Just Like Home Novels & Stories

Olivia and Carl establish a pattern of behavior at the dinner table, and one more powerful in bed since the same night they met. Meeting at the usual restaurant every Friday night, they don't know each other's lives, what they do for a living, they don't know last names, or if they have someone waiting for them at home. They don't send text messages or calls either, just throw a new proposal on the mattress to be lovers once again and again. Everything is perfect between them, what could go wrong?

I had been married to Jeremy Yeager for three years, and he had a strict rule. "We can't lend our money to outsiders. We help out during emergencies, but we don't support them endlessly. This is the bottom line." Thus, I begged him on my knees when my father needed 60,000 dollars for his gastric cancer surgery. He remained calm. "If we break this rule today, your entire family will be draining our bank account tomorrow. I have to be responsible for this family." I sold my dowry to raise the surgery fee and accepted that some boundaries needed to be kept in marriage. When Jeremy's childhood sweetheart, Celia Marten, returned to the country to start a business and her start-up funds were insufficient, he transferred 470,000 dollars from our joint account. I confronted him, yet he just laughed and replied, "It's different. Celia's doing legitimate business. It's guaranteed to turn a profit. Besides, she's not an outsider." Looking at the numbers on the transfer record, I suddenly understood everything. It was not a matter of principle. The 60,000 dollars for a life-saving treatment was for an outsider; the 470,000 dollars investment was not. What truly mattered was who wanted the money. I did not argue or make a scene. I took our marriage certificate out of the drawer and slammed it on the table. "She's not an outsider, huh? Just make her your wife, then."

My mother marries into the Patterson family with me after her divorce. She marries Thomas Patterson, the dean of a veterinary hospital. Meanwhile, I marry Walter Patterson, a firefighter captain and Thomas' son. On this day, there's a huge storm. I'm almost due for labor, but I still head to the hospital to pick my mother up after an operation. We head to the subway, but it ends up being flooded. I endure the labor contractions and call Walter with trembling hands, wanting to ask for help. He finally answers after hanging up on me 18 times. "What the hell do you want? How stupid can you be, calling me in such a huge storm? "I'm saving lives here! Tracy's foot was cut by glass while being saved, and I've just bandaged her wound. Now, I have to take her dog to Dad's hospital so he can save it. The dog is hanging by a thread; if you need help, get some other firefighter to do it! Don't pester me!" Later, the rescue team arrives. My mother and I are pushed to the back of the crowd, and people won't stop shoving us around. The floodwater rises, and I have no choice but to carry her on my back while trudging along the corridor. This continues for three hours. When we're finally rescued, my mother is already unconscious, and I end up losing my child, who's almost to term. My mother and I look at each other tearfully in the ward we share. I say, "Mom, I'm getting a divorce." She says, "It's not a big deal, sweetheart. I'll do it with you. I've done it once before—I know how this goes."

On my wedding day, I had just stepped onto the aisle when a ripple of laughter spread through the crowd. "Take it all off, and she's got a body on her! Look at her face, like she's enjoying it!" I turned toward the voices and saw my ex-husband's photos of me blown up across the giant screen. They kept changing, one after another, explicit and impossible to ignore. All around the room, phones were already coming up as people started taking pictures. My hands began to shake. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mother collapse. Behind Leon Coleman, Allison Fleming slapped her thigh and raised her voice, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Oh, wow. Leon showed these to the guys yesterday, just messing around. Guess they accidentally put it on the big screen. Gemma, you're not gonna make a big deal out of it, right?" The groomsmen laughed. "Come on, Allison. Leon always lets you get away with anything. Gemma had to beg for this wedding. There's no way she'd dare complain." With all those eyes on me, Leon reached for my hand and held it, his tone easy. "Allison's one of my closest friends. We joke around like that. She didn't mean anything by it, so don't take it personally. It's just a few private photos. I'll have someone take them down. It's our wedding day, so just bear with it for now."

