Muerte Familiar

I was a wedding planner, and I personally designed my husband's wedding to his mistress. I had been with Victor for five years. Three of those years were swallowed by the pandemic. The remaining two were spent married, pregnant, and raising a child. The wedding I had always dreamed of existed only as "next time" whenever it came out of his mouth, until the day I received a new wedding planning request. The client was a young woman, her eyes curved with laughter, her smile bright and full of hope. "This is the venue my boyfriend chose himself," she said softly. "He insisted the wedding had to be held here." I took the file from her, and my gaze stopped on the venue name. The church in Clairmont. The very church I had mentioned to my husband countless times, the place I had dreamed of more than anything else. I was just about to smile and marvel at how someone in this world shared my taste so perfectly when the groom's name leapt into view. Victor Langford. My fingers froze on the page. Across from me, the girl was still wrapped in her happiness. She added gently, "We've only been together for two months, but he said he wants to give me the best wedding possible." I curved my lips into a smile and fixed my eyes on that familiar face—the man I had lived with for five years. After all this time, the day I planned Victor's wedding had finally arrived. Too bad the bride wasn't me.

PROSES REVISI. JANGAN DIBACA DULU. Di tengah riuhnya sorakan penonton, Keenan berdiri tegak, sorot matanya tetap fokus meski di sekelilingnya gemuruh tak henti-henti. ISF Basketball World Schools Championship, ajang ini adalah puncak dari segala kerja kerasnya. Bola di tangannya terasa begitu familiar, seolah bagian dari dirinya. Dengan lincah, ia menggiring, melewati setiap lawan yang mencoba menghalangi. Setiap langkahnya ringan, tapi penuh arti, membawa ingatan pada kerja keras yang tak terhitung. Saat ia mendekati garis tiga angka, seluruh dunia seakan menahan napas. Keenan melompat, bola melayang sempurna di udara, dan saat bola itu menembus jaring dengan mulus, sorak-sorai membahana. Tapi, di tengah semua itu, Keenan tetap tenang. Dia tidak mencari kemenangan demi sorak penonton. Ada sesuatu yang lebih berharga dari sekadar poin. Matanya menyapu kerumunan, mencari wajah yang selama ini selalu ada untuknya, meski tanpa suara. Dan di sana, di antara lautan orang, gadis itu. Gadis yang selalu ada, yang dengan diamnya telah menjadi kekuatan terbesar baginya. Keenan tersenyum kecil, hanya sekejap, lalu dalam hati dia berbisik, lembut tapi penuh makna, "Thanks a lot for always having my back. You have no idea how much your support means to me. This win is ours, not just mine." --- Urutan Baca: 1. About Me: Alshameyzea 2. About Keenan

On the first day I reunite with the wealthy Holloways, as soon as I step into the villa, I'm instantly whisked into a car with tinted windows. The fake heiress, Kate Holloway, cuts my ID and bank card with a pair of scissors right in front of my biological parents. She grins smugly at me the whole time. "You see, Rosalie, I've offended that one person who must not be offended at all costs in Ravenfield. You should go kneel in his estate for a few days. Think of this as your way to repay the Hollways for giving birth to you in this world." My heartless parents even tell the driver, "Make sure that she doesn't escape. It all depends on her whether or not our family will be able to survive this crisis." The journey to the mysterious man's estate is bumpy. But the scenery outside the window becomes more familiar as time passes. Finally, the driver stops right outside a well-guarded estate. He reports in a frightened tone, "W-We are here to deliver the girl to Mr. Whitethorn." Mr. Whitethorn? As in the powerful man who is prone to mood swings and can easily make families such as the Holloways go into bankruptcy with just a twitch of his finger? Wait, isn't that Dominic Whitethorn, my adoptive father who has doted on me since I was a little girl? The Holloways have chosen to make me the scapegoat in order to protect Kate. They probably never would've thought that the fearsome Mr. Whitethorn, who's capable of determining their survival, has scoured the entire city for me because I didn't come home last night.

