Standing Punching Bag

Iris “Prisoner……. Captive….. Slave…..” Those are little words when it comes down to me. My teenage was almost gone and when I saw myself standing in my adulthood, I realized I lost so many things including myself. Because I was his prisoner. I was Bratva’s captive and he left no stone unturned to teach me who is the owner of my life. “Regret?” “I regret the day when I stepped in his mansion blinded by vengeance. And he showed no mercy. I regret my impulsive decision and many more. But above all, I regret being the puppet of his hand.” Dimitrios “I don't have the word mercy in my rule book.” “But she is a kid.” “Doesn't matter. What matters is, she is an assassin's daughter and his father is not alive to pay for his deeds.” Copyright 2021-2022 by Irene Davison (Esperanza)

I had everything planned a month in advance for our holiday. I was going to take my wife and daughter on a trip to see the country's beautiful landscapes, but just before we were supposed to leave, they both disappeared. I ended up standing alone in the pouring rain, trying to call them. My daughter's voice came through over the phone—it was cold and impatient. "Mommy's having dinner with Uncle Skyler. We don't want to go anymore." Right after that, the call was cut off. I had been blocked. They locked me out of the house on purpose and left me to freeze out there all night. The rain had already drenched me, and I was running a high fever that turned into pneumonia. Meanwhile, the two of them were off enjoying a vacation with Skyler Shire. That was the moment I knew—this marriage was well and truly over.

She loved him, but he chose another. She saved him, but another took the credit. At the Mating Ball, Selina discovers that Alpha Kieran is her fated mate—only for him to publicly claim Lilith instead. Forced into a loveless marriage, Selina endures three years of cold indifference until she becomes pregnant. But before she can tell him, Kieran returns with devastating news: Lilith is alive… and carrying his child. Heartbroken, Selina signs the divorce papers and vanishes. Six years later, Kieran finds her again—stronger, untouchable, and standing beside his former best friend, now his sworn enemy, Damien. Worse, she denies ever being his mate. But Kieran isn’t letting her go this time. He will reclaim his mate, his children, and his love—no matter what it takes.

For seven years, I took medicine to suppress my Alpha bloodline, all to protect the fragile pride of my Beta boyfriend, Liam. On the night of our anniversary, he chose not to show up. He was with a Highborn she-wolf he had only just met. He believed I was nothing more than an ordinary Omega in the pack, someone he could discard at will and win back with gifts. He claimed my bloodline could never compare to hers. Liam never knew the truth. I carried the purest Alpha bloodline because I was a Moonborn. When he finally realized what he had lost and came begging for me to return, it was all too late. My new Alpha mate was standing by my side, shielding me from Liam. His betrayal ended our story, but my true beginning had only just unfolded.

"I've always had my eyes on you. I've been curious to know how you taste." His hands came caressing my lips softly. The only thing I could hear in the dark was the rain, my beating heart, and our breathe. ***** Mirabel, who goes through bullying in college, learns her mother is getting remarried. On a wet night, her mother leaves for a date with her lover, sending her lover's son over to keep Mirabel company. When she opened the door to welcome her stepbrother, Mirabel is shocked to see her crush, Derek, a cool handsome student from her class, standing there. He reveals he's her stepbrother. She doesn't know how to react, but a naughty Derek knows what to do. *How will Mirabel bear this? *Can she stand her crush being her stepbrother?

“Please don’t hurt me, I will do anything you want me to, I will not tell anyone anything. I swear on my life, I don’t want to die please” I pleaded, it was the least I could do in a situation like this. After all that I had seen, I knew I was nothing to him than just another body that he could drop dead. I closed my eyes hoping and praying that he would spare my life. “Anything?” I hear him say and I open my eyes immediately. Was he accepting my offer, was he going to spare my life. He was already standing in front of me, I had to tilt my head backwards a great deal to catch a glimpse of his face. “Yes anything” I nodded my head.

"Do I seem like an idiot to you princess?" he sassed taking another agonizingly slow step towards me. "N-no." I stuttered out a blabbering mess, unable to think straight with his sudden closeness. "Do I have to show who you belong to again Bella?" "I-don't know." I whispered out too far gone within the eyes of the silver eyed God like boy standing before me. "Then why do you defy me princess, or is it that you want me to punish you?" I was trapped within his beautiful orbs unable to register the utter madness he just voiced, the word fell off my lips almost breathless begging for him to take me. "Yes" His lips curved to the side showing his God forbidden mischievous smirk of his. I had just now registered the consequences of my stupidity.

