The group is a popular clique with secrets that would make new girl, Lynne, turn in her grave. They're lying, scheming, and cruel to the core. She's irresistibly drawn to the moody Denny, but is he only playing with her too?
I was running from my past, but not by my own choice. Life has a way of making choices for you-or fathers, rather. My father had rather impulsively decided it was time to forget every sordid detail of his former existence, and guess who got caught in the fray? Me.
That was the only way to explain how I ended up in a podunk town, population 1,517-just enough people to plant some fence posts to house the cow pies and barn dances. Great. My idea of fun exactly.
My father called Splinter Bridge "quaint" and "mysterious" and a "great little adventure". You don't want to know what I called the place. Needless to say it wasn't pretty or at all appropriate within civilized company.
I could feel my arms straining under the weight of the box. It was one of many lovely heifers of assorted cans I'd carried to and from the shelves all morning, leaving my muscles burning with fatigue and my skin chaffed from cardboard corners. The cardboard box landed a little too hard, issuing a metal clatter. Air burst out the side of my cheek as I examined my reddened arms.
I appeared tired, but relatively calm to the outside world, but inside I could feel the mental tirade beginning with a tinge of stinging bitterness that had laced my thoughts all morning.
Didn't he even think to ask me if I wanted to be here? No, of course not! Because my feelings meant nothing. He just had to take me away from my friends-my life-in his quest to forget.
The only thing that meant squat to him was a cold can of beer. That's what he squandered our savings on; that's how he spent his time. He'd even used up the school fund that he and mom had set aside for me so that I'd have some cash for college. How was I supposed to pay for my education? More importantly, how was I supposed to find the cash to run away from him?
So mom died. And yeah, it sucked. It sucked so badly that I cried on and off for a good two weeks before I was able to pull myself together. I almost hadn't made it to the funeral. The viewing had been a nightmare, shaking all those hands and smiling at all those nameless, faceless lines of people. The stifling air, the condolences, her cold and lifeless form...
I threw the image from my mind as I began to stack the shelf.
But at least I could stand the site of the park my parents used to job through, I thought. At least I could stand the pancake house we used to dine at every Saturday morning. And mom's favourite cat. Dad had even stopped working at the University because my mom had taken some upgrading classes there once. Big freaking deal! He didn't have to go completely nutty over it! He was supposed to be the calm and sensible professor-it's what he'd always been!
And now look at me! I thought, arranging the spaghetti-Os that I'd haphazardly slapped onto the shelf. I'm working in Mr. Splinter's mart just so that I'll be able to pay for school next year.
I sighed and tried to calm down. There was no point in getting angry. It wouldn't change anything. There were lots of kids that had to work to pay for their education. So I'm not spoiled rotten anymore. So what?
In one year I'd be out of high school and I could go back to Edmonton. I could room with Beth and Tia just like we'd always planned. Everything would work out. It only took one year in a strange school.
I bit my lip as I pushed the cans even farther back to make room for another row. My father was right. Splinter Bridge was a weird place. In fact, it was downright odd. I mean, who expects to walk down a street and find people hanging laundry off their front porches? This is the twenty-first century for goodness' sake!
I actually imagined this town with this dense, almost dark aura around it. Which is really weird. Part of my overactive imagination or something of that sort.
"Lynne?" A voice asked and then a stern-looking lady was turning into the aisle with her hands on her hips. Sue Cortino. She was the owner and manager of Mr. Splinter's Mart. Great. "Is everything fine over here? I thought I heard slamming sounds."
"It's fine," I responded and swallowed, managing a simultaneous half-smile. I'm pretty sure I didn't convince her if her following reaction was any indication.
She frowned slightly, a crease running between her brows. She pulled a hand through her short red hair that was mussed because she was always messing with it. Part of her whole "the customers are being so difficult!" routine that I had witnessed for the past week. Translation: she was feeling harassed.
"Now Lynne," she said in an almost huffy tone. "It's really nice having you work here. But you need to be a little more careful with the goods. If you dent one of those cans, it'll be coming out of your pay check."
