The Sick Man

Stephanie has had the life that many girls have dreamt of. The money, the popularity, the looks, the boyfriend…you name it. Growing up with a silver spoon in her mouth has made her to be a very snobby and egotistical person which was perfect for the football star of a boyfriend she carries around with her on her arms; that is until, one day, Stephanie and her boyfriend has a huge argument which makes her rethink their entire relationship. It is then she has an epiphany that her once adored relationship is not genuine at all. This made her realize that maybe she does not know much about love as she once thought. That is, until she met a geeky student by the name of Luca Hawthorne. You have heard about the nerdy girl softening the bad boy’s heart before, but would the story be more interesting if it were to be the geeky boy teaching the cheerleader how to love? And it is so…The two immediately strike a deal so that they can both benefit from the unlikely relationship. Luca will teach Stephanie how to love and Stephanie will pretend to date Luca so that he can get his crush’s attention. I mean, this plan is not bound to crash and burn…right?

100 years ago, amidst WW3's nuclear bombing, a deadly virus was released in the atmosphere and nearly wiping out the humanity. It lives inside the human brain thriving on the empathy receptors, leading to irrational behaviour and ultimately brain death. To slow the damage, scientists created L.O.V.E, short for Living Off Vital Emotions, a nanovaccine that numbs the virus and switches off all strong emotions. As a last resort and with a dying planet, the Supreme Government created the City, a place to contain the infected survivors suitable for the experiment. Those in the first stages of illness became ideal candidates to receive the neuroinhibitor. Having their feelings restrained and their memory altered, those who come of age are designated a life partner through a selection process, thus preserving the humankind. A few decades after the trial had started, scientists had a major breakthrough. The nanites, which are highly chemically reactive organisms, are changing their bio-engineered purpose when dopamine levels are high. With a new generation of nanoids, stronger and smarter to fight the battle, the virus doesn't have a chance. Many attempts were made to create a man-made version of synthetic dopamine and each time the outcome was a disaster. Their goal is to create new generations, immune to the virus. These are called Purebloods, the offsprings of those who find pure love, the only cure to save them from a violent death. Running out of time, the Experiment entered in its final stages. To minimize the threats, the Colonies have sent their best soldiers to oversee the trial and protect its key subjects. If only things were going according to plan, or better... stay hidden. With Iron Guard, the resistance outside the walls, hunting the Purebloods too, will the trial save human race before it's too late?

The little boy I had saved when we were kids grew up to be a possessive, obsessive CEO. For ten years, he kept me by his side, using my grandmother's illness as a bargaining chip to force me into marrying him. He tried everything to win my heart, pulling every trick in the book, but no matter what he did, he could never make me love him. In a fit of rage, he found a woman who looked almost exactly like me to take my place. They flaunted their relationship for everyone to see, and people whispered that the CEO had finally found his true love. But that day, the woman, riding on his affection, barged into the villa with her entourage. She broke my fingers one by one, slashed my face with a utility knife, and removed my clothes to humiliate me. "Even though you had surgery to look like me, I'll let that slide. But you even learned to paint like me, too? You really did your homework. Let's see how you try to seduce men now!" Just as I was bleeding out and on the verge of death, the obsessive CEO finally showed up. The stand-in grabbed my hair and dragged me in front of him, smugly reporting, "Honey, this wench was hiding in the villa trying to seduce you. I've made sure she can't succeed!"

My parents and my younger sister, Mable Munroe, are diagnosed with severe illnesses one after another. As I stare at the astronomical sum of medical bills, I can only grit my teeth and deal with them by taking on ten part-time jobs in one go. After stirring awake from collapse caused by exhaustion, I realize that I can hear the thoughts of everyone around me. My mom, who's too busy coughing up blood, has something else going on in her mind. "This low-quality fake blood really is disgusting! Why isn't that stupid brat giving us her salary of the day? I need the money to buy new bags!" My dad, who's already crippled from his disease, thinks, "I'm about to get cramps from all the cripple-faking I have to do! Once Talia clears my debt, I'm going to get myself a nice proper massage for a few days straight!" Meanwhile, the weakened Mable has already cooked up a plot in her mind. "Hurry up and tell that broke boyfriend of mine to stay awake from me! I want Talia to break up with him on my behalf! That way, I'll be able to reel in my next boyfriend without any guilt!" As I stare at my family, I choose to not expose their lies. Instead, I retrieve all the money that I've planned on paying their "medical bills" with. Later on, I track down Mable's boyfriend, Kyle Hargrove. There, I can hear his thoughts echoing loudly in my mind. "Did Mable get her sister to send the message that she wants to dump me? I'll have her know that I'm the only son of the richest man in town! Mable and that family of hers shall live in regret for the rest of their lives!" A bold thought pops into my mind all of a sudden. I twist my ankle on the spot and use the opportunity to collapse right into Kyle's arms.

My CEO boyfriend, Elias Thatcher, had always admired strength, yet he willingly supported a useless intern. Because he loved me more than life itself, or so I thought. When a routine physical revealed that the intern, Zoey Redwood, and I shared the same rare blood type. So, he decided to keep her around as my emergency backup. She became a living blood bank, just in case something ever happened to me. He cooked for her, took her on trips, made handmade gifts, and doted on her at every turn. He said he was doing it for my sake, building up good karma for me. Then, I got into a car accident. Rather than letting the intern donate blood to save me, my boyfriend had blood brought in from miles away. His explanation was gentle, almost tender. She had a cold. He was afraid something in her blood might be passed on to me. The very next day, Zoey was diagnosed with kidney failure. That was when he drugged me and had me wheeled into an operating room, forcing me to donate a kidney. His voice was warm as he explained, "Zoey is your last resort. She has to stay healthy so she can save your life in a real emergency. I can't use her up over every little illness or injury. Having you donate a kidney to her is for your future, too. "I don't want you overthinking things. Once the surgery is over, I'll marry you." What he didn't know was that I already had mid-stage leukemia. His decision to make me donate that kidney had caused my cancer to spread. I was dying. So, I would never get the chance to marry him.

Karma is like a boomerang, what you give out would always come back to you. Bullshit. Absolute bullshit. Karma doesn't reciprocate what you give. She just gives. Indifferent to the consequence of her biased distributions. Why else would I be at the receiving end of a punishment I don't warrant? I've been beaten, belittled and my wings were clipped off by the person meant to teach me how to fly. And yet, I can't bring myself to hate those who have wronged me. For I'm nothing but a victim of ill fate and twisted vengeance. But would I ever get what I truly deserve? Or would karma keep being a bitch and forget that she owes me?