A Dish Served Cold

This is a story of Sister Amina whose past was kept hidden in the eyes of the religious community except her director, Sister Avery who welcomed her in the convent when Amina narrated everything to her. While Amina told her past life, eavesdropped, one who listened to their conversation spread it to a close sister and told that she did not deserve to be in the convent because of Amina's gruesome past. Truth can be best told in the most convincing story yet tainted by lies. How will justice be served if lies look truthful than truth itself?

Ashley was taken from an orphanage by Aunty Maggie, a pimp who runs a brothel. While she was not involved in prostitution, Ashley served as a maid to the patrons of the brothel. One day, a man comes in for a one night stand and wants to take Ashley instead. Aunty Maggie sells her without a second thought and Ashley finds herself working as a personal maid to the man. As Ashley falls in love with him, she discovers that he is not just a werewolf but an alpha werewolf and he was the one who killed her parents. Will she choose love or revenge?

That night, Liam served me my usual evening tea. I trusted him completely—he was my mate, after all, and a respected healer of Thornpack. I shouldn't have. When I woke up the next morning, my head was spinning. The special safe where I kept the morphing inhibitor—the one I'd spent my entire savings to import from Europe for our daughter Isla—was empty. Racing to the healing center, I found Liam celebrating. He was handing out moon-blessed wine, beaming with pride as Natalie's daughter Anna showed off her perfect transformation. My inhibitor had been used on his first love's pup instead of our own daughter. The shock triggered something in my brain. When I collapsed, they diagnosed me with the rare tumor that plagued our kind. Without inhibitors, I couldn't stop Isla's transformation that came early, her six year old body couldn't handle the massive wolf form and the force ripped through her young body. And I, for one, don't even have enough money to keep her in a treatment center. She died in my arms three days later, her little claws drawing blood as the pain overwhelmed her. Until her last breath, she kept asking why Papa hadn't come. Now, in my cold, empty home, with the white porcelain urn containing her ashes on the table, I touch her and decide to sever our partnership.

It was true. We never know what we have until we lose it. Seven years ago, I'd found the perfect woman who accepted me for who I am. She didn't care whether I was a Vampire King or not. She had served me faithfully. She was the only person who didn't fear me. And she was Kate, my secretary. We were different. The ones who served me couldn't accept her. They call her the only rock among the diamonds in my treasure box. But I adore that rock. When my 'rut' came, our relationship had been put to a test. Something happened between us. And then she disappeared the next morning. Seven years later, we met again. I found out that we had a baby together. I was happy. I thought it was my chance. She had changed. From the rock she used to be, she had become a diamond. She glowed. And I loved her. I'd found something more addictive than blood itself. It was Kate, my cure, my addiction, my lover. But the cure I thought became my poison later on. Kate lied to me. She was the Queen of the Hunters whose mission was to kill me. In this twisted fairytale, when the Vampire King and the Hunter Queen meet in the battlefield, where anger, obsession, and betrayal rules, should we kill each other? Or should we save each other? I am Zachary Collins, the Vampire King. And this is my story.

On our wedding anniversary, I ask my husband, Luke Blackburn, to buy me some fish stew. Since I'm in my first trimester, I keep vomiting every now and then due to morning sickness. Right now, I have an intense craving for fish stew. But Luke comes home empty-handed in the middle of the night. He claims that he's completely forgotten about my request. I don't say anything at all. All I notice is a strand of long hair sticking to Luke's collar that doesn't belong to me. Some time later, I see the fish stew I never got to eat in a photo that Luke's colleague, Ruby Pollard, has uploaded to her social media feed. The caption reads, "Luke ordered this dish for me. He knows that I love fish stew from this particular restaurant the most. I'm so touched by his gesture!" In the photo, I see a pair of familiar hands picking out fish bones from the meat tenderly just for Ruby.

My best friend Chloe and I married into the mob. We married two brothers. I married the monster, Don Adriano. She married his wild younger brother, Lorenzo. It was an arranged marriage. I expected nothing. His heart belonged to his childhood sweetheart, Isabella. Then my father died. My autistic brother, Leo, became my world. I signed over my family’s entire shipping empire to Adriano. He held me that night. Kissed the tears from my eyes. He swore he’d protect us forever. I believed him. That was my mistake. Three days ago, a rival family hit us. They left Leo bleeding out in my arms. I got him to our private hospital. It was empty. Not a single doctor on duty. I called Adriano, screaming for help. He had sent every last doctor to Isabella’s villa. "A storm's coming. Isabella is terrified of thunder. The stress could trigger her heart condition. I can't risk it. Your brother has a scratch. Patch him up. I’ll deal with it tomorrow." He hung up. While Isabella slept safely in his arms, I lost my brother. I cried all night, holding Leo's cold body. When I woke up, I told Chloe I wanted a divorce. She held me, sobbing. She said she was leaving Lorenzo, too. The Moretti brothers didn't know a thing until they were both served divorce papers. Then they went insane.

My boyfriend, Drew Myers, has proposed to me 99 times. Meanwhile, his childhood sweetheart, Tammy Fowler, has relapsed into depression 99 times. When Drew makes his 100th proposal, Tammy's depression strikes once more. As usual, he picks up Tammy's call, a gentle smile playing on his lips. With a tired sigh, he turns to me and says, "She's having another breakdown. We'll have to put the proposal on hold this time." Despite it being my birthday, Drew starts clearing away the freshly served dishes as if it were any other day. Fearing I might complain, he shoots me a cold, disapproving glance. "I know you're jealous of Tammy, but she's the one who's struggling. You're a soldier. You should be the bigger person and give her some leeway." Not only does Drew want me to eat Tammy's scraps, but he also orders me to bring them climbing gear at midnight. When Tammy shares intimate photos of them hugging online, his only reaction is to lash out at me. "Do you honestly find satisfaction in pushing Tammy to another breakdown? Is this the honor of a soldier? Your cruelty sickens me!" Over and over, he tears down my character and mocks my integrity. But this time, I simply look down at the special forces recruitment letter in my hand and say nothing. Drew remains oblivious. At last, I'm the one who's letting go.

On my birthday, Heather Pond’s lover posted a sonogram on his social media account and captioned it, [We’re going to be parents!] I commented, [Congratulations. You can have the baby cot from my place.] The next second, Heather called me to give me a warning. “Brandon Smith is dying. I’ll come back to you once I give birth to his child. Please don’t trigger him any further!” I remained calm and collected when I served her the divorce papers. Then, I packed my bags and went on a vacation in Europe.

Ellana Barquez is a known introvert. She was detached from everyone including her own sister, Marose Barquez. She fancied anything that has something to do with mysteries and that is the reason why she is being called 'impossible'. But something phenomenal happened wherein she uses her knowledge to fight for their lives. A zombie apocalypse tumbled into their place that pushes her to be someone she doesn't even imagined to become. Will she be able to take and accept the calling, be a sister, for once, to her younger sibling and help themselves survive? Or end up being vulnerable and defeated? How will that unfortunate occurence help them changed? Will the reconciliation between Ellana and Marose will finally be served?

On her third wedding anniversary, Leila discovered her husband, Alpha Enzo, was cheating on her with another woman who was already pregnant with his child. Despite her love for him, she initially chose to feign ignorance. However, he callously served her with divorce papers and severed their bond. Drowning in sorrow after the divorce, Leila sought solace in a bar, where she had a one-night stand with a stranger. Two months later, she found out she was pregnant with triplets fathered by the mysterious stranger. What will be Leila's reaction to this unexpected turn of events? And if she ever encounters the stranger again, will she reveal that she has given birth to his children?