Mga Maiikling Kuwento at Nobelang Bias Familial Bond

Three years after my death, my mother finally remembered my existence. As my older brother was having kidney failure, she wanted me to give him my kidney. To force me to make an appearance, she pushed my severely depressed wife into committing suicide and left my daughter roaming the streets to be killed in a hit-and-run. However, she still did not give up. She started making up things about me on the internet. In the end, my friend told her, “Mrs. Harding, Aiden died in the earthquake three years ago. A steel girder pierced him right through the heart after he saved you, and he died on the spot due to blood loss.”

By the time I was diagnosed with end-stage heart failure, UNOS had finally matched me with a donor heart. My foster sister Isabella had the same condition, but no donor heart had been found for her. My family had heard somewhere that if I signed a voluntary waiver giving up the transplant, the heart would go straight to her. For three straight months, my parents refused to pay a cent toward my care to pressure me into signing. They told anyone who would listen that their own daughter was selfish enough to take away her sister's only chance to live. My older brother Howard came to my room and tossed the waiver onto my bed. "Isabella just got into a top university. She has her whole future ahead of her. "You already have severe drug allergies. Even with that heart, rejection could kill you at any time." Before he could finish, Isabella ran in sobbing, threw herself into his arms, and demanded to know if I had to step over her dead body just to stay alive. Howard patted her back gently. He had once nearly died carrying me out of a fire. Afterward, he cried and swore he would never let me die before he did. Now all he ever did was look at me with those cold blue eyes. My hand shook when I picked up the pen. "All right, Howard. "I'll sign it."

The day my mother, Dahlia Moone, gives birth to my younger brother, she goes into obstructed labor and suffers a catastrophic hemorrhage. My CEO father, Graham Kovane, orders every doctor and nurse out of the delivery room because his mistress, Selena Langford, says, "Her crying is giving me a headache." That day, both Mom and my unborn brother die. Not long after, I'm framed for a mistake I never made, driven out of the family, and left to survive on the streets. Living on the kindness of strangers, I fight my way up from nothing. Step by step, I rise until I become the head of Rockstone Tech, controlling a fortune worth billions. On the day of the annual evaluation for promoting interns to full-time employees, five candidate files are placed on my desk. My assistant, Ingrid Nelson, taps the file at the top of the stack, her voice full of admiration. "Ms. Campbell, Monica Kovane is exceptionally capable. Her performance has earned full marks from every department manager." I open Monica's profile, and my eyes stop on the family information section. Even in the worst of times, I will never forget those two names on the paper. After a long silence, I tell Ingrid to bring all five interns into my office. The employment contracts are handed out one by one. When only the last person remains, I look up and meet her confident gaze. She's almost certain the position is already hers. Calmly, I slide a termination letter across the desk. "Unfortunately, Ms. Kovane, you didn't pass."

After the College Entrance Assessment ends, Chayce Clarkson, the younger brother I have raised for seven years, looks me in the eye and says calmly, "I turned in blank exam papers." I instantly freeze, unable to utter even a single word. A look of vengeful satisfaction flashes across his face as he delivers his next blow. "Jill and I never broke up, either. And it's for her that I didn't write a single word in the exams. She's not book-smart, so she won't be able to get into a decent college. I've already promised her that I'll spend the next four years just playing around with her." My heart shatters into a thousand pieces, but he clearly doesn't believe that he's done anything wrong. He meets my gaze without guilt, and his expression remains cold. "Either way, the exam is over now. If you accept my relationship with Jill, I'll still consider you my sister. If not, we'll sever ties right here, right now." His eyes drift to my trembling hands. After a slight pause, he adds, "But if you still want me as your brother, that's fine too. Just give Jill every dollar you've earned over the past seven years. Consider it your 'welcome-to-the-family' gift to her."

