"How long do you have to convince yourself that you don't love her anymore?" David believed to have been hurt by the same woman twice, leaving him with no other option but to hate her for the succeeding days of his life.
"How long do you have to convince yourself that you don't love her anymore?" David believed to have been hurt by the same woman twice, leaving him with no other option but to hate her for the succeeding days of his life.
David's P.O.V.
Finally, it's the last school year!
We just had to spend one more year here at St. Augustine's Academy and we would step into college. But before college could happen, I had to get the highest title first-I had to be the class valedictorian.
My class adviser said that it would never be hard for me to get the top rank since based on my grades from the first year to the third year, I was still the number one candidate for the valedictorian award.
It was just so fulfilling because if that happened, I would have a full-scholarship grant in college and my elder sister, Diane, would no longer dance in the club just to pay for my tuition fees. Our father passed away when I was only seven and our mother became sick since then, resulting in my sister to become the breadwinner of the family.
I dismissed my thoughts when I got to the classroom. I immediately sat right beside my girlfriend, Vanessa, and playfully tickled her waist. She was beautiful and sexy, and she was one of my inspirations aside from my family. I always went to school early because of her.
Who would have ever thought that the famous cheerleader of St. Augustine's Academy will become my girlfriend? Of course, I'm handsome! We are indeed a perfect match!
I wonder why she didn't mind me in the first place and just continued reading her book. When I looked at the cover, my eyebrows immediately creased into a furrow.
What the heck? Sixty Shades of Grey!
"Hey, Dave! What are you doing? Can't you see that I'm busy reading it? Mind your own business, please!" She seemed to be surprised when I suddenly confiscated her book.
"Seriously, Vanessa? Why do you have to read this kind of stuff? You know that this is forbidden here so you are clearly violating our school rules. How about your assignments? Are you already done with it?" I threw her a series of questions.
"Give it back to me!" she yelled at me. Instead of responding to my questions, she only forced herself to reach the book which I kept on raising using my right hand. "Geez, it's so hard to have such a smart-ass boyfriend." I even heard her murmured, still not surrendering.
I then towered over her. She was taller compared to other sixteen-year-old teenagers at five feet and five inches, but she couldn't get the book from me because I was still taller than her. At sixteen, I already stood tall at five feet and eight inches.
We were soon interrupted when Mrs. Cheng went inside the classroom. I immediately placed the book inside my backpack while Vanessa was still freaking mad at me. If stares could kill, I would have died already.
"Okay, class. Good morning!" Our class adviser greeted us.
We humbly replied, "Good morning, ma'am!"
"So this is the second day of your class and of course, your final year in high school. At this stage, I would like to congratulate all of you for making this far, most especially, those who are running for honors." She was all-out smiling.
I proudly smiled. We were forty students in section one. Almost half of the class was currently running for honors, but of course, I was the only one who ran for the valedictorian title.
Well, who else?
"Can you please stop yourself from grinning? I find it annoying, duh!" Vanessa rolled her eyes while looking at me.
I only gave her a teasing smile with a matching wink. She was indeed pretty, and I loved teasing her that way. We had been together for one year.
"But in the meantime, I would like to introduce to you your new classmate..." Mrs. Cheng glanced at the open door and motioned someone out there to enter the room. I didn't know why but I suddenly became nervous.
Wearing her red knapsack on both shoulders, a newcomer slowly stepped inside our classroom... but she seemed hesitant if she was really going to move forward.
"She is Miss Helena Delgado, from St. James Catholic School. It's obvious that she was a transferee here so be kind to her, okay? Hija, would you like to say something about yourself? Maybe a little introduction would help your classmates get to know you."
I narrowed my eyes. I must admit that the transferee was quite beautiful, but my girlfriend was still a lot better! Vanessa was even sexier than her. With Helena's eyeglasses, she looked like a smart teenager. But I knew for sure that she couldn't beat me. I would never let her beat me!
I curved the end of my lips into a smirk.
Focus, Dave! When did it happen that a transferee became the class valedictorian? my subconscious asked.
Yeah, I haven't heard of such a thing. It's quite impossible to happen!
She cleared her throat. "H-Hi, everyone. I'm H-Helena Mari Delgado, fifteen years old, and I came from St. James Catholic School. I'm a bookworm* and I love to spend time with my family." The transferee gave a little introduction about herself.
