| Round 2, Ambassador Pick | When media mogul Richard Langley demands his children declare their love to inherit his empire, the refusal of his youngest daughter sparks a bitter family feud, forcing her to choose between healing old wounds or securing her place in the business world. ✦✦✦ The year is 2025, and the world of family legacies is as ruthless as it is glamorous. When Richard Langley, a powerful titan of the industry, announces his retirement, he demands his three adult children-Gwen, Riley, and Cora-profess their love for him in exchange for their share of the family empire. Gwen and Riley fall in line, but Cora, the youngest, refuses to bow to her father's demand and offers only brutal honesty. Enraged, Richard disowns her, casting her out of the family. As his mental state unravels, Gwen and Riley fight tooth and nail for control of the Langley legacy, manipulating their father and each other in a battle of wills and ambition. Meanwhile, Cora, heartbroken but determined, builds her own path to success in the media world. But when Richard reaches out, desperate and broken, Cora must decide whether to heal the rift or walk away for good. ✦✦✦ ✦ A modern retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear x Succession ✦ Cover design by @TheWildCyde ✦ Open Novella Contest 2025 | Prompts 31, 110, 111, 129 ᴄᴏᴘʏʀɪɢʜᴛ © 2025 ʙʏ ᴀᴜᴅʀᴇʏ ᴀʟʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛꜱ ʀᴇꜱᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ. ᴛʜɪꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴏʀ ᴀɴʏ ᴘᴏʀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇᴏꜰ ᴍᴀʏ ɴᴏᴛ ʙᴇ ʀᴇᴘʀᴏᴅᴜᴄᴇᴅ ᴏʀ ᴜꜱᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴀɴʏ ᴍᴀɴɴᴇʀ ᴡʜᴀᴛꜱᴏᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇxᴘʀᴇꜱꜱ ᴡʀɪᴛᴛᴇɴ ᴘᴇʀᴍɪꜱꜱɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇʀ ᴇxᴄᴇᴘᴛ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜꜱᴇ ᴏꜰ ʙʀɪᴇ

In a world trapped in an unending darkness, Devin must fight exhaustion and time itself to find his sister as the shadows grow smarter and those who surrender to sleep become something that hunts the survivors. .. When the sun vanished, time stopped. Hunger, wounds, and exhaustion accumulate without relief. Sleep becomes dangerous. Surrender and you might not wake up human. Devin Pierce has been awake for days. Maybe weeks. It's hard to tell anymore. He's learned how to stay still, ration light, and ignore the voices that sound like people he once knew. Because the darkness is not empty. It watches. It learns. And the things moving inside it remember what they used to be and how to use that. As Devin's body begins to fail and the night presses closer, he must decide how much of himself he's willing to lose to see another hour - to find his little sister - before exhaustion makes the choice for him. If there's one thing he cannot do, it's fall asleep. Prompt 97 Rated Mature for descriptions of gore and psychological elements. Reader discretion is advised. Cover by TrashyM

- ONC 2026 Prompt 28: 'Self-love often starts small, like planting a single seed. With time, patience, and a bit of light, it will blossom.' - Anvita doesn't mind being alone. She minds being invisible. Darsh is used to being overlooked in quieter ways, too. When a harmless café date turns into an unexpected conversation about invisibility, replaceability, and the quiet ways we measure our worth, something small shifts. No, not love. Maybe not even destiny. But definitely a start of a journey- a journey to self-love that begins with being seen for the first time.

He was a veteran, she was a foreigner. He loved her, she could read his mind. He wore gloves to protect others from his sins. She wore kimonos to reclaim her identity. Colonel Gerald Aldrick survived the war, but he didn't come back the same man. Now, a teacher at the academy where he was once alive and full of dreams, he moved through each day like a ghost of the past. Until Robin Taylor stormed into his office. Fierce, beautiful, and convinced he was an abusive teacher, the caretaker tore into him with a passion that made his long-dead heart race for the first time in years. She called him useless. A doormat. A terrible liar. She threatened his job and walked away without a second glance. Gerald should have been offended. Instead, he was captivated. But this was not a story of fate. Robin saw nothing but a sad excuse of a man. A violent soldier pathetically entranced by her looks. Like everyone else. Robin knew exactly what this man wanted, no stranger to that 'line of work'. She had every intention of using his legendary colonel status for the ambitions and prominence of Trizstan's Spiriter Home. But was that all she truly wanted?

She went on one bad date. He watched it happen. Now her stepbrother's annoyingly hot professor thinks she needs dating lessons. (Apparently, saying sorry for existing is not flirting) It's strictly educational. No touching. No feelings. No falling in love. Which is unfortunate, because he's very good at eye contact, devastatingly hot, and absolutely not supposed to look at her like that. Small town. Big gossip. One rule already broken.

Samay Jaiswal's life runs on routine, where every day is same as yesterday; same routes, same hours, same silences. When strange notes begin appearing, written in an eerily familiar handwriting, offering advice that feels strangely personal, he dismisses them. There is nothing he wants to do differently anymore. He just wants to be left as he is. Then, time stops. Alone in a frozen world, Samay wanders through stalled streets and unfinished moments, confronting a past he has been carefully preserving, a present he refuses to acknowledge, and a future he never allowed himself to imagine. "Same Time Tomorrow" is a story about grief, choice and the quiet courage it takes to move on, even when time doesn't.

Tarini Jaykar was meant to be a bridesmaid, not the bride. Thrown into a marriage she didn't even see coming, she brings chaos, sarcasm, sharp eyes, and a mouth that forgets to behave. She's angry, defensive, and painfully aware of the man she now shares a home with. Carved out of duty and discipline, Dhruv Agnihotri is all restraint and quiet heat; a complete contrast to her. The kind of man she vowed not get involved with. Wanting him feels like betrayal, rebellion and trouble she definitely shouldn't crave this much. Dhruv Agnihotri lives by order, logic and duty. In his world, there is no place for emotions and fragility. Certainly not for selfishness. Until Tarini Jaykar storms into his house and wrecks the carefully crafted balance of his life. She is emotional, loud, spontaneous and inconveniently attractive. What was meant to be a dutiful and distant marriage turns tense, intimate and dangerously charged. He shouldn't react to her. He shouldn't feel vulnerable. He definitely shouldn't want her like this. But restraint cracks fastest when temptation sleeps just a few feet away.