Ten Year Gap

On our seventh wedding anniversary, I was straddling my Mafia husband, Lucian, kissing him deeply. My fingers fumbled in the pocket of my expensive silk dress, searching for the pregnancy test I'd hidden there. I wanted to save the news of my unexpected pregnancy for the end of the evening. Lucian's right-hand man, Marco, asked with a suggestive smile in Italian: "Don, your new little canary, Sophia. How does she taste?" Lucian's mocking laughter vibrated through my chest, sending a chill down my spine. He replied, also in Italian: "Like an unripe peach. Fresh and tender." His hand was still caressing my waist, but his gaze was distant. "Just keep this between us. If my Donna finds out, I'm a dead man." His men chuckled knowingly, raising their glasses and swearing their silence. The warmth in my blood turned to ice, inch by inch. The one thing they didn’t know was that my grandmother was from Sicily, so I understood every word. I forced myself to remain calm, keeping the perfect smile of a Donna fixed in place, but the hand holding my champagne flute trembled. Instead of making a scene, I opened my phone, found the invitation I had received a few days ago for a private international medical research project, and tapped "Accept." In three days, I would disappear from Lucian's world completely.

My mom has been brainwashing me with her "quid pro quo" rule. Apparently, I must work hard in earning money just to get whatever I want. A round of doing the dishes earns me 50 cents. Mopping the floor once grants me one dollar. If I get a full score in my exams, that'll be five dollars. In order to buy a pair of white sneakers that I had had my eye on for a long time, I spent three months picking up trash from the streets. I lived like a maid who was paid on one-time services in this home. When I was a high school senior, I fainted during my homeroom period due to long periods of malnutrition. Even though my doctor suggested to my mom to pay attention to my nutrient intake, she began calculating the costs in front of my sick bed instead. "Your hospitalization costs 300 dollars. On top of that, you have a 200-dollar medical bill to settle. All of these costs will be reflected on your wedding gifts in the future, Emily." But when I turned my head, I saw a student sitting on the bed being fed chicken noodle soup by her own mother. Said mother was so heartbroken by her daughter's illness that she kept shedding tears as well. At that moment, my outlook on the world, that I had been maintaining for 18 long years, finally crumbled into dust. It turned out that not all children needed to work hard just to feel their parents' love. After getting discharged from the hospital and returning home, I finally sobered up the moment I noticed the sneakers that my younger brother, Arnold Baird, wore that cost several thousands of dollars. Then, I tore the family portrait into pieces and didn't hesitate to fill in the university that was located the furthest from home when it was time for me to submit my post-graduation details. Ten years later, my mom calls me on the phone. She starts crying to me how Arnold has swindled her out of her pension. Apparently, he's even sold the house just so he can elope with his girlfriend. Not only is my mom alone now, but she doesn't have a place to stay as well. I just smile as I throw her a piece of rag. "You want to live with me, huh? No problem. You'll earn 50 cents for every window you wipe. You can earn your rent like this."

"Mommy, you have to be the first person to come pick me up, okay?" These are my daughter Dorothy Grant's final words to me when she walked me out of the house this morning. But when I stand at the kindergarten's entrance with a box of Dorothy's favorite strawberry shortcake in my hands, the security guard just stares at me as though I lost my mind. "Ma'am, this place might be where Sunflower Kindergarten is located, but it has already closed its doors for three years. This place is now a retirement home." I rush into the "kindergarten" instantly. The spot where the slide used to be is now replaced by a row of flowerbeds. The room that used to be the classroom now hosts a bunch of elderly people, who bask in the sunlight. With trembling hands, I call my husband, Chester Grant, on the phone. He sounds very exasperated and exhausted over the phone. "Honey, we've been married for five years, and we choose to be childless. You've never given birth before."

This Christmas was actually one of my favorite and hilarious Xmas celebrations with uncle Gabriel here with us. It was fun and embarrassing too which made everything much of a sweet memory later on. How many can I remember? It began with little Josh's scandal, grandpa's embarrassment in the mall that day when he actually and mistakenly took his voter's card to the mall instead of his payment card. That day,I wouldn't dare wish anyone else the kind of embarrassment I felt under the unusual gaze of my classmates. I had to endure it all because my siblings and aunt ran away when they sensed what was happening. What if I tell you about aunt Caroline's argument with the pastor right there in the church on the twenty fifth of Christmas in the presence of everyone and with the pastor still standing in front of hundreds of people or is it uncle Gabriel's mischief which got us in trouble with the police, making us to sleep in the snowy woods with crazy imaginative ghosts hunting us down.

I’m about to enter a blood bond with another vampire lord. But my partner of a century, Kaelan, has no idea. He’s too busy getting cozy with his new human assistant, Sylvia. They spend entire nights in his office, under the guise of “researching synthetic blood.” He even turned our centennial anniversary into her birthday party. In front of everyone, Kaelan presented her with a Black Forest cake decorated with Silver Bells. They laughed, smearing frosting on each other. They forgot the flowers are a deadly poison to me. My power shattered. Agony ripped through me as shadows lashed out, uncontrollable. My family’s guards had to drag my convulsing body away. And while I recovered alone in the cold, dark vault, Kaelan was still at the party, bathing in the cheers for him and Sylvia. The blood in my veins turned to ice. A century of love and hope burned to ash. In that moment, I agreed to my family's arrangement. Without hesitation. A union with the lord of the Obsidian Throne—a vampire they say is power incarnate.

