Saying Goodbyes

My mother-in-law is extremely frugal. She reuses paper others have discarded, carefully saving the unmarked portions. She even takes the black waste oil from the kitchen range hood and uses it to cook our meals. She says, "Frugality is a virtue—it brings blessings!" I try tirelessly to convince her otherwise, throwing out all her filthy items to protect my family's health. But while she praises me to my face, behind my back, she uses my baby's food scissors to clip her grimy toenails. My child eventually dies of a lung infection, leaving me heartbroken. My mother-in-law, however, points her finger at me, saying I'm unlucky and that I've brought misfortune to their family. Even my husband blames me. In the end, they use a knitting needle to pierce my throat and stab me to death. When I open my eyes again, I find myself back on the day I first see her picking up dirty paper. The first thing I do is hide all the high-quality tissue paper I had stocked up on before my pregnancy, pretending I knew nothing. She calls these blessings, right? Fine. The blessings of this miserly frugality—she can reap them all herself!

The doctor said I only had three days left to live. Acute liver failure. My only hope was an experimental clinical trial. It was extremely risky, but had the faintest sliver of a chance to survive. But my husband, David, gave the last available spot... to my adopted sister, Emma, also my daughter’s godmother. Her condition was still in its early stages. He said it was the "right decision," because she “deserved to live more.” I signed the papers to forgo treatment and took the high-dose painkillers prescribed by the doctor. The cost? My organs would shut down, and I would die. When I handed over the jewelry company I’d poured my heart into, along with all my designs, to Emma, my parents praised me, saying, “Now that’s what a good big sister should do.” When I agreed to divorce David so he could marry Emma, he said, “You’ve finally learned to be understanding.” When I told my daughter to call Emma ‘Mom,’ she clapped her hands and said, “Emma is such a gentle and kind mother!” When I gave all my assets to Emma, everyone in the family thought it was only natural. No one noticed anything was wrong with me. I’m just curious. Will they still be able to smile when they find out I'm dead?

The day Seraphina Lovelace steps out of prison is also the day her boyfriend dumps her. For him, she has been imprisoned for three years, but he betrays her, getting engaged with another wealthy girl. What's worse? He even sends killers to kidnap Seraphina to prevent her from divulging secrets. To avoid the killers, Seraphina serves as a waitress in an underworld criminal bar. One night, she happens to save a seriously injured young man. His name is Alfred, and the surname he conceals from Seraphina is Vanderwood. Vanderwood, the Alpha King Family. When Seraphina is about to be killed by the bar's boss, Alfred saves her. Finally, she knows his identity. The new Alpha King, also the most powerful were-wolf in the world. Seraphina thinks he will kill her as well since she once tied his wrists, pressed him against the pillow, and almost had a forced kiss with him. But he doesn't. The only thing he asks Seraphina to do is pretend to be his cousin. Excuse me? What the hell is he saying? Seraphina finds it ridiculous, but Alfred is serious. It seems like Seraphina has no better choice but to agree with his requirement. However, she has no idea that when she says "yes" to Alfred, she also selects a path that she is unable to turn back. Become Alpha King's Faked Cousin is created by Cara TaleSmith, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

“It’s you,” he slides his hand down the nape of her neck. “Or nothing else,” he looked at her like she was the only star in the night sky and leaned close to her lips. “It took me so long to find you, yet, you came exactly when I needed you.” Saying this, she kissed him like he was the air keeping him alive. Love is a patient, soft and everlasting feeling, when you find such love, there will always be a part of your heart that would definitely change. Gavin Garrick was a man full of love, but everything turned black when he lost his parents and the love of his life abandoned him, being alone and facing such tragedy made him build a high wall around him, he became ruthless and cruel, but suddenly, Arielle Patton stumbled into his high walls. But what happens when she discovers the man was not who everyone thought he was? How does learning his secret change everything she pictured him to be? How can he tell if she wasn’t part of their plans to ruin him, when lies and betrayal clouded his worlds? Does she run away from the man who shared the same painful fate as her, or does she heal him? What can she do when she found herself surrounded in a world of wealth? Let’s read to find out!

I was out for a long time. My eyes could not adjust easily and I felt a lot of pain throughout my whole body. I didn't know what was happening but surely I was somewhere in the dark. "That's ok, now sleep. Tomorrow you will feel better," someone woman voice said. Then I heard another male voice saying, "what has gotten into you? Now we are in deep shit." I couldn't listen to the conversation any longer as I have lost conciousness again. I groaned in agony as I felt myself waking again. I opened my eyes slowly but I could only see blurred. I noticed I had better sense of smell and I could hear better too. What's going on?I could hear a conversation that was outside the room I was locked in. "Please, do not tell anyone. It must have been the haze. It felt stronger then usual this time and I couldn't hold myself any longer. He was way too hot and I felt an unusual feeling like I was out of control." That was definitely Mei, but whom was she talking to? Also, what the hell is she? I couldn't forget last night's images. Fangs, shadows, and, blue eyes glowing at me, no, but then the second time they looked Red. Yes. I remember that. I was not going crazy.

