Steel Wings

When I was 18 years old, Luigi Conti, the craziest heir of the Conti family, pulled out a gun at an auction and executed the Don of the Serra family. That man happened to be my foster father, also the one who had me auctioned away as though I were a slave. When he was being dragged toward the armored car by the military police, he kept laughing like mad despite having blood streaking down his face. "Why must I atone for my sins? Since God refuses to save you, let me be your savior! From now on, no one in Sandalay has the guts to clip your wings anymore, my darling Isabella!" Seven years later, Luigi gets released from prison. He looks at me as I wash dishes for a living in the slums before snuffing out the cigar trapped between his fingers. That night, Luigi returns to his family and steals the position of the Don. After we get married, I'm the only person who has the highest access over the vaults under the Conti family. Luigi even forcibly expands the ring that signifies ultimate authority—which has been passed down from generation to generation for a century—and slides it onto my ring finger. He buys half of Sandalay's estates just so he can fill the vineyards with the white grapes I've mentioned in passing. He tells me that his turf is called Isabella. But everything changes when I discover a photo album stashed in a hidden compartment in Luigi's study. All 2,000 photos feature a young woman in a white dress who is reading in the library. That is the female assassin he's planning on training. The woman looks very pure and innocent. She's most suited to conquer certain bigwigs' hearts. But now, it seems that Luigi's the one being conquered by her. When Luigi finds out about my discovery, he throws the photo album into the fireplace and watches it burn in the fire with a stony expression. "I'm just repackaging her so that she can aid me in money laundering. Just pretend you never saw the photo album." I push the signed divorce agreement over to Luigi. "I said, sign the agreement." Frustrated, Luigi pins the divorce agreement on the table with a knife, his expression insanely dark. "Isabella Serra, have you forgotten about the Conti family's rules? There's no such thing as divorce. We can only be widowed."

("You belong to me, okay? Once you think about someone else, you'll be punish!" - lord Stan Elthen Indelcio.) Si Stan Elthen Indelcio ay walang oras para sa pag-ibig dahil tanging paghihiganti lang ang nasa isip niya, hanggang sa nakilala niya ang isang magandang gangster chic na nagdala ng parehong liwanag at dilim sa parehong mundong ginagalawan niya. Gagawin niya ang lahat para lang mapasakamay ang sutil na dalaga. Hindi sigurado si Haidei tungkol sa mga motibo ni Stan nang kunin siya nito mula sa sariling grupong Ruffian upang magtrabaho bilang isa sa miyembro ng kanyang gang na Stygian. Ginawa ni Stan ang lahat para kumbinsihin si Haidei na mahal niya talaga ito pero isang hamak na playboy college student lang talaga ang tingin nito sakanya. Ang gusto lang gawin ni Haidei ay alagaan ang kanyang grupo, kaya napunta siya sa deal na panghabambuhay para sa mga gastusin at kaligtasan ng kanyang grupo, sinusunggaban niya agad ang pagkakataon. Hindi niya alam na ang pakikipagkasundo kay Stan ay isang kulungang imposibleng takasan. Unti-unting napawi ang kanyang ngiti, at ang kanyang tawa ay nalulusaw hanggang sa ang natitira na lang ay ang sirang puppet sa impyerno na nilikha ng kanyang personal na hangarin. Si Stan Elthen Indelcio, ang pinuno ng Stygian Beast, ay tumayong mag-isa para hanapin ang humamak sa Ina nito. Brutal, walang awa, at mapanganib, si Stan ay kinatatakutan ng lahat - maging ng mga halimaw na naglalayong patayin ang kanyang kaluluwa. The instant Stan notice what's happening, he took her under his wings, and even though he's all sharp edges and has threatening screams, she feel safe with him. Kung ang kaligtasan niya ay kapahamakan ni Stan? Ano ang gagawin niya? Hayaang mapahamak si Stan para sa kalayaan niya?

