Feathered Cut

The day the Porter family went bankrupt, my elder sister, who had been engaged to Calvin Porter, claimed she was in love with someone else and cut ties with him without a second thought. I was the one who stepped forward to take her place, becoming the laughingstock of our social circle. I smoothed away all the hardness in him, tried to shape myself into the woman he liked, and swallowed countless moments of bitterness, hoping only to warm his distant heart. Until our wedding day. A car accident happened, and Calvin's first instinct was to shield my sister with his whole body. "Rebecca, don't be scared. Where are you hurt? We'll get you to the hospital right away!" He carried her into the ambulance without so much as glancing back at me. I looked down at the iron rod piercing my chest and felt warm blood gush out. It was only then I understood. He was not indifferent by nature, he was simply indifferent to me. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Calvin came to our house carrying the engagement gift.

~Did she cut her wedding gown off? What the heck! How could she turn it to that? ~ ~ What's going on with her? Why is she in sneakers? ~ ~What's she holding behind her ~ My ears listened to their whispers as I stood at the doorstep about to enter the hall. My gaze fell on my soon-to-be husband waiting for me by the alter and I chuckled remembering everything. Well, yes, I shortened my most beautiful wedding gown to a short gown that reaches above my knees and also on sneakers instead of heels, but then, this feeling is different; I've never felt this way my entire life. I'm supposed to be feeling rage boiling through my veins, anger, fury, accompanied with pains, and screams but that's not the case. Right now, I'm feeling super excited. Without delaying it any longer, I revealed the KRISS Vector gun I had been hiding behind me, and their facial expressions were joy-giving. I burst into laughter before releasing the fire on them. Wondering the kind of bride I am? I am Elora, the bride who went on a killing spree on her wedding day.

Six years ago, Isla Winters was nobody, a shy, invisible wife unloved by the billionaire who married her out of obligation. Jaxon Romano destroyed her with his cruelty, threw her away while she carried his twins, and never looked back. Now, Dr. Isla Vale is everyone, a tech CEO and a genius. When she walks into Jaxon's failing company as his last hope for salvation, he doesn't recognize the broken girl he once called wife. But Isla recognizes him. And she's not here to save him. She's here to destroy him. What Jaxon doesn't know: the brilliant woman dismantling his empire is the ghost of his biggest mistake. What Isla doesn't know: revenge and love are two sides of the same burning coin. And some fires consume everything in their path, including the people who lit the match. In a battle of wills where the stakes are a billion-dollar empire, two hidden children, and a second chance neither of them deserves, only one question matters: Can you forgive the unforgivable? Or does some betrayal cut too deep to heal?

"I'll cut to the chase. I'm the villainess in this story." Everyone in this wealthy, elite family adored my poor, fragile adopted sister. My older brother Damien would snap, "Don't scare Bella. Her weak heart can't take it." My other brother, Magnus, would add, "Lend Bella your nightgown, all right? It's wasted on you." Even my fiancé said, "This is nothing more than a marriage of convenience. My true love has always been Bella." In my last life, I humbled myself endlessly to please them. What did I receive in return? They sent me to a mental asylum and I died in agony. Then I came back to life on the day of my engagement party. A voice echoed in my mind and made its announcement. [The Madness Reward System has chosen you, Marceline Blanc. Any unhinged behavior will earn rewards worth hundreds of millions of dollars.] I grinned and sent the pompous, ten-tier cake crashing to the floor. "I'm done with this shitty family. Goodbye, you miserable bastards."

Marley Benson is pathetic.  Not because she's a loser or because she's in love with her cousin's boyfriend. Okay, she might be a loser, but it does have everything to do with being in love with her cousin's boyfriend. It isn't Marley's fault that Luca Valentine has beautiful green eyes and a face sculpted by the gods. And so what if Marley is exaggerating, he's that attractive.  However, everything changes when Ares Abernathy decides to make Marley's life even more miserable than it was before.  She can handle watching the love of her life with someone who isn't her. What she can't handle is Ares' sharp words that cut like glass.  Besides, what has she ever done to make her the target of his cruel antics? With Ares at her throat Marley is forced to focus on other things.  Things that have nothing to do with Luca Valentine. Like why does her best friend seem to be hiding something, or why there's a giant dog lurking outside her house?  Or better yet, why is Ares Abernathy so obsessed with her?