My boss, Walton Frazier, loves tricking me into wearing tight shirts and having the top three buttons undone before forcing me to entertain the female clients. Then, he drops hints to said that I'm young and have a great physique, only to wait with bated breath for the clients to start touching me. His excuse is that he wants to test the clients' characters to see if they really are worthy to work with. As soon as the clients fall for the trap hook, line, and sinker, Walton will rush out toward them in a righteous manner and slam his wine glass onto the table. After that, he'll start lecturing me as though I've done something awfully wrong. "Is there not a prideful bone in your body? Do you want to hit your sales target that badly that you're willing to forsake your pride as a man?" Walton chooses to trample all over me just so he can build his manly and righteous persona. This time, he specifically prepares a suit with a deep V-line that's made of light material. Then, he forces me to toast to a client with an extremely rich and powerful background in that suit. He even threatens to dock off three months' worth of perfect attendance pay if I don't do this. When I notice the familiar cold-looking yet striking face at the main seat, I can't help but smile. If my older sister, Mable Cobb, were to see me toasting to her in this kind of outfit, I have a feeling she'll clean out the trash for me and make me the boss of this company by tomorrow.

（Sequel of Pregnant and rejected by my alpha mate. Can be read alone. ）Today I had my first kiss. It wasn’t planned. It was also with a complete stranger. As I walked through the halls of my school, Higala Shifter Academy, I paused when a familiar sense washed over me. My boyfriend, Scott, was nearby, and he wasn’t alone. “You are so naughty, Scott,” the she-wolf Sarah chuckled. “Only for you, babe,” he replied, muffled as her lips closed around his. At that moment, I felt sick to my stomach. “Oh, Scott. Stop it. You know we can’t be seen together. What if your girlfriend finds us?” “She’s in class. She’s never late. You don’t need to worry.” My heart was heavy in my chest, but also a wave of fury and resentment crossed me.“Lila?” Scott breathed, staring at me in shock “What are you—” Before he could get the entire question out, I turned to the gentleman beside me, placing my hands on his shoulders and pulling him toward me. He went easily, though his eyes showed nothing but confusion. I closed my eyes tightly so I wouldn’t have to see his expression any longer. Then, our lips touched. Later, I walked into my class but found,It was him… The man I kissed only moments ago in the hallway. The man I had given my first kiss to, was my professor.

Después de la muerte de Harper, mi hermana gemela, mi compañero Alfa me odió durante diez años. Por una década entera fui su Luna e intenté de todas las formas posibles complacerlo. Un día, me dijo: —Si tantas ganas tienes de darme gusto, entonces muérete. Así que, cuando vi que un camión se dirigía hacia mí, ni siquiera me moví; sin embargo, nunca esperé que Noah me empujara para salvarme. Quedó herido de gravedad. Antes de morir, me miró y susurró: —Charlotte, si nunca te hubiera conocido, todo habría sido mejor. Al funeral de Noah asistieron todos los sabios y los miembros de la manada. —Debí dejar que Noah eligiera a Harper como su Luna. Me arrepiento de haberlo obligado a escogerte en ese entonces. ¡Tú lo mataste! La madre de Noah estaba deshecha por el dolor. El padre de Noah también habló: —¿Sabes? ¡Noah te salvó la vida tres veces! Era un Alfa de tan buen corazón... ¿Por qué no te moriste tú en su lugar? Todos en el funeral me miraban con reproche. Me echaron de la ceremonia; me quedé ahí, perdida y destrozada. Tres años después, con la ayuda de una bruja y su hechizo, regresé al pasado. Esta vez, tomé una decisión diferente. Pase lo que pase, nunca volveré a ser la Luna de Noah.

"I love fantasies. Impossible, only imaginable fantasies. The ones that would take me beyond and beyond my monotonous life. To other worlds. But this, isn't going to end well," I was saying to myself while lying down with closed eyes and recurring thoughts, starring at the bluest skies and the brightest stars. This city leaves me gawking at its beauty and at the same time allures me to its darkest mysteries. As I was running to find the only thing that could push me out of this fantastical realm, the clustered thoughts in my mind hits me hard everyday, leaving me sleepless and clueless. "You were at that place at that time. It may or may not be desirable. Fate, maybe. But, it's you," the familiar woman's voice kept repeating inside my head. "Begin with what you know and dig the unknown," the man I loved the most said, leaving me chase the knowns inside my scrambled mind. I was going after every single possible hint to take myself away from the life I've always wished to live. "I don't want this. Not for me. Not for my family," I falsely admit to myself, still secretly enjoying every moment of it. She, Idaliah Bristor seems to have a flamboyant life which takes a mysterious turn when she enters the unmapped city of BcHaven. Let's walk and roll with her as she says, "Whatever it may take, I'm giving it a go". Etymology: GEMICIDE - • Gem- The Gem Team • cide - Killing/Sacrificing 'Gemicide', the term I coined means that the Gem Girls without any hesitation is ready to sacrifice themselves or get killed to save their city.

