Speaking Hypothetically

I had just returned from the world's largest tech summit when my mentor called. She has always been like a mother to me. She told me she had arranged a marriage for me, with the daughter of a close friend of hers, Tania Jones. She was a rising talent in the capital's business scene, and a number of my patents were licensed to her company, forming the core technology behind their latest products. After working late in the lab, I changed into a carefully chosen suit and went to the engagement ceremony. However, I was stopped at the entrance by Elias Yates, Tania's personal assistant. He was wearing a perfectly tailored designer suit, every detail immaculate. He looked more like the groom than I did. "If you know what's good for you, walk away," he said with an icy smirk. "An orphan with no background should know his place. You are not worthy of Ms. Jones." I frowned and replied, "Does Tania know you are speaking on her behalf like this?" Elias let out a mocking laugh. "A kept man living off his mentor's reputation could never understand how important I am to Ms. Jones." There was obsession and pride shining in his eyes. I looked at him for a moment, then dialed Tania. "If this is your idea of welcoming your fiancé," I said evenly, "then perhaps my patents should only be shown to you on paper, right before I sell them to your rival instead."

"If you need anything financially speaking, use this," he held out a black card towards me, "I hope I don't have any problems with you." I stared at the handsome man with the cold expression in front of me, took the card in my fingers and watched him go. Although we were married on paper, our lives would remain separate, each navigating our own turbulent waters. -- When Morgana's father discovers that he has cancer, she tries to find the money to pay for the treatment, agreeing to marry the grandson of a very wealthy family, Ryan Burke, in exchange for the treatment. Their marriage tends to be only nominal, as the boy already has a girlfriend, Elena Kyle. For Morgana, none of this was important, she just wanted to save her father's life. Three years after this contract, her father dies and she returns to the fictional city of Rookgaard to end this nominal marriage, even though she fell in love with Ryan during the wedding. Morgana reluctantly signs the contract, even though she likes Ryan, who doesn't understand his wife's attitude. The other day, thinking she was free of the marriage, she decides to go out with some friends from work to celebrate the divorce, giving herself the opportunity to get to know doctor Elliot Sharon better. What she didn't expect was to run into Ryan, giving him a reason not to sign the papers. Morgana remains married to Ryan, even though he still brings Elena into their lives, until a mysterious car accident happens. Putting her life on the line and changing things.

I was the heiress switched at birth by a nanny. It was not until I turned eighteen that my biological parents finally found me, and traded me back for the girl they had raised and loved as their own. However, fate played a cruel joke that very same week. My parents died in a car accident. The family business collapsed. In one night, I lost everything. My older brother survived, but his kidneys failed. I did not hesitate. I gave him mine. However, grief broke something in him. Blaming me for our parents' deaths, he spiraled into madness. "You killed Mom and Dad! Why wasn't it you who died instead?" he screamed. I gave up college and took on three jobs a day just to pay for his treatment. Years passed. One day, while cleaning a mansion as a housekeeper, I saw her, the "sister" I was traded for, gliding through a lavish party, dressed in designer clothes and dripping in jewels. I froze when I heard the voices I had long thought silenced. My parents, alive, speaking to her as gently as ever: "Jasmine, you're so compassionate… agreeing to end Helen's punishment early." My brother, the one who should still be seeing a therapist, frowned and objected. "No. Not even a day less. Just because she suffers a little doesn't mean she deserves to live." I glanced down at the medical report still warm in my hands. For the first time in years, I smiled. "Perfect," I whispered. "Now I can finally die like I wanted to."

