Standing There Menacingly

On my husband's birthday, I poured my heart into preparing a feast and selecting the perfect gift. Yet, he didn't come home. Instead, I received a picture message—a snapshot of him at the hospital, standing outside the OB-GYN ward, his hand resting tenderly on his childhood crush's belly. Beneath the photo, a message read: [The best birthday gift and a symbol of our decade-long bond.] Furious, I called her. "Don't you know he's married?" Before I could say more, my husband snatched the phone and lashed out at me. "Yvonne just wanted to share the joy of becoming a mother. Why are you overreacting? "Yvonne and I have been best friends for over a decade. Your petty jealousy is disgusting!" I once believed his busyness was for our future, but now I knew—he had been busy supporting the girl of his dreams through her pregnancy. Clutching my own stomach, I bit my lip to stop the tears from falling. Ten years of love had drained away. It was time to let go.

Fia Romero meets her boyfriends dorm mate, player Wes Hamilton. While Fia has been in a happy and committed three year long relationship, Wes doesn't believe in the idea of committing to someone while you should be exploring your options and having fun. Their friendship grows over what started as a silly idea for Fia to play Wes's match-maker and find him the perfect girl that he thinks is worth the commitment. What started as match-making turned into a fake dating relationship, leading to confused feelings and room-fulls of tension and passion. A little game of playing Cupid turns into something more and maybe the person who has always been the one for you was standing right under your nose the whole time.

"And……" He continued. "You'll give me a son, once you do that for me, he will get the title as he demanded, and you'll be set free from my cage." ************* After I lost my father, Derrick took over my mother with threat. Not only that, he dealt with me so much until the day I was abducted while hunting. I found myself in Denver Pack which was far away from my pack, greycrest pack. Standing before the devil in a wolf form, the cruelest, ruthless and cold hearted Alpha king of Denver Pack, he announced what would have been a nightmare to my hearing. How on earth will I be a breeder for such a devil? What is it that gave Derrick the guts to betroth me to him in demand of being a beta for the Alpha king of greycrest Pack? While I'm sorting out all these, I'll still have to revenge for my father. I'll surely murder the unidentified man who strangled my father to death in my presence. But how will I do this when I'm caged to breed for the devilish Alpha?

His breath heated her bare skin. "You. . . shouldn’t be. . . here.” She shivered.“But now I am.”He placed his first finger on the knot of the towel, and slightly dragged it out of position, letting it fall to the ground. Now she was standing naked before him, she couldn’t do a thing, not even to hide her pride.His gaze fell on her breast, slowly down to her V spot. A smirk played on his lips, as if staring right at that junction was heaven. The power to resist the urge burning in her was gone, rather her body responded positive to it.“Kiss me, Luci. Please. . .kiss me.”A Bargain Must Be Fulfilled.My rules.A life is needed.That was the deal.The night started as it should. It was supposed to be a meeting. But then something happened.Something I was wholly unprepared for. And what I saw changed everything.Sonia. I wanted her at all cost.I broke my own rules after that. And I didn’t keep my end of the bargain.Because walking away was no longer an option I would grant either of us, no matter the cost.

Seven years ago, my husband, the King of the Humans, banished me to the Everfrost Plains, where my life came to a tragic end. Seven years later, a grave illness befalls the Queen of the Humans, and blood spills endlessly from her lips. The clerics claim that I have cursed her. Only the blood taken from my heart can cure her fully. Gareth Lancaster, my former husband, comforts his new wife, the queen, and says, "You have nothing to fear. To think she's still trying to harm you, her older sister, even when she has been exiled! "I'll march to the Everfrost Plains right away and carve her heart out to use as your cure. Then, I'll have her soul sent to hell to suffer in torment for all eternity." Sword in hand, Gareth heads to the Everfrost Plains. He finds a Serpentkin, one who should've died in the Great War of the Beasts and Men seven years ago. The Serpentkin has frozen solid, standing before my grave with his hands clasped together as if in prayer. In front of my grave sits a young girl. She says, "You won't be able to take my mother's heart. She died many years ago. I stayed here to let the truth be known to all…"

Hybrid Skyler's worst fear came to life when she turned eighteen years old and was rejected by her first mate and pack on the same night. They cast her out of the only home she had ever known, solely because she was different and believed to be a weak Omega. Little did her ex mate and pack know there was more to her than her looks and designation. Now, as she moves to a new pack, she meets her second chance mate, who brings a glimmer of hope into her shattered world. Just as she begins to learn about whom she really is, the question lingers in her mind–will her second chance mate reject her, just like her first mate did? Or will he prove to be the pillar of strength she desperately needs, standing behind her and together, becoming an unbreakable force?

