Pat Stares At

"Mommy, you have to be the first person to come pick me up, okay?" These are my daughter Dorothy Grant's final words to me when she walked me out of the house this morning. But when I stand at the kindergarten's entrance with a box of Dorothy's favorite strawberry shortcake in my hands, the security guard just stares at me as though I lost my mind. "Ma'am, this place might be where Sunflower Kindergarten is located, but it has already closed its doors for three years. This place is now a retirement home." I rush into the "kindergarten" instantly. The spot where the slide used to be is now replaced by a row of flowerbeds. The room that used to be the classroom now hosts a bunch of elderly people, who bask in the sunlight. With trembling hands, I call my husband, Chester Grant, on the phone. He sounds very exasperated and exhausted over the phone. "Honey, we've been married for five years, and we choose to be childless. You've never given birth before."

They say a fated mate only happens once. So why do four powerful Alphas claim me as theirs? Amara Elwood's first shift should've been a celebration. Instead, she was publicly rejected by her mate and cast out like a curse. Broken, humiliated, and alone, she fled-only to collapse deep in the heart of the Infinite Pack's territory, a place feared by all. When she wakes, four Alpha males stand over her. Dangerous and unbelievably gorgeous. But Amara doesn't believe in second chances, and definitely not four. She doesn't trust their heated stares, or the way her body reacts when any of them are near. Especially Dante-the coldest of them, the one who fights his bond the hardest... and the one who haunts her most. Tension simmers. Secrets stir. And Amara finds herself tangled in a web of passion, power struggles, and pack politics as the Alphas begin to fall-hard-for the girl who was never supposed to survive. But love this dangerous doesn't come without a cost. And some bonds were never meant to be broken.

Since I was a little girl, my mom had always taught me that I deserve all the good things in life. When I was still a student, my copycat roommate bought the same outfit that I had on purpose. She even asked me if she looked fat in it. I just shook my head. "I don't know. I, for one, have an amazing figure, so it definitely looks good on me." Once I start working, a male colleague decides to pursue me. So, I come up with an excuse on the spot and tell him that I already have a boyfriend. He looks at me with pain etched in his eyes. Then, he asks me if I'll take him into consideration after I break up with my boyfriend. I just sneer at him in return. "It seems that you don't love me enough. Otherwise, why aren't you offering to become my side piece?" Due to my principles, everyone keeps cursing me out and calling me an arrogant woman who has no sense of shame behind my back. But one day, when my blind date hears about my personality quirk, he decides to take me back to his home to visit his mother during the holidays. "My mom is the type who keeps demeaning herself for no reason. She keeps claiming that she's unworthy of anything in life. I swear, she's driving me mad! "If you can help my mom get rid of this habit, I'll give you whatever you want." This is definitely an interesting proposal. So, I accept it confidently with a pat on the chest. "Don't worry. Leave it to me."

Mateus Costa, o homem mais rico de Rio dos Cedros, passou três anos em coma. Durante todo esse tempo, Emilly Araújo, como sua esposa, cuidou dele com dedicação. No entanto, quando Mateus finalmente despertou, Emilly encontrou em seu celular uma mensagem comprometedora que sugeria traição: sua "deusa" havia retornado ao país. Seus amigos, que sempre a desprezaram, riam entre si: — O cisne branco voltou. Já está na hora de deixar o patinho feio para trás. Foi nesse momento que Emilly percebeu que Mateus nunca a havia amado. Ela não passava de uma piada patética. Algum tempo depois, tarde da noite, o poderoso Presidente Mateus recebeu os papéis do divórcio. Motivo: incapacidade do marido. Furioso, ele foi atrás dela, apenas para encontrar sua ex-esposa, antes um "patinho feio", trajando um elegante vestido longo, irradiando uma beleza serena sob as luzes brilhantes. A mulher que ele desprezara havia se transformado em uma renomada especialista médica. Ao vê-lo se aproximar, a Sra. Costa sorriu de leve e, em um tom brincalhão, disse: — Presidente Mateus, veio marcar uma consulta com um urologista?

I have two kidneys. I've given one of them to my wife, Teagan Holt. In just one year, Teagan and her childhood sweetheart, Morgan Backman, have gone through all 72 karmasutra positions in bed. They can't wait to experience them all over again. My other kidney is given to Morgan. They've used 365 condoms, and the water bill is more than five times its regular rate. Teagan can't even get out of bed every day from how sore she is. Two years later, when Morgan needs another kidney transplant in order to survive, Teagan steps into the manor on her own. She looks everywhere for me, only to see our nine-year-old son, Milo Shepherd, crouching at the doorway. "Milo, as long as you can convince your dad to donate his kidney to Mr. Backman, I'll allow you to come home with me." Milo just stares up at Teagan innocently. "But Mom, you have Dad's other kidney inside you."

