Mga Maiikling Kuwento at Nobelang Marriage Imagination

My CEO wife, Cassandra Solis, has high hopes for me. In fact, she has drafted an elite training program for me. I have to work over 20 hours a day, finish every meal within 3 minutes, and spend no more than a minute in the restroom. "Honey, elites must achieve what normal people can't. Only when you become a true elite can I entrust the company to you." I can feel the major responsibility weighing down on my shoulders. Every day, I devote everything I have to work. Five years later, I've successfully taken the company public. I've also completed Cassandra's hardcore training program. But at the end-of-the-year gala, Cassandra hands over the position of the Executive Vice President—the same one that she's promised to me—to her newly-recruited assistant. Upon noticing my displeasure, Cassandra explains to me smilingly while holding a bouquet of flowers, "Oh, silly you! Having a completely useless boss is the final trial I've set up for you! Once you've completed this trial, I can finally hand the company to you!" But lines of text suddenly flash across my vision. "Oh, poor Harvey! He still has no idea that Cassandra has been training him just so he can earn more money in order to clear off Xavier's debt! Not only that, but she also steals the position Harvey has been longing for and gives it to Xavier! Cassandra really has crossed a line this time!" "You're being too dramatic. Cassandra is just paying Xavier back for his benevolence. She feels guilty for what she's done to Harvey, you know. Once she's done paying back her debt to Xavier, she'll pay attention to Harvey once again and live happily ever after with him." I'm stunned by what I see. Is this the actual purpose behind the elite training program? I'm about to pull out the terminal cancer diagnosis report, but I quickly stuff it back into my pocket. It's a shame that I'm about to die. I suppose that I can't live long enough to see that day.

After Dominic Hatch loses his memories, he refuses to believe that I'm his wife. "If you really are my wife, why is it that there aren't any photos of us together?" I explain to him that he doesn't like taking photos. That's why we didn't even have a wedding portrait of us. But soon, Dominic digs out nine thick and heavy photo albums from a hidden compartment in his safe. The main characters in those albums are him and another unfamiliar woman. There are countless photos documenting their journey—from they were still children to when they had completely grown up. The pure and innocence on their faces slowly give way to the sappy love and affection they have for each other. In fact, Dominic and the woman even had a wedding portrait of their own. At the back of the photo, a passionate "I love you" is scrawled there. I feel the blood in my veins turning to ice. With a trembling hand, I dig out my marriage certificate. Dominic merely glances at it before scoffing at me. "The edge of the seal is crooked! Clearly, this copy is forged!" My mind buzzes loudly at that moment. At the same time, the system's warning blares loudly in my mind. "This marks the end of the marriage registration mission. You have failed the mission. Commencing eradication protocol. Countdown: 48 hours remaining."

I don't have any ambitions in life. My biggest dream is to become a rich widow. On the day I'm supposed to go on a blind date, my parents place two photos in front of me. The first photo features Frank Larson, the young and handsome heir of the richest family in the elite circle. The second photo shows his youngest uncle, Henry Larson, who's supposedly dying really soon. It's said that he has never married anyone despite being 35 years old. My younger sister, Lily Nufer, chooses Frank as her future partner immediately. "I want to become the wife of the richest heir in the elite circle! A life of glory and luxury awaits me!" Then, she starts mocking me. "Sarah, you should just marry the walking corpse. Once he's dead, his assets are all yours!" I nod in return. "Okay." Walking corpses are fine by me. I don't have to scrub his back during bathtime. Plus, the sooner he dies, the sooner I regain my freedom. But after I get married, I find out that the so-called "corpse" not only possesses a figure that's sexier than a model's, but his stamina also exceeds that of a bull's. On top of that, Henry is also the one who calls the shots in the elite circle. Later on, Frank gets cast out of the Larson family for embezzling the company's funds. As Frank's wife, Lily is forced to live on the streets with him. Unable to take it anymore, Lily kneels by my feet and offers to exchange Frank for Henry due to their age difference. I'm about to nod and agree to the offer when Henry, my extremely influential and powerful husband, stomps onto Frank's hand immediately. "No way!" I say, "I'm okay with having a younger husband. Youth is nice." Henry chuckles coldly at Frank. "Sarah's your aunt! How dare you try to take her away from me! It seems that you must be tired of living!"

