Craig William, the only child of his parents clocks 25 and begins to have nightmares. He soon realize that everyone he ever loves is doomed to death, including all the women he loves.
Craig William, the only child of his parents clocks 25 and begins to have nightmares. He soon realize that everyone he ever loves is doomed to death, including all the women he loves.
Patience is most needed
In this world oft hurrying near.
PATIENCE
Albrin Junior
Patience is most needed
Oft in this world hurrying near, The ruins of wear and tear
Washes away heeded calls.
Man's misery is become great;
O! Ye men of little faith, Forgoes God of mighty deeds, Bolts past time always there, In reality, runs from fear unknown.
PART ONE
"Every drop of tears has its meaning. There can be no fire without smoke"
PROLOGUE
Lagos state 2013
William Craig strode into the living room with heavy footsteps, and unwilling to shake away the remaining fragments of sleep lurking behind his azure eye. In between his dim lit eyes, he could see his parents watching a worship show on TV, he winced. He didn't believe in the spiritual neither in the traditional, rather, he was of logic and nothing more. He wasn't an atheist as he was often mistaken for, he knew and believed there was a God somewhere, he just didn't care who and where this God dwelt.
'Good morning mum, dad, ' he said laggy, almost drooling. He lets out an unmannered yawn, with all his strength he could muster. He sat down and both his parent gestured at him, they were engrossed in the worship. William sat and leaned his head back on the couch, more concerned about continuing his sleep. The program came to an end and his parent waved their hands to the heaven whispering something. He looked up and saw nothing but their asbestos ceiling glistering in its white petals. 'Morning son, ' his mum now answered him. His dad flashed a gaze of wonder, and William guessed he was wondering why his son was a sleepy head. He grinned at the thought of it. Joseph cleared his throat, followed by an abstruse silence. William knew his father was calculating his words and searching for the perfect opening line. 'Sit up son.'
William smiled, he knew his father. 'My son, what we have to say is important.'
'I've been thinking... I mean we've been thinking about us, ' his mother swiveled at her husband, swiftly correcting her words. 'As our son, you give us cause to be grateful to God, but, our minds are not at rest.'
William's dimmed eye widened. 'What about me give you no rest?'
'You are our only child, and we fear our joy be cut short if care is not taken. This world has grown evil, where a person's joy brings tears.' Joseph Craig, his father said nothing, but kept a fixed gaze at his son. He was studying every emotion in him. William's mind drifted to the rising sun. Its ray piercing through the sliding window into the room and from where he sat could see the sun lit but not with a good view as he always had most days. He remember been told that the early sun rays were vitamins and strengthens the bone's. William faced the sun. This was another of those natural vitamins he didn't want to miss, until his mum stood to stretch the Cotton's frill to the other end disrupting the rays. He shifted his attention back to his parent. 'Oh that!' exclaimed William with less enthusiasm, enveloping himself in the brown velvet upholstery. 'I thought we were done discussing this. For the thousand times I'm fine, nothing wrong will happen to me and your only joy won't be cut short, ' he grinned. 'By the way I go to church, and that is every protection I need. He hoped his unplanned speech had convinced his mum, but she didn't look it. 'That's the thing, Will, ' his mother called the shortened version of his name. 'We want to provide you with more powerful spiritual protection.'
William was addled. 'Does that mean God isn't strong enough to protect me?'
'It means two heads are better than one, ' his father blurted.
William frowned at the thought of it. They wouldn't agree to it but the meaning of their suggestion was obvious. Wasn't God's protection enough for men anymore? Why do people seek extra protection which appeared to be more burdensome? This thoughts have roamed longed in his head before now, he only just realized he never found an answer. He imagined what the proposed traditional protection would look like; bangles and chains cast at his feet and necklace to circle his neck. The irony of it all would be that he would have to protect the charms supposedly protecting him away from rain or water. It'd be hypocritical of him to wear church charms around his waist and still go to church on a Sunday, lifting his hands to praise God. He wondered how many people did such. 'There's nothing to be worried about, ' he reassured them both.
