Ugly Duckling Short Story

From my earliest memories, my entire family is cold and distant toward me. When my parents look at my younger sister, Claire Lloyd, their eyes fill with warmth and joy. Yet, when they turn to me, only disgust remains. Claire's life is filled with applause and excessive love, while mine is filled with disdain and suffering. When the explosion erupts at the street corner, I save the stranger beside me. Later, I learn he is Byron Whitmore, a mafia family's Don. He begins pursuing me after I rescue him. Later, I quit my job and move to a new place, but he finds me and proposes in 100 different ways. "Why me?" I ask countless times. "Because it's you," he always answers. The wedding causes a sensation throughout the city. I truly seem to have transformed from an ugly duckling into a swan. That is, until I'm five months pregnant, when Claire needs a transfusion of rare Rh-negative blood after a car accident. The blood bank has a shortage. Because of that, my parents knock me unconscious and send me to the hospital. In my daze, the blood extraction machine hums continuously. As two thousand milliliters of blood leave my body, I see Byron. Tears well up in my eyes. I begin thinking he's here to save me. Instead, I hear him say, "We can't take any more. Sharon and the baby will die." "But Claire has lost too much blood. She'll die, too..." My mother pleads. "No one wants Claire safe more than I do." Byron's voice is thick with pain. "She's my first love. I've never forgotten her. I only married Sharon because her face looks so much like Claire's. "But I can't trade her life for Claire's. Trust me—I'll find another way." So, that's his reason for marrying me. The blood extraction machine continues running, but my heart has already stopped beating. The affection I see in his eyes has never been for me. He's always looking through me at someone else. Everyone in the world loves Claire, and Byron is not the exception that I foolishly believe him to be. That grand wedding is nothing but an ugly duckling's self-deceiving fantasy.

Bintang Sabda Alam, gadis remaja bertubuh tambun, dekil dan jerawatan akibat masa pubertasnya, tergila-gila pada Christian Diwangkara Junior. Anak sahabat orang tuanya yang dewasa, canggih dan sudah memiliki pacar seorang model professional. Hingga suatu hari, secara tidak sengaja, ia mendengar kalau laki-laki pujaannya itu menghinanya dengan sebutan buntelan jerawatan pada pacarnya. Sejak hari itu Bintang bersumpah bahwa tidak akan pernah lagi menampakkan dirinya di hadapan Tian sebelum ia kurus dan tidak kalah cantik dari pacarnya. Enam tahun kemudian mereka bertemu kembali dalam keadaan Bintang yang sudah berubah 180 derajat dari masa remaja culunnya. "Kamu yang sesempuna ini, mana mungkin dibandingkan dengan buntelan jerawatan seperti bocah halu itu? Kayak bumi dan langit tahu?" -Christian Diwangkara Junior. "Kalau mau ngejelek-jelekin orang, ngomong di depannya dong. Suka banget sih main belakang! Situ banci atau gay?" -Bintang Sabda Alam

Nakilala ni Rias si Dana noong binu-bully siya ng grupo ni Moira. Si Dana na malapit ang puso sa mga inaapi at galit sa mga taong judgmental na kagaya ni Moira. Si Moira na matagal ng may crush kay Aaron Samuels - ang kasalukuyang captain ng basketball team ng university nila. Handa siyang gawin ang lahat mapasakanya lamang si Aaron. Ngunit lingid sa kaalaman ng lahat ay matagal nang may gusto ang binata kay Rias. Tanggap niya ang kung anumang kapintasan ng dalaga. Subalit matatanggap din kaya niya oras na makalimutan siya ni Rias? Si Rias na may CTRL+ALT+DEL sa utak? Kakayanin ba ni Aaron na patuloy na mahalin si Rias kahit na hindi na siya naaalala ng dalaga? Sino ang sasalo sa kanya? At bakit nga ba napakadali kay Rias na burahin siya sa memorya nito?

Danice left the divorce papers on the bedside table. Ten years. She endured and stayed silent—all for the sake of love. Despite the opposition from those around her, she clung tightly to her position as Julian’s wife, believing that he cared for her. But it was all just her delusion. It had been ten years of a loveless marriage. Danice touched the burn scar on her face. This disfigured face had become both her shame… and her proof of love for him. But what she didn’t realize was that it had also become the chain that bound him to this lifeless marriage. He had married her… out of pity. That realization hurt more than any insult others hurled at her because of her appearance. She had held him back for ten years. And she had suffered enough. It was time to let go. Danice finally realized that her ten-year marriage had been a shackle—for both of them. Just as she found the strength to let go of the love that had never been returned… death came for her. When she thought she had stepped into the afterlife, she opened her eyes— Eleven years in the past. Unmarried. She hadn’t even met Julian yet. Danice believed that a merciful God had taken pity on her and granted her a second chance— A chance to live for herself, to love herself. And so, that’s exactly what she did. She avoided meeting Julian at all costs, and even found a way to escape the accident that had once disfigured her face. Everything seemed to be going smoothly— But... Why was the man who had never once looked her way… suddenly appearing everywhere she went? This… this wasn’t like the past at all!

