Standing Out

Seven years ago, it was love at first sight when I met Lucas Yates, who was still a nameless thug at the time. For him, I chose to leave my wealthy family. After seven years of dating, he throws me a grand wedding the day he finally becomes the head of Devil's Advocate, a mafia organization. On the day of our wedding, his childhood friend, Yelena Jackman, crashes the venue. She confesses her love for Lucas, but he rejects her without any hesitation, vowing he will only ever love me in this life. Just as we're exchanging rings, Lucas' enemies show up to cause trouble. When he sees the gun pointing at me, he lunges forward to protect me without a second thought. Yelena, who should have run, takes three bullets while protecting Lucas and falls into a coma due to severe blood loss. Overwhelmed by guilt, Lucas sends her to the best hospital in the world. I have the same blood type as Yelena, so in the attempt to save her life, I donate so much blood that I go into shock. Guilt leaves me with sleepless nights. Every day, I pray she'll wake up. I'm even willing to look after her for the rest of my life if I have to. Lucas keeps comforting me, saying that I don't need to feel so guilty, as Yelena did all of it of her own volition. He says he'll take up the responsibility of making it up to her. I'm extremely grateful to Yelena for saving Lucas and allowing me to have such a wonderful husband. However, on the day of our third wedding anniversary, I receive a mysterious message. "Lucille, you shameless homewrecker! I'm his lawfully wedded wife! If you know what's good for you, you'd better scram and go as far away as you can. If you don't believe me, you can always head to City Hall to see just who is registered as Lucas' lawful wife!"

Our family is planning a ski trip at a luxury resort. However, my mother gives my snow-view room to my adoptive sister and makes me, her biological daughter, stay in the storage room. I'm about to protest when my father and brother accuse me of being selfish. "We've always given Madie the best of everything; she won't be able to sleep in any other room." "Madie is our family—she's the one who's lived with us this whole time. We're a family, so we have to stay together." I'm the one who shares their blood, yet they consider me an outsider. If that's the case, they can go on vacation without me. I board a cruise and travel the world for a month without ever going home. That's when they panic.

A college student named Avaelena discovered that she is pregnant. She met a wealthy businessman named Kairos at a bar. After what happened, he became her fuck buddy. Avaelena became his fuck buddy to hide her pregnancy from her parents while claiming that she is working in Manila while studying. Kairos proposed a deal to her: become his fuck mate, and he will pay her a week to prove to her parents that she is indeed working and studying hard in Manila.

The day Noelle Rutherford finds out she's pregnant, she braves the rain to go to a club that Chester Gray frequents. She stands outside a private room and pats her soaked hair dry with some tissues, wanting to surprise him when his get-together ends. Through the ajar door, she hears laughter. "Chester, your wedding to Noelle is in a week. Is your surprise for her ready?" "Of course," Chester says, his usually cool voice laced with tipsiness. "I'll make it a memory she'll never forget." Noelle pauses, and her lips curve upward in a sweet smile. Throughout her three years with Chester, he has truly cherished her like a treasure and loved her with all his heart. "Ha! Do you think she'll have a meltdown and lose her mind on the big day when she finds out I've been toying with her while pretending to be you this whole time?" Someone laughed. "She'd never in her wildest dreams imagine that Chester has an identical twin brother! When she finds out her boyfriend's brother has been playing her for three years…"

There's a famous catchphrase since time immemorial: The more you hate, the more you love. Alam ni Dennis na iba siya kompara sa ibang mga lalaki. Imbes na sa babae, sa lalaki siya nakakaramdam ng kakaiba. At may lihim siyang pagtingin sa isa sa mga barkada niya, kay Ervin. Subalit hindi niya ito sinasabi kahit kanino man dahil alam niyang ang taong gusto niya'y may iba ng mahal. Kaya mas lalo siyang determinado na itago sa binata ang kakaibang nararamdaman niya rito. Sa hindi inaasahan, may nakaalam ng kanyang sikreto sa hindi niya malamang dahilan. Raymond, the man who hates his guts. All this man do is to pick on his faults that sometimes, he wants to punch his stupid face. Well, the feeling is mutual. He equally hates the other. But then, Raymond's attitude turned 180°. Kung dati, nararamdaman niya ang inis nito sa kanya, ngayon, si Dennis na mismo ang nagugulat na to the rescue si Raymond tuwing may problema siya. Akala niya ba ayaw nito sa kanya? Wait, this is not a story about love. Maybe?

