about her, not even at her mother's funeral, when he cheated on her with her own sister. She filed for divorce and bid Ethan farewell.Katelyn soon returned to her career and steadily became a highly sought - after editor - in - chief.Fate smiled on her and she was discovered by her billionaire biological father, who made her the heir to all his fortune. As she danced passionately in the arms of her new boyfriend Cayden, Ethan watched with burning jealousy and regret. Unable to contain himself any longer, he dropped to his knees before her and begged, "Please, Katelyn… please come back to me." 
The first 18 years of Leona Barnett's life are smooth sailing. She's the apple of her father's eye, and her elder brother gives her everything she asks for. Not only does she have a powerful wolf, Hatty, but she also has a fated mate, Soren Knight—the Shadow pack's youngest leader. She was once the most envied gem in the entire pack. But, everything comes to an abrupt end the year she turns 18. Her stepsister, Elara Walker, meticulously plots to plunge her into the abyss of a mental asylum. Only when she struggles to face reality does she learn that her world has already been turned upside down. Her father's love is now directed toward his stepdaughter, while her elder brother treats her coldly. Even Hatty, who is an intrinsic part of her, has become silent. Meanwhile, Soren, the man who once swore to protect her forever, seems to have eyes for someone else now. As it turns out, behind all the love and adoration, she's the one being abandoned by everyone. In order to regain her strength and seek the truth, Leona decides to escape the pack and embark on a treacherous path of rebellion. She conceals her identity, advancing alone in the dark, until she finally makes her decision to let go of the past and cut everything off completely. When those who once abandoned her start turning around one by one, and when belated apologies and efforts to reconcile start pouring in, will she still be able to find healing for her deeply wounded heart? 

Michelle Stewart, a well cultured, independent lady is in a relationship with the love of her life, Derek Howard. They are happy and in love, but sometimes Michelle doubts that as she faces a strong opposition, Derek's mom.
Mrs. Howard has never for one day approved of her son's relationship with Michelle because she felt Michelle wasn't of their social class. She endlessly taunts Michelle with hurtful words every chance she gets and Derek does nothing about it.
As the day goes by and the torments continues, Michelle doubts that Derek's feelings for her are genuine, which leads her to her breaking point, but someone shows up along the way. That someone brought Michelle back on her feet, made her know what love is, against every opposition.
But what if that someone isn't an ex, but Derek's brother?
Will Derek let Michelle have the happiness she deserves, or will he fight for the love of his life? 



Three years ago, I had my positive cancer diagnosis in one hand as I consoled Anderson Graham, whose eyes were red and teary.
"It's just cancer. I can beat this."
However, he continued crying until he was almost out of breath. He hugged me so tightly that I thought my bones would crack.
"Yvonne, promise me that you'll beat this. I'll wait for you to return so I can marry you!"
In order to live, I had to remove most of my stomach.
Every single day, I was faced with handful after handful of pills and never-ending chemotherapy.
Three years later, I'm finally healed and can return to Anderson's side.
During my return party, his female best friend chuckles as she raises a glass.
"Andy was as celibate as a priest while you were overseas. I kept a close eye on him every single night and made sure nobody else was in his bed.
"I practically tattooed the words 'Do Not Touch' on him to make sure nobody else would go for him!"
The noisy room suddenly becomes so quiet that I can hear a pin drop.
I do my best to ignore the prickling ache coming from my chest.
With an equally bright smile, I raise my glass and reply, "Should I give you an award for keeping his bed occupied, then?" 


I just experienced the most unforgettable Christmas night of my life.
I had planned a pajama-themed Christmas party with my best friend, Lia Wright, and I purposely changed into my black, lacey night gown, took a sexy photo of myself in it, and sent it to her.
"Daddy, wanna open your Christmas present tonight?" I said in a text message to tease her.
Exactly three minutes later, she replied, "Are you sure you want to play this game?"
I chuckled at how serious she was, then typed my provocative reply. "Just say it if you're too scared to come over."
Now, 20 minutes later, the door to my room is suddenly thrown open with a loud bang.
Liam Blake, my childhood friend who had been giving me the cold shoulder for the past half year, shows up at the door, his eyes rimmed red and with a light dusting of snow on his clothes. He pushes me onto the bed and kisses me fiercely and fervently.
"What did you just call me earlier?" Liam gasps, backing away slightly so his hot breath fans across my lips. His voice is low and hoarse, and I have never heard him speak like that before. "Call me that again."
I shiver hard and quickly sober up before grabbing my phone that was still lit up.
I had thought that I'd been chatting with Lia the entire time. But now, I suddenly realize that the name on top of the chat window had been "Liam" the entire time. 

I stuck by Wesley Grant for five years.
I jumped into the sea, underwent an abortion, and even took a bullet—all for his sake.
I was called his lapdog. Yet, they were unaware that he had saved my life from the brink of death five years ago. From that moment on, I swore I would only remain loyal to him.
At the dinner hosted by the Grant family, he had me lower myself to his childhood sweetheart. It was only when his uncle, Joseph Grant, entered and stopped him that I realized the truth.
The man who saved me five years ago had never been Wesley.
It was Joseph all along.
Without any hesitation, I called the patriarch of the family, Albert Grant, saying, "I changed my mind. The heir of the Grant family should be Joseph. If not, I'll withdraw my investments at once."