Samantha, now seventy-eight years old, sat in the office of Mr. Anderson, a family lawyer. Her four adult children—Megan, Kayla, Brian, and Olivia—surrounded her with an air of support, their united presence a source of strength during this trying moment. The weight of time was evident in Samantha's aged hands and weary eyes. Megan, forty-seven, sat on one side with her hand resting gently on Samantha's shoulder. Kayla, f...

The late-morning sun pierced through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting sharp, accusatory lines across his desk. Derrick, tall and broad-shouldered, reclined in his leather chair, draped in a bespoke navy suit. His deep mahogany skin contrasted sharply against the crisp white of his shirt while his fingers drummed a restless rhythm across the desk. Sometimes, those fingers stroked his beard, a subtle gesture betraying...

Riley stumbled out into the cold night air, tears streaming down her face as the reality of what she had just witnessed sank in. Six years. Six long years she had devoted to Jaimie, pouring her heart and soul into their relationship. And this is how he repaid her? By shamelessly making out with not one but five other women right under her nose? Riley's heart felt like it had been ripped out of her chest when she saw Jamie...

Honor Banet's plan for a single small profitable patisserie-bistro was swiftly blasted to pieces by a combination of customer demand, Marq Haydn and other events beyond her control. After opening on Carlisle Street, Rick Ford's prediction of people lining up for miles had not exactly come true ... but it came close. After four months, Marq apologized for getting it wrong and advised that she should open another branch on...

"No clothes, huh? How convenient," Sarah said to Honor, grinning. The store had a decent bistro within sight of the till. They were sitting at a table, nursing coffees while Marq was standing in a queue, a basket of new clothes in hand. Honor grinned back. "That's what I said." She giggled as she looked in his direction, lips parting. "I have no idea why he needs them anyway ..." She had made full selfish use of all two d...

"Woooooo!" Sarah screamed again as she drove the van through another intersection. "Oh my @#&%! You were so effing awesome!" Honor smiled at her friend, gesturing at the other cars around them, all with drivers looking with some alarm at the screaming woman behind the wheel. Sarah didn't care. "You kicked so much ass!" Sarah punched the air, hitting the roof of the van and screaming again. Honor laughed this time and join...

"What the hell did you do to my best friend?" Sarah whispered, staring at his face. She was on the website of Ascent Kapital GmbH, headquartered in Zurich, looking at his picture on the founders' and management page for the umpteenth time. He kept his black hair short, almost a buzz cut, and he was wearing a black suit, a light blue shirt, and a silver and matching blue fractal pattern tie in his headshot. His smile was s...

Honor felt him before she opened her eyes, his nakedness against hers, his fingers tracing meaningless whorls across her back. As if he were trying to capture the feeling of her skin under his fingertips and lock it in his memory before ... The awful weight in her chest came back in all its hateful glory, making a mockery of all her efforts to banish it, to make what was to happen, what had to happen, less painful. She fe...

He led her on a longer and more scenic return route from the restaurant, walking off the food, their path leading to a barefoot walk on the beach. She had blushed as he took off her shoes, finding it romantic as he knelt in front of her to remove each one. He held them for her with his own as they stepped onto the sand. A live band was playing in the distance, the faintly familiar music somehow mixing harmoniously with th...

"In my opinion, I think I did a good job," Marq said as Honor looked at herself in the mirror. She turned to him, playfully furling her lip. "You're so arrogant, Mr. Haydn." His lips quirked up, self-satisfied. "Well, what do you think? Am I wrong?" She sniffed again, then she turned back to the mirror, looking at her sides, turning around to look over her shoulder at her backside, examining the new pattern on her skin. T...

The island was kidney-shaped, with eight villas ringed around its outer concave edge, each with its own small swimming pool, private dock and stretch of beach. There was a larger communal beach with its own set of docks spanning the convex side, leading to a common area at the center of the island hosting a supermarket, a spa and gym, no less than three five-star restaurants, and a small cinema. Honor had discovered the i...

Honor gave in to the impulse and brought them to a stop before they left the cloakroom so she could kiss him and lick around his lips again, easily because her ridiculously high heels made it unnecessary to go on her tip-toes. She had 'cleaned' him up before they left the cloakroom, using her tongue to eliminate any trace of her cum and his from his member, and she imagined she could taste it all on her tongue as she lave...

The barge was sailing into Bangkok as the sun rose, the sights of the city docks on the Chao Phraya coming to life streaming in through the stateroom's windows on both sides. Honor felt Marq buck underneath her again. This time he called out her name, his voice harsh and demanding, his fingers entangled in her hair. He was hard enough, so she obeyed him this time; she took her mouth off him and scooted up his body, meetin...