Different Not Less Novels & Stories

“The practical kind. Trade routes. Shared patrol intelligence. Non interference agreements. Things that keep smaller conflicts from becoming… inconvenient.” I felt it then, the subtle wrongness beneath his words. Not in what he offered, but in what he didn’t say. No mention of mutual defense. No mention of shared accountability. Only convenience. “And what do you expect in return,” I asked. His smile widened slightly. “Flexibility.” Rowan’s hand brushed mine, a silent warning, or reassurance, I wasn’t sure which. “We don’t make decisions at the border,” Rowan said evenly. Kael inclined his head. “I wouldn’t expect you to. I’ll wait for your answer.”

He didn't drop a note or even a word. " Fuck." I run my hand through my hair. God it's wild. My mind ran to last night. How our conversation moved so smoothly. He was easy to talk to and I enjoyed every minute of our conversation. Who wouldn't. He was different from the other guys there since he wasn't wearing a suit or dress shirt like these men whom we saw at the club. Now I'm left to wonder how old he is. I didn't pay much attention to his age but he should be around my age too. Why do I even fucking care?

You could say the world runs differently when it involves the rich and the poor. If there is something Alice would love to change about the system then it will be this. She doesn’t understand why the members of the royal society will be offered a private tuition for their children. As she would read through a book written by an American hidden author who said ‘We are in the twenty first century, hence every child deserves to be treated equally.’

"New is in fashion." "I thought it would be good doing business with you." "Really?" I tried to contain my laughter and paid attention to the glass clutched in my hands. "I know it's good doing business with me but I prefer loyalty over money. I went through our accounts. Too many complaints from your service sector. Too many technicians sent without free of charge. I'm handling a hotel, not a fund donation. I need quality. I require best services, not a foolish tank of gas and tv."

The door clicked shut behind him. I listened to his footsteps move down the hallway, down the stairs, and fade into the floor below. Then I sat very still for a moment. The room felt different when he was gone. Like the air had stopped holding its breath. I reached under my thigh and pulled out my phone. I went back to the documents first, scrolling through the photographs slowly this time without the pressure of a ticking clock. The merger terms, the liability clauses, the Chen Industries letter with its careful, cordial language wrapped around something that was neither careful nor cordial.

Different digits. The text reads: Switched numbers. Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Elena. Walk away while it's still your choice.

But then she noticed something—something on my face. In the past, any time I had to go out in public, I'd hire a makeup artist to cover the scars. I'd keep my head down, avoid the cameras, avoid the stares. But not today. My face was bare. No makeup. No shame. And my expression—was confident. "Johnny… your face…" Before she could finish, Leila called out from across the hall, waving at me. "Johnny, we're up next!" I didn't want to waste another second with them. I gave her a calm, even look and replied, "As you can see. And Sylvie—newsflash: not everything in the world revolves around you."

she assk He looks at me as if he thinks it's a trick question. I nod my head to let him know its okay to say yes. “Yes Luna” “ Grrr, so that means you have to listen to what I say correctly?” “ Yes Luna” “ So if I say call me Alice instead of Luna, and you don’t respect my wishes and call me Luna anyway that would be considered disrespectful , correct?” oh she found a loophole in my rule great “ Yes, I do believe you are correct, Alice.” Noah says making a huge smile go on her face as she looks at me knowing she just won this argument

“So I fell short on the funds? Do you need to go out of your way to point that out? After all the years I’ve cared for you, must you get upset over a bit of money? “You’re nothing like your sister. You are a thankless brat.” Sitting next to me, Tania glanced at my phone before looking up and uttering, “Oh, it is just four hundred dollars, Susan.” Susan let out a strained chuckle in embarrassment. “My eyesight isn’t what it used to be. I must have missed a zero.” She glared at me. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Susan reluctantly transferred me the rest of the funds, her voice stiff when she said, “There you go. You have the money. Now, get us a decent spread. Don’t keep everybody wait

Once Aiden makes up his mind, the rest of us just have to listen. “Fine. What is it?” I asked. He looked me dead in the eye. “If you’re going to bend the rules, do it right. We start from scratch and now we make it 90 days.” I blinked, assuming I had misheard him. “90 days? What do you even mean, start from scratch?” “You changed the deal, so the timeline resets. None of the past days count anymore. We start counting from today and it’s 90 days now.”