A random meet at times feels like a sigh from the stars. And that is exactly what Athena felt when a sudden meet up blooms into a romance so magical and unknown. But soon the fairytale crackles and she finds herself at the end of a cliff so high that she cannot stay neither jump off. The stories once told and loved, turned out to be myths, the promises once made turned out to be shattered glass and the person once love, a forged thought.
Staring at my phone screen, I know things have become more messier than a toddler eating a breakfast bowl on a buzzing Monday morning. A part of me feels as if things could have been different and better. It was a cold December night, and the breeze felt like a stabbing pin throughout my being. I cannot do this anymore! My inner being screamed. I took a deep breath and let my cell phone slip through my grasp. I picked up my laundry basket and made my way towards the roof. Maybe a little fresh air is all I need after all. For this sinking feeling to disappear, for this icky mist to vanish.
I walked out, locked the door behind me, and started the tedious process of climbing three flights of stairs. Maybe I should quit smoking! My brain yelled as I was huffing and puffing for air. I dropped my basket as my body turned into a ball of agony and my lungs were ready to explode.
I made my way towards the edge of the terrace, praying and hoping that no one was there using our only functional washing machine, but as my luck would have it, there it was occupied.
"Hey, are you almost done?" I asked as the large figure in front of me turned.
"Oh yeah, yeah, just give me a couple of minutes," he said as he hurried to finish his load. Who is this tall, almost six-foot-crossed-eyed dude?! My inner goddess asked as she pulled down her circle rims.
"Hi, I am Athena! Nice to meet you," I said as I extended my arm.
"Oh, hi, I am Arthur," he scrambled as he turned to take my hand. And that was when I saw him for the very first time. Hair greying and messy, beard so full that any saint would get a complex. Crocked eyes are hiding behind black square-rimmed glasses. His beer belly poked out of his two-size small shirt. It made me wonder: was dad bods really that much in trend?
"Are you new here?" I asked, pulling my hand back.
"No, I have lived here for more than two years." His eyes sparkled.
"Oh, that's weird; I have never seen you around," I said.
"Yeah, but I have seen you once or twice, I think. Which floor do you live on?" he smiled.
"Ah third," I shuffled; his world felt a little wrong, falling on the threads of knowing some really personal information in a blink.
"I actually live on the first floor. One zero six," his grin widened.
"Oh, that's great," I said, my eyes shifting towards the washing machine.
"Yeah and..." His words were interrupted by his ringing phone.
"Excuse me, I have to take it," he added. I gestured for him to carry on as I peaked my head to get a better look at the timer.
"Yeah, what?" he yelled into the phone as he took a few steps away. I could faintly hear him mutter something, but a part of me really did not care. I just wanted to finish and run back home.
"Sorry about that! That was my roommate asking where I was," he said. I just looked at him with eyes full of fake affirmation. Why is he telling me this?! My inner goddess snarled.
"Oh, look, my clothes are done!" His words felt like a roaring wave of relief, as now I knew this conversation could finally be over. As soon as he pulled out his clothes, I stared to shove in mine.
"Hi bro! We were waiting for you!" an unfamiliar voice called out. I slightly turned my head to find two figures emerging from the dark. I tilted my head to get a better look. It seemed like two very not-so-impressive guys. One looked rather tall, muscular, and dusky, with a little chiselled jaw and a pair of big square-rimmed glasses. On the other hand, the other one was short, puggy, a little fair, medium-long black flowy hair, a perfect definition of dad bod with similar black, big square-rimmed glasses.
"Hi, I am Sullivan," the puggy guy said.
"Oh, this is Ray and Sullivan, and guys, this is Athena," Arthur said. I smiled and waved at them.
"So, where do you work, Athena?" Sullivan asked.
"I work in real estate. In a company called El Seathen, we are competitors of brands like Keller Williams and JLL. I am their hospitality head; what about you?" I replied.
"I am a senior technical writer for a company called HermathEarth," Sullivan said. "Other than that, I have been writing for eleven years," he added.
"Oh, that's amazing! Even though I am a writer, I have two of my books published in collaboration with Amazon Kindle," I gloat.
