Death Is Just Beginning

Everyone who lives will die, and nothing they do can stop it. That's the way things are. The circle of life. And a single undeniable truth. The minute we are born we start our journey of that cycle and we will continue down that path until we take our very last breath. However, not all life spans are the same. Some people live to an old age. Others die young. Some die of natural causes, and others die of accidents, murder, or disease. It's the sad truth of being human and death doesn’t discriminate. But what if someone could see their death coming? Would they do everything in their power to stop it from happening, or would they live their lives to the fullest since they knew it was coming to an end? Would they fight tooth and nail to be able to stay earthside for even a minute longer or would they succumb to the inevitable? This is the universal question and the only ones who can answer it are the people who saw their deaths, people like me. My name is Remi Woods. I'm eighteen years old, and for as long as I can remember, I've been able to see how a person will die with a single touch. At first, I wasn't quite sure what was happening and I was terrified that maybe I was going crazy, but after my visions kept coming to fruition no matter what I did, I knew I was different, and not in a good way.

The day before Chris Carter and I were supposed to get engaged, my parents sent me to prison. Three years later, when I was finally released, Chris was the only one who came to pick me up. I knew he despised me. I trembled, keeping my head down, hoping to slip away unnoticed. But he blocked my path, frowning. “Emily York? You stink.” He pinched his nose and told me to get in the car. I fell to my knees, desperately begging him not to take me home. If he did, I would die. He looked at me with chilling indifference and said, “Then go ahead and die.” I agreed. But later, he cried and begged me to stay alive.

Arkan butuh seorang anak, Aruna butuh uang untuk melunasi utang sekaligus lari dari ayah tirinya yang jahat. Keduanya dipertemukan dan menjalin hubungan mutualisme dalam balutan pernikahan kontrak. Sesuai perjanjian, jalinan kerja sama akan berakhir begitu Aruna melahirkan seorang bayi untuk Arkan. Namun, bagaimana jadinya jika sebelum kontrak berakhir, salah satu dari mereka jatuh cinta, sedangkan yang lainnya terlanjur skeptis soal cinta setelah pengkhianatan mantan kekasih dan sahabatnya? Haruskah pernikahan itu benar-benar diakhiri atau justru diperjuangkan meski orang dari masa lalu menjadi rintangan lain yang menghadang?

My mate Jackson died saving me in the great fire. I couldn't accept the truth that he was gone, so I decided to end my life by jumping into the silver pit. But the Alpha David saved me—twice—while making his rounds among the soldiers. He stayed by my side, comforting me, afraid I might try to take my life again. Slowly, I began to accept the idea of being claimed by him. But then, at his birthday party, I overheard something that shattered me. "I want to claim her as my Luna," he said, "but I still can't compete with her deceased mate, even after being with her for three years. She always pulls away when I get close, and I give up each time because I don't want to force her. But if she were to die for me... my wolf would be overjoyed—he would finally have found his fated mate, someone willing to die for him." I was stunned—especially by the plan he revealed next. So, before he could put it into action, I decided to fake my own death. That day, dressed in a wedding gown, I walked into the sea right in front of him. Later, I heard he went mad, deploying every soldier he could to search for me. But when all efforts failed, he was left alone, kneeling by the shore, sobbing like a broken mate— the sea answering him with only silence.

Three years ago, I was the most promising member of the Scientific Expedition Team. After entering Salakole, I was killed by my fiancé's true love, Vivian Fowler. She stole my supplies, scratched my face, and pushed me off the ship. I died with my second child in my belly. But when the rescue team came, Vivian said I had stolen her supplies and was going to flee. My fiancé, Winston Patton, wrote a report and erased me from the expedition team. From then on, I became a joke. All the people on the team looked down on me. Until three years later, someone discovered my long-frozen body.

“No! Please, Santiago--” I whimpered, as his hand seized my wrist with an iron grip, yanking me forward, dragging me effortlessly toward the chair he had pulled into the center of the room the night before. The symbol of my humiliation. He stopped right in front of the chair, spinning me around, facing him. "You want me to be your monster, mi ángel?" His hand grabbed my throat, tilting my chin up until my eyes locked with his dark gaze. I flinched from the sudden movement. "Cause I’ll be your favorite monster — just say the word, cariño." Santiago’s face hovered only inches from mine. His lips so close, I could taste the sweetness of his breath — once making butterflies take flight in my stomach, now curdling my insides into a cold, suffocating fear. Slowly, his free hand rose toward my face. I held my breath. His touch was deceptively soft and gentle, caressing my cheek. His thumb lingered against my lips, tracing them slowly, his eyes fixed there as he spoke — his voice soft, yet heavy with menace. "Divorce is not an option, mi amor. We took a vow five years ago. Remember?" He finally lifted his gaze to meet mine, catching every flicker of fear before he delivered his last words like a verdict: "Till death do us part."