"Speaking, Mr. Thompson. What can I--" "I'm looking for my wife, Mr. Montevista. Is she with you, by any chance?" Hinaing nito sa kabilang linya dahilan para magngitngit nang galit lalo si Deiah sa narinig nitong salitang "wife" Ang lakas nga naman ng loob nitong tawagin siya nitong wife pagkatapos siyang pilitin nitong pirmahan ang papel na iyon. "Excuse me. Mawalang galang pero puwede bang piliin mo ang mga salita mo, Mr. Thompson. Ex-wife mo na ako ngayon. Hindi asawa." May diin sa tono ng pagkakasabi ni Deiah sa salitang "hindi asawa" habang ramdam niya ang pangangatog ng tuhod niya. Mas lumalakas na din ang kabog ng puso niya. "Totoo nga. Magkasama nga talaga kayo." Madiing sagot ni Primo, mahahalata sa boses nitong ang nagngingit nitong tono sa pagbitaw sa bawat salita. "Bakit hindi? Ikaw lang ba ang puwedeng humanap ng makakasama?" "Deiah!" Bulyaw ni Primo na halos hindi mapipinta ang mukha dahil sa madilim nitong awra. "I warn you, don't be hasty. Our divorce isn't finalized, we haven't received the certificate. Legally, you're still my wife. Consider the Thompson family's reputation and your dignity." Dagdag niya pang sabi kay Deiah.

He's sugar. She's spice. Together, they will never work. She has done the impossible. Working for the country's most difficult boss for seven years. Rosaline Carter's work life is fueled by her love for spicy food, a fat paycheck, and dreams of sending her brother to Harvard. She's sworn off love completely. Until that fateful monday morning. "I need a fiancée, Miss Carter. And I need one who at least knows my favourite brand of coffee." A contract marriage to her boss, the impossible and difficult Alaric Sylvester? Rosaline never even saw him as a man to begin with. But for five billion dollars? She would propose to Mr Ice king and plan the wedding alone. Alaric Sylvester hates his assistant. With her sensible shoes, horn rimmed glasses, and perfectly polite way of speaking, she never fails to get on his nerves. She's the last person he wants for a wife, or even a romantic figure. Yet she's the best option. No one knows his schedule by heart, or his love for sweets. It's just three years. And he'll never see her again. With his inheritance on the line, the board of directors hounding him for being too antisocial, and rumours starting to stir...he will do anything to save his reputation. Including marrying his cold hearted assistant. And with her hatred for sweets, he's sure he'll never like her. It's only a marriage agreement. The terms were simple. But simple doesn't always equal easy. And the human heart is a traitorous beast.

After my girlfriend returns from a month-long business trip with her first love, she notices that I've changed. She sides with him to take over my project, but I don't quit in anger. Instead, I throw myself into helping him, even drafting proposals for him. She destroys the design I worked so hard on to help him snag the year-end bonus, yet I don't try to defend myself. I take all the blame and let her punish me however she likes. Even when she goes as far as to promote him to general manager against the rules, I don't get upset. I hand over all my shares, letting her distribute them as she wishes. My girlfriend wonders why I've suddenly become so submissive, while her first love just grins smugly. "See? I told you—giving him the cold shoulder works. Once he's afraid of losing you, he'll fall in line," he says. It clicks for my girlfriend. She smiles, tells me I've been good, and offers me a promotion. Then, she unexpectedly asks me to propose. But she doesn't seem to realize that while we weren't speaking, she has already signed my resignation papers. And I've already broken up with her. From this moment on, I sever all ties with her, and we no longer have anything to do with each other.

Addy Walker once believed love was supposed to be loud—felt in bedtime stories, laughter in the kitchen, and the warmth of arms that made the world feel safe. That’s how it was before her mother died. Before her father changed. Grief hollowed him out. The man who once teased and protected became a shell—quiet, cold, unreachable. Then came the bottles. The slammed doors. The bruises. Addy, now eighteen, has learned to survive in silence—walking lightly, speaking carefully, hiding her pain beneath long sleeves and polite smiles. She works long hours to keep food on the table while her father sinks deeper into debt and addiction. One night, she comes home to a dark, freezing house—again. The electricity is off. Again. And she knows why. She confronts him, her voice sharper than it’s ever been. He denies it at first, but the truth is already spread across the kitchen counter in final notice bills and losing betting slips. He’d gambled away the electric bill money on a horse. The argument erupts. He screams, she stands her ground. When he slaps her, she doesn’t flinch. Something inside her shifts. She’s done waiting for the man he used to be. Addy packs a bag. She’s leaving—for real this time. No plan. No destination. Just freedom. But as she storms out into the rain, a long, black car pulls up to the curb. A man steps out—tall, broad-shouldered, older. His face is hard, almost frightening in the shadows, but he’s striking. Dangerous. And calm.