'This boy will not kill me, ' shouted his mother, throwing both hands into the air. 'I expected by now you'd have grown wise, ' his father scolded. 'You need to become a real man. Do you think the world is your friend? Nonsense, ' his father frowned and raked his fingers through his beard. 'Children of this generation never listen?'
'I don't even know why o! They act like they know but they don't.' Mrs. Bolu Craig exclaimed. 'Like it or not William, you will do it, you will do it, you won't kill me.' she reiterated angrily.
William wanted to tell his parents about Uz'-zah and the punishment that befell him for having helped God, but he couldn't. it was a biblical story well known to them and they both had a gaze that suggested their minds were made up. 'He doesn't know what the real world is, he's still a kid, ' Joseph said, hoping his words would bring calm to his wife. He then gestured William to leave. He was tired of repeating the same thing over and over again. Joseph Craig was a conservative man who believed that if people refused to learn from advice or otherwise, they'd be forced to learn from a bitter experience. What he failed to realize was that there were some experiences that one could not recover from. William left. 'Don't you think it's high time we tell him the truth, Bolu questioned. 'He's becoming of age, ' there was a noble plea in her voice. 'There are tides in the affairs of men, if taken at the flood leads to fortune. The time to tell him has not come, ' Joseph replied succinctly. 'This is no time for your nonsense proverbs or marbles or whatever you like to say. You better start talking sense before I lose my only son.' She retorted. 'He's my son too.'
'O! Now you know! Wait there.' she gestured then hissed her way out, calling her son's name.
***
The setting sun cast its shadow over the horizon of the three witches and its beauty reflected upon the plain white clouds, but none of these caught their eyes. They were more interested in the revelation they had just watched unfold through the calabash. Of the three sisters, Lightening was the most furious and shrewd, causing a tremor in the sky, a sudden growing violence in her eyes, but for the serene touch of her sisters, the sky would have exploded into a rage of misshapen tremors. 'They're trying to be smart. We should act now, ' Lightening rowed with calmness in her eyes but not her voice. 'Patience is a virtue, sister, ' said Rain lightly. 'Destiny can be delayed but never changed, or can it?' she asked intone. There was a revolving silence, Wind and Lightening in a mileage of thought. They agreed with her.
Naked Coin follows the travails of an Igbo family in the era of the Biafra War who lived in the then Midwestern Nigeria, Benin kingdom, and were nonetheless affected by the tribal strife and patriotic overzealousness surrounding the pre-war years and its antebellum. Ikenna’s family found wealth; they lost it all and would be driven to search for it again by all means. Ikenna found love before the war, he did foolish things for it and counts on love to see him through the horrid times as they ran from jungles to villages and back to jungles running away from war zones and deaths. In the end, deaths caught up with them, penury did too, love failed them, and an assumed brotherhood betrayed them. Ikenna and his family, or what is left of it must relearn to forge new survival paths around the same things that punished them; family, money and love
Vesper's marriage to Julian Sterling was a gilded cage. One morning, she woke naked beside Damon Sterling, Julian's terrifying brother, then found a text: Julian's mistress was pregnant. Her world shattered, but the real nightmare had just begun. Julian's abuse escalated, gaslighting Vesper, funding his secret life. Damon, a germaphobic billionaire, became her unsettling anchor amidst his chaos. As "Iris," Vesper exposed Julian's mistress, Serena Sharp, sparking brutal war: poisoned drinks, a broken leg, and the horrifying truth-Julian murdered her parents, trapping Vesper in marriage. The man she married was a killer. Broken and betrayed, Vesper was caught between monstrous brothers, burning with injustice. Refusing victimhood, Vesper reclaimed her identity. Fueled by vengeance, she allied with Damon, who vowed to burn his empire for her. Julian faced justice, but matriarch Eleanor's counterattack forced Vesper's choice as a hitman aimed for her.
"Stella once savored Marc's devotion, yet his covert cruelty cut deep. She torched their wedding portrait at his feet while he sent flirty messages to his mistress. With her chest tight and eyes blazing, Stella delivered a sharp slap. Then she deleted her identity, signed onto a classified research mission, vanished without a trace, and left him a hidden bombshell. On launch day she vanished; that same dawn Marc's empire crumbled. All he unearthed was her death certificate, and he shattered. When they met again, a gala spotlighted Stella beside a tycoon. Marc begged. With a smirk, she said, ""Out of your league, darling."
