Outwardly, I was thriving. It has been three months since my boyfriend, Jason, left me. Everyone praised me for the way I was handling the breakup. I was doing better than ever at work, even earning a promotion. And I was in the best shape of my life, my twice-a-day workouts tightening my stomach, toning my already shapely legs, and shedding any of the typical weight one gains when they’re in a comfortable, long-term rela...

Everything in my life had gone to plan. After college, I’d joined a top marketing firm, quickly climbing the ranks. Within a few years, I had the big corner office, an assistant, a devoted team. I won awards and was seen as one of the top marketing executives in my field. And it wasn’t just my work life that went perfectly to plan. I met an attractive, sweet man who would soon become my husband. I was the Queen at work, a...

Chapter 1 The comfort-class taxi smoothly turned left, and I stared wide-eyed at the familiar sprawl of my home city. My aunt Mary, upon hearing I was finally going on my long-awaited vacation, started calling nonstop, begging me to look after her house and the garden she’d planted. Her daughter-in-law had given birth to a baby boy two weeks ago, and Mary busied herself teaching her how to wash diapers and bathe an infant...

Kayla lifted her hand into the air, snapping her fingers. One of the resort’s waitresses scurrying over to us. “Another round, ladies?” she asked, taking our cocktail glasses and heading off to refill them. Kayla and I were tanning ourselves by the hotel pool, enjoying our yearly girl’s getaway that had become a tradition. Our annual holiday had begun seven years ago, after I had saved my BFF from a disaster. We’d been fr...

Chapter 1 I hadn’t been particularly pleased when my husband, Steven, had asked if his friend Kevin could stay at our house for a month. Kevin had apparently lost his job, and the bank had seized his house. He was completely broke and my husband really wanted to help him out. “No,” I said. “If Kevin can’t hold down a job, that’s his problem. He’s not freeloading off me.” I didn’t have a problem with Kevin. He was a nice g...

I smiled, sipping a lemonade, watching my tiny but gorgeous niece Mia and her friends in the swimming pool. I was hosting a graduation party for them. High school was over and my niece, who had graduated top of her class, was soon off to college. The girls were playing volleyball in the pool when my niece hit the ball high in the air. I watched it sailing out of the pool and right over the fence. “I’ll go fetch it,” I sai...

Chapter 1 She was obviously nervous. “What is it, Sandra?” I asked impatiently, looking at my watch. My neighbour, a woman in her 50s, finally spat out what she had come to ask me. Sandra was a relatively pretty woman for her age, with her pure white skin and dark hair. She wasn’t by any means fat, but she had thick legs and ample breasts just a little smaller than my own. Even though I was only 27, she had to look up at...