stage the gala dinner

The Zhekova family's young master approached Cindy Clarke with an old phone and said, "You dropped this five years ago, and I picked it up. Do you still deny it?" Five years ago, she was set up and got pregnant. Cindy Clarke never imagined that the father of her son would turn out to be the Prince Charming that the entire nation loved. She had a weak father, a scheming mother, and a sister plotting to harm her? None of that mattered! Adrian Zhekova said, "Whatever they want, I'll give it all to you. Let them be jealous." If her opponents slandered Cindy Clarke? Adrian Zhekova said, "I'll shut down their account." Don't like it? Endure it! Morgan Clarke said, "Sob, sob... Arthur Woods says I'm an illegitimate child without a dad." After the Woods family went bankrupt, Adrian Zhekova turned to Cindy Clarke and asked, "When are you going to make us official?" Cindy Clarke replied, "Since I met you, it's been like having a cheat code. Everything goes my way." Adrian Zhekova replied, "That's right, I'm that cheat code."

Old phone in paw, Mr. Zhao corners Ye Fei: “You left this with me five years ago—still pretending we never happened?” Back then, Ye Fei got tricked into Mommy-hood, and Baby’s dad turns out to be the nation’s top heart-throb! Coward dad, scheming mom, meanie sister? → Zhao buys her the moon and watches them pout. Internet trolls? → One click → *poof* account gone. Little Ye Xiaomo tugs Zhao’s sleeve, pouting like a dumpling: “Daddy, Wang says I’m a wild kid with no dad!” Zhao pats his head: “Wang’s Wi-Fi just took a nap—forever.” Final scene: Zhao wearing an apron, waving a ladle: “So, when do I get upgraded from secret dad to official husband?” Ye Fei giggles: “Ever since I met you, life’s on easy mode!” Zhao winks: “Exactly—I’m the built-in cheat code!”

Once, Christopher Moore was the most unattainable diamond in the Capital—until a single, accidental night with a newly divorced mother-of-three rewrote his future. Reporters pounce: “Mr. Moore, you married a divorcee with three kids—doesn’t that feel like a loss?” He lifts an eyebrow, voice cool and final. “Loss? They’re my whole empire.”

I whimpered in pain. This is how it feels like to be cursed, right? That's me, Kaidaira Steele. Sold by mother, raised to be Ryder's little whore, rejected by best friend of nineteen years and husband of six years! It gets worse! Destined to die from a fucking severed bond from a miscreant with the weakest fucking wolf in existence! *** I pressed my ear to the door. I could hear my parents talk. “Who will take a deviant like her if she's incapable of doing the bare minimum. She's sterile! You heard Alpha Greg on national TV!" "So what are you saying Michael?" It was my mother's voice. "I'm saying it just became extremely harder to pawn her off to some poor unsuspecting beta. I'm saying she's extremely useless to us. I'm saying who could love and accept a miscreant like her. I'm saying let her be the pack whore. That way she's not entirely useless to me and my warriors will be in a good mood” *** Kaidaira is rejected by her husband because she's barren. She runs from the pack that disgraced and humiliated her and She goes back to her own pack hoping her loving parents would welcome her back but all she meets are parents who have turned cold and a pack who regard her as bed warmers, the pack public whore to be! After almost encountering an assault, Kaidaira decided to take up her brother's offer to enter in the yearly gala for a second rate mate. Reluctantly she goes but sneaks out because it reeked of desperation and she was in heat. There she meets Delta Kinnley, A Prince who has a secret of his own thus they strike a deal of the century. A contract marriage. Kaidaira has one demand - prove the world wrong by getting pregnant! Cover is not mine. credit goes to the rightful owner

Two teenagers. One anonymous online connection. Two dreams too big for their small worlds. When Lena Hart and Jaxon Cole meet in an online music forum at fifteen, neither expects to fall in love through shared voice notes and late-night songwriting sessions. Bound by ambition and raw talent, they vow to become solo music stars who will one day dominate the global stage. But fame has a price. As their careers rise, so does the distance between them—tour buses, award shows, rival managers, and endless cities that keep pulling them apart. Every performance becomes a test of loyalty. Every missed call becomes a fracture. And every award show where one stands alone while the other performs across the world threatens to end what they built. Yet love doesn’t fade under pressure—it transforms. From teenage connection to marriage under the spotlight, from heartbreak rumors to global tours, Lena and Jaxon must decide if love can survive ambition—or if they are destined to lose each other to the very thing they love most: music. A sweeping romance of fame, sacrifice, and soul-deep connection—perfect for readers who believe love can outplay destiny.