At the full moon ceremony, my son Liam announced his wish in front of the entire Keplin Pack. "I want a different mother." He stepped on the heart-shaped cookies I had made before explaining further. "She's almost thirty, yet she still hasn't summoned her wolf. Because of her, the other pups have always mocked and discriminated against me. "They call me the son of a loser. They call me Loser Jr. "She doesn't deserve to be my mother, and she certainly doesn't deserve the Luna position in our pack." He then threw himself into the arms of my mate, Norris. "Dad, when Evelyn comes back from the war, can you let her be my mom?" The pack burst into laughter. Their eyes were filled with contempt and pity when they looked at me. Perhaps they thought I was pathetic too. My mate had been unfaithful to me. The pup I had fought through deadly poison to give birth to had publicly torn open my deepest wound. Every one of them had taken the side of another shewolf. I picked up the heart-shaped cookies, which had been broken into pieces on the ground, and stared blankly at the two werewolves in front of me. "Since you both love Evelyn so much, she can be Liam's mother from now on."

My foster sister, Sylvia Blackwood, was so terrified of being bonded to the cold, merciless Alpha King that she rigged the lot the moment it was my turn to draw. I pulled out the Alpha King. The whole hall erupted. I looked toward my fated mate, Raymond Hale—but he wasn't looking at me. His eyes were locked on Sylvia, and only her. My brother, Carl Blackwood, didn't call out the switch either. He just let them whisper and laugh. I stood there frozen, eyes burning red. Everyone treated it like a joke. They never thought I'd actually go through with bonding with a wolf that dangerous. But staring at the same faces who once swore they'd love me forever—I finally knew. I was done. I was leaving.

I spent ten years raising my stepson. Even though he never once called me 'Dad,' I never let him go without. Food, clothes, tuition, living expenses, I paid for everything. But on New Year's Eve, during the family reunion dinner, he suddenly spoke up in front of everyone. "Old man, I've got my eye on that apartment in the old district that's about to be demolished. Transfer it to me. I'll use it as my wedding house." I frowned. "That apartment is meant for your mother's retirement and your sister's education. Pick another development instead. I'll help cover the down payment." He slammed the table. "A down payment? That's nothing. "You want me to carry a mortgage at my age?" Then he looked me dead in the eye. "If you refuse to transfer the property, believe me, I'll make my mom divorce you." Instinctively, I turned to look at my wife beside me. But she only lowered her head in silence.

Mom said I needed to toughen up, so she made me walk home alone. "You're ten. Everyone else can do it. Why can't you? If you were even half as capable as your cousin, I wouldn't have to worry so much." I shook my head and signed, [I can't hear. Crossing streets isn't safe.] She gave me that look. Total disappointment. Then she walked off with my cousin, Sadie. What Mom didn't know was that before school let out, Sadie had stopped me. Said she was helping Mom make me independent. Then she snatched my hearing aid. Now the whole world was silent. I followed the crowd down the sidewalk. At a small intersection, a car spun out, horn blaring. Everyone scattered. Everyone but me. I couldn't hear it. My spirit rose above the street. Below, my body lay in a pool of blood. Mom... Sorry. I couldn't do this independence thing.

On my wedding day, in front of every major family in New York, I announced that the ceremony was canceled. Half an hour earlier, my adopted sister, Sophia Moretti, had sent a photo of what she claimed was a blood-red death mark on the car sent to pick her up. My fiancé, Luca Romano, grabbed his gun and rushed off to save her, leaving me stranded there. My veil felt tighter by the minute, until my temples throbbed. My two older brothers took every guard we had and rushed to her too. I looked at the empty seats. When I finally called, I learned that the so-called death mark was just red primer showing through where the paint had been scraped off. They'd known for a while that there was no danger. But they were still with Sophia. All I did was ask when they were coming, and they demanded that I apologize to Sophia. What they didn't know was that I'd had enough of this family a long time ago. I pulled off my veil right there. "The wedding's off, and so is the alliance between our families." They all thought that without the Moretti family's protection, I couldn't even make it out of New York. But six months earlier, a shipping company in Palermo had offered me a job. Back then, I'd turned it down for Luca. Now I was going to Europe alone to take my life back.

