A Hero's Odyssey

Uptil the age of 9, Roselia had lived the life every child dreamed of, a loving father, mountains of toys and dollhouses and whatever else that she desired. But her world came crashing down when her father died all of a sudden. Then Roselia runs away from her home at the age of 12 for reasons that would haunt her forever. She gets on a train and travels to a different state which is when she is rescued by a man. Little does she know that the man, Derek Clifford, is the heir to the ‘Cliffords dynasty’, a billionaire family, known for masquerading their money source as a ‘family business’. But the biggest revelation awaits Roselia at the Clifford mansion… that the person responsible for her father’s ‘unexpected death’ might just be a very important member of the Clifford’s family. Just then, Derek leaves to go overseas. 6 years later What Roselia hadn’t expected was that her love for the man who saved her life 6 years ago might just get in the way of her exacting revenge as she stays in the Cliffords mansion in the guise of a chef. Derek Clifford had not ever dreamed that he would fall in love. Power was all he had ever desired. That is until his cold grey eyes latched onto the all-grown Roselia and his carefully-knit life comes falling apart. But deep down perhaps he had known that it wasn’t just moral obligation that had made him so fiercely protective of her back in the past. Unfortunately for Roselia, Derek has a dark side to him, a side he never wanted to reveal to her. Would she run or would she stand with him? Would Derek even let her go? Could he?

Hera Leandra Bardin, 24 years old, was on the brink of death in the middle of the desert. As she felt her blood trickle, she recalled all of the past memories she had that led to this moment. She remembered her mother who died from an incurable disease. And her father who had betrayed her. She remembered leaving the place she called home at 15 years old and the moment she made the decision to join the army. The anger and hatred she felt towards liars and cheaters sparked her strong sense of justice. As she felt her life fade away, she couldn’t accept that this would be her end. Until–a business mogul, Nathaniel Orion Martel spots her abandoned figure in the desert and extends her life, by giving her his dark blood. Hera wakes up to a new way of living. Her savior, Nathaniel Orion Martel, a 300-year old vampire took her in, much to the dissatisfaction of the elders of the Martel clan. They saw her as an obstacle to their plan of marrying Nathaniel Orion to a Royal Princess to expand their influence. Hera claimed to have no interest in being part of this rivalry and was focused on getting the justice she was owed. She left in search of answers, but came to know her mother’s secrets along the way. When Hera and Nathaniel met again, she had already become a different person. She was no longer without purpose, having found a new responsibility towards her mother's clan. Hera and Nathaniel's separation pushed them to recognize their budding romance. Facing rivalry against the Royal Princess and her clan's alpha, Hera is determined to use her own strength and emerge victorious, and possibly place her trust and have the happily ever after she thought she'd never have.

Ruth Macaulay life is turned upside down when she accidentally kills someone during her first shift, earning her pack’s scorn and her fated mate Alpha Vincent rejection. Heartbroken and mistreated, Ruth resigns herself to a miserable life until her 18th birthday, when she discovers her second chance mate is a power Lycan king. However, Vincent refuses to let her go, and Ruth finds herself torn between two men fighting for attention and desperate to win her heart and acceptance. As she discover this complicated situation, she uncovers sinister plots and must fight to discover her true power to change her life for better, making her the main target for evil the lurks in the shadows. Can Ruth survive the evil thrown at her and finally find happiness with the man she chooses or will she succumb to the darkness and loss herself, and everything she knows completely?

“The most important clause in our marriage contract is that we are not to have children,” my husband stared at me closely, fire burning in his eyes. “This is supposed to be a five-year contract, five year and that’s it,” he continued, “I thought we agreed on that. No children to tie us down, then we part ways.” “I know that, and I completely agree!” Then he took every single condom out of the nightstand. He inspected them carefully, tossing each one aggressively on the bed as he did so. They were all the same. Full of tiny holes. “Then how do you explain that?” he snarled, his voice dripping with accusation.

When we get too much involved in the act of pretending, we lose the idea of knowing the pretense of others. Isn't that how it works? We don't know the acts we do thinking good for the others even to the extent of hurting them to save them from major hurt will cause them to go through much more than we can think of. Sometimes it is not too late to correct the pretenses but sometimes it is late to amend them. Let's see whether it is too late or just in time.