When the factory director’s son dragged my drunk fiancee into the supply warehouse, I pretended as if I did not see them. I just turned around and walked away. In the past, I had ruined my own future by rushing in and beating the factory director’s son up. I was even framed for stealing the supplies from the warehouse. When the warehouse keeper came over with the police officers, my fiancee deliberately ripped her own clothes. She cried and said that she came with the director to stop me from committing the crime, but I beat her up and even defiled her. Everyone despised me, and I became a criminal. My fiancee’s parents could not bear the rumors, and they forced me to marry her. But that marriage was only the start of a hellish life. She lived like a queen at home, yet she told everyone I was starving her. When she got pregnant, she deliberately pushed her belly against the corner of the table. Then, she stood in the courtyard and cried. She claimed I had abused her, and I wanted to kill my own baby. My parents felt bad for me, so they borrowed money from everyone they knew to get her a job. But when she landed on the job, she framed my father for stealing the steel from the factory. Half a year after my father was imprisoned, he passed away in jail due to an illness. My mother could not bear the stress and fell severely ill. She also passed away soon after. When I was pinned under the collapsed brick wall at the construction site, she did not call for help. Instead, she picked up a brick and smashed it into my head. “If you were not so nosy, Jeremy and I’d have been together already. We wouldn’t have wasted so much time!” My head bled, and I was buried beneath a pile of rubble. When I opened my eyes again, I was at the entrance of the supply warehouse. From inside, I heard my fiancee’s soft, teasing murmurs.

Si Kristine ay masunuring anak at hindi mahilig makipagtalo sa kahit na sino. Maraming pumupuri sa kanya dahil sa kanyang magaling na pakikisama, kaya malaking tanong para sa kanya kung bakit hinayaan ng Diyos na mangyari sa kanya ang kanyang mga pinagdaanan? Ang second year anniversary nila ng two years boyfriend at planong pagbibigay ng sarili rito dahil sigurado na siyang ito ang lalaking gusto niyang maging asawa ay nauwi sa isang malaking eskandalo. Ang lalaking namulatan niya sa kama ay isang guwapong C.E.O. ng isang steel fabrication at inaakala naman nitong isa siyang prostitute na inarkila nito. Mabilis ding kumalat ang scandal nila na hindi rin niya alam kung paano nangyari at sino ang may gawa. Dahil doon, pilit siyang pinahihiwalay ng ina ng kanyang boyfriend sa anak nito at pinagbantaan. Maging ang kanyang ama ay galit na galit sa kanya at sinabing hinding-hindi na siya makakatungtong sa pamamahay nila hangga't hindi niya dinadala ang lalaking kasama niya sa scandal at nang araw din na iyon, nakipaghiwalay sa kanya ang kanyang boyfriend. Nagpakalayo-layo siya dahil sa kahihiyan pero maliit ang mundo dahil ang boss niya pala sa bagong trabaho ay ang mismong nakatabi niya sa kama, at ito rin ang unang nakaalam na buntis siya at ito ang ama. Pinipilit din ng lola nito na panagutan siya o aalisin ito sa kompanya. Kung magiging asawa niya ito matutuwa ang kanyang ama na isang investment ang tingin sa kanya. Magpapakasal lang sila dahil pareho nila iyong kailangan. Para kay Kristine, ang magulang na lamang niya ang mayroon siya, kahit para na lamang sa katuwaan ng mga ito ay magpapatali siya sa lalaking kasama niya sa naganap na bangungot ng buhay niya.

After my stepsister, Jennifer Nichols, died in a tragic accident, Julian Asher hated me for ten whole years. He was the youngest star attorney in Vaxton Bay. He was always calm and composed, yet he never once hid his disgust toward me. I gave up everything for him: my education, my family, my friends, even the inheritance I was meant to receive. I stayed by his side through the grueling bar exam and the brutal early days of his career. But all he ever said was, "Miley, if you really want to please me, go ahead and die." The only woman he ever loved in this lifetime was my stepsister. And I realized that far too late. It wasn't until a fire broke out unexpectedly in the courthouse archives and I was trapped upstairs that something changed. Julian ran in to save me. The blaze devoured everything in its path. In the end, he shoved me out of the rubble. The collapsing steel beams crashed down on him. Blood spilled everywhere. Outside the operating room, I fell to my knees, begging the heavens to let him live. Before he died, he left me one final message with the doctor. "Miley, I hope we never meet again in the next life." At his funeral, his mother slapped me hard across the face—again and again. "You're a cursed wretch. Killing Jennifer wasn't enough for you; now you've killed my son too. I never should've agreed to let Julian marry you." His father dragged me to my knees by my hair, forcing me to kneel. "This is all my fault. I was too soft-hearted. Julian saved you three times, and all you ever brought him was misery!" Everyone believed I was the reason Julian died. And deep down, I believed it too. In the end, I slit my wrists and took my own life—only to awaken back in university, at the very moment we was supposed to get engaged. This time, I made a choice. I would not chase after him again. I would step aside and let him be with the one he loved most—my stepsister, Jennifer.