One Piece Shadow

My little sister, Maya, got into a car crash. I put her in a high-end recovery center. Her injuries were bad. Progress crawled. They kept extending her treatment, one phase at a time. Early this morning, the manager called. Said the card wouldn't cover the next phase. That's when it hit me—peak season at the company. I'd been slammed, barely breathing. I hadn't topped it up in forever. I told her I'd transfer the money. She shut it down. Said I had to show up and sign in person before they'd extend anything. So after work, I rushed over. Straight into rush hour traffic. Then she called again. "Ms. Keyne, your balance hit zero three minutes ago. We're terminating services. This is a premium facility—we don't do free care. The patient tied to your account has been removed per policy."

One Year to Lose You Maya Bennett has twelve months left to live. At twenty-one, she has everything: bestselling books, wealth, and a man who loves her enough to kneel with a ring in his hand. So she breaks his heart. On the night he proposes, Maya tells Ray she has fallen out of love. That she wants someone else, she walks away before he can see her fall apart because it’s easier to be hated than mourned. Then she meets Jay, a stranger in sportswear who can’t pay his taxi fare, so she thought… but in the real sense, he is the man the city knows as billionaire Jay Naire. She offers him a deal: pretend to be her boyfriend for one year. Make it convincing for Ray to forget her before she’s gone, and Jay agrees. But the more they fake it, the more real it becomes. And before the year runs out, Maya finds herself trapped between two men, the one she tried to save, and the one who refuses to let her go. Will twelve months be enough to lose both of them? Or will she run out of time first?

Kelly Brook thought her secret marriage to Anderson Grant would shield her from her previous scandal, but everything crumbled when she discovered Anderson’s betrayal—a hidden affair with her estranged twin sister, Kate. Forced to announce her own divorce, Kelly struggles to hold her composure as she faces public judgment and private heartbreak. With her resources tied to Anderson’s career and overshadowed by her sister. Kelly must decide whether to fight for redemption or let her past destroy her future.

I'm in a secret marriage with Jessica Justice, a female CEO, for eight years. In order to please Cole Miller, Jessica has almost gotten divorced with me 99 times so far. The first time she brings up divorce, it's because my socks' colors are mismatched. The second time she does, she claims that the way I mop the floor is too ugly. … The reason of the 98th divorce is that I step through the doorway with my left foot first. Every time divorce is brought up, I'll always beg Jessica to not go through with it in an extremely lowly and humble manner. After that, I'll accept her condition to get back with me, which is always a punishment. Apparently, my pain and suffering is the only thing that can make Cole smile. The punishments range from washing Cole's feet to eating 100 slices of mango—which I'm very allergic to—and getting sent to the ICU as a result. This time, since Cole is in a bad mood, Jessica decides to go with a thrilling punishment. "As long as you can climb up a tower of 6500 feet without wearing a safety line, I will never bring up divorce in front of you ever again." All color has been drained from my face. Still, I nod while gritting my teeth together. But the next day, Jessica brings up divorce to me for the 100th time. The reason is that Cole has climbed 6499 feet just to please her. But apparently I've climbed an extra foot, so I end up stealing his thunder. This time, I no longer plead to her to stay. Instead, I tell my grandpa that I agree to inherit my family's assets that are worth ten billion dollars. Heck, the number of socialites who yearn to marry me can line up to the moon and back.

"So just to destroy our upcoming union, you were willing to get pregnant for just anybody. Bad girl," he mocked as he poured the wine inside a glass. My eyes widened as he turned and my brain registered his face.    "Alpha Ace-"    Within seconds, he was at my side and his hand was wrapped around my throat. "Be careful, gattina. You're mine now. And nothing you do can change that." ******    In a reckless act of defiance, Natalie Robbie, the daughter of the Alpha of the red wood pack, gambled her future union on a forbidden night of passion. Little did she know that her impulsive encounter would lead to a shocking revelation—the stranger she yearned for was none other than Alpha Ace, the ruthless Alpha of Alphas—and her husband to be.  Bound by a twisted twist of fate, Natalie and Alpha Ace are forced into an arranged marriage for the peace of both packs. With lies, secrets, and dangerous threats lurking around, can they unravel the mysteries surrounding them and start a love that defies all odds? Or will the dangerous path they tread on tear them apart?

