Mag-log in6:50pm. I was still in my room, standing in front of the mirror in a dress that was definitely too much for a birthday party and absolutely perfect for what I needed to do tonight.The goal was simple: look hot enough that nobody would question why I showed up with my stepbrother. Make it seem intentional. Make it seem like I had my shit together.I was touching up my lipstick when I heard a knock on my door."Helen? We should probably leave soon if we want to—"I opened the door before he could finish, and there was Kelvin. Just standing there in casual jeans and a white fitted t-shirt that made his chest look like something out of an ad I definitely should not be noticing.Fuck. "Are you ready?" he asked, and there was something different about him. Not the usual apologetic energy. More like he was actually expecting me to be done."Yeah, let's go."He drove. Of course he did. And he opened the car door for me like we were in some romantic comedy, which immediately made me suspiciou
❈ ❈ Mila Pov ❈ ❈My apartment felt different now or maybe I felt different in it. Everything was the same. Same furniture, same paint on the walls, same view of the city from my window but it all felt smaller somehow. Like I had shrunk back into my old life and it didn't fit anymore.I was making tea when Riley texted that she was on her way over.Riley: bringing snacks. I have so much to tell you.Me: bet betWhen she got there, she looked different too. Her hair was longer. She'd dyed it darker. She had this glow that I recognized from before, the look of someone who was getting fucked real good and thinking about it constantly."Okay bitch," she said, flopping onto my couch like she owned it. "First of all, are you actually okay? Like I want you to be real with me."I handed her a mug of tea and sat down next to her."No cap?" I said."No cap," she confirmed."I miss y'all," I said. "Like, every single day. I wake up and for like two seconds I forget we're not together anymore a
✦ ❦ ✦ Helen POV ✦ ❦ ✦The moment I hear him, I already want to leave the living room."Hey, can you stop flexing your chest all around the house? It's fucking disgusting," I say, not looking up from my phone. "I'm sure you think you look cool, but sorry—you just look ridiculous."I throw it out there like it means nothing. But honestly, I have been acutely aware of him standing in that doorway for the last five seconds.Kelvin just stands there, sweat dripping down his temple, and his expression didn't change. That's the thing I really hate about him—nothing ever changes. No anger, no defensiveness, just this soft, understanding look that makes me want to hit something."I'm sorry, Helen. I never meant to bother you."His voice is low. Apologetic. Genuine. He's nothing but a sweet soul. That's literally the problem.Yeah, he's got the muscles that make you forget how to think for a second. Yeah, his face shouldn't be allowed to exist in the same space as the rest of us because it's un
Morena was alone in the guest room.The late afternoon light came in soft through the half-closed curtains, painting gold stripes across the bed. She sat on the edge of the mattress with her legs crossed, phone resting loosely in her hands. Her hair was down. She looked almost peaceful.I floated just inside the doorway and watched her.She smiled to herself — a small, private smile that didn’t belong on the face of someone who had just left her sister dying in a hospital bed. Then she spoke into the quiet room like someone was listening.“Almost there,” she whispered. “Just a little longer, Evie. You’ve always been so patient.”The way she said my childhood nickname made something cold slide down my spine.She unlocked her phone with her thumb and opened the notes app. The screen lit up her face from below. I drifted closer until I was standing right behind her, close enough that if I still had breath it would have moved the hair on the back of her neck.The first note was dated almo
CHAPTER 1All I could see was darkness. Life after death was never like what I had ever imagined. I always believed there is heaven and he'll.Not the kind you close your eyes to. The kind that *is* — thick, heavy, like I'm underwater but there's no water. Just pressure. Against my chest. Against my thoughts.Life after death was never supposed to be like this.My whole life, I preached about heaven and hell. Heaven for the good people. Hell for the bad ones. Simple. Clean. Binary. I'd stand there talking about it like I had the blueprint memorized — like I'd read the manual.Dying? That wasn't in my manual.Dying *now*, at thirty-six, after everything I'd sacrificed, after everything I'd built?Fuck that.I walk toward the light because I don't know what else to do. My feet don't really move — it's more like I'm *drawn* — and I immediately regret it. The light doesn't feel like salvation. It feels like exposure. Like stepping out of a room where I was invisible and suddenly everyone
A romance romance between 3 characters. 1. Eliana (fl) has been on a date with Champion (ml) having a nice time together. building friendship and started talking casually. Eliana has a younger sister who is 23 years old. Eliana is 25years old by the way. So champion and Eliana started as friends going out together, watching movies together. But along the line, Eliana started having feelings and in her mind concluded that she and champion are a thing instead of normal friends. Meanwhile champion likes Eliana sister Cynthia so much that the only way to get to Cynthia is through her sister Eliana. hence why he was friends with Eliana in the first place. Champion has never loved Eliana as a lover but as a friend. But Eliana get confused and take it as relationship and being nice. Cynthia is a very quiet girl who is really hard to approach because of her aura, she doesn't talk or answer anyone. more reasons champion using her sister to get to her. After champion asked Eliana for a f
The mansion gardens had been transformed without becoming unrecognizable.Simple white flowers hung from strings between trees. Chairs arranged in two sections facing a stone arch. No stage, no grand performance space. Just a place where two people could stand and say things they actually meant.Se
Selena didn't sleep. She lay in the dark listening to the mansion settle—pipes shifting, the distant hum of the AC, the weight of what happened on the terrace pressing down on her like something physical. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt it: the heat of his mouth on hers. The way he'd tilted
Selena's mother was in the private room at Royal Crest Hospital, looking stronger than she had in weeks. The upgrade had already happened. The surgery was already scheduled for tomorrow. Selena sat beside her mother's bed, smoothing down the expensive blanket, not quite ready to explain where the
The smell of disinfectant and despair clung to everything in the hospital corridor. Selena Jesus sat on the cold plastic chair, elbows digging into her thighs, staring at the faded white floor tiles like they held answers. “The cancer has spread to her liver,” Dr. Patel said gently. “Without surg







