After I Became Novels & Stories

And for the first time since all of this began I realized something. I wasn’t just surviving anymore. I was adapting. And maybe… Just maybe I was becoming something stronger.

Even though I was still hesitant and afraid of being punished by him, Eventually, I managed to build up the courage. Then, slowly, my chest calmed down after I vented my frustration to him. It was evident that the next morning, I woke up with a tightness in my chest that had already lightened. "Where are you going, ma'am?" the driver asked me. It was still nine in the morning when I left the house. Ever since I became unemployed, my feelings and habits have become different. It was as if I wasn't myself anymore. I, who was used to working so hard, so frantically, for money, suddenly found everyone around me calling me 'miss'.

It just happened, as these things do. Josh and I were still trying to cope with everything that had changed in our lives since the accident. One such change was the fact that we grew closer that month. We spent a lot of time with each other. And then I found out I was pregnant. As soon as I told my son, an instantaneous transformation took place with him. He became an adult overnight. One day, he was just a kid. And the next, he became a man. He had been all ready to go to college, but he postponed it. He said he wanted to make sure I was ok. And all that.

I wait for it to quiet. "I'm not going to stand here and tell you that betrayal was the best thing that ever happened to me. It wasn't. It was devastating and traumatic and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But I will say this: who I became because of it is someone I'm proud of. Strong. Resilient. Compassionate. Real." I look directly at the audience now. All of them.

My steps slowed as I realised that they were talking about me. Openly. Loudly. And with… pride. For the first time since my father’s death, I felt a sense of peace within me. I wasn’t a burden. I wasn’t just a daughter. I wasn’t the girl Lucien left behind. I was becoming something of my own. Mira and Rhea caught up with me, both wearing wild smiles. “Did you hear them?” Mira asked breathlessly. “I did.” “You are already becoming a legend,” Rhea teased.

Lay there on my side heaving up bloody ice water. I forced myself onto my knees. On my knees in front of him, I touched my forehead to the carpet three times. "Thank you, Mr. Castellano. For my life." I didn't wait for an answer. Dragging a wet trail behind me, I ran for the elevator.

“Did you and Carrie plan this? I don’t know what I’d have done without you two.” “We love you Hazel. You know that right?” “Of course I do. I love you too.” After we hung up, I lay in bed for a long momen, thinking about what Sophia just said. Transformation. That's what this was, not just recovery from Damon, not just building a business. It was a complete transformation of who I was and what I was capable of. And I loved the woman I was becoming.

My boyfriend, Sebastian Morris, and I have been in a long-distance relationship for three years, yet he never lets me visit him. After I get pregnant, I take an eight-hour flight without telling him, hoping to surprise him. While my phone is in airplane mode, Sebastian sends me a message that reveals I've been the other woman all along. As soon as I land and reconnect, I see over a hundred unread messages from him. I tap on our chat with a smile, only to find the truth waiting for me. "I already have a girlfriend. We've been together for seven years. Our families have everything planned out. We're getting engaged soon." Sebastian says that when he first started talking to me, he and his

Mirabella's Pov I am beautiful. I am powerful. I am extraordinary. I was created for great things. I wasn't put on earth to wallow in misery. . . Two months. It has been two months since I first used my legs after the incident. The moment I got up on my feet, I decided there and then to put myself first. To talk about myself correctly, to stand strong, to take care of myself without relenting. And I've done just that.

But I had to admit, the dopamine it was giving me was addictive. I was actually liking it. One, two, three and four… I chugged one glass after another until I was starting to feel tipsy. Now that I was high, the club music and lighting were no longer annoying by made me happy.