Bear This In Mind

On New Year's Eve, I waited at home with a box of sparklers, hoping Jake Thompson would come. Instead, an earthquake struck. Trapped under fallen debris, I prayed for his safety. Little did I know, Jake was putting on a grand fireworks display across the city for his high school sweetheart who had just returned from abroad. The whole town buzzed with excitement, wishing them a lifetime of happiness together. Meanwhile, I had lost my hearing in the disaster, with no hope of recovery. When I tried to break off our engagement and leave town, Jake stood before me, his eyes red-rimmed and pleading. I couldn't understand a word he said. I simply wished him, “May you always have a day like today, year after year.”

I know I shouldn’t want him. Or them. There’s my best friend’s father, whose low, velvety voice makes my pulse stutter whenever he speaks. My stepbrother, whose accidental touches make my skin burn with unspoken tension. And my sister’s mate, whose cold, lingering gaze betrays a hunger I shouldn’t see. Every glance, every brush of skin, drags me deeper into temptation. Every heartbeat reminds me that wanting them is dangerous, forbidden… and maybe reckless. I’m caught between loyalty, morality, and desire, and every moment I give in only makes the fire stronger. Some lines aren’t meant to be crossed. Some fires are impossible to resist. And I’m learning the hard way… forbidden has never felt this good.

24-year-old, Zackary “Zack” Hernandez has aquaphobia, or a person who has a fear of water. Determined to cure his phobia and to reunite with his childhood friends, he decided to go back to the lake house where he was born and to also figure out the truth behind his nightmares that seemed to happen in the lake house. Before going there, here are the only things they expected to happen: have a blissful reunion, have extraordinary birthday celebrations, a relaxing vacation, to meet his grandparents and sister again, and of course to go back home safe and sound. But what they did not know was they only got themselves on the serial killer's hands and now it's impossible to go back. The shocking, gripping, and wicked THRILLER story of family, betrayals, and heinous crimes. That will surely make you think of how much knowledge do you know about the history of your family.

My roommate was a classic bimbo. When I went to arrange a jogging meetup, she mistyped it as a hookup and sent it straight into the group chat, then burst into tears and claimed she didn't know how to retract the message. When I went to meet my jogging buddy, she told everyone that she ran into my "hookup buddy." At the end, she even covered her mouth and giggled sweetly, saying, "I always mix words up." After a few stunts like that, my reputation was utterly ruined, and the entire class shut me out. Later, she used her "clumsiness" as an excuse to spike my milk with sleeping pills, causing me to miss a major exam. She even dropped toxic bacteria into my water cup and killed me outright. And all of it was over something that stupid: the guy she had a crush on had casually helped me carry my luggage on the first day of school. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very first day of freshman orientation. This time, I am going to let her experience what it felt like to be ruined—and killed—by a so-called idiot.

Cristill, the female lead has grown in hands of a childless couple. She hates the fact that her father is no more. Suddenly, she came to know about her true identity. She is the long lost daughter of the most feared Mafia Gang Leader. She has chosen revenge instead of her life. Cristill is ready to marry Vincenzo for the sake of taking her revenge. "Vincenzo killed my mother?", I shouted in shock. She is seeking towards her Real Father for taking the revenge. But why? What did her father do?

Ethan Ring lives in a province with all his life. His life is perfect. He is rich, and he runs their farm; he's in charge of it. But he did not go through college, and that's fine. A decision was made one day when he decided to live in the city. He wants to experience the life of living in the city, hearing the bus's horns, screech, and hearing people talk about different things. Mostly, he wants to experience going into college, finish a degree.His stay in the city was more than studying. He'll meet two men that will drastically change his life – and help him discover his identity. One will give him pain, and one will give him happiness. One is a student, and one is a professor. The question is: which is which?It will be him who decides how his life will turn out.Every decision that he makes is meant to happen. Everything is meant to be.

