Manhua Too Close

“I love you always and forever.” Carl whispered in my ears, making my face flush red but seeing his mother's glare from behind him, the blush faded. Georgia Timbers stood as an obstacle to our union, she stood against our relationship and did all she could to ruin us. “You'll never be good enough for my son!” She cursed at me occasionally. She always reminded me that I'd never live peacefully as long as I remained in Carl's life. “Will you marry me?” Carl proposed to me—The only dream I wished to come true for years but thinking back to the warnings from his mother, I wondered if our love was worth risking my life for. Staying with him would kill me gradually with every day that passed by. Leaving him would leave me broken until we meet again. This was a tough decision but I made my choice. And the consequences of my choice changed my life in a way that I would have never imagined!

Tatlong taon. Three years of hell. Ganoon katagal tiniis ni Maria ang isang loveless marriage sa piling ni Javier Elizalde. Sa mata ng cold-hearted CEO, isa lang siyang desperadang gold digger na humahadlang sa kaligayahan nito. Pero nagbago ang lahat nang ma-aksidente si Javier. Tragedy struck, leaving the powerful billionaire blind and helpless. Sa panahong tinalikuran siya ng mundo, si Maria ang nanatili. She became his eyes, his hands, and his sole comfort. Sa ilalim ng katahimikan at walang pagpapakilala, inalagaan niya ito. She nursed him back to health, umaasang sa wakas ay matutunaw na ang yelong nakabalot sa puso ng asawa niya. And it worked—he fell in love with her gentle care, promising to cherish the woman who saved him once he recovered. Pero ang akala ni Maria na happy ending, naging bangungot. When Javier finally opened his eyes, he didn't look for her. Instead, he embraced another woman—his first love—believing she was the one who stayed by his side. Wasak na wasak at pagod na sa pagiging option, Maria made the ultimate decision. Ibinigay niya ang kalayaang matagal nang hinihingi ni Javier. She handed him the divorce papers with a final, broken whisper: "You are free now, Javi. And so am I." She left without looking back. Kaya bakit ngayon ay parang asong ulol na naghahabol ang makapangyarihang CEO sa kanyang ex-wife? Bakit siya lumuluhod at nagmamakaawa para sa isang second chance? Sorry, Mr. CEO. The wife you took for granted is dead and gone. And this time? Walang bawian.

I had a miscarriage and was confined in the ICU. Meanwhile, my husband was off traveling the world with his first love. It wasn't until he decided to divorce me that he finally remembered I existed. He called my mother, demanding to know how long I planned to act out. She was disheartened, looking at me, who was barely clinging to life. "Shannon will never cause you trouble again! Happy now?" she snapped.

My husband and his employees went on a camping trip, and his assistant posted on social media. [We drew lots for the tents, and guess who ended up with the handsome CEO!] The post showed a selfie she took. Behind her, my husband was taking his shirt off. Someone left a comment. [A man and a woman alone together? Sounds juicy.] The assistant quickly replied with a smirking emoji. [I like a little excitement!] After I liked the post, it was deleted right away. Soon, my husband called me on video. In front of his crying assistant and several employees, he scolded, “Why did you like the post?! It was just a game! Don’t be so close-minded!” As I watched him hold the assistant in arms and comforted her, I quietly hung up. After ten years of loving Caelan Sullivan, I decided then and there to let go.

Dad and my brother, Jonah Atwood, have always favored my sister, Lisa Atwood, while resenting me. At my coming-of-age ceremony, when several werewolves in the Blackwolf pack corners and harasses me, it's Rex Vaughn, the Alpha's heir, who steps in to protect me. He throws the most extravagant mate-bonding ceremony for me, right before the Moon Goddess. Overnight, I become someone every other female wolf wishes they could be! I'm seven months pregnant when I show up at Lisa's birthday party. Somehow, we're ambushed by dark magic. As always, Dad and Jonah put Lisa first. They throw everything they have into shielding and dragging her out of the enemies' barrier, leaving me trapped in the center of the spell circle, nearly consumed. In the end, it's Rex who pulls me out. Later, I wake up in Stone Cabin, only to walk right into a scene that makes my blood run cold. "You paid off an old witch from the Darkmoon pack to set up that spell circle?" Rex's eyes blaze red with fury. "She's only seven months along, and you were already trying to rip the pup out of her? "What? Were you hoping Lily and her pup would blow up and die together?" Jonah and Dad shrink back, trying to explain themselves. "Lisa's wolf is fading fast. The old witch said the only way to save her and her wolf is to sacrifice someone with the same blood immediately…" Rex snaps, "I care about Lisa more than either of you do! Why else do you think I claimed Lily as my mate? Sure, I want to save Lisa, but not by sacrificing Lily and her pup!" That is how I learn the truth. Rex didn't bond with me because he cared. He did it to save Lisa. As it turns out, he's no different from Dad and Jonah. All they ever see is Lisa, the weak-born wolf. I was never part of the picture to begin with. Since no one's ever truly cared about me, I'll walk away with my pup.

