More Than A Few Blessings

First thing Leah Labelle did after Andrew Fillion's funeral? Ask her husband Ian for a divorce. Why? Because Ian's entire family thought the perfect way to honor his dead brother was to knock up the widow. Naturally. "My parents are threatening to hang themselves or starve, Leah. What was I supposed to do? It's just IVF with Cecilia—we're not even doing anything. Why are you making this a divorce thing?" Leah shut her eyes. Her chest cracked open, and the tears she'd been holding finally broke free. "Ian, we're MARRIED. You seriously don't think this is next-level insane?" Her husband was about to have a baby with someone else. But sure—she was the crazy one.

"Please stop…" "You started this, but I will end it." He nipped at her skin briskly before suckling it gently. She gasped in pleasure, arching her back to him. "Are you sure you want me to stop? Your body seems to speak otherwise, Zora" he pointed out as he smirked against her skin. *** Zora Walter always dreamt of being a model. Being popular, showing on TV, and having the paparazzi following her always sent a thrill through her, but it occurred in a way she wouldn't have imagined. After getting dumped by her boyfriend, Zora wanted to prove that she had moved on when in fact, she hadn't. And so kissed a stranger. That action turned disastrous as Zora Walter's once peaceful life was upturned in seconds. What happens when she should and "must" in the stranger's opinion fix what she caused? And fixing it meant faking being his girlfriend... His arrogance was on another level and Zora cursed herself for getting tangled with him.

My husband and I spend 50 loving years together. On the day of our golden wedding anniversary, someone pushes me down a flight of stairs. As I drift in and out of consciousness, I miraculously regain my hearing. I lost it in the process of saving my husband when we were younger. I hear my husband say to my son, "You shouldn't have dirtied your hands." "How long more are you going to put up with her, Dad? Calista doesn't have much longer to wait." My husband sighs heavily. After a moment, I feel someone remove my oxygen tube. I descend into boundless darkness. When I open my eyes again, I've been taken back to the 80s—before I married my husband. The only difference is that I can hear this time.

I had moved out of our house, but my boyfriend—the one I had given up everything to run away with—had no idea. Neither did his possessive younger brother, the one who used to knock on my door calling for me. My boyfriend's first love had taken up all their attention. They no longer listened when I played the piano. They even forgot about my cat fur allergy and brought that woman's cat home. My boyfriend, Ian Blake, had snapped, "If anyone's leaving, it's you. There's no way Eva's cat is going anywhere." His brother, Sebastian, had said, "Sienna, Eva is my girlfriend. How could I give up her cat for you?" When I woke up in the hospital after going into anaphylactic shock from my allergy, I decided to leave them. Back home, I made my first call to my mother. "Mom, I'm ready to accept the arranged marriage."

On my birthday, I personally prepare 16 dishes. After setting up the candlelight, I open a bottle of red wine. I take a photo and send it to my husband, Eric Sinclair. "I'm working late tonight. Don't wait for me," he replies. I choose to believe him. But after midnight, I notice an Instagram story posted by Shirley Huxley, his secretary. Eric was there with her, dressed in the trench coat I once gave him. They sat side by side in the VIP seat of football stadium where my favorite Super Bowl take place. Entwined in a passionate embrace, they kissed beneath a sea of shimmering lights and the roar of thousands of fans. That game is the one I have always longed to experience with him. I look down at the cold food on the table. Eric's words keep ringing in my head. "I hate kissing." "Marriage is a partnership, not about love and kisses." Though we've been married for ten years, we've never shared a single kiss. Meanwhile, he's out there, kissing Shirley openly and passionately. Despite it all, not a single tear falls from my eyes. The next day, Eric settles into his chair, completely unfazed. "Return the gallery to Shelly," he commands. I nod quietly, saying nothing. Suddenly, Layla Sinclair, my daughter, comes running down the stairs and throws herself into Shirley's arms. "Aunt Shirley, you're my favorite. I don't like Mom!" In that instant, it hits me—the home I devoted my heart and soul to means nothing anymore. It doesn't matter that I've been married to Eric for a decade. Now, all I want is to find myself again. I decide to accept an invitation from the Parisoir School of Fashion Design. From this moment on, I won't wait for them to come home, and I won't look back.

He is supposed to be my best friend—at least I have been seeing him as one—doing a lot of things with him together. We go to school together, share the same hobbies, and love the same sports. He is my day one, my buddy. Up until after the summer vacation when we started a new life in the same college as freshmen. That is when I discover that I have developed a soft spot for him, which accounts for the way I missed him during the summer vacation. I have never missed Liam like that. I mean, I do miss him but not compared to last summer. I wanted him around me and his image occupied my mind's eye. Starting college with a crush on my best friend is not an ideal way to begin the academic year. No matter how I try to suppress it by going on dates and accepting relationship proposals from guys, instead of it going away, it doubles. Worse still, he sees me as his buddy. He has never looked at me the way he looks at other girls. I know I am a bit of a tomboy. My other friends tell me that my dress sense is a bit masculine. I try changing my fashion sense but to no avail. Sadly, all I am to Liam is his day one bestie and buddy. I do not want to tell him about the feelings I have because I do not want to put our friendship in jeopardy. I had already given up hope Until the dare at one of my other friend's parties _ Evie. The dare for Liam to kiss me. The kiss opens another chapter; I would never have believed in my entire life to be possible—Liam actually likes me!

