Beyond Birthday

On our wedding anniversary, I canceled all my meetings and made a reservation at a restaurant. That evening, my wife, the renowned investigative journalist Amaya Shaw, called me. “Efim, I’m sorry! I just received a tip from a source. It’s urgent. “It involves inside information about a well-known company. I have to go verify it immediately!” But the next day, I saw that Javor Furey, the junior she had brought along, had posted a collage on his social media. The central photo showed Amaya wearing a childish birthday hat. Her head was pressed against Javor’s, as they made a wish together in front of a cake covered in candles. This was the caption. [Thanks, my dear Ms. Shaw! Even in the midst of her busy schedule chasing big stories, she remembered to give me this surprise birthday!] [Chasing big stories.] I stared at those three words. Then, I glanced at the limited-edition bag on our dining table. It was the one she had been raving about for half a year. It was the anniversary gift I had prepared for her. I felt absurd. I commented just two words under that post. [How touching.] Her call came in almost the second I hit send. She sounded furious. “Efim, do you have to be so sarcastic? “It’s just an anniversary. How old are you? Why are you still celebrating such childish anniversaries?” From our first year of marriage to the present, her “tip-offs from informants” and “special circumstances” always took precedence over our promises. This time, she could not even be bothered to come up with a plausible excuse. I did not say anything. I hung up and blocked her number. This marriage was over.

"There's a foreign object lodged in the patient's lower region. Due to the unique circumstances, we need the patient's next of kin to sign the consent form for an extraction procedure." My body stiffens when I see the name on the consent form. "I'm Renee Becker's next of kin." It's Liam Cassidy who says that. He's the first love of my wife, Renee Becker, who has been away for a month, claiming she's off on a business trip. Liam doesn't recognize me. He takes the pen and signs the consent form. In the section to mark his relationship to the patient, he writes the word "husband". After passing the pen back to me, he grips my hand tightly and beseeches me, "Doctor, you must do everything you can to help her. She's carrying my baby." As I wrench my hand back from him, my wedding ring slips off and falls onto the floor.

On the 26th of my birthday, my true love gave me divorce papers and a broken heart. One meant to wound. One meant to finish me. Life has a way of giving gifts that are both unexpected and profound. If the people you love the most can hurt you this deeply, then perhaps it is only fair to return the gesture, quietly and carefully. This is a thick and cruel world. But I am still here. And some gifts are returned with interest — Bianca Winter. *** “Please, Bianca,” Charles Warren begged, crying on his knees. “Give me a chance. Give us another chance.” “Dear ex,” Bianca Winter replied coldly, “I would have to be blind to walk your way again and even blindness wouldn’t excuse that mistake. You already showed me the darkness, Mr Warren, and I will not step back into the shadows.” With no trace of remorse, Bianca turned and walked away with her head held high.

On my daughter, Arlene Bale's tenth birthday, I miscarried in a horrific car accident. Before I can even tell my husband, Camden Bale, about my pregnancy, my unborn child has already left me. Devastated, I attempt to call Camden. But after spamming more than a dozen calls, none of them get answered. When I open a social media app, the first thing I see is Camden's first love, Ruth Carroll, celebrating her safe delivery online. The accompanying photo features Camden's tender-looking side profile as he cradles the newborn in his arms. Camden's mother, Patricia Stone, even leaves a long comment there to celebrate the birth of Ruth's baby. "Oh, Ruth! You really are a hero to the Bales! To think that your firstborn is a son who can inherit our family's legacy! That woman who has married into our family for ten years only gave birth to one inferior spawn! "I swear, I will kick that useless woman out sooner or later! Once that happens, you can marry into the Bale family proudly!" With trembling fingers, I click the phone shut. After that, I forcibly get discharged from the hospital and rush home so that I can demand for answers. But that's when my nightmare has just begun. I receive the news of Arlene's unfortunate death. It turns out Camden has left Arlene at home all by herself, which leads to her accidental death. The entire Bale family is too busy celebrating the birth of Ruth's son. No one bothers shedding a tear for Arlene's passing. With hatred brimming in my heart, I fly to another country. Camden Bale, you're the one hurting me from the start till the end. I will make you and your family pay the heavy price.

The moon is reachable it's something beyond the moon that may not be reachable... "You will never be more than just a mere, powerless, scared, pathetic, weak human" Lyra's venomous words still sear my mind, but they're a catalyst for the truth I've uncovered. I'm not bound by the fragile threads of mortality, I'm something more. Something ancient. Something different. I'm woven from the very fabric of the wild. The whispered secrets of the forest, the primal pulse that courses through my veins – these are the truths that define me and with this knowledge, I stand at the precipice of a transformation that could shatter the boundaries between worlds. Will I find the strength to reach beyond the moon and claim my true power, or will it consume me?

