Early Christmas

My best friend's brother and I have been dating for half a year, and she has no clue. My best friend drags me out on Christmas for a singles' night out. Unexpectedly, we see her brother, Chris Lambert, holding hands and kissing a girl under the fireworks. "Damn, Chris finally got the school belle!" She looks thrilled and pulls me forward to say hi. Chris awkwardly rubs his nose and introduces me to his girlfriend, "This is my sister, and the one beside her is… sort of like my sister too." I smile silently. We have held hands and kissed, yet now, I am just sort of like his sister.

I merely brought up the wedding decorations, and my fiancé's first love ran out of the room in tears. Ian Murray slapped me so hard I fell to the ground. His face twisted in fury, teeth clenched with hatred. "Daphne, are you that desperate to get married? Afraid no one else will want you, so you're clinging to me, forcing me into it? Our wedding next week is postponed!" I held my face, but not even a ripple stirred in my heart. This made the eighth time he'd postponed it. I had been waiting for him since I was twenty-eight. Now, in my early thirties, I was still getting nowhere closer to being married. So this time, I quietly packed my things and chose to leave. Maybe this marriage didn't need to happen after all.

My husband lies to me about working late on Christmas Day. I know he wants to give me a surprise—I saw a jewelry set worth millions of dollars in his pocket. However, all I receive is the news of him pretending to be Santa Claus as he delivers a gift to his female secretary. She flaunts it on social media. "You're the most precious Christmas gift I've gotten." My husband changes the background photo on his social media to a photo of them together. I smile and like the post. Later, the secretary comes to me and smugly says she's pregnant. Meanwhile, I pull out a diagnosis report verifying that my husband is sterile. "Checkmate!" She visibly panics.

Havoc Alexana Javier over-organized every single thing, but not her thoughts when Meter Ozuluen De Leon was around. Since childhood, Havoc already knew how her eyes sparkled just by seeing Meter from afar. The butterflies, the chills, the blushes—they all started with a happy crush until that feeling developed through time. As they faced the early years of adulthood, things suddenly changed. Meter was a heartthrob and he was always chased by girls. As everyone else expected, he got a girlfriend at a young age. On the other hand, Havoc who had a huge crush on him found herself shocked because she was not that sad. It hurt her but not to the point that she would hysterically slap someone's face for stealing someone she never owned in the first place. Maybe because… Rhyme Okideo De Leon was there. Meter's twin brother. Havoc's closest friend. Rhyme always supported Havoc even with her crazy feelings for his twin and whenever it went overboard, he was still there for her—guiding and protecting her. He was consistent. But as time went by, his actions changed due to some inevitable disasters in Havoc's life. Probably because Rhyme needed to help her in his ways. The Rhyme ways—the things he kept holding for a very long time.

Ten years ago Sarah Connor was betrayed by her mate when a jealous, power-hungry witch casted a spell making the whole kingdom think she was an evil witch. She was cast to the dungeons by her mate despite their past together and tortured for information she  didn't know. It wasn't until days later when she realized that her mate wasn't going to save her and they wouldn't be able to reform the bond they once had. She flees from her kingdom, friends, family and life to find somewhere to feel safe.  Legolas, the alpha king, who was under a spell from a witch for years until he was able to break free. Upon being free and killing the witch who messed up his life, the fog lifted, relieving the real memories of what happened and the horrible treatment of Sarah. Legolas was heartbroken at the news that he had hurt his mate so badly that she had fled and hadn't surfaced even when it was announced that the witch and her spell were no more. He went in search of her in the dark realm and found her with a child called Aleena. Aleena was eight years old and grew up in a small pack. They kept to themselves and never had any real problems. She graduated from high school a year early at the age of seventeen. She was starting her freshman year of college when her quiet little small town life got turned upside down. Her mother had a deep secret that she had kept this whole time and now it could cost her, her daughter. After a visit from the moon goddess herself, Aleena is faced with a choice. One that is life or death not just for her but her kind as a whole.

