

Avalyn, a lone girl raised by wolves in the northern wilderness, is brought back by her birth father Duke Snow only to get trapped in royal conspiracies. After her father is murdered, she bides her time and devises schemes. With her courage and beast-taming skills, she slays her enemies, quells barbarian uprisings and earns widespread renown across the kingdom. Eventually, she uncovers her true identity as the lost heir of the Sacred Court of All Beasts, returns to the divine realm, executes the usurper, and ascends the Throne of All Beasts.

Katelyn clashes with her cheating ex at a fancy restaurant, accidentally splattering Texas brisket on elite surgeon Benjamin. He hires her to pretend to be his fiancée for ten dollars to disrupt his rigid medical family. Her bold, down-to-earth personality melts the household's cold etiquette, cures Benjamin's long-term anorexia, and unravels his trauma over his late brother. As they bicker and bond over homemade barbecue, the fake engagement blooms into genuine love, with Katelyn's secret rich uncle shocking high-society gossips.

Morrison, a former top CIA operative, lives under an assumed name after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, leading a quiet farming life in a small town with his daughter Vivian. The local criminal syndicate, the Rosetti family, covets his farmland. To force Morrison into submission, Theodore, the family's young heir, kidnaps the 17-year-old Vivian and tortures her to death brutally. Having lost his sole emotional anchor, Morrison casts aside his medication restraints entirely, unearths the stockpile of weapons he has hidden away for a decade, and storms the Rosetti manor alone to exact revenge. Senior figures within the city's police force, municipal government and the CIA are all well aware of Morrison's terrifying combat prowess from his past. They order an emergency city-wide evacuation and stand aside to let him wipe out the entire criminal family, kicking off a brutal vendetta of blood for blood. Revolving around paternal love, trauma, corrupt power networks and unbridled vengeance, the story interweaves the lingering shadows of past killings with the mutual despair and devastation of the present, unfolding an unstoppable bloody reckoning.

During a swamp camping trip, Sara spots warning signs, droppings, and drag marks—signs of a crocodile—and begs her family not to enter the water. Her biased mother-in-law, spiteful sister-in-law, and spineless husband mock her relentlessly. When nephew Duke is dragged under, Sara risks her life to save him, only to be blamed for his fate. Devastated, she removes her wedding ring and demands divorce. When the crocodile attack makes news, her arrogant family regrets everything. Her billionaire father Vincent arrives in full force. Facing their apologies, Sara refuses reconciliation, rebuilds her career, and transforms from doormat into an independent, powerful woman.

Serena Moretti believed she had the perfect life.Once a waitress from the slums, she married Alessandro Moretti—the ruthless Mafia heir who supposedly traded his throne of blood and gold for her. Until she discovered the truth. While Serena poured everything into their marriage and years of failed IVF, Alessandro had been living a second life with his childhood friend Bianca Rizzo. Bianca had given him twin sons. Heartbroken and pregnant with Alessandro’s child, Serena refused to stay. With her only trusted friend Isabella, she staged a catastrophic avalanche that “destroyed” the luxury Alpine Scenic Train—and faked her own death in the snow.

The Smith family welcomed a pair of twins, and an expert claimed one a lucky star and the other a curse. He predicted that the lucky twin would become the top scholar in eighteen years. Their grandmother, valuing boys over girls, was certain that the elder brother, Joel Smith, was the fortunate one and tried to kill his sister. A kind maid, Ivy Lake, saved Zoe Smith, who was then raised as a servant in her own home. Years later, both siblings make three wishes, and soon, the Smith family becomes the richest in Halton. Their faith in Joel deepens, and Zoe suffers even harsher treatment—until the scholar's plaque arrives. To everyone's shock, the so-called cursed girl, Zoe Smith, is actually the real top scholar!

The night before our group trip, Raymond Kane tags me in the group chat and tells me to check my flight ticket. When I open the booking, I discover my ticket was refunded three days ago—without anyone telling me. Before I can even type a reply, the messages start pouring in. Madelyn announces, "I bet Ray that you wouldn't check the booking before we left. He got you to look it up yourself. That's cheating!" Raymond shrugs it off. "Doesn't matter. You still lost. She only just found out. Just book another one. We'll just have to sit apart." Their casual banter brings back a familiar ache. It reminds me of the time they bet on how long it would take me to realize my hotel room has been downgraded from a standard double to a shared triple, leaving me to sleep on a folding cot. And before that, they bet on whether I'd notice the art museum on our itinerary had been replaced with an escape room. Whenever I tell them it hurts, they always give the same tired reply. "How were we supposed to know you cared if you never said anything?" But they never ask. I close the booking app and open another one, searching for flights to Isvind. I imagine myself surrounded by the silence of a 5°F night, with the northern lights painting the sky above me. Perhaps a solo trip is exactly what I need.
![[ENG DUB] Water in the Whiskey Glass](https://acfs3.goodshort.com/dist/src/assets/images/pc/common/f901131c-default-book-cover.png)
On the eve of closing a billion-dollar funding round, Damon Jones is betrayed by the two people closest to him. His girlfriend Alicia Watkins and his best friend Lewis Baird orchestrate a setup. They get him drunk, trick him into driving, frame him for drunk driving, seize control of his company, and ultimately take his life. When fate gives Damon a second chance, he remembers every detail of the scheme.

I trust you because I've known you for ten years longer than they have.