After our last mock exam, the whole class went to a karaoke lounge to celebrate. A video suddenly appeared on my phone, supposedly sent by Mason Blackwell ten years in the future. Mason and I had grown up together for over a decade, and I'd secretly loved him for five. In the video, he wore a suit, his familiar face softened by a tenderness I'd never seen before. "Hannah, I'm getting married. "To Paige Monroe." The next second, class beauty Paige linked her arm through his, their fingers intertwined. "Hope you find your true love soon." The video ended. The black screen reflected my reddened eyes. I splashed water on my face and went back into the private room. The moment I walked in, everyone turned to stare. Paige stood up with a bright smile and announced into the microphone, "See? I told you she'd cry!" The room erupted in laughter. Mason rose with a frown, swept a cold look across the room, and said, "Knock it off." He walked over and looked down at me, a trace of nervousness in his voice. "Paige asked me to make that video. Her grades improved this time, so it was her reward. Don't read into it." Behind him, Paige added with a laugh, "It was just a joke. Don't tell me you can't take one?" I stood there, staring at the face I'd secretly loved for five years, and said nothing. The video really was a joke. But ten years later, they truly did get married. Because I'd come back from ten years in the future.

Thanks to an accident, I'm somehow able to get on a phone call with the past version of me from seven years ago. Upon hearing that I will be getting engaged to Edward Herring soon, Younger Me is so excited that she keeps rolling around in bed. She also claims that she will be the happiest woman in the world seven years later. Am I happy, though? I can only smile bitterly without saying anything. Then, I silently show Younger Me the old scars of the suffering and pain I've gone through in the past. The gentle Edward is no longer here. Now, the Edward I'm with is the type who allows others to call me a manipulative bitch repeatedly and demands that I grovel to his first love, Madison Scott, and her family in a form of apology before our engagement. "So, do you still want a future like this?" The sparkle in Younger Me's eyes fades away instantly. After that, my past has been rewritten. Let's never see each other from the start, Edward Herring.

I'm a noble wolf woman. As soon as I was born, I'm destined to become a candidate in pursuit of the future Wolf Queen's position. In my past life, Louis Hanover, the heir to the Wolf King, hated the fact that I had given birth to a black pup, which was viewed as an inferior lifeform. So, he killed the pup with his own hands. After that, he whipped me to the point my body was all mangled and squished. Only then did he order to have my body tossed to the mountains so that the beasts could feed on me. Before I breathed my last, I vowed to the heavens that I'd make Louis regret everything in the next life. When I open my eyes again, I find out that I've gotten reborn to the day Louis is bound to choose his wife. This time, he chooses my cousin, Chloe Dunn, who happens to be a brown wolf woman. Brown wolves' social status is second to white wolves. When Louis shoots me a look filled with hatred and disgust, I realize that he has gotten reborn as well. In my past life, Chloe had gotten married to a brown wolf man, and yet she was able to give birth to a prestigious white pup. Everyone showered her with praises because of that. This time, Louis thinks he'll be able to sire a white pup just by choosing Chloe as his wife. Little does he know that only pureblooded wolves can give birth to pureblooded kin. How can he, a mixed-blooded wolf man, possibly sire a noble white pup?

My boyfriend had just gotten home from a long day at the construction site when I demanded that he go out in the pouring rain and buy me a box of premium cherries. His voice was tired. "We're running low on money. Rent's due tomorrow. How about strawberries instead?" I grabbed a throw pillow and hurled it at him. "Get out, you loser!" After throwing him out, I curled up on the couch and sulked. Then a stream of floating comments suddenly appeared before my eyes. [This woman has no idea she's calling a billionaire heir a loser! He only ended up working construction because he lost his memory after being set up!] [His fiancée will find him soon. Once he regains his memories, he'll discover this woman has been lying to him all along!] [This spoiled brat is already pregnant. Later she'll use the baby to cause trouble, but she'll be killed right after giving birth, and the child will be abused too!] I froze. My hand instinctively moved to my stomach. Pregnant? At that moment, the front door opened. Landon Pierce stepped inside, soaked from head to toe, a box of premium cherries clutched in one hand. He looked at me nervously and spoke with careful hesitation. "I spent the last two hours delivering food orders so I could afford the box of premium cherries." He held it out to me. "Please don't make me leave, okay?"

