Smoke Screen

“What do you mean? What cyst?” Sebastian blinked, staring at the small screen on his phone, feeling his heart beat faster. The emergency information he had just received made him pause in front of his door, but then he ran to the car without thinking. He knew that something serious had happened to his wife. He had to get to the hospital immediately. His voice was hoarse as he spoke to the hospital operator, trying to get a grasp of the situation as quickly as possible. “This is a complication… You need to come to the hospital immediately and sign the consent form for surgery as soon as possible.” The voice was flat but urgent.

HUNCHING my shoulders against the cold, I watched my breath mist out in front of me. It was either that or head into the convenience store opposite and grab some cigs, which I couldn’t do. Ma’d already threatened to lop off my head if she caught me stinking of smoke, and while I wasn’t averse to a clipped ear, what with being twenty, I didn’t give much of a anymore. My wrist was , thanks to how many times Da had broken it, and I’d been shot at twice. I could cope with her pulling on my ear like it was stuck on with Velcro. Dealing with Mariska’s repugnance, however, was another matter entirely.

Despite a decade of marriage, Simon never once shared my bed, claiming that he had pledged himself to ascetic practices and that it was beneath him. I thought that he suffered from some shameful ailment and guarded his secret like a devoted fool, until my birthday, when I came home to find him entangled with a brothel worker before the floor-length mirror. When I lunged forward in rage, he drove a shard of that broken mirror straight through my heart. When I awoke, I was gripping my phone, its screen illuminating a message Simon had just sent: [I’ll still give you a lavish wedding, but the marriage certificate? That belongs to her.]

When the lights came on at the end of the graduation party, the spotlight suddenly shifted and froze on a young couple kissing passionately at the back of the auditorium. The young man held up a bouquet of roses and shouted to the crowd, “Sophie, be my girlfriend!” The moment the girl covered her face and nodded, the cheers in the hall nearly lifted the roof. Amid the thunderous applause, my hand trembled around my phone. The screen still showed the message he had sent half an hour earlier. Rowan: [Wait for me. I’ll come to you right away.] After the party, I took off the couple’s bracelet from my wrist and threw it into the gutter, along with four years of love.

After running into something she shouldn't have, Clare finds out that she is not who she thinks she is. But then, who is she?. Join Clare on a journey of finding her true self. The Magna Poen of the Endowed: Golden for the birth of crown Red for bringing up the dawn Niveus for the day of rebirth Blue to bring the magic down White for when one is wilted down Scarlet when the hunt is back again Silver blades rise on victory march Love will patch our tattered hearts Smoke on the summon of spirits you choose Black coffins when endowed are buried down Happiness when the lost returns No forbearance for the illicit affairs Lapis Patera when the pure blades rise Nigros for slaughter of the demonic souls Taç for the pure and just reign.

Introduction At my mating ceremony with Blake Morrison, the Alpha heir I'd loved for eight years, his childhood sweetheart texted him a pregnancy test photo. He didn't hesitate for a second. He canceled our mating ceremony and rushed off to take care of his childhood sweetheart. After he left the ceremony hall, his childhood sweetheart posted photos on the big screen behind me. Photos of the two of them tangled together in my bedroom. Then Blake sent me a message: "I was drunk that night. Ivy is carrying my child, and I need to be there for her." "She wanted to hide the pregnancy and raise the pup alone, but she's an Omega. It's too hard for an Omega to raise a child by herself, especially when she's competing to be the Pack's Head Healer... I can't ruin her future, and I can't abandon an innocent life." "You're an Alpha wolf. High-ranking wolves don't get pregnant easily, and you've always wanted children quickly, right? After she gives birth, I'll arrange for her to study advanced healing at the Alliance. You can raise the child, and they'll only know you as their mother." When I didn't reply, he added another message: "The official marking and re-scheduling our mating ceremony will have to wait until after Ivy gives birth." I stared at my phone screen, laughing until my eyes burned with tears. I was the only Alpha heiress of the Stormfang Pack, the strongest pack in Southern territories. Did he really think that I had no choice but to pick him as my mate? I dialed the Alpha King Kane Blackwood's number directly: "Are you still willing to be my mate?"

Takuto Kimura, 30 years old, a career elite, always dressed in a sharp suit, with his hair perfectly neat, looking like the lead character from《The Godfather》or《Yakuza Chronicles》. His daily life is a never-ending "battle": meetings, overtime, coffee to stay awake, and piles of reports. To outsiders, he is the epitome of a successful businessman, but inside, he's already overwhelmed by the pressure and suffocating under it. Every day, he finds himself thinking, "If only I could go back to being three years old, I wouldn’t have to deal with these damn files and KPIs." One late night, as he stares at his computer screen, drowning in self-doubt, fate suddenly gives him an unexpected "opportunity" “He is reborn, back to the age of three.”

Eighteen-year-old Bella stands on the brink of adulthood, her life shadowed by haunting nightmares of a bottomless pit, swirling smoke, and glowing silver eyes that feel all too real. As her final year of high school unfolds, the dreams intensify, blurring the line between reality and illusion. With her best friends Ethan and Olivia by her side, a seemingly ordinary Saturday at the mall takes a chilling turn when they encounter the mysterious "District 6" bar—where Bella alone witnesses a brutal vision no one else can see. Torn between her rational mind and an inexplicable pull toward the unknown, Bella must unravel the secrets of her visions before they consume her. Is this the call of the white wolf, or a descent into madness?.

The white rose lay on the floor dripping with blood. A small,shiny blade lay beside it. A beautiful object in such a terrible and painful condition. The blood stain on it did not hide it's immaculate and beautiful nature. She puffed smoke in the air and took a sip of the liquor beside her,as she glared at the bleeding rose with sad and anguish filled eyes,it told a lot about her and her agony. She was as beautiful as the rose in front of her. She took out an envelope containing different photos of different people in it,she stared at the image with a mixture of rage and disgust. “Revenge!!!“ She yelled as she fell to the ground crying” “I'll not sleep,I'll not rest until you all are dead!!”

I was working overtime at the mall on New Year's Eve, only to witness my boyfriend proposing to the broke student, whose scholarship was funded by my family, on the biggest screen in the place. I was about to step forward and confront him when she, with tears in her eyes, accepted the proposal. "Being confessed to in my family’s own estate… is so romantic and meaningful. Thank you for loving me so wholeheartedly for five years." As soon as those words left her mouth, the two embraced, sharing a deep kiss amidst the cheering crowd. They even won the "Best Couple" award for the night. I didn’t cry or make a scene. Instead, I volunteered to present them with their prize. I couldn’t wait to see what fate had in store for two pieces of trash standing together.