Two years of marriage left Brinley questioning everything, her supposed happiness revealed as nothing but sham. Abandoning her past for Colin, she discovered only betrayal and a counterfeit wedding. Accepting his heart would stay frozen, she called her estranged father, agreeing to the match he proposed. Laughter followed her, with whispers of Colin's power to toss her aside. Yet, she reinvented herself-legendary racer, casino mastermind, and acclaimed designer. When Colin tried to reclaim her, another man pulled Brinley close. "She's already carrying my child. You can't move on?"
I was dying at the banquet, coughing up black blood while the pack celebrated my step-sister Lydia’s promotion. Across the room, Caleb, the Alpha and my Fated Mate, didn't look concerned. He looked annoyed. "Stop it, Elena," his voice boomed in my head. "Don't ruin this night with your attention-seeking lies." I begged him, telling him it was poison, but he just ordered me to leave his Pack House so I wouldn't dirty the floor. Heartbroken, I publicly demanded the Severing Ceremony to break our bond and left to die alone in a cheap motel. Only after I took my last breath did the truth come out. I sent Caleb the medical records proving Lydia had been poisoning my tea with wolfsbane for ten years. He went mad with grief, realizing he had protected the murderer and rejected his true mate. He tortured Lydia, but his regret couldn't bring me back. Or so he thought. In the afterlife, the Moon Goddess showed me my reflection. I wasn't a wolfless weakling. I was a White Wolf, the rarest and most powerful of all, suppressed by poison. "You can stay here in peace," the Goddess said. "Or you can go back." I looked at the life they stole from me. I looked at the power I never got to use. "I want to go back," I said. "Not for his love. But for revenge." I opened my eyes, and for the first time in my life, my wolf roared.
I watched my husband sign the papers that would end our marriage while he was busy texting the woman he actually loved. He didn't even glance at the header. He just scribbled the sharp, jagged signature that had signed death warrants for half of New York, tossed the file onto the passenger seat, and tapped his screen again. "Done," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. That was Dante Moretti. The Underboss. A man who could smell a lie from a mile away but couldn't see that his wife had just handed him an annulment decree disguised beneath a stack of mundane logistics reports. For three years, I scrubbed his blood out of his shirts. I saved his family's alliance when his ex, Sofia, ran off with a civilian. In return, he treated me like furniture. He left me in the rain to save Sofia from a broken nail. He left me alone on my birthday to drink champagne on a yacht with her. He even handed me a glass of whiskey—her favorite drink—forgetting that I despised the taste. I was merely a placeholder. A ghost in my own home. So, I stopped waiting. I burned our wedding portrait in the fireplace, left my platinum ring in the ashes, and boarded a one-way flight to San Francisco. I thought I was finally free. I thought I had escaped the cage. But I underestimated Dante. When he finally opened that file weeks later and realized he had signed away his wife without looking, the Reaper didn't accept defeat. He burned down the world to find me, obsessed with reclaiming the woman he had already thrown away.
My husband promised me forever, but gave me endless lies. On our anniversary, I found his secrets on social media, exposed by his mistress. He didn't just break my heart; he broke my entire world. Seraphina sat alone in her opulent mansion, preparing their anniversary dinner, feeling the suffocating weight of her cold, hollow marriage. An Instagram post from Tiffany Sloan then brazenly revealed Harrison's hand at a romantic dinner, shattering his flimsy excuses and exposing his blatant infidelity. The betrayal turned Seraphina's despair into cold resolve. He gaslighted her, dismissed her pain, and reminded her she was "nothing." He chose his mistress over her dying brother, caused her to break an ankle, and finally abandoned her on a desolate street corner, stripped of dignity. How could she have sacrificed her entire violin career for a man who so casually discarded her? Under that bridge, her foolish love died, leaving only a fierce desire for reclamation. Shivering and alone, a faded flyer for a violin teacher caught her eye. It was a defiant whisper of her old self, a promise: Seraphina Vanderbilt was gone, and a new Seraphina was finally free.
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