Ernst Spring Awakening

My dad was a zombie. My mom? Even scarier. She was an uber-powerful mutant. At the crack of dawn, she was already yelling, "Derick Olson! Don't make me come over there! What kind of zombie are you? Glued to your headphones all day—are those audiobooks really that captivating?" I rolled over in bed and promptly fell right off. Scrambling to my feet, I started tidying up my room in a flash, terrified she might actually make good on her threat. "Look at Mr. Hoffman next door," she hollered. "He roams the streets day and night, probably gobbled up more brains than you've read books!"

The day before our wedding, my husband gives me a sapphire ring. I place a hand on my slightly bulging belly. As I lie on the operating table, I call him and tell him I want to call the wedding off. Shortly after, his secretary calls me tearfully. "I was the one who was impudent enough to select the ring, ma'am. Please don't blame Mr. Nolan for this. It's all my fault." Archer Nolan holds her in his arms and coaxes her gently for a long time. He only says one thing to me. "You're already carrying my child. Can you really bear to leave me?"

My boyfriend found my menstruation disgusting and forced me to undergo subdermal implantation. From then on, I no longer had periods and couldn’t conceive. One day, I had a fever reaching 40°C and couldn’t contact him. I went to the hospital alone, only to stumble upon him attending a prenatal checkup with his secretary. He told her: “Baby, don’t worry about Claire. She only listens to me here, doesn’t she?” “We can postpone the wedding for another five years. She’s loyal to me like a dog anyway.” “In the meantime, keep fulfilling your end of the arrangement I’ve promised you.” “Of course, I’ll continue loving you... until I’m tired of you.” My heart shattered. I’d proposed to him 43 times in seven years, only to fail every single time. It turned out he just hadn’t gotten bored of me yet? This time, I decided not to wait any longer. I turned my back on him and agreed to the marriage my mother arranged in the countryside. On the day my ex was supposed to accompany me to try on wedding dresses, he found an empty room and a wedding invitation I left for him to celebrate my marriage to someone else. Panic consumed him as his world fell apart...

My mother is gravely ill and needs a million dollars for surgery. I run all over the city, desperately trying to borrow the money. Just when I'm at my breaking point, my childhood friend shows up, holding a check for one million dollars. His condition? He wants to marry me. Everyone's waiting for me to say yes, but I calmly refuse. Because in my last life, even after I married him, my mother still died. Her surgery failed. Later, I accidentally overhear a conversation between him and a doctor. "Christopher, you sabotaged the surgery just to transplant Alice's mom's kidney into Jennifer? Was it worth it? If Alice finds out, you’re done." "I just want Jennifer to live. And honestly, marrying someone like Alice? My life is already over." That's when I realize our entire marriage was nothing but a carefully woven lie. He did it all for the woman he truly loved.

Sam and I have been married for ten years. He always said he would give me the wedding of my dreams. However, three days before the ceremony, my eyes, which had been blind for the past six months after saving Sam’s life, miraculously regained vision. The first thing I saw when I opened them was Sam tangled in bed with his pretty secretary, Alisa. The bed was still shaking while Alisa typed on her phone. She showed it to him, smirking. [Sam, we're out of condoms. Why not ask your blind wife to grab one for us?] Sam’s veins bulged at his temple. His eyes darted toward me in panic. Alisa, however, scoffed and typed again. [What are you so scared of? Your wife’s blind. What’s she gonna see?] Sam sighed in resignation. “Hazel, can you pass me the box of cigarettes from the nightstand?” That cigarette box he mentioned was clearly labeled: Durex Ultra-Thin—Bare Feel. My heart shattered, and I booked a flight to Rockbridge before the wedding. When Sam came running after me, hysterical, I said coldly to him, “Sam. I can see.”

I died not knowing Rowan had fallen for another. So, I made a deal with the witch, exchanging my wolf heart for seven days of life. Seven years ago, during a territorial conflict between wolf tribes, I lost my sight while saving Rowan. My deal with the witch not only gave me seven days but also restored my vision. Overjoyed, I rushed to Rowan’s home under the moonlight. I was eager to share my miracle with him, even if I had only seven days left.  However, he was in the arms of another woman. Rowan’s cruel words echoed in my mind: "You know how to please me so much better than that blind princess ever did." "I’ve had enough of her lifeless eyes. Every time I look at her, I feel like I’m shackled by chains of duty and morality. I can’t breathe around her!" His harsh words and the sounds of their intimacy crushed the last of my hope. I was going to die soon, and with the short life I had traded the wolf heart of a Moonshadow Wolf Tribe Princess for, I had only lived long enough to witness Rowan’s betrayal.

Maddox Ventura fell in love with her sister’s best friend. The first moment he saw Sariel Dixon, he told himself that she’d be the woman he would tie the knot with and cherish with all of his heart. They became in close proximity since his sister dragged him along on every bit of their adventures of all kinds, and he’s even more attached to her, despite the fact that she tends to be stubborn all the time. However, Maddox was very delusional in that moment, considering that he believed Sariel was the one he had been looking for, but it turns out she is the one who would destroy and betray him. Maddox is a seductive but merciless. He’s both deadly and lovely to look at, he poured out his revenge on Sariel. He tormented her, he blamed her for killing his parents deaths for the betrayal that she used him for, and for playing his love for her. Sariel Dixon, on the other hand, was taken up in the retribution that was never intended for her. But then she accepted Maddox’s rage toward her, since she’s In love with him. The big day comes. There was an event where they were completely wasted on alcohol consumption because of her bestfriend. They were unable to resist the temptation, and something happened between the two of them one night. Following their heated exchange, Sariel won’t be able to do anything if Maddox sees her as an enemy. But she is also human, with emotions. Maddox’s tormenting of her is getting too much, leaving her with just one option: run away in Maddox’s rage. Will Sariel be able to find peace while running away? Will the revenge tale end with Maddox seeking vengeance?

Elvira Corleone was the precious daughter of the Corleone family, a breathtaking beauty well-known in their inner circle. Whoever dared provoke her either ended up submitting to her or as a body at the bottom of Bayton Harbor. One day, her best friend, Lilian Allen, made a daring bet. "Vira, make my brother fall for you, and I'll give you the power of judgment over Bayton Harbor's underground scene." Elvira grinned, bold and confident. She pressed the cigar out in the ashtray. "Lilian, you know I've never failed to get what I want." Yet, plans never worked out the way one would expect.

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.]

I've had a crush on my fiancée for years, and we're finally about to get married. Yet I'm willing to jump off a building just to avoid marrying her—all because I've been reborn. In my past life, she and I were married for over two decades. We were the perfect couple in everyone's eyes. However, the fairy tale came to an abrupt end on our 25th wedding anniversary. She took her own life, and she did it with her true love. As I kneeled before her grave, I asked, "Did you regret marrying me?" I knew I wouldn't hear her response, so I answered myself. "I regret marrying you." When I open my eyes again, I find myself back to before the wedding happens. I decide to run away. This time, I want us to become nothing but estranged acquaintances. To my surprise, she comes to me, looking like she's terminally ill. She says, "I've never regretted marrying you. Whether in this lifetime or the past, you're the only one I've ever wanted to marry."