To save my family, I was dying of silver poisoning, my fiancé Marcus, the Alpha who had promised to never abandon me, now wanted to harvest my healthy kidney for my parents' adopted daughter, Celeste. Nobody cares if I live or die So I refused the conservative treatment plan. I injected myself with the witch's life potion. The price? In 72 hours, I would die from complete organ failure. In those three days, I gave my private healing center—the one I'd built with my own hands—to Celeste. Mom and Dad beamed with joy. "Good girl, you've finally grown up. You're taking care of your sister now." Marcus wanted to postpone our wedding to care for Celeste. I accepted it calmly. He praised me for finally being understanding. I even gave up my position as the pack's chief healer to Celeste. My parents and Marcus were so excited they planned to throw her a grand celebration ball. They invited every important person with status in the pack to honor her new role. I was just curious about one thing. After I died, would they shed a single tear for me?

To transfer my sister, Suri Voss, who was 13 years younger than I was, to a new school district, I took 7 days of annual leave and went back to my hometown. I pulled strings, delivered gifts, called in favors, and finally forced a spot for her in the best middle school in the city. At last, when I could pause long enough to catch my breath, I told Mom, who was heading out to buy groceries, that I wanted grilled pork ribs for dinner. Suri walked over with a cold expression, then threw a full glass of icy water straight onto my head and pointed at my face as she exploded. "You country leech, mooching off our family for years, eating our food and living in our house whenever you feel like it. I let all that slide. Now you want to steal my mom too? Do you have any shame at all?! "Listen carefully, Mom only has one child. She will only ever love me!" I stood there, stunned. Suri had no idea I was Mom’s biological daughter, too. All this time, she had treated me as some freeloading relative. I looked toward the doorway, where Mom was changing her shoes to go out. She seemed not to have heard a single word of Suri’s disrespect. She merely said casually, "Suri doesn’t like ribs. Let’s have grilled shrimp instead." She had forgotten that I’ve been severely allergic to seafood since childhood. I lowered my head and let out a quiet, self-mocking laugh. Unbeknownst to them, if I could secure Suri a place in that school, I could just as easily make sure she lost it.

Dad always said a mafia don's daughter had to be strong, even in the middle of a gunfight. Our family had just been ambushed by a rival crime family. A stray bullet grazed my little sister's arm. Mom cradled her protectively while Dad frantically called for an ambulance. I was the one who'd stood at the front, covering their escape. Now I lay on the ground with three bullets in my body, and nobody even looked at me. "Dad, I... it hurts so much." "You've always been strong. They're just a few bullets, and nothing vital was hit. Stop making such a scene!" Mom glanced back at me, then quickly turned away. "If you can still cry and shout, you can't be hurt that badly. Your sister's already lost so much blood. Are you really going to put her life at risk just to compete for our attention?" Dad patted my head to comfort me. "Rest here for a bit. The ambulance can't take all of us. We'll get your sister to the hospital and come back for you." Then they climbed into the ambulance with my sister and left without another glance. If they'd only looked closely, they would have seen that one of the bullets had also hit the left side of my chest. When I was six, I fell during family training and broke my forearm. All Dad offered was a few words of encouragement. "It's only a small injury. You'll heal soon. Learn to be strong." Later, after they adopted my little sister, she scraped her knee and Mom summoned the family's finest medical team and didn't leave her side for days. I'd spent fifteen years learning to be strong on my own. I was used to it. I lay quietly on the ground, watching the ambulance disappear. Mom, Dad, this time I'm being strong too. But I don't think I'll still be here when you come back.

I was locked in the cellar by my triplet alpha brothers after my stepsister, Elsa, framed me for killing her wolf by giving her an almond cake. The exit was secured with silver chains, and my wolf howled and begged them to release me. But my three alpha brothers refused. Alpha Kane, the eldest, growled, "You wicked she-wolf! You knew she was allergic to nuts, yet you deliberately gave her an almond cake to suffocate her! Don't you know it could fatally harm her wolf? You must stay here and reflect on what you've done!" Alpha Kelvin, the second, and Alpha Karl, the third, mocked, "What a despicable wolf you are! Still making excuses instead of facing the truth. Stay here and suffer what you deserve!" After that, they shifted into their wolves and took the trembling Elsa to the werewolf infirmary. Meanwhile, I struggled to breathe as the air in the cellar was filled with silver dust. My wolf howled in agony, but it was useless. Eventually, I died there. It wasn't until three days later—after they brought Elsa back from the infirmary—that I finally crossed their minds again. But by then, they didn't know—I was already dead in that silver-dust-filled cellar.