'The King of Darkness or a King hiding in the dark?' For years the King of Vampires, Vladimir had been hiding. . . Hiding from the ones he had betrayed for his bride~ Living in the darkness, speaking the language of silence. . . 17 years ago the King of Vampires, Vladimir was lured into a trap set by an Oracle. To Find His Fated Bride~ The girl was yet to be born and Vladimir was aware that no parents in their right mind will give their daughter to a vicious Millennium old Vampire King. So in the heat of the moment, Vladimir traded with the Oracle to hand his bride to him in secret without letting her parents know. But the Vampire King never expected the witch to deceive him and abduct his bride using Vladimir as a pawn in her twisted game. . . Battling with his fury and madness the Vampire King had searched every dark forest where the Oracle could hide but he had come back empty-handed with nothing more than the weight of guilt, shame, and longings on his shoulders. What will happen when the bride Vladimir had been searching for will sweep him off his feet as if he was a little princess by literally kidnaping him from his Royal Ball? What will happen when the King who had been hiding in the dark avoiding the limelight will become the hero of the biggest scandal of the century? "Lethal killing machine, the most cunning, ferocious, and oldest Vampire to ever roam earth got kidnapped from his own Royal Ball in front of the crowd of the deadliest vampires, by a young anonymous witch." This scandal was unbelievable yet authentic. ... What will happen when the selfish, cruel, demanding and extremely unreasonable assassin Esmeray will meet the arrogant, self-centered witch-hating Vampire King Vladimir?

Perfection was the curse. I was born into wealth, beauty, influence, and a family empire that stretched across continents. People envied my life, not knowing it was nothing more than a gilded prison. The only thing that ever felt real was ballet, the passion my parents forbade because it brought them no power, no profit, no leverage. My parents; greedy, ambitious, unfillable, hid their cruelty beneath luxury. And on my eighteenth birthday, they revealed the ultimate betrayal. I was engaged to a powerful man twice. . . no, three times my age. A man feared across Europe. A man whose hands were stained with secrets the world pretended not to see. They sold me to strengthen an alliance. So I ran. Barefoot, shaking, heartbroken. I stole one of our visitor's chopper and fled to Sicily, thinking distance could save me. I thought I escaped the monsters who owned my life. But I only ran into a darker one. Because Sicily is his territory; Aldrick Moretti, the shadow king of the Italian underworld. Cold. Untouchable. Beautiful in the most devastating way. The man people whisper about as if speaking his name is a sin. A man with eyes that see through lies. . . including mine. And the moment he found me trespassing on his land, bleeding, terrified, and wearing the remnants of a runaway bride. . . He didn’t return me. He didn’t free me. He claimed me. Not as a business deal. Not as an alliance. But as something far more dangerous. He became my captor, my protector, my obsession, and the forbidden flame I should never have touched. Because in his world, love is not tender. It’s a weapon. And I am the sacrifice wrapped in a veil he refuses to let go.

As soon as I opened the door, my eyes saw the sight I wish I hadn’t seen. "What is going on here?” I asked through a shaky tone, tears burning my eyes and thankfully, blurring my vision. "Conrad!” the tears in my eyes spilled down when Selene got off him and laid beside him, completely bare. There was no shame or guilt on Conrad’s face even when I have seen him in bed with Selene. "Why? You were the one who told me that I am your mate, you told me th---at you---,” my throat went dry as I tried to finish speaking my heart. "That I love you?” he raised his brow, gently caressing her bare shoulder and running his finger down her chest, “I lied, okay?” the way his lips formed a smirk, I felt a used toy that he tossed aside once he was done with me. "Wh---y. I betrayed my coven for you an---d you betrayed me for her?” my voice broke, my eyes watching the girl pressing her lips against his neck and getting closer to him. "Cordelia! Close the door when you leave,” the tiredness in his voice when talking to me broke me piece by piece. -------------- Magic is forbidden in their world, but to get her blessed powers Cordelia has to perform a ritual for her ancestors’ blessings to come true. Left behind by her coven, she is prisoned and sentenced to death, but is saved by Alpha Prince at the price of her freedom. She is forever bound and chained to Alpha Prince Conrad. Betrayed by her coven and loved ones, will Cordelia be able to fight and survive? .