Social Beings

After four years of marriage, James Lawson, who had never posted anything on social media, unexpectedly updated his status: "What an adorable little foodie!" The attached photo showed a young woman wearing pink cat ears, eating at a Korean BBQ restaurant. Her cheeks were flushed red from the spicy food as she stuck out her tongue. It was Sophie Jones, a new content creator at his company. Within a minute, our mutual friend commented: "Dude, you forgot to switch accounts!" Just like that, James's new post disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, only to show up moments later on Sophie's feed. Then James's name lit up my phone screen. In the past, I would have already taken screenshots and called him first to confront him. It would have inevitably ended in a heated argument. But this time, I calmly watched his call go to voicemail without answering.

My sister abruptly returns to the country on the day of my wedding. My parents, brother, and fiancé abandon me to pick her up at the airport. She shares a photo of them on her social media, bragging about how she's so loved. Meanwhile, all the calls I make are rejected. My fiancé is the only one who answers, but all he tells me is not to kick up a fuss. We can always have our wedding some other day. They turn me into a laughingstock on the day I've looked forward to all my life. Everyone points at me and laughs in my face. I calmly deal with everything before writing a new number in my journal—99. This is their 99th time disappointing me; I won't wish for them to love me anymore. I fill in a request to study abroad and pack my luggage. They think I've learned to be obedient, but I'm actually about to leave forever.

Johnson's family is one of the richest leading personalities, in the entire country. Terrence, an heir of more than twenty companies in the said family, is popular in the entertainment industry. His luxurious life attracts everyone, that men felt jealousy over him. No one knows his inner attitudes regardless of fans' expectations, until then, assistant Jirah comes along in his way. Jirah, who came from a middle-class race, also adores him deeply, changes the man's perceptions and lifestyles as well. They become partners in many aspects, a dog-cat relationship. Likewise, there are few instances that the two hated each other because of misunderstandings. Conflict happens when a video controversy spreads throughout social media that the celebrity's reputation is suddenly ruined. Jirah has a lot of insultments and rejections received from the guy but who knows, after all, Will Terrence's dumbness turns him to realize his admiration for Jirah? Do they have a happy ending? Destiny will decide for them all.

Two wonderful tales! My Beloved Alpha: Alissa has always been physically and psychologically abused by her stepfather, all she wanted was to get out of his clutches and run as far away as possible, where he couldn't find her and hurt her anymore. After his mysterious death, she is free to live her life fully and leaves for a small town that goes unnoticed by naive eyes, she wanted to start over and leaves in search of a new beginning. What Alissa still doesn't know is that this city is different from all the others and that she will encounter beings she thought never existed. *** Double dose: Amelina's mother made a request to her daughter before dying: That she live and not give in to grief, her mother wanted to see her happy and fulfilled. And that's what Amy did, she answered her mother's last request after cancer took her. Amy left Seattle and moved to Washington, she was willing to start over and leave all the years of suffering in Seattle behind. The first thing she did upon arriving in town was looking for a job, and it was at the Balzer Company that she found love, but love came in the form of two spectacular men.

“Omega?” My voice cracks. “That can’t be right.” She looks up, giving me an annoyed look. “I’m… I’m not an Omega,” I stutter, trying to sound steady. “I’ve never shifted before. I thought…” “You thought wrong.” She cuts in, her voice sharp. She pushes a small silver tag across the desk. My full name and rank is written on it. “Wear this with you at all times.” I stare at it, the word Omega looks like a curse. ……………….. Aria’s perfect life shatters overnight when a mysterious letter drags her to an academy that admits only supernatural beings—and marks her as the weakest of them all: an Omega. But she is human……….or so she thought . Every eye turns to her and four powerful boys seems to want something from her. Her Alpha fated mate who rejects her because she is too human, the vampire prince who wants to claim her, the dragon who would risk everything for her, and the mysterious witch who claims he knows her soul. Death lurks around every corner, secrets unravel with every step, and the power inside her could either crown her… or destroy her.

I run into a group of rogues on my way home for my daughter's birthday. I call my wife for help, but she blocks my number. I'm dragged out of the car, stabbed a dozen times, and thrown into the bushes to die. My neck is broken, and my organs are spilling out of my body. The rogues think I'm going to die—they even mention each other's names before me. Then, they drive off in my car while whistling happily. I hold onto my head and organs as I crawl to the roadside, hoping against hope that someone will save me. Before I'm taken to the hospital, I see my wife's social media update—she and her secretary have taken a sweet photo together while celebrating our daughter's birthday. The first thing I do after being discharged is demand a divorce.

On the first day of classes, my roommate gives me a crystal bracelet as a welcome gift. Without thinking, I quickly adorn it around her mother's wrist. In my past life, my roommate wanted to be a social butterfly. She was determined to have a hundred boyfriends by the time she graduated. But no matter how reckless she was, she never ended up conceiving. On the other hand, I kept getting pregnant and having countless miscarriages. But unlike her, I had never been in a relationship. The entire university mocked me, labeling me promiscuous and shameless. During my 66th miscarriage, I died on the operating table from severe bleeding. It was only after death that I realized the crystal bracelet my roommate gave me had somehow linked our wombs together. As soon as I opened my eyes, I realized I had gone back to the first day of the semester.

This Thanksgiving, Elmer Fuller finally agrees to go on a trip with me. But when I wake up in the hotel, I don't see him anywhere. I spend the entire day desperately searching for him, only to stumble across a social media post from his first love. It's a selfie of her and Elmer having a cozy family dinner with her parents. The caption reads, "Someone's finally meeting the parents on Thanksgiving night. Mom and Dad can stop pressuring me to get married now!" Around her neck is the scarf my mother knitted for me before she passed. I left a comment. "Stop using my things to flirt with my husband. Take the scarf off—you can have him." Not long after, she posts an update. The scarf is shredded into pieces and tossed into a dog bed, with the caption, "What trash—too filthy even for a dog!" Elmer likes the post.

A few days before my postpartum period ended, I found two plane tickets to Mirelia tucked inside Daryl’s wallet. I was secretly delighted. I thought he had planned a surprise for me. But on the very day I was supposed to recover, he told me that his company had suddenly sent him on a business trip. I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep—only to see his first love post on social media. [Finally fulfilled our promise to kiss at Saint Vyron Cathedral. Thank you, God. After all this time, it’s still you.] The photo showed the two of them holding hands and kissing. I didn’t confront him right away. Instead, I turned to look at my sleeping daughter beside me, then picked up my phone. [Dad, I've made up my mind. I'll take over the family business.]

When Idrish is accused of killing an elven royalty, the female hunter is forced to join the winter arena in the king's favor. But as a commoner of Springgan, a country with a bloody history of slavery and hierarchy, can she protect the ones she loves...when she can barely protect herself? *** What happens when an elf is in possession of a power that's beyond one's social standing? Idrish Aeric is living at the bottom of Springgan's strict hierarchy, barely able to scrape a living for her younger siblings through hunting and foraging. Her simple life flips when she receives a legacy from a royal elf and she has to run to protect her family. In order to escape death, she's forced to enter the elven royal family through marriage and join the winter arena in the king's favor. But in a world ruled by power and slavery, is Idrish ready to step up her game to change the system--or will she wind up dead before the song of the winter solstice plays?