I Regret Letting Her Go

What do you do when you're so utterly and brutally betrayed by the two people you love most in life? Life hasn't been kind to Lucy, right from a few minutes after she was born until now that she's a happily married adult. In the blink of an eye, everything she knows is proven to be a lie, and she is thrown into despair. In a surprising twist of fate, though, right at this trying time, luck finally decides to shine on her in a really big way. Her greatest heart's desire is suddenly granted, along with unimaginable success. Now, it's time for revenge ... time to show those who looked down on her and betrayed her that she's a force to be reckoned with. However, it seems that the universe isn't done dealing her a bad hand, because terrible secrets from the far, dark past suddenly begin to rear up their ugly heads, and seemingly unknown enemies begin to spring up out of nowhere to cause her problems. Will Lucy be able to conquer these problems? Will her new-found love with Nathan survive these sudden twists in their formerly perfect life?

Ava: May ginawa akong masama noong nakaraang siyam na taon. Hindi ito maganda, pero nakita at kinuha ko ang pagkakataon na makuha ang lalaking mahal ko simula pa nong bata ako. Fast forward ng maraming taon at pagod na ako sa isang kasal na walang pagmamahal. Gusto kong makalaya kami pareho sa kasal na hindi dapat nangyari. May kasabihan na kapag mahal mo ang isang bagay… palayain mo ito. Alam ko na hindi niya ako mamahalin at na hindi ako ang magiging choice niya. Ang puso niya ay laging nasa babaeng yun at kahit na may mga pagkakasala ako, nararapat akong mahalin. Rowan: Noong nakaraang siyam na taon, sa sobrang in love ko ay hindi ako makakita ng tama. Sinira ko ito noong ginawa ko ang pinakamalaking pagkakamali sa buhay ko at sa proseso nito ay nawala sa akin ang mahal ko. Alam ko na kailangan kong managot, kaya ginawa ko ito, kasama ang isang asawa na hindi ko gusto. Sa maling babae. Ngayon ay binaliktad niya ulit ang buhay ko sa pag divorce niya sa akin. Ang mas naging komplikado pa dito, ang taong minamahal ko ay bumalik na sa bayan. Ngayon ang tanging katanungan, sino ang tamang babae? Ito ba ang babae na minahal ko noong mga nakaraang taon na? O ito ba ang ex-wife ko, ang babae na hindi ko gusto pero kailangan kong pakasalan?

I was the stand-in who looked most like my husband's first love. He put me through countless plastic surgeries, both major and minor ones, until I became her exact likeness. But then, she came back from the dead. All it took was her saying, "I don't like anyone looking like me," and he sent me right back to the operating table once more. I begged him, telling him that my body couldn't handle it anymore. Alas, he only looked at me with irritation. "Seeing that cheap imitation of her face just disgusts me," he sneered. "No matter how close you come, you'll never be her." In the end, I died on that operating table. Yet, he went mad, trying desperately to recall what I once looked like.

Coleen Maine hated Hayden Michaels with her entire heart. After high school graduation, she thought she had escaped the hell that being a classmate to Hayden was. Being his academic rival was enough to put her, Coleen, at the top of his shit list. To make matters worse, he’s the hot, popular jock with a full-ride scholarship he doesn’t need, because he has all the money that she doesn’t. When Coleen finds herself in close contact with Hayden again out of no free will of her own, she expects things to be the same. But somehow, somewhere between summer and starting their first year at college, something changed. Now, Coleen isn’t sure Hayden hates her anymore. Between her new job, college, and her friendships, she finds herself wondering what lies behind Hayden’s deep gaze towards her.

When Madora comes back after a decade, she doesn't expect to find her old group of friends in such a state. She also doesn't expect the mixed reactions she and her child receive.But she's here now after ten long years and it's finally time to heal. For all of them. It's finally time to let go, even if it means they have to go through hell to get there.Can they?Are they going to build a bridge over ten years of radio silence?Will they re-open the old wounds together in order to help each other heal, rightly this time?Only time can tell.