Even knowing that wailing at an Eravalen aristocratic funeral was considered disrespectful to the deceased, I let my husband's adopted sister make a scene anyway. In my previous life, my husband, Robert Baker, had a distant relative among the Eravalen aristocracy who passed away. A lawyer informed him that he stood to inherit the estate and invited him to attend the funeral. His adopted sister, Mia Carter, insisted on tagging along to see how the privileged few in another country lived. She wanted to rub shoulders with nobles and make herself look important, even planning to wail dramatically in front of everyone. I rushed to stop her. "Public mourning is taboo among Eravalen nobility. Forget inheriting anything. We'll all be thrown out!" Yet she burst into tears, accusing me of looking down on her and thinking she was not good enough to mingle with aristocrats. She stormed out and was killed by street thugs in a random attack. I thought Robert would fall apart, but he stayed silent through the entire funeral and collected his inheritance without a hitch. Six months later, on our wedding anniversary, he took me to the snowy mountains for a photoshoot. The moment we reached the peak, he shoved me into a sleeping bag and tied it shut. "If you hadn't blown everything out of proportion, Mia never would've run off and gotten herself shot." He buried me alive in the snow. I froze to death, and he used that aristocratic fortune to become the CEO of a publicly traded company. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Mia insisted on wailing at the funeral.

WARNING: MATURE CONTENT INSIDE | RATED 18+ | SPG For Matthew, the secret, spoiled and badass unico hijo de Aristizabal, nothing mattered more than clubs, alcohol, cigarettes, and sex - be it with a woman or with women. He only wants to taste the delicious creations of God. He only wants to explore heaven. He only wants to savor his youthful life. Iyon ang laging rason niya sa kaniyang ina sa kung anong kabulastugan ang ginagawa niya sa buhay araw-araw lalo't kailangang mapanatiling pribado ang kanilang buhay. But Matthew's not-so-private life is destined to be changed when his dad is found one day bathed in his own blood inside his office. He is aware of the complex negotiation and the good family Aristizabal. Dahilan kung bakit kailangang itago silang mag ina sa simula't sapol na ikinasal ang mga mga magulang niya at hanggang sa maisilang siya. Fueled by anger and pain, Matthew will seek revenge on the unknown killer of his beloved dad as the only heir of the Aristizabal family. Luckily, he met Chase Herrera at his favorite club and invited him to become one of the members of Foedus to seek protection for his mom while he's searching for justice for the death of his dad and ask for help. Love. Lies. Secret. Betrayal. Matthew little had no idea that as soon as he stepped foot into Agrianthropos City, he would meet the woman who would unravel the truth that would break his wounded heart. Will he use the gold card to save the woman who fixed him and leave the hell island without him inside the body bag? Or let her die with her own lies?

My throat burned as he wrapped his hand around it, his grip was firm but not crushing—cold steel pressed against my neck, the knife. I gasped, my bag slipping from my shoulder. It hit the ground with a dull thud, spilling open, and my book tumbled out. He glanced down, bent, picked it up, and flipped it open. His eyes skimmed the page. Then his mouth curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile, a dark smirk, like he knew exactly what I had been reading. And worse, he saw the notes. My handwriting in the margins, messy lines of ink: God, I wish someone would ruin me like this. I shouldn’t like it, but I do. Imagine the knife on me instead. Heat exploded in my face. I wanted the ground to swallow me. His eyes lifted back to mine, and I couldn’t breathe. ***** I was just a college freshman, lost in dark romance novels and fantasies of forbidden love. But my life took a deadly turn when I stumbled upon a mafia boss's secret in a dimly lit alley. Little did I know, the killer I witnessed would become my professor, and my obsession would become my downfall. Now, I'm trapped in a game of cat and mouse, where the stakes are higher than I ever imagined. My obsession grows with every passing moment, and I'm forced to confront the shadows within myself. But not everything is what it seems. What begins as an obsession may turn into something far more dangerous….. like revenge.