Karma

O bilionário Ethan Gibson está determinado a quebrar a maldição da família: morrer sem deixar herdeiros. Para isso, ele gastou uma fortuna recrutando dez "mães candidatas" e as isolou em sua ilha particular. No dia da chegada, Ethan fez um anúncio público: Aquela que der à luz seu primeiro herdeiro se tornará a futura senhora da família Gibson. A ganância cresceu mais rápido que o desejo. Em poucos meses, várias mulheres anunciaram suas gravidezes com grande orgulho. No entanto, elas e seus bebês que ainda nem haviam nascido foram lançados ao oceano para alimentar os tubarões. O motivo era simples: descobriu-se que elas se envolveram com outros homens. Todas as noites, os gritos vindos do porto me impediam de dormir. Eu estava apavorada, pois também tive um único encontro acidental com Ethan e agora eu estava grávida. Quando o dia finalmente chegou e eu vi o que havia dado à luz, tudo escureceu diante dos meus olhos. Aquelas mulheres que serviram de banquete aos tubarões carregavam, ao menos, bebês humanos. Eu havia dado à luz três pequenos filhotes de cachorro.

Sahabatku mengajakku ke salon kecantikan untuk perawatan wajah, dan di sanalah aku didekati oleh seorang pria muda yang tampan. Pria muda itu tinggi, tampan, punya cara yang lihai, pandai merayu, membuatku merasakan kebahagiaan menjadi seorang wanita. Aku tak peduli lagi bahwa aku masih punya pacar, dan membiarkan diriku tenggelam dalam pesona dan godaannya. Namun aku tak menyangka, di balik kelembutan itu, tersembunyi akibat yang sangat besar.

My roommate branded herself as an influencer against beauty standards, vowing to free girls from appearance anxiety. Strangely, whenever she stayed up late partying and broke out in pimples, they would appear on my face instead. When she fooled around and caught an infection, the rashes spread across my body. The more radiant she became, the more monstrous I looked. People recoiled from me. Friends cut me off. My own boyfriend, before a crowd, told me I should just die. Then my roommate got pregnant, yet it was my stomach that swelled like I was eight months along, scarred with terrifying stretch marks. She, meanwhile, looked more flawless than ever, appearing barefaced on camera to encourage girls not to fear their looks. I knew something was not right. When I tried to dig for answers, my roommate and boyfriend trapped me in a basement. They tortured me until I died. Only then did I learn the truth. He owned a cursed amulet that shifted all her pain onto me. The moment I opened my eyes, I was back on our first day of college together. This time, the game is mine. I'll make sure they pay.

Dos semanas antes de la boda, Nelson decidió posponerla una vez más. —Ivana inaugura su primera exposición de arte ese día —me dijo—. Estará sola y nerviosa. Tengo que estar ahí para apoyarla. Al final, tú y yo ya estamos juntos, ¿qué más da casarnos un día antes o después? Pero ya era la tercera vez que aplazaba nuestra boda por aquella mujer. La primera, Ivana acababa de operarse y sentía nostalgia de la comida de su tierra, por lo que Nelson no dudó en viajar al extranjero y quedarse con ella durante dos meses. La segunda, Ivana decidió irse al bosque en busca de inspiración para pintar y él, preocupado por su seguridad, fue tras ella. Esta era la tercera. Colgué la llamada y miré a César, mi amigo de toda la vida, quien se encontraba sentado frente a mí, relajado, jugando con su bastón de esmeralda, cuyo golpeteo en el piso de mármol rompía el silencio entre nosotros. —¿Todavía necesitas esposa? —le pregunté, sonriendo con picardía. El día de mi boda, Ivana sonreía radiante, copa en mano, esperando el brindis del hombre a su lado. Pero él, con los ojos rojos, observaba en silencio la transmisión en vivo de la boda del heredero del Grupo Santos, el imperio inmobiliario más grande del país.

J'étais la guérisseuse en chef de la meute, et mon compagnon Marcus n'était qu'un simple guerrier. Tout le monde trouvait que nous faisons un couple mal assorti, mais je m'en moquais. Quand Marcus m'a demandé en mariage, j'ai accepté sans hésiter. Mais le jour de la cérémonie, Serena, son ex, a fait irruption avec un petit garçon. L'enfant a agrippé la jambe de Marcus en criant : « Papa ! » Je pensais à un piège, jusqu'à ce que je voie l'expression de Marcus. Mon cœur s'est glacé : son regard est passé d'une pâleur à une ferveur que je ne lui avais jamais vue. Puis il a soulevé l'enfant avec une délicatesse. « Annule cette cérémonie. Je dois marquer Serena et élever cet enfant avec elle. T'inquiète pas, même si je la marque, mon cœur t'appartiendra toujours. » Il croyait que je l'aimais assez pour accepter d'être sa seconde ? Pas question ! J'ai calmement contacté mon ami d'enfance, l'Alpha Dominic. « J'ai tout préparé pour la cérémonie, il ne manque plus que le héros. Veux-tu venir me marquer ? »

