When His Eyes Opened Book

Adeline has been in love with Blake Rhodes for as long as she could remember-twelve years of silent yearning turned into three loveless years of marriage. She has always wanted him to return her love. However, Blake's heart is clouded by manipulation and misunderstandings, with the shadows cast by Adeline's half-sister Rebecca. Unknown to Blake, it is not Rebecca who is dying but Adeline. Adeline has stage four cancer, a secret she holds tightly, even as Blake is forcing her to give her blood-and a kidney-to save Rebecca. So, while Rebecca is faking being ill for Blake, Adeline keeps the pain to herself and silently suffers by sacrificing all her possessions for the man who doesn't perceive her value.

All her life Io she has dreamed of going to the Chinese celebration of Hanami so that she might make friends. She’s ends up finding so much more in a young man named Draco who is the son of the General who runs the town. She is a naïve and gullible young woman who believed that she would never be deceived by someone of such an extinguished background. Draco knowing that he is promised to another courts Io while he fights for his right to choose his own bride. However, through the trickery and conniving wit of his mother who he thought was on his side, he sees everything he worked so hard for fall apart. When Io learns of his betrayal she takes the cue and runs from his truths revealed. When Draco runs off to be with the woman he loves against his families obligations. In a night of peace he and Io reunite only for him to wake up to her fury the next day. Io causes Draco harm by accident. In the weeks to come after they are permanently separated she learns of the child who grows in her womb and goes to tell Draco’s family of the news. His magical mother responds by cursing Io who hurt her child for one thousand years to become the monster that she sees her as. She will not live the life she wants. She will never know love. She will never hold her child. She will die when his mother grants it to be so and at the death of Io all those effected by her anger, will reveal the journeys that were caused by her anger. The reveal of all those effected will change the very world she will no longer get to live in.

Everyone believed Ethan Cross loved Isabella Winters to his core, but nobody knew he'd already found an Isabella look-alike to keep him company through the lonely nights. Even when Isabella recovered, he continued his affair. Little did he know that Isabella's recovery was temporary—within two months, she would lose every memory she'd ever made. After that, she would forget Ethan completely, and her love for him would be erased forever.

When my ex-husband, Hanson Rowse, got remarried, I jumped into the ocean with our ten-year-old daughter, Tess Rowse, in my arms. The police called Hanson and my parents. The wedding reception was cut short, and they all rushed over. My soul hung in the air above it all, watching as Tess was pulled from the water. The sight of her hit like a blade to the chest. At the hospital, my parents looked at her with nothing but cold indifference. My brother, Edward Wells, didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face. "You're just like your mother! Always causing trouble and pulling cheap stunts like this just to get attention." Hanson's fists clenched. He scanned the area, and when he couldn't see me anywhere, anger spilled into his eyes. "Where's Melody? She picked my wedding day to pull this stunt, and now she won't even show her face? If she really wanted to die, why leave behind this burden?" At his words, Tess suddenly moved. She stumbled toward the window, climbed up, and before anyone could react, she jumped. The room went dead silent for a heartbeat. Then, the screaming started. What they didn't know was this: the first thing Tess and I learned at that reform school was obedience.

On the day my daughter is discharged from the hospital after recovering from the flu, I run into my ex-husband, Zachary Levine, whom I have been divorced from for seven years. He is there to pick up his wife, who has just given birth. He looks a little surprised as his gaze moves up and down to take in my clothes, which is still stained from my child's vomit. I had no time to change out of it earlier. "Long time no see. How have you been lately?" he asks. I smile and say I am doing fine. As we are about to part, he grabs my arm. "Alyssa, our son misses you a lot. If you are having any difficulties, don't push yourself. The passcode for the house in the north of the city is still your birthday. You can go there anytime." I politely decline, and he lets out a sigh. "After all these years, you are still as stubborn as you were back then. Don't hate me." I smile but say nothing. There needs to be love for there to be hate. But now, he is just a stranger to me.

