Sinister Smile

On our tenth wedding anniversary, my husband, Jaxon Wilde, walks through the door with his hundredth new mistress. From my neck, he snaps the necklace that was once our token of love and fastens it around hers. Amid the guests' jeers and mocking laughter, the lady tugs timidly at my gown and murmurs, "Mr. Wilde wants me to wear this dress tonight, Scarlett." It was a dress altered from my wedding gown ten years ago, and I wore it tonight like a fool, hoping he might remember. But now, he wants to strip his wife bare in public and give it to his mistress on the wedding anniversary. Under the weight of everyone's sneers, I look up at him and give him a genuine smile for the first time in a decade. "Let's get divorced, Jaxon."

My roommate's cousin was the CEO of a company. She and I had been secretly dating for three years. That day, my roommate said, "Alicia's bringing the guy she's been seeing for the past three years over to meet her parents soon." He added casually, "Oh, by the way, when are you gonna bring your girlfriend around so I can meet her?" I froze at his question, not sure how to respond. Without a word, I stepped out onto the balcony and called his cousin, Alicia Davids. The call suddenly cut off. When I turned around, I saw my girlfriend standing in the doorway, arm in arm with another man. The smile on her face disappeared the second our eyes met. "What… what are you doing at my place?"

I hadn't seen my mafia husband, Luca Moretti, and our daughter Dora in three whole months. Why? Because his mother, Fiona, said Dora should stay with her "for a while." And Luca? He was "too busy with business," as always. So when Luca finally called and said he was going to pick me up for a family reunion at the villa, I was overjoyed. I thought maybe, just maybe, I'd finally get to hold my little girl again. I spent the whole damn day running around the city, buying her favorite dolls, snacks, a new pink dress, anything I thought would make her smile at me again. But when the car arrived, it wasn't what I imagined. Before I could even say Hi, Dora turned her head, took one look at me… and then wrapped her arms even tighter around Maria, the maid. She buried her face in Maria's neck like I wasn't even there. Like Maria was her mom. I tried to approach her, but Dora straight-up told me she didn't want to ride in the same car as me. And Maria, wearing that fake, polite smile, kept trying to gently talk me into giving Dora "a little more time." I looked over at Luca, hoping he'd step in. Instead, he just looked annoyed, like he couldn't be bothered to lift a finger to help fix things between me and our daughter. Clearly, they didn't want me there. So what was the point of trying to join the ride? I stepped back from the SUV. Then Luca just turned to me and said, "Just wait here. I won't be long." What he'll never understand is… I'm done waiting for him.

"I am the air you breathe? Oh, I must be suffocating.'' Zaphyra Andrejez always thought of a fairytale themed love. But when her dreams shattered, they crushed her down and tore her apart. Remembering how her first love went despite of forgetting, she found herself falling in love once again. Yet even with her heart stammering when she's around him, she still denies. He didn't want to give up but he felt having no strength to move forward and keep waiting for her only to get rejected again. But remembering what he felt when he first laid eyes on her, he got that smile back again. What will she think this time? Will her feelings change once she feels different? Or will she find another air to breathe?

On the day I entered my contract marriage with Brian Janson, a flood of comments suddenly flashed before my eyes. [No…! The villainess is going to ruin the male lead’s purity!] [The CEO’s first time should belong to the heroine! Shameless woman, get off his waist right now!] [Are they going to do it or not? I’m on a tight schedule.] [Come on, have some loyalty to the main couple!] [If Brian knew he wouldn’t be able to give Quincy the ‘pure, untouched version’ of himself in the future, he’d probably drown in guilt.] Pure, untouched version? Sorry. I was born a villain, and making trouble is what I do best. So while Brianwas drunk, I leaned in without the slightest bit of guilt. The comments exploded again. [It’s over. They look like they’re about to get married for real!] [Am I seeing things? Did the male lead just… smile?]

Billionaire Elijah Warren may be a saint to everyone else but Coraline Baxter knew better. She knew the younger man was too good to be true and that no one was that perfect. He always treated her like she was trash anytime they met, with a smile on his perfect face. She tried to avoid him as much as she could but it was nearly impossible when he was best friends with her friends and he came to her place of work every day. Coraline's life hits rock bottom when her daughter needs surgery and she is desperate for money, Elijah offers her double the money she needs. All she has to do is one little thing which is to be his surrogate. Coraline is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Will she agree to be his surrogate to save her daughter's life or choose her pride and walk away?

All she did was fall helplessly in love with him, but he accused her of being a traitor instead. Aurora never believed in werewolves, but she was, however, imprisoned in Alpha Brynn's mansion and eventually caught in the crossfire of love, betrayal, and blood. Theodore, the alpha’s son, has loved another woman since his teen years and considers her his fated mate, but fate leads him to Aurora instead. As feelings begin to spark, a looming danger arises. A deadly betrayal and a near-death attack force Theodore to turn Aurora into a werewolf to save her life. But before their love can deepen, his father is killed, and all evidence points to her. Now hunted and unmarked by the man she loves and his vengeful, jealous ex, Aurora must survive in a world where not every smile is genuine. Will love be her salvation or her downfall?

The rules of the Lawson family prevented their heir from marrying women who were from an ordinary background. But the eldest son of the Lawson family, James Lawson, just had to fall in love with a woman named Laura Jackson, who was a fish seller. He gave up his right of inheritance just to be with her. He was punished by his family by being whipped 99 times. He was also forced to kneel for three whole days. His shirt was covered in blood, but he still said to Laura with a smile, "It's alright, Laura. I just want to be with you." In the end, the Lawson family finally allowed James and Laura to be together, but on one condition: James had to leave the Lawson family an heir. After that, what James said to Laura the most was, "Just give me a little more time." The first time he said that was when he wanted Laura to wait for him to get another woman pregnant.

What if nalaman mong 6 months na lamang ang ilalagi mo sa mundong ito? Ano ang pipiliin mo? Ang enjoyin mo na lamang ang natitirang oras mo rito sa Mundo o mas pipiliin mong sundin ang gusto ng mga magulang para lang masabi mo na bago ka mamatay ay naging proud sila sa 'yo? Isagani Ferrer, a handsome billionaire drugs Ziri Montefalco with intensity, and once Ziri have completely invested in that relationship, he intermittently reward and then withhold. This causes Ziri to behave in ways that go against her values and boundaries just to feel close to him, and a simple smile or gesture from Isagani will send Ziri into a momentary high. Slowly, he mold that innocent lady into a human puppet, which means that her mood and mental well-being depend on Isagani's wants.

I met my mate, Alpha Draven, at the bonding ceremony of our classmate Raven—seven years after I rejected him. But everything had changed. He was still handsome and prestigious, with his beautiful mate clinging to his side. And me? I stood there in an old-fashioned uniform, black-rimmed glasses perched on my nose— a relic from another world. Yes. We were from two completely different worlds now. In the middle of the ceremony, I overheard some werewolves whispering and laughing. "Draven, have you finally moved on from her rejection? It's been seven years, after all." His smile faded. "Honestly, I didn't even recognize her at first glance today." Their words struck me like claws to the heart. I couldn't breathe. So I left—quietly, halfway through the ceremony—before the pain could completely devour me.