The White Man's Burden Poem

The news that Angelo Rizzo was becoming the new Don of Brucklin District had spread throughout the entire family. Everyone knew except me, Lila Bennett, his fiancee. He had always thought I was childish, like an irritating tail he couldn't shake off, sticking to him wherever he went. "I've only managed to bag Brucklin District all thanks to Cyrus." The study door was ajar as the scent of cigar smoke drifted out along with his voice. "Lila? Why bring her up? She's annoying. Like a piece of gum stuck to your hair." I crouched on the hallway carpet, lost in thought. Before, it was always Angelo leaving first and me realizing it too late. This time, I wanted to surprise him by going to Brucklin ahead of him. When he saw me there first, he'd realize that I was smart. But the next day, at the bus station, when the driver asked where I was going, I mixed Brucklin and Mannattan up. The driver grew impatient. Afraid he'd call me an idiot like Angelo would, I hurriedly shove the money at him. "To Mannattan! I'm going to Mannattan District!"

YOLO! You only live once.That is my motto in life. I don't care about what other people would say and think about me. I am me. And others' opinions don't matter.I am Alexa Lopez, Alex for short. Everyone calls me by that name, including my parents. I am a proud lesbian and I am lucky that my parents accept me for who I am but sometimes my mom still wishes that I will wake up to my senses one day and meet a man.Me? Meeting a man? Yuck!I heard many times from my friends and some relatives that I look pretty. They said I have a good body and they are sure that if I am a straight girl, many boys will chase after me.But that will never happen. I am not pretty, I am handsome.I am 17 years old, still a teenager and young as they say but I am already mature. I already had 3 girlfriends in the past and all of them were head over heals at me. I can't blame them, I treated them nicely and I did my best to be a good partner for them, giving them gifts, accompanying them when they go shopping and help them with their studies. I sometimes even do their homework and their projects.I am the only child in my family and I must say we are financially stable. My dad is a lawyer and my mom is a dermatologist.I am currently a senior high school student in Mary Poppins International School and I am also one of the varsity players of the women's basketball team. I am quite famous I must say.It may seem that I have everything, but inside this tough person is still a fragile lady.

After an extended silence, she gathered the courage to speak. “Mum, what do you mean? I have my life in Paris.” she implored, clutching her mother’s hand. Lois diverted her gaze, the moment slipping away. “Refusing my offer means also returning all the assistance I provided when your business was in trouble,” she said, rising to leave. “You have just 48 hours to agree to my terms, and remember, I dislike waiting.” Dianna has always been in love with Clinton Blackwood before he married her twin sister and since then she has despised him. She maintained her distance from her twin sister, Daphne, and her husband enjoying her peaceful and lonely life. Her life took a turn when her sister died. Dianna's mum, Lois Aaron, proposed a new business contract for the Blackwood's, leaving them in a tight corner. She was made to get married to her sister's husband a year after her sister's dismay.

Lumaki si Kiara sa mundong puno ng bawal, bawal magkamali, bawal lumaban, bawal magmahal nang sarili niyang paraan. Kaya nang ipilit ng mga magulang niya ang arranged marriage niya kay Zoren, ang cold at dutiful heir, wala siyang nagawa kundi sundin ito, kahit na ramdam niyang hindi iyon ang buhay na gusto niya. Pero ang hindi nila alam ang tunay na panganib ay hindi ang lalaking papakasalan niya, kung hindi ang kapatid nito na si Noah, isang rebelde, wild, at mapusok. Lalaking parang unos na biglang pumasok sa tahimik niyang mundo. He is everything she should stay away from, a man who rides too fast, lives too freely, and kisses like sin. Pero siya lang ang nakakita sa Kiara na matagal nang nakakulong. Siya ang nagpakita ng kalayaan, saya, at pagmamahal na hindi kailanman inalok sa kaniya. Hanggang unti-unti, nahulog siya sa lalaking hinding-hindi dapat naging bahagi ng buhay niya. Pero may tinatagong lihim si Noah, isang katotohanang itinago ng pamilya nito para protektahan ang pangalan nila. A secret that proves he was never ment to be in Kiara's world... or in her heart. Kakayanin ba nilang lumaban sa ano mang unos na kanilang mararanasan? Kahit na alam nilang bawal, mali, at madaming tutol dito. He was the man she was never meant to love pero siya rin ang lalaking hindi niya kayang pakawalan.

