Long Time No Sea

The day before New Year's, my younger brother announced he was bringing his girlfriend home for dinner. Excited, I drove my new car to pick them up, taking my daughter along with me. However, as soon as his girlfriend got in the car, her face darkened. "Henry, you didn't tell me your sister was staying at your place—and with a kid!" she snapped. I frowned and was about to explain when my brother quickly interjected, "She's not staying. After dropping us off, she'll be heading to a hotel." Only then did his girlfriend's expression ease. I swallowed my discomfort and asked my brother what he was planning. He leaned in with a conspiratorial grin and said, "Sis, don't cause any trouble for me, okay? My girlfriend is the daughter of the Cromwell Group's CEO!" My eyes widened in shock. Was not the Cromwell Group the same company my ex-husband had just handed over to me as part of our divorce settlement?

Lavish London mansions. A hand-painted Rolls-Royce. And eight dead friends. For the British fixer Robbie Chase, working for the Russian's President most vocal critic meant stunning perks – but also constant danger. His gruesome death is one of 14 that retired British Agent QUINTUS NOONE has linked to Russia – but the UK police shut down every last case. QUINTUS NOONE'S investigation reveals the full story of a ring of death on British soil that the government has ignored.

It's not what you think. Two social worlds collide with words, feelings, behaviours and ideas most unexpected to bring an even more unpredictable end. Lacey Atkins leaves school for a tear and comes back wanting nothing more than to be left alone. Alone in a classroom, Tom Wade sees Lacey and soon comes to want nothing more than to be with her. Her weird and unusual ways all make him the more curious and drawn in.

Everyone in the social circle of Kingsford said I was nothing more than a lapdog raised by Charles Mankin. I was always at his beck and call. I did every filthy, ludicrous thing for him under the sun. When he street raced, I rode shotgun. When he drank himself senseless, I made him hangover soup. When he chased girls, I prepared protection for them. Over time, everyone knew: Charles had a dog who never ran, never bit back, no matter how hard he kicked. They all said I must be madly in love with him. Even Charles started to believe it. So he pushed further, more freely, more cruelly, crossing lines as if they never existed. Then came my twenty-fifth birthday. He, in a rare stroke of mercy, said he'd celebrate it with me. But instead, what he got was the news that I was leaving the country. He went berserk, charging through the airport like a man possessed. I peeled his fingers off my wrist one by one, smiling like I'd never been happier. "Don't be stupid," I told him, still smiling. "That was never love." That night, Charles smashed apart his family home like a rabid dog.

Everyone is envious of me for having someone like Dominic Cruz, who's love-brained, as a husband-to-be. He's rich, handsome, and highly educated. I smile without saying anything, but I nod happily. However, on the day I'm misdiagnosed, he goes missing. He's so engrossed in his secret lover that he forgets all about me. So, I jilt him before he can do it to me. I turn him into the city's laughingstock. Later, I hear that he drinks the bar dry every night. He scours Marina City but fails to find his missing bride.

Handa si Sophia Grant na gawin ang lahat para maisalba ang kasal niya kay Julian—kahit pa unti-unti na itong lumalamig at tila ba nahuhulog na sa bitag ng magandang empleyado nitong si Vanessa. At ngayong may baby na sila, mas lalo siyang kumapit. Umaasa. Nagsusumamo. Pero habang lalong nabubunyag ang mga kasinungalingan at pagtataksil, unti-unting bumukas ang mga mata ni Sophia sa katotohanang ayaw niyang tanggapin—na minsan, hindi sapat ang pagmamahal lang. Wasak ang puso. Luhaan. Napahiya. Sophia chose to walk away… dala-dala lang ang mga sugat ng kahapon at ang pangakong babangon muli. Sa pagkakataong ‘to, hindi para kay Julian. Kundi para sa sarili niya. Ipinangako niya sa kaniyang sarili na magbabalik siya—mas matapang, mas malakas… at handang ipaglaban ang respeto at hustisyang matagal nang ipinagkait sa kanya.

Two days before New Year's, my boyfriend, Jeffrey Graham, planned to spend the holiday at the beach with his assistant. I did not argue or complain. Instead, I thoughtfully packed his bags for him. However, he mocked me, saying that I had finally learned to be considerate now that I was pregnant. After he left, I wasted no time and went to get an abortion. Why? In my previous life, I tried to use our child to stop him, but his assistant ended up being brutally murdered at the beach. Jeffrey appeared calm on the surface after that incident, but just when I was about to give birth, he cruelly cut open my abdomen and killed my baby. That was when I realized—he had been holding a deep grudge against me all along. This time, I was determined to make him lose everything.

Three days after my death, Dominic Sharp receives a phone call asking him to identify my body. He has an arm wrapped around a woman's waist as he says indifferently, "I couldn't care less if she's dead. Call me once she's been cremated." My body is sent to the crematorium. After putting the ashes into an urn, an employee calls Dominic again. He clucks his tongue impatiently. "Alright, alright. I'll be there soon."

Justin Davidson and Eva Walker, the long-lost heiress of the Walker family, fell in love. But Eva's adopted sister, Stella, drove a wedge between them. Even after Stella’s death, Justin couldn’t let go of her. He trampled Eva’s dignity, hurt her body, and forced her to wear Stella’s wedding dress and ring when he proposed. Eva’s parents only had eyes for Stella, too. To pressure Eva further, Justin even went so far as to hurt Eva's grandmother, the one who had raised her. On the day of the wedding rehearsal, Eva finally decided to walk away. However, when the truth came out, Justin dropped to his knees and begged her not to leave.

Isla Hart gave up her dreams for love. But when love gave up on her, she had no choice but to fight for herself. After marrying the man she thought was her first, and forever, love, she gave up everything: her career, her family, her identity. For six years, she lived quietly as a devoted wife and mother, convinced that her sacrifices were for a greater good. Until the day he whispered another woman’s name under anesthesia. Until the woman showed up, pregnant with twins, claiming to be the real love of his life. Humiliated, heartbroken, and called unworthy by her husband’s family, she takes her three-year-old daughter and walks into a stormy night with nothing but a suitcase, a broken heart, and a single phone number to call. But rock bottom is where her story truly begins. With the help of an old friend, and a man she never saw coming, she’ll find the courage to start over, the strength to stand tall, and the power to prove that she is, and always was, more than enough. A story of betrayal, resilience, and second chances in love, Unworthy No More is a heart-tugging journey from silent suffering to radiant strength.