The Tin Drum

In the Valentino family, the rules were absolute—the title of Don passed only to the eldest son of the eldest line. On the day I was due to give birth, my water broke. The contractions came faster and harder, each wave of pain stronger than the last, until my consciousness began to drift. The baby's head was already crowning. Renato knelt beside the bed, gripping my hand, his eyes filled with what looked like heartbreak. I thought he would be my strength—my anchor. But through the haze, I heard him speaking to the midwife. "Control the dosage. Just delay Ellen's delivery for three hours." "But she is already fully dilated. Forcibly delaying it could be dangerous…" The midwife's voice trembled. "It's fine. She wasn't due yet anyway. She only went into labor because she secretly used induction drugs. Delaying the birth will only benefit her." Disbelief crashed over me. I tried with everything I had to speak—to explain. But then I saw him glance at his watch, murmuring to himself, "My sister-in-law is only five centimeters dilated. If we stall for three hours, my brother's child will be the eldest grandson. This is a promise I made to my brother." Terror seized me. I tried to struggle, but the needle had already pierced my skin. In an instant, the child that had been about to emerge was forced violently back into my body. The pain doubled, twisting through me like a storm. Darkness swallowed my vision, and I lost consciousness. When I came to, I had been dragged into an underground storage room. Only after his sister-in-law's son had been safely born did Renato remember me. When he returned—holding the toy he had personally made for our soon-to-be-born child—and ordered his assistant to bring me back to the operating room… All he found were two cold, lifeless bodies.

I've painstakingly prepared a nice feast for my son's fifth birthday. My wife, Cheryl Bennett, looks a little impatient. She complains, "You really love making things hard for yourself, huh? How are we supposed to finish everything with just the three of us?" I just smile at her. Then, I whip out a birthday cake and get my son, Jasper Ford, to make a birthday wish. After the candles are lit, I close my eyes as well and make a sincere wish in my mind. When I open my eyes again, I hear Cheryl's system exclaiming in surprise, "Congratulations, Cheryl! You've completed the quest! You and Jasper can now leave this world!" Yes, both Cheryl and Jasper have already made up their minds to abandon me so that they can return to their original world. That's great news. After all, I no longer want them by my side either.

Azalea grew up in a male dominated pack. The daughter of an Alpha who was used to secure an alliance with a neighboring Alpha. She is promised to be handed over when she turns 18. She has other plans. Shortly before her 16th birthday those plans have to be pushed forward when her pack is raided and she goes on the run. She disappears into the city. Drake, is a warrior and the mate of a diplomat sent to handle relations with an American pack from his pack outside of London. Things take a turn for the worst and his mate, Sonja is killed. But fate is funny and has plans for him, yet. The hybrid Vampire/Werewolf has a second chance mate and it isn’t who everyone is expecting. 12 Year old Ezekiel just celebrated his birthday and he knows al what a bastard his father can be. He sneaks to keep an eye on him during his meeting with the diplomat and when things go south and bloodshed, death and mayhem ensue, he gets knocked out. His dreams swim with a blend of reality and fantasy as he imagines himself in his sister’s body and then in the hybrid, Drake’s. If he were his sister, he could freely and openly love a man such as Drake, but he has been taught, his entire life that love between men is wrong, vile and unnatural, then why when he wakes up after a 6 year coma does it seem so right to learn that Drake is his mate? Where has Azalea gone? Will they be able to find her so that he doesn’t have to become Alpha, or is he stuck with a destiny he can’t escape?

I miss out on a call from my fiancee, Lauren Sink, because my phone is out of service when I'm in the elevator. The next thing I know, I receive a text from her, stating that our wedding has gotten called off. "Let's call off our wedding. I don't want to marry you anymore. Gregory isn't feeling well, so I've gone over to his place to take care of him. I don't want you disturbing us." This is the 99th time Lauren has called off our wedding because of Gregory Cooper. But this time, I don't get to plead to Lauren in time because I'm in too much agony from the news. Suddenly, I see a row of comments appearing before my eyes. "Why aren't you pleading with Lauren to stay with you, Cameron? She loves you, you know! She just doesn't know how to convey her feelings for you!" "She doesn't love Gregory at all! She gets close to him and calls off the wedding with you just to make you jealous!" "If Lauren genuinely doesn't want you to disturb her, why would she tell you where she is? Hurry up and please her already!" My heart skips a beat at the sight. So… So Lauren has loved me all this time? But I don't want the love that I can't feel at all.

Kyara tidak pernah berpikir bahwa jiwanya akan berpindah dan menempati tubuh seorang gadis yang telah meregang nyawa. Ia tak menyangka bahwa Tuhan masih memberinya kesempatan untuk hidup kembali dan membalas semua rasa sakit yang ia alami. Kyara mengetahui bahwa pemilik tubuh ini seringkali dianiaya oleh saudara tirinya yang membuatnya meninggal hingga membuat jiwanya menempati tubuh gadis malang ini. Kyara berjanji akan membalas rasa sakit dan kebencian yang pernah gadis ini alami. "Aku akan membalas semua rasa sakit ini, lebih dari apa yang kalian pikirkan!" kecamnya.

