Laughing Outside Crying Inside

Getting pregnant outside wedlock was never part of the plans for Julie Paxton, but her Not-so-secret affair with arrogant billionaire, Adam Jones, steered a turn in her life. His rejection of her and the pregnancy sends her as far away from him as possible, but six years later, he is back and demanding to be let into her life. Will she let him in?

After I've completed 98 tasks for my fiancee, Cheryl Landeau, she finally agrees to marry me once I've completed the 99th task for her. For that task, I'm required to pick her up outside her company. On the day I stand outside Cheryl's company with a huge flower bouquet in my arms, I don't see her at all despite having waited till late night. Soon after, I get hospitalized due to a high fever. When I tap on my phone, the first thing I see is a photo of the marriage certificate belonging to Cheryl and her assistant, Jason York. Jason even includes a caption with the photo. "My mom is very satisfied with her daughter-in-law. Please take good care of me from now on, my dear wife." The next day, I hang a banner outside the company. "May Ms. Landeau and Mr. York grow old in harmony and be blessed with children." All of my colleagues are stunned, to say the least. At that moment, Cheryl quickly pulls me into her office. She then explains, "Jason's mom is severely ill. Her death wish is watch him get married. What's wrong with me fulfilling her wish? Can't you show more kindness toward Jason? "Now, stop throwing that tantrum of yours and get rid of the banner. Once Jason's mom passes away, I'll file for a divorce from him." I just smile as I set off more fireworks at the doorway. "Oh, you don't have to bother with a divorce. I'm worried that his mom might come back to life soon. Let's just end things here."

A young princess who has lived all her life protected from the outside world is suddenly tossed into a world of vampires and other supernatural creatures.The harsh reality of her life is astonishing and quite unnerving.Deep and hidden truths of her life will be uncovered, a brewing romance between her and her captor.Will she come out unscathed?

After I get abducted to an underground auction house belonging to a mafia family based in Aleroth, I become the most popular commodity ever in the live stream hosted on the dark web. As the live comments flood the screen and the viewers keep tipping the live stream, I feel my legs being forced open inch by inch. The electric chair beneath me keeps pulsing me with jolts of electricity, making me tremble uncontrollably. Men keep rearranging my limbs however they want in various positions. Then, they put me through all sorts of torture, as if I'm not a human being at all. Once everything is over, I can only curl into a small ball in a corner of the iron cage. My clothes are completely disheveled, and my gaze remains hollow and lifeless. That's when I hear someone speaking in Elythran, a language I'm familiar with. "Haha! That chick still thinks she can escape from this place!" "To think that the mafia princess of Elythra ends up getting lured to this place and reduced to a common whore for us to toy with! Those brothers really are ruthless!" "I heard the brothers did this just to appease their adopted younger sister, Emilia Ricci. That's why they ordered us to put up a show. Even the people tipping on the live stream are actors they've hired to make this show perfect." "This idiot is still waiting for her brothers to come rescue her! Last night, she kept crying out to them in her sleep, begging them to save her!" As the henchmen speak, they open the door to my room, only to be stunned by the blood-stained floor. Immediately, they dig out their phones and begin dialing numbers anxiously. The moment I make out one of the numbers, I feel my blood turn into ice. It appears that the so-called abduction is just a show that my brothers have put on just to appease Emilia… I can feel blood rising in my throat. As my vision goes blurry, I think I see another man's gentle expression. That's the memory that I've kept buried deep inside my heart—the memory of my actual older brother, Silvio Gallo.

“I Become A Concubine” follows the story of two sisters, Ramielle and Roxanne, who love to read historical novels. One day, when they finished a particular book about an empress who met an unfortunate fate, they started thinking of the possibilities that could happen if they were inside the book. Suddenly, they heard a voice asking if they wanted to give it a try; to live inside the book. Before they could even answer, Ramielle’s surroundings turned black as she realized that she was falling into the void. Ramielle woke up, confused, in a room strange to her. She then realized that she was actually inside the book. What surprised her more is that she is Shen Sheng Ling, the antagonist of the novel and the favorite woman of the emperor who caused the unfortunate fate of the empress in the story. Meanwhile, her sister, Roxanne, became Baturu Ilha, the confidant of the empress. Now that they are inside the story, they will try everything to change the outcome of the story and save the empress from her unfortunate fate.

