Thousand-year Door Troubles

On Christmas Eve, Gabriel Caldwell, my three-year boyfriend, invites me to go home with him for a nice feast and to spend the holidays together. But before I can even get a bite, I get drugged instead. "If I can't pay them any money at this rate, they'll chop my hand off, Evelyn! Seriously, I don't have any choices left but to deliver you to them! "Don't blame me for this, Evelyn. Blame yourself for having such rotten luck in life by looking just like the woman of Mr. Kensington's dreams. "By then, my debt is cleared, and you might live an extremely cushy life as a rich man's wife! Isn't this a win-win situation for us?" While I'm still groggy from the drugs' effects, I get delivered to an extremely familiar-looking estate by Gabriel's family. First things first, if I'm not mistaken, this must be my uncle, Sebastian Kensington's estate. Secondly, my uncle adores his older sister—my mom—so much to the point that he's never fallen for any other woman except her in this lifetime. And last but not least, all my dad did back then was roll his eyes at my mom once before Uncle Sebastian had him sent to a faraway continent. Well then, I wonder who's the one that'll be cursed with rotten luck after they deliver me to my uncle's hands? Gosh, it's so hard to guess!

On my wedding day with Jack Miller, he ran off with his first love As if to taunt me, he would send a photo of himself with her from every new destination they visited. I was getting a manicure and enjoying imported French pastries with my afternoon tea when I received their ninety-ninth photo. But after three years of absence, Jack suddenly returned. He pointed at my wedding photo with someone else and shouted, “How dare you fool around with another man while I was gone!" I couldn't help but laugh. "What other man? I've been married to my husband for three years now." "Jack, you didn't actually think I was waiting for you all this time, did you?"

After spending the past month working overtime and burning the midnight oil every day, I finally closed a business deal that's worth 50 million dollars before the company's annual dinner. My boss, William Lewis, begins giving away the end-of-the-year bonuses with a wide smile on his face. "The finance director helped our company save three million dollars worth of taxes. He will receive a villa by the river as a gift." "The head of IT led the team and solved various difficult problems. He shall receive 200 thousand dollars in cash." "Lily Lane, the receptionist, has always shown a great attitude whenever she greets the clients. She shall receive a Hermes bag." When it's my turn, I wipe the sweat off my palms before accepting my bonus. But upon opening the giftbox, I see three entrance tickets to the local zoo instead. "You must be sick of receiving commissions all the time as the sales director. Why don't you take advantage of this holiday to spend some quality time with your family?" On the way home, I dial a number. "Mr. Skylar, there's a problem with the 50-million-dollar contract. Let's discuss it later."

The supplementary card I've issued for my grandmother shows that an eight-thousand-dollar purchase has taken place in another city. But the transaction records show that the money is used on hymenoplasty. I'm shell-shocked, to say the least. Grandma is 84 years old this year. She's been bedridden and paralyzed for years. Why would she even get hymenoplasty done on her, to begin with? But when my investigation leads me to a plastic surgery hospital, I find out that my wife, Stella Watson, is actually the lead doctor of said clinic. So, I call her to demand answers from her. However, Stella refuses to answer my questions properly. "Don't worry, honey. Something's most likely wrong with the system. Betsy is already this old—why would she have her hymen repaired?" That's just a bullshit answer coming from her. She seriously thinks I'm gullible enough to believe her. I merely huff coldly in return before calling my dad, who works in the Department of Commerce. "Dad, Stella is most likely cheating on me. I want her plastic surgery hospital as compensation for my impending divorce!"

When Elena Thunder finds the most perfect man to kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve, she thinks its fate. But little does she know that Knight Blaze isn’t as simple as he seems and that the only reason he spends the night with her is because he has something entirely different on his mind. Come morning, Knight leaves Elena feeling hurt and betrayed and with something she’d have never anticipated from a one-night stand with a stranger, a baby conceived on New Year’s Eve. But Elena isn’t weak and she doesn’t let heartbreak bring her down. She decides to raise her child without a father. But fate has other plans for her as she accidentally bumps into Blaze once more during a fashion show and this time, he’s determined to make her stay.

