Fairy Tale About Sleeping

Narinig ni Amanda Moretti ang balitang ipapakasal siya ng kanyang ama sa isang lalaking hindi niya kilala—kaya tumakas siya mula sa tahanan ng kanyang mga magulang. Determinado siyang pumili ng sariling landas, nagsimula siyang mamuhay mag-isa at unti-unting binuo ang tahimik na kalayaang natagpuan niya sa kanyang maliit na apartment. Sa tulong ng isang bagay na siya mismo ang lumikha—isang app na ginawa niya upang matulungan siyang malampasan ang bawat araw—hindi lamang siya nakaraos kundi umangat pa. Lumago ang app, naging matagumpay, at kalaunan ay nakilala sa maraming lugar. Dahil sa tagumpay na iyon, nakilala niya ang isa sa kanyang mga kliyente—si Knoxx Xavier Vitale—isang lalaking hindi niya inakalang lubos na magbabago ng takbo ng kanyang buhay. Arogante at antipatiko. Sukdulan ang ugali nitong hindi tugma sa kanya. He kept on pestering her. Kaya nang inalok siya nitong magpanggap bilang nobya sa harapan ng mga magulang nito, sa una'y nagdadalawang-isip pa siya. Mentioning a hundred thousand dollars made her eyes sparkling of wealth. Napapayag siya nito. Ngunit mas may nakakagulat pang rebelasyon ang mangyayari kasunod.

On my way back from a business trip, I scrolled past a video. A newborn was abandoned by the roadside, crying so hard. As a first time dad, I couldn’t help looking at the baby a little longer. I froze because that baby looked exactly like my son. I had booked the best confinement center in the city for my wife. I had checked them into a VIP suite. I had employed a nanny and a nursing team to look after my wife and my son full-time. I broke out in a cold sweat. My wife didn’t check her phone, so I immediately called the center's manager, Ms. Thompson. She laughed lightly. “Don’t worry, Mr. Smith. Your wife and baby are perfectly fine. They just fell asleep.” The next second, she sent me a photo of my sleeping baby. I stared at the tiny, unfamiliar face. In that instant, the blood in my body turned to ice. I was only gone for four days. So how was my son a different person?

Her name was Cathedra. Leave her last name blank, if you will. Where normal people would read, "And they lived happily ever after," at the end of every fairy tale story, she could see something else. Three different things. Three words: Lies, lies, lies. A picture that moves. And a plea: Please tell them the truth. All her life she dedicated herself to becoming a writer and telling the world what was being shown in that moving picture. To expose the lies in the fairy tales everyone in the world has come to know. No one believed her. No one ever did. She was branded as a liar, a freak with too much imagination, and an orphan who only told tall tales to get attention. She was shunned away by society. Loveless. Friendless. As she wrote "The End" to her novels that contained all she knew about the truth inside the fairy tale novels she wrote, she also decided to end her pathetic life and be free from all the burdens she had to bear alone. Instead of dying, she found herself blessed with a second life inside the fairy tale novels she wrote, and living the life she wished she had with the characters she considered as the only friends she had in the world she left behind. Cathedra was happy until she realized that an ominous presence lurks within her stories. One that wanted to kill her to silence the only one who knew the truth.

A game of spin the bottle wasn’t supposed to change my life. I wanted to get out of our small town, and the only way to do that was to get good grades. I didn't want to get distracted by anyone or anything, but I couldn't seem to ignore Liam. He was sexy, moody, and about to become my stepbrother. Exactly the kind of trouble I should have avoided. But I let my hair down for a party in the woods; a couple of girls and guys playing spin the bottle and truth or dare. Silly games shouldn't change your life but sometimes fate steps in. It's nearly graduation and I'm closing my eyes, thinking that I can't deal with having one surprise today, but two.

Lorsque je suis allée refaire le certificat de liaison conjugale, l'agent du service administratif m'a annoncé : « Votre ancien certificat de liaison est un faux. Nous n'avons aucune trace de votre enregistrement ici. » Je n'en croyais pas mes oreilles et j'ai insisté : « Sébastien et moi sommes pourtant officiellement liés depuis cinq ans… Comment est-ce possible ? Pouvez-vous vérifier à nouveau, s'il vous plaît ? » Cyrille a compulsé une seconde fois nos dossiers et a conclu : « Les documents de l'Alpha Sébastien sont bien là… Mais selon nos archives, son partenaire officiel n'est pas vous. » Ma voix s'est brisée : « Qui, alors ? » « Lorie. » Sa réponse était nette. À ce nom, j'ai serré le dossier de la chaise jusqu'à blêmir, luttant pour ne pas m'effondrer. Avant que Cyrille ne prononce le nom de Lorie, j'espérais encore une erreur. Mais maintenant, tout prenait un sens terriblement cohérent. Lorie… n'était autre que l'amie d'enfance de Sébastien ! À cet instant, tant de choses trouvaient enfin une explication : ces cinq années passées comme son partenaire, sans qu'il ne me marque jamais. Notre cérémonie de liaison, cinq ans plus tôt, n'avait été qu'une mascarade. J'avais tout abandonné pour lui, croyant à un bonheur possible. Mais ces cinq années de « félicité » n'étaient qu'une illusion, soigneusement fabriquée par lui. Puisque rien de tout cela ne m'appartenait vraiment… il était temps de partir...

