Times-tribune E Edition Today Novels & Stories

Of the five boys who'd been raised to marry me, Lance Riverford was the one who hated me the most. And yet, he was the one I loved the most. Three times I was reborn, and three times I forced him to be my husband. Each time ended the same way—he and his childhood sweetheart killed me. When I opened my eyes for the fourth time and met that same look of loathing in his eyes, something inside me finally let go. I turned away and chose his rival, Jace Elden, as my husband instead. But at the wedding, Lance demanded with tears in his eyes, "Why did you choose someone else this time? Are you doing this just to spite me?" That was when I realized… he'd been reborn too.

"I don't think it's a coincidence."Those words were not an opinion rather a point measured with assurance. She didn't look at our differences but focused on what's our strength. She began playing with a purpose and I was just her card by mistake. But everything she did make me who I am today and so are the others. That mysterious girl can be sometimes unreasonable but all I could do was to trust the process.

Five years later, Serena Amour left Las Vegas, and today she set foot again in this wounded country to avenge her, but unfortunately she was trapped back in the same bed through a hot night with her ex-husband, Damien Duff. Serena thought Damien would help a little in his revenge mission, but the arrogant man instead used their son as a tool to ensnare him. The jerk is, Damien instead marries Serena's sister as a form of revenge.

Three years after Vivian and I married into the Domingo family, our husbands' childhood crush Niama Guido came back to the town. Vivian and I had a whole escape plan. But the night before we bailed, Vivian threw herself off a high-rise. I called her husband, Pedro Domingo. He laughed, his tone nasty and cold. "Reena, my brother asked, since she jumped today, are you going to drown yourself tomorrow?"

My fiancé, Skeet Fadley, stood with me at my dress fitting when his phone rang. "Skeet..." Her voice came through on speaker. That was all it took—I knew today's bridal photos weren't happening again. Skeet glanced at me, guilty. "Babe, something came up with Norah. I gotta go." Not a question. A notice. I stared at myself in the mirror, already in the gown, and gave a small nod. "Go." It's fine. My groom's about to change anyway.

Married for five years, I'm known as the woman with the perfect husband. Alexander Foster is tall, strong, endlessly passionate, and people love to joke that we can't keep our hands off each other. Then he goes on a mission one day and never returns. I fall apart. I try to end my life six times, and six times someone drags me back. On the night of the sixth attempt, I overhear my mother-in-law, Anna Greyson, whispering to the man everyone believes is Alexander's younger brother, Daniel Foster. "Alexander, how long are you going to keep hiding this? Mia has tried to kill herself six times because of you." Alexander's voice stays calm. "Mom, before Daniel died, he asked me to take care of Lily. She's fragile, and now she's pregnant with my child. If she learns the truth, she won't survive it." And that's when the truth hits me. My husband isn't dead at all. He's been pretending to be his own younger brother and plans to have a child with Lily Harper under that lie. After crying until I can barely stand, I contact Margaret Warren at the matchmaking agency. "About that blind date you mentioned. I'll take it. And I want the wedding as soon as possible."

After dying nine times at the hands of her cursed husband, Elowen jumps through a mystical portal into the modern world to break the loop—only to find that her killer is now her doctor, and the demon between them is hungrier than ever.

My mother was the most renowned forensic artist, yet she refused to acknowledge me as her daughter. On my eighteenth birthday, I was kidnapped and called her for help. However, my mother replied impatiently, "Today is Angelina's birthday. Just die if you want attention that badly." Later, all the bones in my body were shattered and scattered everywhere. When my mother reconstructed my face from the bones, she lost her mind.

At 4:30 in the morning, my husband answered a call from his ex-girlfriend and accidentally put it on speaker. "Jason, my daughter, Alison, has a fever—over 104. I can't get a ride..." The sudden sound of sobbing jolted me awake. Jason hurriedly turned off the speaker and lowered his voice. "Send me your location. I'll come right away." It seemed he had forgotten that today was my first prenatal checkup.

“Please! Jason! Pick up the phone!” Finally, someone picked up, but it wasn’t Jason. “Didn’t Jason tell you that he has no time for you today? He’s busy. Why do you keep calling?” The voice on the other end was Laura, Jason’s ex. The realization that Jason was with her while I and his unborn child were battling for our lives after an accident was a betrayal too painful to bear. If I survive, can I ever forgive him?