Just as Justin proposed to me, a phone call interrupted him. Standing close by, I clearly heard the voice on the other end of the line. “Justin, I’m hurt. My leg hurts so much!” Justin snapped the ring box shut and looked at me. “Alice is injured. I’ll have to do this another time.” With those words, he sprinted away, leaving everyone around us staring in astonishment. I had never met Alice, but her presence lingered in every corner of our lives.  At meals, Justin would mention her fondness for sweet desserts.  When I dressed, I came to know her love for soft lavender hues. I argued, I wept, I lashed out, but Justin always countered with the same line. “You’re so jealous. Everyone has their first love. She’s my past, but you’re my future.” So, I turned to a man who had once called me his first love—Quentin—and made a bold proposition. “Let’s get married.”

My boyfriend, Allen, is a fitness coach who is cheerful, handsome, and has eight-pack abs. After getting together with me, he transferred all his female students to other colleagues and would send me daily check-in photos. In anticipation of becoming his fiancee, I happily prepared for our engagement ceremony. However, two weeks before the ceremony, I discovered a bright red lipstick mark on Allen’s workout pants. I quickly pulled up the check-in photo he had sent me that day. Through the reflection on a dumbbell, I saw a woman standing next to Allen—her lips painted in the exact same lipstick color. Most of the previous photos had flaws, but I had trusted Allen too much to notice them. Looking at his message under the photo, I let out a cold laugh. "Baby, I have to work overtime today to train a male student." He actually dared to deceive me. Just then, my phone rang. It was the wedding planning company confirming the engagement ceremony setup. I quickly responded with a confirmation. The ceremony would proceed as planned—except I had a special surprise prepared for Allen, one he would never forget.

In the third year of her marriage, Natalie Spencer uncovers a devastating truth. Her blindness wasn't caused by a car accident. No, it was because her beloved husband, Jason Pereira, plotted to have her corneas removed and transplanted them into his first love. The only reason he married her in the first place was to save that other woman. The marriage Natalie once took pride in turns out to be nothing but a calculated lie. Crushed, she quietly begins planning her escape. Half a month later, she vanishes without warning. She leaves behind nothing but a signed divorce agreement and a jar of formaldehyde containing an undeveloped embryo. Those are her final gifts to Jason. He loses his mind searching for her, scouring the world in desperation. But when he finally finds her, she's no longer alone. There's another man by her side. Jason stands in front of her, eyes red with guilt and regret. "Natalie, I was wrong. Please don't leave me. Not like this." But the Natalie standing before him now is radiant and powerful—she's an internationally acclaimed artist and a woman reborn. She looks at the man she once loved and feels nothing. "Jason, I'm not that blind bat who used to live and breathe for you anymore." She turns and wraps her arms around the regal man beside her with a smile. "Someone's bothering your wife. Aren't you going to deal with him?" The man smiles back, leans in, and kisses her in front of everyone. "Of course. Whatever my wife says, goes."

“When can I see you again?” She pried, summoning her last drop of courage. “Next time” He replied, biting his lower lips to prevent himself from blushing. “When is the next time?” She continued. He grinned, but remained mum. Six years later, she still could never forget the image of his endearing figure standing before her when she was barely twelve years old, with his handsome face that shone brightly like the fierce sun. Eighteen year old Ariadne, got admission into Leyland university in a different city to pursue a life of her dreams; to get closer to Denver, as close as possible. She just wanted to present herself and make him see her in a new light; an adult as against the little girl in his memory. All she ever wanted is to gently walk into his heart and occupy it. Can such a simple wish come so easy?