Squid Games Number 067

The fifth time we went to the courthouse, James Ceasar and I still weren’t officially married. We had picked a good day for it, but right before it was our turn, he got a call and rushed off in a hurry. With my eyes turning red, I pointed at the screen showing the waiting numbers, trying to stop him. “We're next. It won't take more than ten minutes. We can get it done fast. Once we’re officially married, you can go and deal with whatever’s so urgent. It won’t take long.” James was the CEO of his company, so he had full control over his schedule. That was why I said it like that, not thinking it would be a big deal. However, he just glanced at the screen, handed me the ticket with our number on it, and looked annoyed. “I can marry you anytime,” he said. “But right now, I’ve got something I need to take care of. Don’t make a fuss.”

He was an arrogant and cold man but he cherished her the most. She was beautiful and innocent. She felt safe only in his strong arms as he used to protect her from the cruelty and ugliness of the world. "Why are you so good to me?", she used to ask him while blinking her beautiful and innocent eyes. "Because you live here", he pointed at his heart. But life is not a fairytale for everyone. "Sky! Where are you going??", Elliot asked her while grabbing her arm. "I can't live here anymore", Sky said as she stood in the heavy rain. "But where will you go??", he panicked. "I don't have any home now, everyone has abandoned me. I'll go wherever destiny takes me", Sky said as she looked away. "But, didn't you say? I'm your home." Elliot asked with immense love and affection in his eyes. Sky bit her lips for a while but then she asked, " what about your family?" "You are my family Sky!!! You're my everything." Elliot held her tightly as he said that. Finally she smiled while crying heavily as she hugged him back, thinking about him being the only person she could trust. As she was sure, he won't abandon her no matter what. But, no one knows what future holds for them! A shadow sneered while looking at them, "I'll see how long she's gonna stay here, I'll make her life a living hell!" She took out her phone and dialled someone's number, "Is it Sean Hill?" "Yes, who's this?", the man asked arrogantly. "I know who you've been searching for your whole life! And I guess, I've found her", she said with an evil smile as she looked at the two figures embracing each other in the heavy rain.

On the twelfth anniversary of our mating ceremony, my Alpha mate gave me a ten-million-dollar Moonlight herb. Fresh from the healing clinic after my miscarriage, I calmly dialed his number to request the severing of our mate bond. On the other end of the line, his secretary—also his childhood sweetheart—apologized through tears: "Sage, Moonlight herb is a sacred healing herb for most werewolves. I didn't know your mother died from Moonlight herb poisoning. I didn't know you despised it most. It's all my fault for making the decision myself. Please don't be angry with the Alpha." Marcus spent a long time gently comforting her, only saying to me: "If you want to sever it, then sever it. Don't regret it later." But when I really cut off the mate bond, the powerful Alpha went crazy.

After years of suffering abuse at the hands of her mate, Blair Gaines resorts to desperate measures to escape. To disguise herself, she uses a witch's charm to cloak her shifter scent and moves to Orange, California, in hopes of starting a new life and picking up the pieces of her broken self. Hurt, broke and on the verge of despair, she gets some relief when she finds a job, and things are finally starting to look up until she meets the CEO, Mac Walsh. Her wolf declares Mac is her mate, but that can't be true because she already has a mate and as far she knows, wolf shifters only mate once in a lifetime. No second chances. Plus, Mac is everything Blair despises; an alpha male, loud, brash and grumpy. But then, she soon begins to see a side of Mac that affects her more than she cares to admit. Could fate be playing games or is something more sinister happening under the surface?

While enrolling my son in an elite school, the administrator suddenly tells me my marriage certificate is forged. "According to our records, your marital status is listed as single." "But I've been married to my husband, Chandler Leighton, for seven years!" Behind me, other parents waiting in line burst out laughing mockingly. "Did she just say Chandler Leighton? She must be dreaming." Amid their ridicule, I leave and head straight to the city hall for a confirmation. And as a wife of seven years, my marital status in the system is stated as "Single". A cold dread washes over me as I press. "Who is Chandler Leighton's legal wife?" The clerk flatly spats out a name, "Heather Hammington." It was that name again! I rush home, ready to confront Chandler, but pause just outside the door when I hear voices inside. "It's been seven years, Mr. Leighton. Do you still have no plans to grant Mrs. Leighton a legal status?" After a lengthy pause, Chandler finally answers, "Just wait a little longer. Heather lost both her parents… I'm the only one who can help her, so she needs this title." "What if Mrs. Leighton finds out?" "Danielle loves me too much to leave, even if she finds out. Once Heather has established her foothold in the business industry, I'll make it official with Danielle and give her a true marriage certificate." He sounds so certain, unaware that I'm standing just outside the door with tears streaming down my face. "You'll be disappointed, you liar." I take out my phone and dial a number I haven't called in years. "Mom, I accept the Atwoods' marriage arrangement."