"Okay! Thanks, Miss Delgado. You can sit at the back of Mr. Rivera." Our adviser pointed the empty chair at my back and Helena quietly took her seat there.
In fairness to her, she doesn't look like a bookworm at all. If her eyeglasses would be removed, she would look more of a couch potato**. I smiled at my thoughts but little did I know that my smile wouldn't last long after hearing Mrs. Cheng's next words.
"And by the way, class... Miss Delgado was a consistent top one student from the first year to the third year. So I think, you have already found your competitor in getting the valedictorian title, David."
Mrs. Cheng was sincerely smiling at me but I found it a little bit awkward. Her smile was saying that I should study harder than usual.
I didn't know why, but I suddenly became timid and bowed my head. I felt being upset. I was not like this every time Mrs. Cheng would talk to me.
Am I intimidated to find out that my one hundred percent probability of being the class valedictorian will become fifty percent now? I don't usually get annoyed with women, but why does she have to transfer here?
"Enjoy this moment, boyfie. I guess, someone will beat you now!" I heard Vanessa said. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see her tongue on her cheeks. She was clearly mocking me.
I just ignored here and out of nowhere, I found myself glancing at Helena who was sitting at my back. To my surprise, our eyes met. It was not that long since I immediately looked away.
But from the moment we stared at each other, I didn't know why my heart leaped for a second. I got abruptly confused. There was something in her that I could not explain. Maybe, I just found her green eyes... beautiful.
Wait, beautiful? Hell, no way! I was supposed to say-I think her eyes were fake. Maybe, she was only using green contact lenses. But what is the use of her eyeglasses, then? Props only? Tsk, why am I even thinking about it? I shook my head.
Our class started but hours went too fast until we heard the school bell rang. That signifies break time-the favorite subject of most students. But not for me, it was my least favorite. Not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I just wanted to study in order to be successful someday.
I was going to invite Vanessa for us to have some lunch together. However, I had not yet opened my mouth to do that when she immediately rushed through the door, since they would still be having a cheer dance practice. Like the old times, I had no other choice but to eat alone.
But before I was left alone, I saw Helena just coming out. I immediately fixed my belongings, grabbed the knapsack on my right shoulder, and hurried out of the room to chase her. I did not expect her to walk so fast that I also increased my steps to be in line with her pace.
Wait! Why would you even follow her, Dave? Isn't that you're mad at her? my subconscious asked me.
But I didn't listen to it.
"H-Helena, w-wait!" I called her.
_________________________
Bookworm* is a person who likes to read books and who spends a lot of time reading and studying.
Couch Potato** is someone who spends a lot of time sitting and watching television.
"Could you ever forgive that someone who ruined your past?" Diane is trapped in the past she can't even remember. How can she live her life again once she figures out what really happened?
I was sitting in the Presidential Suite of The Pierre, wearing a Vera Wang gown worth more than most people earn in a decade. It was supposed to be the wedding of the century, the final move to merge two of Manhattan's most powerful empires. Then my phone buzzed. It was an Instagram Story from my fiancé, Jameson. He was at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris with a caption that read: "Fuck the chains. Chasing freedom." He hadn't just gotten cold feet; he had abandoned me at the altar to run across the world. My father didn't come in to comfort me. He burst through the door roaring about a lost acquisition deal, telling me the Holland Group would strip our family for parts if the ceremony didn't happen by noon. My stepmother wailed about us becoming the laughingstock of the Upper East Side. The Holland PR director even suggested I fake a "panic attack" to make myself look weak and sympathetic to save their stock price. Then Jameson’s sleazy cousin, Pierce, walked in with a lopsided grin, offering to "step in" and marry me just to get his hands on my assets. I looked at them and realized I wasn't a daughter or a bride to anyone in that room. I was a failed asset, a bouncing check, a girl whose own father told her to go to Paris and "beg" the man who had just publicly humiliated her. The girl who wanted to be loved died in that mirror. I realized that if I was going to be sold to save a merger, I was going to sell myself to the one who actually controlled the money. I marched past my parents and walked straight into the VIP holding room. I looked the most powerful man in the room—Jameson’s cold, ruthless uncle, Fletcher Holland—dead in the eye and threw the iPad on the table. "Jameson is gone," I said, my voice as hard as stone. "Marry me instead."