"That's nice. What do you write about?" Sullivan asked.
"So mostly I write fiction and fantasy; one of my books is called The Veil of Faith and Destiny, which is based on Norse mythology, and the second one is called Something in the Shadows, which is proper teen fiction." I smiled.
"Oh, that's nice," Sullivan said, nodding his head.
"What do you write?" I added.
"I write mostly poetry under the name Mr. Bond, and I love performing in open mics," Sullivan said.
"That is really cool. You know, if you're into writing, you should definitely watch this show on Netflix called BoJack Horseman; it's amazing!" My eyes grew bigger.
"You have seen BoJack?!" Ray and Sullivan exclaimed together.
"Yeah..." I whimpered.
"You have good taste! Because very few people watch BoJack," Sullivan smiled.
"Yeah, I love that show; that is a master piece!" my eyes shimmered.
"So, what does a hospitality head do?" Arthur jumped in.
"I have eleven of their sites under me. I am the starting and end point for the customers, so in a nutshell, I make sure their experience is seamless," I smiled.
"Do you mind me asking how much you get paid?" Arthur asked.
"I make seventy-five thousand dollars a year plus incentives every three months," I replied. I could see his eyes widening and his mouth opening.
"Is there a vacancy?" he questioned.
"I am not sure, but I need to know about your job profile and designation to know about a vacancy," I replied politely.
"I am a relationship manager at HSBC. I also have a little experience in sales," he said.
"Okay, forward me your CV, and I will check," I said weekly.
"Sure, can I have your number?" he said, offering me his phone. I quickly grabbed it and punched in my number.
"Thank you, I will text you!" Arthur said. I nodded and turned to get my clothes out of the washing machine.
"You're done so quickly? It takes Arthur ages to wash his clothes," Sullivan said.
"Maybe you guys don't know the settings; maybe someday I will teach you," I said, closing the lid.
"Okay, I'll see you guys around!" I smiled as I picked up my backpack and made my way towards my apartment.
As soon as I entered, my phone rang.
"What?" I yelled as soon as I pressed the receive button.
"Hun, are you mad or something?" the voice calmly asked.
"No Kai I am not mad. I just feel like you are too clingy, dude. You need to have a life of your own." I replied as I set my basket down.
"Hun, it's not about that. It feels like lately you are slipping away. You never have time; you hardly pick up my calls." Kai chocked.
"Look, I just feel you should go out and do your thing and let me do mine, okay?! Now I will talk to you tomorrow. I gotta go." I hung up.
Things were not that bad between me and Kai; they have just been rocky. With our new jobs and lives, it did feel like things were slipping away lately. He was right; maybe I was changing, and maybe for the worst. Who knew? All I knew was that after almost two years of being the university sweethearts, we were crumbling. And it seemed there was no going back or saving it. I mean, we really tried to patch our cracks, but unfortunately, things kept getting swept under the rug. Days kept passing, voices kept getting muffled, and opinions kept getting disregarded. Deep down, I did not want to hurt Kai, not because I loved him, or maybe I did. I don't know. A part of me just pitied him-pitied everything. I pitied the fact of what we have become and mostly the fact that I longed to go back to my university days. When all we knew was each other and all we longed for was each other's loving embrace, when bunking our lectures for each other wasn't that big of a deal, lying for each other became a daily schedule. I missed the days when I could just lay on his shoulder and forget that there existed a world outside of us and outside of him. And this was where I started pitying myself, because my pathetic self was longing for something that could never be brought back. I collapsed on the floor, curling myself into a ball as tears started streaming down my cheeks.
Stuck in her miserable life, Azura makes her way towards a sorceress hoping to find an answer. As she walks down the Dark Forest, her heart pounding in her chest she knocks on her door. The seven dreadful knocks as the stories told her. The sorceress points her towards a small cottage in the graveyard, arming her with a task and promising her answers once she is done. But things end up taking a turn for the unknown as she in transported to a totally different world. The world she never knew existed.