It was the day of my return. The city was talking about the birthday party my husband was throwing for me. He was a lawyer. But the night before the big day, a message popped up on my husband's cell phone. 'It's been five years. I've been waiting for far too long.' My husband pushed me away, though his face was smeared with guilt. "I'm sorry, honey. The GM wants me on a last-minute work trip. I can't make it in time for your birthday." He left without even missing a beat. I opened up the GPS app and watched the red dot move away. That was him. I got an Uber and tailed him right away. His GM was me. I just got the job, and I approved his leave for my birthday. And then he told me, in my face, that I assigned him on a last-minute work trip when I did no such thing. It was midnight. And I was going to find out who this man was meeting at this witching hour.

The only thing more dangerous than the game is the man guarding the crease. Lyon Navarro has spent his entire career tearing down the San Diego Stormbreakers. As the city’s most ruthless journalist, he’s made an art form out of exposing the Alphas’ volatile tempers and their scandalous lives off the rink. He’s the man they love to hate—until a desperate management team offers him the biggest paycheck of his life to fix their image. The assignment? Tame the six most notorious werewolves in the league. But Lyon isn’t just dealing with professional athletes; he’s stepping into a den of apex predators who have been waiting for him to cross their territory. And they have no intention of playing nice. Rafael Stone, the team’s intense, iron-willed captain, has made one thing clear: if Lyon wants to manage the pack, he’s going to have to survive them. But between the locker room tension, the high-stakes pressure of the season, and the way the pack’s gazes feel like a physical brand on his skin, Lyon realizes he’s no longer just reporting the story—he’s the one being hunted. In a world of adrenaline, cold ice, and raw, lupine desire, Lyon is about to discover that the line between enemy and lover is thinner than a skate blade. Six Alphas. One PR strategist. And a season that’s about to get very, very hot. Beyond the Ice is a high-stakes, slow-burn MM hockey werewolf romance. Expect intense power dynamics, sizzling tension, and a pack that doesn't just want to win the cup—they want to claim their man.

Of all the sketches I have done, there's this thin line that has always been guarding my heart at the edge of my steps. Like love, drawn in the middle of a space, I have been looking for someone to continue the strokes only to realize that love doesn't always lie in the middle. It isn't just on the surface nor in the center. Love is beyond that. It's Beyond The Lines. All I have to do is to let him reach me there.

Razka adalah anak yang memiliki kehidupan sempurna, termasuk keluarga yang begitu menyayanginya. Namun, suatu kejadian mengubah semua itu. Ayahnya yang merupakan seorang petinju profesional, meninggal dalam sebuah pertandingan besar. Sang ibu yang tidak terima dengan kematian sang suami yang tidak wajar, harus ikut meregang nyawa oleh kaki tangan Varos. Razka yang menyaksikan kematian sang ibu, hanya bisa bersembunyi dalam ketakutan. Sejak saat itu, sebuah nama yang ia dengar, telah terpatri sempurna di dasar hatinya yang telah menghitam karena dendam. Bertahun-tahun tahun lamanya, sang paman berusaha untuk menemukan Razka yang hilang di hari kematian orang tuanya. Hingga tidak ada lagi waktu tersisa bagi tubuh renta itu. Rajutan waktu dan harmoni lingkungan membuat kehidupan Razka mulai membaik. Namun, tujuan hidupnya tetaplah sama. Membalaskan dendam untuk kematian kedua orang tuanya. Nyawa dibayar nyawa! Cover by Pixabay. Edited by PixelLab.

Klaus Alastair adalah seorang kesatria dengan elemen cahaya. Dirinya berada di Tim Eria bersama dengan tiga kesatria lainnya. Tim Eria merupakan tim terbaru yang dibentuk di Escalera, wilayah yang dikenal sebagai wilayah paling damai dan aman. Padahal, kenyataannya tidak seperti itu. Ada organisasi bernama Blade yang ingin menghancurkannya sejak dahulu, hanya saja tidak banyak yang mengetahui rencana itu. Bersama Tim Elite, tim yang memiliki misi untuk membasmi Blade, Tim Eria berusaha menyelidiki dan melawan organisasi itu. Satu per satu lembaran mulai dibalik dan menunjukkan bahwa mereka selama ini memiliki keterikatan dengan Blade. Dengan kekuatannya, Klaus berusaha memberi cahaya—yang melebihi semua cahaya.