Dragão

No sexto ano de casamento, meu marido não me tocava há três meses. Ele dizia que estava muito ocupado e cansado com o trabalho. Amando-o por tantos anos, acreditei sem hesitar. Mas no meu aniversário, ouvi o amigo do meu marido perguntar a ele em alemão: — Você já terminou com a outra lá fora? Ia lá todo dia, nem sei como seu corpo aguenta. — Sua esposa não se importa com isso? Meu marido soltou uma baforada de fumaça, com uma expressão indiferente. — Faz meses que não a toco. Gabriela Nunes é muito boa na cama, ainda não me cansei, que pena que ela engravidou. — Minha esposa não gosta de crianças, então dei a Gabriela uma quantia em dinheiro para ela ir para o exterior ter o filho em breve. Apertei os punhos. Lágrimas caíram em silêncio. Meu marido perguntou, preocupado, o que havia acontecido. Balancei a cabeça. — O bolo que você fez é delicioso, estou tão emocionada. O bolo era doce, mas para mim, que entendia alemão, o coração estava amargo.

No quinto ano de casamento, Virgínia Prado reclamou que o suplemento de vitamina C que o marido havia comprado era amargo demais. Ela decidiu levar o frasco ao hospital. O médico, após examinar o conteúdo, ergueu os olhos e disse que aquilo não era vitamina C. — Doutor, pode repetir o que disse? — Perguntou Virgínia. — Repetir quantas vezes não vai mudar nada. — Respondeu o médico, apontando para o frasco. — Isto aqui é mifepristona. Se for ingerido em excesso, não só causa infertilidade, como também prejudica seriamente o corpo. Virgínia sentiu a garganta apertar, como se algo a estivesse sufocando. A mão dela que segurava o frasco ficou pálida de tanto que ela o apertava. — Isso é impossível. Foi o meu marido que preparou isso para mim. Ele se chama Marcus Mello. Ele também é médico aqui no hospital. O médico ergueu a cabeça e olhou para Virgínia com um olhar estranho, carregado de algo difícil de decifrar. Por fim, ele sorriu de forma enigmática e disse: — Senhora, é melhor você procurar o setor de psiquiatria. Todos aqui conhecem a esposa do Dr. Marcus. Há dois meses ela deu à luz. Não perca seu tempo, querida. Você não tem chance.

The day before our wedding, my fiancé invites our family onto a cruise ship. He says he wants to test the authenticity of my feelings for him. He shoves my mother off the ship when the waves are at their choppiest. Then, he jumps into the water, too. I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. I panic, not knowing what to do. My mother had already choked on a lot of water, but she pushed me away weakly. She cried, "Save Adrian first! He can't swim!" However, after I drag Adrian Lawson onto land and go back for my mother, I find that she's already stopped breathing. Adrian watches me cry, his expression frosty. "Drop the act. Your mother was a swimmer when she was younger—how can she be dead? I can't believe you didn't save me first. "Vi is right—you don't love me enough. Our wedding is postponed. It'll happen only after you've reflected on your mistakes and I've received an apology from you and your mother." After that, he leaves while holding Vivian Sinclair's hand. He doesn't know that my mother can no longer swim after a major illness a few years back. He's shoved her to her death.

My name is Hillary Clarke. I’m twenty-four years old, newly engaged to my Prince Charming, Jake Brown and I just landed a new job. Jake and I have been together for four years, ever since college, and nothing makes me happier than the fact that he proposed to me a month ago. I wear his ring with pride because I’m obsessed with him, and all I want is to build a family with Jake. We want to move quickly—get married, buy a house, and settle down in Boston within eight months, even though we’re still young. We’ve been working hard and tirelessly to make this happen but dreams don’t come cheap. Jake has a good job, but me? Not so much. Thanks to Jake, I just got a new job… working for his older brother, Bentley Brown. Bentley’s reputation precedes him. He’s arrogant, rude, and full of pride—all because of his devastatingly good looks and the company he started at twelve that made him a billionaire by twenty-seven. But he is also hot, charming, intoxicating and he has this dangerous pull that can drag you straight to your ruin. They call it the Bentley Effect. Would it work on me? I hate my new boss. He gets under my skin… and under my dress too.

My husband, Gabriel Buckner, and I had been married for three years. I'd gotten pregnant twice, but I'd lost both babies. It was all because of my in-laws' parrot that could talk. The first time I got pregnant and went to their house, the parrot stared at my belly and kept repeating, "Get rid of the baby! Get rid of the baby!" The second time, the same thing happened. It looked right at my stomach and said the same words. I thought it was just nonsense, but to my shock, my in-laws actually took the parrot seriously and forced me to end the pregnancy. I even showed them the prenatal checkup report from my doctor to prove that the baby was perfectly healthy and begged them not to do it. But they dragged me to the hospital anyway and made me have an abortion on the spot. When I got pregnant a third time, I wanted to be extra cautious. I went straight for an amniocentesis. The report confirmed the baby was healthy and even showed a 99.9% DNA match with Gabriel's. I thought everything would be fine this time. But as soon as the parrot saw me again, it repeated the same words—"Get rid of the baby." And just like before, the Buckners immediately tried to drag me to the hospital. I couldn't understand it. The baby was perfectly healthy, and the DNA report proved it was Gabriel's child. So why would they rather believe a parrot and insist that I get rid of the baby?

