Good Drama

I dropped my car off for maintenance at the service center. When it was finished, I told the staff to put it on the tab of my cousin, who ran the shop. The staff member nodded and started to process it, but then the female manager stepped in. "We don't do tabs here. You've got to pay up now," she said, slapping the bill down right in front of me. Premium Diagnostic Scan: $80,000 Exhaust System Sound Enhancement: $100,000 Engine Harmony Calibration: $100,000 Total: $280,000. I laughed at the absurdity. Since when did my cousin start running a rip-off operation? The manager crossed her arms and gave me a snooty once-over. "Always trying to mooch off Chad. I've seen plenty of broke relatives like you. If you can't swing it, don't act like you can." Unwilling to argue with her, I pulled out my phone and called my cousin. "You have ten minutes to fire the manager, or your shop is finished."

My best friend and I married the Luther brothers. I married the older brother, a legendary specialist in childbirth. My best friend, Autumn, married the younger brother, the CEO of a pharmaceutical company. On my birthday, my husband’s crush, Kirsty, scared me into early labor by sending me the carcass of a rotten, dead cat. Autumn rushed me to the emergency room. The doctors had their hands tied as I went into premature labor with a case of amniotic fluid embolism. With the last of my strength, I turned to my husband for help. Instead, I was berated. “So I missed your birthday. Do you have to make a big deal out of it? Why are you lying to me? Kirsty’s pet dog is having puppies. I need to help with the birth, so stop getting in the way!” Later, Autumn took charge and operated on me. I managed to pull through, while my baby was rushed to the ICU. Autumn tearfully called her husband, pleading for the specific medication produced by his company. “Kirsty’s dog is struggling in labor. I’m making a nutritious meal for it. You sure are good friends with Bella to take turns stirring up a fuss. Don’t you have anything better to do than act out in jealousy?” In the end, I lost my child. My heart shattered into pieces. “I want a divorce, Autumn.” “I’m with you! The cheating bastards don’t deserve wives.” We filed for divorce, and the brothers panicked.

During our decade together, I stay by Felix Valentino's side as he slowly ascends to the peak of the mafia world. I become the woman he trusts most. However, he secretly names an island that we fought for and won together after my best friend, Lilian Fenati. Why? Because Lilian is terminally ill. Her dying wish is to marry Felix on the island named after her. Felix clamps down on this and forbids anyone from telling me. He has no idea Lilian live streams the whole thing for me. That night, I cry my heart out. Meanwhile, Felix spends the night with Lilian. I lie in a pool of blood. My heart condition acts up, and my breathing starts to slow. Where is Felix? At the hospital with Lilian. Five days later, I accept a marriage proposal from Harold Bonanno, the mafia king.

My father-in-law said he wanted to experience "how the young folks have fun these days," so I took him to my wife's newly opened upscale cocktail bar for a quiet drink. I’d just finished ordering him a custom cocktail when a man from a booth across the room swaggered over, glass in hand. His eyes scanned the drink menu on our table, and a condescending smirk twisted his lips. "Only ordering the cheapest well drinks?" he sneered. "Brought the old man here to enjoy the free air conditioning? Trash like you belongs in a dive bar. Who even let you in here?" Anger burned in my chest. I stood up, my jaw clenched. "We're paying customers. What's it to you?" But before I could say another word, his face darkened with pure rage. He snatched the half-finished beer bottle from our table and raised it high above my head. "My girl owns this place!" he snarled. "Even if I crack your skull open, I can afford the payout! You filthy pauper—either get on your knees and lick my shoes dry, or get the hell out of my sight. You're an eyesore." The beer dripped down my face. My hands trembled with fury as I wiped it away. Then, a cold calm settled over me. I opened my phone, switched to the camera, and went live. "Alright, everyone," I said into the screen. "You won't want to miss this. We're going live to catch my cheating wife and see the double life she's been leading."

My father's adopted daughter was only locked in the cramped storage closet for around fifteen minutes, yet he punished me by tying me up and throwing me inside. He even sealed off the ventilation with towels. "As Wendy's older sister, if you can't take care of her, then you should also experience how scared she was," he declared coldly. He knew I was claustrophobic, but my desperate pleas for mercy, my terror, were met with nothing but heartless reprimands. "Let this be a lesson on how to be a good sister." As the last sliver of light disappeared, swallowed by the oppressive darkness, I struggled helplessly. A week passed before my father finally remembered my existence and decided it was time to end my punishment. "Let's hope this week served as a good lesson for you, Jennifer. If this happens again, you will no longer be allowed in this house." He would never know that I had already taken my last breath in that suffocating room. My body had begun to rot in the darkness.

