Kratos Smiles Novels & Stories

My boy friend Caleb Ford's childhood sweetheart, Julia Leclair, is losing her hair from chemotherapy. So, he orders me to cut mine off and make her a wig. "Julia's allergic to synthetic wigs. You've been growing your hair for ten years—it's perfect." I refuse, but his friends tie me down. Someone shaves my head to the scalp, buzzing through my thick, glossy hair until nothing's left but a butchered mess. Julia sits in her wheelchair and laughs, saying I look like a toad. Caleb smiles and nods in agreement. He adds with a chuckle, "It's just some hair. Was that really necessary?" But back when I was bullied for having uneven, choppy short hair for six straight years, it was he who stood in front of me. He had his arms spread wide as he shielded me from harm. Now he's the one wielding the blade. One by one, their little circle chimes in. They tell me not to hold a grudge against someone who's sick. Caleb snaps impatiently, "Stop trying to talk sense into her. She can get lost! Did you see that fit she threw over a few strands of hair? It's not like they won't grow back." I turn around and walk away. I never look back. Later, I hear that Caleb begs for my forgiveness by kneeling his way up 9000 steps until his knees are ruined.

After my girlfriend returns from a month-long business trip with her first love, she notices that I've changed. She sides with him to take over my project, but I don't quit in anger. Instead, I throw myself into helping him, even drafting proposals for him. She destroys the design I worked so hard on to help him snag the year-end bonus, yet I don't try to defend myself. I take all the blame and let her punish me however she likes. Even when she goes as far as to promote him to general manager against the rules, I don't get upset. I hand over all my shares, letting her distribute them as she wishes. My girlfriend wonders why I've suddenly become so submissive, while her first love just grins smugly. "See? I told you—giving him the cold shoulder works. Once he's afraid of losing you, he'll fall in line," he says. It clicks for my girlfriend. She smiles, tells me I've been good, and offers me a promotion. Then, she unexpectedly asks me to propose. But she doesn't seem to realize that while we weren't speaking, she has already signed my resignation papers. And I've already broken up with her. From this moment on, I sever all ties with her, and we no longer have anything to do with each other.

On the day the gauze was removed from my eyes, I joked that I was blind. "Don't be afraid if you can't see. I'll take care of you my entire life." My husband and best friend took care of me while I was in the hospital. They sincerely made that promise to me. However, when we got home, all three of us were on the same bed. My best friend rode on top of my husband breathlessly. They were caught up in their intimacy as they thought I could not see. My best friend was worried I would suspect something and spoke up to eliminate any suspicion. "Uhh… Summer, I'm just giving your husband a massage." I was so disgusted that I wanted to throw up, but I held myself back. Once they were done, I was about to find an excuse to leave the room when my five-year-old suddenly ran in. "I miss you so much, Mom!" Hearing that warmed my heart, and I opened my arms to hug him, but he ran past me and lay down next to my best friend instead. The 'happy family of three' were all smiles and threw me looks of disgust. I could no longer tolerate this. When I called my lawyer, I told him to bring me the divorce papers. If they wanted to become a family so badly, I would make their wish come true. I just did not know if my best friend could afford to earn a decent enough income to take care of my useless husband and son.

I’m caring for the man my brother paralyzed. Kai Petrova doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know my real last name. Doesn’t know I walked into his mansion with a lie on my lips. Doesn’t know that five years ago, my brother drove drunk and killed his fourteen-year-old sister. He just knows I’m the only caregiver who didn’t quit. I needed the money. My mother is dying, and this job pays $135,000 for six months of work. I told myself I could do it. All I had to do was keep my head down, stay professional, get the money and get out. But then he started to trust me, he started to look at me. And I made the worst mistake of my life: I fell in love with him. Now I’m trapped. Because every time he touches me, I think about the reason he’s on a wheelchair. Every time he smiles, I see his dead sister’s face on the walls of his studio. When the truth comes out—and it will—he’s going to hate me. But the worst part? The accident that destroyed both our families wasn’t an accident at all. Someone wanted Kai dead. Someone made sure my brother took the fall. And someone is still out there, watching us get closer, waiting for the perfect moment to destroy us both. I thought the secret I was keeping would kill me. I was wrong. It’s going to kill him.

Once I begged for your love while our son drew his last breath. Now watch me take back everything you hold dear. The first time, I died on a rain-slicked road with my four-year-old's name on my lips and my husband's rejection still burning in my chest. Silas Vance took three years from me. Three years of existing like furniture in his mansion while he draped Clara over his arm at every gala, every interview, every moment that mattered. When our son needed him, really needed him he let my calls go to voicemail. Thirteen times. I counted. Our son didn't make it through the night. Neither did I. Then I opened my eyes. Two years earlier. Divorce papers on the nightstand. My son's laugh echoing from down the hall. This time, I won't beg. Won't wait. Won't shrink myself small enough to fit in the shadows he assigned me. This time, I'll become someone he doesn't recognize. Someone who smiles at his enemies, steals his deals, and dismantles his empire while he's still searching for his meek little wife. When he finally figures it out—when he's pounding on my door, begging for answers, desperate for a second chance? I'll hand him those signed papers and remind him: Some deaths are just the beginning.

