Cowboy Bebop Official Artwork

On the very first day Jason and I made our relationship official, he insisted on handing over his salary for me to manage. He said marriage was only a matter of time and that he trusted his future wife to keep the money safe. On the day of our engagement, Jason demanded that I hand over the $960,000 in salary I had “kept” for him over the past four years. “Each month, I gave you $20,000. In four years, that’s $960,000. After expenses, there should be at least $800,000 left, right? I can’t bear to make my parents empty their savings for my marriage. We will use my savings for the wedding, $600,000 as the down payment for the new apartment, and the remaining $200,000 will be my wedding gift to you.” I froze. “But there isn’t a single dollar left!” Jason exploded. “You wasteful woman! You spent all the money?!” His mother also erupted. “So much money, and you squandered it all! What shameful acts have you been up to?! This marriage is off!” Jason demanded to see the accounts. I immediately pulled out the records in front of everyone. Seeing this, Jason’s mother panicked.

When I was having a heart attack, my parents, my brother, and my fiancé were all at our family casino—celebrating Eva, our adopted daughter, at her twenty-first birthday, her official debut into the mafia world. The doctor refused to operate without a legal guardian’s signature. So I called them. My father’s assistant answered. “Sorry, Miss. The Don is in the middle of a toast.” My brother and mother let it ring until it went silent. Finally, my fiancé, Adam, picked up. Music roared behind him. I could hear laughter, glasses clinking. “Cecilia,” he said, impatient. “If you can’t even show up for Eva’s party, stop causing trouble. Today is Eva’s debut. Every Don from three territories is here. Whatever drama you’re playing can wait.” I lost count of how many times they chose her over me. So after this call, I stopped calling. I signed my own name. My family thought I’d finally learned to be obedient. But they should’ve known that in our world, silence only means one thing—I was preparing to disappear for good.

When I see someone asking for help in an assignment related to the entrepreneur course on the college forum, I join the group chat using a student account. I even help refine several financial models and market strategies because of my job's nature. Everyone in the group chat is excited, to say the least. Every day, they keep calling me a genius while urging me to improve the details of the whole assignment. Two months later, the assignment's quality is very close to perfection. But the group chat suddenly goes silent. I scroll through the chat history out of curiosity, only to find out that the students have already created another group chat. "That senior isn't an official teammate of ours. Let's not tell her about us using this assignment for an upcoming competition." "Precisely! Our names are the only ones on the list! She'd better not steal the credit during tomorrow's finals!" "With one less person involved, we each get an additional tens of thousands of dollars' worth of rewards!" As I look at the screen, I just let out a soft chuckle. It appears that this isn't an assignment at all. But unfortunately for these students, I happen to be one of the judges sitting at the judging station tomorrow.

Isa si Evangeline 'Eva' Cuestas sa mga kasisikat pa lamang na actress at model sa bansa. Pinangangalagaan niya ng maigi ang kanyang karera dahil bukod sa pinaghirapan niyang makamtan ang kalagayan niya ngayon ay pakiramdam din niya ay roon lamang siya magaling. Subalit nang dahil sa kataksilan ng kanyang fiance sa mismong araw ng kanilang official engagement party, gumuho ang lahat. Dahil sa labis na kalungkutan at pighati, basta na lamang nakipagsiping si Eva sa hindi kilalang lalaki. little did she know, na ang lalaking kanyang naka-sex ay walang iba kung hindi si Alas Constantine Fuegerro, isang tanyag na abogado sa bansa. Kilala niya ito na isang mayabang, arogante at babaero. Sa pagtatagpo ng kanilang landas, magbabago ba ang tingin niya sa lalaki? Paano kung may bagay siyang gagawin dahilan upang mas magtagal pa ang kanilang ugnayan? Higit pa kaya sa init ng katawan ang kanilang mararamdaman para sa isa't isa?

On our seventh wedding anniversary, Harrison Drummond arrives with the woman he's been seeing behind my back. Tears fill Kate McCauley's eyes. Before I even have a chance to speak, she drops to her knees in front of me. "Ms. Kershaw, love isn't about who came first or last. Harrison and I care for each other with all our hearts. Please, let us be together." I turn to look at Harrison. With a heavy heart, he lifts Kate into his arms. The man who's always obsessed with cleanliness now wipes her tears away, not caring about the mess she leaves behind. Without raising his gaze, he says, "Kate has been by my side without any official name or title. I owe her that much. Don't worry, she's not after anything else. Having her here is no more than adding an extra pair of cutlery at the table." With that, he carries Kate into the bedroom and closes the door behind them. He seems to have completely forgotten that today is our wedding anniversary. Does he even remember the other woman who followed him without status seven years ago? I stare at the glowing "Happy Anniversary" sign resting on the table. In that instant, I realize there is no future left for us.

