Romans & histoires Metro Journal Online

Welcome back to Clifton Heights. Sheriff Chris Baker and Father Ward meet for a Saturday morning breakfast at The Skylark Diner to once again commiserate over the weird and terrifying secrets surrounding their town. Sheriff Baker shares with Father Ward the story of a journal discovered in the ruins of what was once an elaborate koi pond and flower garden, which regales a tale of regret, buried pain, and unfulfilled debt: “Sophan” – Jake Burns has always been a bit...off. Rude, awkward, sometimes brutish, he's tolerated by Nate Slocum and his friends because he hits a mean line drive, and because they all know but don't discuss the abuse he faces at the hands of his troubled father, a Vietnam veteran consumed by his demons. But Jake is suffering something far worse than domestic abuse, and when Nate discovers what, he faces an impossible choice: help Jake and put himself in the path of evil, or abandon him, only to damn himself in the process. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Even after five years of marriage, Benjamin Lane continues to maintain his image as a devoted husband. He's the scion of the Lane family, yet he strictly adheres to curfews and comes home on time. He drives me to work every day and goes all out to prepare gifts for me on various anniversaries and holidays. His social media is also all about his doting love for me. The online community calls him a hopeless romantic; countless people ship us together. However, he's logged in to his WhatsApp account on his tablet. I see a video another woman has sent to him.

A cunning social media app gets launched in the summer. All posts required photos, but all photos would be unedited. No caption-less posts, no comments, no friends, no group chats. There were only secret chats. The app's name – Gossip. It is almost an obligation for Erric Lin, an online-famous but shut-in socialite from Singapore, to enter Gossip. And Gossip seems lowkey enough for Mea Cristy Del Bien, a college all-around socialite with zero online presence. The two opposites attempt to have a quiet summer vacation with their squads, watching Mayon Volcano in Albay. But having to stay at the same hotel made it inevitable for them to meet, and eventually, inevitable to be gossiped about.

By day, Dominique Devereux is flawless—a socialite heiress in silk gloves and designer heels, the darling of New York’s elite. But by night, she becomes Domica, the legendary head dom of a secret online dominatrix lounge that caters to the world’s most powerful men—and humbles them. She controls her dual lives with cold precision… until Damien arrives. A mysterious, brooding transfer student with secrets of his own, he’s the one man she can’t seem to master. As their chemistry ignites and danger creeps in from all sides, Dominique must ask herself: can the woman who commands everyone... ever learn to surrender?

Jessica has just landed her dream job and sold the film rights to her novels. Then she stumbles across an online post from her closest friend, Linda, asking strangers how to ruin her life. When Linda tries to sabotage Jessica's career, expose her pen name, steal her boyfriend, and destroy her author account, Jessica quietly gathers every piece of evidence and turns Linda's own schemes against her. By the time Linda realizes she has been caught, Jessica is ready to send her former best friend to prison and take back everything she earned.

After receiving the report for an STD test, I went back to the barbeque restaurant, and there I ran into a young woman who was about three months pregnant. She asked me to let her cut in line, and, feeling sorry for her, I agreed to help her out. I quickly made arrangements for her and made sure she had a seat. But to my shock, after she finished her meal, she had a miscarriage. The girl posted about the incident online, and before I knew it, I was trending on social media, facing a wave of cyberbullying. The internet users went even further, digging up my health records and finding that everything came back positive. [She's positive for everything—she's clearly a woman with a messy private life!] [No wonder she caused the woman's miscarriage just by being near her—she's a biological hazard!] The cyberbullying got so bad that it pushed me into depression. Even my fiancé turned against me, accusing me of being filthy and breaking up with me. The emotional weight became too much, and in my pain, I drove straight into a reservoir. Meanwhile, the girl gained millions of followers online and skyrocketed to fame as a popular influencer. It was only after I died that I learned the shocking truth—this girl was my fiancé's first love. To boost her own popularity, she and my fiancé had come up with this entire scheme together. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day when she asked me to let her cut in line.

Lewd videos of my best friend, Katie Anderson, are suddenly leaked online, and I defend her in public. However, Katie ends up accusing me of leaking the videos in the first place. All of a sudden, the entire Internet turns against me. I get blacklisted by the whole entertainment industry and get cyberbullied online as well. Katie's die-hard fans abduct Mom by throwing a sack over her head and record lewd videos of her, driving her to so much shame she jumps off a building and dies. Meanwhile, Dad drinks rat poison and dies next to Mom's grave. After my family is torn apart, I ask Katie why she wants to frame me for everything. She replies, "Samael is the richest heir in the city. This is his fetish. You were the one who made everything into a big fuss. Of course, it's you who'll have to bear the responsibility for everything!" Samael Crews slinks his arm around Katie's waist and looks at me with a mocking smile on his face. "Did you think you were just trying to help out a fellow woman? Sorry, ex-girlfriend, but your precious bestie here is nothing more than an obedient lapdog of mine!" I end up being sold to Meowmar and eventually die from mistreatment. When I open my eyes again, I realize that I am reborn on the day that Katie accuses me of leaking her lewd videos online. This time, I choose to ignore her completely.

I was diagnosed with stomach cancer, so I went online to hire an undertaker in the hopes that he would collect my body. That way, I could die and be buried. I would like to finally be at peace, even if it meant that I could only achieve it after death. I packed up my bags and left home in search of a place to die, only to receive a message from my undertaker. [Sorry, something came up. I can’t come now.] …Excuse me? I’m already half-dead, and you’re blowing me off?

Isabella has gone from being an Employee of the Year at a major automotive company to being unemployed in the blink of an eye. With bills to pay and online applications to submit, she finally finds a job after months that could get her out of the financial hole she's in. However, this job is not the one she studied for at her prestigious university; it's to be the assistant to a CEO who never keeps employees due to his“special” personality. Nevertheless, she decides to take the risk, hoping to be the one who stays in that position and not just be one of those who leave.

When Angela’s best friend, Deanne, goes missing after a date with a guy she met online, no one is looking for her. Not even her family cares that she is missing. Angela suspects a pack of wolves paid her parents off to keep her friend. Angela springs into action and sets off to find her friend even if she has to do it all alone, but Angela has stepped into a world she knows nothing about and finds herself lost with her friend. Even in the darkness, there is a light. As she adjusts to her new life and new circumstances, one of her captures, a wolf named Aspen, tries to help the two women.