In the seventh year of dating Lorenzo Townsend, he still didn't want to marry me. One day, I said to him, "Lorenzo, I'm getting married." He frowned slightly, not even sure if he heard me right. "The company is going public, and we're swamped. This is not the time to discuss such an insignificant topic," he said. I smiled calmly. Maybe to him, it seemed like I was pushing him to marry me. But the truth was, I was getting married, but not to him.

I am diagnosed with severe systemic lupus erythematosus, and I only have three days left to live. When my husband rejects my 188th plea for help, I take my test results and enter the hospice care center. "Hello, I'd like to schedule my own cremation process and apply for government aid." Ten minutes later, they arrive. Before I can speak, my lawyer husband, Jasper Horton, coldly slaps me across the face. "You're faking a terminal illness just to steal attention from Janice?" My doctor brother, Casey Carter, snatches the medical report from my hand and scoffs at it. "Lupus? If you're going to fake being sick, at least make it believable. Only one in a million people gets this." I endure the pain in my body, return to the counter, and hand in the application form and my medical records once more. The staff member sees the butterfly-shaped rash on my wrist and sympathizes with me. "I have no family left," I say. "I'm requesting cremation in three days, location doesn't matter. I just don't want my death to burden anyone."

After being reborn into a new world, the system assigned me four male leads and a mission to complete. As long as I successfully won over one of them, I would be able to come back to life, as I had died in a car accident in my original world. However, I failed with all four. Every one of them fell in love with the female lead of that world instead. Because of that, they turned their hostility toward me, hurling cruel words and even telling me to die. In the end, I failed my mission, and I chose to leave that world. Only when they saw my body did they completely break down.

On the anniversary of my mother’s death, my girlfriend told me she had to work overtime. However, her first love later posted something on social media: [Thanks to Camelia for coming to celebrate my birthday with me!] My chest tightened and my hands shook as I called her to demand an explanation. She replied calmly, “It’s Grayson’s 25th birthday today. It’s important. I didn’t want to miss it.” That was it. I let out a bitter laugh and looked down at the cancer diagnosis report in my hand. It was alright. I would be dead soon anyway.

"Mommy, Mommy! Look at that mister! Will I be as handsome as him when I grow up?" Liam's question forced me to look at where his finger pointed. "Holy f—" I cut myself off, trying not to curse in front of my son. Why, why, why did I have to run into Alexander Ravenford as soon as I walked out of the airport?! Among the millions of people living in New York, I surely didn't want to meet one—Liam's biological father. Five years ago, my scumbag of a boyfriend cheated on me, and I decided to go on a genuinely therapeutic weekend in the Bahamas. I wasn't looking for a rebound, but somehow I ended up spending a decent amount of time having sex with a man who was basically a stranger—a divinely hot, insanely mouthwatering, and ridiculously irresistible Alexander Ravenford. The morning after brought a disappointing hit in the gut, which assured me that for my Prince Charming, I was only a one-time adventure. But screw that, and screw him! I had plans. I was ready to pursue my dreams and study in London. But then fate decided to throw me another curved ball... I was pregnant, and Alex was the only possible father. I didn't give up. I came back as a successful interior designer and the mother of an amazing boy, Liam. I thought that I would be able to avoid Alexander, but it turned out to be almost impossible. But then it got worse… The arrogant, annoying, and even hotter than before CEO of a multibillion-dollar company became friends with my son—his son! And I have a feeling that the sweet little devil who calls me "Mommy" has a mischievous plan to bring his parents together. Should I give this insane relationship a chance?