Personal chef Beau St. Clair, recently divorced from his cheating husband, returns to the small Ohio River town where he grew up to lick his wounds.<br><br>Jack Rogers lives with his mother, Maisie, in that same small town, angry at and frightened by the world. Jack has a gap in his memory that hides something he dares not face, and he’s probably suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.<br><br>Maisie, seeking relief from her housebound and often surly son, hires Beau to cook for Jack, hoping the change might help bring Jack, once a handsome and vibrant attorney, back to his former self. But can a new face and comfort food compensate for the terror lurking in Jack’s past?<br><br>Slowly the two men begin a dance of revelation and healing. Food and compassion build a bridge between Beau and Jack, a bridge that might lead to love. But will Jack’s demons allow it? His history could just as easily tear them apart as bring them together.

Henry Appleby has an appetite for life. As a recent high school graduate and the son of a wealthy family in one of Chicago’s affluent North Shore suburbs, his life is laid out for him. Unfortunately, though, he’s being forced to follow in the footsteps of his successful attorney father instead of living his dream of being a chef. When an opportunity comes his way to work in a real kitchen the summer after graduation, at a little Italian joint called Fiorello’s, Henry jumps at the chance, putting his future in jeopardy.<br><br>Years ago, life was a plentiful buffet for Vito Carelli. But a tragic turn of events now keeps the young chef at Fiorello’s quiet and secretive, preferring to let his amazing Italian peasant cuisine do his talking.<br><br>When the two cooks meet over an open flame, sparks fly. Both need a taste of something more -- something real, something true -- to separate the good from the bad and find the love -- and the hope -- that just might be their salvation.

It only takes a few days for Ollie D'Angelo to lose his boyfriend, his job, and his home. Instead of mourning what he doesn't have, Ollie celebrates what he does: the freedom to pursue his real passion -- cooking. He begins Dinner at Home, a home-catering business, and it takes off.<br><br>Late one night, Ollie catches Hank Mellinger, a streetwise hood down on his luck, about to rob his car. Ollie soon discovers that appearances aren't necessarily what they seem. Hank isn't a criminal caught red-handed, but a hungry young man trying to make a life for himself and the four-year-old niece he's trying desperately to take care of.<br><br>Instead of calling the cops, Ollie offers Hank a job and a way to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Together, they discover they can really cook ... and that their shared passion for food just might lead to a passion for each other.

In the span of a single month, Elara Jones watched her life go from the charts to the courtroom. ​Now, Elara is being sued by her former manager and trial-by-media has already found her guilty. When her past relationship is dragged into the spotlight and she’s publicly accused of being the killer of her ex, the world expects her to fight. But Elara is hollowed out, her fire replaced by a cold, haunting silence. Instead of clearing her name, she simply stops caring. Letting her new manager handle it all. ​Isla Matthews. Known in the industry as "The Fixer". She is the woman you hire when the fire is too big to put out. She comes into Elara’s life as her new manager with a single objective: scrub the scandal and resurrect the star. ​Isla has one rule: No feelings attached. She’s disciplined, logical, and detached. But one look at the broken, defiant Elara turns her world into complete nonsense. The attraction is immediate and dangerous. As Isla works to piece Elara’s reputation back together, she finds herself wanting her. Something that could ruin her entirely. ​But the "Fall from Grace" wasn't an accident. As they get closer, Elara begins to uncover the jagged truth behind her ruin. It wasn't just bad luck or a former manager’s greed, it was a calculated hit. ​When the mask finally falls, Elara must decide, and if Isla is part of the world that betrayed her, can their "relationship" survive the truth? Because Isla Matthews may not just be fixing the disaster. She may be part of it.

In the languid cascade of notes, darkness surrenders its realm, Upon the stage, with steadfast feet, a sovereign's dream unfurls. As music's tender whispers weave, the shadows flee in haste, I stand before the eager crowd, the monarch of their gaze. In this realm of melodies, where sorrows cease to be, I wear an invisible crown, a king of ecstasy. "King of Stage," I claim my throne, where dreams and music blend, A realm where I'm the ruler, until the final note descends.