Being fair and treating everyone equally has always mattered most to Chase Russell. That's why he has a specialized chip implanted in my uterus. Whenever his childhood sweetheart, Joanna Reynolds, suffers from morning sickness or any other discomfort during her pregnancy, every bit of her pain is transferred to me. "Didn't you always dream of experiencing what it's like to be a mother? I'm making that dream come true for you." The day Joanna goes into labor, the pain hits me so hard that I pass out in the hospital corridor. But Chase is in the delivery room, gently comforting her. "How are you feeling? It doesn't hurt at all, does it?" Later, he tells me he wants to hold a wedding with Joanna, so she and their child can have a proper place in the family. "Although Joanna will be the one marrying me, you'll still be the one whose name is on the marriage certificate," he says. "I told you… I've always treated you both equally." I say nothing. I simply take off the wedding ring he gave me and return it to him. When the wedding march begins to play, I have already boarded a one-way flight to a faraway place.

On my birthday, my eight-year-old stepson dumped the cake I spent twelve hours on straight into the trash. His face twisted. "Smells like cheap frosting." Then he turned and happily dug into the plain pasta my husband's secretary made. I was about to lose it when the familiar floating comments popped up again. [OMG Nico's doing this again. He literally LOVES Reyna's cake every year. Boy just too prideful to admit it LOL.] [Fr fr, he's just using his late mom to test Reyna. Kid's lowkey possessive and messy!] [Alex, HELLO? Your son's jealous af. You not gonna say anything? Oh wait... you jealous too huh? Watching Reyna dote on Nico got you pressed. lol.]

Out of nowhere, I heard the slap of bodies coming from the bathroom, along with a woman's breathy moans and my husband's low groans. But my husband, Robert Hayes, was the only person in there! Frowning, I pushed the bathroom door open. Robert's hands were frozen in midair, clenched into fists, and every muscle in his body was tense. He swallowed hard. I was about to go in when lines of text suddenly started scrolling across my vision like comments on a livestream. [He's doing it with Emma Bennett's best friend, Selena Reed, right under Emma's nose. He's wild!] [No wonder Robert was willing to drop over a million dollars on an invisibility potion.] [Doing it with Emma watching must be even hotter! Today's just a test run. Tomorrow's pool party is Robert's real show.] [Just thinking about it is a thrill!] A sudden sound came from the bathroom, and two wet footprints appeared on a dry patch of the floor. Robert turned toward the sound. His deep-blue eyes narrowed, and his voice sharpened. "Get out!" I backed out. I was so furious that I immediately went online and ordered a whole box of bear traps.

I had regressed ninety-nine times, and it all started because I brought home an injured man. Every time I came back, strange floating comments appeared in front of my eyes. I could also hear my baby brother's thoughts. The moment my brother saw Tristan Price, he screamed and refused to stop crying. "Send that man back! He's going to get our whole family killed!" I reached out hesitatingly toward Tristan, and the chat overlay flickered to life again. [The man lying in your bed is your future husband and the prince regent. He never forgets a kindness. Save him, and he will make you his princess consort. Your entire family will be protected and well provided for.] The first time, I followed my heart and did what the messages told me to do. I saved Tristan, and he used me as a human shield. The assassins hunting him found us, and my entire family was slaughtered. The second time, I listened to my brother instead and sent Tristan back where I found him. His men came to our door anyway, accused me of leaving him to die, and killed everyone. The third time, I found Tristan's closest aide before the assassins arrived and quietly handed Tristan over. Then Tristan went mad without warning and stabbed me himself. When my family tried to avenge me, they were killed too. I tried every approach I could think of to avoid my family's tragic fate, and every single one ended in failure. This time, I chose to wait for death. Then the comments appeared again, and something about them caught my eye.

