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Regina is a young girl who learns to fall in love at a very early age. But then, she finds it difficult to stay in love. She retells the story of how she had to balance her love life, school and social life while growing up in an average society.
I fell in love with love at a very early age. I wouldn't say I was fully aware of what it was when I first had the feeling, but I recognized it as something strong, strange and addictive, even from the very first moment. It was something my young mind couldn't really understand, but it never stopped me from feeling what I felt, and ever since then, I fell in love every time, anytime, over and over.
I was six when I had my first love. It was love at first sight.
I was attending a wedding with an aunt of mine, aunty Flora. Then the little bride and groom strolled in ahead of the couple during the procession. I took one look at the little groom and all I wanted to do was replace the little bride, take her gown and hold his hand in her stead. He was this cute, bubbly little thing, looking all handsome and like a small man in his smart blue tuxedo. His skin glowed as if it was illuminated from within and his smile was as ravishing as it was charming, so that even to my young and naive mind, it did a lot of things that I did not understand and I felt a lot of things that I had never felt before. He was a child of one of the big men who came from the city to attend the wedding. It was the wedding ceremony of the village chief's daughter, so there were a lot of strangers who had come all the way from the city to be in attendance. There were so many of them, as if an entire city had followed the couples down to the village to celebrate their marriage. It was very obvious that they knew a lot of people. Rich and influential people from the way their wedding guests were dressed and by the cars they rode. The wedding venue was packed full with several expensive cars, we had to squeeze through a garage full of expensive cars to get into the venue. The couple themselves lived in the city, they only brought the wedding down to the village to honor the bride's parents.
I tapped my aunty Flora and pointed at the little groom as he strolled down the aisle, past our pew.
"Aunty, I want to marry him." I said.
Aunty Flora laughed so loud people turned in our direction. She had to stifle her laughter to avert their gazes and attention.
"Regina, what do you know about marriage?" She said still fighting back bouts of laughter.
"When a man and a woman marry." I told her. She laughed aloud again. This time, the woman sitting beside us tapped her a little and she apologized to the woman.
"My niece is cracking me up." She said and went ahead to reveal to the stranger the little secret desire I had just confided in her.
The woman looked at me rather sternly, as if I had done something wrong.
"Come on shut up!" She chided. "Look at this small girl oh. Don't you know you're still a child? What do you know about marriage?" She asked, and I just stared at her confused. Not knowing what my crime was.
"If she says it again, you beat her. Don't spoil that little girl oh." She advised my aunty Flora. Aunty Flora nodded in agreement and I wondered what I had done to deserve a beating.
I sat quietly, watching the wedding service proceed. (Mostly, watching the little groom, that is. He played with so much cheer and light heart that I was sure I was older than him. He looked older, but he acted like younger kids. I wanted to go over and play with them, ask him if he was older or younger than me. But I didn't know how he would react or if that would provoke my aunt Flora to give me that beating she had been advised upon. So, I just sat there, watching from a distance.)
As I watched him, it became more disturbing why I had to receive a beating for liking this boy and wanting to marry him.
If marrying someone you like was a crime, why were we sitting here, watching two people who like themselves get married?
"Why can't I marry him?" I asked my aunty Flora suddenly.
She looked at me in confusion at first.
"You said?" She asked.
"I said, why can't I marry the boy. I like him." I repeated.
My aunty Flora looked at me in surprise for a moment, then she laughed. This time, she made an effort to hide it so that the woman next to us wouldn't notice.
"Because you're still a child. You're too young to marry or even like somebody." She whispered to me.
"So, when can I like somebody?" I asked her. She looked at me thoughtfully.
"Maybe, when you're older. Like, seventeen or eighteen. When you're in highschool maybe." She said.
"Highschool?" I asked.
"Yes. You can start liking someone then. Then by the time you are twenty or more and done with college, you can marry who you like." Aunty Flora explained.
Highschool;
I whispered. I can only wait till highschool. Not college, no. I couldn't wait that long. Not if there were so many more of the likes of this beautiful ring bearer!
I watched my love sadly, as he did his duties. 'Once the wedding ends, he'll be gone. And I would never see him again', I thought in silence.
If only I were in highschool already!
I would wait. Only until highschool, I would wait. I promised myself in the silence.
