Let's Put A Smile On That Face

I thought I was finally living my dream—studying at the same school as my childhood boyfriend. But the moment I caught him secretly kissing the campus queen who had always bullied me, my world shattered. He didn’t defend me. He chose her. Heartbroken and humiliated, I walked away. Then at my lowest, when I was cornered and shoved to the ground again, my face smeared with dirt, I saw him—my mate. The queen bee’s perfect fiancé. The future Alpha of the strongest pack. Yet his eyes were cold as he told me, “Keep our mate bond a secret. I will never be with you.” I did what he said. But why did he keep stepping in to protect me? Why did he hold me like he would never let go?

I was reborn the year the Blood Moon War began. The first thing I did? I sacrificed my child. The child of my blood-bonded mate, Lord Lucius of the Covenant. In my last life, he chose to protect his childhood sweetheart, Lilith, when she slept with a werewolf. He stole my pureblood heir and replaced it with her half-breed mongrel. They branded me a traitor. In a sun-scorched dungeon, they burned my scarred body to ash with holy light. And my own son, his mind poisoned by Lilith, stood on my ashes and cursed me to Hell for all eternity. When I opened my eyes again, the blood ritual for my heir was already three months along. I didn't hesitate. I went straight to a witch, and with a potion brewed from my own heart's blood, I ended it. Then, I put on something else: an expensive amulet of Blood Illusion. It faked the energy of a pureblood fetus. It masked my true state, cloaking me in the sweet, alluring scent of a pregnant vampire. It even created a perfect illusion of a growing belly. Lucius needed an heir to cover for Lilith’s crime. Fine. I’d play along. This time, I had no weaknesses.

I sponsored Emily Fagan from an underprivileged background just to help her get through school. She was good-looking but wasn't exactly the brightest. Despite my warning not to tamper with my things, she slipped stimulants into my water bottle. Thanks to her, I was accused of cheating in the swimming competition. Our team's score was nullified. As for me, I was banned from competing for life and kicked out of college. When I confronted her, she cried pitifully, "Julie, I just wanted you to win. I didn't know that'd happen." My boyfriend, Elijah Strauss, held her and comforted her. He even snapped at me, claiming, "Em had good intentions. Why are you giving her a hard time?" Crushed, I shut myself in at home. Feeling sorry, she and Elijah visited me and brought along some vodka as an apology. After I took ten shots, I asked her to buy some over-the-counter pain relievers for my splitting headache. Little did I know that she'd make me take a dangerous dose of Ibuprofen mixed with alcohol. The bleeding in my stomach was what killed me. Emily looked pitifully remorseful at the hospital. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't even tell what I shouldn't have given her…" During the police interrogation, my boyfriend gave false testimony to protect her. He accused me of taking my own life by mixing Ibuprofen and alcohol because I couldn't handle the mental stress from cheating in the competition. When I reopened my eyes, I found out that I was transported to the day before the competition.

It was our tenth anniversary, and I thought Joseph Lynch was finally going to propose to me. However, I accidentally saw the texts on his phone and realized what a joke I had been these past ten years. [It’s our first anniversary. Darling, I want you to spend time with me.] That woman uttered such sweet and intimate words, which I rarely said to Joseph. [I’ll give her some sleeping pills before I see you.] I could not believe Joseph would say such a thing. My fingers trembled as I scrolled down their conversation. [Don’t marry her. Marry me instead!] Then, she sent him a cute and attractive photo of her. She looked like a student. [Let’s see how you behave tonight. I bought you some new lingerie. Be good and put them on. Wait for me next door.] I was wearing some ill-fitting undies while sitting in bed. Right then, I was filled with bitterness. It turned out that Joseph had bought these undies for someone else.

On our sixth wedding anniversary, my cheeks burn as I dodge my husband, Ethan Grant, leaning in for a hungry kiss. I push him toward the nightstand for a rubber. What he doesn't know is that I've tucked a surprise in there, a positive pregnancy test. I can already see it, the way his whole face will light up the second he finds it. But the moment his hand goes for the drawer, his phone goes off. His best friend, Henry Miller, comes on the line in Danish. "Mr. Grant, how was last night? That new love couch our company rolled out is treating you okay?" Ethan lets out a low laugh and answers in Danish, "The massage feature's great. Saves me from having to rub Sandy's back myself." He still has me pulled tight against him, but his eyes look straight through me, like he's seeing someone else. "This stays between us. If my wife ever finds out I slept with her sister, I'm done." It feels like someone just put a knife through my chest. What they don't know is that I minored in Danish in college, so I catch every single word. I force myself to stay calm, but the arms I have looped around Ethan's neck won't stop shaking. At that moment, I stop hesitating and decide I'll take the offer from that international research project. Three days from now, I'll be gone from Ethan's world for good.