In my previous life, my husband, Lucien Walker, tells me he wants to take care of his widowed sister-in-law, Lina Morgan, and take her as his second wife. After I refuse, Lina throws herself off a cliff while pregnant, killing both herself and the pups. As the Wolf King, Lucien chains me on a clifftop and lets vultures tear at my flesh day after day. He gouges out my eyes and snarls, "You lied about your fertility to trick me, then drove Lina and her unborn pups to their deaths! This is your punishment!" My son, Pierce Walker, whom I pour my life into raising, stabs me 9,999 times. "If Lina were my mother, I would be strong. This is all your fault!" They never know that without my gift for bearing children, Lucien has no heir at all. When I open my eyes again, I'm back on the day Lucien proposes taking Lina as his second wife.

On the day I was supposed to swap marriages with my sister, Sylvia Hayes, I chose to be a battalion commander's wife instead. Then, watching Sylvia wither away from late-stage stomach cancer until she was nothing but skin and bones, a few strange lines suddenly appeared before my eyes. [Great news! The heroine is about to be reborn!] [What a joke. What good is being an officer's wife? That scumbag will take his mistress to live on base with him, leaving her to starve in that old house!] [After she's reborn, she should pick Miles Williams, the steel factory director! He secretly kept her photo and loved her his whole life!] Miles, the husband Sylvia used to mock as 'nothing but a money-grubbing brute,' was holding a tin cup, trying to give her water. Sylvia suddenly grabbed his wrist, her bulging eyes boring into me. "Laura Hayes...you had food saved up. Why wouldn't you help me?!" She died with her finger pointed at me. Miles' jaw was clenched so tightly that the muscles in his cheeks bulged, and then he suddenly lunged forward and wrapped his hands around my throat. When I opened my eyes again, the room's blackened mud walls were hung with an old, faded calendar.

I woke up at midnight to find my husband out of bed. I called his number, but there was no answer. I searched everywhere and realized he wasn't around. The young nanny had disappeared as well. I barely reached the garage when I heard muffled wanton noises inside. I stormed over, trying to catch the infidel pair in the act. When I opened the door, my husband was standing there with a surgical kit. He was about to head out in his car. He explained, "Honey, I need to catch a flight to Silverport. A patient there needs immediate surgery. You should go to bed without me." I sighed in relief, feeling ridiculous to have doubted him. Suddenly, a few comments rolled before my eyes. "That was so close! They almost got caught! Luckily, Ava had cleverly hidden in the trunk. That bitch will find nothing once Ethan drives away." "My heart is swelling just from watching them! A stoic, genius doctor and a cheery, adorable nanny are a perfect match! Tonya stands no chance against Ava!" I glanced at the shut trunk and slid into the driver's seat with a smile, offering, "Honey, why don't I give you a ride to the airport?"

After failing to conquer Quinn Langley 99 times in a row, I finally give up on my quest. When Quinn insists on going on a vacation with the female lead, Melody Frost, during our fifth wedding anniversary, I grant his wish. When he wants to give Melody a proper title, I file for a divorce from him immediately. Even when Quinn wants to give the newborn that I've risked my life delivering to this world to Melody, I just nod and let him take the baby away. Upon noticing the pallor in my cheeks, Quinn goes down on one knee next to me and starts coaxing me softly. "Melody is afflicted with a terminal disease, and she's infertile too. Her biggest wish in this lifetime is to form a family with me. "Don't worry. Once she's passed away, I'll remarry you immediately. This time, we'll spend the rest of our lives as a family." What he doesn't know is that we no longer have a future together. I've already given up on the conquest mission, after all. In three days, I'll get eradicated by the system and leave this world for good.

