Murmurs Sounds

Lucy lives with a killer. Kidnapped and to be wed to a mafia assassin, Lucy's hopes for a free and pure love were crushed. All she wanted was to be loved and be able to love whomever she wanted. Freely and without demands. Sounds simple enough, right? Not to Dante Romano. Brutal and commanding, he will awaken a darkness in her that she never knew existed. Will she succumb or will she be betrayed? Especially when Lucy wasn't the first choice to begin with. Lucy can't walk away now. Not when Dante not only holds the key to her heart but also to her soul.

He rejected her, and then he realized she was the center of his world. Such a shame! ************* Unwanted, dismissed, cast away. Daisy Channing was rejected by her boyfriend, Alexander Harding, who was also the Alpha of the Lightcrest pack. She never expected that her boyfriend of three years would dump her and worse, pick her best friend over her. She was betrayed by the two people she trusted the most. Filled with the pain of a broken bond and betrayal, she fled the pack. But under the moonlight, she found her way to her second chance mate. Turns out her life was only getting better or perhaps, more complicated. Cursed, broken, dejected. Landon, the Lycan Prince of the Crescent pack was cursed with the inability to ever feel the mate bond or know true love. For over a hundred years, he had searched for his erasthai and a way to break the curse. Until a prophecy revealed his mate would come to him under the red moonlight and free him. Sounds like a pretty straightforward deal....but soon, Daisy and Landon realize they got more than they bargained for. Their mating instincts to protect and possess each other are weighing on them, they crave each other's touch and company, and their inner wolves don't like it whenever they're apart. And they are forces threatening to break them apart everyday. What kind of cruel moon would torture them like this? They can't go on, but they must!

After years of bullying me and even causing my grandmother's death, Jenna Sanders has finally had her life torn apart by Raymond Campbell. She can no longer hurt me, and I slowly move past my trauma with Raymond's guidance and help. I think it's finally time for me to be happy when I overhear his conversation with his friend. "You and Xyla are going to get married soon. When are you going to break things off with Jenna?" Raymond sounds disdainful. "She's nothing but something for me to pass the time! She's so evil that merely ruining her life isn't enough. I want her to be my filthy plaything and wish she were dead. That's my punishment for her!" His eyes gleam with anger and hatred toward Jenna, but my hand falls to my side. I no longer want to open the door, and my blood runs cold. The love I thought was pure turns out to be tainted by filth and cruelty. If that's all it is, I don't want it anymore.

"Hi there, I'd like to emigrate." Christina stood at the counter and handed over the neatly prepared documents to the clerk on the other side of the glass. The clerk quickly stamped each page. The red ink spread like tiny ripples on still water. Then, without looking up, he pulled out another form and passed it back to her. "Ma'am, your paperwork will be processed in fifteen days." Christina nodded, turned on her heel, and headed for the exit. But before she could step outside, whispers trailed after her. "Did I see that right? Mrs. Waldorf is applying for emigration? Did she have a squabble with Mr. Waldorf?" "Even if they argued, would it go this far? Mr. Waldorf practically worships her. What could possibly make her leave so decisively?" "Exactly. Five years ago, their wedding was the event of the century. Even someone like me, who barely goes online, heard about it. And three years ago, after her car accident, the blood bank ran out of stock. Mr. Waldorf ignored everyone's objections and nearly drained himself to save her. Then, just last year, when she disappeared for an hour, he mobilized every media outlet worldwide to find her. Now she's leaving without a word—won't that drive him insane?" The murmurs swirled and lingered, but Christina only smiled faintly. Her expression was calm, but her eyes darkened with a bitterness that deepened with every step. Yes, she thought. Everyone knew just how much Lucien Waldorf loved her.

Audrey, an enchanting young woman from a middle-class family, finds herself enamored with Frank, the most handsome man in college. Frank, infamous for his habit of using and discarding women, intends to treat Audrey no differently. On Frank's birthday, Audrey visits his impressive, opulent home, where she meets some of his family members. During the visit, Frank propositions Audrey, asking her to sleep with him. When she refuses, he callously decides to end their relationship. As he is about to leave, Audrey, torn and desperate, reluctantly agrees. He smirks in triumph. However, just before their intimacy progresses, Audrey receives a distressing call from her troubled brother, with whom she lives with since the death of their parents. He sounds like he’s in grave danger, prompting her to rush to his aid, leaving Frank alone. Upon her arrival home, her brother simply asks her to go to bed. Perplexed but obedient, she complies, wary of his volatile temper. The next morning, as she prepares for college, she is astonished to find Frank’s uncle, Zack, in her house. What could Zack's unexpected presence mean? Is Audrey in peril, or does fate have something unexpected in store for her? Discover the unfolding drama in this thrilling, humorous, and romantic tale, "My Ex's Uncle Loves Me."