Rumors said that Lucas married an unattractive woman with no background. In the three years they were together, he remained cold and distant to Belinda, who endured in silence. Her love for him forced her to sacrifice her self-worth and her dreams. When Lucas' true love reappeared, Belinda realized that their marriage was a sham from the start, a ploy to save another woman's life. She signed the divorce papers and left. Three years later, Belinda returned as a surgical prodigy and a maestro of the piano. Lost in regret, Lucas chased her in the rain and held her tightly. "You are mine, Belinda."
Alcohol and heartbreak are definitely not a good combo.Too bad I learnt that a little too late. I'm Tessa Beckett and I painfully got dumped by my boyfriend of three years.That led me to getting drunk at a bar and having a one-night stand with a stranger.Before he would see me as a slut the next day,I paid him for the sex and deeply insulted his ability to please me. But this stranger turned out to be my new boss!
She spent ten years chasing after the right brother, only to fall for the wrong one in one weekend. ~~~ Sloane Mercer has been hopelessly in love with her best friend, Finn Hartley, since college. For ten long years, she's stood by him, stitching him back together every time Delilah Crestfield-his toxic on-and-off girlfriend-shattered his heart. But when Delilah gets engaged to another man, Sloane thinks this might finally be her chance to have Finn for herself. She couldn't be more wrong. Heartbroken and desperate, Finn decides to crash Delilah's wedding and fight for her one last time. And he wants Sloane by his side. Reluctantly, Sloane follows him to Asheville, hoping that being close to Finn will somehow make him see her the way she's always seen him. Everything changes when she meets Knox Hartley, Finn's older brother-a man who couldn't be more different from Finn. He's dangerously magnetic. Knox sees right through Sloane and makes it his mission to pull her into his world. What starts as a game-a twisted bet between them-soon turns into something deeper. Sloane is trapped between two brothers: one who's always broken her heart and another who seems hell-bent on claiming it... no matter the cost. CONTENT WARNING: This story is strongly 18+. It delves into dark romance themes such as obsession and lust with morally complex characters. While this is a love story, reader discretion is advised.
Today is October 14th, my birthday. I returned to New York after months away, dragging my suitcase through the biting wind, but the VIP pickup zone where my husband’s Maybach usually idled was empty. When I finally let myself into our Upper East Side penthouse, I didn’t find a cake or a "welcome home" banner. Instead, I found my husband, Caden, kneeling on the floor, helping our five-year-old daughter wrap a massive gift for my half-sister, Adalynn. Caden didn’t even look up when I walked in; he was too busy laughing with the girl who had already stolen my father’s legacy and was now moving in on my family. "Auntie Addie is a million times better than Mommy," my daughter Elara chirped, clutching a plush toy Caden had once forbidden me from buying for her. "Mommy is mean," she whispered loudly, while Caden just smirked, calling me a "drill sergeant" before whisking her off to Adalynn’s party without a second glance. Later that night, I saw a video Adalynn posted online where my husband and child laughed while mocking my "sensitive" nature, treating me like an inconvenient ghost in my own home. I had spent five years researching nutrition for Elara’s health and managing every detail of Caden’s empire, only to be discarded the moment I wasn't in the room. How could the man who set his safe combination to my birthday completely forget I even existed? The realization didn't break me; it turned me into ice. I didn't scream or beg for an explanation. I simply walked into the study, pulled out the divorce papers I’d drafted months ago, and took a black marker to the terms. I crossed out the alimony, the mansion, and even the custody clause—if they wanted a life without me, I would give them exactly what they asked for. I left my four-carat diamond ring on the console table and walked out into the rain with nothing but a heavily encrypted hard drive. The submissive Mrs. Holloway was gone, and "Ghost," the most lethal architect in the tech world, was finally back online to take back everything they thought I’d forgotten.
For three years, Cathryn and her husband Liam lived in a sexless marriage. She believed Liam buried himself in work for their future. But on the day her mother died, she learned the truth: he had been cheating with her stepsister since their wedding night. She dropped every hope and filed for divorce. Sneers followed-she'd crawl back, they said. Instead, they saw Liam on his knees in the rain. When a reporter asked about a reunion, she shrugged. "He has no self-respect, just clings to people who don't love him." A powerful tycoon wrapped an arm around her. "Anyone coveting my wife answers to me."
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