For the sake of her secretary, who was supposedly battling cancer, my wife, Sofia Griffin, made a shocking proposal. She would pay ten million for taking his virginity as an attempt to help him raise the funds needed. I had barely opened my mouth to object when she cut me down with a sharp rebuke. She said, "Chris has always been a proud man. Just giving him the money would seem like a handout and hurt his pride. "Can't you try to be compassionate? Do you really have to be jealous over something this small?" I said nothing. I simply smiled and nodded. What she didn't know was that, as an infectious disease specialist, I had already recognized the signs. It wasn't cancer... It was late-stage AIDS.

She was always ignored and called nerdy by her childhood crush and friend. Now, he can't take his eyes off her, and neither can his elder brother. Lydia Winters had a crush on her childhood friend, Julian Blade in Junior high school, and when she confessed her feelings to him, they started dating. But when she is ignored in the relationship and finally decides to study in another country, Julian breaks up with her coldly. He chooses a more pretty girl, Ava, over her. Having graduated college, Lydia returns to Ohio to attend her parents' anniversary and stay for a year. However, she is broken when she sees Julian with Ava, even after six years of being away. Their relationship is way stronger now, as they are engaged. Ezekiel Blade is everything Lydia chose to avoid. A mafia boss. An arrogant, wealthy playboy. He is undeniably charming, and at worst, Julian's elder brother. A bully to her during her teenage years, he now starts to see her differently. He offers her a way to make Julian jealous and come back to her: a simple kiss and little passion between them. It works. Julian gets jealous seeing them together and tries to get Lydia back. In the course of their reconnecting, Julian gets Lydia pregnant in a one night stand, but refuses to claim the child as his. He runs away with his real love, Ava. Ezekiel sees this and offers to care for her and her child willingly. Lydia has only ever wanted Julian's affection, but when she is faced with this crisis, will she move on and choose a big time playboy?

I was a firecracker, an heiress, and a fated mate—until the mate I loved traded my life for his fragile adopted sister’s health. Locked in a room as a sacrificial lamb, I waited for the end while an enemy army burned my world to the ground. Then the door was kicked in. But it wasn't my fiancé coming to save me. It was Alpha Stellan Norgaard, the "Monster of the North." He didn't want my blood; he wanted a deal. One year as his fake Luna. I’m just a placeholder. In twelve months, his true love returns to take my throne, and I have to walk away. Life in Stellan’s pack was a battlefield I didn't prepare for. Surrounded by a court of vipers, I faced a pack that refused to accept a discarded Luna. But while they tried to break me, Stellan did the one thing I never expected—he stood by me. He treated a scarred she wolf like a worshipped Queen. Now, the clock has run out. The other woman is here to claim her place. History is repeating itself, and I’m expected to bow out once more. But my fated mate is back, crawling in the dirt and begging for a second chance. One man wants the power I represent. The other has stolen the heart I swore to lock away. I’m done being a tribute. This time, I’m the Alpha making the rules.

I poured out my heart to him, telling him everything and not leaving a single part out of it. "Please, Don Xander, I will be grateful if you could grant me just this one wish" I begged desperately, my voice cracking at the end, even though I tried so hard to stay strong. He tilted his head to one side and smirked. "I can do that for you" he said, and my eyes beam with happiness immediately. "But..." He trailed off, swirling his drink in his hand. "What do I get in return for helping you? After all, it's all about give and take" My jaw dropped instantly. His playboy attitude playing in my head. "I... I can't... I mean, I'm sorry Don Xander but I'm not the type of girl who sleeps around with men. If it's okay with you, I can work for you instead" I suggested. He wave his index finger, shaking his head. "No, Bella" he said in a low, husky voice. Then, he rose from his seat and walked towards to me, his movement graceful and deliberate. I shivered, still seated as he crouched beside me. He leaned closer to my face and I tilted my head to look at him in the eyes. "If I will help you..." he whispered, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine. "You must give me something in return" "What do you want?" I asked in a low voice. His eyes gleamed with intensity. "I want you, Isabella" he whispered, his lips grazing my ear. I jerked back, shocked by his request. "Don Xander!" I exclaimed, my voice trembling.

On our seventh wedding anniversary, my wife, Blair, the daughter of the city's richest man, straddled my lap, her kiss deep and intoxicating as she toyed with my lower lip. The same night, we just announced our pregnancy to the world. Just then, Blair's best friend, Chloe, asked in French, her tone suggestive: "Blair, you're absolutely glowing. But tell me honestly, how does it feel to get railed by another man while carrying a baby?" Blair let out a soft laugh, a familiar sound that sent a chill down my spine. She replied, also in French: "It feels absolutely incredible, Chloe. He's like a wild wolf. Just yesterday, he had his head buried between my thighs, using his mouth to bring me to tears before taking me so deep I forgot my own name." Her fingers were still toying with my collar, but her gaze was already distant. "But remember, keep this from Kevin. If he finds out what I've been doing behind his back while pregnant, it will be a disaster." The socialite sisters gathered around them shared knowing chuckles, raising their glasses and promising to keep the secret. The warmth in my veins turned to ice. My fervent passion to welcome a new life was instantly reduced to a pathetic joke. They had all forgotten that I spent my childhood in southern France. I understood every single syllable. I forced myself to remain calm, my face fixed in the perfect smile expected of a blissful husband about to welcome his first child, but the hand holding my champagne glass was trembling. I didn't fly into a rage. I didn't smash everything in sight. Instead, I took out my phone, found the invitation I had received a few days prior for the Aegis Agency, a highly classified organization on the other side of the world, and clicked "Accept." In three days, I would vanish from Blair's world.