Too Stunned To Speak

When we get too much involved in the act of pretending, we lose the idea of knowing the pretense of others. Isn't that how it works? We don't know the acts we do thinking good for the others even to the extent of hurting them to save them from major hurt will cause them to go through much more than we can think of. Sometimes it is not too late to correct the pretenses but sometimes it is late to amend them. Let's see whether it is too late or just in time.

Soon after I came back to the country, someone slapped me right across the face in broad daylight, yelling that I was a mistress. A crowd of reporters closed in, pelting me with questions about whether Chandler Armstrong, CEO of Armstrong Industries, was keeping me as his mistress. I was stunned speechless for a moment, but then I pulled out my wedding photo with Chandler from seven years ago and held it up. "What are you talking about? I'm his wife!" The crowd went silent, and the woman who'd slapped me turned white as a sheet. Only then did I finally get it: while I'd been overseas, Chandler had been openly involved with an actress, and everyone in his social circle had already decided she was the future Mrs. Armstrong. Today, they all came expecting to confront a mistress—only to find out that I was actually his wife. Later, Chandler tried to justify it. "Alina, you've been out of the country for years. I'm a man, and I have needs. She's just a B-list actress; it's not like she threatens your position. Why should you be upset? Just let it go," he said. "Don't make a scene." I handed him the divorce papers. "You make me sick."

In Reychelle City, a contest was held to crown the most beautiful woman. After my cousin scarred my face, she seized first place with ease. What she never expected was that this year's contest wasn't for fame; it was to select the future wife of the Third Prince, a ruthless, bloodthirsty eunuch. That very afternoon, gifts poured in by the cartload. My betrothed panicked. That night, he tore up our engagement contract and carried my cousin into the bridal chamber. The next day, she trailed her lacquered fingertips across my cheek and sneered, "Alicia, with your ruined face, who would ever want you? Perhaps the beggar at the street corner might take you in." I caught her wrist, let out a cold laugh, and said, "Who told you I would marry a beggar?" Before her stunned eyes, I pushed open my parents' chamber doors. "Mom, since Maggie doesn't wish to be the prince's consort… let me take her place." Three years later, before the eyes of a shocked court, the Third Prince entered the grand hall with me at his side, with two children in tow. No one had foreseen it. This body of mine, blessed with the rarest gift of fertility, was the perfect match for a man believed incapable of siring heirs.

"One wish,” whispered Rica. “A love that will last forever.” Rica jumped out of her bed when she saw a man lying in the bed next to her. She stared at him, fascinated by his handsome face. He had an attractive aquiline nose which complemented his projecting cheekbones and alluring lips. His black glistening hair was coiffed to perfection. She closed her eyes. “This is just a dream,” she told herself pinching her own skin to wake herself up. “This is not a dream and I am your husband.” Her eyes widened as she stared at the manly figure standing in front of her. His perfect amber-colored eyes met hers. She opened her mouth, trying to speak, but no words came out. She was so confused. Yesterday, her boyfriend broke up with her, and now a stranger has appeared claiming they were married to each other. Is he the one she has been waiting for? A love that will last forever?

I got pregnant after a relationship lasting eight years, only for my fiance to call off the wedding the night before. When I arrived, I found him changing it to a celebration of his son's first month. I heard his parents speak ill of me, "That Rachel Stone really embarrassed us, getting pregnant even before you got married. I refuse to have such an immoral daughter-in-law like her." Several days later, Sean Wickham let his son's mother put on the most exquisite wedding dress to get their marriage registered. "I have a son anyway," he chuckled. "Whatever happens to the thing in your belly ain't any of my business." The illusion of happiness utterly shattered, I left without hesitation, heartbroken. I didn't want this marriage or the child anymore. I’d go back to my real home in the distant north.

Locked away in a tower, hidden from the world, and branded a disgrace by her family all because she cannot speak, Elora Valewind has only ever prayed for two things: a wolf and a mate—anything to escape the hell that has become her home. But her freedom comes in the most dangerous form—her step-sister’s chosen mate and betrothed, Alpha Kael, the male Elora has always admired. Their forbidden bond nearly costs her life… until she’s saved by a silver wolf—Ryker Veylard, her sworn enemy and second mate. Her life is spared, but at a brutal cost: loyalty or death. It’s only supposed to be an arrangement. Nothing more. But neither Elora nor the amber-eyed devil are prepared for the fire that ignites between them or sparks that blur the line between enemies and something dangerously more. And when Kael Stormrider returns for the hand of the silver she-wolf prophesied to him, Elora must make a choice. But who will she choose?

“But I'm my father's daughter. Always too proud, too stubborn, impossible to tame. My father said the wilderness lives in me, it brings the storm and ranging winds through my skin for the world to feel. So I become the wilderness itself.”

My husband's childhood sweetheart needed surgery, and he insisted that I be the one to operate on her. I followed every medical protocol, doing everything I could to save her. However, after she was discharged, she accused me of medical malpractice and claimed I’d left her permanently disabled. I turned to my husband, hoping he’d speak up for me, but he curtly said, “I told you not to act recklessly. Now look what’s happened.” To my shock, the hospital surveillance footage also showed that I hadn’t followed the correct surgical procedure. I couldn’t defend myself. In the end, I was stabbed to death by her super-alpha husband. Even as I died, I still couldn’t understand—how did the footage show my surgical steps were wrong? When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Joanna was admitted for testing.

Lily Williams and Rose Williams, the twins who are never afraid to speak their minds, always seeking something adventurous. Their wish finally comes true when an old enemy of their father returns but so does the dangers and threats of being born in a mafia family. They have always been prepared for situations like such and are ready to enjoy this rollercoaster ride, but what they were not ready for, were the two handsome men who have taken a sudden interest in them. Not to forget they just happen to bear the names that sends shivers and fear down everyone's body. Vincenzo De Connor and Dante De Connor. One is a gang leader and the other is an assassin . Together they are the best partners in crime ever known to the world. So what happens when the two unite again? What happens when both have set their goals on getting something they want? More like someone. Bullets are fired, secrets are unraveled, fear is established, pain is felt, but most importantly..... Love is discovered.

I stare at her while she's bent down. "Are you deaf?" I asked her again and she didn't answer me. "Hey!" I can't stop myself from shouting at her because I think she doesn't know how to speak. Napahawak ako sa aking ulo dahil tanging pag-iyak lamang ang tanging sagot niya sa lahat ng taong ko. I rested and looked at her. "Anong pangalan mo?" I ask her in Tagalog words because maybe she's not understand me. "J-Judy p-po S-Senyorito," she answered me while she's shaking. Now I understand that she doesn't understand me if I speak English. I can't stop from smelling and thinking what punishment I should do to her. Because she's my slave at isa siya sa pagmamay-ari kong alipin.