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thorny and bitter

thorny and bitter

"Bitter and Sweet"

"Bitter and Sweet"

Courtney Valdez runs a small, cozy coffee shop built on warmth, routine, and the quiet comfort of everyday life. After growing up with abandonment and emotional scars she never fully healed from, she learned one rule: don’t rely on people who might leave. Renz Cortez is the opposite. A powerful CEO known for his cold precision and emotional detachment, Renz lives a life built on control, efficiency, and distance. Feelings are liabilities. Attachment is weakness. Love is unnecessary. Their worlds collide when Renz unexpectedly walks into Courtney’s café and orders something as simple—and as revealing—as a black coffee. What starts as brief, sharp exchanges quickly turns into a strange routine: he keeps coming back, and she keeps serving him more than just coffee. But comfort becomes complication. As their encounters grow more frequent, Courtney begins to see cracks in Renz’s composed exterior, while Renz finds himself drawn to the one place—and one person—that disrupts everything he believes about control. Their connection deepens slowly, quietly, dangerously. However, the past refuses to stay silent. Renz’s former lover, Bianca, returns, reopening old wounds and forcing unresolved emotions into the present. At the same time, Renz is pulled deeper into his corporate world, where expectations and obligations threaten to erase everything personal he has begun to feel. Courtney, already guarded by years of emotional fear, starts to question whether she is becoming just another temporary part of someone’s life—or something more that was never meant to last. As misunderstandings build and emotional distance grows, both are forced to confront painful truths: * Love is not always soft. * Timing is not always kind. * And sometimes, the person who stays longest is the one who leaves first. When Renz finally pulls away, believing it’s the only way to protect them both, Courtney is left with silence, unanswered feelings, and a heart caught between wanting to forget—and wanting him back. Because some loves are bitter before they are sweet. And some are worth breaking for—before they are rebuilt.
Urban
132 Chs
Souls and Bitter Oranges

Souls and Bitter Oranges

In Sicily, destiny passes by when you are a child, often announced by a dream. A dream that must be told, precisely, to your mother, before the day breaks and the first light of dawn erases its memory. If the dream is good, your mother will give you a piece of bread to eat immediately, to make that dream come true. If the dream is bad, your mother will make you spit on the ground three times, to dispel the ominous premonition. Belinda's destiny announced itself one day when she was just a child. She had not yet learned to read or write, yet she began to write poems, to create rhymes. They were very long poems, full of images and words that she herself struggled to understand. She wrote them on every piece of paper she found: on the back of receipts, on old school notebooks. She drew shapes and symbols that only she could decipher. She was a singular child, she had a strong personality and spoke a lot, "tutto d'un fiato" (all in one breath), and her hair, red like fire, reflected her fiery and impulsive character. But she was also a dreamer and loved to look at the stars at night and lie down in the grass to watch the clouds chasing each other in the sky, imagining they were animals or people. One day she showed her poems to her mother, Caterina. Her mother, usually busy with a thousand chores, stopped to listen to her. Caterina was a practical and rational woman, not at all inclined to listen to dreams or strange stories. She was always focused on facts, on work, on caring for her family and her two children. She spent her days between the sewing machine, creating beautiful clothes, and the kitchen, where she prepared delicious dishes for everyone. Yet, that day, she listened to Belinda intently, with a serious face. Perhaps she sensed in her daughter's poems the same power, the same "current" that flowed within her own mother, Belinda's grandmother, the "mavara" (witch) who guarded the ancient secrets of the earth. Caterina listened to the words, then looked at her daughter and said: “A mamma non si cunta u distinu!” (You don't tell destiny to Mom!). She looked at Belinda with eyes full of fear, then hugged her tightly and told her not to show those papers to anyone, and above all, not to tell anyone what she felt, not even her best friend. Not even her father, who, if he had found out, would have made a scene and then, like the good Christian he was, would have taken her to exorcise the devil. Belinda had not understood much, but she knew that those words of her mother were a warning, a sign that she should hide those secrets well, far from the eyes of others. And so she did. For many years, Belinda kept those poems, those images, those symbols, locked away in her heart, silencing that inner voice, that powerful call that tried to emerge from her soul, like a river in flood. She tried to live a normal life, a life like that of other girls, but that force, that "current," that invisible river, continued to flow within her. It was destiny, and destiny cannot be stopped.
Urban
115 Chs
Bitter Sweet Love with My Stepbrother CEO

