The Gift Chronicles

In my previous life, my husband, Lucien Walker, tells me he wants to take care of his widowed sister-in-law, Lina Morgan, and take her as his second wife. After I refuse, Lina throws herself off a cliff while pregnant, killing both herself and the pups. As the Wolf King, Lucien chains me on a clifftop and lets vultures tear at my flesh day after day. He gouges out my eyes and snarls, "You lied about your fertility to trick me, then drove Lina and her unborn pups to their deaths! This is your punishment!" My son, Pierce Walker, whom I pour my life into raising, stabs me 9,999 times. "If Lina were my mother, I would be strong. This is all your fault!" They never know that without my gift for bearing children, Lucien has no heir at all. When I open my eyes again, I'm back on the day Lucien proposes taking Lina as his second wife.

My boyfriend's "best female friend" was angry again. Why? Because for our five-year anniversary, he got a gift just for me—and forgot about hers. Simone Baker threw a complete fit, sobbing and making a huge scene. Scott Tanner immediately blocked me and removed me on Instagram, then changed our matching couple profile pictures. "Girls can be so dramatic," he said. "Once I've calmed her down, we'll switch them back." I reminded him, "That makes a hundred times now." He just smiled and gave me a quick kiss. "I know. I'll make it fast this time." That night, Simone posted a status update: [Your effort was acceptable. You get three days of freedom.] Almost immediately, Scott unblocked me. [Okay, babe. We can put our couple pictures back now.] But then a male account—using my half of the matching photo—sent him a friend request, followed by a single question mark. [Since when are couple photos a group project?]

Once, as a girl of seventeen, beautiful, headstrong Portia Cabot saved the cursed life of the dashing vampire Julian Kane—who marked her forever, then left to go in search of his soul. He returns five years later to find the enchanting young girl he left behind grown into a bewitching woman with a woman's heart . . . and a woman's desires. Portia quickly discovers that Julian's seductive and forbidden kiss can still make her crave the night . . . and his touch. But the Julian who has returned to London is not the vampire she remembers. His fruitless pursuit of his stolen mortality has reduced him to drunken debauchery. And a recent spate of murders makes Portia fear that the man she has always adored may truly be a monster. Julian knows he must drive Portia away—but his passion and hunger for her grow more irresistible every time they touch. For years he has fought the temptation to embrace his dark gifts, never realizing that Portia's love may give him the most dangerous gift of all . . . a reason to live.

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.

After three years of dating Nathan Foster, I thought I knew where we were headed. But he never proposed. Instead, he fell in love at first sight with my stepsister. His pursuit of her was bold and relentless, leaving no room for doubt. This time, I didn’t break down or wait around, hoping he’d return like before. I made a clean break. I threw away every gift he had given me, shredded the wedding dress I once secretly bought, and on his birthday, I left Riverdale behind. Just as I was about to board my flight, Nathan messaged me: “Where are you? Everyone’s waiting for you.” I smiled, didn’t bother replying, and blocked him on every channel. He had no idea that, two weeks earlier, I had accepted the proposal of my college senior, Eustace Cooper. When the plane landed in my new city, Eustace and I were ready to begin a new chapter of our lives together—as husband and wife.

Freedom... Was all Anastasia Redeye, an eighteen years old werewolf princess wants, however, it was like when an Omega dreams of becoming a Luna. Unless there is a miracle, it is going to be forever that way. Anastasia was made to dress and behave the way she didn't want, and on the day she clocks 18, her father reveals his plan to her, and that is, she was promised as a gift to the greatest Werewolf Alpha. Well, not as a bride, but as one of his mistresses. This struck Anastasia's heart, remembering her the need to leave this prison called home, thus, she escape. However, on her journey to find this freedom, she met a guy who she didn't hesitate to tease whenever they met, and gradually, she fell into the pool of love. But what would she do when there was suddenly a crisis in his pack and he asked her to leave? Would she stay because of love or leave because of her freedom? If we commit ourselves to one person for life, this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather, it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession but participation.

“Lance… I’m pregnant.” Celine showed the gift box to her husband. “I can’t have a child with you. You need to abort that child.” — Lance. **** Celine Rodriguez and Lance Hart did not love each other when they got married, but over three years, Celine fell in love with Lance. Celine did everything to be a good wife to Lance, but on their third wedding anniversary, she received divorce papers. Until the end, Celine fought for her marriage with Lance, even if it meant aborting their child. But Lance still went ahead with the divorce to marry another woman. Celine’s devastation and loss of hope that Lance would love her led her to sign the divorce papers. After six years, Lance realizes his truly love is Celine. Lance chases his ex-wife even if it means losing everything because, for him, she is his everything. Following all that Celine suffered at the hands of Lance, will she grant Lance a second chance or will Celine push Lance away? How far will Lance’s heartlessness go just to get Celine back to him?

Maxine Ysabell De Lara. The only girl in the De Lara family. They consider her "A gift of God". She grew ul not disobeying her parents. However, the night came that changed everything for her. Roswell Dylan Montefalco. The Most succesful Young Business Man. The Ceo of Montefalco Air. Company. Business Tycoon, Workaholic. And has only one girl in love. Fhreaya Flores is the woman he wants to marry and be the mother of his child but she left him. Because of his excessive love for the woman, he mistook Maxine De Lara for the woman who failed him, so he insisted that something happen between them. And he got her virginity For three years his conscience did not silence. He did everything to find the woman he messed up. One day, Maxine De Lara applied to his Company. Will their only connection be able to bring their hearts together? Will Maxine be able to win the heart of a man who has been in love for a long time? Or no matter what she does, he just thinking of her as the mother of their child?

Freya loved the wrong Alpha for eight years. She gave him her body, her loyalty, her soul—and in return, he kissed her with someone else's name. When she finally walked away, she believed she'd found peace—and love—in Silvano, the Alpha who saved her. But years later, on her birthday, silence greeted her again. “Bella,” she whispered to her daughter, “did you forget Mommy’s birthday?” “Not now, Mommy. I'm making a gift for Aunt Aurora. Daddy helped.” The name landed like a wound reopening. Freya once survived being ‘the other woman’. Now, fate flipped the roles—and the silence, late-night absences, and missed calls feel all too familiar. As betrayal knocks again, she must choose: bury herself in heartbreak once more—or rise, not for love, but for herself. When even your mate forgets your worth, how many times must you walk away before you stop coming back? This time—maybe for the last time—she won’t look back.

"Kylie, this year's annual bonus is evaluated based on two factors: performance and peer reviews. "Since your team never participates in company social events, your coworkers all gave you poor ratings. That's why this is your year-end bonus." Around me, the male employees were receiving bonuses in the tens of thousands. And yet, the women I led—developers who had worked for over ten years and built every core system the company relied on—each received nothing more than a coffee gift card and a mug engraved with the company logo. I laughed out loud. Then I turned and walked into my office and submitted resignation requests for the entire technical team. The manager, Preston Alec, sneered. "Good riddance. AI can replace women like you who only know how to have children." A few days later, the very people who had mocked me were standing in front of me, begging me to come back. I smiled in return. "AI conquers everything, doesn't it?"