Shipping Joke

I return to my hometown after becoming the wealthiest person in the world. I stand beside a luxury car I bought for my father and call him—I want him to be surprised when he picks me up. However, this backfires on me. I joke with him and tell him my company has gone bankrupt. My debtors are coming after me, so I'm home to flee from them. I end up standing under the sweltering sun until the sky goes dark and it starts to pour—my father never shows up to see his gift. I brave the rain as I head home. Before I even enter the house, I can sense my sister-in-law's panic. "Listen to me—don't tell that jinx that Dad has just won a million dollars!" My mother says, "I knew having a daughter was a bad decision. It's bad enough that she doesn't have money for us—why is she coming home when she's in trouble? She should just die out there!" My father sneers. "Well, we can sell her off to that cripple in the village. Maybe she'll fetch a good price!"

Wanted: Mayaman, matulungin, at mamamatay na... sana. Joke lang ‘yon ng kaibigan—pero ang ending? Natagpuan ni Jenica ang sarili sa harap ng pinakamayamang lalaki sa siyudad: si Alexander Fuego, nasa wheelchair, naghihingalo, at nag-alok ng kasal na parang promo lang sa mall: "Marry me now, and inherit everything when I die." Siyempre, sino ba naman ang tatanggi sa instant yaman? Pero may problema: Hindi ito namatay. Ilang taon na ang lumipas, buhay pa rin si Alexander Fuego—fresh na fresh, at parang si kamatayan pa ang natigok sa halip na ang lalaki. Kaya tumakas si Jenica, dala ang sikreto: buntis siya sa tagapagmana ng Fuego Empire! Fast forward, balik bansa si Jenica. Mayaman na rin. Confident. Glamorous. Pero—wait lang. Si Alex? Gumaling na, mas hot pa, at may fiancé? Excuuuse me? Buhay pa siya, pero may balak na itong magpakasal sa iba? Game na. Pupunta si Jenica sa engagement party. Hindi para bawiin si Alex. Hindi para manira. Okay fine... maybe a little.

The whole wolf pack knew I was Alpha Nick’s fated mate—chosen by the Moon Goddess herself. But the second I stepped into Brown Pack territory with my suitcase in hand— His mother, Mrs. Johnson, ordered the maids to spray me with wolfsbane. His cousin, Enna, "accidentally" put me in *his* bedroom. And his childhood sweetheart, Rina, slapped a ten-million-dollar check in my face, demanding I publicly renounce this "joke of a mating bond." Even Alpha Nick himself—the ruthless legend of the pack—spent the first night wrapped around me like a damn octopus, only to kick me out coldly the next morning: *"Get out. Don’t come back to my room again."* When I was framed for theft, forced to work overtime till midnight, or locked inside a pitch-black office mid-panic attack… My *"fiancé"* was too busy grinding on Rina at some high-society ball. Then the truth about me dropped— Brown Pack’s elders dropped to their knees, trembling. Rina ripped her knockoff Luara gown in rage. And Alpha Nick, eyes bloodshot, pinned me against the wall: *"Wendy… you played me."* I smirked, peeling his fingers off me. *"Sorry, Alpha. The three-month contract’s up."* *"Now… call me by my real title—heir of White Moon Pack."*

BURB: Nathan Reed was born with a physical disability, he has a weak leg from birth and a seizure which leads to nose bleeding and he litterrily grew up in poverty. Quiet and introverted, he was a social outcast in high school, eventually becoming the primary target of a bullying clique. While Noah Grayson was the leader of that clique—the polar opposite of Nathan. He's Born into an elite family, he was a tall, athletic playboy who never knew the meaning of struggle. Traumatized by the abuse from the Noah group, the Nathan was forced to drop out. He spent years working grueling jobs—repairman, delivery driver, construction worker—until he finally landed a position at his current company. Starting from the very bottom, his diligence and competence eventually led him to the position of department manager. Just as he thinks his life is finally on track, his nightmare—Noah reappears. Despite Nathan professional success, he still feels like an ant in the face of the Noah's immense power and status. Mustering his courage to confront him, Nathan was shocked when Noah claims he has come to apologize for his past sins. Asking him to give him a chance to purse him. Is this a sincere confession or a cruel joke? Is the Noah truly repentant, or is there a hidden scheme at play? How will Nathan choose this time?

I'm the only heir to the wealthiest conglomerate in the world. My father, Tyrone Ferguson, is extremely powerful and has forces from both the underworld and the legal world eating out of his palm. But I witness my girlfriend, Vivian Vega, giving a "Voluntary Transfer of Body Ownership" contract to my arch nemesis, Richard Larkin, at our engagement ceremony. "Don't be mad at us, Isaac." Vivian shows me the contract, her tone still light and casual. "I love you, so I'll reserve my most treasured virginity for you. I will always be your wife, but I want to give the ownership of my body to Richard." "The hell are you on about?" With a deep frown on my face, I attempt to pull Vivian away from Richard, only to get pushed away by the latter. Vivian quickly moves to stand in front of Richard, her brows tangled into a frown. "Stop being so narrow-minded, Isaac! I'm free to give anyone my body!" She then stands on her tiptoes to kiss Richard right in front of me. At that moment, I become the biggest joke in elite society. Before the mass media begins spreading the news, I send out a text message calmly. "There's no need to help cover up for the Vega family's shady businesses anymore."