I'm only sixteen ng makilala ko si Franz Zorego, ang hot business man na mas matanda sakin ng s'yam na taon. Unang kita ko pa lang sa kanya nasabi ko agad sa sarili ko na itong ang lalaking mamahalin ko. Kaya naman ginawa ko ang lahat para akalain nito na nasa tamang edad na ako. Pero hindi naitatago ang sikreto ng matagal na panahon. Dahil natuklasan nito na isa lang akong highschool student sa paaralang mismong pag aari ng kanilang pamilya. Mula noon ay umiwas na ito sa akin at 'di na ako pinapansin. Aaminin ko nasasaktan ako sa pag iwas nito pero anong magagawa ng isang gaya ko? Sabi nga nila isa lang akong hamak na bata na pagdating ng panahon mawawala at mababago rin ang nararamdaman. Totoo ba ang gano'n? Paano kung hindi?

While inspecting my company’s cold-chain operations, my wife, Mandy Snow, and the college boy I’d been sponsoring suddenly vanished. As I passed the cabinet storing the research supplies, a stream of floating comments suddenly flashed before my eyes. “That was way too close! Jeff Miller almost caught them. Good thing Mandy reacted fast and dragged her boy toy into the storage cabinet.” “But that cabinet is about to be locked up and shipped to the Antarctic research station. Are those two trying to turn themselves into ice sculptures?” I froze. My wife was cheating on me right under my nose? I was just about to pull open the cabinet door when my wife’s assistant hurried over and forced a smile, blocking my way. “Mr. Miller, the seal on this cabinet was just waxed and hasn’t dried yet. Careful, or you’ll get your hands dirty.” The floating comments appeared again. “That was so close! The assistant’s pretty sharp. Once the female lead gets out, she totally owes him a car.” “No wonder she’s the lucky heroine. She always gets out of trouble. I seriously can’t wait to watch her sweet romance with her boy toy.” Looking at the comments in front of me, I let out a cold laugh. “These are critical supplies for the research team. To make sure nothing goes wrong, seal the cabinet right now.” “Go get a welder. Weld the door shut.” The assistant froze, and so did the floating comments. “What the hell? This evil supporting male character is brutal. The two people inside aren’t wearing a thing.” “Help! If the door gets welded shut, the male and female leads are going to drift at sea for a month and freeze into specimens!”

"What's that bulge? It looks different from mine." My eighteen-year-old neighbor, sweet but simple, stared curiously at the place between my legs, a hungry glint in her eyes. I played dumb. "Why don't you show me what yours looks like?" To my surprise, without the slightest hesitation, she suddenly tugged off her little white skirt, revealing a smooth, bare patch of skin. "See? Right here—it's totally flat. There's nothing at all."

I'd been assigned overseas for three months, but I wrapped up my work ahead of schedule and flew home early to spend New Year's Eve with my wife. While waiting for a ride, I scrolled through TikTok and came across a video captioned: [Marrying the one you love feels like winning a war.] Then the scene shifted, and my world tilted. The bride slung over the groom's shoulder… was my wife. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But then I spotted familiar faces—her relatives, unmistakable in the crowd. I didn't hesitate. I checked the hotel location tagged in the video and shoved my phone toward the taxi driver. "Change the route. Take me here," I said. "I'm going to catch them in the act."

One night, my family sat together watching the New Year’s Eve Live on television. My little sister, Stella Larson, said she had to pee and hurried to the washroom. Half an hour later, she still had not returned. When I went to check on her, the washroom was empty. “When did Stella leave the washroom?” I asked my parents. Both of them were stunned for a moment before feeling my forehead and saying, “What are you talking about? You’re an only child. Who is Stella?” They forcibly pulled me back to my seat. My mind went blank. Did the three of them just pull a prank on me? After finishing his drink, my father clutched his stomach and rushed into the washroom. I stared fixedly at the washroom door. A long time passed, but no one came out. My father had vanished, too. My hand trembled as I pointed at the bathroom. My mother stepped forward to go in. “Don’t go in! Dad and Luna disappeared in there!” My mother looked grief-stricken as she said, “Sweetie, it’s been just the two of us for the past twenty-plus years, remember?” Her words hit me hard. I was in total disbelief. I explained myself frantically, but the more I spoke, the more confused my mother became. She finally shook me off and said, “Why are you doing this to me? I’ve raised you your whole life! Why do you have to ruin New Year’s Eve?” She walked straight into the washroom, and the house soon fell into a dead silence. Terrified, I called my best friend, Kathy Scott, who lived nearby. I rambled incoherently as I begged her for help. But her words utterly crushed me. “What family members? You’re an orphan.” I hung up the phone, rushed out, and pounded frantically on the neighbors’ door.