betrayed, but not defeated

"Kau siapa?" Charlotte tak menemukan jejak ingatan siapa yang berdiri didepannya memakai handuk dengan rambut basah di kamar hotel itu. Pria tampan atletis dengan tubuh mengagumkan itu memandangnya dengan senyum lucu. "Kau tak tahu siapa aku? Kau tidur diranjangku." Bajunya sudah berganti baju pria itu, Dan sialnya namanya pun tak bisa diingatnya. Nasib sial apa yang menimpanya sekarang. Charlotte adalah seorang wanita mandiri yang tak pernah mempercayai cinta pria, apa yang harus dia percayai. Dari kecil tak ada pria yang berperan dalam hidupnya, dan dia adalah pengacara perceraian, dia melihat banyak wanita brengsek dalam hidupnya. Tapi sekarang dia jatuh ke pelukan pria asing karena minuman, karena kebodohannya sendiri. Dia minum karena kesal terhadap teman mesranya yang sebenarnya dicintainya menggoda wanita lain didepannya. "Mari kita tak saling bertemu lagi." Dia berkata begitu saja dan menghindar. Merasa kejadian ini adalah lembaran yang tidak akan punya pengaruh apapun ke hidupnya. Benarkah mereka tak akan bertemu lagi.

Victoria Wilson, daughter of Misty Ridge's formidable pack alpha, finds herself trapped between the tug of ancient bonds and the yearning for a life of her own choosing. Defiant against the notion of predetermined mates, Victoria wishes for a life free from the mate bond, but everything changes when she meets Lucas Quinn, the new leader of the Silver Crest pack. Lucas is known for his playboy reputation, and he sees Victoria's steadfast claim of inability to sense their bond as a challenge, only to find himself falling for her against all odds. Just when Victoria begins to believe her struggle with the mate bond is over, fate throws an even greater challenge her way. To her surprise, the emotions and sensations she had never experienced with Lucas flood her senses in the presence of this powerful vampire. As the tangled web of fate continues to envelop Victoria, she finds herself torn between two powerful men, each vying for her heart and loyalty. Lucas is determined to prove their bond, while Zephyr's mysterious charm pulls her in, awakening new emotions she never knew existed. Will Victoria choose to go with the flow of fate, or can she stay true to her beliefs and create a whole new destiny for herself?

“What anniversary are you celebrating, huh? Five years of barrenness?” he queried, “It’s just another year to celebrate how unfortunate I am to be with you.” “We’ve come this far, love, I’m sure having a child won’t be a problem,” I manage to say with a smile. “Oh please, I don't fertilize barren land. There's no point wasting my seed on infertile soil.” *** Five years of marriage went down the drain in one day. Cara can overlook everything despite being betrayed by her husband and taken for a fool. What she can't endure is them being the reason she lost her baby and her womb. Cara divorced him and went back to reclaim her rightful place as the wealthiest billionaire heiress in the country. Now, she's sworn to make everyone who hurt her pay. Except for the fact that her ex-husband has realized what a terrible mistake he made and wants her back. Will Cara take him back or will she kick him to the curb along with the others who hurt her?

My brother was a twisted, paranoid psychopath. When I was ten, my parents were murdered. Both my legs broke off while I tried to save my brother. I became his only family and also Achilles’ heel. Those who mocked me as a crippled would have their bones broken, and anyone who tried to hurt me would be smashed into a pulp. As he reclaimed our family’s fortune, he became “the Devil” in Amberwater, a man no one dared to offend. Yet, he alone spoiled me like I was a little princess. Everyone knew that Lucas’s sister was untouchable. He had sent me abroad to receive the best treatment. The day that I could finally stand up again, I received an invitation to my brother’s engagement banquet. “Veronica, we’re going to have a new family member soon.” I heard that his fiancee was the daughter of a wealthy family. She was gentle and virtuous. I dressed beautifully to meet her and planned to give her the jade bracelet that my mother had left behind. However, she had me kidnapped and taken to an abandoned construction building. “You lowly little witch. I’ll rip that face of yours since you’re such a seductress. I’ll see how you’ll steal my man now!” She crushed my mother’s heirloom, broke all my limbs, and ripped my face off. Then, she ordered a dozen men to torment me to death. In the end, she stuffed me into a gift box and sent it to my brother. “Dearest, this is your wedding gift. Do you like it?”

