123 The Devil's After Me

The daughter of my father's first love suffered from heatstroke because she was left in the car, so he tied me up in a fit of anger and locked me in the car boot. He looked at me with utter disgust and said, "I don't have a vicious daughter like you. Stay here and reflect on yourself." I begged him, apologized to him, and pleaded for him to let me out, but all I got in return was his ruthless order. "Unless she dies, no one is allowed to let her out." The car was parked in the garage. No one could hear me no matter how much I screamed for help. Seven days later, he finally remembered me and decided to let me out. However, he had no idea that I had already died in that trunk and could never wake up again.

The love that I knew wasn't like the ones written in a book. It wasn't beautiful and magical. It doesn't bring butterflies in my stomach and it doesn't make me feel special. It doesn't feel like home, I do not feel secure. It does not make me feel safe and worthy. The love that I experience doesn't feel like love. I'm not really sure if it is love because it made me doubt, insecure and made me feel unloved. And all I experienced was pain. No it was torture. To see him love someone else when all I could do is to love him and let him love her. Now I don't know if I could ever love someone else, after him.

In the underworld littered with only the worst people imaginable, it is very important to know who you can trust and who you can't. Where death is just a breath away and one mistake can cause an all-out war between powerful groups of people, trust is something earned, not given. Eden Maschera, the leader of an organization known as The Aberrants with their signature letter 'A' in all the clubs, restaurants, hotels and everything else they owned, knows this fact. To get where he is, he's had to make many sacrifices. With blood-stained hands, he watched over all the people under him with an iron fist and unwavering ideals. No one knows to be more cautious against other people than him, not after what he's been through. But, all that is thrown out the window when he meets a pretty, naked, black-haired man in a club with who he did not get along instantly. Even though several things happened just in the course of that night. In a world of betrayals, heartbreaks, lies, secrets and death, what will become of the two? Read to find out. Updates every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (GMT+8) P.s. Not my artwork

I am one of the most ancient and powerful vampires in existence, with wealth accumulated over centuries. When everyone learned I had fallen for a dying human named Damien and turned him into my Childe, they were shocked. Five years ago, I transformed him from a penniless artist into an immortal vampire. I also turned his dying family into vampires, granting them eternal life. Every month, I took $450,000 from my accounts just to support their lavish lifestyle. Damien’s sister pleaded that they had never attended any vampire events and wanted to see what it was like. So I spent $4 million to buy them seats at a grand vampire gathering that only happens once every fifty years, where participants have the chance to gain greater power and become higher-ranking vampires. But before the gathering even began, Damien demanded that I give my seat to his childhood sweetheart Victoria. The whole family supported Damien's decision without a thought for me. So I changed my plans. I severed their immortality, reclaimed my estate, and removed them from my bloodline. That's when the family started to panic...

Dakota Stelter and I tumbled down that steep ravine together. I lay there bleeding and broken, only to watch my boyfriend scoop her into his arms and walk away without a backward glance. He left me. In that moment, in every way that mattered. While everyone fussed over Dakota's scratches, no one even checked if I was still breathing. When I was finally rescued and recovering at the hospital, my boyfriend didn't even visit. I was hurt. So I moved on. Piece by piece, I rebuilt myself without him. But then he became distraught. Suddenly, he was sobbing, telling me he had always loved me.

When Matteo Ricci threatens to end our engagement for the 100th time unless I take Lydia Capone's place in the famiglia's drug trial, I don't cry or make a scene. I just sign my name on the engagement termination agreement and calmly hand over the man I've loved for eight years to my twin sister. A few days later, Lydia storms the mafia summit like she owns the room, insulting the Pirelli family and daring anyone to stop her. I'm forced to step in and bear the full weight of her chaos. And now they're saying Lydia's body can't handle the trial after all, so they want me, the older sister, to take her place. The moment I agree, my parents smile at me for the first time in years. Even Matteo, who barely notices me, hovers nearby and murmurs, "Don't be afraid. The trial isn't lethal. When you get out, I'll take you for your favorite spaghetti alla Napoletana." But he has no idea that there's a late-stage stomach cancer diagnosis tucked inside my pocket. No matter what horrors the trial holds, he will never witness me walk out alive.

For Maxine, "normal" is a costume she wears every day. She's an imposter, a forbidden creature hiding in plain sight. But her act is tested when four new students arrive, seeing through her mask as if it were glass. They are like her, but different. Dangerous. And they might be the only ones who can save her from a fate she doesn't yet understand. To survive, she must trust them, but trusting them could mean losing herself—especially to the one whose gaze makes her forget she's supposed to be human.

Kierra Hail had already lost everything—her child, her marriage, her dignity. Betrayed by the man she once loved, cast aside for his mistress, and left to rot as he stripped her of everything she owned. But the cruelest blow? Her daughter’s death, a tragedy her husband could have prevented if he had only chosen her life over his secret lover’s son. Now, broken and gasping for one last chance at survival, Kierra dials a number she swore she’d never use. A man who calls her princess. A man who doesn’t forgive. A man who owns the underworld. Sebastian Novair—heir to the infamous Noir de Costas Syndicates and a merciless mafia king with blood on his hands and fire in his veins. Years ago, Kierra saved him. Now, he’s back to collect his debt—with interest. He offers her power, vengeance, and the sweet taste of retribution. But making a deal with the devil has its price… and he’s more than willing to make her pay in ways she never imagined. He’ll ruin her enemies. He’ll break her chains. And he’ll claim what’s always been his— her.

Elena (21) gets pregnant after accidentally entering the private room of the most powerful and cold-hearted man in the city—Alexander Kingston (28). Drunk and blinded by memories of the woman he once loved, Alexander mistakes Elena for his lost love and spends the night with her. Because of the pregnancy, Alexander is forced to marry Elena—even though he does not want her. Convinced that Elena deliberately trapped him by sneaking into his room, Alexander believes she is nothing more than a gold-digger who used a one-night mistake to secure wealth and status. To him, the marriage is temporary. Once she gives birth to his child, she must leave. “I hate you. A woman like you doesn’t deserve to be my wife. Sign the divorce papers. After you give birth to my child, you will leave this house.” — Alexander Kingston (28) Pregnant and humiliated, Elena realizes she was never a wife in his eyes—only a tool chosen to bear an heir. But what happens when the truth comes out—and Elena was never guilty, never scheming, never trying to trap him? In a cold and unwanted marriage, Elena’s quiet strength and beauty slowly make it impossible for Alexander to ignore his growing feelings. Yet by the time he realizes his mistake… Elena has already given up and walked away. Will Alexander Kingston finally learn the true cost of regret?

Still tormented by the past, Bella commits herself to unearth the truth behind her sister's sudden disappearance. When a mysterious student, Gino Valler, offers her an alliance to solve the mystery of the past, she realizes that what she is dealing with is bigger than she has anticipated. Everything she believes in slowly collapsed while she struggles to build trust with her newfound partner and race against the unknown evil. The closer she is to the truth, the more ambiguous the answer becomes. Now she has to learn to fight for herself and accept the truth before the devious traitor—lurking in the back drop—wins the chase.