Slow Burn

The coffee shop is all I have. But today I found out that they can take it away from me too. And all because of a guy I trusted... And he set me up. Now I need to find money to pay off the loan. And everything would be fine, but the amount is extremely large for me. But when a friend offers a good way to make money, I agree without hesitation. What's wrong with that? To play the bride of a self-confident major! And to play it so that the man's family will never think of marrying him again. I will become an imperfect bride for one night only. I will get my money and Herman will get his freedom. But what happens when my game leads to a completely different outcome that neither I nor Herman expected?

“I hope you're thinking about our date,” Yar's voice interrupts my thoughts. “What? No!” I blurt out and blush. I turn to the window again so that Yar doesn't see it. - I'm not going on a date with you. - Why? - he asks me directly. - You don't like me? - I do, but... I don't want to. - What a strange answer. Don't you think?" he asks me directly. The car stops in front of the gate of my house, and while we wait for it to open, Yar waits for my answer. “You don't need a girl like me,” I say, looking at my hands. "What's wrong with you? You're beautiful, smart, and kind. I can go on if you want. - No, don't! I... I... I have scars all over my body. They look terrible. - Is that the problem? Your scars?

Instead of enjoying life in her native castle, she chose the mountains. However, not everything is so simple - due to a mistake by her younger sister, Manelli has to go to the royal palace to pretend to be interested in choosing a new queen. Prince Radmin cannot choose the one among all the beauties of the kingdom, and Manella considers him a fool and wants to return home as soon as possible so that no watchful eye will follow her every step and learn her secrets.

- "Are you used to getting everything you want? That no beauty can resist your crazy charisma?" I tremble, clenching my fists. Let him think that I'm angry with him, that I have an unbearable temper, as long as he doesn't guess how I really feel about him. - "What happened between us once means nothing to me! - "Hey, Lyubov, don't get so worked up," I get angry when Demian smiles at me like that. I'm annoyed because I'm unbearably attracted to his lips. I want him. I want him, and I'm angry at myself, at him, at the circumstances. - "That past doesn't mean anything to me either. All that matters to me is how our relationship will develop now." - "Relationship? With you? Is this some kind of new game?" I make an ironic face because I'm nervous. - "Mmm... no games, foxie.

- "I warn you, only business ethics are welcome in my office. If I notice that you are flirting with me, we will say goodbye immediately. The two previous secretaries got fired just like that," he says, minting every word with an indifferent tone and not even looking at me. Ha, like I’d ever try to woo you! I don't even want to work here! - "Don't worry, Yaroslav Bronislavovich," god, what a tongue-twister of a name that is, "you're not my type at all. Now you're looking at me with your blue eyes. What a handsome bastard! I can see why girls fall for you. I dare to add one more phrase, hoping that he will immediately dismiss me. - Sir, you better worry about not falling in love with me. Trust me, you’re not gonna enjoy it. - Me? You? Don't even count on it!

All my conscious life, I wanted to break free from control—to speak up at least sometimes. To have a choice… my own choice. Not to listen to other people’s advice. To live my own life, make decisions, study, build friendships, dream, love… I longed for independence so deeply that I failed to notice when those desires turned against me. Sadly, I was the one who took a step whose consequences I can now only guess at.

When the trembling sensations of first love are seasoned with doubt, fragile trust dissolves. When awkwardness plays into the hands of others, and unshakable confidence shatters under convincing lies, all you want to do is scream. From pain, injustice, despair—and a love that not even time was able to destroy. Yet it takes only a single step to feel that absolute moment of happiness again. Will they dare?

I fade on the threshold of the living room, my feet grew to the floor. The glass from the broken vase was scattered on the parquet, small fragments sparkle in the light of the morning sun - so contrasting, so wrong. The power has lowered shoulders. Hands shake. He stands, staring at the place on the wall where a second ago was a vase, and breathes hard, torn as after running. I take a step forward, unconsciously. He hears me and suddenly rotates. Our views meet, and I understand: now he is fighting with himself. And I am very sorry. - I want you to hear nothing well, - says cold. - But ... - Miro, this is not a request - his look cuts me into pieces. I remember what Vlad was yesterday. As he kissed me. As he smiled. Now a completely different person in front of me. Broken, wounded and slig

"I don't know what my father told you, but I'm doing just fine without a personal chef. I glance over at the pizza boxes in the corner of the room. “Yeah, I see that.” “That's none of your business,” he says, angry. I need a job, and you obviously need to eat healthy." - Healthy? I'm on a healthy diet, thank you. - Oh, really?" I point to the bottle of cola next to the couch. He rolls his eyes, walks past me into the kitchen and opens the fridge. - See? I have food! I peek inside. A pack of protein bars, some yogurt, sauces, a can of beer. I look at him, then back at the fridge. “Are you kidding?” I snort. He grabs one of the bars and opens it, taking a bite. “That's a full meal,” he says with a full mouth.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks and takes a step back. “Because you're my last hope,” I say calmly, even too calmly. “Excuse me?” Her voice becomes sharp. “We have to convince the whole world that I've been in a serious relationship for a long time.” “And you want me to...” “Yes,” I interrupt her, “play my girlfriend.” She blinks, as if she can't believe what she's heard. Arsen puts his hand to his face, as if he wants to wake up from this madness. And only I, inspired by my own idea, smile like an idiot. “You're crazy,” Olesya whispers. “I'm not going to play your girlfriend.” “It's a stupid plan,” adds Arsen. “Olesya can't stand you, and here you have to play love.” “Maybe,” I reply and look at the confused girl with interest. “But I know you well. You won't leave me

