This Time The Tears Were Mine

"She had me at my worst. You had me at my best. Pero binaliwala mo ang lahat... and you chose to break my heart." Napasinghap ako sa kanyang sinabi habang ang kanyang mga mata ay walang buhay na nakatingin sa akin. Hindi ko man gustong masaktan siya pero kailangan kong gawin dahil alam kong sa huli masasaktan ko rin siya. Ngiti na lamang ang binigay ko sa kanya habang pinupulot isa-isa ang damit kong nakakalat. "Sana maging masaya ka. I'm sorry." "I am, Ali, masaya ako sa kanya." Tuluyan ng tumulo ang luhang pinipigilan ko at tanging narinig ko lang ang pagsara nang malakas na pinto. "I'm sorry, Xerxes... I'm sorry!"

A wife who suffered at the hands of her husband. Isa silang masayang mag asawa noon pero nagbago ng isang iglap ang lahat. Her husband keeps on hurting her, physically and emotionally at hindi niya alam ang dahilan. Will she be able to handle the pain? Or will she give up on her husband whom she loves so much?

In Gangnam, Seoul's district known for it's wealth and glamour, a series of mysterious disappearances and brutal murders occurs. The criminal is quickly called by public the 'Cherry Blossom Reaper' because of his choice for young, beautiful women and fact, that the day after the kidnapping, in the place of the disappearance, he leaves a small bouquet made of artificial cherry blossoms, slightly sprinkled with the victim's blood. When the daughter of the well-known fashion house CEO disappear, the case is transferred to Kim Soo Min, a female detective from Seoul's Investigation Departament. But as it turns out, the case is not easy to solve, even for such a talented detective as her. The list of suspects is getting longer and evidence does not clearly indicate any of them. [ IMPORTANT: This story is entirely fictional, just like its characters. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. ]

When my husband Joshua dragged his student Linda Moore into our apartment, I didn't even blink—I gave up the bed. Last time, it'd been pouring when he showed up with her in the middle of the night. Told me to crash on the floor with my daughter Mia and gave Linda the bed like it was nothing. I lost it. Fought with him, snapped at her. She bolted, slipped into a ditch, and supposedly drowned. Joshua said nothing. Then, one night, with the storm going wild outside, he pried open a manhole and dumped me and Mia in like trash. "Linda's my mentor's daughter. She's dead—how am I supposed to face him? You two can apologize yourselves." We didn't even get to scream before that freezing, disgusting water swallowed us whole. Turns out, Linda faked the whole thing. Just a twisted joke to punish me. Joshua moved her in right after, like nothing happened. Now, thunder cracked again as the door opened—and there he was, Linda right behind him.

I wasn’t even pregnant, yet I ended up popping abortion pills like they were candy. It was all because in my past life, the moment my widowed sister-in-law got pregnant, every single side effect of her pregnancy became mine. She strutted around happily with her big belly, consuming spicy tamales, while I was rushed to the hospital for violent nausea and stomach pain; she showed off her flawless skin in crop tops every day, while my stomach broke out in hideous stretch marks. When I told my husband what was happening, he just shoved me away impatiently. “Enough with the jealousy! My brother’s dead, and she’s carrying his only child. Of course, I should look out for her. Do you really have to put on such an act?” After that, my sister-in-law went even further. She kept testing her limits during pregnancy and even ate a mango she was allergic to. And me? I went into anaphylactic shock, landed in the hospital, and nearly died. Doctors couldn’t explain it. They just brushed it off, saying I was overly jealous and it was all psychological. Later, my sister-in-law tried to brand herself as a “hot single mom”. She went live, belly and all, to show off her weight-loss workouts. She jumped around for three straight hours. And me? My uterus literally gave out, and I hemorrhaged to death. When I opened my eyes again, it was the exact day she first announced her pregnancy.

WARNING Please read BOOK 1 first . Book 2 is the continuation ". Don't get me wrong, okay? I am just making sure if it's really mine. I am a very busy and famous businessman. Now, if you are not so sure that that baby inside you is not mine then it will bring chaos and a big problem to my image and to my family. Get it?" D-do you really think I-I am that kind of a woman? Do y-you think that I w-would let you take my v-virginity when I h-have a boyfriend? She said in a painful tone. But he was just staring at her with his emotionless eyes. " Okay. But I want some test miss. I want to make sure that it's really mine. I want a paternity test" B-but I don't have m-money for paternity test.. "She mumbled and he heard it. He laugh sarcastically. He knew it! He then look at her with his fierce and sarcastic eyes. Yup. She is definitely like them. " You don't have money? You want me to give you some? "" I knew why you're here. And I was right. If I give you money, will you leave me alone now? Because I know that's what you need and why you're here. So tell me, how much do you need? "She looked at him in disbelief. " D-do you think I'm here for y-your money? Do think I'm a gold-digger? ""I don't know... Maybe. "she Shook her head in disbelief. " I can't believe you. "She mumbled with her teary eyes as she look at him, he just stare at her with emotionless look.She came all the way here just to hear his judgement , insulting words? Her tears fall down and she quickly wipe it. She looked at him with anger and pain in her eyes.