I fell in love with a man I should never have touched—my brother-in-law, Lucas Zahn. The first time he came to our home with my sister, Quincy, they looked like the perfect couple. He smiled at me, held out a peace talisman bracelet, and said it would keep me safe. I wore it like it was the most precious thing in the world. When the old injury in my ankle flared up, he would scoop me into his arms and rush me to the hospital without a second thought. When thugs tried to harass me, he made them scatter with a single look, then spoke to me in a voice so gentle it made my heart tremble. I told myself I understood—that everything he did was only because I was Quincy’s younger sister. Even so, I clung to those rare moments when I could be near him. Until the night Lucas was drugged by an enemy, his life teetering on the edge. If no one acted, he would die. So, I acted. On that reckless, desperate night, my sister walked in. The sight struck her like a lightning bolt, and she collapsed, her weak heart seizing on the spot. What came next was madness. In a frenzy of rage and panic, Lucas tied me to an operating table. His hands—those hands I once longed to hold—cut open my chest and tore my heart out for her. “When the avalanche hit, Quincy nearly died saving me. I swore I’d treat her well for the rest of my life. That means loving her family, too. I never thought you’d be so shameless. “This is what you owe her!” He never knew that I was the one who saved him in that avalanche. So, I died in agony, my love carved out of me—literally. When my eyes opened again, I found myself back on the night he was drunk.

My elder sister, Emma Rothschild, longs for a life of luxury. As such, she requests to marry the prince of Northia, Matias Redburn. On the other hand, I'm married off to an elven scholar visiting human territory, Aleron Glintwood. After the wedding with Emma, Matias leaves Northia and visits the giant clan's territory to establish a trade route. He's never heard of again. Meanwhile, I accompany Aleron to Empiria. He obtains a teaching position at the Royal Academy of Magic by virtue of his elven talent for magic. As for me, I become a highly envied professor's wife. Emma continues to live alone in the Northian Frozen Plains. She's later discovered to be having an affair with a human knight. When the Draconian Council of Elders exiles her from their lands, our father—Gareth Rothschild—furiously declares that he's severing ties with her. She's thus forever cut off from the Rothschild family. While I'm on my way home for the festival, Emma forcibly stops my carriage. She begs me to take her home and put in a good word for her. Along the way, she suddenly grabs the reins. As a result, the carriage goes out of control and tumbles over a cliff. When I regain consciousness, I see Emma on the floor. She's crying and demanding a change in engagement plans. At that moment, I realize that she's also been reborn. However, Emma doesn't know that life with the elves isn't as wonderful as she imagines. I immediately begin preparing for the magic academy's entrance exam. This time, I'll spare no effort to be admitted into the academy myself.

I am reborn with memories of my past life. And I carry a secret with me: my fiance, Ethan Larsen, had forged our marriage certificate. The one he had actually married was Serena Gray. But I do not expose his lie. Instead, I quietly submit my application to Greenvale University and eventually become a permanent resident in Verenza. In my past life, I spent a lifetime believing in a lie. I thought I was his wife, until I learned the truth on the day he died. He married Serena out of love but kept me only due to his sense of duty. On the funeral day, Serena arrived dressed in white, holding the actual marriage certificate in her hand. She effortlessly took over all his inheritance, while I was thrown out of the house, penniless, with nothing left but a trampled heart. In this life, I will no longer beg for love nor stay put out of pity. I'll leave quietly and live freely. They can keep acting out their so-called "perfect" love story. Because now, I can see it crystal clear—some women are born to be loved, while others are reborn so they don't have to wait to be loved.

Crystal Meka, a blind, hybrid slave to the most brutal lycan king alive, lived every day wishing to break free from the people who murdered her mother but everything changed when she found out that the lycan king she hated and feared with every fiber of her being was her true mate. It devastated Crystal so she kept a secret but on her 18th birthday, she rejected alpha King Elyon and paid dearly for it. Elyon compelled her to revoke her rejection but never accepted her due to the undying hatred he had for her kind; dragons and werewolves but he needed her by his side. Pressure as the king of one of the most powerful supernatural races made him take a Luna from his people. It broke Crystal's heart especially since the new Luna was after her life. Elyon however claimed Crystal at every opportunity he got without protecting her from his people. Crystal's status was barely upgraded from royal food taster to breeding slave of the king. With the low, nasty position came more oppression. A ray of hope shone on her when Elyon's younger brother who was an alpha of another kingdom offered her an escape from her prison. Will Crystal accept to leave her mate or will she persevere even with all the heartaches? And will Elyon let her leave even when he hates her?