Muddy Tree Arm

"So many promises, so many dreams. They all broke today," his voice resonated. "Your promise of loving me till the last breath of your life, your dream of becoming my wife and giving birth to my children….they all are shattering today, princesa," tears rolled down from her eyes at his words which made him wrap his arm around her waist. "Ssh …. don't cry. Maybe not love but I do feel sympathy for your tears as I had been living with you for so many days," he uttered while wiping her tears with his knuckles. "Besides, I am not that heartless so let's ease up your heartbreak a bit. Okay?" He uttered. "So not in front of this world but I can please you like a husband pleases his wife behind closed doors and…." He thrusted his face closer to hers. "On my bed…. just like last night where you let me devour every inch of your skin, princesa," She teared up more because that was the truth. She had actually surrendered her everything to him last night. Her heart, her soul, her body…. everything to him with no shield last night. She gave him the virtue of her body but only to let him taint it with his sin which she was believing as his love. Feeling him wrapping his arm more firmly around her waist, she found him untying the knot of her night robe. "So, how about I make you forget about your heartbreak by taking you to my bed?" he rasped in her ear, completely untying her night robe and his next words crushed her soul cruelly. "As I am sure that would be the best way to cure the pain of a prostitute's daughter and her deceitful love,"

I've been dating the country's most eligible bachelor for two years. My base salary is $2 million, with bonuses based on performance. Holding hands costs $10,000, putting an arm around his waist is $20,000, and a kiss on the lips is a bit pricier at $50,000. As for certain bedroom activities, well, those come with a whole different price tag. Brad is fair-skinned and handsome, appearing only once a month – he's practically a walking Tiffany's diamond. Life is so sweet, it's easy to get complacent if you're not careful. One night, a DM popped up on Instagram from a stranger. "If you trust me, check your boyfriend's phone." "?" "I'm his girlfriend." "Am I the third party or are you the third party?" "You're third, I'm fourth." "Let's meet and talk details."

Everyone in Eimport knew Ethan as a ruthless tycoon. Yet this same man humbly loved me. When his enemies kidnapped me for revenge, he charged bare-handed into an inferno so fierce even firefighters hesitated. I was unconscious but unscathed, while Ethan's right arm bore grotesque burns that would never fully heal. Unbothered, he even declared to the world that these scars were proof of our love. I was touched and browsed positions for couples online while he worked late. But everything shattered when I stumbled onto a video. The man's face was blurred, but the scar snaking up his wrist was unmistakable. The woman trapped in his gilded cage bore a striking resemblance to me. My heart hammered, torn between terror and devastation. That very night, I decided to leave and not ever see him again.

My husband and his beloved mistress died together in a car accident. They left me with a pair of illegitimate children. Eighteen years passed in a blur. I poured my heart and soul into raising those children until, at last, they earned admission to Corvell University, the country's top university. But on the very day they received their acceptance letters, my 'dead' husband returned. And beside him stood his mistress. She clutched my husband's arm and beamed at me. "Thanks to your tireless care, my two sons finally made it into Corvell. If not for you, the two of us wouldn't have been free to live so happily together all these years..." Later, my husband demanded a divorce. He wanted to marry his mistress and reunite their perfect little family of four. I didn't cry, nor did I rage. I only smiled and said, "Sure."

Alina gave up everything to be the perfect wife, cooking his meals, managing his home, and loving him even when it hurt. But in return, her billionaire husband gave his time, attention, and heart… to other women. Everyone saw her as the quiet wife who wouldn’t dare leave. A woman with no voice, no job, and no choice. But the day he walked in with another woman on his arm, and asked Amelia to serve them both, something inside her finally snapped. Now, after years of silence, she’s done begging to be seen. Done waiting to be loved. She walked out with nothing but her dignity, and she’s ready to build her life from the ground up. But what happens when the man who never fought for her realizes he’s losing the only woman who ever truly loved him?

