The Present

I gave up a vast fortune to be with my boyfriend Terrence. In our poorest days, we didn't even have a single grain of rice at home. Terrence went out to fight in underground rings, never surrendering once even when he was beaten black and blue. With his blood and sweat, he paved the path to our future brick by brick. In the present, his name was uttered with an undeniable tone of respect, while I was known far and wide as his missus, the woman he treasured above anyone or anything. One year, when I left the country because of a family emergency, I learned that he even started seeing a therapist due to separation anxiety. Everyone said that Terrence loved me more than life itself, and I had believed it too, wholeheartedly. Until I stood on our balcony, watching him tightly embracing another woman in the villa next door. "Even though Tanya is back, the very thought of losing you makes me lose control… I can't live without you, Mia… "If any other men ever appear by your side, I might just end up killing them…" His voice was a low rumble, tinged with a sort of unconscious madness. "B-But what about your wife? Didn't you say that she means more to you than your own life?" "Well, we just have to keep this hidden better, don't we? I want to always be with you…" My hand trembled, and I accidentally cut my hand with the fruit knife I was holding, but I felt no pain at all. To think that just one year apart was enough to shatter thirty years of love and mutual support… With trembling hands, I picked up my phone and called my mother. "Mom, I'm feeling homesick… Can you get me a new identity and a one-way ticket out of the country?"

"You have my daughter, La Gualias, I want Kira back,” Alan Whitaker demanded. “You have no rights on her, Dimitri La Gualias.” “I bought her, she is my property,” Dimitri replied. “I want my daughter, La Gualias,” Alan shouted. “And if I found out that you had defiled her!” “Well, I have already, multiple times,” Dimitri mocked. “La Gualias,” Alan screamed. “Well, she screams Dimitri when I fuck her!" Dimitri spoke shamelessly. “What do you intend to do with her?” Alan demanded. “Fuck her, use her, then maybe dump her in the jungles of Romania, what else do you think will happen? Why do you think I have a Whitaker in my home?” “So, you are using her?” Alan clarified. “Of course I am using her,” Dimitri looked stunned. “What else is she good for?” “I heard rumors that she is your mate,” Alan asked. “Well yeah! I had to pretend, what else!” Dimitri rolled his eyes. “She is very stubborn. She was a virgin who would not let me touch her until she had a promise of forever. And she threw herself at me once I did that, just like that… Are all girls in your bloodline so naïve and gullible?” ******* Dimitri, the most powerful alpha and mafia lord of the world, bought Kira at an auction. He is a ruthless man who likes to dominate. He is successful in everything he did, but he never knew that his one purchase will change the course of his life forever. But while Dimitri had power, Kira had a secret. She is the heiress to another powerful and rival clan, whose past, present, future are just as unpredictable as Dimitri's moods. What would happen when these two opposite personalities will clash? Delve in to their lives to get to know more...

16 year old Scarlet Paine finds herself changing in mysterious ways. She is becoming sensitive to light, able to read peoples’ thoughts, and is faster and stronger than she’s ever been. She doesn’t understand what’s happening to her, and tries to ignore it. But she can only dismiss it for so long.

Caitlin Paine, her mom, knows too well what’s happening to her daughter. She underwent the same transformation to vampire once, centuries ago. But now, in the present day, as a mere human, she has no memory of it. All she has is the journal she found in the attic—her mysterious vampire journal—telling of her exploits in another time and place, and of the vampire race being eradicated. But was there one exception to the rule? Could it be that Scarlet, her daughter, is the last remaining vampire on earth?

As Scarlet tries to fight who she’s becoming, she also tries to fight her intense feelings for Blake, a boy in her grade who she has a crush on. She can’t tell, though, if he’s into her, and with the big Halloween dance just days away, the pressure is on. She would do anything for Blake to ask her. But Vivian, the meanest of the popular girls, is also on Blake’s radar, and she’ll do anything to make Blake hers—and to make Scarlet’s life a living hell.

Luckily Scarlet has her own clique of friends to back her up, including her best friends Maria and Jasmin. They, too, have guy troubles—but it isn’t until Sage appears, the mysterious new boy, that her friends become obsessed. Scarlet finds herself attracted to him, too—and is surprised when it is her, of all the girls in the school, that he pays attention to. But her mind is set on Blake, at least for now, and she continues to hope he’ll ask her to the dance.

