Spoken Announcement

"Sweetie, are you coming? I'll wait for you at our usual spot." Henry Lane is about to go to bed when he receives a voice message. It's spoken in Rushky. He turns his back to me as his face lights up in joy. Then, he answers in Rushky, "Of course. I love you." I'm about to fall asleep, but I jolt when I hear that. The sweet voice on the other end of the line rings out again. "Your wife won't find out about this, will she?" "I'm talking to you to her face now." Henry snorts. "We're speaking in Rushky; she can't understand us." My heart twists painfully. It turns out he's never loved or truly understood me. He thinks I'm just a housewife whose world revolves around him; he has no idea I once studied in Rushnia for two years as an exchange student. I suppress my sorrow and heartbreak as I caress my belly. Then, I make an appointment with a local hospital for an abortion.

Trained since childhood to be nothing but a weapon, Esme has lived under her father’s harsh hand. Poison runs in her veins, bruises mark her skin, and every lesson ends with a reminder; kill the king, or her mother dies. Sent into the werewolf palace as a kitchen maid, she waits for her moment, vial and blade hidden beneath her apron. But nothing in her father’s drills prepared her for King Ardon. The first time their eyes lock, something raw and dangerous stirs inside her, a pull she doesn’t understand and cannot control. Each day she spends in his halls, each command spoken in that steady voice, makes her mission harder to carry out. The court whispers. Enemies circle and Lady Selene sharpens her claws, determined to claim the crown by Ardon’s side. And Esme, trapped between loyalty to the man who raised her and the strange fire rising within her, stands on the edge of a truth she’s not ready to face. She was sent to kill the king, but she may be fated to love him.

Thalia Ruelle had always loved Mikael Vireaux but her love was never returned. The day she finally confessed her feelings, he broke her heart with gentle words… and the announcement that he was marrying her best friend, Alina Lowe. Still, Thalia stayed by their side, hiding her heartbreak behind a smile. Until the night everything shattered. Thalia visits Alina to congratulate her on the engagement. But instead of celebration, she’s met with anger and screaming until Alina throws her out. By morning, Alina went missing. Everything was a mess and everyone assumed she was dead. And the last person to see her was Thalia. When Kael returns from a business trip and learns of Alina’s death and the rumors surrounding it, he makes a chilling assumption that Thalia who was consumed by jealousy and rejection, murdered her best friend. As punishment, he does the unthinkable. He imprisons her in his own home. Now bound to him, Thalia lives beneath Kael’s cruelty. His coldness, his rage, his quiet vow to make her suffer. And yet… she never stops showing him kindness and her love. But when Kael finds out the truth of Alina's fake death, Thalia’s spirit has already fractured. To prove her innocence, her only choice was to take her own life. Will Kael realize the truth in time to save her? Or has his revenge already destroyed the only woman who ever truly loved him?

On the way back to work after the New Year, my wife Liana Corn and I got into a car accident. Opening my eyes again, I realized that we had returned to the time we just started dating. In our previous life, we were married for eight years. Life was good, but she refused to have any children. Later, I learned that she had always kept her childhood sweetheart in her heart. After our regression, I decided to set us both free. We both deleted each other's contacts without a word, stopped seeing each other, and became complete strangers. Eight years later, Liana became a top investor. At our class reunion, she made a high-profile announcement with her childhood sweetheart Serge Gibson. Seeing that I had come to the reunion alone, she teased me. "Ryan Carter, I know I'm attractive. You love me for two lifetimes and still can't let go, but you don't need to cling to me like this." I pretended not to hear and took my son by the hand. Liana's face instantly turned pale, her eyes bloodshot. "Didn't you say you'd love only me for life?" she demanded. "How can you have a son with someone else?!"

At the beginning of a new year, I stay at the hospital to take care of my mother-in-law on my own. My wife, Yelena Lipton, on the other hand, is on a vacation with her first love, Phillip Warren, in a tropical island overseas. Funnily enough, I'm the last one who finds out about her impending marriage with Phillip. When my mother-in-law hears about the news, her condition deteriorates to the point she gets sent into the treatment room immediately. I have to call Yelena over a dozen times for her to finally pick up the call. "Do you have a death wish or something? Why did you bombard me with calls? I'm in the middle of something right now, so leave me alone!" After that, Yelena ends the call. Since then, I keep failing to get in contact with her. During that time, my mother-in-law has passed away from the treatment failure. When I'm done organizing the funeral, I send Yelena a divorce agreement right away. "Have you gone nuts? It's just an announcement to cheer Phillip up! Are you seriously going to file a divorce from me?" After hearing Yelena's accusations, I reply calmly, "Mom's dead. I've already dealt with everything concerning her passing. You should come back and visit her grave."