Some love stories are destined to be destructive. In this gripping collection of short dark romance stories, explore the blurred lines of desire, betrayal, and forbidden passion. Each story delves into the chaotic world of an affair, where star-crossed lovers make dangerous choices and confront the fallout of their reckless hearts. From stolen moments to shattered lives, these characters learn the true cost of a love that can wreck everything. Brace yourself for a journey into the shadows, where secrets fester, and the most intoxicating love is often the most tragic. _____ Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. The characters, relationships, and events depicted are products of the author's imagination and are intended for entertainment purposes only. The author does not condone, romanticize, or encourage the toxic behaviors and actions of the characters, such as infidelity or harmful relationship dynamics. These elements are used for dramatic storytelling and do not reflect the author's real-life values or advice. This book is rated 18 and not suitable for young audiences.

WARNING: This book is dripping in sin. It contains unapologetically explicit smut—raw, steamy, and wildly taboo. If you're not into filthy fantasies, solo indulgence, beast x human, wolf x wolf or human heat, dominant billionaire bosses, fae seductions, or lust-fueled encounters with no strings attached, turn back now. But if you're craving a no-holds-barred ride through 170 explosive, pulse-pounding steamiest stories that will leave your body aching and your imagination on fire, welcome, my daring guest. Everything here is pure fantasy, purely mine. Read at your own risk... of intense arousal.

“Where the hell is Victoria?!” Mrs. Langston’s scream echoed through the hall, her voice trembling with anger. Everyone looked as confused as she was—the bride at the altar wasn’t her daughter. **** Victoria Langston—powerful, ambitious, and determined to save her family’s legacy, even at the cost of marrying someone she didn’t love—billionaire Micheal Sterling, left everything behind. She survived a fire accident, only to wake up with no memory of her past and a burning desire to escape from the life they claimed she once wanted. Jake Blackwell, her fiercest rival who also turned out to be her savior, lost everything in the fire—his identity, his position as the CEO of the Sharks Luxury Hotels, and most importantly, his father’s trust—driving him to seek revenge against the Langstons. In public, the two are sworn enemies, in a quest for power, and dominance over the other. But behind closed doors, their forbidden desires burn uncontrollably. Shattered by the flames, consumed by revenge, and betrayed by every trusted ally—will they discover the truth before their pain destroys them? Or will it be too late to heal their decaying scars?

“Why don’t you get your head out of the gutter and realize that you are just a prop, Nalani? You’re not Daniel’s partner, never have been, and if anyone is going to become his soon, it’s me!” These are the words that Gwen, my husband’s “business friend”, spits at me with colorful disdain painting her face. After seven years of selfless commitment on her part, and lies and manipulation on his, Nalani takes the proverbial fatal blow when Daniel betrays her trust and soils their sacred vows to each other. This time, she is unforgiving, leaving without looking back, but Daniel, realizing his mistake, wants her back. Obsessed with winning Nalani again, no matter the cost, Daniel crosses every moral line visible to man, but can she still reject him, and watch as he shatters the way she did under him?

Jane is a teenager in high school who had always been insecure about her looks thanks to her older sister who was always deemed more beautiful. She thought living under her sister's shadow was the worst thing that could happen to her.Until one day, her luck turned for the worst when the school's biggest jerk and the bad boy Jake decided to force her to become his wing-woman to win Liliana's heart! Not only that, she accidentally bumped into an even bigger jerk, Jake's older brother Aaron who couldn't seem to keep his hands off of her. How will she ever escape these ruthless bad boys?*Cover designed by Modern_Diary

Isabel's life has been a constant struggle with the word "ugly." Her Leucoderma skin disease had made her believe that she could never be beautiful. It seemed like every person she met had an opinion about her appearance, and none of them were kind. They made her feel like it was a crime to not be born with flawless skin. Despite her outside flaws, Isabel had a pure soul, but unfortunately, no one ever bothered to understand it. Instead, they treated her like she was worthless, as if her appearance was all that mattered. But hope arrived when Isabel's marriage was arranged with the handsome and charming Mason Williams. For the first time in her life, Isabel started to believe that someone might accept her for who she was, without judging her physical appearance. She dreamed of Mason being the love of her life, someone who would see past her flaws and cherish her inner beauty. However, on the day of their marriage, Isabel's hopes were crushed when Mason Williams called her "The Ugly Bride." It was like a punch in the stomach, and Isabel wondered if Mason would ever be able to love her for who she truly was. Would he hate her forever or be able to see past her physical flaws and fall madly in love with her pure soul? Only time could tell...