No Better Than Strangers

Before the flight takes off, my fiance, the pilot, boards the plane with a suitcase. He says it's a gift from his childhood sweetheart and warns me not to touch it. I can't shake the uneasy feeling creeping into my heart, so I sneak inside. To my shock, I find high-risk contraband hidden in the luggage. I report it immediately and use my commendation to cover for Edward's mistake and save his career. However, his precious childhood sweetheart is arrested, detained, and sentenced. He doesn't say a word after the incident. However, during another flight, he cuts the cord to my parachute. "Jade, I know you're jealous of Cindy! You sabotaged her during her flight attendant training and framed her afterward! Do you think this will make me love you? Dream on! I would never marry a petty woman like you!" I plunge from ten thousand meters above the ground, leaving nothing but blood and broken bones behind. When I open my eyes again, I see Cindy sending Edward off, and he's carrying the same suitcase. I quietly step back and decide I won't save him this time.

Dos semanas antes de la boda, Nelson decidió posponerla una vez más. —Ivana inaugura su primera exposición de arte ese día —me dijo—. Estará sola y nerviosa. Tengo que estar ahí para apoyarla. Al final, tú y yo ya estamos juntos, ¿qué más da casarnos un día antes o después? Pero ya era la tercera vez que aplazaba nuestra boda por aquella mujer. La primera, Ivana acababa de operarse y sentía nostalgia de la comida de su tierra, por lo que Nelson no dudó en viajar al extranjero y quedarse con ella durante dos meses. La segunda, Ivana decidió irse al bosque en busca de inspiración para pintar y él, preocupado por su seguridad, fue tras ella. Esta era la tercera. Colgué la llamada y miré a César, mi amigo de toda la vida, quien se encontraba sentado frente a mí, relajado, jugando con su bastón de esmeralda, cuyo golpeteo en el piso de mármol rompía el silencio entre nosotros. —¿Todavía necesitas esposa? —le pregunté, sonriendo con picardía. El día de mi boda, Ivana sonreía radiante, copa en mano, esperando el brindis del hombre a su lado. Pero él, con los ojos rojos, observaba en silencio la transmisión en vivo de la boda del heredero del Grupo Santos, el imperio inmobiliario más grande del país.

Regresé a ese momento de mi vida en que mi tío político —con quien no tengo lazos de sangre— había sido drogado con esa droga afrodisíaca. Pero esta vez, no me convertí en su “antídoto”. En lugar de eso, marqué el número de la mujer que él realmente amaba. En mi vida anterior, me enamoré perdidamente de él. Cuando supe que había sido drogado, ignoré su súplica de llamar a su gran amor… y fui yo quien calmó su deseo. Un mes después, quedé accidentalmente embarazada. Por lo que él se vio obligado a casarse conmigo, pero el día de la ceremonia de nuestra boda, su amada —que había viajado al extranjero para olvidar su dolor— fue secuestrada y asesinada. Antes de morir, le hizo ciento noventa y nueve llamadas pidiendo ayuda. Él, que estaba ocupado cumpliendo con la boda, no contestó ninguna. Después… solo se quedó mirando aquellas llamadas perdidas, sin decir una palabra. Hasta que, el día que tenía que dar a luz, me encerró en el sótano. Le rogué que me llevara al hospital. Pero él solo sonrió, con esa frialdad que jamás olvidaré, mientras me veía morir lentamente, sin poder traer al mundo a nuestro hijo. Sus últimas palabras antes de que cerrara los ojos y muriera fueron: —Si no hubieras quedado embarazada, nunca me habrían obligado a casarme contigo. Si no fuera por ti, habría contestado las llamadas de Luz y, ella no habría terminado así. Tú… mereces morir. Y entonces, volví a abrir los ojos. Era ese mismo día, el día en que él había sido drogado con ese medicamento afrodisíaco.

"¿Conseguirle un nuevo marido a mi esposa? Ni pensarlo... cada parte de ella me pertenece, es un trato exclusivo." Aurora Sterling le entregó su corazón a Angelo Russo con la fe ciega de una niña que cree en cuentos de hadas. Hasta que el matrimonio que le prometieron como feliz, se convirtió en una pesadilla de indiferencia y desprecio. Desesperada por un atisbo de amor, Aurora se transformó en una esposa celosa y obsesiva, hasta que un trágico accidente —del que fue injustamente culpada— le dio a Angelo la excusa perfecta para desterrarla al extranjero, borrándola de su vida. Ocho años después, Aurora regresa, pero ya no queda rastro de la joven vulnerable y necesitada. Ahora es una mujer fría, elegante y decidida, con un único objetivo para su aún marido: el divorcio. Pero la abuela, empeñada en verla "bien casada", decide conseguirle un marido ideal, y por eso organiza un desfile de los solteros más influyentes y atractivos de Londres. Y entonces… él la ve. Riendo entre brazos ajenos. Brillando donde antes apenas respiraba. Siendo adorada por hombres que la miran como si fuera aire y fuego al mismo tiempo... incluyendo su mejor amigo. Es alli cuando la máscara de indiferencia de Angelo se quiebra y los celos toman control. —Si quieres un marido —siseó—, entonces vuelve conmigo. Aurora imperturbable, le dio una sonrisa fría y lo empujo lejos. —Sr. Russo… ¿quiere una cita? Entonces haga fila. Pero hay alguien que Angelo ignora. Alguien que duerme en una habitación llena de dibujos, libros y preguntas sin responder. Una niña que dibuja a su papá sin haberlo visto nunca… pero que muy pronto… decidirá que es hora de conocerlo.