"How I talk to my employees is not and shouldn't be your business." He started taking slow steps towards me while I kept moving back till my back touched the wall. There's no escape anymore. He pressed his palms on the wall, caging me in. I inhaled his intoxicating scent not wanting to meet his eyes. He slowly leaned in as I could feel his musky breath in my ear. "You defy me so much that I want to hurt you." With that he disappeared. The only evidence that showed he was here was just the sound of the closing 'Love? A mere word or feeling that makes us do weird and dumb things. I didn't want to love him. I didn't want to want him. I didn't want anything to do with him but the heart wants what it wants. He was my worst nightmare and at the same time my solace. He was my enemy and at the same time my friend. I hated him the most but at the same time I loved him the most!' ______________ Ivory Addams, a young waitress, is thrust into a dangerous world when she's kidnapped by a Mafia king who believes she holds the key to saving his son's life. As she navigates her new reality, she's faced with an impossible choice - marry a Mafia Prince or risk losing everything she holds dear. As she uncovers dark secrets and fights for her independence, she becomes entangled in a deadly game of power, love, and survival. Can she navigate this treacherous world and protect herself from becoming a pawn in their dangerous games?

Nine.  She wasn't known by a name, only by the number carved into her skin at birth. Raised in an Unfortunate camp, she spent her days preparing for her eighteenth birthday, when she'd be sold to a Fortunate and forced to tend to their every need.  Gossip dictated that the Sarios were the worst of the Fortunates, so when Nine found herself bought by the father of the Sario house, her dream of living a quiet, uneventful life of servitude shattered before her eyes.  Thrust into the dark clutches of the eldest son, Kaden Sario, Nine must navigate the treacherous world of high society and assist her Fortunate in his dream of new world domination. The Unfortunate Trilogy is created by Skyla Madi, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

I was dying from my fear of heights, but my husband, Don Vincent, was busy with his assistant, savoring the latest coffee flown in from Hawaii that morning. "You're a grown woman, Bella. What's the big deal? You're stuck on a roof, figure it out." Then he hung up on me. I collapsed onto the hot tar of the roof, my body shaking uncontrollably before everything went black. It was two hours before building security found me. When I got home, I asked Vincent for a divorce. He rubbed his temples, his patience worn thin, looking at me as if I were a child throwing a tantrum. "Over a cup of coffee? I told you, the heights are all in your head. You’re perfectly safe now. Stop making a scene alright? What's this nonsense about a divorce? I have more important things to deal with. Calm yourself down." I stared at his back as he left, tears already streaming down my face. Something important? Did he really think I couldn't hear his assistant, Sophia, murmuring in the background? Did he think I didn't know he took her to the last family gathering? I had loved Vincent for three years. Everyone knew he was the center of my world. They all thought an orphan like me could never leave him. But now, all the love I had was eclipsed by a profound, soul-crushing exhaustion. I was done. I picked up my phone and dialed a number I hadn't touched in three long years. "Uncle, book me a flight to Seattle. I'm ready to leave Vincent."

Percival, a student Pilot from Stanford University was very clear with his number one goal in life. It was to study in the best flying school in Florida. However, he agreed to have a no string attached relationship with Yanna from Northwestern Polytechnic University (NPU) tourism, the woman who cannot be tamed by her sexcapades.

The story-series, "Crimson's Game", is about a girl named Elle, a member of the Death Legion, who is struggling to seek for answers to reveal her true identity. The Death Legion is a constitution where they aim to cleanse the world. A world without murderers, toxicity, and chaos. But it is all a lie, the truth is they are all just bunch of psycho's who find satisfaction by inflicting pain to their victims. The Legion is divided into four different sectors. Sector 1, the Annihilators, they are also known as the doers. They are the ones responsible for assassination. Sector 2, the Final Disposition, their task is to look after the dead bodies and make sure that the place where the assassination was held is taken care of. Sector 3, the Defenders. The Defenders are the lawyers of the sectors. They will defend and make sure that the profile of their Manslayers is clean. Last sector, the Menders. They are the doctors of each group. They also save the lives of those victims who are granted by the Director, the founder of the Legion. Elle is recruited by Archaios, her partner in crime, he will help Elle discover the hell inside the constitution. Archaios will play a big role in her life. Is he someone she could trust? An alliance? Or maybe another enemy she'll have to face. The protagonist will have a hard time finding the right course to her freedom. She will bet her own life just to satisfy her curiosity. Will she be able to handle it all alone? Find out the truth, seek for the answer. Be careful with who you trust, because in this game you will doubt, even yourself. With that, let the games begin!