On the day I'm found to be a compatible donor for my mom, who's suffering from late-stage leukemia, I run away from home. Dad keeps looking everywhere for me. But in the end, he has to watch Mom die in despair. Later on, Dad focuses on his research in leukemia, which brings him huge success. On top of that, he even adopts an understanding and capable young man as his own son. When we eventually meet again, it's at a research meeting about leukemia that's hosted by Dad. As he stares at my body on the table, he can't help but chuckle icily. "Julian Rivers, this isn't a place where you can screw around. Get up and get lost right now!" The host just stares at Dad, completely stunned. "You know the identity of this corpse, Dr. Rivers?" Dad flashes him a mocking smile. "How much did Julian pay you just to go along with the act, huh?" The poor host doesn't know what to do. "But Dr. Rivers, Mr. Julian Rivers already died three days ago…"

For his preschool career assignment, my four-year-old son, Joey Parker, writes that he wants to be a homewrecker. When I stare at him in disbelief, he defends his choice with complete confidence. "Mommy's secretary, Mr. Sebastian Hayes, is a homewrecker, and he's living a pretty great life. "Mommy buys him fancy suits that you don't have, and she always drives him to and from work without fail." Joey tilts his head and looks at me curiously. "I hear the grown-ups calling him a homewrecker all the time. So why don't you become one, too? "Besides, they say male homewreckers are super rare. And you're so amazing, Daddy! I bet you'd be the best one ever!" My face drains of color. I stand frozen, unable to utter a single word. Years ago, one comment from my wife, Amelia Brooks, about needing someone to take care of the family for me was enough to make me quit my job and become a stay-at-home dad. For years, I've swallowed my hurt and endured one humiliation after another, all because I want our son to grow up in a complete family. I've never imagined that my patience would teach him to mistake being the other man for being loved. I'm about to respond when Joey interrupts me. "Daddy, I know you and Mommy fought today because she's going out to dinner with Mr. Hayes instead of celebrating your birthday with you. "I don't like it when you and Mommy fight. So when I grow up, I'll be a homewrecker, too. Then you won't have to fight anymore." It feels as though an invisible fist closes around my heart. Rage surges through me, making the veins in my forehead throb. But the moment I meet my son's innocent gaze, the question that has tormented me for years suddenly has an answer. "Joey, being a homewrecker is wrong. If you don't like living this way, then I'll take you somewhere new. We'll find a home of our own, one without your mommy."

I got my marriage certificate with the heir of the most powerful family of the city in the morning. By the afternoon, he took me to file for divorce. I clutched the documents and stood frozen as his friends burst into unrestrained laughter around me. “Julian, just because Elena said that, you actually married Maya just to divorce her right away?” “Haha, look at her face. She’s gone pale. Is she about to cry?” However, Julian simply pulled my adopted sister, Elena, into his arms. His voice was soft with affection. “Now that we’ve got divorced, will you finally smile for me?” Elena let out a chuckle. Her cool, aloof face bloomed into a smile. I tried to step forward and question Julian, but my three brothers held me back. My eldest brother, the CEO, frowned and said, “Elena only smiles for him. Try having some decency.” My second brother, the actor, shoved me to the ground. “She’s had a hard life. You have everything. You don’t need this one man.” My third brother, a biology professor, said coldly, “Julian should’ve married her long ago. Stop interfering.” They forced me into the car, refusing to let me stand in the way of their love and her happiness. At that moment, the system that had been silent for so long finally came online: [Host, the objective has been completed. Do you wish to return to the real world now?] I sat in the back seat, gazing out the window. I almost let out a laugh. The tragic play I had put on for this mission was finally over. From now on, I wanted no part in their lives.

