Then We Held Hands

"You died four days ago. You were buried yesterday. That's fast healing, even for us," Clara explained. "Us?" Clara smiled. "You have risen from the dead and have healed all your wounds. You have no pulse. You do not breathe, and we've been giving you blood so that you can survive. And the last thing you can remember is a tingling in your neck before you died." She clasped her hands together. "I've read your personnel file, Shamira. I know you're not stupid, even if your former bosses thought you were. You can figure this --" "Vampire? You're kidding, right? You have to --" "Wanna go ahead and say 'But there's no such thing as vampires' so we can get that out of the way?" "There's no such thing as vampires!"

On the eve of my wedding, my wife, Sharon Moonstone, drugged me and knocked me unconscious. She let her first love, Aaron Miller, take my place as the groom, standing beside her as they held the wedding that was supposed to belong to both of us. By the time I finally found them, they had already gone into the bridal suite and consummated their marriage. When I demanded answers, Sharon did not show a trace of guilt. "You live off me. You'd better behave. Make a scene, and we'll divorce." My heart went cold. I handed her the divorce papers, but she barely looked at them. "Looks like you've improved," she said lightly. "At least you know a performance should be convincing from start to finish."

I was ten years old when I lost my hearing saving Adrian Falcone's life. After that, I couldn't survive without my hearing aids. He held my hand afterward, his eyes red-rimmed with guilt, and made me a promise in front of his entire family. "Serena Lombardi, I'll protect you with my life," he said. "I'll marry you." But when I turned eighteen, everything changed. Adrian needed to pass some test set by Daniela Moretti—the daughter of a rival family—and he chose the cruelest way to prove himself. He ripped the hearing aids from my ears in front of everyone and laughed. "You're just a deaf, useless burden," he said, his voice cold and cutting. "I've been sick of you for years. Honestly? I wish you'd died in that explosion when we were ten and saved me the trouble." I gripped the rehabilitation report the doctor had just handed me, and my fingers crushed the paper's edges. The diagnosis was precise—my hearing had fully recovered. That night, I burned my hearing aids and convinced my parents to cut all ties with the Falcone family. Adrian Falcone, we're done. Whatever we had, whatever you owed me—it's over now.

I've dated Andrew Carter, my surgeon boyfriend, for seven years. We plan 66 weddings, and he cancels every single one for Selena Merrick. The first time, Selena botched a patient's injection. "Wait for me," he said, and I waited the entire day. The second time, she slipped and fell in the shower. We were just about to exchange rings, but he ditched me at the altar without a second thought, leaving me to face the ridicule from the guests. For all 65 weddings I held, Selena always found an excuse to lure Andrew away. At the 65th wedding, she claimed her dog was dying and threatened to take her life. My mom collapsed from stress-induced angina, yet Andrew still ran to Selena. Afterward, he kneels and begs us for forgiveness. "Selena is just a pitiful orphan, but you're the one I'll always love," he declares. I give him one last chance, yet he never fails to disappoint me. That is it. I break up with Andrew and join Doctors without Borders. Goodbye. Let's never meet again.

He slammed her back on the door and hovering over her, he whispered into her ears. “Looking at you this close, you're quite tempting.” Her heart suddenly skipped, aware of the position they were in. His body was pressing hers and his warmed breath fanned her ears. Her heart was crazy. Why was it beating so loudly at this time? She hope he doesn't hear it and get the wrong impression. “W…what are you doing? Back off. We aren't done talking yet,” she retorted only to have him chuckle lightly. The low rumble of his chest sent shivers down her spine. Her hands instinctively flew to his chest to push him away but they seem to have lost their strength. “You're so beautiful. I want to kiss you.” Her eyes widened. ……… Madeline Crayon- young and beautiful, had to face bad days when her father signed a contract with a rival company just to keep his company moving. As per the contract, he would have to exchange his eldest daughter for the good of his business. The eldest daughter, ran away from home causing Madeline's father to force her into marrying the son of the Johan family, Elias. Rumors had it that he was always masked in public for a reason best known to him. Elias Johan- the infamous God of the underworld. He decided to get married to either of the Crayon daughters to fulfill his thirst for revenge. A dark secret which he held for almost all his life that could destroy a lot of lives. Will Madeline be able to free herself from being trapped in the oblivion of a written marriage where she suffered different trials every day, or perseverance would be her best friend?

