Cut Sleeve

~Did she cut her wedding gown off? What the heck! How could she turn it to that? ~ ~ What's going on with her? Why is she in sneakers? ~ ~What's she holding behind her ~ My ears listened to their whispers as I stood at the doorstep about to enter the hall. My gaze fell on my soon-to-be husband waiting for me by the alter and I chuckled remembering everything. Well, yes, I shortened my most beautiful wedding gown to a short gown that reaches above my knees and also on sneakers instead of heels, but then, this feeling is different; I've never felt this way my entire life. I'm supposed to be feeling rage boiling through my veins, anger, fury, accompanied with pains, and screams but that's not the case. Right now, I'm feeling super excited. Without delaying it any longer, I revealed the KRISS Vector gun I had been hiding behind me, and their facial expressions were joy-giving. I burst into laughter before releasing the fire on them. Wondering the kind of bride I am? I am Elora, the bride who went on a killing spree on her wedding day.

On my father’s sixtieth birthday, I was overseas, negotiating an energy contract. I deliberately told my wife to throw a huge banquet for him. That day, I watched the mansion’s security footage with a smile. Unexpectedly, I saw my nine adoptive siblings surrounding an unfamiliar old man. That old man wore my dad’s class ring as he happily pulled my wife onto the stage. “Thank you for coming to my birthday banquet. This is my daughter-in-law, the president of the Viapent Group. She’s the absolute best! She spent three million dollars on this banquet! It’s all thanks to my eldest son for finding such a capable wife.” In one corner, my actual father was in tattered clothes, washing dishes with my son. He accidentally splattered some water. One of the guests kicked him in disgust, causing him to cough up blood. The security footage was cut off. How dare these people mistreat my father and son? I called a special number. “I’m putting a stop to the negotiations. My father and son are being abused back home. I am returning to them now.”

"I'll cut to the chase. I'm the villainess in this story." Everyone in this wealthy, elite family adored my poor, fragile adopted sister. My older brother Damien would snap, "Don't scare Bella. Her weak heart can't take it." My other brother, Magnus, would add, "Lend Bella your nightgown, all right? It's wasted on you." Even my fiancé said, "This is nothing more than a marriage of convenience. My true love has always been Bella." In my last life, I humbled myself endlessly to please them. What did I receive in return? They sent me to a mental asylum and I died in agony. Then I came back to life on the day of my engagement party. A voice echoed in my mind and made its announcement. [The Madness Reward System has chosen you, Marceline Blanc. Any unhinged behavior will earn rewards worth hundreds of millions of dollars.] I grinned and sent the pompous, ten-tier cake crashing to the floor. "I'm done with this shitty family. Goodbye, you miserable bastards."

Six years ago, Isla Winters was nobody, a shy, invisible wife unloved by the billionaire who married her out of obligation. Jaxon Romano destroyed her with his cruelty, threw her away while she carried his twins, and never looked back. Now, Dr. Isla Vale is everyone, a tech CEO and a genius. When she walks into Jaxon's failing company as his last hope for salvation, he doesn't recognize the broken girl he once called wife. But Isla recognizes him. And she's not here to save him. She's here to destroy him. What Jaxon doesn't know: the brilliant woman dismantling his empire is the ghost of his biggest mistake. What Isla doesn't know: revenge and love are two sides of the same burning coin. And some fires consume everything in their path, including the people who lit the match. In a battle of wills where the stakes are a billion-dollar empire, two hidden children, and a second chance neither of them deserves, only one question matters: Can you forgive the unforgivable? Or does some betrayal cut too deep to heal?

I chase my six-year-old daughter out of the house on a cold winter day. I cut her new clothes to pieces and dirty her dainty little face with mud. Then, I give her all my savings. She looks at me tearfully and reaches out for me, wanting me to hold her. However, I harden my heart and push her away, saying, "Leave! Go to Bowen Group and look for their CEO, Logan Bowen. Show him my death certificate and your DNA test—he'll take you in." She sobs while looking at me. "Don't you want me anymore, Mommy? Let's go look for Daddy together." After a brief silence, I say, "I can't go with you. I lied to him back then to have you." Yes, I'm a liar. I orchestrated everything from meeting Logan, dating him, to ultimately leaving him with his child in my womb. Even the death certificate I've given my daughter is fake. From beginning to end, I've lied to him about everything except our daughter.

