The Collected

On my birthday, Heather Pond’s lover posted a sonogram on his social media account and captioned it, [We’re going to be parents!] I commented, [Congratulations. You can have the baby cot from my place.] The next second, Heather called me to give me a warning. “Brandon Smith is dying. I’ll come back to you once I give birth to his child. Please don’t trigger him any further!” I remained calm and collected when I served her the divorce papers. Then, I packed my bags and went on a vacation in Europe.

Since young, Dione Amaris has always been fascinated by supernatural creatures; vampires, fairies, werewolves and many more. Her mother always read her stories about them. Until she turn to a fully grown woman, she has collected a lot of books about them and would still read them time to time and after she ends reading a book, she can’t help but think if they really exist. But what if… they really do exist? And one of its kind has been by her side all along? And she, herself has a blood of the creature she's been fascinated at? Will it be a start to a something new to her life? Or… it'll start a havoc in her life?

"In the game of the rich and ruthless; where lines of humanity blurs, blood was inevitable, manipulation was ensured, and betrayal was a norm. You either become a pawn or a player." To the world, Chiara Marino was an art gallery owner with a perfect luxurious life. What people didn't know was a monster she was turned into with no choice but to embrace it. Carmelo Conti is an ambitious and ruthless billionaire who valued his people and family. He is calm and collected, until you touch where you shouldn't have. A forced marriage to a man far worse than her stepfather threatens her life purposes. To them it was just a game. But they forgot that she was a made monster. And monsters don't give a fuck! What happens when Chiara decides to create her own fate?

For over a century, the only remaining vampire of the powerful McCain bloodline, Lynn McCain has wandered around the world slaughtering human families for sport and vengeance. One such human, Brad Callaway, a survivor of her onslaught has decided to revenge on Lynn. Surprisingly she decides to keep him as a pet and a blood bank. The two hate and despise each other to the core but as time goes by somehow they both realize they were meant to be. As much as they bury the hatchet, now the biggest problem is co-existing with one mortal and another capable of living for eternity. Not to mention the enemies Lynn has collected over the years of brutality, specifically her half a century dead Ex-boyfriend Ludwig who has just woke from the dead.

The day Stella Jameson was released early from prison for good behavior, my husband Samuel Xenos, who was always so calm and collected, lost control. He did everything he could to please Stella in her bed. He said that our marriage was nothing but fake. He never had any real feelings for me. And that lawsuit, for which he risked his life to win for me three years ago, was nothing but a complete setup. [Zara, the man you love most is just my dog. He comes whenever I call. He has always been like this. He’s no different from Victor back then.] That was the message Stella sent me to taunt me. I wiped my tears and prepared a big surprise for them.

It was a case of running from frypan into fire when Mokunfayo bolted out of her supposed engagement party into the clutches of the bad kind of policemen. And when Mike -a drop dead gorgeous, but dangerous leader of an underground Mafia- comes to her rescue in the nick of time, sparks begin to fly. The problem was; it was supposed to be a one time meet up, getting stuck together was not supposed to be included in the messy mix. But there they were; a hurt, bitter, cold, calm and collected lawyer cohabiting in the same space with a hot, panty-dropping, rash, hardened criminal. It is right to assume that more than sparks would fly. Opposites, they say, attract and Mokun and Mike's case wasn't different. But with dark pasts, family secrets, pain and all the bitterness involved, would their attraction survive enough to bloom into something more beautiful? Follow the losses, pains and gains of both parties and the people around them.

Would you love something that is broken or admire something that had fell into pieces? Would you hold it close to your heart and accept it, even if it means you'll get cuts? She was broken yet bravely collected herself together. She started a new life and decided to forget everything in the past by creating a fabricated image of herself. Would you dare look beyond the facade she made to get to know her more?" But getting closer means hurting her; digging for more from her past would destroy her. Would you gamble all the chance of helping her fix everything up, even though you’d break her more and make her feel worse? Or would you only admire her from afar and maintain your distance, to keep everything in place that she had built. Would you fight for her even if it means fighting against her?

Evelyn Moore is just another disenfranchised American girl, trying to scrape by with the help of her best friend, Lily, during the Depression in New York City. When a tumultuous event cascades into a roller coaster series of them a few short weeks before the grand opening of the much anticipated 1939 World’s Fair, Evelyn worries how she’ll survive, even more so when she realizes that her every near miss ends up that way by the deliberate effort of her new and complicated boss, Andrew James. Cool, collected and complicated, Andrew James is the wunderkind behind much of his family and employer’s success but knowing the ropes so well you can always pull all the strings is only so rewarding. When Evelyn unexpectedly tumbles into his life, he finds himself pushed outside his wheelhouse and peering into a new and delightfully intriguing unknown, one with a future he relishes. A world of tomorrow.

On the fourth day after my son's death, I decided to secretly dissolve my military marriage with my husband. Before that, I had three days to settle everything for my son. On the first day, I tricked my husband into signing the cremation papers. On the second day, I went to the school and collected the textbooks my son would never get to use. On the third day, I cooked a table full of dishes and begged my husband to celebrate our son's last birthday. He agreed, but soon after claimed he had a mission. Instead, he spent the entire night setting off fireworks with his childhood sweetheart. That night, I cooked. Then, I sat alone before my son's photo and ate all my son's favorite foods. The next day, my husband returned, guilt flickering in his eyes as he handed me a brand-new backpack. He said it was a gift for our child's first day of school. But he didn't know—our child would never have a first day of school.

My name was Natalia Granger. My husband, Andrew Lane, was a CEO, but he didn't love me or our son, Carl Lane. In order to spend time with his first love, Jennifer Zink, and her child, Jordan, Andrew would give one piece of candy to Carl before leaving. He promised he would return once Carl collected 100 candy wrappers. … Yet, when Carl finally gathered 100 candy wrappers, Andrew dumped him by the side of a highway instead. It was all because of another child's birthday party. Panicking, I searched everywhere for Carl. By the time I found him, he had become mute due to the trauma. However, Andrew only commented flippantly, "Jenny and Jordan didn't mean it. Can't you two be more magnanimous?" Eventually, Carl no longer became sad when Andrew left, nor did he hold out hope for Andrew's return. Instead, he simply wanted to return the candy wrappers to Andrew while also leaving a note that read, "Daddy, I don't want you to come back anymore, but could you return my voice to me?"