Ungrateful Maiden

My mom ran a clinic her whole life, charging just five dollars for cold medicine. After I took over the clinic, I followed her teachings closely, doing my best to care for the folks in our community. However, after I charged an influencer 30 dollars for medication, I got blasted online as a scam clinic that was out to rob people blind. The entire town showed up at my door, young and old alike, demanding I return the 'overcharged' fees. I gave them exactly what they wanted and refunded every penny before shutting down the clinic for good. "There you go, just like you wanted. The clinic's closed. From now on, if you've got health concerns, feel free to drive 30 miles to the county hospital for consultation. I wish you all good health." The very next day, they were back at my door again. Only this time, they were begging me to reopen.

Oscar Chamberlain once believed he was the happiest man alive. He had nine extraordinary sisters who adored him and never hesitated to show it. Then the Chamberlain family found their long-lost biological heir, and everything changed. Overnight, Oscar became nothing more than a temporary stand-in, easily replaced. For years, he had worked tirelessly for the Chamberlain family, giving them his loyalty and effort without question. Yet on the day their true heir returned, they cast him out without hesitation. He did not even have the chance to show them the diagnosis clutched in his hand: brain cancer, two years left to live. … After the nine sisters drove Oscar away, they began, one by one, to sense that something was wrong. The eldest no longer carried her commanding confidence. The second lost the sharp decisiveness that had once made her seem unstoppable. The third found her inspiration drained, her once-celebrated talent slipping into mediocrity. And the new young heir, when measured against Oscar, fell painfully short. Only much later did they understand what Oscar had truly meant to the Chamberlain family. By then, regret had come too late. When they accidentally discovered that he had brain cancer, the news struck them like thunder from a clear sky. In the pouring rain, they knelt before him, weeping and begging for forgiveness. This time, however, Oscar chose himself. "Sorry," he said calmly. "You've already taken back the Chamberlain name. I don't know you anymore."

I dragged my pack from the old ways to thrive in the human world. As its Alpha, I canceled our most pointless tradition: the annual Winter Solstice Moonflower ornaments. But Chloe, a new omega, put me on blast on our pack’s feed for it. She said I disrespected the Moon Goddess. That I spat on tradition. Contracts from other packs and human companies started drying up. Even my own pack turned on me. So I took away the ten-grand Winter Solstice bonus…and gave them twenty-eight-dollar Moonflower ornaments instead. Now, my pack is losing their minds. Crying. Begging for the ten grand back.

To ensure fairness, my daughter said that she would draw lots to choose whose family to spend the New Year’s with every year. However, for the past nine years, she had spent the New Year’s with her in-laws. The latest draw was no different. On New Year’s Eve, my daughter gave me specific instructions. “Mom, we’re spending the New Year’s with my in-laws. We’ve made a reservation at the most expensive restaurant in town. Please help me save some money. You can just make some food at home for your dinner.” Hence, on New Year’s Eve, I ate alone while watching TV at home. When I stood up, I accidentally knocked over the raffle box. All the lots inside the box had my daughter’s handwriting. The words ‘in-laws’ were clearly written on every single one of them. For the past ten years, the lots had been fake. My daughter was willingly spending the New Year’s celebration with her in-laws, and she had never once thought of spending it with me, her biological mother, who had spent so much money on her. At the same time, I got a notification on my phone. Her mother-in-law posted something on social media. [My daughter-in-law is so lovely. She bought me so many gifts and chose to spend the New Year’s with us. It’s as if she’s our own daughter!] They smiled brightly in the video. On the table were gifts that she bought using my retirement fund. I did not sleep for the whole night. The next morning, I called the bank. “Please remove all the auto-debit accounts from my retirement account.” From then on, I would only spend my money on myself.

She sold herself, was framed up and imprisoned for a man’s personal motives―By a rich and dark man just like his name, Dark Villaraigosa. Isinakripisyo niya ang sarili sa kapakanan ng pamilya pero siya ang napahamak sa kamay ng lalaking wala siyang ibang alam kung hindi tahimik at nakakatakot, liban sa katangian na gwapo at walang katulad – pero peligroso at parang bato.