I, Xavier Locke, had married the same woman, Melanie Slater, seven times. But for the sake of her first love, Leonard Blueman, she divorced me seven times. The first time we got married, she told me, "I'll only love you for the rest of my life." But every time Leonard came back to the country, she sang a different tune. "Can't you be more sensible? How can you bear to stand by and let Lenny be called a homewrecker who snatches a married woman from her husband?" The first time we divorced, I cut my wrists to make her stay. I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, but she never showed up even once to see me. The third time we divorced, I humbled myself and applied to be her assistant at her company. I did that just so I could see her a little more. By the sixth divorce, I had learned to quietly pack my things and move out of the home we shared. My hysteria, my repeated backing down, and my tolerant compromises brought me nothing—just Melanie repeatedly divorcing and remarrying me. Time and time again, she pulled the same trick. With history repeating itself, I decided enough was enough. After hearing that Leonard was coming back again, this time, I handed her the divorce papers myself. As always, she set a date for our next remarriage. But what she didn't know… was that I was leaving for good this time.

For matured readers only (TAGLISH) "Akala ko sapat na ang salitang I love you para umabot tayo hanggang dulo..." Galing sa sawing pag-ibig si Marion. Kinse palang siya nang unang umibig. Naging masalimuot ang buhay niya sa murang edad dahil sa kapusukan at katigasan ng ulo. Nagresulta para matakot siyang magmahal dahil naging sugatan ang puso niya. Pero makalipas ang ilang taon heto at nagbabalik ang sumugat sa puso niya. Si Shin Dela Vega. "Oo nagkamali ako, nasaktan kita. Hindi rin kita naipaglaban noon, pero gusto kong malaman mo na ikaw pa rin ang mahal ko hanggang ngayon at gusto kong itama ang lahat, all I need is a second chance Marion..." pakiusap ni Shin. Pero may isang humihingi ng pagkakataon na lingunin niya. "Wala akong pakialam sa sasabihin ng iba. Manhid ka ba? Hindi mo ba nakikita na palagi akong nasa tabi mo kahit noon pa. Hindi kita iniiwan at kaya kitang ipaglaban kanino man. Hinihintay ko lang na bigyan mo ako ng pagkakataon na mahalin ka para maramdaman mong karapat-dapat din ako sa puso mo," pag-amin ni Grant Tyler sa kanya. Nalilito ang puso niya. Sino ang dapat niyang piliin? Magbibigay ba siya ng ikalawang pagkakataon para kay Shin, ang taong minahal niya o susubukan niyang muling buksan ang puso para kay Grant Tyler?

My mother-in-law, Eleanor, was having a heart attack, and my husband, Ben Dover—a heart surgeon—was the only one who could save her. Did I call him? Nope. I just stood there, watching her gasp like a fish out of water. In my last life, I'd begged Ben to come save her. He brushed me off, accusing me of interrupting his time with his mistress, Ima Schit. No matter how much I pleaded, he wouldn't come. Eleanor had died in the hospital. And when Johnny, my father-in-law, demanded answers, Ben flipped the script, saying I'd never even called. He made Eleanor's death my fault. Johnny, blinded by grief and fury, killed me. But plot twist—I woke up. Right back to the day this circus started.

The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.~Oscar Wilde~Adoration is not profound enough a word to express the depth of my love for her. From the moment she walked into my life and set my heart and soul on fire, not a day's gone by that she hasn't plagued my every thought.We were each other's completion. She was everything I wasn't--the sigh to my roar, the virtue to my sin, the cure to my wounds.We Were One.Until the unthinkable happened.That I've survived such a tragedy without having completely lost it, is a mystery in itself. But as my mind starts to blur the lines between reality and my delusional heart, I begin to question everything, including my sanity.And then the real mystery begins . . .Author's note: We Were One is an alternate POV to Girl In The Mirror but both books can be read as stand alones without the need to read the other to follow along!We Were One is created by Elizabeth Reyes, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.