Just when it seems that Scarlet has what she wants, her body changes. Soon it may be impossible for her to be near her fellow humans. Soon, she may have to choose between her desire to live and her desire for love.

Con veinticinco semanas de embarazo, Julieta García descubrió la infidelidad de su esposo durante una revisión prenatal. Con el cuerpo hinchado por la gestación y un aspecto descuidado, sostenía con dificultad su vientre abultado, mientras la joven amante de su marido la llamaba esa mujer. Delante de todos, él la miraba con un desdén abierto Pero la primera vez que Julieta conoció a Héctor Gómez, ella también fue el centro de todas las miradas, admirada y rodeada de halagos. Convencido de que ella había logrado casarse con él gracias a esa relación, Héctor tomó la iniciativa de divorciarse. En ese instante, su corazón murió por completo. Desde los años universitarios hasta el mundo laboral, ocho años de amor silencioso y de entrega absoluta demostraron no valer nada. Tras dar a luz, Julieta firmó el acuerdo de divorcio y se marchó sin volver la vista atrás. *** Cinco años después. Ella se había convertido en una poderosa empresaria multimillonaria. Era deslumbrante, segura de sí misma, talentosa, y no le faltaban pretendientes. El mismo Héctor, que en su momento insistió en divorciarse, nunca llegó a recoger el certificado de divorcio. Julieta presentó entonces una demanda judicial. Héctor, que antes la despreciaba, empezó a aferrarse a ella y, frente a cada pretendiente que se le acercaba, respondía con una venganza implacable. Hasta que Julieta apareció del brazo de otro hombre y anunció su compromiso. Héctor la acorraló contra la pared, fuera de control, y le espetó con voz ronca: —¿Casarte con otro hombre? Ni lo sueñes.

Durante cinco años, Santiago Rodríguez y Valeria Núñez vivieron juntos bajo un matrimonio por conveniencia. Incluso después de descubrir que él tenía una amante, ella decidió aguantar la situación con paciencia. Pero todo cambió cuando se dio cuenta de que el niño que había estado criando como suyo era, en realidad, fruto de la relación entre Santiago y su amante. En ese momento, entendió que su matrimonio había sido una farsa desde el primer día. La amante, actuando como si fuera la esposa legítima, se presentó en su casa con los documentos de divorcio que Santiago había redactado. Justo ese día, Valeria se enteró de su embarazo. Si su esposo había sido corrompido, ya no tenía sentido estar con él. Y si el niño era de la amante, entonces debía dejárselo. Valeria, terminando con el amor y las emociones, reveló su verdadera naturaleza y se enfocó en prosperar económicamente. Aquellas personas que la maltrataron anteriormente se iban a lamentar de sus acciones e iban a luchar entre sí para ganar su perdón. Los jóvenes ricos, que se burlaron de ella por ascender socialmente mediante un hombre, se arrepentían y le ofrecían grandes sumas de dinero buscando su amor. Y el pequeño que había sido influenciado por la otra mujer se lamentaba rogándole que fuera su mamá mientras lloraba. * A altas horas de la noche, Valeria atendió una llamada de un número desconocido. Por el auricular escuchó la voz de Santiago, era evidente que estaba borracho. —Valeria, no debes aceptar esa propuesta de matrimonio. En cuanto a los documentos de divorcio… No los he firmado.

The housekeeper’s daughter, Selena Greene, deliberately chose to get married on the same day, at the same hotel as me. When our cars passed each other on the way to our weddings, she rolled down her window and asked to switch my bridal bouquet with hers. My bouquet, however, wasn’t just any bouquet. It was hand-carved from priceless jadeite by my grandfather himself—a one-of-a-kind heirloom and his blessing for my wedding day. “Trish,” she pleaded softly, “please. I’ve sacrificed so much for this wedding. I just want it to be perfect. I’ll give it back to you as soon as we get out of the cars.” My heart softened. Against my better judgment, I handed her my bouquet and took her cheap, plastic flowers instead. However, when we stepped out of our cars, she refused to return it. Worse still, during her ceremony, she tossed my jade bouquet onto the floor, shattering it into countless pieces. That bouquet had been my grandfather’s way of being present at my wedding. It was all I had left of him. Yet, in front of everyone, Selena put on an innocent act and accused me, “Who takes back a bouquet after a switch? A glass bouquet like this is all over online shopping platforms for ten bucks. I’ll just pay you back. Trish, you’ve made my life hard enough on normal days. Do you have to humiliate me on the most important day of my life, too?” Furious, I confronted her, but she ducked behind my fiancé and my brother, wiping at her eyes like the victim. My fiancé immediately went to comfort her, leaving me standing alone at the ceremony, humiliated and ridiculed by everyone. My brother, too, called me cruel and heartless. He cut me off financially and threw me out of the family home. Selena’s husband, having quickly risen to success with the help of powerful backers, unleashed his relentless revenge on the now penniless and alone me. In the dead of winter, hired thugs found me and brutalized me to death. And Selena? She became their princess, adored by all three of them. I sank into darkness, full of rage and regret. However, when I opened my eyes again, I was transported back to the day of the wedding.