Nagimbal ang buong mundo ni Harmony Tasha Crisostomo nang malaman niyang buntis siya… at ang ama ng bata ay ang sariling professor niya, si Professor Darien Atlas Legaspi, iyong lalaking naka-one night stand niya noong panahong lango siya sa alak! Nang sabihin niya sa lalaki ang sitwasyon, binigyan siya nito ng dalawang pagpipilian: ipalaglag ang bata o magpakasal sila. Pinili niyang magpakasal. Kahit mag-asawa na, hiwalay pa rin sila ng kwarto. Hanggang sa isang gabi, kumatok si Professor Darien at pinagbuksan ni Harmony. “Nasira aircon sa kwarto. Pwede bang dito muna ako?” At mula noon, hindi na ito umalis sa kwarto ni Harmony. — Isang araw sa klase, may nagtanong, “Totoo po bang kasal na kayo, Sir?” Ngumiti si Professor Darien. “Harmony.” Tumayo si Harmony nang tawagin. “Present.” “Harmony Tasha Crisostomo Legaspi is my wife,” sabi ni Professor Darien. “She's an excellent doctor and my beautiful lovely wife.” Nalipat ang lahat ng tingin kay Harmony at napalunok siya sa announcement ng asawa. Hindi kaya kuyugin siya ng mga fangirl ni Professor Darien? Kailangan na ba niyang tumakbo paalis?

Before the engagement ceremony takes place, my fiance, Vincenzo Rizzi, makes a formal announcement on the deck of a cargo ship docked at the new harbor. Apparently, my younger stepsister, Sofia Russo, will become his legitimate wife. Vincenzo has an arm wrapped around Sofia's waist. As they stand beneath the spotlight, Vincenzo smiles tenderly at her. "According to the mafioso's rules, only those who have received the core elders' acknowledgment shall become the Madre of the family. Others are nothing but lovers and mistresses." Under the family elders' blessings, Vincenzo gives Sofia a black diamond necklace. Then, they exchange vows with each other and are now engaged. I just watch the ceremony take place quietly. Then, I make an appointment to have an abortion. I have loved Vincenzo since I was 16 years old. I'm 28 years old now, meaning I've been in love with him for 12 years. Yet, Sofia is the only one he has ever loved. In that case, I choose to let go of him once and for all. After that, I travel to a hidden safehouse located in Sombral. All I've left for Vincenzo is a letter stating the termination of our engagement and a farewell gift. But the man, who has never shown concern toward me this whole time, ends up breaking down to the point he doesn't even have the mood to deal with his family matters.

Drew Anderson's beloved stepsister, Lisa Anderson, severely injured a pack member with wolfsbane. Drew wanted me to take the fall. He said that as long as I confessed, he would formally make me his Luna. Drew placed a forged confession in front of me. "Freya, you're the only one who can help me. I swear I'll protect you forever." After he finished speaking, I saw Lisa hiding behind him with a victorious smile on her face. I looked at Drew's pleading expression and silently picked up the feather quill. Just as the tip was about to touch the parchment paper, my phone lit up with two new messages. One was from Drew. [Don't worry. I've already spoken to the Council of Elders. You'll only be locked up for a few days.] The other was from his sworn nemesis, Liam Kramer. A video clip was attached. [The real evidence is in my hands. Interested in making a different choice?] I deleted Drew's message and replied to Liam. [What is the choice?]

Mary Redferne is a fiery young woman. Trouble literally follows her, mainly because of her mouth. She didn’t know how to put any breaks on them. She was everything a man was scared of: ambitious, had a mind of her own and didn’t refrain from telling people that their ideas are garbage. In the 1960s, this ‘attitude’ did not play well with the society but nobody dared to say anything as she was the only child of the mayor, Clement Redferne. Joseph Lachlan was a soft spoken gentleman who unlike other men in the country has remained very humble after getting remarkable fame and fortune at a very young age. He was known for his kindness, compassion and candor. But more importantly his striking resemblance to a Greek god. He was the one person who did not judge Mary or even think that she was ever out of line even though her name was always in the newspaper with the headline ‘The Wild Girl’. Mary, who is habituated with fighting and arguing with everyone who judges her, how will she react to a man who absolutely has no opinion about her ‘wild and erratic’ side? A man who just accepts her for the way she is?

Selena Heron only wanted two things in life: for her younger sister to enter the school of her dreams, and to marry her boyfriend, Beta Zevran Storm of Silvercreek. But everything crumbles when Zevran finds his fated mate, and it isn’t her. Accused of theft and thrown out of the palace, her sister’s dreams are at stake, and this makes Selena leave the city to Stormcreek, capital of the pack, where she auditions for a job as a nanny. She never expects to come face-to-face with Alpha King Cassian Storm—a cold, brooding leader who’s unimpressed by her boldness. But when his daughter, who hasn’t spoken in years, utters her first words to Selena, the Alpha makes a shocking proposal: Marry him. Become his Luna. Help his daughter complete the sacred rite of Luna bonding. Then walk away rich, free, and unclaimed. It’s supposed to be a contract. Strictly business. But when the forbidden mate bond begins to burn between them, Selena must decide: Is it worth risking her heart for a man who swore he’d never give his? Especially when that man is her ex-boyfriend’s step brother?