For five years, Silver Winters endured everything. The mistresses. The humiliation. The cold indifference of a husband who saw her as nothing more than a convenient trophy. All because she had saved his life and hence requested for a marriage as payment and due to his parents being traditionalists, they accepted the deal. Then came the night of the accident—the night Seris chose to save his best friend, a petite sick patient instead of his wife. Silver died in that icy river. *But she woke up five years earlier, on the morning of her wedding day.* *This time, she's not walking down the aisle.* This time, she's rewriting every rule.She is no longer the dumb princess who thought true love was everything and she was going to live happily ever after with her prince charming. She wasn't going to cling onto someone who never wanted her in the first place. *With the knowledge of five years of betrayal burned into her memory, Silver sets out to reclaim everything she lost: her career, her confidence, and her chance at real love.* *But her cold CEO husband seems... different this time.* *"Why didn't you marry me? This has been your childhood dream" Seris demands, cornering her at a business gala.* Silver smiles, unbothered. "I decided I'm worth more than being someone's doormat." As she builds her empire and attracts the attention of powerful new allies, Seris realizes what he lost. But Silver is already three steps ahead. And this time, she's the one holding all the cards.

Grandpa will be announcing his will at his birthday banquet. Apparently, I only possess the right to inherit the family's assets if I'm in a stable relationship with someone. I beg my girlfriend, Hannah Samson, countless times to have our relationship publicized. But she keeps using her overtime shift as an excuse. Today, she finally yields to me. "Alright. You should attend the family meeting first. I'll be there soon." The moment I step into the manor on my own, I hear my relatives' mocking laughter surrounding me. "You keep claiming that you're busy with your career every day. To think that you can't even bring your own girlfriend to this meeting! You do realize that your inheritance right depends on your partner, right? "Don't tell me you lied to us about having a girlfriend!" I clutch my phone tightly, feeling my palm going clammy with sweat. Time slowly ticks past. Just as Grandpa is about to read his will out loud, someone pushes the front door open abruptly. I turn around in delight, only for my smile to freeze on my face. Isaac Letterman, the fake heir, smiles wanly at everyone, his hand still laced with Hannah's. "Sorry, we're late." As I stare at the duo, I feel my heart plunging into an icy abyss. Then, I turn back to look at the relatives, who were mocking me earlier. "You said you wanted to see my girlfriend, right? That's her right there."

Elena Hart once had everything, money, beauty, and a kind heart that trusted too easily. But her perfect marriage to the charming Liam Blackwood ended in betrayal and even murder, planned by him and her best friend, Serena Cole. Her whole world fell apart. Yet death wasn't the end for her. One day, Elena woke up in her 22 year old body, seven years before the day she was meant to die. Her memories were broken, but she was filled with a strong will: this time, she would write her own ending. Reborn, Elena was no helpless princess. With the knowledge of what was to come and a clever, quick mind, she stepped into a world of secret business deals, hidden family stories, and a love triangle that made her quest for revenge even more complicated. There was Adrian Voss, the mysterious rival CEO whose cold look hid a past linked to hers, and Noah Grant, her childhood friend whose quiet loyalty showed deep, unspoken love. As Elena fought against Liam and Serena's evil plans, she uncovered even darker secrets, Hart Industries was really a front for a criminal empire, her mother's death was no accident, and maybe her second chance at life was part of a strange, bigger bargain. With every twist and turn, Elena had to choose between seeking revenge or forgiving, between following love or standing on her own. But in a game where enemies wear smiles and allies hide daggers, trust could be her downfall... or her redemption.

Thanks to Sofia Columbo, Luca Vitale and I keep breaking up and getting back together for three years. Exhausted and desperate to get out of this situation, I end up choosing to be with Don Marco Rossi, who has been pursuing me for many years. Since then, we've been together for five years. His love for me never wavers, and I truly believe that I've chosen the right man to be with. But at the bachelor's party that takes place one week before the wedding, Marco's Underboss, Enzo Ferrari, begins running his mouth without any filter whatsoever after he gets completely wasted. "Don Rossi, Anna actually fell in love with you for real! Does she even know that you're only marrying her just so Sofia can be with Luca?" Marco just smiles without denying the allegations. He merely says, "As long as Sofia can be with Luca, I'm fine with marrying whoever. Honestly speaking, I did get close to Anna with ulterior motives at first, but I still ended up falling in love with her for real. "By the way, do not let Anna find out about this, no matter what. You know how much she hates it when people lie to her. If she ever finds out, she'll leave me just like how she left Luca. That mustn't happen at all." After wiping my tears, I tell my father that I wish to marry the man he has picked out for me.

He was the embodiment of her desires, a dream man who had captured her heart at first glance. From the moment Trevor entered her life, Emma knew he was the one for her. For five years, she had been exclusively committed to him, never once questioning his love until her entire world came crumbling before her eyes. Emma realized that his love for her had all been an elaborate deception. His words, his actions, his smiles, his compliments, they were all carefully constructed web of lies. "I can't continue like this," Trevor's words resounded in the room, causing Emma's stomach to twist in knots of tension. Fear gripped her heart, crawling up her throat and threatening to escape in a scream of despair. "I never loved you." With one sentence, Trevor shattered Emma's heart into a million pieces without remorse. Her cries and pleas for a chance for them to salvage their five-year relationship and fairy tale ending fell upon deaf ears. As she realized she had been cheated on for five years, Emma became the outcast in her own story. Determined to make Trevor pay for his betrayal and beg for her mercy, Emma went after the most important person in Trevor's life. The moment her eyes locked with Mr. Ethan Maddox, Trevor's billionaire father, at a get-together party, Emma knew her revenge would be both delicious and swift. Not only would she bring down Trevor, but she would also topple his powerful father from his pedestal.