Fifth Republic

The fifth year of my marriage to Silas marked a turning point I would never forget. Our son, Yael, was kidnapped. The ransom was set at ten million dollars, an insignificant amount for Silas, yet his response chilled me to the core. “No rush. A Gardner needs to experience some hardships to grow.” Ten million meant nothing to him, but Yael’s life meant everything to me. I dropped to my knees, tears streaming down my face, and begged him relentlessly, pleading for Yael to be brought home as soon as possible. Silas, however, remained unmoved. Three days later, Yael was returned to us, but the cheerful boy I knew was gone. He had been so traumatized that he could not speak. Far from showing concern, Silas coldly remarked, “Yuna said Yael keeps telling everyone at school she’s a fatherless child. Let’s see how he spreads lies now.” His words cut through me like a knife. I picked Yael up in my arms and whispered softly in his ear, “Don’t be afraid, Yael. Mommy will take you away from here.”

In the fifth year of our bland marriage, I receive a message that my husband has booked a hotel room with a woman. Within the next second, seductive pictures of me show up in the work group chat. In the pictures, I seduced my husband but failed. My colleagues in the group chat mock me by saying, "She gave Mr. Reed an ultimatum and forced him to marry her. He was forced to break up with the woman he loves." "Mr. Reed put up with her for five years. It only makes sense that he could no longer resist and decide to reunite with his lover." My sick father dies out of shock, yet my husband does not show up to his funeral. That night, I inform Belinda that I wish to divorce her son. "Back then, you told me that I'm Caleb's blessing in life. You said that he'd have endless success if we were to marry. "As long as I married Caleb for five years, you promised to pay for my father's medical fees. Now that the time is up, you should let me go too."

When I died with a smile on my face, right before my brother's eyes, he looked as if the anguish might tear him apart. Yet, for twenty-one years, he hadn't stopped wishing I would meet this exact end. It all traced back to my fifth birthday—the day I had innocently hoped our parents would come home from their business trip to celebrate with me. They rushed back that night but never made it. A car accident took both their lives. From that moment on, my brother resented me, despised me. He didn't just stand idly by as our cousin snatched up my work as her own; he encouraged it. And when my landlord threw me out, it wasn't a random cruelty—it was my brother pulling the strings. All he had ever wanted, from the very beginning, was to see me die a miserable death. But when he finally got his wish… why did he cry, pleading for me to come back, begging me to call him 'brother' one last time?

In the fifth month of my pregnancy, my husband brought back his first love, who was eight months pregnant and causing a stir about getting a divorce. I politely told him that pregnant women would influence each other, which wasn’t good for the child. Alex, however, smashed a water glass and said in disgust, "Sarah is depressed because of the divorce, and the only one she can rely on is me! Do you want her to die?" I felt nauseous and vomited, unable to sleep through the night, and my health worsened with each passing day. To make her happy, he filled the house with lilies. But he had forgotten that I was allergic to lilies and locked me in the room, saying, "Let’s see if you can get an allergic reaction if you can’t smell the lilies." I bled continuously, desperately calling him for help for both myself and the child, but he simply said that I was still early in the pregnancy and there wouldn’t be any problems. When the fetal movements stopped, I had completely given up. It was at that moment that he frantically pushed open the door.

In her past life, Lindsay and the adopted daughter of the Harper family were kidnapped together. Tragically, her biological parents, five older brothers, and childhood sweetheart all chose to save the adopted daughter first, resulting in Lindsay's death. Reborn, Lindsay decided to sever ties with her family and break up with her childhood sweetheart. Determined to survive, she set out to conquer the entertainment industry. Her eldest brother, a powerful CEO in the entertainment world, soon witnessed her star studio rise to the top of the industry. Her second brother, a top agent, saw her become the ace agent in the circle. Her third brother, a popular and talented singer, watched as one of her songs quickly topped the charts. Her fourth brother, a genius new director, found himself envious of her film’s box office success. Her fifth brother, a top young idol, saw her win numerous awards and become a top actress. Eventually, her biological parents and five brothers begged for forgiveness, filled with regret. Even her ex-boyfriend, now a renowned actor, begged for reconciliation. Lindsay, however, refused to forgive them.

Annabel Rivers is known as the ugly fat girl in her school and happens to be the easy prey for bullies. She secretly falls in love with Frank Kingston who happen to be the popular kid from the richest family in Avalon. She stays away from him because he had bullied her when they were in the fifth grade, but in as much as she hates him for that, she still finds herself daydreaming about him. Frank happens to have a bet with his friends that he could sleep with her before prom and everything seems to work out smoothly as they were paired up to be partners for a practical in school. Now Frank gets close with Annabel and sees that she doesn't deserve what he was planning to do to her and that she had a beautiful soul which made him feel very free around her and tell her how much he hated his father for making him feel unwanted, little did he know that he was already in love with her, little did she know that everything started out as a bet. What will she do when she finds out?

On the fifth year of their marriage, finding the vitamin C her husband bought tasted too bitter, Jeanne Dotson went to the hospital with the bottle. The doctor took one look and frowned. "This isn't vitamin C." "I-I'm sorry, Doctor?" "I could say it a dozen times and it'd still be the same," the doctor replied, pointing at the bottle. "This is Mifepristone. Taking too much of it doesn't just cause infertility—it can do serious harm to your body." Jeanne felt a lump stuck in her throat, and her fingers turned pale from clenching the bottle. "That's impossible. My husband got this for me. His name is Darren Walsh—he's a doctor here too." The doctor looked up at her, his expression turning strange, tinged with something she couldn't quite read. After a pause, he gave a small smile. "Miss, you might want to visit the psych ward instead. We all know Dr. Walsh's wife—she gave birth just two months ago. Don't let your imagination run wild, all right? There's no point."

"Are you afraid?" He said as he walk towards me. I could feel the tension, nervousness and the trembling all through out my body. My hands are literally shaking and my heartbeats is all I could hear. I flinch when he suddenly put his hand against my cheeks. He's warm. The feeling that I have never felt before. I look at his beautiful gray eyes that is intensely looking at me as if piercing my very soul, "Why would I?" I said and clasp my arms around him. I felt his arms closing the thin gap between us, a smile sneaked into my mouth as I close my eyes, "I would never be afraid of you. I will never leave your side, I promise" I said. Austin is a runaway. Living alone all by herself gave her an ultimate obssession; mythological beings. Never did she imagine that on the fifth year of being by herself, something out of this world would welcome her on her 20th birthday; a history professor with thousands of secrets that are yet to be discover.

Richard Lorde’s childhood friend had just become a widow. On our fifth wedding anniversary, he brought his childhood friend and her daughter into a karaoke box and removed my ring right before everyone. “Lily needs a proper status right now. It’s no longer right for you to wear that ring. “Resign from your job tomorrow and take care of Lily and her daughter.” Everyone in the room fell silent as they waited for me to blow my top off. But I said nothing. I calmly brought out the divorce agreement I had already signed, put it on the table, and left. My best friend stood up to advise me against it, but Richard just swung the wine glass and snorted. “Let her. She’ll come begging for my forgiveness before tomorrow.” When I slammed the door shut, I heard laughter from the room. What they did not know was that half an hour ago, I had received a message telling me that my visa application had been approved. The person in charge of picking me up had been waiting at my house ten minutes ago. This time, I was not turning back.

You can call her Cindy or Elle, well her name depends on the town she's living in. Her real name's Leira Mint Salcedo, the girl who wants to die. Or at least that's what she always says and thinks about. Until at her fourth suicide attempt, an intruder named Chris suddenly came to her, asking for help. Soon as she opened her glass door, it felt like she welcomed him in her life. Crisostomo "Chris" Ychavez, a self-proclaimed man of his words who intervenes with Leira's fourth suicide attempt. He is kind, thoughtful, and a very understanding man who would want to help Leira to appreciate the beauty of life and making things right. Chris and Leira's uncanny encounters continued. They always meet accidentally. When she needs help, when she's afraid, when she's alone, even if she doesn't want Chris' presence, he is mysteriously, always there. After Leira runs away from her best friend, she is now jobless and renting at Lumiere Town. Without a job, she's on the verge of becoming homeless until Chris proposes something to her. Chris wants to travel to the Disney Republic and so she proposed to Leira to travel together. All expenses are shouldered by Chris, all he is asking is for Leira to come and join him. Left without a choice, she agreed. And so, they traveled the country together, met a lot of people, discovered some truths and lies, and the reason behind Chris' kindness towards Leira. Time is ticking for Chris and Leira is still thinking about her own death. Will Chris be able to save her after she finds out who he really is in her life, or it will gonna be a reason for her to continue her final suicide plan?