On our wedding anniversary night, my husband, Lucian Moore, comes home with a seven-year-old orphan named Chloe Martin. He even hands her the necklace he bought me for our anniversary and lets her play with it like a toy. Because of her, my son, Ryan Moore, shouts at me for the first time. "You're a bad woman! I don't want you to be my mommy!" I watch the three of them sitting together, warm and cozy, and I say nothing. Instead, I buy a ticket to leave the country. At first, they think I'm just acting out and will come home in a few days. But when they return from Feanland after celebrating Chloe's birthday, they find out I've joined a ten-year classified research project and will not come back again. At that moment, they fall apart.

At my bonding ceremony with Liam Jones, the pack witch appeared and dropped a bombshell—my long-lost sister, Victoria, was still alive. She could bring Victoria back, but there was a catch. She turned to my parents and asked: “Are you willing to trade Margret Davis for Victoria Davis? The two will swap bodies.” My parents' faces lit up with excitement. They didn't hesitate for a second. Yes. They said the only reason they had me was because Victoria had vanished, and their mind-link with her had gone silent. I'd spent twenty years living a life that was never mine, while my sister suffered for over a decade. This was what I owed her. Then the witch turned to Liam. Victoria had gone missing because she saved him—I knew that. But if he could just say no, even if it was a lie, even if he was just pretending… Then at least there'd be one person in this world who wanted me to stay. One last reason for me to hold on. A long silence stretched between us. Finally, he spoke. "She went missing because she saved me. I have to bring her back." He gave a firm nod. "Yes." Then the witch sprinkled a vial of purple liquid over me. She looked at everyone with a cold smile. "The potion takes time to work. In one month, Victoria and Margret will swap."

I've always been lucky. I grew up in foster care, but every family I was placed with was either rich or powerful. Later, two of the wealthiest families around even took me in, both convinced I was their biological daughter. The first was the Kennedy family, an old aristocratic house. Their fake daughter, Sophia Kennedy, was an expert at framing people. Whenever she accused me of something, I'd happily take the blame, but my new parents never believed I'd done it. In the end, I got all the designer goods and even a share of the family profits. The second was the Percival family, a financial dynasty. Their fake daughter, Scarlett Percival, was a master at playing the victim. She played the victim, and I gave it right back. Somehow, every new piece of evidence ended up proving me right. My new parents felt so guilty that they gave me a trust fund and property after property. Two families claimed me as their long-lost daughter, and both times, I walked away unscathed. The two fake heiresses, however, ended up disgraced and ruined. The third time, a DNA test finally revealed the truth: I was the long-lost daughter of Don Bertoni. On my first night at the estate, Jennifer Bertoni—the girl who'd been living in my place for eighteen years—clutched her chest and collapsed at my feet, her face deathly pale. "Sis, I was born with an irregular heartbeat. I could drop dead at any moment." "I've been living your life, and that's on me. If you blame me for it, I'll go and die right now." My birth mother wrapped her arms protectively around Jennifer and glared at me. My brother, Adrian Bertoni, slammed his fist down on the coffee table, his eyes cold and vicious. "Jennifer's been sick her whole life. Can't you cut her some slack?" Even Bryce Sedgwick, the arms dealer I was engaged to, turned cold. "Upset Jennifer again, and the Bertonis can forget about this month's weapons deal. Consider it canceled." I crouched beside her and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Don't be sill

On my very first day studying abroad, my mom brought her real son back home. Within two years, he had won over every single person in the family. By the time I came back, she tossed a signed disownment agreement in my face. "To be honest, I've always thought you were pretty selfish. All you care about is money. You refuse to hand over control of the company, and you never show any real concern for us as parents. Thank God my real son isn't that cold-blooded. So do the right thing—hand over your shares and walk away from this family on your own." She stood there waiting for me to break down, to beg her to let me stay. But I just let out a quiet sigh and pulled out a DNA test linking me to my grandfather—her father. "Mom, I'm not your biological son—that much is true. But I am the biological grandson of the man who actually runs the Harrison family. The one who should be leaving the Harrison family isn't me—it's you."