Connor Lockwood abandons me at the hospital's entrance even though I'm bleeding in the middle of my pregnancy. He insists on sending his client, a divorcée, home. The blood flows down my legs, but he hurries off without another look back. He should've been at the hospital and by my side, but instead, I see him in his client's social media update. It's captioned, "Thank goodness for my wonderful lawyer. Do you know who gets to have hangover soup when they're drunk? Me!" I spend the rest of the night wide awake. The following morning, I calmly dial a number. "Dad, I've made up my mind. I'll return home in three days to take over the company."

The day before our wedding, my husband gives me a sapphire ring. I place a hand on my slightly bulging belly. As I lie on the operating table, I call him and tell him I want to call the wedding off. Shortly after, his secretary calls me tearfully. "I was the one who was impudent enough to select the ring, ma'am. Please don't blame Mr. Nolan for this. It's all my fault." Archer Nolan holds her in his arms and coaxes her gently for a long time. He only says one thing to me. "You're already carrying my child. Can you really bear to leave me?"

Jenna Davis, the billionaire heiress to Davis Enterprises, is forced into an arranged marriage with Brad Harrison at the age of 18. Her father trying to pull his company out of bankruptcy, makes a deal with the devil and when Jenna finds out, she runs to Europe to hide. Her father eventually finds her and brings her back to face the music. What she doesn't know till later, is that she will never be able to love him. Sure he is handsome and sophisticated, but he has a secret. Jenna yearns for what all girls really want, a man to sweep her off her feet and make wild passionate love to her. The problem is, Brad has another side to him and ignores Jenna. Having all the free time in the world on her hands, she starts to look in other places for someone to keep her happy. Not finding what she is looking for, she is about to give up when Brad hires Dean Smith fresh out of prison to run the horse stables. Dean went to prison for murdering a man he never meant to and served 8 years of a life sentence. Desperate and needing a job, he takes the position and realizes that destiny has more in store for him then he can ever imagine. Jenna, wanting to ride her horse Mable, meets Dean unexpectedly and he saves her life. The minute they touch, it's instant attraction and they find that they can't fight it. Can they hide their secret love or does Brad find out?

After my eight-year-old twin sister was kidnapped, my dad became the person who wished for my death more than anyone else in the world. He would always say, "Zachary is an ungrateful brat! A good-for-nothing!" So, when the news of my disappearance reached the school, my dad leads everyone in cheers. He even spreads word of my misdeeds everywhere. "Zachary stole a poor student's tuition fees and even made a false police report accusing the teacher of hitting him!" "That's right! He even helped traffickers kidnap children—his own sister was almost sold by him! I hope he dies soon!" Five years later, my memories are extracted and projected onto a large display screen. And yet my dad, who hates me to the core and wishes for my death, falls to his knees and begs for my forgiveness the moment he learns of my death.

She loved him first He broke her first Lia Hallman's first mistake was thinking she and Kingston High's golden boy, Elian Dunst could have a future together. But after a one night stand turns sour, everything changes for her. She loses her parents, her home and her life turns upside down. Unable to depend even on the young boy that was once her sworn protector, she leaves. Elian comes for her, but she's already gone. Months later, with a pregnancy and a difficult life, a near accident puts Lia in the way of devilishly handsome billionaire, Judas-Caine Brex. A man with a broken soul and a dangerously haunted past. He needs a fake girlfriend She needs a financier. The rules are set for them - no feelings, no sex, no romance. The job was simple, nag me, prove that love doesn't exist - she agreed. However, neither of them expected to break the rules built to protect each other's belief. But life has more tricks in hand - when her first love reappears, seeking a second chance, and bringing with him debris from her past. "I take the blame it was all my fault. Let's make it right for us and our son." Lia's walls crumble. Between two men, two destinies and one devastating truth about the tragedy that changed her life...Lia must choose. Her once naive protector, or the man who would burn the whole world to save her. Is it too late to rebuild her dreams with the man she once loved with her entirety? Or start a new life with a man she can't tell loves her with his entirety? A little too late, or is it?