My boyfriend, Miles, finally invited me to his family’s Christmas dinner. I passed out on the way there. Half-conscious, I heard him whisper, “Sorry, Eva. Those thugs said you’re just their boss’s type. Too pretty for your own good, babe. Blame that—not me.” “Don’t be scared. If you help me pay off the debt… maybe they’ll let me have you back. I’ll make it up to you. For the rest of your life, I swear.” He wheeled me through the back of a casino. My family’s casino. The boss he was selling me to… was my brother. Ever since our parents died in a crossfire, my brother had taken full responsibility for me. More than a brother, he’d become a father figure—a protector. My stupid boyfriend should be scared—he had no idea how fiercely my brother protected me, or how ruthless he could be to anyone who dared hurt me.

On the night Victoria’s family lost everything, she signed a contract marriage with the coldest and most brutal CEO in the city—Adrian Vale, the man rumored to be behind her father’s downfall. Bound by a one-year agreement, Victoria enters a world of power, secrets, and emotional warfare. What she doesn’t know is that Adrian has his own reasons for marrying her—and that the truth behind her family’s ruin is far darker than she imagined. As hatred turns into forbidden desire, Victoria must decide: will she expose the man she married… or fall for him instead?

Since I moved into this apartment, I kept dreaming about a man every time I fell asleep. The man told me he was my husband. However, I had only just started college. When I woke up, my lower back ached, and my body felt sore. My neighbor was a psychologist, and he prescribed some medication to help me sleep. Unfortunately, the dreams became even more real. One night, the man leaned close to my ear and whispered, “You can’t escape me.”

Have you ever had the same dream so often that it starts to blur into reality? The same man. The same scent. The same fire, except every night, it’s a different position, a different fantasy… and by morning, it all slips away. That has been my life for weeks, until everything changed. Just when I thought I could finally get over the stranger in my dreams, I convinced myself that my new boss might be the distraction I needed. A way out of my sex-starved world of fantasies. Then he walked in. Hotter than my imagination ever allowed. Sharper. Darker. Dangerous. And with one look, I knew. It was him. The man who owned my nights. But who was he? And why was he suddenly here in my reality? “I own this place,” he growled, his deep voice making my knees weak as his grip tightened around my wrist. “I own this motherfucker you call a boss… and I own you too.” His black eyes locked on mine, dark and unreadable. “So you better start walking before I take you right here and now.” He meant every word. He dragged me out with him, and everything I thought I knew cracked open. Was this the beginning of my love story with the man they called the Mafia Boss? Were my dreams finally becoming real? But with constant gunshots, threats, and attempted abductions… I’m starting to realize this might not be the fairytale I imagined. And my life may never go back to normal. Not ever again. But I don’t seem to mind anymore.

Because of an accident during the hunt, I lose the chance to be "awakened". My wolf becomes badly damaged, and I'm forced to take the "inhibitor" injection to stay alive. I lose my strongest backing—my dad, the Alpha of the Argent Flame pack. After my dad's passing, his close friend, Ryder Wright, takes me to the Glace pack. As the Alpha and leader of the pack council, he can protect me. Meanwhile, my most trusted best friend steals the original draft I wrote when I was younger. The story goes viral among humans, and she becomes the most popular "werewolf literature" author. There's a charming Alpha in the story. He's her crush. Now, the three candidates of my marriage of convenience have been following her around, arguing about the real identity of her crush in the story. When I'm being mentioned, they seem irritated, and their tone is full of contempt. "How could she still think of marrying us when her wolf can never be awakened?" "Princess of the Argent Flame pack? Hah! She's nothing but a loser now!" "Why don't we try triggering her again? Maybe she'll go completely crazy if she loses control of her wolf." "Haha! Then none of us needs to marry her." I stand at the door, and the wolf hidden in me for years is awakening. They have no idea that the inhibitor has lost its effects, and my awakening is secretly happening. I've never loved any of them. They are merely pawns for me to pick. My phone rings, and it's a call from Ryder. "Aria, have you decided? Among the three candidates, who are you going to choose?" "Alpha Ryder, do I only have three choices?"

I was betrayed by my fiancé and best friend on the day of our wedding. The very next day, I was auctioned off to pay for my family’s debt. Sold. Helpless. Alone. And then I met him— The man they call the devil. The one I never imagined I could love. The same man who vowed to destroy me. Bound by vengeance and hatred, can I ever escape the cage he built around me?