Bias

Ang mga magulang ko, ang pinakamayaman na magkasintahan sa bansa, ay sikat na mga pilantropo. Kailangan ko hingin ang permiso nila kung kailangan ko gumastos ng higit pa sa limang dolyar. Sa araw na nadiagnose ako ng terminal cancer, humingi ako ng 100 dolyar, pero sa halip na tulungan ako, sinigawan nila ako ng tatlong oras. “Anong klaseng sakit ang makukuha mo sa edad mo? Kung hihingi ka lang ng pera, galingan mo naman sa palusot mo.” “Alam mo ba na ang 100 dolyar ay kayang suportahan ang mga bata sa naghihirap na mga lugar ng matagal na panahon? Mas may sense pa kausap ang kapatid mo kaysa sa iyo.” Kinaladkad ko ang katawan ko na may sakit pabalik sa maliit na basement. Pero noong dumaan ako sa mall, nakita ko ang mga magulang ko, live sa malaking screen, gumagastos ng malaking yaman para lang rentahan ang Disneyland para sa kapatid ko. Ang isang daang dolyar ay hindi sapat para sa isang round ng chemotherapy. Gusto ko lang bumili ng bagong damit at lisanin ang mundo ng may dignidad.

I struggle with all my might, but Dad restrains me, and Mom breaks my limbs. Then, my sister seals me into the concrete. "Concrete is only brought to life with an actual person sealed inside. It looks so much more defined! It's not like you'll die after being sealed in there for a few days. How can you be so insensible?" The pain of having my limbs broken and my oxygen being cut off leads to me dying within that block of concrete. My body rots and festers inside, but my soul sticks around to watch how my parents dote on their adoptive child. They seem to be happy without me. Finally, I lose all hope in them. But when the liquid from my body seeps out of the concrete, they all lose their minds.

Six years after marrying Rhiannon Westley, she takes a lover. He's like a puppy—timid and clingy. He flinches at the slightest raised voice, so Rhiannon never loses her temper in front of him. But when he acts up in front of me, Rhiannon snaps. She's furious, and she gives him a harsh scolding. The next day, he sends me a photo of his neck covered in red marks. "Zane, Ms. Westley is so fierce..."

Matapos mag-graduate ng socialite training course, ang aking kapatid na babae ay nanumpa na magpakasal sa isang mayamang pamilya. Upang lumikha ng mga pagtatagpo kay Pierce Holden, ang prinsipe ng mga socialite, ang kapatid ko ang nagmaneho ng aking kotse, na gustong i-tailgate si Pierce at bumunggo sa sasakyan nito. Tinapakan ko ang preno at sinabi sa kapatid ko na hindi tanga ang mga Holden. Hindi namin kayang bayaran ang sasakyan ni Pierce, kahit na isuko namin ang lahat ng mayroon kami. Pagkatapos, nagkaroon si Pierce ng isang marangyang kasal na ikinagulat ng bansa. Nababaliw na ang kapatid ko sa selos, sinabing siya na sana ang bride kung hindi dahil sa pagpigil ko sa kanya noon. Dahil sa sama ng loob, binunggo niya ang kanyang sasakyan sa akin at pinatay ako. Nang muli kong imulat ang aking mga mata, nakita ko ang aking sarili sa front passenger seat. Kumpiyansa na ngumiti si ang kapatid ko, napako ang tingin niya sa mamahaling sasakyan sa harapan namin. "Sigurado akong mabibighani sa akin si Pierce kapag nakita niya ako. Hindi ko na kailangan magmaneho ng isang basura na ganito kapag nakasama ko na siya." Ngayon naman, hindi ko na siya pinigilan. Tinapakan niya ng madiin ang pedal ng gas, na naging sanhi ng pagbangga ng kotse laban sa sports car na may presyo na napakalaking halaga ng pera.

I'm my brother's walking blood bank. Mom and Dad keep forcing me to go for blood transfusions to the point that I don't even weigh 80 pounds. Later, my brother's kidney fails. Mom and Dad want to gouge mine out to be transplanted into his body. At the peak of my despair, the thief who sneaks in from the ventilation hood secretly carries me out and helps me escape. He says, "I'm here for you. Don't be scared."

