Pandora Christmas

I grew up with the Vipera brothers. They have always considered me their younger sister and spoiled me silly. But after that car accident, my relationship with them changes completely. The accident leaves me with severe burns on my body, and I'm in constant agony. On top of that, my face is disfigured too. The moment I'm wheeled out of the ICU, I call the Vipera brothers to let them know that I'm safe. However, the only response I get from them is an impatient dismissal. "Sofia, Bianca hurt her fingers during the accident. We're taking care of her now. Don't bother us by throwing a tantrum." Soon, Bianca Rossi uploads a selfie of herself with the Vipera brothers in a luxurious hospital room. She's wearing three wolf fang bracelets on her wrist. I'd given those to the Vipera brothers as a Christmas gift last year. To get the fangs from the particular species of wolves they liked, I trekked through the jungle alone with a gun and battled feral wolves the entire night. I completely let go of any remaining feelings toward the famiglia that raised me and decide to leave them for good. When the Vipera brothers see me again at a grand banquet held by the Ferro famiglia, they are overwhelmed with regret.

On our Christmas break road trip, my cousin Felix Lloyd spotted some high-powered speakers at a highway rest stop. He had to have them—said he wanted to "blast it." "It's Christmas. We finally get to see everyone! We need some vibe!" My wife, Lana Ramsey, smiled and helped him pay. "Young people have energy. They know how to enjoy life." I yanked the power cord out. "Those aren't for regular cars. This is an EV. Overload it, and the whole system fries. Then what—just stuck in the middle of nowhere?" Lana's parents, Vincent and Donelia, booed me, calling me a buzzkill. Felix cranked the volume all the way up. Lana glared at me. "Say one more word and get out. I'll drive." Later, the speakers fried the battery system. We were stranded in total darkness on a rough mountain road. They finished the last of the food, then shoved me out to "go find help." I slipped, rolled down the slope, and died. When I opened my eyes, I was back—right when Felix jammed the speaker plug into the charging port. I grabbed a few more subwoofers and handed them over. "One isn't enough. Add more. That's how you really crank it."

As an intern at a prestigious marketing firm, Dahlia had briefly dated a lawyer from her building, only to discover he merely wanted arm candy for his family's holiday gathering. Her friends Todd and Jason whisked her away to Germany to lift her spirits, where she encountered and freed a wolf caught in a hunter's trap. Now back home, she faces pressure to submit her "perfect Christmas" letter for the company's annual auction. At their post-Thanksgiving holiday party, three eligible bachelors will each select one woman to accompany them for a week-long getaway in the Swiss Alps. At the holiday party, one of the bachelors selects Dahlia, while the other two choose her workplace tormentors. The six of them travel to the Swiss resort, where Dahlia has a shocking encounter, the wolf she rescued in Germany has followed her, and he's no ordinary animal but a shapeshifter named Lupin. When her bachelor companion Hunter discovers Lupin's true nature, the two men clash violently. As Dahlia struggles to process this supernatural revelation, her phone buzzes with an urgent message from Todd: a mysterious stranger is searching for her, someone who knows exactly who she is. Who is Dahlia and who is her true mate?

“You murderer!” No A resounding slap followed those words from Katrina’s Mother-in-law. The entire extended family gasped in shock but no one made a move to help. Not even Katrina’s husband, Damon Winchester. He just stood there, watching lazily, like he always did while his mother berated her for every little thing. But this wasn’t little, no. This was more than the fine china dishes that were one of the family’s heirlooms which Katrina broke last thanksgiving and earned her harsh insults from her mother-in-law. This was nothing like the family dinner she made last Christmas that caused half the kitchen to catch fire, needing a renovation. This couldn't be compared to that afternoon in summer, when she knocked over an antique vase while dusting, freezing as it cracked clean down the middle and her mother-in-law murmured that Katrina’s touch spoiled anything of value. No. This was the death of the only woman who loved someone as unlovable as Katrina. The woman who raised her. The woman who constantly fought for Katrina’s place in the Winchester Family even when she didn’t belong. Alana Winchester, Damon’s grandmother. Like every other thing, it was all her fault. Everything Katrina touched turned to ashes.

Anastasia's perfect marriage shattered on a snowy winter day when she caught her husband making love with her cousin. Kicked out with papers that proved her marriage was never legal, and on the verge of losing her business, a bakery passed on to her by her mother, she felt utterly broken. When Leon Hart, the cold billionaire rival from her college days and the man she once rejected, walked into her bakery, she didn't expect mercy. Instead, he offered a deal. Pretend to be his fiancée for Christmas, and he would clear her debts and save her bakery. But what Anastasia doesn’t know is that the contract she signs is a trap, filled with devastating fine print and fueled by Leon’s hidden agenda. As fake feelings turn dangerously real, dark truths come to light, including Leon’s shocking connection to the accident that killed her parents. Trapped between a past that broke her and a future built on lies, Anastasia must decide how much she’s willing to lose. When her ex-husband suddenly wants her back, she’s forced to choose. The man who destroyed her… or the billionaire who might destroy her all over again.