My husband has asthenospermia, so we decide to try IVF. Before the embryos are combined, I catch my husband switching my ovum out for his true love's. I don't say anything and switch them back. At the same time, I switch my husband's sample out for my ex-boyfriend's. 25 years later, my husband's true love comes knocking. She holds my daughter's hands and weeps while saying, "I'm your mother, my darling!"

My sister-in-law, Sabine Vire, deliberately swapped my prenatal medication with abortion pills. As a result, my eight-month-old baby was gone. As I cried until I nearly collapsed from grief, my husband, Cassian Thorne, held me tightly and murmured, "Don’t worry. You’ll have another child." Three months later, I became pregnant again—this time with triplets. Overwhelmed with joy, I was just about to share the wonderful news with Cassian when I overheard a conversation between him and his friends. "All five of you didn’t use protection, right? I want to see how many brats her belly can carry. The wager is $50 million." "I bet three." "I bet one." Cassian burst into laughter. "If we’re betting, then we’re going big. I bet six. Who told her to slap my precious Sabine? If she can pop out a few brats to make Sabine happy, that’s her blessing." Sabine, the very woman who had fed me the abortion pills, was Cassian's beloved.

When my husband returned home to visit his parents, I noticed that he forgot to bring back the specialties he had bought. I ran after him, only to find him getting out of a car in a suit. His childhood friend stepped forward to welcome him. They held hands and smiled as they looked into each other’s eyes. They looked like a happy, newlywed couple. Only when my husband saw me standing not too far away did he hurriedly distance himself from his childhood friend. “Her mother’s critically ill, and her mother’s only wish is to see her get married. I’m just helping her.” I simply smiled. I pushed him right back to his childhood friend’s side and started cheering with everyone else. “When’s the baby coming?! I’ll be sure to wrap a nice gift!”

What do you do when all comes crashing down? How do you react when you realize the maze is gone and the truth is what you can't handle? Love, pain, betrayal;... To what extent are you willing to go? The wedding picture Cassandra held fell to the floor shattering into thousands of pieces just like the state of her heart. ‘’My heart is in just as same state as this picture” She crawls her way to the balcony overlooking the beautiful city. A life of a perfect housewife, a perfect wife and partner, now she looks back and it had been nothing but a joke. She stares one more time at the beauty of the city beneath her. ‘’What a waste”’ she spat angrily. Letting her fragile body fall from the 8 floors of an apartment bought with her own money. ‘’Time is all I wish for’’ she whispers. Falling and letting her blood graze the hard tar. Frank and Kelly watched with a satisfied look, not seeing the third eye from the corner who watched with pain written all over him. 6 years is what she offered, standing before two men on her wedding day, Cassandra wakes up. She had to choose a groom, will she go back with this man or would she take her chances into finding out what another 6 years would be in the hands of those longing eyes that watched her fall to her death or the hands that pushed her?’’

My boyfriend, Vincent, was behind the wheel when he tragically struck and killed Lycan Aaron's girlfriend. Driven by love, I made the fateful decision to shoulder the blame on his behalf. But I never thought that Lycan Aaron was my mate. Vincent betrayed me, and Aaron, consumed by a vengeful fire, held me captive in his clutches. ** Lying on Aaron's bed, I could feel the warmth and desire of his body. "When will you release me, Lycan Aaron?" I whispered, my voice laden with longing and uncertainty. "Do not entertain thoughts of escape, Olive. For if you dare, the consequences will be more agonizing than death itself," Aaron murmured softly into my ear as we surrendered to sleep, his words lingering in the air like an ominous but sweet melody.