Aria was the Luna of the Winter Mist pack, renowned for her achievements in war strategy. Her contribution was crucial in her pack becoming the most powerful in the entire country. Everything in her life should be perfect. ...Except it wasn't. In actuality, Aria's life was anything but successful. She was helpless to the whims of her abusive Alpha mate and his mistress. A mate who never loved her. As she watches their relationship grow, her options are to run away or die trying to keep her Luna position. But this is not the story of how Aria sways his closed-off heart until he finally loves her. No, this is the story of how Aria died. So when she is faced with the opportunity to go back in time and try again... will she take it? ...Or is she fated to relive her mistakes all over again? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "...And if I refuse?" I asked hesitantly. "Then you will remain in the Abyss, forever reliving your earthly memories." My mind recalled the images that had just tormented me, showing me my death over and over again. I knew now she must have shown me that strategically so I had a taste of what my refusal would look like. "Then I don't want to be Luna again... and I don't want to be Aleric's mate," I said, surprising even myself that I was bargaining with a Goddess. But I couldn't shake the feeling something seemed off. "That is the fate I have chosen for you." "Then I don't accept," I argued. "I think there is something you're not telling me. A reason why you need me to go back so badly." She was silent, her silver eyes regarding me warily. "...So I am correct," I said, taking her silence as confirmation.

Using an alternative account, I secretly join a cycling group chat that my husband, Liam Johnson, is in. One day, an announcement is made in the group chat. "We'll be organizing a weekend mountain biking activity with an overnight stay, with two people sharing a room. To add some excitement, we'll be drawing lots for room assignments." I can't really understand it. Curious, I ask, "What if a man and a woman end up drawing the same room?"

My husband, Gabriel Buckner, and I had been married for three years. I'd gotten pregnant twice, but I'd lost both babies. It was all because of my in-laws' parrot that could talk. The first time I got pregnant and went to their house, the parrot stared at my belly and kept repeating, "Get rid of the baby! Get rid of the baby!" The second time, the same thing happened. It looked right at my stomach and said the same words. I thought it was just nonsense, but to my shock, my in-laws actually took the parrot seriously and forced me to end the pregnancy. I even showed them the prenatal checkup report from my doctor to prove that the baby was perfectly healthy and begged them not to do it. But they dragged me to the hospital anyway and made me have an abortion on the spot. When I got pregnant a third time, I wanted to be extra cautious. I went straight for an amniocentesis. The report confirmed the baby was healthy and even showed a 99.9% DNA match with Gabriel's. I thought everything would be fine this time. But as soon as the parrot saw me again, it repeated the same words—"Get rid of the baby." And just like before, the Buckners immediately tried to drag me to the hospital. I couldn't understand it. The baby was perfectly healthy, and the DNA report proved it was Gabriel's child. So why would they rather believe a parrot and insist that I get rid of the baby?

The sound of glass crashing against a hard surface echoed in the room as I aimed for Ethan’s head, missing by an inch. “Get away from me!” I screamed, but that didn’t seem to do anything as he only rushed towards me before I could grab anything else to chuck at him and hugged me as an attempt to calm me down. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, my husband walked into the room, watching the scene before him, and there was one thing that I knew for sure – he would think I was cheating on him with my ex-husband. ~ Angela Diaz has always dreamed of not just the perfect wedding, but the perfect marriage to her childhood crush – Ethan Ambrose. She always knew that Ethan never liked her back, and he wouldn’t even spare her a glance if she was two feet away from him, but she is shocked when Ethan Ambrose turns around all of a sudden and confesses his hidden feelings for her. Ignoring her parents’ continuous warnings and taking the risk of going from the flamboyant comfort of her parents’ home to Ethan’s family house, Angela is only about to realize that everything about her relationship with Ethan has been a lie, and her “perfect marriage” is nothing but a nightmare in disguise.

"I have this strong urge to kiss you." He said as his eyes flicked to my lips and then back to my eyes. I felt my heartbeat increasing and my knees were starting to feel weak by his closeness. I wet my lips, "Uh...no one is around. There is no need." I said through the lump in my throat. "I know, but I just want to." He said as he crashed his lips to mine. ~~~~~~ Emily Samuels was devastated when she found her boyfriend of a year cheating on her. She was angry and hurt that she swore she would never forgive him. Logan has apologized to her and said it was a mistake, but Emily did not want to hear it. She also turned him down when he begged for her back. Logan's plea for her has gotten consistent that Emily wanted him to stop, so she did something that she hadn't expected to do... She kissed the school's player and heartthrob; Tyler King. She only did that to let Logan see that she has moved on. Tyler, on the other hand, got an idea, so he strike a deal with Emily - to pretend that they were dating. Spending a lot of time with the player has allowed Emily to see the real Tyler. Would their fake dating be just that; fake? Or would it turn out to be real?