❝ a tale of hate, heat and healing.❞ •••• Did you ever feel like punching someone in the face, with a brick, repeatedly? That's exactly how Adele Hadwin felt everytime she met Tyler Scott. Tyler Scott- He was exactly what you'd call a swoon-worthy bad boy of the University. His ever so striking green eyes and godly face was what fascinated most of the people. His charismatic charm or that troublesome smirk he always sported, bewitched nearly every girl, except one-Adele Hadwin or just 'Hadwin' as Tyler would prefer calling her, a moniker that seemed to dance on the edge of their complicated dynamic. Adele Hadwin- An unassuming university student with a dash of quirkiness who held an unwavering hatred for both the concept of love as well as Tyler Scott. She wasn't affected by Tyler's charms since she would rather prefer puking or slapping that goddamn smirk Tyler's or how Adele would call him- Jerk's face off. Adele and Tyler were like two sides of a magnet. But time proves to be working on something neither of them expects. Piece by piece, one trouble at a time, they grow closer causing some secrets & some reasons that were dug inside, to unravel. Things begin to turn up when they to get to know each other in a way they never did. As they get down to be familiar with their feelings-Drama, adventure, mistakes, betrayal awaits them and it's never pleasant. Would these rivals actually ever fall in love? Could they walk past the minacious events that were in store for them? Maybe, maybe not. Because both of them were caught up between strong minds and FRAGILE HEARTS. (Ongoing & unedited)

A few months ago, I bought a mug with gold gilt. On sale. Not a gift either nor because of an occasion to remember by it. Just plain, pretty mug for 15PLN. I drank my coffee from it since. I spat loose tea leaves into it. It never felt particularly significant. An ordinary object. Only when I lost it, I realised its true value. I sat comfortably at my desk one evening. Looking at my phone, I reached to take my song-text notebook. Trivial situation. My clumsy fingers were unable to avoid the mug. They allowed it to topple over, to slip from the desktop. Even though I did not see the split-second occurrence, I felt the pressure of unease. My head painted the trajectory of the fall on its own, the shattering, spillage. The loss. For a millisecond I still had hope, that I would be able to catch the mug, that I would be able to avoid what was about to happen. But I knew I was headed for failure. I don't have any superpowers. I only scalded my fingers. I looked at the mug's new shape for a long while, at the shattered pieces. At the spilling liquid. Our adventure came to an end. Irrevocably. I won't be drinking coffee from it anymore, nor spit tea leaves into it. Well. I shouldn't be sad, it was just a regular mug, just like thousands of others. I grew to like it, it kept me company throughout hundreds of warm drinks. I lost it. I hate this feeling the most. In the moment when I am losing something, I stop in my tracks, I hold my breath. It is always a very intense moment. A short one, but one that gives me the tight unpleasant feeling in my stomach. The feeling of loss is always accompanied by hope. Silly and naïve. Making me believe so strongly, that I can make it. That I will still be able to catch the mug mid-flight. When the feeling is entering the body, crawling into me I realise, how important it was to me. Whether it's Nivan or a stupid mug with gold gilt.

[This story will become free on August 15, 2023] Season 1 of The Moonlight Cafe Failed writer Isaac Billingsley manages the Moonlight Café, a small-town haven for artists and misfits. When a breakup leaves him single on Valentine's Day just before his first couples' therapy session, August, an actor/musician and café regular, offers to play the part of his boyfriend to help Isaac heal. But is it just roleplay, or will their little game become the real deal? WARNING: This story contains strong language that may not be suitable to some readers.