The Distant Echo

Clarence, the Vampire Prince, fell for me the moment he laid eyes on me. And I fell for him just as hard, just as hopelessly. I accepted his Embrace. The whole dark world knew he loved me more than life itself. He branded the rune of our blood bond directly over his heart. That lasted five centuries. Then I got the video from his new blood doll—a human stripper named Seraphina. She was sprawled naked in his lap, fresh bite marks dotting her throat. Using her own blood, she’d painted a crude sigil right beside the sacred rune meant only for me. And my mate had let her. “Clarence says my young blood is the only thing that makes him feel alive anymore,” she purred. “He says you’re a dead fish in bed, darling Molly. Time for the new generation to take over.” I didn't bother to reply. My fingers were steady as I contacted an ancient witch. “I need a glamour,” I said, my voice even and low. “A perfect human shell. One that will hide everything—my scent, my trail. All of it.”

Nach fünf Jahren Ehe mit Dante Moretti, dem Don des Chicago Outfit, wusste die gesamte Unterwelt, dass er mich mehr liebte als sein eigenes Leben. Er hatte sich eine Geige tätowieren lassen – für mich – direkt neben seinem Familienwappen. Ein Symbol der Treue, das niemals ausgelöscht werden konnte. Bis ich das Foto von seiner Geliebten bekam. Eine Barkeeperin, nackt in seinen Armen ausgestreckt, ihre Haut gezeichnet von den dunklen Spuren von hartem Sex. Sie hatte ihren Namen direkt neben der Geige gekritzelt, die er sich für mich hatte stechen lassen. Und mein Mann hatte es zugelassen. „Dante sagt, nur wenn er in mir ist, fühlt er sich noch wie ein Mann. Du kannst ihn doch gar nicht mehr erregen, oder, süße Alessia? Vielleicht ist es an der Zeit, beiseitezutreten.“ Ich antwortete nicht. Ich tätigte nur einen einzigen Anruf. „Ich brauche eine neue Identität. Und ein Flugticket – raus hier.“

Durante mis cinco años de matrimonio con Dante Moretti, el Don de la mafia de Gold Ville, todo el mundo sabía que me amaba más que a su vida. Él tenía tatuado un violín (por mí) junto al escudo de su familia, un símbolo de lealtad que nunca podría ser borrado. Hasta que recibí la foto de su amante. Una camarera de cócteles, tumbada desnuda en sus brazos, con la piel marcada por los moretones oscuros del sexo violento. Ella había garabateado su propio nombre justo al lado del violín que él llevaba por mí. Y mi esposo se lo había permitido. «Dante dice que solo estando dentro de mí se siente como un hombre. Tú ya ni siquiera puedes excitarlo, ¿verdad, querida Alessia? Quizás sea hora de que te hagas a un lado». No respondí. Solo hice una llamada. —Necesito una nueva identidad. Y un billete de avión.

I was reborn, back to the day before my wedding. The first thing I did? I swapped husbands with my sister. Last time around, I married Julian, a mild-mannered tech mogul. He couldn't handle my fiery temper, and I couldn't stand how soft he was. Our marriage crashed and burned in a year. My sister, sweet and timid, was in an arranged marriage with Robin Kane, the Don of New York's biggest crime family. She couldn't handle the brutal, chaotic life. Tormented by Robin's so-called childhood sweetheart, Isabella, she fell into a deep depression and died. So when I came back, I made a decision. I’d be the one to marry the Don. But I never expected that after the wedding, the cold, stoic Don would become a different man. Every night, he’d be on top of me, kissing me like he was obsessed, whispering, "Good girl. I'll make you feel good. Just one more time, baby?"

As Christmas drew near, my little sister claimed she’d seen Santa Claus in the house. “He had four legs, real long, like dead branches. He crawled on the floor like a dog. His mouth was full of teeth, and I saw him with my own eyes, climbing out of the chimney. His bones were making this clicking, clacking sound.” The Santa she described was nothing like the legends. My parents and I thought it was just her imagination. Until I posted about it online. A user named “NocturneNotes” insisted my sister wasn’t lying, and that the thing was dangerous. Panicked, I asked him what we should do. He gave me three rules: “On Christmas Eve, from 11:30 PM to 2:00 AM, the entire family must ‘sleep’ by the Christmas tree.” “You can’t actually fall asleep, or you’ll die in your sleep.” “No matter what you hear or feel, you absolutely cannot open your eyes or stop pretending to be asleep. Once it hits 2:00 AM, it will leave on its own.”