It's Thanksgiving, and I'm waiting for Zeke Jones to come home after cooking up an extravagant meal. When Zeke returns, he doesn't even glance at the meal I've prepared for him. Instead, he proceeds to pack a bag. "I can't celebrate Thanksgiving with you this year," he says. I take another bite of my turkey and say nothing. At the stroke of midnight, Zeke's first love posts a new photo on her social media page. In the photo, she's lying on Zeke's back with a bright smile on her face. The moon outside the window is bright. "Happy to spend Thanksgiving with good company," her caption reads. Instead of hysterically questioning Zeke about the post, I just tap on the "like" button without reacting in any way. Zeke calls me. His voice sounds panicked as he tries to explain himself. "Please don't misinterpret the post. I will definitely spend Thanksgiving with you next year…" I freeze for a few moments, letting out a small laugh. I don't offer him a reply. Next time, he says? Oh, Zeke, I'm afraid there won't be a next time.

In the Philippines, there is a well-known and commonly practiced superstitious belief called pagpag, loosely translated as "to dust-off." One should never go home directly after visiting a wake or a funeral, because the ghost of the deceased might latch on and cause hauntings or attract evil. Now, where can Filipinos pagpag and lead spirits astray? It could be anywhere: a restaurant, a mall, that house down the street where your toxic ex lives… but usually, people opt for 7-Eleven convenience stores and nobody knows why. Follow the story of Akira Basilio: a part-time staff who mans the Luntian Street 7-Eleven on Thursday and Friday nights, which sounds completely normal; except Akira had the ability to communicate with the dead. She maintained a quiet life by keeping her sixth sense a secret from both the living and the departed, until a particularly persistent spirit flips everything into chaos when he entangles Akira in a hunt for a murderer.

Seven years after registering our marriage, my husband Gaius and I finally decided to hold the romantic wedding ceremony we had missed back then. That day, I wore the wedding gown I had designed myself and walked toward him with hopeful eyes. Before I could deliver my carefully prepared vows, an incident interrupted the moment. Amid the stunned murmurs of the guests, Gaius dashed toward the woman who had fainted—again—at my wedding. His voice trembled with urgency, eyes burning red. "Call an ambulance! Now!" He didn't even look back as he left the wedding hall. When the wedding bell rang seven times, I calmly pulled off my veil. Facing the guests who had yet to disperse, I smiled and said, "As you can see, today marks the divorce ceremony between Gaius and me. Please, eat and drink to your heart's content. Don't let the trip go to waste!"

My sister accompanies me when I go for my premarital medical checkup. When I'm preparing a urine test, I hear embarrassing sounds coming from the cubicle next door. I'm about to leave when I hear the conversation. "Keep it in you, Willow. We're doing this again if it slips out." The voice belongs to my fiancé, Zachary Hilton. The woman to whom he's speaking is Willow Langley, my sister. I dial his number hysterically to see whether it really is him, but my calls go unanswered. All I hear is the incessant ringing of a phone next door and moans alongside it. I'm rooted to the spot, too stunned to do anything. Zachary once vowed to love me for life, yet he's doing something like this with Willow prior to our wedding. The moans and pants next door take a long time to subside. Once I hear them leave, I call home, my face wet with tears. "Mom, change my husband-to-be to Thomas Hilton, Zachary's youngest uncle. I don't want to have anything to do with Zachary anymore."

It is the final day for the high school students to submit their university application forms, and I find out that someone has swapped out my and Ned Nicholson's application forms for Jafferton College instead. In a panic, I hurry off to find Ned to tell him about it, but I end up overhearing a conversation between him and one of his friends instead. "Ned, you promised Miranda Montez that you would both apply for Hale University together. Why did you secretly swap out both your application forms for Jafferton College instead? Aren't you worried that Miranda's going to make a huge fuss about it?" Ned sounds confident as he replies, "She won't. She'll listen to whatever I say. She'll be fine with it as long as she's still in the same college as I am." He pauses for a while before continuing in an impatient voice. "Scarlett Jordan can't get into Hale University. It's beyond her. She's going to be really scared if she has to go to Westward to study on her own, so I promised her that I'd go to the same college she was going to. "I mean, Jafferton College isn't that bad. Miranda wouldn't mind it at all." I stay silent for a long while before leaving quietly, pretending that I never heard a thing. I withdrew my application form for Jafferton College and submitted a new form for Dayward University instead. We made a promise to each other that we would start dating after getting into university. But since he's breaking his promise for someone else's sake, I decide to leave him quietly and go after my own dreams instead.