Eu estava no meio de uma conferência internacional quando o telefone da Helena tocou. Do outro lado da linha, ela chorava: — Mana, roubaram a minha vaga de intercâmbio... Fui direto para a escola. Encontrei minha irmã encurralada no canto do gabinete, com os olhos cheios de lágrimas. Uma garota de cabelo rosa, maquiagem carregada, apontava o dedo para ela com arrogância: — Vai competir comigo? Eu sou filha da Família Almeida de São Paulo! Meu pai acabou de doar um prédio inteiro de laboratórios para a escola! Quem é você na fila do pão? Até o professor Ricardo entrou na conversa: — Clara, a Cecília é filha da Família Almeida. Seja sensata e não traga problemas para todos nós. Eu já ia retrucar, mas o título "filha da Família Almeida" me fez parar. Família Almeida de São Paulo? Desde quando meu pai tinha outra filha além de mim e da Helena? Na hora liguei para ele e falei, com sorriso frio: — Pai, desde quando você tem outra filha fora do casamento?

Als ich erfuhr, dass Felix Behrens seiner kleinen Assistentin Erkältungsmedizin geben wollte, sich aber nicht um mich kümmerte, die mit Klaustrophobie im Aufzug feststeckte, reichte ich die Scheidung ein. Felix unterschrieb sofort und sagte lächelnd zu seinen Freunden: „Nur ein kleiner Wutanfall. Ihre Eltern sind tot, sie wird sich sicherlich nicht von mir scheiden lassen. Außerdem gibt es doch eine Bedenkzeit von dreißig Tagen bei der Scheidung. Wenn sie es bereut, werde ich großzügig sein und nachsehen, und sie wird zurückkommen.“ Am nächsten Tag postete er ein Paarfoto von sich und seiner Assistentin mit der Bildunterschrift: „Jeden zärtlichen Moment mit dir festhalten.“ Ich zählte die Tage herunter. Still räumte ich meine Sachen zusammen und wählte eine Telefonnummer. „Onkel, kauf mir ein Ticket nach New York.“

Quando eu estava sendo despedaçada viva, usei minhas últimas forças para ligar para o meu irmão. No instante em que minha consciência quase se apagava, ele atendeu o telefone, mas sua voz estava cheia de impaciência: — De novo? O que foi agora? — Mano… me salva… Antes que eu terminasse a frase, ele me interrompeu friamente: — Você arranja problema todo dia? No fim do mês é a festa de formatura da Marina. Se você não aparecer, eu mesmo te mato! E desligou sem hesitar. A dor me consumiu até eu fechar os olhos para sempre. As lágrimas ainda escorriam pelo canto do meu rosto. Mano, você não precisa me matar. Eu já estou morta.

En la etapa terminal de mi insuficiencia renal, mi esposo le dio a mi hermana menor el único riñón que se adaptaba a mí. Rechacé la propuesta del médico de seguir esperando por otro riñón y me di de alta anticipadamente. Después de tanto dolor y desilusión, ya no tenía fuerzas para seguir luchando. Le entregué a mi hermana menor toda la fortuna que había construido durante estos años y, por fin, pude ver a mis padres sonreírme. Mi esposo quería cuidarla día y noche sin descanso. Pero yo solo no me enojé, sino que le aconsejé que fuera muy atento con ella. Incluso, cuando mi hijo dijo que quería que mi hermana fuera su mamá, también asentí sonriendo. Todo salió como ellos querían... entonces, ¿por qué ahora se arrepentían?

Después de dejar la universidad, mis padres no me presionaron. Pero la amiga de la infancia de mi novio, esa que se hacía pasar por la chica perfecta y de alto coeficiente intelectual, me llamó por teléfono. Yo estaba ocupada trabajando en el campo, sembrando verduras y jugando con el agua, sin tiempo para programar. En mi vida pasada, ella presentó su proyecto de diseño de software un día antes que yo, era exactamente igual al mío. Todos me acusaron de ladrona, de farsante sin escrúpulos. Intenté defenderme, pero nadie me creyó. Más tarde, incluso abrió un canal de transmisiones en vivo para difamarme, diciendo que yo la acosaba en la escuela. La gente en internet enloqueció, atacando cruelmente a toda mi familia. Mis padres, tratando de huir de los fanáticos que los perseguían, murieron en un accidente de coche. Yo no soporté el golpe, me lancé desde lo alto de un edificio… sin poder cerrar los ojos en paz. Hasta el último instante de mi conciencia, no entendía nada. ¿Por qué, si era mi esfuerzo y mi trabajo, alguien más pudo publicarlo antes que yo? Cuando volví a abrir los ojos, estaba de nuevo en el día anterior al plagio.