"Now the most important rule," he paused to gain her full attention and when he was sure she was listening carefully, he added, "we do not touch, or let others touch our body except for shaking hands and friendly hugs, no matter what the case." Bella looked at him and blinked, "but you touched my ass, Lucifer." She accused him again, making him dumbfounded. Lucifer coughed, embarrassed, remembering how he was enjoying touching her and even commented that it was firm and perky. "I was asleep, Bella, I did not know." He was telling the truth. But Bella added, "but you said, in any case, Lucifer." His reason left him speechless once again. Now what should he do? If he said this was an exception, she would ask him to make a list of exceptions. He sighed, "okay, it was a mistake, Bella, I apologise." He replied sincerely, that he should not take advantage of her childlike innocence. It's alright, let me touch your ass, and we will be equal. ****** Lucifer was broke. He didn't have enough money to pay his sister's fees and buy her something for Christmas. He wanted to do something special for her this Christmas, so he took the advice of his best friend and gave his room on rent. But due to the Christmas holidays, he didn't get any applications from men to take the room. In desperation, he accepted the girl who had asked many times for the room. What he doesn't know is that the girl is a demon who ran away from the group that came to destroy the happiness of the festivities.

We're releasing balloons on Christmas Eve when Milton Jenning's lover deliberately sets off fireworks. They explode on me, burning me severely. My back, already torn and raw from skin grafts for her, becomes even more of a bloodied mess. However, I don't ask Milton for help. Instead, I shield a recently reunited heir of a wealthy family beneath me, risking everything to save him. In my past life, Milton kicked me in the back and told me not to stand in the way of him taking his lover to the hospital. "Is it funny to you to use a child as a cover, Larissa? Even if you're pregnant, you and your baby are just walking skin providers for Rita! I must've spoiled you—how dare you do something as heinous as this!" I was blacklisted by all hospitals and ended up dying while pregnant. My heart was filled with hatred as I breathed my last breath. When I open my eyes again, I see Rita Atkinson secretly aim fireworks at the night sky and set them off. I hear her laugh manically as she says, "You and your child can die together!"

Even after being married for three years, my husband treats me like a stranger. When I throw up blood from pregnancy complications, he's in the prayer room chanting for his foster sister, Yvie Springton. He accuses me of being dramatic. If Yvie so much as gets a headache, he drops everything and flies overseas to be by her side. When his parents are in critical condition after a car crash, I beg him to go see them one last time. But what does he do? He claims I'm cursing Yvie. When I go into early labor and cling to life after giving birth to our son, he posts a photo of his international boarding pass on social media. At his parents' funeral, he returns to the country with Yvie and demands I leave the marriage with nothing. The day our divorce finalizes, he holds a wedding ceremony with her. I bury his parents alone. Then, at an exclusive auction, dead set on winning the famous painting for Yvie, he offered a staggering price. Even his accounts are frozen. That's when he finally realizes he's been disowned by the Springton family. His eyes are bloodshot, and he's furious as he demands answers. I simply gesture for my lawyer to step forward. He says, "Mr. Springton, take a look at this will."

That night, I got off work early and brought home some late-night snacks. When I opened the door, I saw a pair of high heels carelessly tossed in the entryway and Gregory’s blazer thrown over the couch. His heavy breathing and the woman’s moans could be heard through the gap between the door and its frame. I was all too familiar with this sight. This time, I did not storm out like I used to. Instead, I sat quietly at the dining table and finished my cold pizza.

The witch Gwanhoya is killed by the Chief of Domboguru in the early 1800s for terrorizing the people of the chiefdom. Centuries have passed and the legend of the witch (Gwanhoya) had fallen into a myth and only a few seem to remember the stories. Mukura who has not always got along with her family, discovers her magical abilities and desides to hide them from her family and upon discovering her ancestor, she decides to do a lot more digging into it and discovers she is the descendant of a powerful witch that existed in the 1800s in translated texts. She is directed to the point where Gwanhoya was killed by the spirit of Gwanhoya and heads straight to that point she was directed and resurrects Gwanhoya being guided step by step by her ancestor’s spirit. Upon resurrection, Gwanhoya immediately begins preparations to kill the descendants of her enemies and then finish her conquest to rule over everything. And while doing so kills a lot of people who defied her. Mukura, although she wanted to learn more about her ancestry and about her magical abilities, she turns against Gwanhoya who is on a killing spree and while in hiding discovers that it is her destiny alongside Gurudza her ex-boyfriend, who is also the descendant of chief Chikanda to defeat Gwanhoya. On their first attempt to battle Gwanhoya the two are defeated with ease with Mukura almost losing her life during the battle and is saved by the deity Wezhira. Who gives them a divination on the history between their ancestors and what she is doing and the possible outcome if they fail to stop her with details on the abilities they possess. The two(Gurudza and Mukura) work together in the fight against Gwanhoya and finally defeat her.