“ เลิกกันเถอะ “ ผมบอกเธอด้วยน้ำเสียงเย็นชา ผมที่กำลังยืนหันหลังให้ผู้หญิงที่ขึ้นชื่อว่าแฟนของผมที่คบกันมาตั้งแต่มัธยมต้น ตอนนี้พวกเราก็กำลังจะจบชั้น ม.6 และวันนี้เป็นวันปัจฉิมนิเทศจบการศึกษา " บอกเหตุผลป่านได้ไหมมังกร " ป่านถามผมกลับด้วยเสียงสั่นเครือ ที่ผมหันหลังให้เธอเพราะกลัวจะเห็นน้ำตาของผู้หญิงที่ขึ้นชื่อว่าแฟนของผม ผมกลัวว่าผมจะใจอ่อน " ทำไมผมต้องบอกเหตุผลกับคุณด้วย " ผมเรียกแทนตัวเองกับป่านอย่างเย็นชา " อึก ที่ผ่านมามังกรไม่เคยรักป่านเลยใช่ไหม " ป่านพูดพลางร้องไห้สะอึกสะอื้นไปด้วย " ใช่ " ผมตอบกลับไป เพราะตอนนี้ผมอยากเลิกกับเธอ อยากให้เธอไปจากผม เกลียดผมไปเลยได้ยิ่งดี ผมจะดีใจมาก " ที่ผ่านมาผมไม่เคยรักคุณ ผมเห็นคุณเป็นเพียงของเล่นเหมือนคนอื่นๆ คุณคิดว่าผมจะหยุดที่คุณคนเดียวอย่างนั้นเหรอ " ผมตอกกลับป่านไปด้วยคำพูดที่ทำร้ายจิตใจเธอ

You are the CEO of Garner Empire. You are looking for your wife for the last five years who you abandoned at the altar without knowing how she looked. You know nothing about her except she has azure eyes. What would you do if she is right there under your nose working as your PA? Wait a minute! What would you do if she is working as your PA under the disguise of a boy? Once her identity is revealed what will you do? Throw her out of your business empire and your life? Or will you spoil her to bits?

Yuri Katakori is suffering from an illness—he is allergic to women due to trauma. He has everything that a man could want, except for love. He has given up on it until he saw Allyah Jane Fernandez, aka AJ. AJ has long forgotten what it feels like to be in love. The fairytales she believed in for so long has lost its spark. All she wants is to have a peaceful life in her comfort zone, her world without a man. But destiny is still working and did not give up on both of them. In an unexpected way… In an unexpected time of the day… The two people who lost their way in life unexpectedly met at the crossroad. AJ’s fate got tangled up with Yuri’s world—darkness, betrayal, secrets, pains, sufferings, and tragedies. Is she capable of giving Yuri the life he seek desperately for a long time? Or will she bring more trouble in his complicated life?

***EXCERPT*** "I could burn the world to ashes, and you would still be the only thing worth destroying," he whispered, his lips just close enough to feel my desperate, trembling breath, tears leaking down my eyes. "Your pain is beautiful, Tera," he whispered with a chilling smile. "It shows you're still trying to fight what you know you've already lost." *** Dr. Tera Williams thought her life couldn't sink any lower after signing the divorce papers her husband's mistress threw in her face. But when a twist of fate puts her in a prison cell, stripping her of her career and reputation, she realizes she hasn't even begun to fall. After spending three years in prison, she struggles to get her life back on track again by starting from her lowest. Despite all the hurdles she had to endure from her current boss, she finds love again with Ryan, a single father, who is madly in love with her. But just as she's about to marry him, her worst nightmare resurfaces: She finds out that she is still legally married to her obsessive ex-husband, Logan, who has been doing everything possible to win her back. How does she navigate her life when she is now trapped between two possessive men who are not willing to give her up for the other? Trigger Warning: This is a dark, intense romance with a few scenes of psychological manipulation, violence, and non-con. Recommended for mature readers.

To encourage overall development, the kindergarten had asked each student to create a hand-drawn poster. My daughter Holly refused my help and insisted on doing it all on her own. Little did I know, most of the other children had their parents do the artwork for them. In comparison, Holly's delicate strokes were quickly dismissed. Not only was her work discarded into the trash, but her teacher also called her out in the parent group, criticizing her for being careless with the assignment. As I racked my brain trying to figure out how to help Holly regain her confidence in drawing, I was surprised to see Holly's artwork among the winning entries in the state-level children's art competition. But the signature wasn't hers—it belonged to another student from her class.

"I’m a good girl—until I got drunk in Vegas and married a panties-flaming-hot Irishman. Oops. I’ve always lived my life by the rules. Unlike my two sisters, I’m the good one. The responsible one. Going outside my comfort zone is when I wear red lipstick before five PM. That comfort zone of mine? It’s smashed to smithereens on a wild night in Las Vegas when I met—and married—Liam Gallagher. After one shot of tequila, then two, then too many to count, a good girl’s rules tend to disappear. And so do her panties, and her bra, and various other articles of clothing when she’s with an Irishman who knows his way around a woman’s body. Now my husband wants us to stay married. For six months. He says it’ll be worth my while. Considering our chemistry underneath the sheets, I can’t say that he’s wrong. Liam isn’t safe, though. Liam definitely isn’t comfortable. He’s like the male equivalent of wearing red lipstick in the daytime all wrapped up in an irresistible, dangerous package. Yet this stubborn Irishman isn’t about to let me go, drunken Princess Bride-themed Vegas wedding or no. Now I have to decide if I’m brave enough to break the rules for love."