The Hard Thing About Hard Things

The mysterious heir of the Ace Corporation Inc, Devian Ace, indeed the richest man in Asia, rather cold-blooded, found a young and beautiful girl, Arien, unconscious... . . "Who are you ?.. Why are you here ?" . . "I saved your life, you owe me, isn't it ?" . . Little did they knew they had a long way to go... . . Together!!! °I welcome you to read my novel 'Unexpected Something'. You can enjoy a great love story of Devian and Arien and witness their never-ending love which is boundless of all superficial problems. They've proved us that there is nothing above love in this world. Starting from clashes to romance, let's witness their happy ending together... So let the game of fire and ice begin...°

Vera Lee, an introverted yet lonesome bibliophile who writes for a living, meets Jackson Young, her charming yet secretive next door neighbor on an online book auction of Stephen King's The Shining. The two enter into a last minute bidding war making Vera take matters into her own hands by convincing Jackson to give up. Vera's life changes when Jackson starts to make her heart flutter and race as their lives continue to intertwine. But the secrets he keep are holding her back. With the pandemic going on, is it even wise to enter into a relationship? For someone who's been alone her whole life, can she risk her heart in the middle of the pandemic?

Ulila si Jacob at walang maipagmamalaki sa buhay nang pakasalan niya si Adelyn. Dahil doon puro pang-iinsulto ang inabot niya mula sa pamilya nito. Kung hindi dahil sa pagmamahal sa asawa, baka matagal na siyang sumuko. Subalit umiikot ang gulong ng kapalaran… Isang taong hindi niya inaasahan ang nagbalik sa kanyang buhay ang bumago ng lahat. Now, Jacob’s up for revenge. Pero mas matimbang ba ang paghihiganti niya kaysa pagmamahal sa asawa…?

Rue Randel, the eldest daughter of the Black Knight Pack was the most gentle and calm person in the whole Pack. She had a secret that she hid from her family, that only her boyfriend knew. She was a Black wolf, the rarest of all. He took advantage of that secret to get what he wanted from her. Unknowingly for her, she spent a night with a stranger and was pregnant for him. Her father banished her from the Pack, not minding the fact that she was his daughter. She had no idea the person she slept with was the Spiteful, Ruthless Future Alpha of the Black Demon pack. The enemy Pack of her father's Pack. Fear didn't let her go to him when she found out he was the father of her unborn child. To continue living, she became a slave in his Pack. She was treated worse than a slave by her mate. When he came to claim her as his own, she rejected him immediately. He thinks he can retaliate but he has no idea who she was, The Black Demon Wolf. Her kind, sweet nature turned into a vengeful, demonic one. Will Dexter ever get to be a Alpha without his mate? Or he'll have to be the opposite of who he is to get his mate back.

“Is this what you wanted?” He sneers, eyes cold and unforgiving. It was as if I was looking into the eyes of a stranger. He looks down on me due to his tall stature. “To be the ‘pathetic’ whiny burden you have always been?” I flinch at his words. No, this cannot be, this cannot be happening. This is not my Nate, my Nathaniel. I struggle to maintain my composure. My breath came in shallow, ragged gasps, each one a painful reminder of the betrayal that had brought me to this breaking point.  ********* At just five years old, she was abducted and replaced to protect her family’s reputation, as it would have been scandalous for her influential father to have a kidnapped child. Returning home, she felt like a stranger in a place where her parents had long forgotten their love for her. Nate her husband, was her knight in shining armor… or so she thought. Betrayed and left to die by the people she trusted. What happens when life gives her and her unborn child a second chance?

On the day of the company’s annual meeting, Victoria Quinn brought a man onstage and publicly announced that he was the newly appointed vice president. All eyes in the room instantly turned to me. Mr. Lane looked at me with undisguised mockery. “Ms. Quinn, Mr. Cabell has been with the company for so many years. How did this promotion skip over him?” Victoria smiled casually. “Mr. Cabell is a pillar of the company. He’s most effective staying at the grassroots level.” I knew she was certain I would not object and that I would not leave her. When I glanced at the new vice president, I understood why. He looked exactly like her first love from college, the one who had died in an accident. Suddenly, I felt exhausted. I ripped off my ID badge, tossed it in front of Victoria, and said, “Ms. Quinn, I quit.”

