Kandungan Stop Cold

Men Of Manhattan #3. Christopher Royce had a hard life since the beginning, which led him to be a withdrawn and serious man. This is further aggravated after an event that marked his life, so Christopher decides to focus only on his work, making him even more lonely if possible. Nowadays, he only trusts a couple of people because it's impossible for him to open up once more. Full of resentment, distrust and tired with the life he's living, he accepts the present his best friend gives him for his birthday: A trip to Hawaii. What Christopher doesn't expect is that this trip will become the best experience of his life when he meets Helena; a happy, outgoing, tenacious woman determined to make the man with serious face and melancholic eyes see that life is too short not to take risks. The problem will come when the trip comes to an end and they have to say goodbye and walk away.

Jason Schwartz had been a close friend of my father's, despite the age gap. The year I met him, I was fearless, the kind of girl who thought nothing could touch her. I bit down hard on the hand he offered me. Jason just laughed. "You're adorable," he said. "Like a little wolf." On my 18th birthday, he shoved me onto the bed, his eyes red, as if he had been holding back for years. "Diana, I've finally waited long enough for you to grow up." He was the one who pulled me into that first flutter of desire, the one who led me across every line I wasn't supposed to cross. I grew into exactly the kind of girl he wanted. The day my father was hacked to death by his enemies, Jason took my hand and stepped into his place without hesitation. When I was pregnant, he brought home a girl covered in blood. "Diana, she's not like you. She's like wild grass, tough and stubborn." He said he admired wild grass. But he forgot something. He was the one who raised me into a rose that only knew the shelter of a greenhouse. Good thing I didn't need him anymore.

As human fertility rates kept falling, the government created a matching system between humans and beasts. That was how I became engaged to the Blackwood brothers—two wolf beasts who never wanted me. For a year, I made coffee for both of them every morning.The older brother, Adrian, kept his distance, but he always took the mug and thanked me quietly. The younger one, Kieran, was all temper and sharp teeth. He snapped at me, broke the mug, and acted like I was a nuisance. I told myself this was fair. If I treated them the same, maybe one day this arranged bond would feel like home. Then my best friend saw it and asked, “Have you ever thought that treating them equally might be unfair to the one who’s actually kind to you?” I thought about that all day. Then one morning, I walked out of the kitchen carrying only one cup.

I was ten when my Omega mother mated the Alpha of the Blackwood Pack. My stepbrother, Draven, never let me forget how I’d diluted their pure blood. With his silent blessing, the entire pack became a weapon to carry out his hate. During a full moon hunt, he gave the nod. That's all it took. His followers "accidentally" pushed me in front of a raging stag. I felt its antlers rip my shoulder open. He looked down at me, his golden eyes dripping with scorn. “Don’t think you’re one of us just because your mother latched onto my father. Weaklings get culled. And I’ll be the one to kick you off my land.” At his command, they'd ruin my offerings to the Moon Goddess. They shredded my coming-of-age gown with silver blades. Through it all, my mother would only look at me with shame. My stepfather, the great Alpha, just saw me as a troublesome brat. I made myself small, desperate for a scrap of kindness. But it only made me the pack outcast. Hated and completely alone. Until Draven’s best friend, Liam—the Alpha heir to the Rage River Pack—showed interest in me at the werewolf academy. For the first time ever, Draven left me alone. I thought Liam was my only light in the darkness. On my birthday, I gave myself to him completely. The next day, I overheard him talking to Draven. Draven’s voice was low, laced with venom. “Did you get the video? Of the half-blood losing control mid-fuck?” Liam chuckled. “Of course. Gotta admit, she feels amazing. So soft… a real temptation. Almost got me hooked. But just in bed. The thought of her dirty blood…If it wasn’t to help you get even, I would’ve never touched a weak-blooded Omega like her.” I clamped a hand over my mouth, tears streaming down my face. My only hope was a lie. But they didn't know. I’d already applied to the Valeriana Werewolf Institute. And I wasn’t coming back.

Nang sandaling malaman ni Hiraya ang pagtataksil at pagsisinungaling ng kan’yang nobyo na si Jack sa kababata nitong si Rosamie, labis na nasaktan si Hiraya ng sobra tila ba nadurog ng pino ang kan’yang puso nang piliin pa ng kasintahan ang kababata nito kaysa sa kan’ya. Dahil sa epekto ng alak ay naglakas-loob siyang puntahan ang kwarto ng kaibigan ng kan’yang nobyo na si Reyko Takahashi, isang sikat at magaling na doktor sa buong Asya. Matapos ang mainit na gabing pagtatalik, alam ni Hiraya na sa mga mata ng lalaki ay isa siyang maruming babae at hitad na kumakapit sa iba’t-ibang lalaki. Pinulot ng lalaki ang mga damit niya at inihagis iyon sa kan’ya. “Umalis ka na sa kwarto ko.” Nagulat si Hiraya ng ihagis nito ang panty niya’t sapol na sapol iyon sa kan’yang mukha. “Naiwan mo. Too cheap, it's not worth it to keep it.” Halata sa boses ng binata ang pagka sarkastiko at panunuya.

