What A Life

Edward Sterling is playing in his university's freshman basketball tournament when my parents banish me abroad. My biological sister and my fiancée are both on the sidelines, cheering for him. That spotlight should've been mine. The jersey he's wearing, with a star player's autograph on it, was supposed to be my 14th birthday gift. Edward and I have been rivals for most of our lives. It never matters whether I'm right or wrong—the moment he plays the victim, my parents rush to defend him and scold me without hesitation. But I am their biological son! It's not until I die alone and sick in a foreign country that I finally understand one thing. If I ever get a second chance, I'll never again fight Edward for love that was never mine to begin with.

Antonius Rockwell, the enigmatic CEO of a prestigious company, leads a life of power and influence yet feels a hollow void in his existence. That changes the day he notices Kirsten Zaldua, a diligent delivery girl whose quiet determination and sincerity intrigue him. Struggling to support her ailing mother and balance her studies, Kirsten unknowingly becomes a beacon of hope in Antonius’s sterile world. One fateful afternoon, Antonius watches her collapse from exhaustion in his company lobby. Acting on instinct, he rescues her but conceals his identity, fearing the threats surrounding his life could endanger her. Instead, he sends his brother to assist her, an act he later regrets. To Antonius’s dismay, Kirsten mistakes his brother for her savior and begins a relationship with him. From the shadows, Antonius watches as his brother manipulates her into a toxic situation, leveraging her debts and her mother’s health to control her. Powerless to intervene without revealing the truth, Antonius retreats, heartbroken by his inability to protect the woman who has unwittingly captured his heart. Months later, a chance encounter reignites his connection with Kirsten, leading to an intimate one-night love affair born of misunderstanding. Though their bond deepens, Antonius remains tormented by guilt and longing. When Kirsten discovers he was her true rescuer, a spark of hope reignites between them, but Antonius’s brother, jealous and desperate, threatens her mother’s care, forcing her to break things off. Will Antonius’s love and determination be enough to rescue Kirsten from her nightmare? Or will the weight of her sacrifices pull them apart forever? Only time will reveal if their love can triumph against all odds.

My brother-in-law passed away in an accident. Out of pity for his widow, my husband decided to be the breadwinner for both families. After that, my husband and son both gave all their love to my widowed sister-in-law. On her birthday, my husband and son reserved a restaurant in town for her party. I was plucking corn in the field when I started bleeding, a sign that I was miscarrying. I called my husband, begging him to come home and take me to the hospital. However, he scolded me angrily, calling me a liar. “What the hell are you talking about? I haven’t touched you in months! How could you be pregnant?” My son grabbed the phone impatiently as well. “Mom, the teacher said lying is wrong! Aunt Laura’s blowing out the candles now, bye!” We had been married for seven years, yet they had completely forgotten that today was my birthday too. Despairing, I dialed another number. “Mother, I changed my mind. I’m going back to inherit the clinic.”

SofiaI’ve made it a point to steer clear of the men who work for my father.  I have no intention of getting tangled up in that lifestyle.  But there’s something about Roman, an irrepressible energy that snaps and sizzles between us.  From the moment we met, his dislike was palpable.  And nothing has changed in the three years I’ve known him.  If I were smart, I’d stay away. But I’m not smart. RomanThe moment I saw her, I knew she had the power to destroy everything I’d spent years trying to accomplish.  I can’t allow that to happen.  Most days, I’m barely civil to her, because I know all hell will break loose once the floodgates open.  Nothing I’ve found douses the combustible energy that flares to life between us.  It’s as frustrating as it is dangerous.  One of these days I’m going to get burned. Or end up with a bullet in my head.Claiming What's Mine was created by Jennifer Sucevic, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