Les Hommes-Bêtes étaient réputés pour leur force guerrière. Pour consolider le pouvoir de notre clan, mon père nous a offertes, ma demi-sœur Anaïs Moineau et moi, en mariage aux deux de ces peuples. Dans ma vie antérieure, Anaïs avait épousé le roi des Dragons, dont la richesse rivalisait avec celle de toutes les autres races réunies, tandis que j'avais été contrainte de m'unir au clan démuni des Lions. Le roi des Dragons, Gaylord Dieulafoy, homme froid et impassible, ne vivait que pour ses ambitions, négligeant complètement Anaïs. Rongée par la solitude, elle avait séduit le jeune maître volage des Renards. Leur adultère avait été découvert, et Gaylord l'avait répudiée. Notre famille en était couverte de honte. Sous la pression, notre père, pourtant si indulgent envers elle, avait dû la chasser. En revanche, Brice Gardet, le roi des Lions, était dévoué et passionné. Notre union était heureuse et, en moins d'un an, j'avais mis au monde des enfants, dotés de pouvoirs divins. Grâce à ça, Brice était devenu le souverain de tous les clans des Hommes-Bêtes, et moi, sa reine. Mais la jalousie d'Anaïs avait tout détruit. Le jour de la fête pour le premier anniversaire de mon enfant, elle l'avait étranglé, puis avait mis le feu à ma demeure pour m'y brûler vive. Quand j'ai rouvert les yeux, nous étions de retour au jour des alliances. Cette fois, Anaïs a exigé d'épouser Brice, me « cédant » ainsi Gaylord. Je l'ai accepté. Dotée d'une dot dix fois moindre que la sienne, j'ai épousé Gaylord. Par la suite ? Anaïs a épuisé toute sa dot à soutenir le Lion, et son incapacité à procréer l'a contrainte à s'accoupler avec d'autres Hommes-Bêtes. Moi qui n'aspirais qu'à un enfant et une existence paisible après la tragédie de ma vie précédente, j'ai dû faire face à une autre réalité : pourquoi mon mari, réputé froid et abstinent, me réclamait-il sans cesse depuis notre nuit nuptiale ? Et pourquoi personne ne m'avait avertie que les Dragons possédaient deux pénis… tous deux épineux ?

They never knew about her… A fairy tale, for Irwen, was something truly extraordinary—a destiny tied by a bond that seemed unbreakably strong and magical. But her mate had betrayed her, treating everything she had done as meaningless nonsense. Fine. Irwen understood—and decided that betrayal deserved a revenge. The Alpha King had exceeded her expectations. He helped her, and even proposed a marriage contract. He began to heal her frozen heart, drawing them into a more complicated relationship. To Irwen, it felt like stepping back into a fairy tale—one that might end in pain again. “I want you to be my Luna.” “I will protect you.” “I will stay by your side.” But will those promises hold true when they’re faced with something that stands in opposition? The healer and her chains…

It is in the human nature to expect things from a person. And of course, as a human, one will tend to try to reach their goals no matter how big or small it is. One will strive hard to reach those expectations, sometimes even ace it. However, not all things goes the way one planned it and that is what happening to Pharynne Mauridelle Cortés. Pharynne Mauridelle Cortés is a full of hope woman. She's a woman who will give her all selflessly no matter what and how much struggles she have in life. However, no matter how beautiful a rose can be, it wouldn't change the fact that it still have thorns. Thorns that even she herself can get hurt by it. She is beyond what the society wants her to be. For beyond what it seems to be in the strongest façade a woman can have, is her broken and wounded self that she couldn't even mend it herself. And when she reached her outmost endpoint, her world clashes with Jhariêx Ivan Romanov Strëízhnnërr IV. The man full of mystery who will be her anchor and thread of light that will help her heal and rebuild herself. But then, when things are almost at its place, she will suddenly discover the mystery behind his life. Being lied to and destructive pain she felt, causing her demons to fully swallow and win against her. No matter how beautiful and delicate a flower is, if it starts to get rotten inside, it will still wither and die.

My stepsister falsely accuses me of causing her allergies to act up. My three brothers stuff me into the cramped cellar and chain the door shut. I pound on the door and beg them to let me out. My eldest brother, an outstanding businessman, snaps, "It's bad enough that you keep bullying Lori. How could you make her eat seafood when you know she's allergic to it? Isn't that just murder? Stay in there and reflect on your mistakes!" My second brother, an award-winning singer, and my third brother, a genius painter, scoff contemptuously. "It's unbelievable that someone as evil as you is making excuses to garner pity. You can stay in there and repent for your sins!" After that, they take our shuddering stepsister to the hospital. The oxygen in the cellar soon runs out, and it gets difficult to breathe. Ultimately, I die in there. My brothers only remember me three days later when they bring our stepsister back from the hospital. Unbeknownst to them, I've already died of asphyxiation.

After her sister's death, Stella can only think about vengeance. She will go to hell and back to make those people pay for what they did. She will even bind herself to the ruthless mafia boss.