Our Flag Means Death Izzy

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?

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.

For our fifth anniversary, my boyfriend, Caelen Blackwell, flew me—and his mother—to Miami. I thought he was going to propose. Instead, he checked me into the cheapest room of a luxury villa and disappeared. Two days later, I found out he was staying in the private suite with another woman—his mistress, Samatha, the same woman he had just proposed to. When I confronted him, all he said was, “I’d never marry a crippled woman. Look at you, you’ll never be rich, powerful, or beautiful like her.” So I just made one phone call to my father—the most feared mafia boss in Spain—and told him to cut off everything Caelen had been using to build his empire. It’s not like I didn’t know how men like him worked—use a woman up, then toss her aside. I just never thought he would be stupid enough to believe I was the kind of people who could be disrespected or discarded like this.

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."

I was locked in a fridge for 40 days while the uncensored photos of me spread like wildfire across the internet. In the face of the salacious rumors about me, my mother reacted by reposting them. Then, she turned to warn my sister, "Look at how disgusting the entertainment industry is. Don't join it, alright? Stay home and inherit your sister's assets instead. My dearest daughter must be innocent and pure, unlike her." She forgot. She forgot I only joined this 'disgusting' industry to pay for her cancer treatment.

“After drinking the potion, your wolf scent will be completely altered and your mate bond will be broken. Are you sure you want to do this?” The witch looked at me in surprise. "I'm sure." I nodded calmly and drank the potion without hesitation. My Alpha mate, Lucas, marked me three years ago but never held a formal mating ceremony because he spent three years designing a wedding dress for me himself. That was until a week before the ceremony, when I watched Lucas with my own eyes as he draped that Luna gown over my sister, Seraphina—who had been missing for three years. Even my beloved Beta twin brothers, who doted on me the most, were gathered around Seraphina. Seraphina and I were twin sisters. I had a crush on Lucas for ten years, but I knew Lucas had always loved her. However, three years ago, when the pack was on the verge of extinction after an attack by rogue wolves, Seraphina ran away, abandoning everyone. When everyone was in despair, I fought with all my might to protect everyone until Lucas and my brothers returned. I almost died in that battle. Lucas, trembling, held my hand and asked if I would be his mate. He said I had saved the entire pack, that I was the bravest she-wolf. My brothers also swore that Seraphina, that coward, had been banished from the family. They said that from now on, I was their only sister. Until two days ago, when Seraphina returned. She claimed that she didn't run away but left to lure away a more vicious pack of rogues. She said she had been poisoned with silver toxicity during the fight and only had a month to live. Lucas and my brothers believed her without hesitation. To make up for the three years they "owed" her, and to fulfill Seraphina's "dying wish," they decided—to give my Mating Ceremony to her. After drinking the potion, I sent a message to the Alpha King of the Northern Territory: I am willing to join the Northern Territory. Help me stage a fake death in a week.

In a room full of people, it feels we're discrete. We feel as if we've been left behind amid a crowd of figures. What does it mean to be one of them? To be a part of the circle? We're living in their eyes, yet we do not exist in their world. We're like a spark but no blaze because we think differently. Themis Lex Pravitel, tenacious in pursuing her goals, will go to any length to get that Attorney in front of her name. She is preparing, in the courtroom. Emperor Nezoi Palmadez, a Surgeon, embodies the serious yet amusing man, and whatever he wants, he gets it. He is getting ready in the operating room. They've been playing by the Universe countless times until they found themselves serving the same land. Will they listen to their heartbeats on a stethoscope? Or top-even to their mind speaks on a scale.

After my mom, Margaret Hale, dies of a heart attack, she starts appearing in my sister Claire Dawson's dreams. In a dream, Mom tells Claire to climb Mount Mistwood before sunrise and burn the entrance ticket for her, or the other ghosts will bully her. Claire doesn't tell me anything. She packs a bag in the middle of the night and forces herself to the summit. While she's gasping her way up that mountain, I'm asleep at home when I suddenly go into cardiac arrest. I wake up in the emergency room with doctors shouting over me. I barely survive before Mom appears in Claire's dreams again. This time, she says skydiving is her last wish. If Claire doesn't do it for her, she won't rest in peace. Claire signs up right away, ignoring everything I say. But then, her parachute refuses to open, and she plummets toward the ground. Luckily, she gets snagged in a tree and walks away without a scratch. Meanwhile, I miss a step going downstairs, tumble to the bottom, end up covered in bruises, and break five ribs. While I'm recovering in the hospital, Mom shows up in Claire's dreams again. Now, she wants Claire to go to the South Pole for her, saying she can finally move on and be reincarnated once Claire completes the trip. Claire doesn't hesitate and books a tour on the spot. While she's taking pictures with penguins, I freeze to death back home during a 104-degree heatwave. Only after I die does it finally hit me that Mom's missions for Claire always end with me on death's doorstep. What I don't understand is how Mom keeps shifting the danger meant for Claire onto me instead. The next time I open my eyes, I'm back on the morning after Mom first appeared in Claire's dream.

My mother gave birth to a pair of twins. I, the first twin, lived with my grandmother in the countryside since I was little. My twin brother, Felix Carter, lived with our parents during the same period. After I got accepted to a high school in the city, I was finally allowed to live with my parents. I thought I could finally have a taste of the familial love I'd been yearning for. Little did I know that this was the start of my nightmares. My parents and Felix ostracized me all the time, as though I were an outsider. Heck, my status at home wasn't even comparable to that of Felix's pet dog! One day, Felix stuffed a piece of kiwi into my mouth against my will, claiming that he wanted to help me get rid of my allergy toward kiwis. I pleaded with my parents for help with great difficulty, and yet all I received were cold glances from them. "Don't be a wuss! Are we expected to quit eating kiwis because of you?" "You're allergic to kiwis? Ridiculous! You'll get used to them after eating them a few more times!" But what my family didn't know was that severe allergies are actually fatal to the patient.

Sa loob ng dalawang taon, inakala ni Therese na may puwang pa siya sa puso ng kanyang asawang si Ezekiel Craig. Pinanghawakan niya ang pangakong "hanggang sa dulo," ngunit isang araw, bumagsak ang mundong inakala niyang sa kanya. Natuklasan niyang hindi siya tunay na anak ng pamilyang Forbes—isang kasinungalingang nagpabago sa takbo ng kanyang buhay. Kasabay nito, itinakwil siya ng pamilyang minahal niya, at ang mas masakit, pinalitan siya ng babaeng may tunay na karapatan sa pangalang iyon… at sa lalaking minahal niya nang labis. Sa isang iglap, nawala ang lahat. Ang pamilya, pagkatao, at maging ang kasal na buong puso niyang ipinaglaban. Ngunit sa pagkawala niya, isang mas matinding katotohanan ang lumitaw na hindi siya basta-basta mawawala. Dahil sa kanyang dugo, may pamilyang mas makapangyarihan ang handang ipaglaban siya. Sa kanyang pagbabalik, hindi na siya ang dating Therese na kayang yurakan ninuman.