Valentina Paiva suportou um casamento por contrato durante cinco anos. Mesmo sabendo que Lucas Montenegro, o renomado e poderoso advogado, mantinha uma amante delicada e charmosa fora do casamento, ela escolheu o silêncio e a resignação. Até o dia em que descobriu que o filho que criou como seu era, na verdade, fruto do relacionamento de Lucas com a amante. Foi então que Valentina percebeu que seu casamento nunca passou de uma grande mentira. A amante, agindo como se fosse a verdadeira esposa, apareceu com o contrato de divórcio redigido por Lucas, exigindo que Valentina assinasse. Naquele mesmo dia, Valentina descobriu que estava grávida. Se o homem estava corrompido, ela não o queria mais. Se o filho não era dela, ele deveria voltar para quem realmente o merecia. Decidida a cortar qualquer laço emocional, Valentina renasceu. Ela mostrou ao mundo sua força, brilhou sozinha e reconstruiu sua vida do zero. Os parentes que a desprezaram? Agora imploravam por sua atenção. Os ricos que zombaram dela? Disputavam sua aprovação com fortunas. O filho que foi ensinado a odiá-la? Voltou chorando, chamando-a de mãe. … Certa noite, o celular de Valentina tocou. Do outro lado da linha, ela ouviu a voz rouca e embriagada de Lucas: — Valentina, você não pode aceitar o pedido de casamento dele. Eu nunca assinei o divórcio.

The Moon Goddess has blessed her children with unique gifts. They each have capabilities beyond any creature can handle. Their strength is unparalleled, unquestioned. However, when her children turn against each other, blood will be spilt. What would it take to stop this inevitable bloodshed? – Jordane Samael, the dauntless daughter of the Alpha of the Eastern Werewolf Pack, was plagued by haunting visions of a sinister man with a prominent facial scar that seemed to writhe and pulse with an otherworldly energy. As the visions became more intense and frequent, Jordane realized that she was being drawn into a dark and dangerous world beyond the scope of her imagination. After months of disorder and chaos, the werewolf pack in the West had finally named a new leader: Maverick Lewis, a strong and charismatic Alpha with a reputation for ruthless efficiency. One fateful night, under the luminescent moon shining above the skies, a chance encounter between Maverick and Jordane challenged the balance between the two packs who, from centuries ago, swore never to cross boundaries again. But what if, Maverick, the newly hailed Alpha, was the only person who could protect Jordane from the maleficient being that threatened to drag her into the unknown? On the one hand, Maverick saw that helping Jordane, the daughter of the Alpha of their rival pack, would eliminate the intimidating threat that endangered his position whilst creating new conflicts and disputations among his pack. What will each of them choose? Can love triumph in the end?

"She will come back," she promised. "She just needs time to sort her head out." "Not her heart?" The dry distinction made Charley wince. "I'm sure she loves you," she persisted. "She's just not ready to commit to marriage." If you just give her time, then I— Black eyebrows with a fascinating silken gloss gave her a curious look. "Are you actually standing there, Miss Jones, suggesting that I should wait for Adelina to sort her head out?" Well, was she? Lifting her chin, "If you love her—yes," she insisted. "Then you are a romantic fool because it is not going to happen." He moved suddenly, straightening away from the desk. "There is a wedding arranged for next Saturday morning, and I intend to make sure that it goes ahead." Without a bride? Charley stared at him. "You mean—you're going to find her and drag her back to marry you?" A silly kind of laugh left her throat at the very image of Adelina being dragged by this man down the church aisle, kicking and screaming. ‘No.’ Reaching behind him, his long fingers picked Adelina's letter up again—this time to fold it with slow, neat precision. "I mean to replace her with someone else."I want reparation for being taken for an idiot, and if that means putting you in Adelina's wedding dress and marrying you in her place, then that is what is going to happen."

•She ain't a good girl! She is the girl you don't want to mess with! ________ •He is a loved good guy in this world of hyped-up bad boys! Unless! Unless! You cross her way for the bad girl has wrapped the good guy around her little finger and makes him sin! BUT!!! •What happens when the trust is broken? '''The magical spell of euphoria is distorted and piercing pieces of betrayal unfurls making you bleed.''' __________ "Addiction is fucking heart-wrenching!" She stated taking a long drag of the cigarette which was held in between her lips. Then she blew out the smoke and jumped on the bonnet of the car. "Put this away then!" He raised his finger towards the cigarette. "Not this," she affirmed inhaling nicotine once again. "It's addiction is helpful to drown all other horrifying addictions." A pregnant pause engulfed them. The only sound was the whispering of wind with the shedding leaves of trees. The autumn had prevailed the green life likewise their souls were also shedding off its color, painfully. Agonizingly slow. "I'm always here for you!" He whispered. "I know!" Under the faint moonlight her self-pitying smile could be seen. "Besides these drugs you are the only one who is here for me." He did not say anything back for he knew she won't reply now. He too sat on the bonnet and taking the cigarette from her he inhaled the smoke. ___________ Find who the enigmatic warrior is or is that you?

The past Day 159 after the first New Species were freed Joy tried to relax in the chair but worry over her client made her fidget. She glanced at the clock, noting he was late again. Minutes ticked by while her anger grew. It was the fourth session in a row that 466 had blown off. He did it on purpose. She knew he was going to be irate over what she’d done in retaliation but he’d left her with no choice. The loud sound of a menacing growl startled her. Her gaze flew to the door a second before it was thrown open. 466 hovered in the hallway, his rich brown hair messed up as if he’d dried it upside down with a blow dryer to give it that fullness. Rage showed in his narrowed, dark gaze. She guessed he’d been the source of the noise. He was pushed forward as one of the guards entered the office behind her client. “Here he is. He wasn’t happy but we got him.” The man shot a dirty look at 466. “Four of his men convinced him to come along or we would have had to drag his inside in shackles. He wanted to fight me.” She winced. “Please sit, 466.” “It seems I don’t have a choice.” He sauntered over to the chair in front of her desk and dropped his big body down hard enough to make the piece of furniture groan. “So much for saying we are free.”