“I won’t be one of your choices, Logan.” A hand around her neck and the other holding her chin up, he declares, “You were never an option, little mouse. It was you from the start.” ----- Hanna Going back home is like visiting a museum of shame. Worse, beyond that ugly feeling are harsh reality checks—parents don’t live forever, Evergreen is in danger, and the man who broke my heart five years ago is offering the position of Luna, co-guardian of the pack, in a silver platter. He’s desperate to tear my walls down even if it means breaking us in the process so he can rebuild us from the dust. But we can’t afford destruction when death tolls are on the rise and the dead starts walking. -- Logan When I learned that she left, I expected a swift return. But her shadow never once graced Evergreen’s borders, until now—when it’s the most dangerous. Her presence is the warmest comfort wrapped in a wall of thorns. I bleed for her with every push and pull, battering it down so I can meet the girl who fell for me at sixteen and start over. But something lurks in the shadows seeking to destroy our lands before we can even begin. As whispers of a curse dance in the hopeless silence, I find salvation in the unlikeliest of places—a journal from my ancestor, and a woman who’s been guarding secrets.

Astra Finnegan has always had a sharp tongue and a natural charm that made her popular—at least, in the human world. On her eighteenth birthday, everything changes when a voice whispers in her mind, “I’m Lola, your wolf.” Now, Astra must leave behind everything she has ever known to attend a school meant for her kind. She’s about to uncover the truth about the father she once presumed dead and the reason she feels irresistibly drawn to the mysterious boy who haunts her dreams. But if she wants to survive in this new world, she’ll have to play by its rules—even if that means faking a relationship with a boy she can’t stand and befriending girls she has nothing in common with. Except this isn’t the world she’s used to. Being headstrong and stubborn might have worked before, but here, it could lead to disaster. Can Astra adapt to the life of a werewolf, or will her defiance cost her everything? Will her fake relationship turn into something real, or will her reckless attitude ruin her chances? Above all, Astra is about to learn what it means to have a mate, as well as prove she belongs in the pack. Because if she doesn’t, rejection is the least of her worries. But, can anyone really run away from who they truly are?

How long does it take to give up on a man you've loved for ten years? It takes me 3 seconds. The first second, I signed my name on the contract to become the chief designer of a renowned studio in Paris. The second second, I lock away ten years of my youth in my heart. The third second, I completely prepare to leave Levi's world. My fiancé Levi is the heir of the Smith Group, the absolute aristocracy. For others, he is untouchable. But for me, he's the childhood sweetheart who, with a crooked paper ring he made himself for the first time in his hand, told me, "You're the only girl I'll ever marry, even if I have to wait a hundred years." From that moment on, the only person I wanted to marry was Levi, and I never doubted that I would eventually marry Levi. But on the day of our engagement, he disappeared. I waited for a whole year, waiting for a message, a phone call, or a knock on the door, but nothing came. Later, he finally appeared. He stood next to a red Ferrari, holding flowers, and said that he still loved me, that he wasn't ready before, and begged me to give him another chance. I almost believed him. But at the same time, I received a provocative message from Levi's first love, Ruby: [Aren't you curious where he went during the time he eloped from your engagement? I'm already pregnant with Levi's child, and he loves kissing my pregnant belly the most.] I wiped away my tears, turned around, and applied to study in the Sorbonne University Faculty of Medicine, leaving only one sentence: "Levi, we're breaking up." Learning that I was leaving, Levi went crazy. He braved the heavy rain and blocked the entrance to my new place, his eyes red, asking me: "Stella, if I make Ruby abort the child, can you come back to me?"

Meski hanya pernikahan kontrak, Elena adalah istri sempurna dalam segala hal. Pintar, patuh, dan dihormati. Ia baik pada semua orang dan setia pada suaminya. Ia puas menjalani hidup seperti itu, meski terus-menerus ditagih soal kehamilan. Sampai suatu hari, suaminya pulang membawa selingkuhan dan menuntut perceraian. "Baiklah," kata Elena tenang, "Aku akan menceraikanmu." Mata Rafael berbinar mendengar kata-kata istrinya. Namun, ia terkejut karena Elena belum selesai. "Tapi jangan kaget kalau kau menerima undangan pernikahanku berikutnya." Semua orang terkejut, Elena benar-benar menikah lagi, dengan pria yang lebih muda dan, ternyata, lebih kaya! Dan ia memastikan mantan suaminya menyesal telah kehilangan dukungan wanita seperti dirinya.

Arrange Marriage! para sa pamilya, sa mga manggagawa na patuloy na umaasa sa kanilang pamilya. Si Armina Mondragon bunsong anak, maganda, matalino at isinilang na may gintong kutsara sa labi, at higit sa lahat mabait at masunuring anak kung kaya't Siya ay pumapayag sa nais Ng kanilang magulang. Ang kanyang pinakamamahal na Kuya Nathaniel ay hindi sang Ayon dahil ayaw niyang ipakipagsapalaran Ang kaligayahan Ng kanyang kapatid. Samantala, si Eduard Vincent Araneta,, solong anak na tagapag mana, arogante at matalino, siya Ang bubuo sa buhay ni Armina.