María López, a twenty-seven-year-old Dominican lawyer, decides that she is not ready to marry, her partner Reed is filled with revenge and hatred towards her and begins to create rumors about alleged bribes accepted by María, bribes of which were even from the defendant for her. After a discussion with the directors of the Buffet, María decides to take a vacation to her homeland on Christmas Eve. On the plane he meets Julio Medina, a man with cinnamon skin, honey-colored eyes and a captivating gaze, who had recently found his wife being unfaithful to him. Julio takes an interest in María and proposes her to a night of sex without commitments. After all, she is no longer engaged to anyone and decides to accept the indecent proposal. Julio is the change she needs in her life, a tender, attentive, romantic man and most importantly ... LOVE COFFEE! Could it be that it is too late when Maria realizes that love at first coffee does exist? Will Julio hold out for Maria to realize that she loves him? Julio is not looking for something temporary, he knew it the moment he saw that woman for the first time. He should make her his, she was perfect for him. Do two souls recognize each other when they belong? Was he wrong? Julio is a man sure of what he wants, and who he wants in his life is that woman so incomprehensible and afraid of falling in love.

Wendy Lloyd's first love, Hudson Clark, treats me like a walking blood bank. Because of that, I end up dying in the rented apartment Wendy has given to me out of contemptuous pity. Today is the third day of my death. My six-year-old son, Terry Heath, finally realizes that something is wrong with me. When he accidentally cuts his finger from playing with his toys, I don't coax him at all. When he tears open a pack of cookies and feeds one to me, I don't stop him at all. When he lies in my arms and grips me by the hem of my shirt while calling out to me softly, I don't respond to him at all. Feeling rather uneasy, Terry finds my phone and calls Wendy. "Mommy, why is Daddy still asleep?" Wendy responds by sending a photo of her and Hudson enjoying a holiday feast together. She then says coldly, "He's just asleep, not dead. Today is Christmas Eve, so I'm very busy right now. "Tell that arrogant father of yours that he's only free to visit me whenever he's ready to acknowledge his mistakes." After that, the call ends. Terry is left feeling stunned for a long time. Finally, he digs out the last cookie from the trash can and snaps it in half. Then, he feeds it to me again. "Daddy, let's eat."

The pope's death, the union of China and Korea as a single country, and the economic breakdown triggered the third world war. Or is it a secret society that wanted to create a one-world government to end Christianity forever? When the Vatican claimed that they received a retraction from a journalist who wrote about the demented pope, they could not show it to the public. The mysterious death of the pope surprised the world following the disappearance of the writer. That year, there was no Christmas celebration, to commiserate with the Catholic church. The war in the Middle East continued to worsen leading to fluctuations in the oil prices and the price of commodities skyrocketed as a result. There was an economic breakdown even if there was also a digital chutzpah going around. China and Korea united as a single country. They wanted to rival NATO, particularly America. Both countries wanted to be a superpower. Henry, the premier of the China and Korea, visited as a commoner to America and met the brother of the journalist, Isaac. He believed that chaos theory should be laws of chaos and he predicted war. When Isaac received a late phone call about his brother, he set on an adventure to save his brother. Discovering that a secret society was launching a one-world government to launch a war, Isaac asked the help of Henry. In 72 hours, there will be a third world war. "If power is a religion," Henry once said, "then, I'm proud to be an atheist." This inspired the young genius to save the world from New World Order. What if instead of a New World Order, this secret society strengthened the Roman Catholic Church, much to the dismay of the one-world government? Will faith reign over the greedy and evil?

I'm Dominik, the dark side of an Archangel. I have no good in me. I have never loved a soul. Yet, here I am, falling for a Human girl with bright blue eyes. How? I want to get the fuck out of here. Ever since I was imprisoned here, my brother has been a thorn in my spine. I have continually schemed ways to escape. Not that I don't appreciate Hilda and everything she has done, my freedom has always been my priority. Tell me why I am so enamored with this little Human? The way she laughs. The way she admires me when she thinks I'm not looking. The pink flooding her cheeks. The problem is, The Keepers are looking for their amulet, and Master Rowen is looking for his pet… I didn't know which one was worse. I knew what I had to do to get us out, and It was going to hurt me more than it would hurt her. I even contemplated not doing it and just staying here, with her… But the Keepers couldn't be so kind as to leave her be. My plan was here, the time to execute was now, and I forced her to take us back with her. I didn't save her when she arrived, just to allow my fucking feelings to get in the way. Guilt flooded my chest when I manipulated her. It flooded my chest again when my brother shoved a flaming hot Angel blade right through her… What did I do? Oh, yea… I left her there to bleed out… And now that I've ruined any chance I ever could have had with the little Human… I'm going to open Pandora's Box and unleash hell onto this world. If I have to hurt, so does everyone else.

The seventh time Claire Fisher bailed on our marriage license appointment, I finally cut her out of my life—for good. From then on, if she was at a party, I wasn't. When she was scheduled to perform at our college's anniversary celebration, I made sure to leave early. The moment my company announced a collaboration with hers, I resigned without a second thought. Even on Christmas Eve, when she showed up at my parents' house with gifts, I slipped out with a half-hearted excuse about "visiting a friend." I blocked her number. Deleted her from my contacts. Burned every bridge and salted the earth behind me. No calls. No texts. No social media. I didn't reach out. She couldn't reach me. Simple as that. For the better part of my life, I was hopelessly in love with her—waiting on her, caring for her, putting her first in every way that mattered. I gave her all of me without ever holding back. But after the seventh time she left me sitting alone at the City Hall, something inside me broke. I was done. If that meant spending the rest of my life alone, so be it. Better that than sitting in an empty apartment, listening to the silence, holding on to hope for someone who never planned to show up.