"It is your choice," he said, stepping so close to me that our lips were almost touching. "Either do what I say - or get another job." My heart stood still as I gazed up into his deep, dark, dangerous eyes... In a world where women's only role in life is to sit at home and look pretty, Lilly is determined to fight for her freedom. There's only one problem: a powerful man blocking her way.

Watty Award winner for HQ Love. Curvy Evianna has it all - as the host of a number one talk show, she's adored by millions of Australian TV viewers, has a gorgeous co-star and cash to burn. But the plus-sized role model is desperately lonely, battling the body issues that keep her isolated while lusting hopelessly over the delectable man beside her on screen. Realising she can't experience love until she learns to make peace with herself, Evi decides she needs to make some big changes to her life, leaving her safe chair behind the desk and embracing a new adventure. She'll discover self-love, passion and a whole lot about herself as she explores what it really means to be beautiful on the inside.

Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

For Chrissie Hill, turning thirty is enough of a nightmare. But to hit the big 30...and wake up married? To a man she'd never met or seen before that morning when she finds him on her couch. Race insists they have been married for two years...and he has the proof, but can she make herself believe him? Suffering from an unusual bout of amnesia, Chrissie slowly comes to accept this man in her life -- and the life she didn't know she lived. Love, marriage and happiness had never been sweeter for two people. However, true love doesn't just drop out of her dreams onto her couch...she must go a little crazy first.