Five years into my marriage to Dante Moretti, the Don of the Chicago Outfit, the entire underworld knew he loved me more than life itself. He’d had a violin—for me—tattooed right next to his family crest, a symbol of loyalty that could never be erased. Until I got the photo from his mistress. A cocktail waitress, sprawled naked in his arms, her skin marred by the dark bruises of rough sex. She had scrawled her name right next to the violin he’d gotten for me. And my husband had let her. "Dante says only being inside me makes him feel like a man anymore. You can’t even get him hard anymore, can you, sweet Alessia? Maybe it’s time to step aside." I didn't reply. I just made a single call. “I need a new identity. And a plane ticket out.”

Before Valentine's Day, I received a message from Caleb Spencer. It was a screenshot of a seven-figure bill for a necklace. It was meant for me, but he bought it for another woman. I didn't cry or make a scene. Instead, I quietly kept cleaning the house. Since we got married, every month brought new gossip about Caleb. Some came from the internet, some from nosy friends, and some even from Caleb himself. By now, I'd become the joke of the whole social circle. But it didn't matter. This life wasn't going to last much longer anyway.

Soon after I came back to the country, someone slapped me right across the face in broad daylight, yelling that I was a mistress. A crowd of reporters closed in, pelting me with questions about whether Chandler Armstrong, CEO of Armstrong Industries, was keeping me as his mistress. I was stunned speechless for a moment, but then I pulled out my wedding photo with Chandler from seven years ago and held it up. "What are you talking about? I'm his wife!" The crowd went silent, and the woman who'd slapped me turned white as a sheet. Only then did I finally get it: while I'd been overseas, Chandler had been openly involved with an actress, and everyone in his social circle had already decided she was the future Mrs. Armstrong. Today, they all came expecting to confront a mistress—only to find out that I was actually his wife. Later, Chandler tried to justify it. "Alina, you've been out of the country for years. I'm a man, and I have needs. She's just a B-list actress; it's not like she threatens your position. Why should you be upset? Just let it go," he said. "Don't make a scene." I handed him the divorce papers. "You make me sick."

Di kota metropolitan futuristik yang dipenuhi oleh teknologi canggih, Ava, seorang insinyur perangkat lunak berbakat, dan Ethan, seorang ilmuwan data misterius dengan latar belakang yang ambigu, secara tidak sengaja bertemu dalam konteks proyek kolaboratif di perusahaan teknologi terkemuka. Meskipun awalnya ada ketidakpastian dan kecurigaan di antara mereka, tarik-menarik berkembang ketika Ava mulai merasa tertarik pada misteri di balik kepribadian Ethan yang bertentangan. Namun, ketika Ava menyelidiki lebih dalam, dia menemukan bahwa Ethan terlibat dalam proyek rahasia yang berpotensi berbahaya. Konflik mencapai puncaknya ketika Ethan terungkap memiliki keterlibatan yang lebih dalam dalam proyek tersebut, mengungkapkan sisi gelap yang tidak diketahui sebelumnya oleh Ava. Dihadapkan pada pilihan sulit, Ava harus memutuskan apakah akan mempercayai atau meninggalkan Ethan. Namun, keduanya bersatu untuk menghadapi ancaman dari proyek rahasia tersebut, menggunakan keahlian dan sumber daya mereka untuk melawan musuh yang tak terduga. Dengan mengorbankan diri untuk melindungi satu sama lain, mereka berhasil mengalahkan musuh dan membangun masa depan yang lebih baik bersama. Akhirnya, Ava dan Ethan memulai babak baru dalam hubungan mereka, siap menghadapi apa pun yang datang bersama-sama, sambil berkontribusi pada masyarakat dengan integrasi teknologi dan kebaikan hati mereka.

My husband's first love, the woman he had once idolized, had left him for a powerful and influential school bully. Years later, she found herself in the midst of a bitter divorce and in need of a lawyer. And who else but my husband, now an accomplished attorney, ended up back in her orbit? As he moved toward her once more, I decided it was time to step aside. After all, there was no stopping someone determined to chase after a lost cause.