Before I Gaze At You Again

When I was five months pregnant, I was kidnapped by a group of thugs. They used my phone to call my brother, Jeremy Wirkola, and my husband, Grant Sanders, to demand a ransom of ten million, but no one answered. I was tortured and assaulted until I was barely alive. When I was finally rescued, Jeremy cried and promised to avenge me. Grant was in tears too. He vowed to get me treated. However, while under the haze of anesthesia, I overheard Grant's cold voice outside the door. “Jessie is waiting for a bone marrow, but don’t forget to remove Ashlyn’s uterus. Just tell her the injuries were too severe to save it. Oh, and get the best surgeon for her. She’s afraid of pain.” His assistant hesitated. He was clearly uncomfortable. “Mr. Sanders, isn’t this going too far?” Grant paused for a second before he replied firmly. “She refused to donate her bone marrow to Jessie and even used the baby as an excuse. She’s selfish. Besides, if we don’t do this, how can I bring back Jessie and our child into the family? As for Ashlyn, she’s my wife. I’ll make it up to her for the rest of my life. She used to bully Jessie with her status, which resulted in Jessie suffering from depression and almost killing herself. It’s time she paid the price for it.” As I listened to his heartless words, something inside me shattered completely. Since they had chosen to sacrifice me for Jessie, let them have what they wanted then.

Three days before my wedding with Luca D'Angelo, I accidentally stumble upon him having an affair with my best friend, Delila Rusconi. Delila can be seen sitting on Luca's lap in his office. She caresses his chin in a seductive manner. "Delila, I told you before that Katerina must never find out about our affair!" Luca pinches Delila's fingers together, his voice carrying a strong hint of warning. Delila just giggles before kissing his hand. She replies flippantly, "I know, I know. You have no choice but to marry her in order to gain control over the coastal port trades. I completely understand." I inhale sharply before fleeing the scene in panic. Tears brim in my eyes instantly. I can't believe that Luca, the man who's loved and doted on me for three whole years, has chosen to marry me solely just to make more profits despite the fact that we only get to know each other because of a marriage alliance. The future plans I have in store for us, as well as my rose-tinted fantasies about romance, are completely shattered because of the scene I've just witnessed. Tears continue to stream down my cheeks as I call my dad on the phone. "Papa, I'll heed your order and give up on the marriage alliance with the D'Angelos. I'll return to Chitchily in three days and carry out my responsibilities as a family member."

(ONGOING) 2022 Working in the underground archive of Hills Inc. a company that took over her father's, Caroline Ann Wright, a beautiful black woman experiences much more than she ever thought she would in her lifetime. ***** Caroline Ann Wright lost her parents in a plane crash when she was just seven years old. Her Aunt took her in because of the fortune her parents had left behind. At eighteen, she was abandoned to live on the streets. Twenty four years old, she works at Hills Inc. a building where her father once ran his company, now taken over by a new one. It didn't matter to her, not as long as she gets paid. Later on, she realizes her job in the underground archive is much more than bookkeeping. Instead, she is to ensure the secret door containing the company's secrets is not breached by outsiders. Fate aligns her meeting with the cocky playboy CEO, Dawn Hills who had lost his mother to cancer, and has quite a strained relationship with his father. At first, he lied about his true position in the company just to know her. In his words, Caroline seems rigid and makes his curiosity swell. Their story breaks into a full blown romance. However, like the saying goes...it is not always sunshine and rainbows.

During a kindergarten parent-teacher conference, a rich wife accuses me of stealing her bag. I'm baffled. I bought the bag myself abroad, and it even has my name etched on it. However, when I scrutinize the bag, I discover that my name is missing. I call my husband, and he impatiently says, "I gave your bag to Jen. She's fresh out of college and needs an expensive bag to make herself look good. Even Finn said the bag is too young for you—it suits Jen more. You're too old for these things. You should be glad to even have a fake one." I bark out an exasperated laugh. I can go without having a husband, but the bag has to be returned to me.

Since the day she was born, Aviana Rain has always had a rough life. Things always went from bad to horrible for her. From being mentally, physically, and verbally abuse to being left almost dead. Being in situations nobody should ever experience or be put into. She has never experienced love, until HIM.

“I am your mate, choose me.” I heard the same thing from three different men. First from my Mafia husband and then from my Best friend, the Alpha king and then the last time from my enemy, the wizard who wants me dead but now claims to love me.  Taking a deep breath, I signed and saw all of them looking at me expecting me to choose one of them.  It felt nice to know three most powerful men of the world are in front of you begging to accept them as your mate and it made me smirk at them instead.  “I, the princess of the Blora kingdom.. "They came closer in the hope of kissing me after I chose one of them, “Reject all three of you.”

Tess let a stranger claim her. He touched her like she was worth everything, then walked away when he learned something about her he swore never to get involved with. Now he's her boss, and he pretends she doesn't exist. Donovan has rules. But Tess almost made him break them. He touched her, almost claimed her, but had to force himself to stop. Now she sits outside his office every day, and he's haunted. He avoids her like a disease, becomes crueller than ever to suppress his own desires. Because if he lets himself feel anything, he won't ever be able to stop. His addiction had a face now, and she's destroying every defense he's built.

My younger brother, Owen Rivera, and I are playing in Dad's refrigerated truck. Owen wants to grab my ice cream from me, but I refuse to let him have his way. He shoves me forcefully, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the floor, knocking me out on the spot. When I finally wake up and locate him in the freezer, I find out that he's gotten reduced to a frozen statue. The security footage shows that Owen has been screaming the words "Mommy, help me!" hysterically for three hours before his death. After Mom is done watching the footage, she breaks down on the spot. Then, she yanks me by my hair before slamming me against the wall. "What were you doing? You were at the entrance, dammit! Why didn't you open the door for Owen?" With reddened eyes, Dad throws me into the freezer. "Owen was cold and frightened in the freezer! You should have a taste of the same thing too!" The thick and heavy door is slammed in my face. Darkness and a bone-chilling coldness devour me instantly. I curl into a small ball in the corner Owen has just died in. My teeth are starting to chatter, and my consciousness is starting to slip away. I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. I don't feel cold. I'm not cold at all. I will never eat ice cream ever again in my next lifetime.

The day of the verdict, Simon—my fiancé—begged me to take the deal. "I know you're innocent, but Nancy's pregnant. I can't let her go to jail." Tears. Fake concern. "This is for your own good," he said, holding my hand. I signed it. In my last life, I refused—and paid for it with prison, torture, and infertility. This time? I played along. By morning, headlines screamed I'd stolen trade secrets. Nancy? Front and center. "Yeah, it was her. I saw her sneak into Johnston Group with my own eyes!" But when court opened that afternoon, Clark—yes, the plaintiff—stepped up and dropped the case. Then, in front of everyone, he pulled out a ring, dropped to one knee, and said, "Heidi Wynn, this time... will you marry me?"

All her life Roxanne obeyed everything that her father said, even though she didn't mind being treated badly by her father and her step mother's family. At least Roxanne can still be engaged to Luke, whom she loves and who she thinks is her mate. But, all Roxanne's hopes were shattered when she found Luke betraying her with Vivian – Roxanne's stepsister – with her own eyes Roxanne saw Luke sleeping and making out passionately with Vivian. Roxanne was very disappointed when she found Luke's betrayal, the anger that she had long harboured finally wanted to be vented to the people who had treated her badly. It just so happened that at that time Roxanne used Theodore who was the Alpha King of the Werewolf Clan and intended to make him her own man, that’s why Roxanne had to tame him!