“O que acontece no baile, fica no baile.” Pelo menos, era o que Francine esperava… Ex-modelo e agora empregada na mansão de Dorian Villeneuve — um CEO rico, frio e absurdamente charmoso — Francine sempre sonhou em voltar ao mundo da moda. E naquela noite, ela teria a chance perfeita. Com um plano ousado, um vestido vermelho escandaloso e a esperança de chamar a atenção de um olheiro da poderosa Agência Montblanc, ela se infiltra no baile de máscaras promovido por seu chefe. O que ela não esperava era ser beijada por ele. E o que Dorian não esperava era se apaixonar pela mulher misteriosa que o abandonou antes do amanhecer. Agora, ele está determinado a encontrá-la. O problema? Ela trabalha pra ele. Todos os dias. E ele não faz ideia. Entre encontros suspeitos, investigações, jogos de sedução e farpas hilárias, Francine será capaz de manter a identidade secreta por quanto tempo?

I was preparing a gift for our six-year anniversary when my best friend sent me a photo of my Alpha boyfriend kissing another she-wolf. "Wait, when did you get to Chicago?" The she-wolf in the picture looked a lot like me, but it wasn't me. That's when I found out that my boyfriend of six years had been searching for replacements for his dead childhood sweetheart the whole time. I was number 5. The she-wolf in the photo was number 18. I rushed to Chicago and tracked down Lucas using his phone's location. "Dude, this number 18 really looks like Ally, even more than Sophia does!" "Nah man, Sophia still looks more like her. She's number 5 after all - if she didn't look so much like Ally, why would Lucas have stuck with her for six years?" Lucas flicked his cigarette ash, looking completely relaxed: "They both look pretty similar, but number 18's way better in bed. Sophia's too uptight." "I heard you had someone pick out a diamond ring. You planning to propose? To Sophia or this new chick?" Lucas leaned back into the couch with a cocky grin: "Haven't decided yet. Why don't you guys choose for me?" I turned around, my whole body shaking as a chill ran from my head to my toes. After calming down, I texted my best friend: "Your Alpha cousin, the one who had a crush on me and waited four years - is he still single?"

Sophia Greystone, the Alpha’s daughter, has lived a life of torment under the cruel hand of her stepmother. Isolated and broken, she dreams of nothing more than escaping and living a normal life,one free from fear and pain. But with her stepmother ensuring she has no allies, even that dream seems impossible. Her only solace is her best friend, Elera, who convinces her to attend the annual Mating Ball, hoping she will find her fated mate.The one person who could finally free her from her misery. But one reckless night changes everything. The night of the annual Mating Ball. Drunk and desperate, Sophia wakes up in the bed of Damon Blackwood, the most powerful Alpha of the Moonshadow Pack and the only Alpha with two wolves. Overwhelmed, she sneaks away before he wakes, returning to her pack in hopes of forgetting her mistake. Damon vows to search every corner of the world to find her. Will Damon finds Sophia? Will Sophia ever going to feel her mate?

For five years, my fated mate, Alpha Killian, has used my body to survive his ruts. He’s never marked me. For five years, I’ve choked down suppressants to hide our bond from the world. Until tonight. Tonight, when he was finished, he told me to be at the full moon ceremony. I thought he was finally ready to claim me. To make me his Luna. But he just smirked and told me he was mating Vivian. The daughter of an Alpha. A pureblood. And me? I was nothing more than his dirty little secret. The cure for his rut. He walked away. I wiped my tears, went back to my apartment, and threw out all my suppressants. My best friend thought I’d lost my mind. She asked if I was declaring war on the Alpha. I shook my head. No. I'm erasing him. Then, I accepted Alpha Adrian’s invitation. Alpha Adrian. A rival from Europe. In seven days, I would leave forever.

After being reincarnated three times, Valkyrie Behati sworn that she would never let anyone take her life away from her. She started learning to stand up to her feet and defended herself from her ex-mate, Giovanni Malford, who keeps haunting her after rejecting each other. While reaching her dreams and plotting her revenge, she couldn’t help but feel anxious because she started to fight, everything was slowly changing little by little towards what she could remember. Kyrie didn’t realized that she met her second chance and a huge deal was made between them, benefiting each other. Will they be able to accept and help each other from the battles their life is going to face in the present?

Once, I was their princess. And then Kylee showed up. Having been in the foster system the majority of her childhood, my parents treated her like a charity case and gave her everything. At 13 years old, Kylee was adopted. Then the "accidents" started happening. Kylee would be walking past me and would suddenly fall over. "Oh, Mom! Sarah didn't mean it! Shes just having a hard time adjusting to her new sister!" Eventually, her little accusations turned into straight out bullying and, well, I'm sure you can figure out the rest. I did my best to ignore Kylee. I got a job as early as the law would allow. I saved my money. I got the best grades in school, becoming the class valedictorian. My parents didn't notice, though. They were too busy playing into Kylee's 5-year-long pity party. Don't worry, though. Soon I'll be gone to Harvard and you can have the happy family you wanted. I don't need you, anyways.