It was the holiday season, so I took my foster daughter, Megan Delgado, to our mansion for a vacation. However, I found out that the property had been occupied by someone else. The woman who opened the door looked at us with an impatient expression. “What do you want? You’re interrupting my daughter’s birthday party. Are you asking for trouble?” For a moment, I thought I might have the wrong house. That was until I noticed the clothing and jewelry the woman was wearing. Every piece was an exact match with what I kept in my wardrobe here. The timing could not be more telling. Just a week ago, my husband, Richie Delgado, said he was planning a surprise for me and Megan. He asked for the spare key to the mansion. I glanced past her at the crowd of party guests in the living room. “So, you’re saying you’re the lady of the house?” She sized me up and noted my simple outfit. “Who else if not me? You? You’ve ruined my daughter’s party. You’d better beg for her forgiveness now!” she said in a condescending tone. When I did not move, she warned, “My husband will be home any minute now. Do you know who he is? He’s the CEO of Beran Corp! A nobody like you can’t afford to cross him!” They were using my mansion to throw a birthday party for his illegitimate daughter. It was quite the surprise indeed!

I had just won the Hawthorne Scientific Laureate on the international stage when my father called me back home. "Bring the betrothal gifts to the Hayes family. That childhood engagement should finally be fulfilled." Afraid of getting stuck in traffic, I took my modified motorcycle, carried the national heritage porcelain obtained through generations of the Keane family's military merits, and headed toward their house. Just as I arrived at the community gate, a Porsche suddenly cut across the lane, nearly knocking me over. A heavily made-up woman, Zoey Mercer, stepped out of the car, raised one sharp high heel, and kicked the top box off my motorcycle. "You rode this junk motorcycle yet dared block my way? If you dent my car, your whole family won't be able to afford the compensation!" My heart sank. I quickly opened the case, only to see the entire box of celadon porcelain shattered. "So you’re just some delivery guy. Think this pile of trash is worth even one of my shoes? "You even know whose neighborhood this is? It belongs to Kingshore's Hayes family! My best friend’s family developed this place! Believe it or not, I can have you thrown out right now!" Right then, my fiancee, Lauren Hayes, called me. "Where are you? My friend just messaged me saying there’s a delivery guy causing trouble at the entrance."

“What...who are you?” she asked in fear “I'm a vampire” he replied simply and she burst into laughter “vampire? Really?” she paused and studied him carefully “I believe in angels and demons, I believe in God and Satan but vampires?” she chuckled again before saying “vampires aren't real” He watched her for a long time, shrugged and said “okay” then he vanished Hadassah was a young graduate who still lived with her parents. She works as a detective, she is excellent at her job and loved by all her colleagues. She isn't afraid of getting her job done but recently, people are mysteriously disappearing and many people believe it has something to do with the old cemetery as they claimed they've been seeing a figure of a man standing at the window and dead bodies of people hanging on the rusty gates with mysterious marks on their necks. When Hadassah is appointed to find out the mystery behind the sudden disappearance, she has to decide if she would let her recent dreams, loss or a mysterious pale-looking, handsome stranger get in the way of her job. Aamon has an unexplainable love for the darkness, he frequents an abandoned old house in the cemetery. The house cast a spooky glow on the street it was and it was rumored to be haunted. It was known to host all kinds of wild creatures including a vampire... Every night, Aamon awakens from his coffin of a bed to stare out his window and no he's not just starting into space, he's watching her

“I used to have ice surrounding my heart, but it melted the moment I fucked you,” Hardin said and she scoffed. “It was just a harmless sex, grow up kid and let me go!” She yelled. Freda having been cheated on by her boyfriend for not been good on bed, she wanted to do anything to know if she was indeed back on bed, and that was where she met Hardin who refused to let her go. He kidnapped her and he made sure she was with him even when she wanted to leave. He kept on saying this to her. “My whole world changed ever since I fucked you!” Freda didn’t know how it happened but she didn’t know how she fell in love with the man she once hated. She thought he would be hers not until Shelby his former sex toy came into the picture. Freda had to withdraw knowing she didn’t stand a chance. She decided to give up her love for the mafia lord since he didn’t even spare her a glance but kept on hurting her. She was told by Shelby to enjoy the moment that she’d soon be replaced as soon as he finds a new sex mate. Freda wanted to let go, will she? Or would she continue to love him secretly, or make him fall in love with her? Find out!

My husband was the leader of the rescue team. As I was trapped in a cave and surrounded by a pack of wolves, I desperately called him over and over. Yet, he hung up on me every single time. When the fire nearly burnt out and the wolves got closer, he finally called me and angrily accused me, "Can you stop wasting public resources? I'm the rescue team leader first, and then your husband." In the background, I heard a soft, feminine voice saying, "Howard, my arm has a cut. Can you take me to the hospital?" I was familiar with that voice. It was my husband's first love. Ever since her husband died, she clung to him. And my husband... He didn't just tolerate it; rather, he seemed to enjoy it. A wave of despair washed over me as I ended the call. My hands were trembling, and I tried to call the police, but before I could, the leader of the wolves pounced on me. I fell hard to the ground, and the rest of the pack, sensing the signal, ran toward me at an extraordinary speed. I didn't stand a chance to fight back, and in mere moments, I was ripped into pieces. Before my consciousness slipped away, I struggled to glance down at my lower abdomen one last time, and my lips quivered. "My baby, I'm sorry I failed you…"