Mi esposo y yo éramos las dos almas que más se aborrecían en este mundo. Él me detestaba por haberlo arrebatado del lado de la mujer que amaba; y yo le guardaba rencor, pues su corazón permanecía cautivo de otra dama. Durante ocho años de matrimonio, las palabras que con mayor frecuencia cruzamos no fueron de afecto ni de deber, sino amargas maldiciones. No obstante, el día en que la ciudad sucumbió, todo cambió. Las banderas enemigas ya se divisaban más allá de la puerta interior. Él fue al frente y tomó el camino, interponiendo su cuerpo entre el acero enemigo y mi huida. —Vive —pronunció quedamente. Acto seguido, alzó su espada y no volvió la vista atrás. Las flechas cayeron cual lluvia inclemente. Mientras lo atacaban, volvió la cabeza una vez, solo una vez. Tras aquello, su cuerpo custodió el camino, y nada ni nadie logró cruzarla. —Si existe otra vida… ruego a su Alteza que me conceda la misericordia de pertenecerle a ella. Aquella noche, con la ciudad reducida a cenizas y el pueblo yacente o en fuga, subí a la torre más alta del palacio. Y salté al vacío. Cuando mis ojos volvieron a abrirse, me presenté ante el Rey. —Los reinos del norte requieren una desposada real —dije—. Yo iré. En esta vida, seré yo quien cruce la frontera. En mi vida anterior, él halló la muerte creyendo que le había fallado a ella. Esta vez, no permitiré que tal lamento exista. Tomaré el matrimonio destinado a ella. Portaré la corona labrada para su exilio. Caminaré hacia un destino que ella nunca debería padecer. Que ella siga aquí. Que él la proteja. Que él viva su vida creyendo que, finalmente, ha cumplido su promesa.

A Category 5 hurricane will be tearing through the nation tomorrow. The state I live in has officially gone into lockdown in all five sectors involving work, production, business, classes, and transport. But Isabel Stafford, the actual heiress of the Staffords who had just rejoined the family, left an order in the company's group chat. "Tomorrow, everyone in this company must clock in for work! Those who miss out on work will have three times their salaries deducted!" I thought it was rather inappropriate for the order to take effect. So, I messaged her privately that everyone's lives were at stake here, not to mention it was a reportable offense for one to go against the national order of the lockdown. But not only did Isabel ignore me, she also continued texting in the group chat. "We're paying you just to work! Everyone needs to be present in order to protect the important documents and maintain the expensive equipment! You should know that the more you work at times like this, the more the company can see your actual value!" The colleagues dared not refute Isabel at all. But I was really worried that an accident might happen, so I spent the night calling everyone to get them not to go to work. When Isabel found out about my efforts, she went to the company out of anger the next day. The typhoon smashed the company's glass walls that day, resulting in Isabel getting thrown out of the 16th floor. By the time her body was found, she was already dead. My parents and my fiance, Shane Cross, didn't say anything about Isabel's death. But they had me hung from a helicopter on my and Shane's wedding day. "If it wasn't for you stopping the employees from going to the company that day, Isabel wouldn't have died!" "There were so many of them! If they were willing to grab her, she'd be fine!" "You're just jealous that we found our actual daughter! That's why you killed her on purpose!" I begged Shane to save me, but he just gazed at me coldly. "I told you countless times that I'd still marry you even though Isabel is back! But why did you refuse to let her go? "I'll make you feel the pain Isabel has felt when she got thrown into the sky by the Category 5 hurricane!" When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Isabel is goading the employees to show up at the company for work. This time, it's my turn to send everyone to hell.