Bitter Sweet Love with My Stepbrother CEO

Yvette Matthews had a great early childhood. She had loving parents that has given her a great life. Her father was a 5-star master chef while her mother was a well known patissier in the culinary world. Her life was great but all of that changed when her parents got into a car accident and died. Yvette was orphaned at a tender age of six years old. In her parent’s wake, a middle aged man with his ten year old son came. He told Yvette that he was her parents’ friend from college and was willing to adopt Yvette. Her having no next of kin and rather than her going into foster care, the adults in the foster agency agreed after checking the man’s background. It was known that the middle aged man was the CEO of a large 5-star hotel and restaurant group that not only operated in the country but around the world. Yvette lived a life as a princess being doted by her stepfather and stepbrother. Even though she lived a life full of luxury, she stayed humble and studied hard to be a good chef and patissier like her parents. She loved her new family, and she harbored romantic feelings with her stepbrother, Joseph Hamilton. Something she kept a secret since she knew her feelings cannot be reciprocated. But all of that changed when her stepfather died of old age. When the lawyer of his stepfather read his last will leaving seventy percent of his fortune to Yvette including the rights to the Hamilton hotels. This shocked many especially her stepbrother, Joseph, since he was only left with thirty percent. But there was a clause in the will, that Jospeh could be the CEO if he marries Yvette and they produce an heir. Her life started to turn gray since Joseph was forced to leave his current girlfriend whom Yvette knew he loved so much and marry her to get the CEO title. Joseph’s kindness and pampering turned into hate and disgust. He became cold and aloof, coming home late and going to work early in the morning. Yvette’s only solace was the son she bore with Joseph on their wedding night. She poured all of her love to her little son. But fate was cruel to her once again when she found out that Joseph was seeing his ex-girlfriend once again. Hearing from someone that they were meeting in a hotel room, she mustered the courage to confront them. Yvette saw the ex-girlfriend in the hotel room wearing sexy lingerie. They got in the heated argument. “Seph does bot love you.” The ex-girlfriend said. “He just married you to get the position that should be rightfully his!” She shouted. “Do you not think I know that?!” Shouted Yvette. “But he is still married to me!” The two were pulling each other’s hair in the hotel balcony which is located at the 43rd floor. They both went over the railed in the heat of the moment and they were holding for dear life. “Dianne!” Joseph voice was heard inside the hotel room. “S-Seph!” The ex-girlfriend shouted. “Help me!” “Dianne!” Joseph was alarmed to see her hanging on the balcony. “Yvette? Why are you here?!” He sounded surprised. “H-Help me.” Yvette cried. “Hold on! I am going to get you out.” Joseph said but he pulled his ex-girlfriend first and took off his coat to put on to her. Yvette’s heart was crushed. She knew in that time that who Joseph really loved was Dianne and not her. This erased all of her hope on being loved and had let go. She felt her body falling for a long time. Yvette’s body felt light and she thought that she had now thrown all of her guilt and the burden in the loveless relationship. She wished that in her next life, she would not have this kind of love once again. But then she opened her eyes once again, to the day when the lawyer would read her stepfather’s last will. “I will changed my fate.” Yvette thought. “In this life, I will not be drowned in a loveless marriage with my stepbrother.”
Urban
76 Chs
Thorny Plants
Thorny plants included cacti, dragon bones, jade kylin, aloes, sandalwood, rose, cocklebur, rose, kapok, cherokee rose, juniper, cacti, agave, rose, Cangnan, phoenix tail orchid, thorny vine, holly, cactus, caragana, berberry, mimosa, nettle, thistle, thistle, Chinese honey locust, aucklandia, honeylocust, begonia, etc.
1 answer
2025-01-14 06:21
Thorny Rose
A rose with thorns was usually used to describe a person who had a sense of self-protection and did not like to let others approach and hurt others. In " Dream of the Red Chamber," Jia Tanchun, the third daughter of the Jia family, and You Sanjie, the third daughter of the You family, were compared to roses with thorns. They both chose to use thorns to protect themselves and their loved ones. In addition, there was a song called " Rose with Thorns " sung by Su Lu. However, the search results did not provide a clear explanation for the specific meaning of Thorny Rose.
1 answer
2025-01-12 23:18
Thorny Song
" Thorn " was a song composed by Ren Xia and Lu Hu, and was performed by Ren Xia. It was released on May 14th, 2021. It was recorded in the album of the same name,"Thorn." The theme of the song was "tattoos", expressing the confusion and pain of young people in their relationships. The " tattoo " in the lyrics symbolized the traces of love. It was deeply engraved on the body and could not be erased. The melody of the song was simple and moving. Combined with Ren Xia's clear voice, it made people feel the beauty and cruelty of love. I don't know if you want this song. If you have other requests, please provide more information. While waiting for the anime, you can also click on the link below to read the classic original work of The King's Avatar!
1 answer
2024-10-18 05:17
Thorny Broadcasting