On my mother’s seventieth birthday party, I ran around handling various matters, paying out of pocket and putting in all the work. I did not even have the time to sit down and drink a sip of water. When I finally found the time to surprise her, I prepared eighty-eight grams of gold jewelry as her gift. Just as I was about to give it to her, I heard her talking to the other relatives. “See that? My daughter is truly my sweetheart. She woke up so early this morning to bake me this cake. I wouldn’t trade this cake for gold.” Our relatives immediately began praising my younger sister, Jessie Radley, for being so devoted. Only a couple of them pushed back. “Why aren’t you praising your eldest daughter, Mary? I heard she handled the entire birthday party.” “Tch. She only knows how to muddle through things. None of it had been done to my liking. Jessie is the good one. She got up at seven in the morning just to bake me this cake.” I turned around and walked away from the doorway. Since she loved Jessie so much, she could pay for this birthday party, worth eighty thousand dollars.

❝Find what you love, and let it kill you.❞ —* November Starkey is the country's sweetheart. A popular model at the age of nineteen, she is loved and admired by millions. She enjoys the attention until she attracts two Kings who make her life a living nightmare. King Sin and King Rome. One is known to be cold and detached, carrying the power of a thousand men. While the other is the Lycan King, known to be ruthless, daring and charming. These Kings feel nothing but repugnance for each other. And they both want November Starkey. Torn between two powerful Kings, November discovers her true self, and soon, she realizes that she is the Queen of a realm that exists between heaven and hell, harboring all kinds of supernatural beings. But a Queen needs a King. Which King will the Maiden choose? Unfolding in a steamy, paranormal romance, the story of these three lovers is turbulent, complex, and unpredictable till the very end.

He's the Hero. She's the Sinner. The two opposite who represents the light and chaos fell in love and created destruction. Once upon a time, from a kingdom where mortals are heroes and Gods were villains thy live a great mortal who ruled over the aristocrats and slavery. He was the great hero who fought against the Dragon from the God's divinity and tamed it. He was the Emperor and the one who ate the apple of the sinner tree. She was the sinner, a lady, born from a God and a mortal who has the power to see the truth, lies, memories, and future. They met unintentionally, the hero and the sinner who brought the first war between the Gods and mortals.

Hilda Oakley, the charity case Mom and Dad take in, steals my family right out from under me. She slips drugs into me, driving me into a bipolar disorder. She turns me into someone who snaps and screams at Mom and Dad without meaning to. She paints me as someone rotten inside, as the bully at school, and as someone who'd shove her down the stairs at home. And because of that, my whole family turns on me. Mom calls me a bad seed. Dad says I'm no daughter of his. Then, they adopt Hilda and throw me out in the dead of winter. My bipolar flares. Naked, I sprint onto the rooftop and jump to my death. When I'm reborn, I realize I can make the thoughts in other people's heads audible. So, at the dinner table, I let Hilda's thoughts spill right before Mom and Dad. 'I kept that witch Valerie drugged for three years. She finally broke! They still don't suspect that Alex isn't really her brother. He's Susan's son. Once we poison Valerie's parents, the Coopers' fortune will belong to us.'

On my way home from the night shift, a patient who held a grudge against my husband, the hospital director, forced half a bottle of pesticide down my throat. Terrified, I called my husband, Jasper Flint, for help. He rushed over and saved me. I survived by sheer luck. But tragically, his first love, Ruby Gray, died in a car accident on her way home that same night. After Ruby's funeral, Jasper carried on as if nothing had happened. I thought he had finally let her go. But on New Year's Eve, he poisoned our food, tied up my parents and me, and took us hostage. Through tears, I begged him to spare my parents. He killed them right in front of me. Their blood splashed across my face. "If you hadn't been so jealous of Ruby, if you hadn't pretended to drink pesticide just to lure me away, she never would've driven off like that. She'd still be alive!" he snarled. "How does it feel to watch your parents die? When Ruby died, what I felt was a thousand times worse than this! Since you like drinking pesticides so much, go ahead. Drink up!" Jasper forced my mouth open and poured the poison down my throat. I died in agony beside my parents' bodies. And then I opened my eyes—only to find myself reborn alongside Jasper. This time, Jasper chose to save his first love.