Sold like a circus animal. Collared, forced into misery and self-hatred. With a single blow, she hopes to change her life, only to find herself trapped again. Ocean has no idea what freedom means, but she desires nothing more than a taste of it. The secrets hidden from her will unfold before her eyes, no one can escape the truth. ~~~ The book excerpt: "Here, I have a key to your heart," I left the key in my palm, metal, and skin together. I stumbled upon the ancient artwork in the locker rooms. It caught my attention because it resembles a dagger, so I took it and waited for the perfect opportunity. "Silly girl, that is not the key to my heart. Pathetic attempt." Vladimir growls in disgust. If I'm lucky, I'll be free by the end of the night. Taking the first step toward my destruction, I grin and move my hips in time with the slow music in the background. Vladimir swallows, his Adam's apple bobbles in his throat. The vampire's eyes focus on the crook of my neck as I stop directly in front of him. I place my palm on his chest, guide my fingertips down to his abdominal muscles, a corner of my lip twitches in disgust. When he closes his eyes, I take the opportunity to plunge the key directly into his heart, smiling as his eyes shoot open and he looks down at me in horror. "Are you still convinced I don't have the key to your heart?" I ask, grab him by the collar, and pull him closer. My lips nearly touch his ear as I whisper, "It fits."

On the day of the United Nations meeting, I noticed a new electronic watch on my wife’s wrist. She said it was a gift from her first love to monitor her health. It was a veiled jab, which implied I was not as thoughtful or caring as an outsider. Something felt off, so during her lunch break I secretly checked, and found a bugging device. I reported it immediately, using my official title to cover her wrongdoing. Her first love, however, was now wanted by the authorities. While fleeing, he tragically died in a car accident. My wife said coldly that it served him right, yet treated me with even more care and attention. However, she deliberately leaked my translation files at work, which resulted in me being accused of espionage and taken in for investigation. “Miles, that bug was clearly planted by you. You were jealous of Ash and wanted him dead!” “I truly regret giving up Ash to marry someone as malicious as you. You should go to hell and atone for him!” When I opened my eyes again, I was back there once again on the day her first love gave her that watch. I did not interfere this time. I simply signed my name on the divorce papers.

The unknown Internet celebrity Kristen Healey became popular overnight. There were many anti-fans and rumors about her. "I heard that she has a backer who was powerful and wealthy. She seduced five young masters of the Oliver Family and did not even spare the master of the Oliver Family. She is such a whore." The Oliver family denied the rumors, "Sorry, She is our beloved Miss!" Everyone was shocked! "She"s so beautiful. I guess she"s just an empty vase, without any acting skills." Kristen said nothing and then she won the award for Best Actress to prove herself. However, the anti-fans still didn"t give up. "What"s so great about Her? Isn"t it because she shamelessly pestered Mr. Wharton every day?" That night, a reporter took photos of the distinguished president of the TNK Group taking a necklace worth 100 million dollars. He said humbly to the beautiful woman in the garage, "Kristen, come home with me." "I"m sorry, Mr. Wharton, but my fans are all saying that I"m pestering you. Please stay away from me." TNK Group official immediately announced, "Everyone, I am pursuing Miss Kristen. Please don"t spread rumors, or it will be more difficult to pursue Kristen."

When my Prince shattered our Eternal Blood Vow for the ninety-ninth time, I dragged my drained, broken body to the Tribunal of Vows. "I am here to request the dissolution of my Eternal Blood Vow with the Prince of the Kindred." Ten minutes later, Damien stormed in with Isabella in tow. The Prince of the Kindred strode toward me, his hand shooting out to clamp around my neck before he slammed me against a cold marble pillar. "You'd go so far as to dissolve our vow just because you're jealous of Isabella's promotion? Has the bloodlust driven you completely insane?" My mother Eleanor's voice echoed icily through our bond. "Forging lab results to play the victim, all for his attention. You've always been so deceitful." Tears of blood welled in Isabella's eyes as she tugged on Damien's arm. "I'm so sorry, Seraphina. I never should have accepted this position. Please, stop putting yourself—and the Prince—through this!" I wiped away the tears of blood seeping from my eyes and faced the tribunal official once more. "I no longer have the protection of a clan. So that I may turn to ash in three days, please help me complete the dissolution ceremony."

The first time Mia Conti saw Elias Weston, she didn't even know his name. She just knew he was tall, absurdly good-looking, and effortlessly lifted her heavy suitcase for her at Toronto International before walking away without a word. Until she showed up as a new intern on the NHL team's medical staff and found herself face-to-face with the league's most arrogant, untouchable superstar—and his very wrecked, very uncooperative shoulder. It was him. And he remembered her too. A fiery, secret romance ignites between them, yet it burns out within a year. Mia had spent twelve months convincing herself she was fine with that. Now a respected lead physician for the upcoming Milan Winter Olympics, Mia has moved on...until Elias reappears on the official athlete roster. He finds her before she can even brace herself. Perfect smile for the cameras, cool and composed. Then she turns to leave, and his hand closes around her wrist. "Long time no see, Mia." The flashbulbs are still going off somewhere behind them. "I came back for you." An ocean between them didn't kill what they had. It just put it on ice. And Elias Weston has never once been afraid of thin ice.