On the day the company goes public, my CEO wife, Stacy Levine, rewards everyone. She even makes an exception for her male assistant, Zack Lowe. She promotes Zack and gives him a raise. But when it comes to me, she throws a stack of papers in my face and treats me like I'm worthless. Everyone thinks I'm about to be fired, so they all rush to suck up to Zack. Only I, standing there with my head lowered in silence, know that Stacy is cheering inside. "Jacob looks so cute when he's jealous and upset! He has no idea I'm planning to promote him to vice president. He'll probably be so touched that he'll cry!" What she doesn't know is that I have a surprise waiting for her, too. I'm planning to divorce her and take up a job with her biggest rival.

After his son, George Black, dies, Jonas Black returns to his own world, thinking of that marriage as nothing more than a nightmare. That is, until the system appears again. "Host, after you drowned, Serena wanted to trade her own life to save yours. If you go back and stay at her side for a whole year, George will come back to life in this world, and you'll be rewarded ten billion dollars." Just like that, Jonas is summoned back to that world for a second time. This time, he's a different person. He suggests to Serena Quinn that they should sleep in separate rooms and stay out of each other's lives. When his daughter, Erica Black, makes a fuss about wanting to see Serena's savior, Henry Lane, Jonas simply has her things packed and sends her over with her suitcase. Even when Serena favors and sides with Henry, Jonas doesn't act up or get angry. He just doesn't care. All he does throughout the year is buy luxury cars or spend his time at clubs and bars, showering the hostesses with money. Everyone in the circle calls him "The Walking ATM". One day, Jonas casually gives his wedding ring, worth tens of millions, to a club hostess. Serena, who has heard the news, barges into the private room soon after. "Jonas Black!" She grabs his wrist. "That's our wedding ring. I designed it myself, and it took three years to perfect it! How could you just give it away? What are you trying to prove?!" Annoyed by her shaking him, Jonas pulls his hand free and leans against the couch lazily. "It's just a ring. Why make a big deal out of it? You can give your ring to someone else, too. It's not like you haven't done it before."

After Helena Ashbourne cheated on me with her male assistant again, my mind came apart. At the lowest point of it, I picked up the fruit knife on the table and meant to end things myself. "Why are you hurting yourself again? Doesn't she like you anymore?" I looked up, and sixteen-year-old Helena was walking toward me with pain all over her face. She spoke gently. "Tell me who she is. I'll make her pay for you." I looked into the bright eyes of the girl in front of me. I didn't say anything. Quietly, I pointed at her face. Later, Helena put me in a psychiatric hospital herself. In the gaps between doses of sedative, the girl sat down beside my bed again. She stared out at the woman with a face so much like her own, and the light in her eyes went out inch by inch. Then she forced the words out, and every one of them came with blood. "I don't care who she is. I'm going to kill her." Sixteen-year-old Helena never lied to me. She meant every word.

I never thought I'd die on my honeymoon. 160 feet down in a pitch-black underwater cave, Adam Hunter, my husband who has spent ten years courting me, kills me with a knife. When he returns home, he takes everything my family owns. The broke nobody turns into a billionaire powerhouse overnight. Meanwhile, my parents spend every last cent trying to prove he murdered me, only to die in bitter despair. When I open my eyes, I'm back at the moment before the dive. Adam lies beside me, holding me tightly as he sleeps peacefully. Only I know that he will kill me in the crushing darkness of the deep water. I have less than two hours to escape this death trap. I look at the clock. The countdown begins.

When I woke up that morning and happened to glance at the mirror, a scream tore from my throat before I could stop it. Because on the face I had always taken such pride in, there was now a jagged, horrifying scar. As terror gripped me, a cool, detached female voice cut through the air beside me. "What are you shrieking about so early in the morning? Scared by your own ugly face?" I looked up in shock and realized the voice belonged to my girlfriend, Alicia. Only—she wasn't the same girl from yesterday. Gone was the youthful innocence I remembered. In its place, every movement, every glance radiated the allure of a mature woman. The words slipped out before I could hold them back. "Babe… you're gorgeous…" But Alicia's brows knit together, her gaze colder than ice. "Kurt, drop the act!" Act? I was at a loss. Why would she accuse me of pretending? "Don't call me the way you used to five years ago. It's disgusting." Five years ago? But… I'm still twenty-three… am I not?