You Are From My Dreams Adele seems quiet and gentle at first glance… but a storm lives inside her. It is this storm that keeps pulling her into trouble, conflict, and chaos. The world is merciless to women like her — tender yet stubborn, sensitive yet sharp-tongued. Everything changes after one meeting. Adam is young, dangerous, devastatingly handsome. The son of a powerful father, a man feared by many and admired by all. There has been no warmth in his life for a long time… until the day he sees Adele. She awakens in him the one thing he feared the most — the desire to protect, to care, to possess. But their story is not about romance. It is a battle — for trust, for survival, for a love that burns hotter than fire. Camille was meant to be a friend, a support — but became a threat. His fe

Zalika Pemberton has had enough. Enough of the sighs and whispered rumors surrounding the enigmatic Earl of Suffolk, a man most people have never even met. To her, such mystery can only mean one thing: he must be an arrogant, unpleasant monster. Jacob Daft knows his arrival in London will cause a stir, but he has only one goal in mind: to fulfill his duty by finding a wife and securing his lineage. However, his first appearance in society brings an unexpected surprise when he overhears a young lady criticizing him without the slightest restraint. Zalika never imagined her words would reach the earl’s ears. And Jacob never thought he would enjoy proving her wrong quite so much, even if it means provoking the only woman who seems utterly immune to his name.

To pay for my sister's education, I have to get a job as a caregiver. My patient turns out to be a young and handsome former athlete. True, he has a terrible temper... But I love difficult challenges! "If you hired me as an escort dressed as a nurse, take her away immediately and fulfill your strange fantasies yourself. "I have a diploma... "Oh, as if I don't know that Tadey can buy any diploma. With legs and hair like that, you can't work in hospitals. And nurses only play to order for VIP clients... — I really did work in a hospital. But I was fired because I didn't reciprocate the chief doctor's advances. I was dismissed “by mutual agreement”... — And that's why you decided to go work for a rich disabled man, — Yarema snorted...

I will have to marry this cruel and selfish man, even though I love someone else. My sister was supposed to marry him, but my parents decided to sacrifice me. “My parents have gone completely mad... That Gordey, he's a sadist, four brides have run away from him...” said my sister. “What do you mean?” “I heard he has a special room,” she blushed. “Like in those movies... And that he does whatever he wants with those girls there. And then they break off the engagement.” “But brides always move in with their husbands after the wedding.” We're not even engaged yet, why should I move? “Exactly... Usually after. But this one... This one uses them and throws them away,” she looked away. “And they all hope...”

In bed with the enemy - that's her. Anna found herself in a “golden cage” when she married an attractive diplomat who turned out to be a sadist. Together with her husband, who is appointed ambassador, she moves from Greece to Ukraine. But one day she disappears, and her relatives are very worried. Is their daughter alive? What happened to her? This is what a detective of Ukrainian origin, Julian Khmelnytsky, nicknamed Khmil, has to figure out...

Adaya feels like life has done nothing but hit her over and over again. Even so, somehow she manages to keep going. Now, she has a purpose: to break the chains that bind her to a pair of despicable people once and for all. And there’s only one place that allows her to do that — a club called “El Clic.” Dancing there isn’t her life’s dream, but it gives her the money she needs to leave... and it lets her become someone else: bolder, freer, untamed. But one night, things take an unexpected turn. The proposal from one of the club’s exclusive clients leaves her stunned: a private dance — but not on the stage... a little closer.

Marisol hates Valentine’s Day and has no intention of getting married. She doesn’t believe in love at all—until she accidentally “buys” herself a groom with her change. And now his master, who had planned to marry her himself, is ready to destroy them both… But Marisol’s unwilling groom disappears, and to save him, she embarks on a journey that will change everything…

One day, a stranger proposed to me... Or rather, he proposed a fictitious marriage with very strange conditions. I agreed because the reward was my independence. But a trip with my “fiancé” to a meeting of his classmates at a picturesque resort in the Carpathian Mountains was like opening Pandora's box. It turns out that each of the attendees had their own “skeletons in the closet.” And the revelation of the secrets of the past led to a murder in which each of the ten of us could be suspected...

"So it turns out we can never be together?" — I heard her voice trembling as she said it. "Even if we love each other?" "Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe that’s really how it is. But I don’t want to completely stop talking to you either. And not just because of the game. It was unbearably hard for me not to talk to you before... when I was in Germany," I reminded her. "This already sounds like some kind of masochism," she suddenly smiled. "And sadism too, of course… Because you’re tormenting not only yourself, Dima." "Your game has only grown stronger, and love… You’ll fall in love again, believe me. You’re still young and everything’s ahead of you." It hurt to say those words. Even the thought of her falling in love with someone else filled me with an almost uncontrollable rage.

fter three years together, Cassandra’s boyfriend breaks up with her on her twenty-fifth birthday. The reason? She had gained too much weight, and he no longer felt comfortable being with a woman who seemed to have stopped taking care of herself. Heartbroken and with her self-esteem shattered, she decides to leave her hometown and accept a job at a multinational company in the capital. Hurt, lost, and convinced that things couldn’t possibly get any worse, Cassandra is blindsided when one morning she receives a wedding invitation. She won’t just be a guest of honor her ex-boyfriend will be the best man. With only one month to prepare, Cassandra sets herself a mission: lose the extra weight, return transformed, and attend the wedding on the arm of a handsome man who is far better than her e