Ci 'er was a film and animation voice actor and an audio book broadcaster. He had a certain reputation in the dubbing industry, and his works included " Full Time Expert " and " Hooligan's Love Story." He was also a director of the Audible, Visual and Cultural Committee of the China Cultural Management Association. Thorny's work had been ranked first on Tianfang Tingshu website for two years, and its popularity had exceeded 10 million. His real name was Li Zhen. He was born in Shandong and was Chinese. Ci 'er's representative works also included " Silent Sheng Xiao,"" Underworld Special Forces,"" Grave Robber's Chronicles," and so on. He was a multi-talented voice actor and broadcaster. His voice was changeable and he was good at controlling various roles. While waiting for the anime, you can also click on the link below to read the classic original work of " Full-time Expert "!
1 answer
2024-12-17 23:29
Thorny Flowers
Thorny flowers included thorny roses, prickly plum, light leaf triangle plum, climbing wall rose, prickly cactus/cactus, erythrina flower, thorny laurel, thorny leaf prince, raspberry, thorny vine, aloes, holly, northeast pearl plum, honeysuckles, etc. These flowers had different characteristics and ornamental values. Among them, roses were one of the most common and widely cultivated thorny flowers.
1 answer
2025-01-16 11:50
thorny novel
"The Strongest Assassin in Online Games" was a virtual online game novel created by the author, Zigua and Insect Horn. It told the story of an assassin. As an assassin, we are not an honorable profession, so there is no need to talk about morality with our enemies. The key is to achieve the goal. As for the method, it is not important! Assassins were not thieves. They were not the same kind of people. Assassins did not necessarily have to use their own hands to kill people. The way assassins killed people was far beyond your imagination. When the assassins in the real world and the assassins in the game intertwined, the bell of fate also rang quietly at that moment…Who said that assassins could only kill commoners? Who said that Assassins could only steal half of their HP? Who said that Assassins could only run when they met someone with awesome equipment? Han Yan combined his many years of experience as an assassin with his extraordinary talent and ability, and thus, a psycho assassin was born…However, at this time, Han Yan realized that he had made a common mistake, because for assassins, reputation and death were often closely linked… The keyword of this story was 'The Strongest Assassin'. The user community's evaluation of this book was: Don't have any misgivings. You can say what you think an assassin should be like. Everyone will see what kind of assassin they have in their hearts and see which type of assassin everyone agrees on. "Let me start off by saying that an assassin must not fear death. There is no such thing as being afraid of death in the dictionary of assassins. The assassin in my heart doesn't seek complicated assassination methods, only simple ones. Assassins focused on the path of assassination. What was assassination? As the name implied, one stab, one kill. It was simple and fatal. No fancy movements or varied moves could compare to this stab and kill. Simple yet deadly, this was the standard an assassin pursued. [fn=1] "Assassin's Survival Guide" was a fantasy romance novel written by the author, Maiden Doesn't Write Poetry. It told the story of Seven Succubus accepting an insignificant mission in order to survive. Unexpectedly, he activated the highest level of Dark Order. Was it God's will or had it been premeditated for a long time? Perhaps there was a bigger conspiracy behind this, and it was quietly coming to everyone's heads…The overall evaluation of this book was: "It's Too Hard to Sign In to a Strange World" was a fantasy novel written by the author tomorrow. It told the story of the new book,"The Newborn Dongxi Shatters the Darkness!" Celestial Bodies in Deep Space, Mysterious Invasion, Order Disorder, Reorganization. Warlocks cast spells and killed people thousands of miles away. When a warrior is angry, blood splashes heaven and earth. A golden egg with a strange origin, both good and bad. In this dangerous world, Xie Yao realized that he could become stronger by signing in every day! There was also a seven-day check-in treasure chest that could give out all kinds of magical rewards! The only problem was that the treasure chest could only be opened after charging. And the way he charged it actually scared the monsters to death and absorbed their sanity value! Strange to see me come, sharpening a knife to my parents! "My check-in method isn't right…" Looking at the trembling demon rabbit girl in front of him, Xie Yao helplessly lifted the whip and chain."Female benefactor, have you heard of the eighteen kinds of torture?" The character information included: Xie Yao was the male lead. The information about him included: Mystery was vulnerable in front of a sand sculpture. He was young and did not know anything about the world, but he had also galloped on a horse. Now, after reading the Life and Death Tribulation, he was in the Human Realm Upon Heavens. His age was 22.0 years old, his birthday was 03/15, and his constellation was Pisces. Sheng Tangtang was a supporting actress. The information about her was: Where the f * ck is my lamp? He was active in the missing person notices in major newspapers. His age was 18.0 years old, his birthday was 11/11, and his constellation was Scorpio. Chu Shan Gu was a supporting actor. The information about him was: Seeing off guests at