Ashley Tudor was once a talented ballet dancer until an unforeseen injury took her dreams away. Years later, Ashley finds herself bitter, broken, and without a boyfriend. When her junior year begins, she finds herself in the middle of two love interests Zander Hogan, her best friend's twin, and Aiden Buckland, a childhood friend. When ballet enters her life again, Ashley will need to figure out if chasing her dreams is worth breaking her heart.

The day before New Year's, my younger brother announced he was bringing his girlfriend home for dinner. Excited, I drove my new car to pick them up, taking my daughter along with me. However, as soon as his girlfriend got in the car, her face darkened. "Henry, you didn't tell me your sister was staying at your place—and with a kid!" she snapped. I frowned and was about to explain when my brother quickly interjected, "She's not staying. After dropping us off, she'll be heading to a hotel." Only then did his girlfriend's expression ease. I swallowed my discomfort and asked my brother what he was planning. He leaned in with a conspiratorial grin and said, "Sis, don't cause any trouble for me, okay? My girlfriend is the daughter of the Cromwell Group's CEO!" My eyes widened in shock. Was not the Cromwell Group the same company my ex-husband had just handed over to me as part of our divorce settlement?

Ever thought you were different from the world, that no matter how you tried, you just never fit in? That no body would accept the real you? Things felt the same for Ariana Bliss. It never got better after she realized the head agent of her defense academy that everyone answered to was the most annoying schoolmate she could ever come across. ******************************. "It's gonna be like this for a month." He smiled. Punch him. Break his nose or finger, dislocate his leg, shove a book in his mouth, stuff a pen into his nostrils. Ari's mind kept thinking of several possible ways to hurt him. "You don't know how much I wanna hurt you." She mumbled truthfully. "You can't, cos I'm gonna beat you again. Just like earlier today." He smirked. Arrrgh! "Just ignore. I'm just gonna ignore you for the rest of my life. " She said and the teacher walked in.....

When his first love is cruelly snatched away, HRH Prince Leonidas decides to put love and intimate relationships on the back burner. He succeeds for a while, until he meets Elisabeth, a striking young woman with a smart mouth and an attitude that warns him that she isn't a pushover. He is forced to ascend the throne he had previously rejected and due to the pressure to take a wife, he settles for Elisabeth but not without setting up rules. "Rule number one; don't fall in love with me". "Rule number two; no form of intimate touching is allowed." He hopes that their seemingly mutual dislike for each other would prevent lines from being crossed, but he's in for a surprise.

Lexi Thompson's life is turned upside down when she meets Julian Blackwood, a mysterious and charismatic billionaire with a dark past. As she becomes deeper embroiled in his world, she begins to uncover secrets and lies that threaten to destroy everything. But can she trust Julian, or is she just a pawn in his game? What will Lexi discover next, and will she be able to escape the darkness that surrounds Julian?

“I’ve tried so much to hate you, to forget you… I couldn’t. I know it’s hard to tell, but I’m not doing well. And not because Ari isn’t here, with me. I’m not alright without you, Alex. Even if I know there’s no way back from this for us, I still feel the need to tell you what you denied me three years ago… There was no other man… I’m yours… only yours… Always have, always will be.” He was suddenly looming over her, his face dark with passion, mouth full and moist from the mayhem he had just been creating with his tongue. “You’re mine… All mine…” They’ve never stopped being married… Hailee Baroni loves her husband more than anything. But when Alessandro started accusing her of being a cheater, when he started thinking of Ariana, their daughter, as the result of an extramarital affair, Hailee decided it was time to leave him. They lived separate lives for three long years, cutting every direct communication. But when Ariana gets abducted, the silence between them is forcibly broken. One quick glance into her deep, sad, desperate eyes and Alex knows he is the only one who can secure the little girl’s safe return, even if it means he must go back to Hailee. After all, his 'piccola' still wears his ring.