In the face of adversity, a pack of werewolves and a tribe of witches form an alliance to defeat the great enemy of vampires, hybrids and rogue werewolves who came to destroy their land and territory. For hundreds of years, the alliance remained, protecting the territory. But things begin to get out of hand when the descendants of Lance, the hybrid who had created the enemy army that came against the pack, sneaks back into the land to reclaim it and get vengeance for their Father's life. Things get even more dramatic when Ralph, the alpha of the wolf pack, and Dylan, a hybrid and the head of the gang of vampires, fall in love with the same woman. A powerless witch.
Ria was dared to have a one night stand with a mysterious stranger on a trip to Vegas. After the steamy night, she runs away think she will never have to meet the mysterious stranger ever again. Jason Reynolds is a billionaire CEO. On one of his trips to Vegas, he goes to a regular club in disguise, only to be approached by a strange woman who boldly proposes to have a one night stand with him. After the night, Jason realize that he wants more of this woman, but then, she dissapears before he even wakes up the next morning. After three years, Jason runs into the strange woman in his company. She is now an intern. But she seems not to remember Jason at all. Jason must do everything to remind her of their steamy night in Vegas, because even after three years, he still wants her!
On their wedding night, Rogelio wrapped his fingers around Marian's neck and spat at her, "Congratulations! From now on, you live in hell!" The reason for his wrath was that he believed she was responsible for the death of his elder brother. So, he married her but refused to touch her, determined to make her suffer for the rest of her pitiful life! However, due to an unforeseen accident, Marian was forced to sleep with Rogelio in order to save him, and she ended up getting pregnant. Concealing her pregnancy, Marian lived cautiously under Rogelio's watchful eyes. He hated her and relentlessly humiliated her, yet he would never allow anyone else to lay a finger on her— "Mr. Bailey, your wife got into a fight with someone!" Rogelio secretly took action, eliminating that person completely. "Sir, your wife claimed that all of your family's wealth belongs to her!" Rogelio quietly transferred all the shares to her. Unaware of all this, Marian only wanted to escape, but Rogelio pulled her into his warm embrace, whispering, "Mrs. Bailey, where do you intend to go with our unborn child?"
In her previous life, Kimberly endured the betrayal of her husband, the cruel machinations of an evil woman, and the endless tyranny of her in-laws. It culminated in the bankruptcy of her family, and ultimately, her death. After being reborn, she resolved to seek retribution against those who had wronged her, and ensure her family's prosperity. To her shock, the most unattainable man from her past suddenly set his sights on her. "You may have overlooked me before, but I shall capture your heart this time around."
Two years ago, Ricky found himself coerced into marrying Emma to protect the woman he cherished. From Ricky's perspective, Emma was despicable, resorting to underhanded schemes to ensure their marriage. He maintained a distant and cold attitude toward her, reserving his warmth for another. Yet, Emma remained wholeheartedly dedicated to Ricky for more than ten years. As she grew weary and considered relinquishing her efforts, Ricky was seized by a sudden fear. Only when Emma's life teetered on the edge, pregnant with Ricky's child, did he recognize-the love of his life had always been Emma.
"I've warned you from the beginning. Don't marry him, but you won't listen." She stood close to me and smiled with concern. "You are not a woman worthy of a man as handsome, rich, smart, and virile as Blaze." My whole body trembled at her words. "Have you no shame?" I asked in a quivering voice. "Take a good look at yourself, Heather." She looked at me in the mirror. "You can't even look at your ugly face. Do you think Blaze can endure a lifetime of looking at that face?" Heather Bailey had a surprise from her husband that night: a divorce agreement. After a year of marriage and facing ups and downs, she couldn't believe Blaze intended to divorce her. But she was devastated when she saw him gazing lovingly at another woman because that person was closest to her. Shortly after she put her signature on their divorce papers, shock waves caught her up. Her flower shop was severely burnt, beyond repair. Her father's company collapsed, and her parents blamed her. She struggled to rebuild her life from the ground up and became more successful than ever. Having many customers who came from influential families, she started her action against Blaze. She won the very thing he wanted. But that was just the beginning.
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.
Marriage was a bed of thorns for Stella. She lived like an overworked and unhappy slave for six years in her matrimonial home. One day, her uncaring husband, Waylon said to her, "Ayla will be back soon. You have to move out tomorrow." "I want a divorce," responded Stella. She left without shedding a tear or trying to change Waylon's stone-cold heart. Days after their divorce, they met again. Stella was in the arms of another man. Waylon's blood boiled at the sight of her looking so happy. "So, you couldn't even wait a while before jumping into another man's arms?" he queried distastefully. "And who are you to question my decision? It's my life, so I call the shots. Stay out of my business!" Stella fired at him before turning to look at her new man with shiny eyes. Waylon immediately lost it.