Our Flag Means Death Blackbeard

Five years ago, my family died in a car crash. My parents. My adopted sister, Liz. Everyone but me. They left behind grief, an empty house, and a debt so large it swallowed my life. When the collectors came, I turned to the only person I had left—my husband, Adrian. He told me he had cut ties with his own family to marry me and had nothing left. I believed him. For five years, I worked every job I could find, paid every dollar I earned, and told myself love was worth the suffering. When the balance dropped to its final $18,000, I signed up for a paid drug trial at a private clinic. They handed me a waiver, warned me about possible delayed reactions, and promised fast money if I swallowed the experimental dose. I thought it would buy us a new beginning. Instead, I came home early and heard Adrian on the phone. “Let Liz use the card. Evelyn still doesn’t know. She took away Liz’s money five years ago, so she has to earn every dollar back herself.” Then he laughed softly. “One more year, and her punishment is over.” That was how I learned the dead were alive. The debt was fake. My husband had never been poor. And the life I had fought so hard to survive was only a sentence they had given me.

Di hari pendaftaran pernikahan, sahabat baikku melakukan kesalahan hebat. Ia menarik tangan seorang pria asing, bukannya tunanganku. Konyolnya lagi, kami resmi dinikahkan hari itu juga. Tidak terima dengan kesalah pahaman ini, aku ke apartemen tunanganku dan mendapatinya sedang tidur dengan sahabat baikku di satu tempat tidur. Keesokan harinya aku harus menerima fakta kalau suamiku adalah calon suami adik tiriku, anak dari ayah kandungku yang membuang dan menghina keluargaku. aku memutuskan mabuk dan melontarkan pertanyaan ke suamiku malam itu, "my dear husband, can i crush our marriage?"

Because of my negligence, Leo's precious darling Sophia had choked on a mouthful of seawater. He flew into a rage and locked me in the dark water dungeon. "Catherine, whatever Sophia suffered, you'll repay double!" The instinct to survive forced me to shift into wolf form. I slammed my head against the iron cage again and again, begging for his mercy. But Leo bound my limbs with iron chains and ordered his subordinates to keep flooding the chamber. "A jealous wretch like you will only learn obedience through suffering." "Stay in there and repent for what you've done." He sealed the iron door of the water dungeon himself and forbade anyone from coming near. Over and over, I craned my neck to gulp in the thin air, howling in desperation. But the rising ice water swallowed me whole. I kept struggling until I had no strength left. A week later, in his great mercy, he decided to end my punishment. What he didn't know was that the water snakes had already gnawed my body beyond recognition.

Sophie Mack, a 19-year-old resilient and dedicated child of a zealot parish man, raised by a nanny turned stepmother after the death of her mother from birth. She not only faced betrayal by her stepsister, but her boyfriend of five years drugged her, then she had a one-night stand with a stranger, resulting in triplets.   Elliot Harrington, a 26-year-old shrewd billionaire, wakes up in a hotel room to find himself wrapped around a beautiful girl.  Before he checks out of the hotel room, he leaves the girl with a bundle of cash. Later, he sends his investigator to find the girl he slept with, who mistakes Sophie for Olivia, Sophie's step-sister.   Five years later, Sophie, now a renowned financial analyst, returns to New York and starts working at the prestigious Harrington Group, where Elliot is president. Little does she know, her triplets embark on a mission—to uncover the identity of their elusive father.  *** "Owen, did you hear what that man said? He said you looked like his boss. Can the boss be our daddy?" Nathan said, looking at Owen, who had already started working devotedly on his laptop. "We can't be sure of that. But we can still make him candidate 1. The point is helping Mummy find Daddy," replied Isabel, the only girl of the triplets.   "I found him—his boss—and I guess I kind of resemble him. I have his eyes and ears." Owen said with a raised brow. "See, Nathan, you have his hair. But Isabel, you don't resemble Dad, not even Mom; who do you resemble?"  "Who told you his dad? We are not even sure he is our dad; it's just candidate 1." ***  Will Candidate 1 prove to be the missing link, or is there another layer to the mystery that even the triplets couldn't foresee?

