Keep Your Heads Up

Ever since my CEO husband returned from his business trip, he's been acting strange. His hugs are stiff, and his kisses are empty. Even when we're intimate, something just feels off. When I ask him why, he just smiles and says he's tired from work. But everything falls into place the moment I see his first love stepping out of his Maybach, her body covered in hickeys. That's when I finally give up. I don't argue or cry. I just smile… and tear up the 99th love coupon. Once, he wrote me a hundred love letters. On our wedding day, we made a promise—those letters would become 100 love coupons. As long as there were coupons left, I'd grant him anything he asked. Over the four years of our marriage, every time he left me for his first love, he'd cash in one. But what he doesn't know is that there are only two left.

On the day I won the national esports championship, my girlfriend of eight years told me she wanted to go on stage and personally present me with flowers. Standing on the podium, my heart was racing. I reached into my pocket to pull out the ring I'd hidden there, ready to propose to her in front of the entire nation. But what happened next shocked me. She giggled and, instead of handing me the bouquet, she gave it to her male best friend. Under the bright lights, they became the center of attention. The crowd cheered, and their congratulatory messages flooded the trending topics. Even his fans tagged me in posts, mocking, [I told you not to get in the way of our couple, now look at you.] I simply posted on Twitter, [Respect and blessings. Please be locked together forever.]

They say dreams are the most wonderful escape from reality. That it only gives peace and gaiety. A place where you can be yourself and do whatever you want. But, what if the dream, which is supposed to hide you away from misery, becomes a nightmare that will haunt you in reality?

Nina Hayes's life turned upside down when she's involved in a scandal she has no memory of doing. One moment, she's got a life anyone would be jealous of, and the next thing she knows, her parents are disowning her. Vernon Delaney has it all. Looks, money, power, but he lacks what everyone around him has—love. When he nearly hit a troubled woman on his way home and see the beauty he's never seen before, Vernon did not waste anytime and claimed her as his. A story of a woman who lost everything and a man who has everything but no one by his side. When Fate Messed Up will show you the reality and love between two people who went through so much, and found solace in each other.

Three months before my wedding, my fiancé, Henry Siebert, decided it was the perfect time to drop a maternity photo shoot on social media—with my foster sister, Betty Foster. The caption? Oh, just this gem: [Legally welcoming our little one into the world.] Betty added a shy emoji. And my mom? She liked the post and wrote: [Once the baby is born, I'll help take care of it so you two can enjoy your time together as a couple.] I couldn't help myself. I replied with a single question mark. And then Henry's DMs came in hot: [She's just borrowing me for a year to get married. Once the baby's born, I'll come back to you.]

Saziana Libera is the only daughter of her multi-millionaire parents. Spoiled brat at playgirl. Hindi lang sa mga mamahaling materyal na bagay hayok si Saziana, pati sa mga lalaki. Ngunit ang ugali niyang ito ang magnanakaw ng kaniyang kalayaan. Ipapakasal siya ng kaniyang ama sa isang bilyonaryo na si Amancio Dellano bilang kaniyang parusa. Hindi nakawala si Saziana sa pagbabago ng kaniyang buhay. Halos isa siyang preso sa loob ng mansion ni Amancio. Dahil labag sa kaniya na ikasal sa lalaking bilyonaryo, magagawa kaya niyang tumakas para maging malaya? O hahayaan niya na lang na makulong doon sa mansion na sa una ay tinuring niyang impyerno ngunit naging langit kalunan?

A COLLECTION OF SHORT LOVE STORIES. 1. FATED TO LOVE YOU She wasn't looking for love; yet, found it in the least expected person. When Dr. Mahnoor first laid eyes on Captain. Dr. Haider, she couldn't fathom even in her wildest dreams the mess she was about to get herself into. Haider, who was a , quirky and charming neurosurgeon, could hardly be described as anything except trouble personified. The kind of man, whom she never thought she could give a second thought about, least of all get involved with.Yet, little did she know that all her prayers had led her to someone, who was going to challenge everything she had ever believed in and break down the barriers she had spent a lifetime building. Fate brought them together but love tore them apart. 2. A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE Hoorain is done with her studies and ready to be thrown into all this marriage business. But what she isn't prepared for, is meeting the dashing and arrogant Hadeed who is not only far from her ideal type but a cold jerk whom she wishes to have nothing to do with. Hadeed is coldhearted and ruthless to anyone who messes with him. His past still haunts him and he measures a person's worth on that scale. Yet, he finds it hard to ignore the girl who dares challenge him at every step. Despite their mutual hatred, the two get thrown into a marriage pact. What do you do when you realise that the world is not all that it seems and you have battles to fight that you didn't sign up for? Can the two overcome their hatred and heal each other, mending the broken pieces of their souls? Or will the reality of their world tear them down even more?

At the dinner table, my wife's best friend suddenly speaks to her in Lytian. "Three years ago, you married Julian in a grand wedding just to help Jace get Julian's letter of forgiveness. Over the years, I've seen Julian fall more and more deeply in love with you. Yet, you're still lying to him. "You gave him sterilization pills but passed them off as his depression medication. Aren't you afraid that he'll fall apart if he finds out the truth?" My wife, Erica Inman, briefly shows a conflicted expression on her face. She then gives a bitter smile and says, "A child unwanted by their mother has no reason to be born. As long as Julian doesn't stand in the way of Jace's happiness, I will keep my promise and stay by his side for the rest of his life." No one knows that I've learned Lytian to keep up with Erica. I stand in the living room and look at the fresh kiss mark on my neck. As I glance at the medication I take regularly for my depression, my whole body turns cold. It turns out that all of Erica's affection toward me was fake. What I thought was my salvation turns out to be nothing but a carefully planned deception. Since that's the case, I'll do my part to make sure they all get what they want.

My boyfriend, Christopher Linden, was short of 20 thousand dollars for his medical treatment. To get the money as soon as possible, I participated in a rich man's game onboard a lavish cruise. I didn't bat an eye as I jumped into the ocean to search for a bracelet one of their female companions had dropped in the water. As I choked on the ocean water, I heard the man in the lead mock me, saying, "I've seen plenty of the dirty things people are willing to do for money, but you take the cake. You're even willing to give up your life for it." Someone teased, "Your girlfriend doesn't like money and is willing to forgo everything to care for you. Do you love her?" He snorted. "She's just a peasant from the countryside; I'm only fooling around with her. You have no idea how coarse her hands are—they disgust me whenever she touches me. How could I possibly fall for her?" I turned ashen at his words. He was Christopher, who was supposed to be wheelchair-bound. He was also supposed to be too broke for surgery. The peasant from the countryside he was talking about was me.

Isn't it amazing for you and your childhood best friend to attend college together? That's what Emma and Mila thought, not knowing that college days held a lot for them. What they had in mind was nothing like what they faced in reality. Mila has always been the extrovert, wise and reliable one while Emma was the introvert and naïve one. Despite their differences, the two girls had a strong friendship and an amazing bond that many people wished for. When Emma starts hanging out with her new group of friends at college, her friendship with Mila will go downhill and no matter what Mila does, Emma won't listen to her best friend. Things will get worse between the two girls and their friendship will get tested in many ways. Will their friendship be strong enough after all the things they will go through to make them hold onto each other?