Like A Handprint On My Heart

"Wha-what are you doing?" I stutter my voice coming out as a breathless whisper. He breathes out. His breath fanning across my face, it smells of peppermint with a hint of orange. I shiver at the feeling. Sending a sensation that's equally as phenomenal as it is terrifying down my body. He leans in just a little closer so that our noses are almost touching. I stare up into his eyes, unsure of what to do. I feel frozen in place, like I can't move, like maybe I don't want to. "Time to seal it with a kiss" he suggests with a smirk. ***************************** In a world where memories can be erased and darkness lurks in every corner, Zephyrine life is about to take a terrifying turn. After a mysterious incident leaves her with no recollection of the past three months, Zephyrine awakens in an unfamiliar room, surrounded by strangers. Confusion and fear grip her as she struggles to piece together the fragments of her lost memories. The only constant is Xylus, the boy with electric green eyes, who seems to know more about her than she does. As Zephyrine delves deeper into her forgotten past, she uncovers a chilling conspiracy that threatens her very existence. With a psychotic killer on the loose and her own supernatural abilities awakening, she must navigate a treacherous landscape filled with betrayal and deception. Time is running out. As the shadows close in and the truth becomes more elusive, Zephyrine must confront her fears and decide who she can trust. Will she reclaim her memories before it's too late, or will the darkness consume her forever?

On the day before the competition, someone knocked me out when I was on the street before locking me up in a cage. For three days and three nights, I was chased around by a ferocious dog that kept biting and attacking me. Because of that, my wounds began leaking pus due to infection. Later on, five rich ladies had me locked up in a room. After chaining me up like a dog, they began tormenting me out of fun. When I finally got rescued, I had suffered from countless fractures. Even my internal organs went out of place from the beatings. My older sister, Claire Bowman, whom I'd been relying on since young, had me sent to the hospital immediately. There, I received a rabies vaccine. Meanwhile, my fiancee, Heather Vega, killed the mutt right in front of me in order to help me exact vengeance. She also stripped those ladies down and put them through a humiliating parade in public. After that, she kicked them off to the slums, where they became playthings for the beggars. But as I was lying on the hospital bed, I accidentally overheard Claire and Heather's conversation. "Do you think Christopher will resent us if he ever finds out that we're the ones who've set the dog and the ladies on him just so we can make Samuel the winner of the competition in order to repay him for his benevolence?" Heather's tone was unusually icy. "Christopher's just a replacement for Samuel. This is his fault for not knowing his place and insisting on fighting over the top spot with Samuel! I'm just teaching him a lesson! "Soon, I'll marry him in order to make it up to him. Then, I'll take care of him for the rest of his life. This is already enough." I did my best to hold my tears back while feeling my heart throb in pain. It turned out that the most important women in my life were also the ones who had ruined my lifelong dream. Since they didn't care about me at all, I chose to abandon them as well.

After a war between two kingdoms, that lasted thirteen years, princess Ayla is given to King Rhobart as a slave. She expects the worse but when she arrived in Nordmar, home of King Rhobart, Ayla is never treated as a slave. As time passes she transforms from a shy person to a person that keeps provoking the King with each step. Until she falls in love with him. But loving the King is not easy, because Ayla will soon learn that King Rhobart is a man haunted by his past. When the Orcs are on the verge of starting a war against all the kingdoms, Ayla will receive visions that will lead her to discover things she never knew about her. Will the Orcs win the war or will Ayla find a way to save the man she loves. And not only him, but the entire world.

"What would you do if you were given a second chance—not just at life, but at revenge?" When Paula Whitney watched her husband, Orlando Gilbert, introduce another woman as his lover in front of their entire family, her world crumbled. To make matters worse, Jeany Rosalia—the other woman—not only flaunted their affair but also brought along a child she claimed was Orlando’s. Humiliated and crushed under the weight of her family’s scorn, Paula did the only thing she could think of: she ran. But fate wasn’t kind. A tragic accident robbed her of everything—including her own body. Yet destiny had other plans. Paula awoke to find herself in the body of Vanessa Khiel, an up-and-coming singer on the brink of fame. Disoriented and reeling from the shock, she heard one final plea from the dying soul within—Vanessa's voice whispered through her fading strength: "Protect my little brother. And in return, I’ll help you get the revenge you deserve." Now, Paula lives as Vanessa. With Vanessa’s beauty, charisma, and growing influence in the entertainment world, Paula begins to orchestrate her revenge—determined to destroy Jeany and Orlando for the pain they caused. But just as her plan takes shape, Paula uncovers a secret behind Orlando’s betrayal… a truth that shakes the foundation of her hatred. And she begins to wonder: Is revenge ever enough… or does an old love still deserve a second chance? “You remind me of someone,” Orlando murmured, his eyes lingering on Vanessa with a longing that felt almost too familiar. “Who?” Vanessa replied with a faint smile, carefully hiding the irony behind her words. “Paula,” he whispered. “She was my wife.” Or will she drag Orlando down with her… into the depths of ruin?

It never crossed Danielle's mind that she would cross paths with her arch-rival, Karl, a business mogul in Northtide. Sparks flew but in more ways than one. One day, a reporter asked during an interview, "Mr. Burt, on behalf of the women, what is an ideal woman to you?" "Someone like my wife." Thus, Karl's secret marriage to Danielle spread across the world.