The medicine in her hand is a gateway to death, but it may not be. Victoria knew the path she was about to take could lead to destruction, but the hope for a little happiness remained. In the darkness of the hospital room, before her sits a man she once knew-a man who has lost everything, who now stares at her with sharp, hateful eyes. Logan, the badly injured CEO of Dallas Corp, spends his days in a wheelchair, trapped in a deep grudge. Victoria knows this is the right moment. If she didn't act now, it would all be over. “I can take you to get everything back,” Victoria said, voice wrapped in hesitation yet full of determination. Stepping closer, her eyes met Logan's dark, piercing ones. “Everything they ever took away, including your own honor as CEO of Dallas Corp,” she added, looking at him deeply, like an unbreakable promise. “But... pay for my daughter's entire treatment. Even if necessary, find the best doctor in the country so he can work on her recovery.”

When I visit my girlfriend's house during the Christmas holidays, her cousin, Antonio Esposito, humiliates me in front of everyone because of a scar on the back of my hand. "This scar looks like a remnant of the crossfire with the mafia! Bianca, why did you think that bringing an ex-convict home was a good idea?" The entire Romano family stares at me in a mixture of horror and shock. My girlfriend, Bianco Romano, even shakes my hand off while staring at me in disgust. Not only does Antonio flip the table, but he also calls over a few hooligans in an attempt to take me to the local police station. "We must teach scumbags like him a lesson!" he declares. After that, Antonio and the hooligans strip off my jacket and strap me to the tree in the courtyard. They then attempt to force me to admit that I'm working for the mafia. I can only gnash my teeth together stubbornly, refusing to yield no matter what. What they don't know is that the scar is a medal from my time in a peacekeeping war as a soldier!

Five years down the drain! Clair Green stares at the divorce papers in her hand. Never did she think she would be in this position. Then she thinks back over the last few months of her life with Mike—all the secret phone calls, the whispers in the dark and eventually the pictures that she was not supposed to see. At last, she could put a name to it all. Sienna Whitfield. In pain and ready to forget all of her trouble, she walks tall into the Banquet Hall. It is where the charity event will take place. Then she sees him - a man with so much authority, handsome and older—a man no one can miss. A man who walks like he owns the world, full of confidence. He walks up to her and talks to her, but when he introduces himself, she knows her desire for this man can never be fulfilled. The man who ignited the Flames of Desire in her is no one else but Damon Withfield. He is the uncle of her enemy. He is related to the woman who stole her husband. He is Sienna Whitfield's uncle!

Seven years into my secret marriage to Leon Ferrante—Don of the Ferrante Family—and he still wouldn't make it public. Before the vows, I was his Consigliere. Every arms deal went through me. After? Just another housewife. Swapped my holster for an apron. Kitchen counter became my war zone. He didn't want kids. Said he had to take care of his autistic little brother. I got it. So I gave it all up—for his Family, for that kid. The Family blew up fast. The kid? Went from blank stares to sharp comebacks. Even started talking. But Leon still kept me in the dark. His mother wouldn't quit. "Give him a healthy heir. He'll settle down." I thought maybe she was right. I clung to him for a few nights. I got pregnant. Came home with the results, ready to tell him— Then I heard his "autistic" brother ask, clear as day: "Papa, are you gonna divorce Anna and marry someone else?"

The two childhood sweethearts swear that they'll marry no one but me, but they stand by as my dog of ten years gets killed in a car accident. I cradle the dog's mangled body, but no tears fall. Dante Battaglia stares at me in disgust and asks, "Why did you bring it home? Don't you know Anna's allergic to it?" Dario Battaglia immediately rushes over to snatch away the body in my arms. "This is a damned jinx. Get rid of it!" The Battaglia siblings and I are childhood friends. Dante became the Don, and Dario the Consigliere. I'm the precious princess in the two brothers' eyes, but everything changes with Anna's arrival. After burying the dog myself, I reply to the email inviting me to join an international classified project. The email reads, "Ms. Julia Costanza, we'd like to know if you're willing to participate in this institute's ten-year-long classified project. Upon joining, your personal information will be sealed for a decade, and you will be prohibited from contacting the outside world." I replied, "Yes, I agree."