“Dibayar berapa lo sama bokap gue, hah?” Rayyan menyudutkan posisi Mita ke tembok. Satu tangannya mencengkeram erat kerah kemeja gadis itu sehingga membuatnya seperti tercekik. Mita kesulitan bicara. Tenggorokannya tercekat karena tekanan tangan Rayyan yang begitu kuat. Tangan kirinya berusaha melepaskan cengkeraman Rayyan sedang tangan kanannya menepuk-nepuk punggung tangan laki-laki itu. “Jawab!” sentak Rayyan. Matanya semakin berkilat merah. Memancarkan gurat amarah sekaligus sedih yang bercampur menjadi satu. “Lep—lepas, Ray. Denger penjelasan aku dulu,” pinta Mita dengan suara terbata. Gadis itu memejam seiring dengan luruhnya butiran kristal dari kedua sudut matanya. “Apa lagi? Udah jelas kalo lo cewek simpenan bokap gue! Lo udah ngerusak keluarga gue!” Rayyan semakin berapi-api. Mita mengangguk perlahan, dia pasrah. “Oke. Oke kalo menurut kamu kayak gitu. Bunuh aku kalo emang itu mau kamu,” lirihnya. Air mata semakin deras membanjiri wajah cantik Swastamita. Apakah Mita akan terus pasrah mendapat perlakuan kasar Rayyan? Akankah Mita benar-benar menyerah untuk tidak menjelaskan masalah sebenarnya pada laki-laki itu? Akankah Rayyan tega menghabisi Mita seperti yang diinginkan gadis itu?

I have always been treated as an outcast by my father and even the lowest ranking members of my pack. My name is Skylar, I am from the Crescent pack and my father is the Alpha. I have never shifted before and this has been a major stigma in my life. People see me as weak, shameful and unworthy to be a member of my pack, and even more on worthy to be the Alpha’s daughter. I keep trying my best to prove myself but it’s never good enough. When it seems like things couldn’t get worse for me, everything spiral’s out of my control, not like I had any control over my life anyway. After a masked one night stand with the Alpha of a rival pack, who is known for being ruthless, things become more tormenting for me. I keep trying to beat all odds but it seems like they’re never in my favour, I keep trying to survive but it keeps getting more and more difficult. My only chances of survival are to escape with the little I have. I’m lucky enough to meet other outcasts like myself but like always I am drowned in waves of problems. I keep wondering when I will ever have peace and if destiny has anything good in-store for me. My journey is long, painful and tedious but it will make me discover who I am and how much I am needed to bring stability, not just to my pack but the world. Life may beat me down repeatedly but it can’t break me and I will take my rightful place and everything that belongs to me. I will do everything I can to fulfill the prophesy about me.

For ten years, I bled for my fated mate, Damian. I forged him into an Alpha. I built his pack from nothing. But on the eve of our Blood Moon ceremony, he chose her. He made his first love, Isla—the one who abandoned him—the High Priestess. Not me. He thought I was just some rogue with a knack for magic. He thought he could drain my power, cast me aside, and claim Isla as his true mate. But he forgot who I am. I brokered the treaties. I negotiated the trades. I built the wards that kept them all alive. He and his pack hailed Isla as their savior. They groveled at her feet. They tried to get rid of me. Their plan? Force me to escort a demon to the Abyss of Exile. But he never knew my secret. I'm no rogue. I am the youngest daughter of the Alpha King. I am royalty. So I gave them what they wanted. I walked away. They only started to panic when my wards shattered and their lands were overrun.

After being reborn, the very first thing I do is schedule a hysterectomy. In my past life, my boyfriend's first love started a livestream channel to build her image as a brilliant OB-GYN. The moment she saw me vomiting, she deliberately claimed on livestream that I was pregnant. Right then and there, my boyfriend insisted that he had never even slept with me. I tried to explain, but she handed me medication to help sustain the pregnancy. She even told me to take care of myself and take them on time. Viewers made fun of my boyfriend, saying I had cheated on him. Furious, he broke up with me. Later, my personal information leaked, and countless men began harassing me for hookups. I couldn't take it anymore and jumped to my death. Meanwhile, his first love rode the fame wave of her brilliant OB-GYN persona, gaining followers and being idolized by her fans. But this time, I don't even have a uterus. Let's see how she plans to fake a pregnancy scandal now.

Derrick Caldwell once promised me that on the night of our pack's founding feast, he would announce that we'd been married for eight years. However, on the big day, his childhood friend, Lilith Sterling, takes my place. She sits beside him—the spot reserved for his Luna. The warriors say, "We heard you have a mate with whom you've been married for eight years, Alpha. Is this her?" Derrick smiles without denying it. He silently allows their assumption to stand. I want him to explain this to me, but he merely says, "You may have helped me become the Alpha, but your lowly birth is nothing compared to Lilith's noble status. As my mate, you need to be more tolerant." I don't argue with him. Instead, I turn and leave the pack he and I built together. Later, I start my own pack and turn it into the largest one in the federation. Derrick stands among the crowd during a ceremony where the Alpha King confers a medal of honor to me. He proudly tells anyone who will listen that I'm his wife. I act like I don't see him, and his eyes turn red with desperation.