“Don’t tell me you’re starting to get scared again,” he whispered before returning his lips to my sensitive nipples. His hand slid lower, shifting my panties aside, the fabric brushing against my skin. “Someone might walk in,” I managed to say, though my voice was barely audible. “Forget everyone and focus on us,” he murmured. His fingers began to tease me, running over my clit with a deliberate slowness that made my breath hitch. “I love how you’re always so wet for me,” he said, his tone filled with raw desire. As his pace quickened, his words urged me on. “Don’t hold back your moans. I want to hear all of it.” The knowledge that his office was soundproof was the only reassurance I had, but even then, I couldn’t trust my own voice. My body arched in response as he trailed kisses along my neck, his fingers moving with an intoxicating rhythm. “I love how your body reacts to my touch,” he murmured against my skin. “I could fuck you all day.” “Yes,” I moaned, unable to stop myself. “Yes, what?” he teased, his fingers moving even faster, pushing me closer to the edge. “Don’t stop, Alex,” I gasped. ********************************************************** Six years ago, Alex broke me, leaving me humiliated, pregnant, and abandoned. He chose Camila, his flawless childhood friend, while I was left to pick up the shattered pieces of my life. But I survived, and for my son, I built a life I’m proud of. Now, Alex is after me, but stunned by the woman I’ve become, and the son who bears his resemblance. When he asked about his father, my son’s innocent reply said it all: "Mommy said he's dead." I couldn’t have said it better myself.

A story in which a girl marred by trauma and tragedy learns to live again, finding love in the process.-Alexa Parker is your typical high school golden girl. But when her best friend commits suicide, she loses everything, including herself. Left with nothing but an ominous letter addressed to her, Alexa finds herself spiraling a dark tunnel. One she wouldn't be able to get out of alone.Then there's charming and sweet Blake. He wants to show Alexa how to live again and show her that she's stronger than she thinks. But overcoming her personal demons may prove harder for Alexa than she thought. Can a broken girl put herself together or will she be left in pieces?

Charles Jansen's true love returns to the country in my seventh year with him. The first post on her social media after she lands is an intimate photo of them together. She captions it, "I'm glad we've come full circle." Only then do I find out the ring hidden in the living room isn't for me. Charles' proposal isn't for me, either. Suddenly, I feel exhausted.

"One Decision" follows eighteen -year-old Freya Myers, a brilliant but broken foster teen, as she teeters on the edge of a new beginning-and a hidden nightmare. With a perfect GPA and dreams of opening a bookstore, Freya is determined to escape a system that's failed her. When a wealthy Southern family unexpectedly adopts her and whisks her away to a private estate in Georgia, it feels too good to be true. Because it is. The mansion is beautiful. The people? Picture-perfect. But behind the polished smiles and choreographed greetings lies something Freya can't quite name-yet. Strange rules. Watchful eyes. Whispers behind closed doors. And her new "brothers," who know more about her than they should. As Freya digs deeper into the family's secrets, she's forced to confront her past and a chilling truth: she may not have been saved... she may have been chosen. Dark, gripping, and emotionally raw, One Decision is a psychological coming-of-age thriller that explores what happens when the price of belonging may be your freedom-or your soul.

There are monsters in this world. And they used to be us. Now it's time to euthanize to survive in a hospice where Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. Post-infection Chicago. Christmas. Inside The Hospice, Emily and her fellow nurses do their rounds. Here, men and women live out their final days in comfort, segregated from society, and are then humanely terminated before fate turns them into marrow-craving monsters known as ‘Smilers.’ Outside these imposing walls, rabid protesters swarm with signs, caught up in the heat of their hatred. Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. But in a world where mortality means nothing, where guns are drawn in fear and nobody seems safe anymore – at what cost will this pursuit come? And through it all, the soon to be dead remain silent, ever smiling. Such is their curse. It won't be long before that snow-speckled ground will be salted by blood. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing