Twelve Minutes

HER BABY’S SECRET Are we best friends or meant to be together? Minutes went by, that was the longest minutes of my life. My heart was beating hard against my chest. I felt like it was going to burst anytime soon. The result and how I would break it down to Busayomi without her getting mad stirred panic within me. I was scared. I closed my eyes as she picked the strip. I could feel her eyes on me. "I.. think..this is good news." She said but my heart broke at her words. It is really bad news if it's positive. "You're pregnant." She said happily. No..no..no..my heart beat skipped two beats at a time. Suddenly I went into hyperventilating mode! And I couldn't control it. What do you do when you don't know how you feel? What do you do when you can't possibly let go of what you feel? What do you do when you can't confess your feelings just because you don't wanna ruin a long time friendship? And all you do is to make him happy! Then what happens when you find out you're pregnant but you can't tell it to the father of your child? Read the story of two best friends.

For seven years, I love Cody Rummish, clinging to his promise—once his sister-in-law, Luna Briche, conceives, our ordeal ends, and we finally begin our married life. But reality betrays me. Just months after moving into his home, Cody slips into Luna's bedroom 88 times—starting with once a month, now nearly one or two visits daily. Every night, I sit in the downstairs living room, counting the minutes, clutching a flicker of unrealistic hope. As the sole heir after his twin brother's fatal plane crash, Cody inherits not just power and wealth but also, seamlessly, his brother's widow, Luna. After the 88th visit, Luna announces her pregnancy. But instead of Cody honoring his promise, a public declaration shatters me—he will formally marry Luna. I unravel, demanding answers. Silent, Cody locks me in the bedroom's walk-in closet. "Luna was trapped in an elevator for 30 minutes! She nearly died because of you! Stay here for five days. Feel her fear!" Only on the sixth morning does Cody casually open the door with a chuckle. "Alright, lesson learned. Time to apologize, right?" He finds only the stench of blood and my cold, lifeless body. He's killed the fiancée who's loved him for seven years.

“Thirty minutes for 10 thousand dollars.” That was the deal. Julian Valentino is the “Holy Billionaire,” an ice-cold CEO who views love as a liability. After a brutal Valentine’s Day betrayal, he didn’t just swear off women…. he chose a path of strict celibacy, vowing to keep his body as untouchable as his empire. For years, he has been a saint in a world of sinners, until he is anonymously drugged in his own hotel. With his control now crumbling and his body on fire, he turns to the only woman who can quench the flame: THALIA. Popularly known as "Tee" in elite lounges, she is a high-end sex worker who doesn’t believe in fairytales love and only lives for the bag to fund the search for her lost identity. What she expects to be an easy paycheck turns into a nightmare when a city-wide murder triggers a 48-hour security lockdown. Now trapped with a possessive, drug-fevered billionaire, thirty minutes of service becomes two days of raw heat and secret whispers. But when the doors finally open, Julian doesn't want to let her go. He wants a new deal... a new contract to buy her time and be her exclusive client. And that is when it dawns on Thalia that she has walked into a trap. Behind the closed doors, another contract was waiting. She isn’t just a worker anymore… with the outside contract? She’s now the very weapon sent to destroy the Valentino empire. CONTENT WARNING: This story is strongly 18+

"At least make just one step closer, Sage! Sa paraang iyon ay masasabi kong may pag-asa pa akong makasama ka." It took a minutes before he make not just one step, instead he ran into me and hug me tightly. "I waited for this, my moon," he whispered. I miss his touch, I miss everything about him. I am home and I can't wait to feel his love again. All the pains and burdens from the past will remain in the past and this is the starting of my new life.

Cordelia Johnson‘s life seemed like a bed of roses until fate decided to snatch that from her by killing her parents on their way from the Netherlands in a tragic Boeing 737 plane crash. That was the beginning of Cordelia’s misery. Life began to treat her harshly. Objecting to making the best out of life, she used dirty means to gain money, mingling with a Famous streetwalker. Eventually entwining with the Gang Leader of the twelve eyed dragon clan, Jared Lambert, who she never thought could fall in love with her.

Cian Xia, one of the Immortal world's masters, went into seclusion for twelve years, holding words of promise from his lover, Wun Lan, who died in a demon war. That their fates will be entwined once more after the promise years have passed. They meet again, but these time things are different. The lover he has been waiting for so long has changed, and their fate appears to have been assigned to someone else. Would Cian Xia accept reality and forget everything, or would he begin again with no love, promises, or disappointment?

"What's your problem?" Morgana asked, frustrated. "You don't get it. You're like the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and I seriously can't let you go. I mean it." Drake replied, his eyes scanning everything that would be his to explore after she says 'YES'. "You're being creepy, you know. Want us to get violent? Cuz I'm all for it." She wasn't loosing her cool now. Drake just chuckled at that. "You know there's a way to solve this." He said. She rolled her eyes, but he took it as a clue to move on. "Let me kiss you." "What!" "I'm serious. If you surrender yourself to me for five minutes and you don't feel like you want more of me, I will get off your back." He said, faking a serious expression. "You're crazy." "You're curious." "Shut up!" "Try it. The best way to get rid of me. Cool deal." He coarsed. After a few minutes of contemplating, she finally agreed, folding her arms across her chest and closing her eyes. How cute, he thought staring at her. "If you disturb me after this, then you're dead." She said, wondering why he hasn't gotten the clue that she's ready. ........... One minute..... Two...... Three....... Four..... five..... "Why did you stop?" Eyes misty and breath ragged, Morgana's gaze continued to hold his own. His smirk made her realized what had just transpired. Damn it! "Baby, five minutes are over. It's up to you now. Should I continue?" He asked, his hands still playing a few magic to keep her in mood. "There are so many stuff we would explore together. Believe me baby, you're gonna enjoy them." He added, seeing how she was about to get herself together. "You asshole!" She cursed. "What did I do?" "Go on." "Hmm?" "Kiss me." She glared at him, but reached for his lips this time. The damn CEO is a good kisser and this cat couldn't resist the temptation.

4 years loving him and getting him to do the same, but all it took her was a few minutes to ruin everything and get him back. His ex wife, my husband's ex wife, Bianca. The devil who left him when she became popular with his fame, the same woman who left him crashing out in my arms. She came back with a child and claimed it was his, he was eager to take her back. I was confirmed barren and all it took was a few hours before I smelt the fishy odour_ the divorce.

After the Ig publication S.H.I.T Journal goes viral, I search its website out of curiosity. The satirical journal bills itself as a home for all things academic garbage. The moment I open the site, the top trending article catches my attention. It reads, "A Research on How to Deceive a Gullible Foster Mother With Face Blindness and Trick Her into Raising Me as Her Biological Daughter for Twelve Years". "Keywords: deception, face blindness, self-delusion, false family bonds" I freeze and click into the full article with trembling fingers. The more I read, the more terrified I become. "1.1 Definition of face blindness and how to swap daughters to deceive the foster mother" "2.1 Practical uses and drawbacks of the foster mother" "3.1 How to profit by exploiting the foster mother through her face blindness" The content sends a chill through my entire body. The comment section is already in chaos. "Does this mean the author is actually the daughter of the mistress, and her father swapped her to be raised by his wife for twelve years?" "That's not all. Didn't you read 2.1? The wife had her own daughter, and the husband deliberately handed her over to traffickers!" "What the hell… In 3.1, it even says that because the wife has face blindness and can't tell people apart, the author makes deals with single fathers of classmates and sends the wife to…" At that point, my phone slips from my hand and crashes to the ground. The screen shatters instantly. I have severe face blindness, and I have a daughter who was kidnapped and only found again after three years.

"Have you ever loved me, even once?" I hummed when I herd that. Ridiculous. The tall man falling in a pool of blomanod. The scarlet stained his still perfectly delicate face. I never expected a proud Mafia King of all the underground, in the last few minutes of his life, would humbly say this insane words to me -- One who dreams of sending him to hell every day and night; one who could only become his eternal enemy. "No," I didn't spare even a glance to the man on the ground, replied ruthlessly and clearly in hatred, "Never."