Lee Je-no

"This is the body donation agreement, Mr. Lewis. Please sign here." Joel Lewis looks at the paper before him. His hand trembles as he grips a pen. The other party can sense his hesitance. They say considerately, "Body donation is a big thing, and it's normal for people to change their minds at the last minute. You can go home and discuss this with your family—" "I've already signed it." Joel smiles bitterly. "Family" is a term that's beyond him. There's no longer any space in his wife's heart for him, after all.

En el mercado negro, mi padre escogió para mi hermana mayor y para mí a dos gemelos como guardaespaldas. Mi hermana, sin pensarlo, se quedó con el hermano alto y corpulento, dejándome al “mudo”, que apenas seguía con vida. Me dio lástima y lo mantuve a mi lado. Como no hablaba, lo llevaba de un lugar a otro buscando médicos y remedios. Como tenía una severa misofobia, yo siempre mantenía cierta distancia entre nosotros. Creía que había sufrido algún trauma y por eso era así. Hasta que los enemigos de mi padre nos secuestraron a mi hermana y a mí. Él me dejó atrás, eligiendo sin titubear morir para recibir la bala por mi hermana. Antes de morir, habló por primera vez; con los ojos enrojecidos le dijo a mi hermana: —Por fin puedes verme. Y a mí, en cambio, me dijo: —En la próxima vida, te lo ruego, no me elijas. Entonces entendí que no era mudo ni tenía misofobia. Lo de “mudo” y “misofobia” era solo hacia mí. Al abrir los ojos de nuevo, había vuelto al día en que elegíamos guardaespaldas. Esta vez, cumplí su deseo.

A long lost daughter. An Alpha. A tragic past. Forbidden Love. Aurelia Fuerte is imminent to suffer from unfathomable loss and grief. Her fate has already been engraved before her birth to the ruthless world. Thus, it only takes one thing to untie her from being slave of this misery. Is she strong enough to discover her power and control it? Will love be enough to stop the pain and mend the heart which has been aching for justice? How will she be able to discover the truth behind these mysteries if she will be caged inside the valley of death? Secrets are waiting to be unraveled. Blood will shed. Pangs to pangs. War after war. And in the end, who will be found dead?

There isn't any cure for migraines. But my billionaire wife, Ashley Weston, has not had a single migraine for years thanks to my daily massage with both hands. On the day I get into a car accident, I beg a passerby to call her to save me. She replies impatiently, "So you're resorting to such shameless tricks just because I won't answer your calls?" Through the phone comes the mocking laughter of her childhood friend, Jordan Hanson. My right hand is permanently fractured, and my left hand suffers from muscle weakness after the accident. A lawyer helps me draft a divorce agreement. With much difficulty, I sign it and send it to Ashley. On the day her head throbs with unbearable pain, she looks at my drooping hands and remains silent for a long time.

I begged my husband ninety-nine times to go with me to Jay Boone's concert. On the hundredth time, he finally bought two front-row tickets. Dressed to the nines, I was stopped at the entrance by security because I couldn't produce my ticket. By the time the concert ended, I still hadn't been able to get through to him on the phone. News broke that my husband and his young girlfriend were at the concert, requesting "Sunny Day" from Jay Boone. The story shot straight to the trending charts. There's no rain in the lyrics of "Sunny Day." Because the only world caught in a torrential downpour was mine.

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.

Sia Bennett pensó que conocer al despiadado Alfa de La Cumbre sería solo una formalidad. Hasta que lo olió: cedro, pólvora y puro, y auténtico, pecado. Kaelen Voss es su Compañero Destinado. Así como también es el prometido de su madre. De día, Kaelen interpreta el papel del padrastro frío y distante. Pero de noche, él invade su espacio personal; sus oscuros susurros y caricias robadas la empujan a la locura. —Sé una buena chica, Sia —le advirtió, mientras su mano se deslizó peligrosamente hacia lo alto de su muslo por debajo de la mesa donde se celebra la cena familiar—. Y no dejes que mami te oiga gritar. Atrapada entre la lealtad hacia su madre y un vínculo de compañeros que exige el amor de su compañero, Sia está librando una batalla perdida. Porque en esta casa, el Alfa siempre come primero.

I had a cousin my age. She overslept and was late for her SATs. Yet, she pinned the blame on me, saying that I made her take some fever medication. She stole 300 thousand meant for Grandma's surgery, claiming it was to buy me a car. She even insisted I was at fault when she accidentally got pregnant and took the wrong abortion pills, leading to severe bleeding. She vehemently insisted I pushed her, causing her to fall. My boyfriend stood by her side time and time again. Eventually, he finally gave up on me, telling me it was over. My aunt shoved me down the stairs, accusing me of ruining her daughter's life. My boyfriend witnessed the whole thing, but he told them I had fallen by accident when the police came. I died without ever seeing justice for myself. When I thought my life was finally over, I opened my eyes. I had returned to the day my cousin stole the money meant for Grandma's surgery.

Cuando tenía nueve años, quedé atrapada en una explosión mientras intentaba salvar a Joel Yorks, en donde la onda expansiva me arrebató la audición, por lo que, desde entonces, he tenido que usar audífonos. Joel se sintió tan culpable, que Insistió en pedirme la mano, y, con los ojos llenos de lágrimas, juró: —Helen, cuidaré de ti el resto de mi vida. Sin embargo, cuando cumplí dieciocho… todo cambió, porque él quería complacer a la chica más bonita de la escuela. Por esto, delante de ella y de todos nuestros compañeros, me arrancó el audífono, mientras decía con total desprecio: —Estoy harto de que seas una carga. De verdad desearía que no hubieras sobrevivido aquel día cuando tenías nueve años. Habría sido mejor que estuvieras muerta. Apreté mi informe audiológico y guardé silencio. Al llegar a casa, revisé en silencio mis solicitudes universitarias y, junto con mis padres, rompí formalmente el compromiso. A partir de entonces, Joel y yo seguiríamos caminos separados. No volveríamos a encontrarnos.

During the holidays, I've worked my ass off just to whip up a feast filled with my wife, Willow Steele's favorite dishes. But soon, my mother-in-law pulls out a paternity test report and announces with a smile that the birth father of my daughter, Naomi Johnson, is actually Willow's childhood sweetheart, Luther Lloyd. Everyone bursts into laughter before saying teasingly that "no wonder Naomi looks so much like Luther". Willow's father even pats Luther on the shoulder while looking at him as though the latter were a part of the family. What stings my heart the most is that Willow is laughing so hard that she can barely stand up straight. So, that leaves her clinging to Luther while she taps Naomi on the forehead with a finger. "Go on, call Mr. Lloyd 'daddy.' He's your real dad, after all." Naomi, who has always kept me at an arm's length, rushes into Luther's arms without hesitation and starts calling him "daddy" sweetly. I fall silent for a moment as I watch everything unfold. Then, I draw to my feet and look at Willow. "Let's get a divorce." But Willow just chuckles icily in return. "Must you go that far? My mom was just joking around." When I'm about to leave, Willow turns to tell the others, "He's just being ridiculous. Once I give him the cold shoulder for a few days, he'll still beg me to return to his side pathetically." But what Willow doesn't know is that I've chosen to endure everything she's hurled at me out of love in the past. Now, I want nothing more than to leave her permanently.