The entire Nightfall pack knows that Alpha Jack Thorne is famous for his devotion toward me, his mate. Not only does he personally take care of me, but he also drills a hot spring for me, knowing how much I'm afraid of the cold. He even rests in his wolf form at my feet in front of the Elder Council. "All the decisions that I made will place my mate, Ivy Blackwood's wishes as top priority." His gentle and serious vows fill the next three years of me being Jack's mate. I'm very sure that he loves me with all his heart. That is, until I come across a social media post, where my private hot spring serves as the background. Jack, who claims that he's off to mark his territory, can be seen kissing the she-wolf in the hot spring while the upper half of his body is naked.

Bella's joy knew no bounds when she got married to Samuel Reynolds, the most eligible bachelor in town. However, her joy turned sour when her love was not being reciprocated. With Samuel's ex-girlfriend back into their lives, a misunderstanding shook their marriage and led to their divorce; they both went their separate ways. Bella went back to her family and assumed the identity she had been hiding for years, the heiress and CEO of the Watson Empire, the richest family in the city. With her real identity and power, she vows to seek revenge, but she gets caught in the webs of lies and betrayal from those she least expected. Samuel, realising Bella's true identity, comes crawling begging for forgiveness, but Bella is not ready to give out her heart again. Will Samuel make her change her decision, or will he face his nemesis? Find out in this intriguing story, “I won't let you fool me again, ex-husband”

One day, a wealthy couple is invited to give a speech at my university. My childhood sweetheart, Henry McGregor, tugs me along, eager for us to sneak out to the cafeteria and do some part-time work. He tells me to go grab the empty bucket from the shelf. But just as I take a step, a flood of messages suddenly appears in front of my eyes. [Don't touch that bucket! It's filled with scalding soup that Henry prepared. He wants to ruin your face!] [Three years ago, Henry had his first love impersonate you, becoming the long-lost daughter of the Wright family. Now, he plans to disfigure you so you'll never be able to return.] [You'll endure severe burns all over your body and undergo countless skin grafts. In the end, the fake heiress will poison you by swapping your medicine.] [Meanwhile, that scumbag will marry into the Wright family. Along with the impostor, they'll drain the Wrights of everything they have.] [You need to go back right now and let Mrs. Wright see your face. This is your only chance to reclaim your rightful place as their daughter!] At that moment, I hear Henry urging me again to hurry and move the bucket. As I glance at the flood of messages once more, I freeze, stopping dead in my tracks.

“There's this thing when you meet a person but all you feel is hate even though he didn't do anything to you.” Maybe that’s what JR feels for Gerard. Once the other man saw Gerard’s face, all it takes is a second from a face devoid of any emotion to scowling one when JR lays his eyes on him. Imbes tuloy na matuwa si Gerard na nakita na niya sa wakas ang matagal na niyang hinahanap na matalik na kaibigan noong mga bata pa sila, nawala ang saya na iyon nang maramdaman niya ang pagkadisgusto ni JR sa kanya kahit wala naman siyang ginagawa rito. Hindi na siya umamin at ang pag-aasam na maging kaibigan ito muli ay nauwi sa wala. But why after years of not seeing each other, John Raven suddenly wants to be friends with him again? Why was the other hell bent on making up with him? Naaalala na ba siya nito o may mas malalim pang dahilan ang paglapit ni JR sa kanya?

The year Felix Gibson and I were most in love, we got married. After the wedding, I quit my job and devoted all my attention to him. But he thought I was too clingy and started seeing one woman after another on the side. I did not care because I knew they were just flings. That was, until he kept standing up for one of them repeatedly. When I confronted him, he casually said, "Lexie, she reminds me so much of how you used to be." I filed for divorce and moved abroad to focus on my career. Forget about being anyone’s second choice. I was determined to stand out on my own. Later, Felix came back, begging on his knees for me to take him back.