My name is Melanie Sutton. The moment I'm reborn, the first thing I do is scatter the "ashes" of my best friend, Helen Doyle. In my last life, she got pregnant before marriage and was abandoned by both her boyfriend and her family. She struggled alone all the way through childbirth, only to suffer massive bleeding in the delivery room. With her last breath, she begged me to adopt her son. I agreed out of pity. To raise the child, I fell behind in my studies and was forced to drop out of school. With no choice, I took my adopted son, Aidan Sutton, with me to work, enduring endless humiliation and cold stares. Finally, when he turned 18, a talent scout discovered him. One movie later, he became an overnight sensation and won Best Actor. At the awards ceremony, Helen, whom I watched die 18 years ago, entered arm in arm with my ex-boyfriend, Joe Shepherd. Stunned, I rushed forward to confront her. She only smiled at me. "Congratulations, you passed the test." I stood there in shock as Joe explained proudly, "Helen is the daughter of the richest man. Who knows if you got close to her for her money? "Since you've raised our son well, you can be her ordinary friend. If you raise him until he gets married and has kids, then you can become Helen's best friend." My mind exploded. As if I wanted to be her friend. That was 18 years of my life! Overwhelmed by fury and hurt, I lunged at the two of them with bloodshot eyes. But Aidan suddenly rushed down from the stage and shoved me hard. "Are you crazy? How dare you hurt my parents?" Anger rushed to my head, and I passed out right then and there. When I open my eyes again, I'm back to the day Helen goes into labor.

Colter Giordano, my fiancé of six years, heir to the Giordano family, took a bullet for a dancer named Mia. He didn't take one for me. A bullet tore through my shoulder. Blood bloomed across my dress, hot and sticky. But my heart hurt worse. He asked if I was okay. Just once. Then he rushed Mia to the hospital, leaving me bleeding on the floor. The next day, Mia's picture popped up on my Instagram feed. There she was, in a luxury hospital suite. Colter was fussing over a scratch on her arm that was barely there. The caption was just two words: "My Hero." I liked the post. Then I made an encrypted call. "The Falcone family's offer," I said. "I'm taking it. Get me on a plane to Sicily. Three days."

My sister, Yvette Chandler, and my boyfriend, Gabriel Johnson, have never gotten along. She doesn't believe that he, a playboy, will settle down and be faithful to me. She even tries to stop us from being together after he proposes to me. To convince her of Gabriel's loyalty, I sign up for a new WhatsApp account to test him. He's frosty toward me and keeps me at arm's length. I'm gleeful over this when he suddenly sends me a voice message. "I already told you I won't fool around with anyone other than you and your sister. Who's going to satisfy you once I'm married when you're so insatiable, Yvette?"

"Have you forgotten our agreement? Or do you want me to remind you?" "You're not allowed to talk to any other man till you conceive my child Vanessa. I don't want to see you with my brother." "I'm sorry sir." I whispered softly, I felt so uncomfortable with the way his eyes were fixed on me, on my body. This towel is going to slip off any moment now, I thought, as I tried to back away from him. But he grabbed my arm tightly, pulling me closer to him. "I'll make sure you remember our agreement, Vanessa. And I always get what I want, you're mine alone." he said, his lips curling into a dangerous smile. ****

I grasped in horror as l saw my hands turning into claws. Alot of hair also forming on every part of my body. I touched myself to feel that l nolonger have two legs but four. My hands had also formed into legs. Panick invaded me.l don't want to become anything else. I regretted not taking my mum's advice of not coming near the woods. May be if l had stayed home obediently this wouldn't have happened. I felt my new body move on its own until l reached at the river. The water sat there silently and in there l saw what l have become.A beast.l saw a lone tear coming from my glowing eyes. I got away from the river sat down the tree nearby. My body returned ito its human form. I cried and screamed loudly; No am not a beast. Am human: Am not a beast. This isn't me! I screamed. It's you Daciana. It's what you really are. A voice came from from behind the tree.