On the Goldman heir's wedding day, I take a small bite out of a piece of cake because I am hungry from waiting too long at the ceremony. But my fiancee, Sheryl Wilson, slaps me in the face immediately. "You really are shameless! How could you eat in an occasion like this?" Dazed from the slap, I look at the other guests, who are staring at us at the moment. Having tasted copper in my mouth, I turn on my heel and approach the heir with a plate in my hands. "The cake's pretty delicious. Do you want a slice?" Sheryl started to panic. She's about to drag me away when the groom of the wedding takes a small bite out of the same slice. He remarks coolly, "It really is tasty. I'll have my men prepare 100 slices of cake for the woman who slapped you just now."

My husband is the Don of the entire New York East Coast Mafia. For ten years, I dimmed my own light to be his perfect silent partner, the dutiful wife who gave him the perfect heir. I thought we were the lovers who wou ld die for each other. Then came a mere associat. My husband and son had formed an alliance with the woman who seem want to take my place. But they just said, "Elena, you have the crown and the kingdom. She has nothing but us. Be generous." So, to make her smile, my husband trampled on my dignity again and again. To please her, my son affectionately calls her "Mom." In their eyes, I was the iron wall, the woman who would swallow any insult for the sake of the family honor. Until the fire. My husband locked me inside the burning room, to let me "reflect" on my jealousy. He didn't know that the fire didn't kill me. But it burned away the last ash of my love for him.

When I'm cleaning my home, I sweep out an extremely thin condom that has already been used from under the bed. The sight of it makes my heart sink to the pits of my stomach. I'm severely allergic to latex, so there's no way I would ever use such things. Just as I'm contemplating whether I should ask my fiancee, Shelly Hartman, about the condom, she sends me a voice message on WhatsApp at that moment. "Babe, I have a company dinner to attend tonight, so I won't be going home for dinner. I might be home later than usual. You can just go to bed early. There's no need to wait up for me. Love you so much!"

She was betrayed, almost raped, imprisoned, and killed. Everyone thought she was dead, but someone helped her escape. Five years later, bumalik siya kasama ang babaeng anak niya. Ngunit hindi niya inaasahan na kambal pala nito ang anak ng CEO. Sumilay ang nakakabighani na ngiti sa labi ng CEO habang nakatitig sa mga labi niya. "Looks like your daughter resembled my son. It means they are twins. Why don't you marry me and add them three?"

Seraphine Hale, a genius musician, announces her return to the country. When a reporter asks whether she's back for her first love, she smiles icily. "Are you talking about that trash? It wouldn't be any of my business even if he were to drop dead tomorrow." What she doesn't know is that I've already been dead for close to a decade.

Akala ni Jade Naive Guaren-Severa, sapat ang pagmamahal para manatiling buo ang isang relasyon. Akala niya, kaya nilang tuparin ang mga pangako nila—na mamahalin ang isa’t isa sa hirap at ginhawa, habang-buhay. Pero nasaan na ang lahat ng iyon ngayon? Once, she had everything she ever wanted. A loving husband, a happy life, a family they were supposed to build together. Pero ngayon, ang naiwan na lang sa kanya ay sakit, pagkaduda, at mga tanong na walang kasagutan. “Ako ba ang may pagkukulang? Hindi ba ako naging sapat? Mas mahal niya ba talaga ang babaeng ‘yon kaysa sa akin?” The woman who tore their world apart. The woman who pushed Jade down the stairs, causing her miscarriage, yet Azriel, blinded by anger and grief, chose her over Jade. The same woman who stole Azriel's heart and left Jade with nothing but broken promises. Nang muli siyang mabuntis, inisip ni Jade na baka may pag-asa pa. Baka sakaling maayos pa nila ang lahat. Pero imbes na yakapin ang panibagong simula, tinulak siya ni Azriel palayo. Sa halip na lumaban, binigyan siya ng divorce papers at tuluyang iniwan—kasabay ng lahat ng pangakong binitiwan noon. Lumipas ang ilang taon. Akala ni Jade, tuluyan na silang tapos. Hanggang sa muli silang pagtagpuin ng tadhana. Azriel is marrying his mistress, and Jade is hired to design their wedding gown. Ngayon, kailangang harapin ni Jade ang lahat ng nangyari. Handa na ba siyang magpatawad? O huli na ang lahat para bumalik sa dati?