My boyfriend was crippled when he saved me, while his adoptive sister suffered from heart failure after protecting us from misfortune. She had to depend on the expensive imported medicines to sustain life. To pay for their treatment, I sold myself as a lifecasting model on the black market. Not only were my hands and feet coated in the heated silicon, but I also needed to endure strangers touching me without flinching. I needed to pay if the replica was damaged. I begged through my tears, only to receive a few slaps to my face in return. They scolded, "You signed up for this. Don't act innocent now." Humiliated, exhausted, and aching, I still took the money straight to the hospital to buy medicine for his sister. When I passed by the VIP lounge, I heard a familiar laughter. "Chris, this is the 998th test, isn't it? Are you really marrying her once she passes the 999th test?" With a slight frown, Christopher answered, "Yeah. Although testing her is a family tradition, and they're having you to supervise, don't overdo it. I won't have another bride." I froze. Every sacrifice. Every humiliation. Every bit of pain I had endured—it had all been a test. A game to see whether I was worthy of marrying him. Staring at my bruised reflection in the fire-resistant glass, I let out a sudden chuckle. Then, with trembling hands, I turned on the old phone I hadn't touched in two years. I felt tears roll down my cheeks when I told the other person on the line, "Declan, take me home. I regret everything."

Lucia had never believed in rebirth. She had read about it a few times in books tucked away on her shelf, but she never imagined it could be real. Yet, here she was—reborn. This time, she swore she wouldn’t let kindness be her downfall. She would make them pay. Her so-called best friend and husband had used her, drained her of everything, and left her with nothing. They manipulated her, deceived her, and when they had no more use for her, they poisoned her—leaving her to suffer in agony for over a year. What a vile couple. On the night of her death—her own birthday—they stood before her, laughing as they confessed their betrayal. They had taken everything from her, and now, they wanted her to know the full extent of their cruelty. Her husband and best friend, her supposed confidants, had been lovers all along. Worse, they had killed her true mate. Lucia had wept until there were no more tears left to shed. Too weak to fight, too broken to scream, she watched as they reveled in their wickedness, even making out right in front of her as she lay dying. That night, amidst a raging storm, Lucia took her last breath. But when she opened her eyes again, morning light streamed through the window. "Is this heaven?" she whispered, confused. A familiar voice answered. "Lucia, you’re awake! Let me get the doctor!" Brittany exclaimed before rushing out of the room. In that instant, Lucia knew the truth. She had been reborn. And this time, she would make them pay—for everything they did to her and her family.

Aquel día, en nuestro quinto aniversario de boda, recibí una llamada. Era el encargado del fondo familiar: le avisaba que una de las piezas almacenadas estaba por vencer y debía retirarla cuanto antes. Mi esposo, Mateo Fuentes, también conocido como el jefe de la mafia, estaba tan ocupado que ni siquiera se tomó un minuto para pensarlo. Así que decidí ir yo a recoger la caja. Dentro encontré un rollo de película antigua. El responsable me advirtió que, si no la revelaba pronto, el material se estropearía con el tiempo. Cuando por fin la revelé, cada fotografía mostraba a Mateo con Elsa Lara, su primer amor, sonriendo de una forma tan dulce que me dejó sin aliento. Y en todos sus álbumes, ni una sola foto mía. De repente, la puerta de la oficina se abrió de golpe. Mateo entró alterado, visiblemente molesto, y preguntó con impaciencia: —¿Anita Silva, estás revisando mi privacidad? Lo miré con calma. No grité, no pregunté nada. Solo dije: —Divorcémonos. Su expresión se endureció. Sin decir una palabra, tomó las fotos y las metió en la trituradora. Cuando el ruido cesó, se giró hacia mí y soltó: —Ya las destruí. ¿Y aun así quieres divorciarte? Una sonrisa amarga se me escapó. —Sí.