I was only ten years old when Timoteo Panno found me on the streets of Sirithi. He's the Don of the Panno family, the strongest mafia family in the country. He's also the one who taught me how to protect myself. When I turn 18 years old, I become his lover as well as the weapon he's most proud of. Timoteo isn't interested in other women. I'm the only one staying by his side for many years. We've been with each other for four years. Everyone thinks I'll eventually become the Madre of the Panno family. That is, until Nadia Bellucci accidentally kills her fiance and desperately needs a clean identity to wash herself of all suspicions. As she clutches her chest that houses her heart, which is now weakened from the time she has saved Timoteo's life, she whines coquettishly, "Timoteo, I don't want to go to prison…" With a smile on his face, Timoteo doesn't hesitate to push me out as the scapegoat to take the blame for Nadia. "You've always been a pawn who gets abandoned all the time, so you might as well do it one more time."

My boyfriend is a lauded attorney. His true love rams into me with her car; my daughter stands bravely before me as the car explodes. She's blown to smithereens. I'm on the brink of death as I'm carried onto a stretcher, but my boyfriend holds his true love's face tenderly. His gaze is filled with heartache as he tells her that he'll get her off scot-free. He ruins the scene of the accident and buys off the witnesses. He even comes to the hospital to threaten me after I've been disfigured from the explosion. In the end, I die after the treatment doesn't help. It's only when the court announces the sentence that he realizes the deceased's personal details match mine perfectly.

Neglected and abused since childhood for not having elemental karamat (the ability to control air, fire, water or earth) and waiting for intrinsic karamat (special ability unique to every person), Sikandar's life turns upside down when he realizes that he is in a revenge fantasy AI slop story. It happens on his birthday when he gets the ability to control void and nullify other karamats. Not willing to be a part of the revenge plot, Sikandar leaves home for peace of mind. Soon, the AI writing the story becomes sentient and decides to add more drama to Sikandar's life.

In the ninth year after I married Charlie Lockwood, he brings his first love, Cecilia Moore, back home. She is gentle, beautiful, and understanding. Everyone treasures her like she is some precious gem. Right under my nose, Charlie begins to develop feelings for her. The household gradually comes under her control. Even my two children, whom I cherish dearly, would rather have Cecilia as their mother. Just when I am completely disheartened, I discover my true identity. With how things are in the Lockwood household now, there is no longer anything here that is worth staying back for. Without hesitation, I file for divorce and return home to take over my family business.

If you're looking for a story with sunshine, unicorns, and cliché endings well you won't find it here. Only Disney does those kinds of stuff, actually, this is a story where hopes and dreams are crushed into tiny little pieces, I know what you're thinking this is so over-dramatic but no, it’s not. I'm just simply telling the truth and the truth can be painful sometimes, anyway this is the tale where our brave main character got caught up with shit. Her life was simple back then robbing banks here and there and hacking stuff but it all changed on a faithful night, which she wants to take back so bad. Now she is plagued into a life with Mafias and Deadly Assassins with everyone out to get her, how can a kid possibly survive through it all? Join Midnight in a fun-filled adventure of a lifetime where she battled her way in a war between the Mafias and assassins, a past that needs reconciling and a promise that needs to be treasured. Where she asks herself in the end, how can a life be so cursed?

Before I realized it, I’d become the invisible wife standing beside my mafia Don husband, Adrian Kane. A stay-at-home mom buried in chores while my husband paraded around with his secretary, Viola, ten years younger than me. “She’s smart,” Adrian said once. “She knows how to help me.” Tonight marked our tenth anniversary. I saw an elegant designer dress and a necklace presenting in the living room. For a second, I was happy. Looks like Adrian finally decided to take me to this year’s annual mafia gathering and introduce me as his Donna. Turns out the dress and the jewelry was for Viola. Later that night, I caught Adrian sneaking in with Viola—both drunk, hands all over each other like I didn’t exist. I just made one phone call. “I will join the Doctors Without Borders program. Send me away.” Before I married Adrian, I had a future in medicine. But I gave it all up for him. Now? It was time to choose myself and leave behind everything that was never really mine.