"What... What are these?" Selene stammered, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Divorce papers?" She looked up at Maximus, searching his face for some sign of a joke, a mistake - anything to tell her this wasn’t real. His eyes flickered with a brief moment of hesitation before hardening into a steely gaze. "If Jess hadn’t disappeared, we never would have gotten married” he drawled before delivering the final blow. “Well, Jess is back now.” She couldn’t breathe. Despite her best efforts over their three years of marriage, Maximus had never acknowledged her nor loved her the way he loved Jess. **** She signed the papers, and left his life for good, taking the babies growing in her womb with her. A few years later, She became a top medical doctor and did everything possible to stay away from Maximus. However, on her twins’ fifth birthday, they came running to her, giggling: "Mummy, we found our billionaire daddy!" She looked up and saw Maximus standing in front of her, clearly expecting her to run into his arms. Instead, She chuckled. His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when she responded with a deadpan expression, "No, babies, your Father is dead."

Richard Montague, a rich heir in Durmask, has just posted a new tweet on Twitter. The accompanying photo features a luxurious winery. The caption reads, "My wife loves this place a lot, so I bought it immediately." I tap on the photo, soon realizing that this is Amie Winery, the same place that I had briefly mentioned to Richard last week. Then, I recall the fact that he has told me that he's prepared a surprise anniversary gift for me in a mysterious tone. So, this winery must be the gift! With a wide smile on my face, I respond to his tweet in the comment section. But three minutes later, Kiara York, a popular celebrity from the same company that I'm in, quickly proclaims her love for Richard on the Internet. "Wow, my husband is so generous! I'm very satisfied with this gift!" All the onlookers and fans begin shipping Kiara and Richard like mad overnight. "What a sweet relationship! As expected of the rich heir in Durmask! Even the way he announces his relationship is very domineering!" The whole turn of events leaves me feeling stunned. Once I realize that Kiara is just trying to ride on the coattails of Richard's popularity, I quickly post a picture of my marriage certificate online. It comes with a caption. "If she's the legitimate wife, then who am I?" But Kiara soon posts a marriage certificate of her own. To my surprise, there's a photo attached to the certificate. Richard's face is shown in the photo. Kiara mocks me, "There's a limit to being a lunatic fangirl, you know! Rick and I are husband and wife by law! You can't just slap a Photoshopped picture here and pretend that he's your husband!" As I stare at both copies of the marriage certificates, which show the courthouse's stamp, I fall in deep contemplation. Then, I look at the place Kiara tagged on her Twitter comment. Finally, I can't resist calling Richard, who's currently overseas. "How dare you engage in bigamy behind my back!"

At dinner, Tiffany White grabs my fiance's phone and spends 100 thousand dollars on a designer bag. She even sticks her tongue at me. "Come on, Meredith. You're loaded. You won't mind such a small amount, right? Shawn and I share everything. His money is my money," she says. Everyone at the table waits for me to lose my temper or smile and let it slide like a saint. Instead, I calmly take out a voice recorder and my laptop from my bag and adjust my gold-rimmed glasses. "100 thousand meets the threshold for criminal filing. Since you said you two share everything, I have to ask—is this embezzlement or an illegal transfer tied to an improper personal relationship? "Oh, and what you just said about 'his money is my money'? I recorded that. According to the supplemental clauses in our prenup and the company bylaws, I'm officially initiating an asset-freezing order against Shawn Harrison." I turn to Tiffany. "Enjoy your free meals in prison, Ms. White." Shawn is livid. "It was just a joke, Meredith. Is it really necessary to ruin me over this?" I hit the "enter" key. "Sorry. In my book, there are no jokes—only bad debt."

Timothy Giannato is a twenty-nine-year-old Italian multimillionaire who no longer believes in love, not since his girlfriend of more than a year of relationship, was unfaithful with a co-worker. Now Timothy prefers to live life on his own terms, no strings attached, no love, no suffering. Melody Redford is a twenty-two-year-old young woman, an animal and book lover, in her fifth semester of college studying veterinary medicine. Thanks to a night of drinking and partying, she became unexpectedly pregnant and her boyfriend Richard did not admit it and urged her to get rid of the problem. Melody’s family was no help either and forced her to make the most difficult decision any woman could make: to abort her child or to leave home and raise her child alone. Melody refused to have an abortion, so she was only three months pregnant when she moved in with her friend Lucy and got a job at a coffee shop to pay for doctor’s appointments and prenatal pills. That’s how she realized that it was going to be impossible for her to sustain a decent life for when her child was born. She was willing to do anything to avoid going back to her parents for help, let alone calling Richard. What neither of them imagined was that fate had an awfully bad joke for both of them, and it would show them that it is never too late to trust again.

"Melonie Starling, I, Bolin Crescent, reject you as my rightful mate." His jawline tightened, and his arms rolled into a fist, squeezed angrily by each word. Every word that departed from his mouth felt like salt thrown into an open wound, and I became so weak that my entire body shook. Witnessing the pain of the rejection I'm going through, Alpha Bolin said, "You'd be a joke and unfit to be my Luna, so make it easier for yourself and also reject me as your mate." ******** Melonie is anxious to find her mate, the one who will give her what she has been longing for her entire life: to be loved. Discovering under the full moon that her alpha, Bolin, is her mate, she knows right away that he would never accept her as his Luna much as a mate. Alpha Bolin rejects her on the spot and uses his alpha voice, forcing her, against her will, to also reject him and flee from her, breaking every hope Melonie had in him. How will Melonie carry on, knowing the wolf she has been waiting for her entire life to give her what she has always dreamed of, choose to share it with another she-wolf who has made her life a living hell?