Lab Gown

In the split second when the research lab explodes, my boyfriend, Thomas Bastion, dashes to Melody Harper, who is standing furthest from the blast zone. He shields her from the impact with his own body. When the sounds of the explosion stop, the first thing he does is carry Melody to the hospital. I'm lying on the floor. My body is covered in fresh blood, but he doesn't spare a single glance at me. Thomas has taken care of Melody for the past 18 years. His heart is filled with nothing but her. There's no space for anyone else. I only survived because my colleagues rushed me to the hospital. When I am discharged from the ICU, I call my teacher, Louis Carpenter. Both my eyes are swollen from how much I've been crying. "Mr. Carpenter, I've made up my mind. I'm willing to join you for the confidential research. It's fine if we have to leave in one month. I don't care that I'll be unable to contact anyone for the next five years." The wedding ceremony that I have been dreaming of is supposed to take place in a month's time. However, I no longer want to get married.

On their third wedding anniversary, Clark Summer gifted his wife a diamond necklace named "Love Nyla," broadcasting his devotion to the world. But while the public swooned, Nyla sat alone in their empty home, staring at a photo sent by a stranger: her husband’s new secretary, Jordyn, wearing that same necklace, tangled in Clark’s arms. For three years, Nyla had been the perfect, submissive wife. In return, she received betrayal, humiliation from her mother-in-law, and Clark’s sickening justification that his affair was merely a "physical necessity" while he still loved her. He believed Nyla was trapped, tethered to him by her father’s astronomical medical bills. He thought she would swallow the insults and raise his mistress's child. He was wrong. Selling their mansion, gathering evidence, and delivering irrefutable proof of her infidelity… Nera turned and left, donning a white lab coat instead of an apron, transforming overnight into a top-tier pharmaceutical researcher who had astonished the industry. When Clark, with belated repentance and red-eyed pleading for her return, saw his icy ex-wife being gently embraced by his uncle Damon, he saw the aloof man before him. The superior man coldly glanced at his nephew, his voice low and dangerous: "What are you calling 'wife'? Call her 'auntie'."

In her right state of mind, she would never have even been in a strangers car more less kissing him deeply at the backseat, but she wasn't in her right state of mind. Jeff's hand came down her face, to her neck, he held her waist gently and she let out a soft moan. She had nothing on but a silk gown that had thin straps. “Sir, ma'm we're here" Walter said out loud. They hadn't noticed the car had stopped some minutes ago. Emily's cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she quickly sat upright, and picked her purse and heels. …. They had a misunderstanding when they met, an intimate moment the second time they met. All a big misunderstanding and they swore to never cross paths again. Little did Emily know Jeff was her new boss and the first son of Frank Aston, Billionaire and Head of Aston corporations. Third time’s the charm, but not for these two who knew they had fallen for each other but couldn’t be together.

My dormmate invites me to a college mate's engagement party. I choose an expensive tailor-made gown for the occasion. When I arrive at the hotel, I see several of my former classmates are already there. Everyone looks like they're doing well—they're wearing expensive clothing. Someone is even wearing something from a luxury brand. As soon as I enter the private room, a familiar classmate rolls her eyes at me. "Look at who it is—the woman who was once the most outstanding student in our class. You're dressed so plainly for such an important occasion." Everyone is circled around the classmate who's wearing something from a luxury brand. They ignore me. Only our former class monitor clinks glasses with me and consoles me softly. "It's good enough that you're here. You're dressed plainly, but don't give up. You'll succeed one day." I sip my wine and smile. "My outfit may not be too opulent, but it's an expensive, tailor-made piece. It's 100% handcrafted by a master designer."

For stumbling upon a purge, I was taken by the city’s most dangerous don, Lucca of the Rossi family. He said it was the only way I’d survive. So he kept me in his mansion, taught me how to shoot, and drilled me in the rules of the underground world. He would stroke my hair and call me his innocent lily. Everyone knew I was his woman. Until one day, he handed me over to the enemy to secure an alliance with the Balsamo family. That was when I realized I was never his lover, just the sharpest blade in his hand. I buried all my feelings, faked my death, and disappeared. Years later, we met again at a casino. He looked at me in a backless gown, the rose tattoo on my back on full display. “Eliana, I once loved that purity of yours. Look at you now—tempting, yet cheap.” I smiled lightly, brushing his hand away. “Can’t help it, Don Rossi. The owner of this place just likes me this way.”