Over the weekend, I went with my best friend to one of the premium auto shops owned by my company to get her car serviced. Just as we were about to leave, someone stopped me and ordered me to wipe down her car. I explained that I didn't work there, but she got angry anyway. She flipped a 10-cent coin at my face. "Consider it an honor that I'm letting you wash my car. A broke girl like you has probably never even seen a luxury car in her life! I'm trying to broaden your horizons, and you're not even grateful?" I shot back, "You're right. I've never met a car owner who can only spare 10 cents. Consider my horizons broadened." She exploded on the spot. "Do you even know who I am? The chairman of the Penzo Group is my mother-in-law! Scared now?" I paused for a beat, then calmly called Leo Penzo. "I hear your mother went behind my back and found you a new wife?"

I've been married to Sylvia Fuller, a mafia donna, for ten years. I'm there with her in every life-and-death situation. My hands, which are meant for playing the piano, have developed calluses from using guns. They are also stained with blood from the enemies. But when Sylvia turns 28, she falls head over heels in love with Wilson Hink, the young man she's brought back from the slums. Sylvia has hidden him very well… right until the moment I bump into him accompanying her to a prenatal check-up. Mad with jealousy, I demand Sylvia for answers, but she just passes me a divorce agreement in a lackadaisical manner. "Wilson is a man of religion. He can't sire a child without getting married, so I have to give him a legitimate status. Sign this agreement, and I'll give you 40% of my shares." I refuse to give my position away, so Sylvia keeps forcing my hand. In the end, she even kidnaps my younger brother, who's paralyzed from waist down, and drags him to the spot beneath a hydraulic press. "Sebastian Chance, either you sign the agreement, or watch him get crushed. Your choice." I kneel on the ground and beg Sylvia to stop. But soon, I hear the hydraulic press being activated. It doesn't take long before I'm completely covered in my brother's flesh and blood. I end up collapsing onto the gore-splattered ground. When I open my eyes again, I realize I've gone back in time—back to the time when Wilson has accompanied Sylvia to the prenatal check-up. This time, I don't say anything. Instead, I contact a rehabilitation center located overseas before filing for a divorce and leaving Sylvia behind. But once I'm gone for real, Sylvia actually goes crazy.

After five years of playing the perfect Mrs. Prescott, Lucille Sandwell finally woke up on the day of her daughter's one-month milestone. Her husband, Gideon Prescott, reserved all his tenderness and devotion for the woman he truly cared about, yet expected Lucille to remain mature, self-reliant, and endlessly understanding. In front of everyone, she flipped the table and said, "I want a divorce. I've had enough of this marriage." He responded with a cold laugh. "How did you become this vulgar? You throw around the word divorce at the slightest thing." Only after she disappeared did he realize that his world had begun to fall apart. Without her, everything went wrong. Three years later, they met again at an international summit. She returned as a celebrated master architect and stunned the entire room. Under the blaze of camera flashes, he dropped to his knees and begged her to come back. She only smiled and walked past him, another man at her side. Later, he received a gilded wedding invitation. The bride, dressed in white, leaned into the arms of his best friend. With red-rimmed eyes, he crashed the wedding. All he heard was her quiet voice. "Gideon, being the understanding one is exhausting. From now on, I only want to live for myself."

After surviving the brutal apocalypse for ten years, hardened survivor Hayley Reid was betrayed by her base and unexpectedly woke up two weeks before the apocalypse began. Back in time, her useless father and stepmother were still pressuring her to give up her house for her brother and his newlywed wife. This time, Hayley didn’t hesitate to sell them the house for dirt cheap. While they celebrate this great deal, Hayley went crazy stockpiling supplies. With the help of the super base system’s overpowered perks, she built an unbeatable shelter. While everyone else was stuck in zombie chaos, Hayley relaxed in her fortress like she was on vacation. While everyone else struggled to find food, her dog enjoyed a full buffet every day. While everyone else risked their lives squeezing into crowded survivor camps, Hayley’s base stood as the strongest steel fortress in the whole world!