Nang umalis si Mirabella sa buhay na dati ay mayroon siya, kasabay na din niyang kinalimutan ang isang salita na kailanman ayaw na niyang hanapin o wala sa plano niyang matagpuan. Para sa kanya, sapat na ang kanyang sarili para maging masaya, sapat na kung ano ang kaya niyang ibigay para sa kanyang sarili upang mamuhay siya ng tahimik. Hindi niya hahayaang may magtangkang pumasok pa sa kanyang buhay, dahil lahat--iniiwan lang siya. lahat ay hinuhusgahan lamang siya at hindi exemption doon si Miguel Mijares- isang mayamang single parent na minsan naging parte siya ng kanyang kabataan, at nagbigay sa kanya noon ng positibong imahinasyon na lahat nagtatapos sa masayang kuwento.

Aso't pusa, ganyan ang relasyon ni Nick at Jessica. Naging temperoray Secretary ni Nick si Jessica dahil kailangang mag leave ng kanyang lalakeng secretary. Allergic si Nick sa mga babaeng secretary at para sa kanya walang matinong  babaeng secretary at lahat sila ay may mga hidden agenda. Kaya never siyang kumuha ng babaeng secretary. He just left with no choice kasi d niya kayang gawin lahat kung walang secretary. At tanging si Jessica lang  ang available at pinagkakatiwalaan ng kanyang bestfriend na si Andrei. Kahit allergic man siya, kailangan niyang magtiis, anyways, tatlong araw lang naman. Pero paano niya Matitiis ito kung wala pang isang araw puros kapalpakan na ang pinapakita nito. Mas lalo lang pinapatunayan nito na hindi tlga mapagkakatiwalaan ang mga babaeng secretarya. At, paano kaya mapapatunayan ni Jessica na isa siyang professional na secretarya at magaling kung wala pa nga siyang ginagawa jinajudge na siya agad ng temporary boss niya na ubod ng sungit at pasan ata ang buong mundo. Hanggang saan kaya aabot ang pagtitimpi nila sa isa't isa. May pag ibig kayang mabubuo kung sa una pa lang pangit na ang tingin nila sa isa't isa.   "

I spent five years chasing Tyler Watson, only to get kidnapped right in front of him. He just stood there and watched. As a result, I suffered. After I escaped, he acted all high and mighty and proposed to make up for his tiny bit of guilt. The second we got our marriage certificate, the Simp System’s voice rang in my head. “Congrats, host! You’ve completed your mission.” Just like that, my sanity finally returned. While Tyler waited in a hotel for me to bring him contraceptives, I went live to expose his cheating. For good measure, I even called the anti-vice office to report my dear husband for soliciting prostitutes.

Every time I miscarry, Adrian Sadler brings home a new woman who eerily resembles his first love. He makes me put the rubber on him, forces me to watch their fevered passion, and then orders me to bring warm water for their intimate cleanup. I do everything I'm told, begging for just one night a month with him. That is, until I accidentally tear his favorite lover Peggy Olson's lingerie. That night, Adrian streams my humiliation for the world to see. He drags me onto the bed, twists my body to expose me fully to the camera, and pins me beneath an avalanche of shame. "Did you think her lingerie was suggestive? What about now? Look at yourself. Do you think you are any better? You love crawling into my bed, don't you? I'll help you get your fill. Maybe one man isn't enough to satisfy you. Why don't I call in ten men tomorrow?" As punishment, Adrian throws me outside, in my birthday suit, in the courtyard. Blood slowly pools beneath me. I experience my tenth miscarriage. I look for Derek Sadler and say, "I promised to help your family to repay your kindness. I tried my best. Ten miscarriages later, whatever blessing I once had is gone. I'll never have children again. Today, I've come to say goodbye."

My younger sister, Mindy Sampson, has a rare blood condition. She needs regular blood transfusions and a bone marrow transplant. My husband, Ian Huffman, and I are matches. My mother says we should draw lots. Whoever draws the short stick will become Mindy's blood donor. In the next five years, I am always the one who draws the short stick. Because of constant blood draws and bone marrow extractions, my body breaks down. Before I die, I stumble upon Ian holding Mindy and saying, "Cindy is so stupid. There are only short sticks in the container. Every time, we let her draw first. How could she ever get a long one? "She is going to die without ever knowing you are not sick at all. Once she dies and we get the insurance money, we can travel the world." When I open my eyes again, I am back in the fifth year after Mindy is diagnosed. I look at the container of sticks on the table and smile. Then, I look at Ian and say, "This time, you draw first."