He Smiles When He Sees Me

Chief Secretary na maaasahan lagi sa umaga, at isang nakakaakit na kasalo sa kama tuwing gabi—iyan ang buhay ni Bona Sobrevega sa mga bisig ni Sean Fernandez. Matapos ang tatlong taon na pagsasama at pag-aalaga sa isa’t isa, inakala ni Bona na pantay ang nararamdaman nila. Kung kaya’t nang alukin niya ang lalaki ng kasal, hindi niya inaasahang guguho ang mundo niya nang sabihin nitong walang halong pagmamahalan ang samahan nilang dalawa maliban sa kanilang mga katawan. Mula noon, umiwas na siya’t tinalikuran ang buhay kasama ang lalaki. Umangat ang kanyang karera at naging isang tanyag na abogada na walang tumangkang kumalaban sa kanya sa komunidad. Dumami ang mga manliligaw at dito’y nagkukumahog na gumapang pabalik sa kanya, puno ng pagsisisi, ang lalaking minsan na niyang minahal ilang taon na ang nakalilipas. Ngunit sa mga pagkakataong ito—wala na siyang nararamdaman para dito.

She will never be enough for them. Sa tanang buhay ni Shane Umbrielle Reñeses ay palagi lamang siyang nasa likod ng kanyang nakatatandang kapatid na si Jane. Laging siya ang magaling, matalino, maganda at pinaka ipinagmamalaki ng pamilya, samantalang siya ay lagi lamang itinatago sa likod ng kapatid at itinuturing na pangalawa sa lahat ng bagay. She likes nothing but to please her parents kaya nang umalis at tumakas si Jane ay pumayag din siya na pumalit sa pwesto nito na pakasalan at maging asawa ng lalaking kinamumuhian siya at hindi siya gustong makasama, ang lalaking nagngangalang Matthew Elior Beischel.

For the past years in Arra's life she only wished for her family to have good health and be safe. She's been a servant of god all her life kaya hindi siya nagkakasala intentionally pero dadating sa puntong susubukin ng diyos ang pananampalataya ng isang tao at yun ang nangyari kay Arra nung makilala niya si Prince isang criminology student mula sa universidad ng san juliano. Si Prince ay kagaya din ni Arra na isang servant ng panginoon at masunuring anak pero ang tahimik sanang buhay ng dalawa ay magugulo dahil sa pagtatagpo ng kanilang mga landas at ang sinless nilang pamumuhay ay mababahiran ng makamundong kasalanan na labis nilang pag-sisisihan pero huli na dahil parehas na silang nasaktan. Sa pag-alis ni Arra sa lugar kung saan niya naranasan ang unang sakit ng pag-ibig ay mahanap niya kaya ang kaligayahang matagal niyang ninais? Ano ang mangyayari kung sa pag-alis niya ay makilala niya si Marco isang mayaman at ubod ng bait na lalaking magmamahal sa kanya ng buo. Pero sadyang mapaglaro ang tadhana dahil muling magbabalik ang kanyang nakaraan para gulugin ang kanyang tahimik na kasalukuyan.      

“Just...I have one question before this,” I pretend to not see his hurtful look, keeping my eyes on his chest, “...Please.” Would it change anything if I’m pregnant? I want to ask, I don’t know how. Taking a deep breath, I look up, just to catch him rolling his eyes with a sigh: “I don’t have time for your games, Scar.” Home? I laugh bitterly. We don’t have a home anymore, Sebastian. I built one for us, and you broke it.

On the day my mate's dying first love went into labor, his parents posted ten warriors at my door. They did it only to stop me from storming the delivery room and ruining the birth of Alpha Kaelen's heir. However, I never showed up, not even after the cries of a newborn filled the air. His mother, the former Luna, held the other she-wolf's hand with a sigh of relief. "Liana, with us here, that barren Elara will never harm you or the pup!" Kaelen dabbed the sweat from Liana's brow, his eyes filled with adoration. "Don't worry, my father has men guarding the pack borders. If Elara dares to cause trouble, we will exile her forever!" He finally relaxed when he was sure I wasn't coming. He couldn't understand. All he wanted was to give his dying first love a child, a legacy. Why couldn't I be more understanding? Looking at the sleeping pup, a satisfied smile crossed his face. He thought that if I would just show up and apologize to Liana, he would forgive all our previous fights. He'd even be willing to comfort me after the birth, maybe even let me be the pup's mother in name, so I could keep my title as Luna. But he didn't know. I had just submitted my application to the High Council. In one week, I would relinquish my pack status, leave with the babies in my belly, and never see him again.

I'm seven months along with my second pregnancy when a truck almost hits me. My husband threatens the doctor like a maniac. "I'll make all of you retire prematurely if anything goes wrong with my wife!" Before I enter the operating theater, I can't help thinking he's being too anxious. The truck merely brushed past me and made me fall. He doesn't need to be so panicked. However, when I open my eyes again, I find that my belly is flat. I crawl out of bed in a panic and head to the door, where I overhear Lucian Jacobe talking to the doctor. "Mrs. Jacobe wasn't in a major accident, sir. The child could've been saved. Why did you insist on aborting it? It was a baby boy, too." "Jenny will cry if she finds out about me having children with another woman. How can I bear to see her upset? It's not my first time doing something like this, anyway."

After my rebirth, I no longer stop my husband, Don Dante Moretti, from taking care of his dead older brother's widow and daughter, Sofia Bianchi and Lucia Moretti. I spent my entire life hoping that he would spare me a glance, after all. Only when I was hugging my son, Leone Moretti's icy corpse while dying in the snow, did I realize just how wrong I'd been. Once I'm reborn, I visit the law firm decisively and turn in my appeal for divorce. "I request to file a divorce with Dante Moretti. I'd like to terminate Leone's and my original identities." A few days later, Leone and I will disappear from Dante's life. Since he wants to stay with Sofia and Lucia, I'll grant his wish.

Before Christmas Eve, all of Nowevik was betting. Not on money. On me. Would I finally pull the winning lot? Would Leon Fabian finally take me to his family estate for Christmas? The Fabians had a rule. A new bride had to attend the Christmas Eve dinner with the whole family before she counted as one of them. I'd been married five years. Five years. The lot never landed on me. I'd become Nowevik's favorite joke. This year, the winning ticket went to a nightclub hostess. She lounged on Leon's lap and flicked it onto the table in front of me, smiling like she'd already won. The room went silent. Everyone waited— for me to lunge at her like I had the last four years. Claws out. A scene. But I didn't move. "Congratulations." Leon leaned in, breath warm at my ear, smiling like he'd just proved something. "Wynne, you're finally learning how to behave. Keep this up and you might actually become a proper lady of my house." I lowered my eyes and tore the ticket in half. My face stayed blank. Leon had no idea the five-year deal between my brother and me was already over. Soon, he'd come take me home.

I loved Jason Lacroix for six years, but I never told him. I was his adopted sister. We weren’t related. I was also his assistant, responsible for everything in his life. I did not know who exposed my feelings toward him in public. I could never forget the icy glares in his eyes. “Madeline, you should know your place.” He thought I was mentally unstable. He listened to Camila Fisher, his first love, and sent me to a mental asylum. After I was discharged, he regretted his decision.

Tess let a stranger claim her. He touched her like she was worth everything, then walked away when he learned something about her he swore never to get involved with. Now he's her boss, and he pretends she doesn't exist. Donovan has rules. But Tess almost made him break them. He touched her, almost claimed her, but had to force himself to stop. Now she sits outside his office every day, and he's haunted. He avoids her like a disease, becomes crueller than ever to suppress his own desires. Because if he lets himself feel anything, he won't ever be able to stop. His addiction had a face now, and she's destroying every defense he's built.