"Why are you angry?" I asked him. "It's not like we're a couple." He stopped, and stared at me, boring my eyes with his emerald eyes. "If we are…" He paused, clenching his jaw, "then am I allowed to be angry?” I looked at him like he was insane. “Then we'll take it to that level." He continued. "I'm serious. I want you.” Leizel Snow Garcia Waterstrings is not just fierce. She's more than that. Ending up as an ice cream worker in a local ice cream shop, it was her one step of becoming a strong and independent woman. And that's when a cold-hearted stranger came in view. Eion Aurelio Hudson. Out of seven billion people in the world, the two hard-headed people crossed paths, making her "strong and independent woman" facade slowly fall apart. With all the dramas, free food, forgotten birthdays, Robot handling, idiots around, and emotional crisis, will she be able to melt his winter heart with her blazing fire or will this fire be put away instantly? ``` ``` One Blazing Head. One Winter Heart. Two Hard-headed people. A huge disaster. (Book 1 of Hearts Series but can be read as standalone)

When it's time for us to say our vows during the wedding ceremony, Jessica Fletcher, my wife, leaves the stage just so she can confess her love to her first love, Benedict Olson. "Once upon a time, we had vowed to stay together for the rest of our lives, Benedict. It's unfortunate that we've missed out on the chance to do so in this lifetime. Would you be willing to stay with me in our next life, then?" Touched, Benedict pulls Jessica into his arms. Then, he turns to tell me, "Oliver, I've already given Jess to you in this lifetime, so you must take good care of her for me." Everyone gasps in shock, thinking that they'll soon witness two men fighting over the same woman. But I merely smile at the sight of Benedict and Jessica embracing each other tightly. Then, I take off my ring before passing it to Benedict. "Why wait till your next life to be together? Since you've already made a vow to stay together for eternity, I might as well grant your wish."

When the kidnapper fired the gun, I shielded Scott with my body. The bullet pierced my heart, and I was sent overseas to have my heart exchanged with an artificial one—one that ran on a battery. Because of this heart, Scott married me, and my friends congratulated me for finally having my wish granted, for finally marrying my childhood sweetheart. Later, when I laid there on the operating table with my chest cut open, he was kissing another woman under the moonlight. I didn't react to this in the slightest, recovering my heart in silence. Scott resented my numbness, grabbing my shoulders as he demanded, "Wendy, aren't you angry about this?" He didn't know the reason, and to be honest, it was quite simple. Why be angry when my heart was on the verge of giving out? Every passionate day he spent chasing after love… Was another tick in the countdown to the end of my life.

Talentless and lackluster in academics, Christen McGuire is nothing more than a disappointment in her family’s eyes. As the youngest daughter of McGuire Lighting, she married Forrest Riverdale, billionaire and owner of one of the top corporations in the world, and the only man who accepted her as a person. Or so she had thought, when upon marrying him, noticed they rarely did anything a normal couple would, and tried to change herself for the better. Thankfully, Forrest never showed any interest in women; it was only a matter of time until she finally wins his heart over. Until one day, she caught sight of him getting along with another woman. Looking content with that person, showing much emotions Christen never knew he could make. Adding the divorce on top of that? It was a punch in the face for Christen, as she gave in to fate. Tearful and disheartened, she signed the agreement, and left. *** Elated to be out of the marriage with who may as well be the most useless woman on the planet, words cannot express the joy Forrest felt to be with his true love once more. After he had gotten exiled out of his pack on false accusations, he worked his way up to success in the human world, and became a fitting man and werewolf to be with his mate. And yet, despite finally having it all, something still seemed to be missing in his life. Coming to realize the one thing that was missing- she who had actually become an important part of his life, more than the mate he thought he loved- Forrest sought to have Christen back. Will the werewolf find the human he pushed away? Will he be able to mend the heart he shattered?

Lilian Jackson has the worst luck, between balancing multiple jobs, playing the role of both parents for her siblings, managing her alcoholic father and paying back her student loans, 24 hours is just not enough for her. As if that's not enough life throws her a curveball in the form of a life threatening heart disease. "I must be paying my debts from my past life for all this to be happening to me" There is Byron Bladell, heir to a multi-million chain of restaurants and CEO in his own right. He is tall, rich, handsome and seems to have it all with a loving family and a beautiful girlfriend. The world sees him as the most eligible bachelor in town but he is chasing a shadow from his past. Their lives intertwine as pictures of their chanced meeting sweeps the internet suggesting an intimate relationship. "It's just a rumor" Lilian attempts to convince everyone. "Why don't you just marry me" Bryon suggests. In what seems like the answer to both their problems, Lillian and Byron enter a contract marriage. The initial indifference towards each other fade as they stay under a roof and play the part of a loving couple to outside world. The lines between acting and reality start to blur as their emotions come to play. Without the pressure of providing for her family, Lilian regains her fierce and cheerful attitude which mirrors someone from Byron’s past. It's just a fake relationship but what was happening to her heart. "Is this a symptom of my heart disease or is my heart racing for him?" It is the journey of two hurting souls finally finding healing from their past and inner peace, after all it all started with a racing heart.