When my Prince shattered our Eternal Blood Vow for the ninety-ninth time, I dragged my drained, broken body to the Tribunal of Vows. "I am here to request the dissolution of my Eternal Blood Vow with the Prince of the Kindred." Ten minutes later, Damien stormed in with Isabella in tow. The Prince of the Kindred strode toward me, his hand shooting out to clamp around my neck before he slammed me against a cold marble pillar. "You'd go so far as to dissolve our vow just because you're jealous of Isabella's promotion? Has the bloodlust driven you completely insane?" My mother Eleanor's voice echoed icily through our bond. "Forging lab results to play the victim, all for his attention. You've always been so deceitful." Tears of blood welled in Isabella's eyes as she tugged on Damien's arm. "I'm so sorry, Seraphina. I never should have accepted this position. Please, stop putting yourself—and the Prince—through this!" I wiped away the tears of blood seeping from my eyes and faced the tribunal official once more. "I no longer have the protection of a clan. So that I may turn to ash in three days, please help me complete the dissolution ceremony."

Leah is injured in the woods where Zachary’s wolf finds her. Before Leah passes out, she sees the werewolves transform into humans. She is treated by a girl when she wakes up who was sent by Zachary. Leah meets Zachary before she is taken home. Leah is still stunned as she gets home. She hadn’t known that Winstonville would be crawling with such creatures. She recalls what brought her to Winstonville with her mother in the first place, which is the death of her father. Leah arrives for the first day at school and meets Amelia. Amelia helps her adjust. Surprisingly, she sees Zachary in school and promises to approach him. Leah is late for biology class and is surprised to see Zachary who turns out to be her lab partner. She tries to start a conversation with him but he is disinterested. Leah is disappointed. The Elders of the Den are angry that Zachary exposed their secret to a human. Zachary challenges them with mad leaves. He thinks about Leah and how irked at her presence. His wolf feels otherwise. Leah tried to speak to Zachary in school again but he is still disinterested. Leah still doesn’t give up. She notices how Olivia is close to Zachary and feels that they are a thing. In class, she sits with Olivia coincidentally and she explains her relationship with Zachary.

I went abroad for three years to build a lab and save my husband's company from collapse. After endless struggles, I finally cracked the technical problems and developed the core technology. When I returned home with that breakthrough, I saw the airport video board plastered with the same impossible headline—my husband was getting married. I felt a hot, furious ache and took a taxi straight to the venue. … A woman who had cared for our household for years blocked me at the gate and sneered. "Who do you think you are, showing up at the Stone family's wedding? Get out of here, or I'll get security to throw you out." For a moment, I stood rooted, but then the bride appeared, walking out of the villa in a wedding gown. It was the woman Adrian Stone had once told me was dead—his first love, Evelyn Sutton. She wore my wedding ring on her finger and looked at me with pure contempt. "You want to make a scene at my wedding?" she said. "If you do, you're really asking for trouble. My husband, Adrian, won't hesitate to take care of you." I folded my arms and let out a cold laugh. "Adrian's getting married? Funny, I don't recall getting an invitation."

What happens if the person you are chasing is also chasing someone else? Unique Aurella Ravenna Aglauros is a supermodel and a CEO that comes from the wealthiest family of Chicago. Finding true love for someone as busy, as famous, and as rich as Aurella is a very difficult task to accomplish. It might even be too impossible, so when her family arranged her to marry a CEO just like herself, hesitations were nowhere to be found. She agreed, and she eventually learned to be fond of him until she somehow fell in love. But when her long-awaited wedding day finally came, he changed his mind and left her standing at the altar with her expensive white gown stained with shame. Humiliated, she instead focused on becoming the best of her field just to forget that she let herself be fooled. Little did she know, there was someone else secretly yearning for her behind the competition between them in the business world. But how can a love story blossom in a toxic and chaotic environment? And how can he be capable of reaching her when she's chasing someone who's also busy running after someone else? Oh, how unlucky.

"Do you Aria Carter Stephenson take Dave Micheal Mendez to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and cherish in times of good health and bad health, rich and poor till death do you part?" My fingers tightened on my gown as I turned to the side, searching through the crowd. I locked eyes with my brother who had a blank expression. "Aria?" The priest called my attention. Taking a deep breath, I turned back to look at Dave. "No, I don't." Aria Stephenson is a small-town girl who got an opportunity to work as a fashion designer in a big clothing company with the hope of making a name for herself in the fashion industry. Dave Mendez is a who was forced to take over his father's company which happens to be the same company Aria got employed in. Instead of trying to impress his father, Dave got distracted by a certain hazel-eyed girl. They ended up falling in love like every other love story but what happens when a buried secret comes out and breaks them apart? Credits to Katherine, IG- @moonlightwriter100 for the book cover.