Lagi akong ikinukunsidera ng pamilya ko na tagapagdala ng kamalasan. Dahil ito sa nakikita ko ang countdown bago mamatay ang mga kamag-anak ko. Sinabi ko sa kanila kung kailan mamamatay si lolo, ama, at ina. Nagkakatotoo ito dahil sa iba’t ibang mga aksidente. Ang tatlong mga kapatid ko ay kinamumuhian ako mula sa kaibuturan nila dahil sa tingin nila isinumpa ko ang mga magulang ko at lolo. Ang nanay ko ay namatay matapos iluwal ang nakababata kong kapatid na babae, pero ang mga kapatid ko ay walang tigil siyang iniispoil. Sinasabi nila na siya ang suwerte nila dahil nagiging okay ang lahat para sa pamilya sa oras na iluwal siya. Pero hindi ba’t namatay si Ina noong iniluwal siya? Sa ika-18th kong kaarawan, nakikita ko ang death countdown kapag tinitignan ko ang sarili ko sa salamin. Bumili ako ng urn at naghanda ng pagkain. Gusto ko kumain ng huling beses kasama ang mga kapatid ko, pero walang nagpakita sa kanila noong nag zero na ang timer...

Whenever Rachel Cooper loses it, I know I'm about to get divorced again. I close my eyes. "We are divorcing for the ninth time." Marcus Miller massages his temples and says regretfully, "Vivian, Barry died all of a sudden, leaving his wife and her unborn baby behind. I can't ignore them. Relax. Once the baby's born, we'll remarry. We won't separate ever again!" I remain silent. I already heard this promise eight times before. Barry Miller's sudden death is the reason for Rachel's breakdown. It also caused Marcus and me to divorce for the first time. Back then, Rachel was already pregnant, prompting Marcus to divorce me. He will remarry me once he has comforted her. Over the past nine months, we have married and divorced eight times. Everyone mocks me by calling me the Eight-Ring Wonder. I also find it ridiculous. After I accept the divorce certificate, one of the court staff secretly asks me, "When are you getting married again?" I answer calmly, "There's no next time."

Just one week into my new job, I was wrongfully accused of cooking the books, and it cost me five years behind bars. After that, my wife found out she was pregnant. She insisted on having the baby and promised to wait for me to come home. Out of gratitude, I threw myself into work after my release. I did everything I could to give them a good life. It was until one day, I overheard a conversation between my wife and our son. “Mom, don’t let Dad come out with us. It’s embarrassing! Why did you pin Mr. Scott’s crime on him back then?! And now, the girl next door keeps making fun of me, saying my dad’s a criminal!” My wife gently pulled our son close and comforted him, saying, “I promised Mr. Scott I’d help him. Your dad’s so naive. He’ll never find out.” It turned out that my supposed happy life was nothing but lies and betrayal!

At our Thanksgiving family dinner, my stepbrother brought his beautiful girlfriend to meet the family for the first time. She held up her wine glass and flashed me a malicious smirk. “I heard you had a first love you can’t forget, Summer.” I kept my head low and focused on my food, unsure how to respond. After all, my first love… was her boyfriend. When I was seventeen, my stepbrother Ethan Cole tricked me into crossing the line we should never have crossed, while our parents were blissfully unaware. Even right now, under the table, his foot was rubbing mine sensually. He did not bother holding back. On the table, he held his girlfriend’s hand tenderly as he mocked me with a smirk, “You’re twenty-seven, sis. Your shelf life is running out, and you’re such a plain Jane. Who would ever want you?” I stood up abruptly and looked at him, my tone calm and resolute. “I’m married, Ethan.”

I had been dead for days and my alpha mate Karl didn't know it, cause he never went back to our den. Until his gamma was astonished to read a front-page news article about the mysterious rogue wolf attacks. "Karl, there's been a rogue wolf in our pack." Karl didn't lift his head. Stuff like this happened all the time in the pack. His gamma put the newspaper in front of Karl. "The deceased... is Luna Julie." Karl was reviewing documents and his pen suddenly fell to the ground.