"Okay," I replied. I knew I should say something a little more apologetic. I needed this job badly. But I'm not exactly your most diplomatic person. What exactly was I supposed to say? "Sorry for slamming your cans against the shelf but it made me feel better"? I think I was better off leaving it at "okay".
Anton is at the point in his life where he faces constant barriers in his path of finding his own identity. Not only does he have to push past his parents' expectations, but he has to deal with the unwavering attention of a Mafia underboss.
Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"
She was a diamond covered by ashes.... King Dakota was known as the most Powerful Alpha King of all times - more powerful than any other King that had ruled from his lineage. He was cold hearted, introverted and dangerous in anger. Cursed by the Moon goddess, King Dakota had to get married to three wives all in search of a male child that would become his heir, but it was impossible as the curse would only let his wives bear she -wolves. But on a different day, the King meets a lady who offends him and as a punishment, he took her home as his fourth wife. Her name was Shilah. Shilah was a powerless wolf and as a result, was disregarded and intimidated by all. But, when she begins to do things that the King had never felt for years, he began to wonder who she really was. Slowly, she crawled her way into his icy heart and turned out to be something nobody ever expected - a storm.
To the public, Arabella was Owen's trusty secretary who catered to all his needs and served as the primary blood donor of his beloved, who was in a coma. Behind closed doors, she was Owen's submissive wife. Arabella was quiet and obedient, and she endured every humiliation without a word of protest. Rumored to be a neat freak, Owen had tossed the last woman who had dared to kiss him into the river. Yet he pinned Arabella against the wall and demanded, "Give me a child, and I’ll let you go!" Arabella pushed him away and flashed him a cold smile. "You are not worthy!"
Loraine was a dutiful wife to Marco since they got married three years ago. However, he treated her like trash. Nothing she did softened his heart. One day, Loraine got fed up with it all. She asked him for a divorce and left him to enjoy with his mistress. The elites looked at her like she was deranged. "Are you out of your mind? Why are you so willing to divorce him?" "It's because I need to return home to get a billion-dollar fortune. Besides, I don't love him anymore," Loraine replied with a smile. They all laughed at her. Some believed that the divorce affected her mentally. It wasn't until the next day that they realized she wasn't fibbing. A woman was suddenly declared the world's youngest female billionaire. It turned out to be Loraine! Marco was shocked to the bone. When he met his ex-wife again, she was a changed person. A group of handsome young men surrounded her. She was smiling at them all. The sight made Marco's heart ache severely. Putting his pride aside, he tried to win her back. "Hello, love. I see that you are a billionaire now. You shouldn't be with suckers who just want your money. How about you come back to me? I'm a billionaire too. Together, we can build a strong empire. What do you say?" Loraine squinted at her ex-husband with her lips curled in disgust.
On her wedding day, Khloe’s sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. She was sentenced to three years in prison, where she endured much suffering. When Khloe was finally released, her evil sister used their mother to coerce Khloe into an indecent liaison with an elderly man. As fate would have it, Khloe crossed paths with Henrik, the dashing yet ruthless mobster who sought to alter the course of her life. Despite Henrik’s cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.
During her three years of marriage with Brendan, Adeline had become as humble as dust itself. However, what she got in return wasn't love and affection, but endless indifference and disdain. Worse yet, when the woman in Brendan's heart suddenly showed up, he further distanced himself from her. Finally, Adeline couldn't stand it anymore and asked for a divorce. After all, why should she stay with such a cold, distant man? The next one would surely be better. Brendan watched as his ex-wife left with her luggage in tow. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and he made a bet with his friends. "She'll definitely regret leaving and will come crawling back to me in no time." After hearing about this bet, Adeline sneered. "Dream on!" A few days later, Brendan ran into his ex-wife in a bar. It turned out she was celebrating her divorce. Not long after, he noticed that the damned woman seemed to have a new suitor. Brendan was starting to panic. The woman who had clung to him for three years suddenly didn't seem to give a damn about him. What was he going to do?