Ilaria, though an Alpha's daughter, endured years of abuse at the hands of her older sister Calista. Her father trafficked her mother, forced himself upon them, then abandoned them both. She was an Omega anyone could trample on. Reed's arrival changed everything. He sought to marry the Alpha's daughter to solidify his political path, but Calista drugged him. But, Ilaria unexpectedly slept with Reed. Enraged, Ilaria’s father expelled her from home and cut off her mother’s medical expenses. Swallowing her pride, she begged Alpha Reed, “Please lend me ten thousand dollars.” He touched her belly and told her she was carrying their puppy. Alpha Reed said, “Marry me, and I’ll give you a million.” She thought he was marrying her only for surrogacy, but instead, she became Alpha Reed’s Luna. The famously ruthless Reed family showered her with affection. Later, Ilaria learned that when he was sixteen, Reed had been searching for his fated mate—and that mate was her. (In time, Ilaria herself became a powerful wolf.)

Kit has an image problem. Luca is a hot commodity. Kit is intelligent, beautiful, and successful. Luca has family money, good looks, and a new woman on his arm every week. The public doesn't find Kit likable. The public loves Luca. Kit has a new launch coming up. Luca has his parents' threat of getting cut off hanging over his head. So, what better way to solve both situations than by starting a fake relationship? Sparks fly as the two bump heads and try to make their fake love believable - but what will they do when it starts getting more real by the day? *** "And the kiss? Why did you just kiss me?" Luca looked down at Kit with heated eyes again. "Why did you kiss me back?" Kit opened her mouth and then shut it again, unable and unwilling to answer his question. Luca smiled with twinkling eyes. "I guess any sexual feelings aren't solely on my end after all." The Billionaire’s Promise is created by Tiara Msiza, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

I died beneath the Ferris wheel where Henry Cadden and Sophie Lloyd had their secret affair. Two lives were lost that day, mine and my unborn child's, but they all said it was my fate, and I deserved it. Sophie had orchestrated everything. She convinced Henry to cut our child from my body and give it to her, then stole my phone to frame me for infidelity. She also asked him not to look for me. Later, he found out the truth. The lifeless body he discovered was mine, and the child he had removed from my womb for Sophie was our own. My remains weren't even complete. He told himself it was for the best, that the child had done a good deed and would be blessed for it. But deep down, guilt consumed him. Still, in the end, he decided to marry Sophie. As my soul faded and seemed to be slipping away for good, he exposed Sophie's evil deeds at their wedding. In a final act of desperation, he dragged her and jumped down the building. She died instantly on the spot, but he didn't and went into a coma for life.

In her past life, Dylan Xander was forced to marry Zoe Stone. On their wedding day, his first love died in a plane crash. After the wedding, Dylan fell into a deep depression and grew to despise Zoe. For seven long years, she humbled herself just to win a sliver of his affection. But all she ever got in return was the same cruel question, over and over again: “Why wasn’t it you who died instead?” And yet, when the tsunami struck, Dylan gave up his only chance of survival to save her. On the lifeboat, she desperately reached out to grab his hand but he pulled away with all his strength. As he sank into the dark depths of the sea, he smiled in relief. “I’m finally free. I can be with her now.” After his death, the entire Xander family turned their hatred toward Zoe. Consumed by grief and guilt, she took her own life by jumping into the ocean. But when she opened her eyes again, she had returned to seven years ago. This time, she would cut the toxic bond between them and let him be with his true love.

When I woke up that morning and happened to glance at the mirror, a scream tore from my throat before I could stop it. Because on the face I had always taken such pride in, there was now a jagged, horrifying scar. As terror gripped me, a cool, detached female voice cut through the air beside me. "What are you shrieking about so early in the morning? Scared by your own ugly face?" I looked up in shock and realized the voice belonged to my girlfriend, Alicia. Only—she wasn't the same girl from yesterday. Gone was the youthful innocence I remembered. In its place, every movement, every glance radiated the allure of a mature woman. The words slipped out before I could hold them back. "Babe… you're gorgeous…" But Alicia's brows knit together, her gaze colder than ice. "Kurt, drop the act!" Act? I was at a loss. Why would she accuse me of pretending? "Don't call me the way you used to five years ago. It's disgusting." Five years ago? But… I'm still twenty-three… am I not?