Mula sa masakit na karanasan sa unang pag-ibig, tatlong taon ang lumipas nang mapagpasyahan ni Celestine na ituon na lang ang sarili sa kompanyang naman mula sa nagretiradong ama. Sa mga papeles at tanging sa trabaho na lamang niya ibinuhos ang buong atensyon upang makalimutan ang masalimuot na karanasan mula sa dating nobyo na nangloko at ginamit lang siya para sa pera niya. Hindi naging madali para sa kaniya ang lahat ngunit minabuti niyang huwag nang pagtuunan pa ng pansin ang paghanap ng lalaki na para sa kaniya o kung meron ba talaga. Ngunit nagbago ang lahat nang makilala niya ang isang lalaki na bigla na lamang sumulpot sa kaniyang buhay. Hindi niya inaasahan na makakatagpo ng isang gwapo at matipunong nilalang na kahit ang ipis ay maaring mahumaling rito. Sa bawat araw na magkasama sila sa isla ay hindi mapigilang mas nahulog pa ang kaniyang loob sa lalaki. Paano na niya mapipigilan ang malalim na nararamdaman gayung alam naman niyang hindi rin magtatagal ay maghihiwalay rin sila ng landas dahil aalis rin siya sa lugar na iyon matapos magbakasyon? Kakayanin niya kayang mawalay sa piling nito o hahayaan na lamang ang kung anuman ang nararamdaman para sa binata?

The day Ken Bowen and I finalized the divorce, I walked out wearing only the outfit I had worn on our wedding day. I let Ken keep the house, the cars, the money, and the kids. He looked genuinely surprised, then let out a mocking laugh. "Are you sure about this? You raised the girls yourself, and you're just giving them up? If you really don't want anything, then you won't need to pay child support either. That's fair, right?" I signed the papers without hesitation and said calmly, "Yeah. That's fair." Ken paused, then slowly signed his name. "If you regret this later, you…" I lifted a hand and cut him off. I didn't look back as I walked out. Ken used to say I married him for money and status, that I used our three daughters to tie him down. Whatever. The day he saw my dead body, he would finally understand.

"At a time when I needed you most, you ended our relationship. You claimed that I wasn't the one you loved, called me a whore, and said that I wasn't your type from the start. So what do you expect me to do?" "Beg!" Michael responded immediately. "I anticipate that you will plead for mercy." "You don't deserve my plea, Michael. You're not worth my tears..." She was about to say more when Michael forcefully kissed her, making it difficult for her to breathe. "Is that why you sold yourself to Kelvin?" He inquired after releasing her lips. Nora wiped her lips with her knotted hands. She looked at him fearlessly and replied, "Who I sell myself to is none of your concern. As the whore you called me, you shouldn't be keeping track of how many men I sleep with." Her response enraged Michael, and he pushed her and raped her, only to discover that she was still a virgin. If he begs for a second chance, will Nora ever forgive him?

Parenthood is hard. It's even harder when you're a single mother with a smart eight year old in your hand. Zoey Martinez has been doing well providing for both herself and her child. Things changed one day when she got a complaint from one of her son's teachers about him being disruptive. It has been eight years since that dreadful night. Almost a decade since they last saw each other. Eight years since Xavier Danvers rejected his own flesh and blood. What will happen when the universe brings them back together? Has their love survived after all these years?

At the company holiday party raffle, I'd barely stepped on stage when my superior, Victor Grant, shoved a crumpled slip into my hand. "Special prize for our top sales guy. Go on, open it. Let's show everyone." All eyes were on me as I unfolded it. Scrawled across the paper: [VIP janitor status unlocked—every toilet in the company, three days.] The room lost it—laughter everywhere. Victor crossed his arms, grinning. "Fair, right? Everyone knows you climbed the ranks hooking up with rich cougars. Gotta avoid hard feelings for the others, yeah? While the rest of us take a break, you can get busy. You're not gonna back out, are you?" The crowd cracked up. My girlfriend—and CEO—Rachel Sullivan stood off to the side, watching. Didn't say a word. Everyone waited for me to explode. Instead, I just nodded. Next day, over 300 refund requests hit. Cash flow flatlined. Victor and Rachel begged me to talk the buyers down. I shrugged. "Nah. Don't wanna save the company and make my performance too good. That'd just cause more ' hard feelings,' right?"