Novel & Cerita Avenged Sevenfold Hoodie

Nubia has her life planned out. She is working on her master's degree in post colonial studies. She has a quiet apartment and a schedule she sticks to. Every Wednesday night she finishes class at nine thirty, walks to the bus stop, and waits. The bus is always late. There is always a stranger sitting on the bench. He wears headphones and draws in a sketchbook. He never speaks. She calls him Pencil Boy in her phone and does not think much about it. Then one October night the bus is delayed by forty three minutes. Eli studies architecture but he draws people instead of buildings. He has been sketching Nubia for six weeks without ever saying a word. He is quiet and pays close attention to things. He has learned to keep people at a distance because it feels safer that way. But when the cold night gets to Nubia and he gives her his hoodie, the silence between them finally breaks. What begins as pie at a late night diner turns into a Wednesday night tradition. Then a friendship. Then something much deeper. As Nubia and Eli grow closer, they must face the things that make them different. Race. Class. The dreams they are chasing. The families they come from. And the strong pull of a connection neither of them can ignore. Set over one school year, 43 Minutes is a warm and sensual love story about two people learning to truly see each other. It is about letting yourself be seen. And it is about the moments that change your life in less than an hour but stay with you forever.

My husband, Damien, loved me deeply—so deeply it felt like I was his whole world. Everyone said he was the perfect husband. Yet, he betrayed me. Not once, not twice, but three times. The first time was three years ago. His closest friend, Aaron, died saving him. Damien kept it from me and secretly married Aaron’s girlfriend, Vivian—on paper. I was heartbroken and ready to leave him. That night, he sent her abroad and fell to his knees, begging me. “Estelle, Aaron gave his life for me. I must take care of his widow. That marriage certificate is just a promise of security for Vivian. Once I’ve avenged Aaron, I’ll divorce her. The only woman I love is you.” I forgave him. The second time came the following year. At a press conference, Damien publicly introduced Vivian as the Mafia leader’s wife. He pulled me aside to explain. “Vivian is the only daughter of the Young family—the Mafia. Our two families joined forces for one reason only: to get revenge for Aaron. I’ve already made arrangements with her. Once we’ve dealt with our enemies, I’ll divorce her and marry you right away.” Once again, I believed him. Then came the third time. Someone drugged Damien at a banquet, and he spent the night with Vivian. He hid it from me until just two weeks ago, when I caught him at the hospital, sitting beside her during a prenatal checkup. That was when I finally learned the truth. He lowered his head, unable to meet my eyes, and spoke in a low voice. “Estelle, it was an accident. Once she gives birth, I’ll send her away. My parents will raise the child, and I swear—neither of them will ever appear in your life again.” In the name of love, Damien pushed me to compromise again and again. Yet now I know. There’s no future left for us. It’s time for me to walk away.

Her deep big dark brown eyes were still the same, but only deeper in the glow of the evening sunglight. When they met mine, it was like they saw right through me, knew my darkest deepest thoughts, my vulnerability, my fears and my desires. It felt like she knew what I don't.... And it really freaked me out.She was fair skinned, had this beauty mark beside her left eye, and it was cute, plus her small straight nose. Her pale brown thin lips were always like they were in a pout.She wasn't my type, that was for sure. So why was I completely irresistibly fascinated by her like I was spell bind?"How old are you? My voice came out a little too rough for my own liking, because all I could think of was nibbling on those pale brown thin lips of hers, run my tongue over them, and lastly, kiss them."Seventeen." She replied after releasing a deep breath which I suspected she'd held captive earlier on. Her tiny hands pulled the hoodie away from her hair and I came face to face with her cornrows.This girl!Fuuuuuuck! She was beautiful, she was possibly the most beautiful thing I had come across today. I don't know, maybe she looked that beautiful to me because she brought me to this enchanted place."I bet you know me as Octavia cause I know you as Eliakim." She raised her eyes up to mine again. "It's a strange name, never heard of it, but it's nice." I was starting to like it when she stared at me, even longed for her eyes to meet mine."So is yours."***This story is about a bipolar guy, and an insecure girl.

My sister and I were promised in marriage by our father, Eses, the God of Skies. She was to wed Dexaldir, the Keeper of Fate, the one who recorded the destinies of gods and mortals. I was to wed Guerrian, the God of War. But on the day of our wedding, their beloved woman, Seraphine, leapt from the Starfall Spire, the ancient tower where even immortals would die if they fell. After that, the four of us lived together in harmony. We were praised as the most devoted divine couples in the Celestial Skies. A hundred years later, during the war between the Celestial Skies and the Phlegethon Legion, Guerrian and Dexaldir betrayed us. They lured us into a trap and handed us over to the Phlegethon Demons. My husband, Guerrian, smirked at me. "Seraphine, it must have hurt when you fell from the Starfall Spire. I have finally avenged you today!" Next to him, Dexaldir held up an emerald pendant that was given to him by Seraphine. He murmured affectionately, "Seraphine, this day has finally come. They will pay the price! Wait for me. I'll soon find you a way to regain your body." Only then did my sister and I understand. They believed that we forced Seraphine to jump. The Phlegethon Demons kept us alive for 16 days. 16 days of torture. They tore the divine core from my sister's chest, destroying both her body and soul. As for me, due to my innate beauty, I was humiliated to death by the demon leader. When I opened my eyes once more, we were back to the day when our father promised us our marriages. I turned my head and saw my sister looking back at me. I knew she had been reborn too. We both smiled. Before our father could finish speaking, I stepped forward and interrupted him, "Father, I have a different idea."

Kaelan noticed I hadn't filed a single medical or living expense request in the pack’s resource channel for a week. He must have thought I’d finally kicked my greedy human habits. At dinner, he tossed a black card at me. It cut a cold arc through the air, landing beside my plate. “Your father’s treatment for next month. The wolf gene serum, the lab fees—it’s all approved.” His voice was pure Alpha command. An order, not a suggestion. “Bringing you and your father here was a risk. I fought the Elders for you. You are my mate. Stop begging for pack funds like a common stray. It’s a bad look.” He didn’t know my fingers were ice-cold when I picked up the card. The papers to sever our mate bond were already signed. So was my will. The hoodie I wore when I left was a faded thing he’d tossed at me three years ago. No one would believe it. The fated mate of an Alpha who ran a corporate empire… had to send a photo of a $10 painkiller receipt to a Beta assistant for approval. All because he thought a fragile human like me was a leech who couldn’t be trusted with cash. But a week ago, when my father’s lupus caused his organs to fail, I needed $50,000. He needed a dose of pure gene repair serum, synthesized in the pack’s high-tech med-bay. I begged him on my knees. His childhood friend, Seraphina, just laughed. She froze my request, saying she was helping me break my bad habit of “cashing in on my mate status.” Kaelan never knew I endured that humiliation just so my father could stay alive in his top-tier medical lab. Now, my father was dead. The medicine was cut off, and his ashes were already in the ground. I didn’t need to be his obedient little pet anymore.