Je m'appelle Lyra. Pendant dix-huit ans, la meute Crinière-d'Argent avait été mon foyer, mais jamais ma famille. Cette nuit-là, quand ma seule amie, Sélène, avait choisi de mettre fin à sa vie — d'accomplir l'Éclipse de lune — j'avais décidé de partir. Elle m'avait montré la possibilité de s'échapper, même si cela signifiait abandonner tout ce que je connaissais. L'Alpha et la Luna qui m'avaient élevée, ainsi que ceux que j'appelais mes frères, m'avaient fait comprendre que je n'y avais jamais eu ma place ici. Leur affection avait toujours été conditionnelle, réservée à leur fille « de sang », Liliane, qui avait été retrouvée seulement un an plus tôt. Le jour où tout le monde avait oublié mon anniversaire, j'ai déclaré ma propre Éclipse. Je retournais auprès de ma véritable famille, les Griffes-de-Sang. Mais partir avait un prix. Une terreur primordiale s'éveillait dans l'ombre, prête à dévorer tous ceux que je laissais derrière moi. Ils pensaient que je fuyais. Ils n'avaient aucune idée de ce vers quoi je marchais vraiment, ni de ce que je devais devenir pour tous les sauver.

It was my 30th birthday, and my husband said he had a surprise for me. However, on the day of my birthday, he was nowhere to be found. I called him countless times, but no one answered. Just as I was about to panic and consider calling the police, I happened to see a post on the social media feed of his female secretary. “A typhoon hit, and my boss was worried about my safety, so he personally took me home. How wonderful! I’ve got a guardian angel for myself!” My anxiety turned to cold calm in an instant. I commented on her post: “Traveling during a typhoon is dangerous. Tell him he doesn’t need to come back.” Not long after I posted the comment, my husband called. “Kelly, I was only concerned about the safety of my subordinate, and yet you’re thinking such vile thoughts. “Birthdays come every year. Missing one won’t kill you!” You were right. Birthdays came every year. But there was no way I would celebrate them with you.

When the fire broke out, I called my husband, Hector. He didn't answer. Instead, he ran straight into the flames—to save my sister, Emma. They held each other, clinging to life, while I was trapped in the basement, watching my calls go ignored until all hope burned out. Afterward, Emma played innocent, twisting everything. She told him, "Hector, don't blame Sienna. She didn't leave me on purpose... she was just scared." Her lie made me the villain, and everyone bought it. Fueled by hatred, Hector spat, "She's so vicious—why didn't that fire just take her?" Three months later, the police found my body.

Ibuku meninggal karena terlalu emosional. Pasalnya, hari yang seharusnya menjadi hari pernikahanku, kini pengantin wanitanya malah berubah menjadi mitra bisnis Ezra. Pada saat ibuku mengembuskan napas terakhirnya, hari pernikahanku berubah menjadi hari pemakamannya. Namun, Ezra memerintahkan agar pesta pernikahan tetap dilanjutkan seperti biasa dan bahkan memintaku untuk memasangkan cincin pernikahan ke jari Naila secara langsung. "Cepat! Pasangkan cincin itu padanya. Malam ini, aku akan memberimu penjelasan," katanya sambil menggertakkan giginya. Aku mengabaikan amarah Ezra dan menggendong jenazah ibuku meninggalkan hotel. Pukul delapan malam, pernikahan dengan pengantin yang diganti itu selesai dengan "sempurna". Naila memposting di Instagram dan postingannya mendapat puluhan ribu suka. [ Yay! Hari ini aku akhirnya menikahi pria idamanku. Terima kasih pada pihak ketiga yang sadar diri dan pergi. ] Tak lama kemudian, Ezra juga memposting. [ Orang yang nggak layak, nggak pantas dicintai. ] Di kamar jenazah yang dingin, aku memberikan tanda suka pada postingan mereka berdua dan menulis komenta. [ Semoga langgeng. ] Kemudian, aku mengemas barang-barangku sambil memeluk kotak abu jenazah ibuku. Namun, ketika aku sampai di rumah baru yang kubeli, aku menemukan Ezra sedang berciuman penuh gairah dengan Naila di sofa baruku.

I was the stand-in who looked most like my husband's first love. He put me through countless plastic surgeries, both major and minor ones, until I became her exact likeness. But then, she came back from the dead. All it took was her saying, "I don't like anyone looking like me," and he sent me right back to the operating table once more. I begged him, telling him that my body couldn't handle it anymore. Alas, he only looked at me with irritation. "Seeing that cheap imitation of her face just disgusts me," he sneered. "No matter how close you come, you'll never be her." In the end, I died on that operating table. Yet, he went mad, trying desperately to recall what I once looked like.