Courting Stage

She wasn’t mine to claim—I knew nothing about her.But then our eyes met…She danced on stage, exposed in more ways than just her lack of clothing. I expected to see lust. Instead, I got anger, hatred, resentment. She was in deep with the company I’d escaped, and my presence at Club Swank made me guilty by association.But I refused to let them have her.I’d protect her at all costs. After all, they owed me.Dear Diamond is created by Stephie Walls, an eGlobal Creative Publishing Signed Author.

I was in a car accident while saving my brothers. However, instead of gratitude, they urged the doctors to amputate my legs. "Carol, we're sorry," they said through tears. "We're useless… but don't worry. Even if we have to sell our blood or our kidneys, we'll make sure you're taken care of." Right after surgery, they abandoned me in a shabby apartment. Blood seeped through the sheets as they looked at me with teary eyes—then left in a hurry, claiming they needed to earn money for my treatment. I did not want to drag them down anymore. Enduring the pain, I crawled to the rooftop of a tall building, planning to end my life. That's when I saw it—inside a luxury hotel, a grand celebration was taking place. My brothers were there doting on another girl. She was eating an extravagant cake I had never even dreamed of, wearing a designer princess gown worth a fortune, sparkling with jewels. Everyone called her the Smith family's one and only princess. They had even hired a world-class symphony orchestra to play Happy Birthday just for her. While I lay bleeding in a dingy apartment, they would not spend a few dollars on bandages for me. I watched as my eldest brother gently fed her cake, his eyes full of tenderness. "Jasmine, only you deserve to be our one and only little sister." The second brother placed a tiara on her head with care. "Even for the smallest birthday, we won't let you suffer a single moment of disappointment." The third knelt to help her into a pair of crystal shoes. "Jasmine, you're our most precious darling." Then, standing on the stage, Jasmine held up the black credit card they had gifted her and smiled sweetly. "Brothers," she said, "Carol lost her legs saving you. Maybe you should go see how she's doing?" My eldest brother let out a mocking laugh. "She's not worth it. Now that she's crippled, she'll never be able to compete with you again. She got what she deserved."

Humanity died, and she was the last of them. Zarah Winters was on the verge of death after killing the sixth prince of hell. The seventh prince, a cunning and deceitful individual, did not want her to die because it would deprive him of his source of entertainment — her. Verphegor, as the demon introduced himself, offered her a deal. He would send her back to the past, where she could keep all her memories of this time and use them to change the future. Zarah comes from a line of hunters. Hunters have a variety of abilities that aid them in combating demons. Zarah had no idea she had a talent in her past, which caused her to drop out of the academy. During the apocalypse, however, she discovers that she is a siphon, a person who steals the strength and abilities of demons in exchange for killing them. With that kind of power laying dormant and with growing potential, she agreed to gamble on the demon’s offer. But with Verphegor being a prince of Hell, can she really trust the prince? Moreover, upon learning of her powers at an early stage, can she use them for humanity’s advantage?

Our bridal room was set on fire, and my husband, a firefighter, was grievously wounded while trying to save me. I sent him to be saved at the hospital where Winnie Sloan, his childhood friend worked, but the surgery ended up being a failure, and my husband passed away. After the announcement that my husband was deceased, Winnie told me that his dying wish was that he wanted a child. Hearing that, I powered through my grief and used the sperm he had previously frozen to conceive a child through IVF, raising my son to be enrolled in the most prestigious university in the area. On the day of the celebration party, my son kicked me out and invited my husband and Winnie onto the stage as his 'biological parents', and that's when I found out that my husband had faked his death. All those years ago, he and Winnie had swapped out the embryo I'd conceived in secret. The son I had painstakingly given birth to and raised turned out to have no blood relation to me whatsoever. Meanwhile, my husband had been enjoying a luxurious life overseas with Winnie while waiting for a chance to reconnect with his son. In my rage, I confronted them and demanded an explanation, but ended up dying because they pushed me down the stairs. When I came to, I was back to the day of the fire.

Kristier Arabella Sandoval is one of the daughters of the Sandoval clan. She's a student leader, a dancer, and a humble teenager. Her life is too full of happiness and protection. Her family gives her everything, not just money but also love and affection. When she transferred to CCAM (Central Colleges of Medicine), for her college years, she thought life will stay as easy like before. But when she entered the stage of maturity, things started to change drastically. Will she be able to handle the changes in her life? Will she stay the same after falling in love and getting hurt from her first love? For her: "He's been my prince, my comfort, my home, and the only person who constantly explained the meaning of love just by his existence."