Let me introduce myself. I'm Ginger Snapper, I’m twenty-five years of age. I work for Eclipse Magazine. I have been with the magazine for five years, as well as with my blog. I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I’m adopted, and I have always known since I was five. For me, it was fine because I didn’t remember my parents, just that my mom was now my real mom’s best friend. I grew up in a loving home and was given what I needed in life to succeed. She gave me a chance to do what I love. She gave me a family and support to chase after my dreams. So I am grateful for all of that. So, I also volunteer as a mentor to young children in my free time to help give back. I stood up and went to the door to see who was there. When I got to the door, there was a note taped to my door. I looked in the hall to see if anyone was around, but there was no one. So I grabbed the note and went back inside my apartment. It was just a small note folded over a couple of times with nothing written on the outside of it. I unfolded the note and read the note, and I was shocked at what I read. “There is so much about yourself you don’t know. You need to start looking into where you come from. You're in danger and don’t know why you're in danger. You'd better start learning who you truly are before it's too late. I know my mother was killed in a freak accident, and I never knew who my father was.

Raven Statham has one week left to save her grandmother’s crumbling bakery before her mother sells it. Drowning in debts, rejected by investors, and clinging to the only legacy she has left, she turns to the one corporation known for rescuing failing businesses — D’Angelo Enterprises. What she doesn’t know is that the CEO is not just a businessman. He is Kade D’Angelo, the Reaper of the criminal underworld, a man who kills with the same ease he breathes, a man bound by a vow: marry before thirty-three, or lose his throne to his estranged brother, Damon. When Raven accidentally witnesses Kade murder a man in cold blood, she becomes a liability he cannot ignore. And when she tries to flee, she unknowingly signs the wrong contract — not a business partnership, but the marriage contract prepared for a mafia heiress sharing her surname. By the time she discovers the truth, five black cars are outside her bakery, Kade D’Angelo standing among them like the devil she had met by accident twice already. *** Excerpt from the Book: The door opened. A familiar smell drifted inside before the man did and my stomach twisted. Kade walked into my home, filling the small space with his presence. His eyes found mine immediately, cold, unreadable. Kade's lips tilted, just slightly. "I see you're just finding out about the document you signed, Miss Statham," he said. "What do you mean marr—" I started, clutching the file, eyes wide with disbelief. "Good," he interrupted, his voice leaving no room for argument. "Because we're getting married. Tomorrow.”

After my husband's car accident, I did a checkup and found out he had a malignant brain tumor. Instead of telling him right away, I stuck the report in my bag, planning to wait for the right moment. Guess what? He found it first—and thought I was the one with the tumor. A few days later, I overheard him in his office, laughing with a buddy: "My wife? No looks, no figure, just money—and now she's got a brain tumor. Talk about a win for me. If Rainee hadn't gone abroad, I'd never have married her. Bad luck, huh? At least I dodged the kid bullet. Once she's gone, I get everything." Then he pulled the amnesia card, blamed it on the accident, and started treating Rainee like his wife. He even welcomed her into our house. I smiled and said, "Nathan, let's get a divorce."

Charlotte Scott had no interest in money and fame. She married Griffith Wilson out of love. However, their marriage only lasted three years and she became a laughing stock after the divorce. The couple faced each other for the last time at the Courthouse."Take the compensation and get lost from my life. Don't even think about getting back together." Griffith remained indifferent.Charlotte put on her sunglasses and smiled faintly."We are never getting back together. Ever! Whoever comes begging to get back together is no different from a dog!"Was it not great to be a wealthy and attractive single woman?Later on, not only did Charlotte gain success in her career and inherit a fortune worth tens of billions of dollars from the Scott Family, but she had so many men pursuing her that they could line up the street until the end of the block.One night, she received an unexpected call."Hey, Charlotte…""Who is this?""...Woof woof…"

On the day of his funeral, I discovered that my fiance, Zachary Gray, had come back to life. His friend says teasingly, "You sure know how to stage an act, Zachary. Your fiancee cried so much over your fake death that she almost went blind!" Zachary smiles indifferently and says, "Stepping into marriage is like taking one foot into the grave. Of course, I have to have some fun first." I stand in the shadows and watch him bend down to kiss another woman. He then points at the tombstone I had carefully and painstakingly carved for him, laughing until he can't catch his breath. Watching him, I feel like an utter fool. I take out my phone and call my father. "Dad, since Zachary is dead, our engagement is null. Let's pull out of the collaboration with the Gray family's company."