Dust Yourself Off And Try Again

Marina Hunter is your average teenage girl– detached from the world, absorbed in books and music until she meets the choleric boy across the street, cocky and talented, Darnell McCoy and feels things she's only ever felt once for her best friend, Playboy Jason Kuyper. As Marina tries to navigate junior year at Silver Lake High alongside family drama, an ensuing love triangle, her phobias... A happy ending is pretty uncertain.

Ares is her brother's best friend. Thirty-four, engaged to the perfect woman, and completely forbidden. Yet, Scarlett cannot stop watching him. At twenty-two, fearless, and cherished by her older brother, she knows she should do what is right and avoid the blue-eyed man across from her. Each forbidden glance and touch intensifies their bond, threatening to unravel their worlds and guarantee heartbreak. And Scarlett’s brother has just made her start her internship at his office. Someone is secretly watching, intent on destroying them. As Scarlett gets closer to Ares, the danger around her increases. Secrets, betrayal, and obsession meet at a crossroad in a love they were never meant to have. Yet, I can't resist.

My wedding to Don Lorenzo Corsica was always 'almost.' Five years engaged. Thirty-two weddings. Every single one crashed and burned. Then came number thirty-three. Halfway through, the chapel wall caved in. I landed in the ICU. Skull fracture. Major concussion. A dozen critical alerts. Two months stuck between life and death. Then I clawed my way back. On discharge day, I caught him talking to his right-hand guy. "Don, if you're really into that scholarship girl, just dump Ms. Mortoro," the guy said. "Corsicas can kill gossip. No need for staged accidents... She nearly died." Lorenzo went quiet. Then finally, "I owed her parents. They died for me. Marrying her was the only way to repay that. But I love Sofia. She's the one I want." I looked down at my stitched-up body and cried without a sound. So it wasn't fate that wrecked me. It was him. If he couldn't choose, I'd do it for him.

Our seventh wedding anniversary. I sat at the dining table—alone. My phone buzzed, lighting up with two messages. First, from Tom: [Working late at the office tonight.] Second, anonymous: [Tom is incredible. Can you even keep up?] Attached was a picture of him, lips locked with a woman I didn't recognize. I blew out the candles on the anniversary cake. Eyes shut, I typed back: [Let's divorce.]

The day after the new year, during a family gathering, my aunt sneered at me as I worked overtime, reviewing a proposal. "Why are you pretending to be so busy? It’s not like we don’t know you only make three thousand a month. Real money-makers are people like my daughter, a designer so successful she doesn’t even have time to come home!" I ignored her, but she directed her spoiled son to delete all my files while I was in the bathroom. My hands trembled with rage. "This proposal is due in ten minutes—if I don’t submit it, everything is ruined!" She scoffed dismissively. "He’s just a kid. What could he possibly know? Besides, your job isn’t even worth much. If you lose the files, you lose them. Worst case, you get fired." I chuckled coldly but said nothing. She had no idea it was the proposal her daughter had spent an entire month working on. And I was the client who held her daughter’s fate in my hands.

Isla is a famous furniture owner and she is also known for her savage, hot-temperedness, and feisty attitude. She left Clover (land of mystical creatures) when she was betrayed by Henry, the one she loved the most 20 years ago. She became heartless and brutal to men and always felt the need to avoid them because she always thought that men always wanted something, just like what Henry did to her. Now that she has everything that life can offer, a sudden reunion with her first love happened. Henry is now a famous director in a broadcasting studio and is still young and handsome just like before. Isla reconciled her memories with him and realized that she didn't leave Clover because of the betrayal, she left Clover thinking that her feelings for Henry will soon leave her system. Will history repeat itself where he chose to love the mortal? Or will a sprinkle of pixie dust change the course of fate and give us a new meaning of love?

When my mom texted me, urging me to go home for a blind date, Charles had just finished with me. His warm breath brushed against the back of my ear, sending a tingling sensation straight to my heart. He wiped away the traces on my skin with gentle care, but when he spoke, his voice was chillingly indifferent. "Since Mrs. Shaw is pushing you, you should head back soon." I thought he was jealous, and a surge of sweetness filled my heart. I quickly grabbed his wrist, telling him my feelings. "Charles, I want to stay with you. I'm not going anywhere!" He froze for a moment, then let out a derisive laugh. One by one, he pried my fingers off. "You didn't actually think I was jealous, did you?" Tucking my damp, messy hair behind my ear, he remained as gentle as ever, but his words were almost cruel. "Rose is pure and innocent. I couldn't bring myself to touch her before marriage, so I used you to satisfy my needs. However, now, our engagement is set. She'll soon be my rightful wife. You're no longer needed."

Back in the day, in the legal world, Finn Cross and I were the top dogs. Untouchable. He ran New York, a king in criminal defense, never lost a case. I held down Boston, crushing it in civil court. People in the biz used to say it was a good thing we weren't in the same city. If we were, we’d have gone head-to-head, and it was anyone's guess who'd come out on top. But they never would've guessed. Three years ago, I, Victoria Sterling, quietly married Finn Cross. And just like that, the legend of "Vicky" was locked away. I was willing to leave my career behind, to be the quiet, supportive woman behind the great man. I made his coffee, went with him to all sorts of events, and left a light on for him when he came home late. But when Elena, the one he’d always carried a torch for, showed up again, I couldn't keep up this charade anymore.

It's already hard being Black in America, but it's even tougher surviving America as a Black Vampire. N, who is a vampire, has been on a long search finding the police officer who killed his family and cut off half of his tongue when he was young. He believes that the cop is in Virginia; he goes on a grueling battle to find him. But he also ends up falling in love, meet other unique black vampires like him, find his true origin, and leads a revolution to end police brutality and racism.

I was suffering from period cramps, so I ordered some painkillers. I asked for a woman to deliver my painkillers to me, but a drunken man came over instead. This time, I did not call my brothers for help. I called the police instead. In the past, not only did my brothers send all of their bodyguards to me, but they also rushed back. In the process, they ended up missing the theater performance of our adopted sister, Gloria. Gloria was sad and grabbed a prop to stab herself. My brothers comforted me. “Don’t blame yourself for it. At the very least, you’re safe.” But, right after, they arranged my kidnapping and gave me over to a group of drunkards. “That was just a drunkard. You could have just chased him out. Did you have to call us? Look! Gloria’s dead now! You’re not getting out of this alive either!” When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the time when the drunkard was knocking on the door. This time, I did not call them, and my brothers got to watch Gloria’s theater performance and cheered her on. But once the performance ended, they regretted it.