Without Kaelen's knowledge, I had his little plaything sent out of North America. That same night, he cast a blood-vine curse on my parents, banishing them to the wilds—a wasteland prowled by rogues. He was going to trade my parents' lives for the whereabouts of his plaything. Kaelen pushed a communication crystal in front of me. Inside it, my parents were ensnared by blood-red vines, the thorns digging deep into their flesh. Drops of dark crimson blood fell, one by one, onto the barren earth. A countdown timer pulsed in stark red digits on their chests. 23:59:59 23:59:58 He sat across from me, a black suit tailored to perfection molded to his lean, powerful frame. His long fingers tapped a light, steady rhythm on the solid wood table, as if he were waiting for a trivial business deal to close. "Estelle, you have twenty-four hours." His voice was low and calm, laced with a venomous tenderness. "Tell me, where did you send Cassandra?"

I am the only daughter of the Alpha King. When I was eight, I rescued a starving rogue pup named Alex from the border. I begged my father to take him in, and we grew up together. At eighteen, I discovered he was my fated mate. My father happily gave me to him in marriage, carved out a stretch of territory, and made him an Alpha. Everyone said we were a perfect match. Until a year ago — while I was pregnant — the boy who had always protected me and adored me fell in love with a Healer named Vivian. He told me that he'd always seen me as a little sister. He got on his knees and begged me to let him go. He was willing to give up the entire territory and his Alpha title. My hands trembled as I signed the Mate Bond dissolution agreement. But before it could take effect, that healer slipped wolfsbane into my medicine. I miscarried. When I finally opened my eyes, Alex rushed to my side with bloodshot eyes, held me tight like he was terrified of losing me, and apologized over and over. He said he was wrong. He swore he would devote himself to me completely. I was consumed by hatred. I ordered Vivian's execution. But Alex grabbed my hand and stopped me. He told me he'd already banished her permanently. For the next year, Alex was perfectly devoted — attentive to my every need. Then, seven months into my second pregnancy, I stumbled upon the woman who should have been long banished — Vivian, quietly settled at the edge of the territory. And Alex, leaning down to kiss her tenderly. If he loves Vivian that much, then I'll take back everything I ever gave him — and let him have his "true love." But if that's what he wanted... then why is he on his knees again, begging me to come back?

Five years ago, when my boyfriend's small company was on the brink of bankruptcy I stepped in to save him, quietly supporting him from the shadows. Without revealing my identity, I became the company’s largest shareholder. Five years later, the night before his company was set to go public, he held me in his arms and said, "Emma, after the company goes public tomorrow, don’t leave. I have a surprise for you." At that moment, I was swept away by the idea of his "surprise," my mind racing with the hopeful thought that he might propose. I didn’t notice the cold glint of malice lurking in his eyes. The next day, as his company went public, he slapped me across the face and sneered, "Do you even see what kind of person you are? Did you really think someone like you could marry me?" He grabbed me by the hair and dragged both me and my best friend in front of a crowd of thugs and beggars he’d gathered. “These worthless cast-offs aren’t good enough for me anymore. Consider them my gift to you. Do whatever you like with them!”

After being reborn, the first thing I did was forge a medical report diagnosing chronic kidney disease. In my previous life, my nephew had been diagnosed with kidney failure, and he needed a transplant to survive. I rushed to get a matching test and donated one of my kidneys to him. But over time, my health deteriorated. At twenty, my body felt like it belonged to someone eighty. Even simple chores like sweeping the floor left me exhausted. I couldn't go out to work or earn a living, yet my brother and sister-in-law scolded me for "pretending to be sick." "It's just a kidney." my sister-in-law snapped. "Do you expect to leech off our family forever?" She even went so far as to buy a pair of fresh pig kidneys and smash them in my face. "Since we took one of yours, here's a new pair. Happy now?" Because I had lost a kidney, I died before the age of thirty, alone in a rented apartment. The next time I opened my eyes, I was back—before my nephew's diagnosis even came in.