Zabuza Face

My mother-in-law was obsessed with picking mushrooms. She said mushroom stew with chicken was incredibly nourishing. She often made it to boost my husband’s health. However, she never let me have any, not even a sip of the broth. Every time, she came up with some excuse to send me out on an errand. If I refused, my husband’s fists and kicks reminded me to obey. So, this time, I obediently went out like always. Even though I just had a miscarriage five days ago and the sun outside was scorching, I had to go.

I begged my boss, Arthur Hutton, ninety-eight times for us to get officially married. Each time, he canceled our plans because his childhood sweetheart deliberately lured him away. On the ninety-ninth attempt, I waited for him at the city hall. Arthur simply patted my head and then put up a sign on the door that read, [Serena Xander and Dogs Not Allowed.] He said indifferently, “Millie’s throwing a fit, and I can’t calm her down. I need to marry her first. “I’ll divorce her, so just wait for me. Next Wednesday is a good day. I’ll marry you then.” But he did not know that I only had ninety-nine chances to give. I would be resigning the following week.

I poured my heart and soul into securing a big deal for my wife's law firm. But when I stepped out for a quick coffee break, she fired me on the spot, claiming I'd gone AWOL for too long. "New company rule: ten minutes away from your desk, and you're out. You were gone for ten minutes and five seconds. Now grab your stuff and leave." I sneered and flipped the script, turning over proof of her siphoning funds to buy her intern boy a Maybach to the police. She thought she could burn bridges with me, but this bridge didn't crumble so easily.

Vanessa Saxon was once married to Luca Kensington, the cold and distant CEO of K Group. But when she was seven months pregnant, her adopted sister, Beatriz Langley, falsely accused her of having an affair with her best friend, Daxton Radcliffe, and carrying his child. The worst part? Luca believed Beatriz. In a fit of rage, Luca demanded their baby be removed prematurely, leading to a tragic event where Vanessa nearly died from the ordeal. Saved by Daxton, Vanessa disappeared. Now, five years later, she returns—stronger and determined—alongside her daughter, Isla Saxon, to exact her revenge on those who wronged her.

After I started working at the zoo, I was added to a group chat called “A Hundred Ways to Kill a Human.” Every member had an animal as their profile picture. At first, I thought it was some quirky staff group. I even found it kind of cute. That was, until I realized they were discussing how to eat me. Pedro the Parrot: [The new human has beautiful eyes. I can’t wait till Christmas. I want to peck them out right now!] George the Gorilla: [Relax. There’ll be many visitors during Christmas. We’ll have more eyeballs than we can eat! Also, I’m calling dibs on her thigh.] Thor the Tiger: [Nobody’s taking her head, right? That’s mine.] Tucker the Elephant: [I’m a vegetarian, but I can crush her bones to dust.]

SEQUEL TO A PUBLICIST'S PLIGHT Lies. Betrayal. Secrets. Corruption. Just your average day in an American corporation. Sebastian Harrison has successfully secured his spot as Harrison Incorporated's Chief Executive Officer. And although the goal has been achieved, it is only the beginning. With him and Leslie King on rocky ground and his father still trying to influence the future of Sebastian's company, Sebastian feels caught between doing the right thing and the safe thing. But when Leslie begins to show interest in Colombian Bachelor, Alejandro Quintanilla - nephew to Salvador Quintanilla, an important partner to Harrison Inc. - Sebastian struggles to put his money where his mouth is. And when it comes to Leslie whose budding new love interest and family intrusions have kept her busy, it's hard for Sebastian to step back and accept what never became. However, time can only conceal for so long, and in the midst of Sebastian's new position and Leslie's new relationship, it is inevitable that the past will come find it's way seeping through the cracks of the locked chest. Especially when this said chest has secrets being kept for each other's own good. **

My husband, a lawyer, tells his true love to deny that she wrongly administered an IV and insist that her patient passed away due to a heart attack. He also instructs her to immediately cremate the patient. He does all of this to protect her. Not only does Marie Harding not have to spend a day behind bars, but she doesn't even have to compensate the patient. Once the dust has settled, my husband celebrates with her and congratulates her now that she's free of an annoying patient. What he doesn't know is that I'm that patient. I've died with his baby in my belly.

Ethan Hayes and I grew up together, but we ended up resenting each other for a lifetime. He blamed me for taking matters into my own hands, forcing his memories back, and causing his true love to jump off a building. I blamed him for going back on his word. He promised to love me forever, but after losing his memory, he fell for someone else. In the early stages of our ten-year marriage, we were as cold as strangers who knew each other too well. When I got diagnosed with ALS, everyone in town urged him to divorce me. He only carried me to a chapel, knelt among the burning candles for an entire day and night, and prayed for a miracle. On my deathbed, he held me through the night, his forehead against my cheek. "I've done my duty to you in this life," he whispered. "If there's a next one, I hope you don't make me remember. Just let me be with her." Tears slid down my face. I finally got it. I shouldn't have chained him down with our teenage love, dragging him through a whole life. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day I found Ethan. This time, I chose to let him be with his true love instead of waking his memories.

Though she was taken in by the Lynds as an orphan, Tina Lynd is constantly bullied and harassed—her elder sister stole her boyfriend, her younger sister framed her for crimes she didn’t commit, and her adopted parents are marrying her off to a fifty-year-old man!Nonetheless, since things couldn't get any worse, Tina used her last shred of courage to provoke the most feared man in the imperial capital: Samuel Langford. Soon, the entire city knows that the Langfords are welcoming the arrival of a new daughter-in-law, who is pampered by Mr. Langford to the ends of the earth!Tina’s scumbag former flame is left bawling while her family is left regretting their life choices, even as Samuel proceeds to destroy every living being who has bullied Tina…Months later, Tina tries to run away while heavily pregnant, only to be repeatedly captured by Mr. Langford.Overbearing as ever, he wrapped his arms around her waist as he whispered, “Tina Lynd! You’re not getting away for the rest of your life—not after you got under my skin!”(Sweet Love 1v1)

The fertility clinic called to inform me that my embryos were ready for transfer. I touched my abdomen, still numb from the anesthesia of that morning's egg retrieval. Even with cutting-edge medical technology, embryos couldn't be prepared this quickly. Before I could call back to clarify, my husband stopped me. "Mom's been pressing us hard. I pulled some strings to fast-track the process so you can get pregnant sooner. Imagine twins! My buddies will be green with envy." Silent, I drove straight to the clinic and dialed 911 on the way. "Hello? I'm reporting a fertility clinic involved in illegal surrogacy."