Sa buong buhay ni Raven, ito na siguro ang pinakamahirap at masakit na desisyon ng kanyang buhay. Pero wala siyang mapagpipilian dahil nakataya ang buhay ng kanyang ama. Umalis siya ng walang paalam. Sinapit ang kalupitan at napasailalim ng kasamaan. Paano pa makakaahon si Raven sa putik na kinasasadlakan niya, kung mismong ang taong inakala niyang hindi bibitiw ay pinalaya na siya? Paano aahon si Raven, kung ang dating Vander na minahal niya ay nagbago na? Paano siya makakawala sa kasamaan, kung wala na siyang rason para lumaban?

Aricka Evangelista, a red-haired girl with a pair of pitch-black eyes, never knew that one day she'll be chased to death by something that kills and possesses the body of those who have seen a certain book, the Death of God. The book contains secrets of the light and the dark and according to the myth, everyone who touched and read it will be taken by an unknown force and their body will be used to also kill others who will next take possession of the book. The more she runs, the more people are affected, and the more they chase her, the more she discovers.

My husband's first love posted a video on her social media. In the video, the two of them were passing a playing card with their lips. When the card fell, their lips met in a kiss. They didn't stop—lost in the moment, they kissed passionately for an entire minute. Her caption read: [Still the same clumsy piggy! PS: Steve's skills are as good as ever!] I quietly liked the post and left a comment: [Congrats.] The next second, my husband called, yelling at me furiously, "No other woman is as dramatic as you! I was just playing a game with Lanie. Why are you acting crazy again?" It was then that I realized seven years of love meant nothing. It was time for me to leave.

“โอ๊ย! แทงเบาๆ สิวะ” ฉันหยุดขาไว้เพื่อที่จะเงี่ยหูฟังบทสนทนา “ไอ้ห่า! แทงทีละนิดมันจะไปเสร็จอะไร เนี่ยแบบนี้แหละดีแล้ว แทงครั้งเดียวมิดเลย เจ็บ แสบดีมั้ยล่ะ ฮ่าๆ” ทั้งสองเสียงที่คุยกันดันเป็นเสียง... ผู้ชาย ทั้งสถานการณ์และสถานที่เกิดเหตุมันชวนให้ฉันเข้าใจผิดคิดว่าทั้งคู่เป็นมนุษย์สายเหลืองที่กินกันเอง จนมาวันนี้ ผู้ชายคนนั้นกลับมาปรากฏตัวต่อหน้าฉันในอีกครั้งในอีกสถานะ “ขอโทษครับ ช้าไปหน่อยพอดีคนรอคิวเยอะ” เสียงทุ้มฟังแล้วคุ้นหูดังขึ้น ทำให้พวกเราห้าคนที่นั่งอยู่ที่โต๊ะหันกลับไปมอง เฮ้ย! นั่นมัน... ตาฉันเบิกกว้างอัตโนมัติ เมื่อเห็นหน้าเจ้าของเสียงเมื่อกี้เต็มๆ สองตา “นี่มัน... ไอ้สายเหลืองนี่” ฉันเรียกคู่กรณีครั้งก่อนเสียงลั่น “เมื่อกี้หนูเพลย์เรียกพี่เขาว่าอะไร...” เสียงผู้หญิงที่มากับลุงพงษ์ถามฉันขึ้น แต่ยังไม่ทันที่ท่านจะพูดจบใครบางคนที่ไร้มารยาทก็พูดแทรกขึ้นมาซะก่อน “อย่าบอกนะ... จะให้ผมแต่งกับยัยขี้มโนนี่” เรื่องราววุ่นวายจึงได้เริ่มต้นขึ้น ณ ตอนนั้น จากคู่ปรับ กลายเป็นว่าที่คู่หมั้น ฉันจะสามารถเปลี่ยนเกย์ให้แมนได้หรือไม่