Smiling Flower

The Devil You Called Grimace. Hunger. Love like a curse. They say some doors open only once. She opened hers with three red candles, a drop of blood, and a whisper. Lonely nights, overdue rent, and a heart too heavy to carry — that’s all it took to call him through. Malik. The man made of smoke, shadow, and everything her prayers forgot to protect her from. He came smiling, with promises sweet as sin — protection, money, revenge. Every favor he gave her tasted like salvation until she realized he was feeding on her, one piece at a time. A memory here. A dream there. Her laughter swallowed whole. Now he’s the warmth in her sheets and the whisper in her nightmares. The devil she named, the lover she can’t unmake. Because Malik wasn’t summoned. He was chosen. And love — the kind that burns red under candlelight — always demands a body to keep it alive.

In my last international car racing championship, the front tire of my car suddenly burst, causing the car to roll over. The cars behind me collided with me one by one. After 99 times, I was unrecognizable from the impacts. Just as I reached out to my boyfriend for help by instinct, he kicked me away, my body covered in blood and flesh. “Don't dirty my newly tailored clothes today.” He turned around, picked up the champion who had just crossed the finish line, and spun her around, smiling and saying: “Sharon, only the championship trophy is worthy of you. I will remove all obstacles for you.” Blood stained my entire body. Watching the two of them embrace as the sun set, I felt numb and desperate. What he didn't know was that among these red stains was the child who had just come into this world. At that moment, I gave up on continuing to love him.

Before my crazy grandmother died, she gave me three walnuts. According to her last wish, I cracked open the first walnut on my twenty-fifth birthday. Inside the walnut was a slip of paper. 'Go to the skybridge and grovel at the first beggar you meet' was the instruction written on it. When I looked at the note, I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Still, I did as told. To my surprise, the beggar turned out to be an undercover cop. Only later did I learn that I had long been targeted by human traffickers, and the bow had saved my life. As for the second walnut, my grandmother told me to crack it open before I got married. When I put on my wedding dress, ready to marry the policeman who saved me, I happily opened it. This time, there was a crumpled old photograph inside. In the photo, my fiancé was smiling as he strangled another bride.

“Alex… I’m dying.” Amara’s trembling voice over the phone should have shaken her husband, but the renowned Dr. Alex Spencer simply replied, “Buy medicine and let me work.” The world envied their marriage to the perfect doctor, but behind closed doors, Amara carried every pain alone. Until the day she received two verdicts: brain cancer… and a divorce she signed with her own hands. She walked away, whispering, “This is the last meal I’ll ever cook for you,” leaving Alex furious and unable to accept the truth. And when he rushed into a house decorated with flowers and candles, her smiling picture greeted him instead. She was gone. He fell down, weeping like a child. But something still told him, this was all a setup. That Amara was still alive and he won’t rest until he finds her. Is Amara truly still alive? Read to find out!

"Qubool hai(I accept)," I said with great difficulty and a lone tear escaped from my eyes. I looked at my husband and found him smiling at me. His smile was so mysterious and unusual which created a shiver in my whole system. At the time of Rukhsati(sending off the bride), my mother requested to my husband," Please, take care of her." " Don't worry. I will love her and take care of her so much that she will forget her own family," He replied chuckling but I felt something fishy in his voice. Will he really love me and take care of me the way he is promising to my mother? Erina was just a 22-year-old girl when she was forcefully married to a stranger. She is doubtful about this stranger's intention behind marrying her. Will she ever come to know about her stranger husband's intention?

Because of her father's brain cancer, Karen Goodwill became Gordon Williams' concubine to earn money for her father's hospital bills and treatment. She dropped out of school at the age of eighteen. After five years with Gordon Williams, Karen Goodwill has accumulated a large amount of money. After the deal ended, Karen Goodwill gave up her life as a concubine. She runs her own flower shop for a living. Meanwhile, Mr. Williams asked Gordon Williams to get married so that Williams Gems Group could receive a huge investment from the Joyner family. Unexpectedly, two years later, his wife betrayed him, the Williams family made a loss. While going to a bar to relax, he met Karen Goodwill again. They meet each other again, no longer have a relationship to exchange money and sex, falling in love with each other and together revive the Williams family estate, build their own empire and avenge the Joyner family.

Welcome back to Clifton Heights. Sheriff Chris Baker and Father Ward meet for a Saturday morning breakfast at The Skylark Diner to once again commiserate over the weird and terrifying secrets surrounding their town. Sheriff Baker shares with Father Ward the story of a journal discovered in the ruins of what was once an elaborate koi pond and flower garden, which regales a tale of regret, buried pain, and unfulfilled debt: “Sophan” – Jake Burns has always been a bit...off. Rude, awkward, sometimes brutish, he's tolerated by Nate Slocum and his friends because he hits a mean line drive, and because they all know but don't discuss the abuse he faces at the hands of his troubled father, a Vietnam veteran consumed by his demons. But Jake is suffering something far worse than domestic abuse, and when Nate discovers what, he faces an impossible choice: help Jake and put himself in the path of evil, or abandon him, only to damn himself in the process. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

[COMPLETED] Fates... How much do you believe in Fates? Centuries ago, a prophecy was told. In time, bits of pieces were lost. The remaining was preserved but it left many questions: "Every period of time comes forth the Archnemesis. The night will fall like the snow in winter season and the day will come like a flower that blooms in springtime. War shall cause the lives of many and the weak shall suffer. But lo, and behold, in a family of winter shall come the Blood Star of every generation. Strength and might that shall spill the blood of its Adversary by the death with its soul." Chloe Liu just wanted to become a fully pledged Kryst, a soldier of the Kingdom of Demetrius. Lucian Liu and the members of the Seven Geniuses just wanted to protect his sister. Prince Ciaran, the Særi ust Trūx (Future King), just wanted to protect the Kingdom of Demetrius along with his friends. What if the Fates wanted more? Ambition, love, manipulation, and power. The 27th Blood Star Bellatrix has to get through to the end. But will Bellatrix be able to turn the water to blood?

On Valentine's Day, I set up a candlelit dinner and waited. At 9 PM, my husband, Alfred Johnston, finally texted. [Something came up at work. Don't wait for me.] Then I saw her post. [On a business trip with the CEO for Valentine's Day. Every hotel is fully booked—awkward...] Vivian Bianca, his secretary. Attached was a photo of a guy in a bathrobe, standing by a floor-to-ceiling window. The comments were all 'ooh, CEO's so hot and girl, you're in for a night.' Vivian? Just dropped a smug emoji. So that's what "something came up" meant—a romantic getaway with his secretary. I screenshotted it, posted it on my own feed, and added a smiling emoji. A second later, Alfred called, fuming. "Vivian was joking! Why are you so petty? She's young, not as calculating as you!" I didn't let him finish. "Then let's get a divorce. That way, I won't have to care when you screw around and catch something."

Ang sabi nila, ang pinakamasayang tao ang pinakamalungkot sa lahat. That they are faking their happiness. That even they are alive, they are dying deep inside. All I can see is my pain. My anger towards her. She's the cause of my loneliness. I lost the love of my life because of her. Why should I care? She deserves it anyway. But little did I know, she's dying deep within. I've hurt her. All I did was give her pain. Ipinamukha ko sa kanya na kailanman ay hindi ko siya mamahalin. Little by little, I am killing her. I took out her shine. Her bright smile. Her own life. I've crushed her heart. Michelle is like a flower, slowly withering without my notice. Melting my heartless heart is her only option.