Arawa the princess of Wuwa after being rejected by her own father who sees her as a curse, finds herself enslaved to the very barbarians who wiped off her entire village. A romantic journey commences between she and one of the barbarian twin, Brian. Although she tries her best at avoiding this and focusing on bringing vengeance for the wrong done to her people, she still cannot overlook him even as his twin ruthless brother suddenly gets infatuated with her person. A journey based on loyalty, betrayals, love and war. Perhaps yet she might lead her people to their freedom or the next stage of civilization.

In my ninth year of being with Tyler Freeman, he flaunts his relationships with other women while I'm only allowed to come and go from his bedroom. He doesn't acknowledge me as his girlfriend, yet he allows his friends to address me as such. I have a name but not an identity. His friends are bored during a private party and want me to perform a strip dance on stage to liven things up. I expect Tyler to at least turn them down on my behalf, but all he does is sip his wine and say, "Go on. You're the owner of this place, aren't you? Aren't clubs supposed to satisfy their patrons' needs? Don't let my friends down!" I look at him emotionlessly. I don't cry or throw a fuss. Instead, I splash a glass of liquor in his face. The following day, I trash the club. Three months later, Tyler finally thinks of calling me. "Where are you? Aren't you gonna get the hell back here? Do you really expect me to beg you to come back? Do you think you're worthy of that?" I pull my newlywed husband to the camera. "Sorry, Mr. Freeman. I'm getting married. You don't need to come, but do get me a wedding gift." Unexpectedly, he threatens to show my husband intimate videos of me when he sees me in a wedding gown.

Hansel Hill, 121 years old, a female werewolf, is forced to go to high school to look after her brother, Alexus Hill (aka Alex). Alex is in his earliest stage in life, 13 years old and first high school, so he needs to have a guide with him in interacting with humans. Hansel hates the idea of going to high school again because she has gone through it three times already, and all of her high school lives are nothing near fun. But, she learns that going to high school again is not all about babysitting her brother. Something happened in their old neighborhood that makes Hansel's existence a threat to their wolf family. Hansel's wolf family believes that she can't handle human interactions anymore and that they need Hansel to be sent to the wilderness. Hansel hates such ideas more than going to high school, so she will prove them wrong by going to high school again maintaining an average simple life of a nerd. On her stay, she will unexpectedly find her mate in the person of Arche Jones, a popular guy who will oddly find her disguise amusing. But as far as Hansel knows, Arche is a human. Can a human mate be possible? Can her planned average simple life be possible? Let's read and see.

"Mrs. Gardner, are you sure you want to hire our team to stage a fire and fake your death in ten days?" Camellia Shaw paused for a moment. Just as she was about to reply to the message, a video call suddenly popped up. "Camellia, look! Andres is spending a fortune on you again!" The video was of an auction in progress. At the front, a man of striking elegance and charm was decisively bidding on several antique collectibles worth hundreds of millions. The crowd was already abuzz with excitement. "Mr. Gardner is so good to his wife! He bought all these antiques just to make her smile!" "$400 million is nothing! I heard Mr. Gardner even built her a private estate and named it Eterna Haven. Just the name alone is proof of how much he loves her." A wealthy businessman nearby sneered. "It's all for show. Who knows what he's really like behind closed doors?" That comment immediately sparked a wave of backlash. Many argued back, talking about how devoted Andres Gardner was to his wife. As she listened to their murmurs, Camellia forced a bitter smile.

Damon Carrington is used to having his every desire fulfilled. But there's one thing he craves above all else… his little stepsister. Having her would be taboo, twisted and sick, which is exactly what makes it so utterly irresistible to Damon. Since her arrival, Lily Jensen's sweetness and innocence has captivated Damon. But he's not the only one affected. His brother, Aiden Carrington, wants Lily just as much. For a long time, they thought they could get whatever they wanted out of her. They played around with her as if she was a new toy for them to use and abuse. Then discard. But Lily is no longer the sweet girl she once was. Their corruption transformed her into a woman consumed by a desire for revenge. Now Lily is determined to destroy the Carrington brothers, just as hard as they destroyed her once. As the lines between love, lust, and vengeance blur, the stage is set for a twisted game of betrayal and desire where no one will emerge unscathed.