In her past life, Dylan Xander was forced to marry Zoe Stone. On their wedding day, his first love died in a plane crash. After the wedding, Dylan fell into a deep depression and grew to despise Zoe. For seven long years, she humbled herself just to win a sliver of his affection. But all she ever got in return was the same cruel question, over and over again: “Why wasn’t it you who died instead?” And yet, when the tsunami struck, Dylan gave up his only chance of survival to save her. On the lifeboat, she desperately reached out to grab his hand but he pulled away with all his strength. As he sank into the dark depths of the sea, he smiled in relief. “I’m finally free. I can be with her now.” After his death, the entire Xander family turned their hatred toward Zoe. Consumed by grief and guilt, she took her own life by jumping into the ocean. But when she opened her eyes again, she had returned to seven years ago. This time, she would cut the toxic bond between them and let him be with his true love.

When I woke up that morning and happened to glance at the mirror, a scream tore from my throat before I could stop it. Because on the face I had always taken such pride in, there was now a jagged, horrifying scar. As terror gripped me, a cool, detached female voice cut through the air beside me. "What are you shrieking about so early in the morning? Scared by your own ugly face?" I looked up in shock and realized the voice belonged to my girlfriend, Alicia. Only—she wasn't the same girl from yesterday. Gone was the youthful innocence I remembered. In its place, every movement, every glance radiated the allure of a mature woman. The words slipped out before I could hold them back. "Babe… you're gorgeous…" But Alicia's brows knit together, her gaze colder than ice. "Kurt, drop the act!" Act? I was at a loss. Why would she accuse me of pretending? "Don't call me the way you used to five years ago. It's disgusting." Five years ago? But… I'm still twenty-three… am I not?

Kit has an image problem. Luca is a hot commodity. Kit is intelligent, beautiful, and successful. Luca has family money, good looks, and a new woman on his arm every week. The public doesn't find Kit likable. The public loves Luca. Kit has a new launch coming up. Luca has his parents' threat of getting cut off hanging over his head. So, what better way to solve both situations than by starting a fake relationship? Sparks fly as the two bump heads and try to make their fake love believable - but what will they do when it starts getting more real by the day? *** "And the kiss? Why did you just kiss me?" Luca looked down at Kit with heated eyes again. "Why did you kiss me back?" Kit opened her mouth and then shut it again, unable and unwilling to answer his question. Luca smiled with twinkling eyes. "I guess any sexual feelings aren't solely on my end after all." The Billionaire’s Promise is created by Tiara Msiza, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

“Freya you have to tell him the truth.” Anna tells me, her face creasing in worry. “No, I can't, he'll kill me, he'll cut me to pieces, you know him.” I place my shaking hands on my trembling lips. “He wouldn't, he cares for you.” Anna hisses. “Same way he cared for his ex wife before he killed her, burned her to the ground in her own home.” I grit out. “Those are just rumors, it holds no ground to the truth.” Anna tries to convince me. “I can't stay Anna, I'm tired, I can't live like this anymore, I'm loosing my mind, pleaseee help me.” “But you can't just run away, he'll never forgive you, and when he finds you, you know he'll surely kill you then. Rino hates to be deceived.” Anna says frantically before lowering her voice to a whisper. “Especially not when you run away with his child.”

Ilaria, though an Alpha's daughter, endured years of abuse at the hands of her older sister Calista. Her father trafficked her mother, forced himself upon them, then abandoned them both. She was an Omega anyone could trample on. Reed's arrival changed everything. He sought to marry the Alpha's daughter to solidify his political path, but Calista drugged him. But, Ilaria unexpectedly slept with Reed. Enraged, Ilaria’s father expelled her from home and cut off her mother’s medical expenses. Swallowing her pride, she begged Alpha Reed, “Please lend me ten thousand dollars.” He touched her belly and told her she was carrying their puppy. Alpha Reed said, “Marry me, and I’ll give you a million.” She thought he was marrying her only for surrogacy, but instead, she became Alpha Reed’s Luna. The famously ruthless Reed family showered her with affection. Later, Ilaria learned that when he was sixteen, Reed had been searching for his fated mate—and that mate was her. (In time, Ilaria herself became a powerful wolf.)