Travelling to a new town, and leaving behind your home can be a scary though but sometimes it's just something one has to do. Annica finds herself in a similar situation when he travels miles from her home country to New York, USA to peruse her dream and work under the most renowned chef Christopher Edwards. But things start taking an interesting and disturbing turn when Annica finds herself entranced and captivated by the charm of her boss. But what will happen when she learns about the dark secrets that are hidden behind those beautiful blue eyes?
Combination of two romantic/tragic stories that combine reality and fantasy in a perfect blend. Who's The One? Stacy takes a walk down the memory lane when she is asked about how she met Derin, the love of her life and how much she loves him. As the conversation progress and some dark and unsettling truth is revelled that makes her suddenly being asked to confront her biggest REGRET; the thing she everyday; till date; regrets. An Unfolding Tale The journey of Ana, who lives her life the most. She never paid any heed to the problems in her life, would do anything to let her life be PERFECT. But as all humans who walk in the search of perfection: something she does goes horribly wrong with turns her life upside down. She is struck by realization that she is loosing the the most precious thing in her life.
"I'm going to tell you what I have in mind," he murmured. "First you're going to strip down until you're completely naked," he whispered against her ear. "Then I'm going to tie you up so you're completely powerless and subject to my every whim." "Mmm, sounds good so far," she murmured. "Then I'm going to insert a plug to prepare you for me. After that I'm going to spank that sweet ass of yours until it's rosy with my marks." She shivered uncontrollably, her mind exploding with the images he evoked. She let out a small whimper as he sucked the lobe of her ear into his mouth. God, she could cum with just his words. She was already aching with need. Her nipples tingled and hardened to painful points. Her clit pulsed and twitched between her legs until she clamped her thighs together to alleviate the burn. "And then I'm going to f**k your mouth. But I won't cum. Not yet. When I'm close, I'll flog you again until your ass is burning and you're on fire with the need for relief. And then I'm going to f**k that ass. I'm going to take you hard and rough, to the very limits of what you can withstand. I won't be gentle. Not tonight. I'm going to take you as roughly as you can stand. And then I'm going to cum all over your ass. Are you ready to be completely and utterly dominated?"
Betrayed by her mate and sister on the eve of her wedding, Makenna was handed to the ruthless Lycan Princes as a lover, her indifferent father ignoring her plight. Determined to escape and seek revenge, she captured the interest of the three Lycan princes, who desired her exclusively amid many admirers. This complicated her plans, trapping her and making her a rival to the future Lycan queen. Entwined in jealousy and vindictiveness, could Makenna achieve her vengeance in the intricate dance with the three princes?
Rachel used to think that her devotion would win Brian over one day, but she was proven wrong when his true love returned. Rachel had endured it all—from standing alone at the altar to dragging herself to the hospital for an emergency treatment. Everyone thought she was crazy to give up so much of herself for someone who didn’t return her feelings. But when Brian received news of Rachel’s terminal illness and realized she didn’t have long to live, he completely broke down. "I forbid you to die!" Rachel just smiled. She no longer needed him. "I will finally be free."
Melanie married Ashton out of gratitude, but she quickly found herself entangled in a web of relentless challenges. Despite these struggles, she stayed true to her commitment to the marriage. In the hospital room, Ashton indifferently attempted to draw her blood, disregarding her discomfort. This callous act was a harsh revelation for Melanie, awakening her to the grim reality of their relationship. Resolved to prioritize her own welfare, she decided to sever ties. With newfound resolve, Melanie filed for divorce. In the process, she unveiled her concealed identities, leaving everyone in shock. Throughout these turbulent times, Melanie realized that Derek, Ashton’s uncle, had been discreetly protecting her all along.
Lucia Balstone thought she had chosen the right man to spend the rest of her life with, but he was the one who ended her life. Their ten-year marriage seemed like a joke when her husband stabbed her with a dagger. Fortunately, God is never blind to people's tears. Lucia got a second chance. She was reborn at the age of 22, before all the terrible things had happened. This time, she was determined to avenge herself and let those who hurt her pay! She made an elaborate list of her goals, and the first thing on her list was to marry her ex-husband's enemy, Alonso Callen!
"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!