dawn, Chu Shan Gu, an ice heart in a jade pot, his age was 25.0 years old, his birthday was 09/09, and his constellation was Virgo. Ling Hai Jing was a supporting actor, her birthday was 09/16, and her constellation was Virgo. Luo Jie was a supporting actor, and the information about him was: Praise the Light, his age was 35.0 years old. Xu Yan was a female supporting character, and her age was 16.0 years old. Xu Nuo was a male supporting character, and her information about them was: A clone! Her age was 18.0 years old; Tang Wenbo was the supporting male character, and the information about her was: self-restraint, self-respect, and loyalty. Her age was 29.0 years old; Jin Qingxi was the supporting female character, and the information about her was: Little Aunt; What are you looking at? I'm always 18 years old, and her age was 18.0 years old; Jian Biluo was the supporting female character, and the information about her was: Stockholm; The victim of the dark side; The old rules were the female character, and the information about her was: Code S-0; When she appeared, it would bring a repeated chapter. However, after re-downloading and returning to normal, the original chapter would have an additional 500 words. Its age was 1.0 years old, its birthday was 01/01, its constellation was Capricorn, its height was 1.0cm, and its weight was 1.0Kg. The overall rating of this book's reading list was: Good setting! The content is worth reading| It was a combination of humor and driving skills. The background was a strange world. The way the protagonist was strengthened…Scaring ghosts. (Chen Dachui possessed)| It was a little too young. It was a book that he got from a big shot. As the main character was still taking online classes recently, he didn't have much time to read it. He only read a dozen chapters. The main character was a magic teacher with the highest physical skills, and his behavior was quite inappropriate... Anyway, it's okay... the book shortage must be read. Saplings? There is no female lead currently. If there is, remind me to delete it.| It was a novel that he liked in the check-in genre. "The Path of Thorn" was an urban supernatural novel written by Meng Yang. It told the story of a different path of the strong against the background of the supernatural civilization after the World Destruction War. The child of a second-rate killer couple, in order to fulfill his mother's will, eventually embarked on the path of a strong man. The path of the strong was full of obstacles. While dealing with the strongest expert, he used his own assassin path to become an unparalleled expert. <<Thorn Path>> takes you into a world with urban feelings, martial arts, special abilities, and some strange creatures. This is the second novel after "Eastern Blood Cultivator." I hope it can bring something relaxing to everyone's leisure time. "The key words of this story are Tie Shi, assassin, brain power, ancient martial arts, cultivator, Li family of the secret territory, noble martial arts refiner." "Online Games 'Pain" was a novel written by Little Maizi. It told the story of a previous life where both parents were rich and powerful, but they only had the promise of a fair-weather friend. In the previous life, there was an abandoned child on the roadside and a cold-blooded assassin. He had a basket of betrayal and love, but he felt that the burden was too heavy. In this life, I couldn't be idle. I solved cases in the game, cooked delicious food, fought bosses, swore to eradicate the "drug gang", and cleared up "Foreignland". I revived my family outside the game, fought my love rival, beat up the silkpants, swore to trample on "Zhuji" and protect my warm world. [Update: Daily update at 13:00 PM.] If there was an update, the chapter would be updated at 13:00 and the second update would be released at 21:00. [Small Note: This article is based on reality, and it is described in the form of online games. If you like it, please poke it and invite it.] <a href="/?from=ask_words" style="color:red" target="_blank">Read more exciting novels for free</a>
1 answer
2026-08-13 21:39
Thorny dress
If you're talking about "stabbing Tang", that's the name of a case in a story. On the first night of the third year of Tianshou, the Crown Prince was assassinated during the sacrificial ceremony. His body was not left. This incident was known as the "Assassination of Tang" case. After the Tang assassination case, the aristocratic families rebelled and pushed Prince Song Lan to the throne as a puppet. In order to investigate the truth of the case, Su Luowei, who was born in a prestigious family and was childhood sweethearts with the Crown Prince, married Song Lan. Later, Su Luowei found out that Song Lan was the instigator of the Tang assassination case, which led to a series of stories. At the same time, there was a novel based on this. There was also a film and television drama of the same name that was scheduled to premiere on 2025 - 03 - 07. The main character was Yang Zi. While waiting for the TV series, he could also read the exciting content related to this site!
1 answer
2026-08-08 01:52
Thorny Translator
thorny: thorny " Choose " was equally exciting. Everyone was welcome to read it!
1 answer
2026-02-07 21:54
All the thorny plants
0 answer
2025-01-13 05:04
What are the thorny fruits?
The thorny fruits were durian, dragon fruit, cactus fruit, bell pepper, yellow fruit, rambutan, thorny melon, thorn thorn pear, unicorn fruit, pineapple, grape, cherryberry, jackfruit, chestnut, cone chestnut, and so on.
1 answer
2025-01-14 12:09
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