Karma

Dua hari sebelum tahun baru, pacarku, Dylan Stevens, malah bawa asistennya ke pantai untuk merayakan tahun baru. Aku tidak marah, aku bahkan dengan tulus bantu dia berkemas. Namun, Dylan malah mengejekku. Dia bilang, aku jadi lebih tahu diri setelah hamil. Begitu dia pergi, aku langsung melakukan operasi aborsi. Karena di kehidupan sebelumnya, setelah aku mencoba menahannya dengan anak kami, asisten itu justru tewas secara tragis di pantai. Di luar, Dylan tampak tenang dan tidak peduli, tapi saat aku hendak melahirkan, dia belah perutku dan bunuh anakku dengan kejam. Saat itulah aku tersadar, dia menyimpan dendam padaku selama ini. Di kesempatan kedua ini, aku akan membuatnya kehilangan segalanya.

Larut malam, aku berbaring di kursi taman dan membuka lebar kakiku dan memuaskan diriku, sambil memandang pria berotot setinggi dua meter. Aku tahu dia sedang melihatku dan juga tahu aku sedang melakukan hal yang sangat gila. Namun, sensasi ini malah membuatku tertantang. Membuatku kehilangan kemampuan untuk berpikir. Semakin aku menikmatinya, semakin haus rasanya dan semakin sulit untuk berhenti.

"Miss Jackson, are you certain you want to undergo hypnosis? You should know that once the hypnosis begins, it cannot be reversed. Your body will be controlled by an alternate personality, and you will fall into a sleep from which you will never wake up again," the doctor asked in a grave tone from the other end of the phone. "Yes, I'm certain," Nina Jackson replied calmly.

Aku adalah seorang wanita yang baru saja menikah. Aku akui, gairahku memang cukup tinggi, sentuhan sedikit saja bisa langsung membuatku terangsang. Tapi, aku bersumpah, aku sama sekali tidak pernah berniat untuk tidur dengan adik iparku ….

The day I went into labor with the twins, I bribed the family doctor to shoot me up with every heavy-duty suppressant he could get his hands on. Anything to stall the birth. Why? Because in my last life, Vincent—my husband, the Don—claimed to have a low sperm count. To guarantee an heir, he lined up ten mistresses and told the whole house: whoever popped out a son first, her kid would be the next Corleone Don. He promised if I delivered first, he'd ditch the others. Said our baby would inherit the throne. I bought every word. When I found out I was carrying twins, I couldn't stop shaking—I thought I'd won. But after I gave birth, he tossed me and the babies into the freezing wine cellar and locked the place down. "Lucy came from nothing. I just wanted to give her kid a name. You started rumors, pushed her into despair, and now she's dead—her and the baby. You're vile. Not fit to be the Don's wife. Think about what you've done. I'll open the door in three days." Then he had the butler seal it shut. What he didn't know? That night, the cellar caught fire. Me and my babies? Burned alive. When I opened my eyes again, I was back—right before labor. This time, I'm not staying. Soon as I deliver and get back on my feet, I'm taking my kids and disappearing for good.

My name is Lyra. For eighteen years, the Silvermane Pack was my home, but it was never my family. The night my only friend, Selene, chose to end her life—to Eclipse—was the night I decided to leave. She showed me that escape was possible, even if it meant walking away from everything I knew. The Alpha and Luna who raised me, and my so-called brothers, made it clear I didn't belong. Their love was always conditional, reserved for my "true-born" sister, Lillian, found just a year ago. On my forgotten birthday, I declared my own Eclipse. I am returning to my real family, the Blood-Claws. But leaving has a price. A primordial terror stirs in the darkness, threatening to devour everyone I leave behind. They think I'm running away. They have no idea what I'm really walking into, or what I must become to save them all.

Madam Pratt, my mother-in-law, was in critical condition after a car accident, desperately needing surgery. However, as the lead surgeon, I—Lilianne Davis—stood by, casually scrolling through short videos on my phone. My best friend, Tiffany Owens, who was also a doctor, was far more anxious than I was. She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the operating room. “Lily, why are you still stalling? Hurry up and save her!” I took a step back, clutching my stomach in pain as her face twisted in shock. “I have cramps so bad I can’t even stand. You do it.” In my last life, the moment I heard about Madam Pratt’s accident, I had swallowed a painkiller and rushed into surgery, working for hours to stabilize her. I had barely stepped away from the operating table when alarms blared. “Lilianne, what have you done? The patient is experiencing acute hemolysis!” “Call the family now!” Gareth Pratt stormed in, his face twisted with rage. He slapped me hard in the face. “Lil, you’re a professional surgeon, yet you gave my mother the wrong blood transfusion?!” I froze, reaching for Madam Pratt’s medical report to explain, only to find that the A-type blood I had seen before had somehow changed to B-type. The medical board arrived, and a blood test revealed traces of hallucinogens in my system. “Unbelievable! Taking illegal substances before surgery? That’s a cardinal sin for a doctor!” In the chaos, Emma Pratt, Gareth’s teenage sister, grabbed a scalpel and stabbed me multiple times. Blood gushed from my arteries, and I collapsed in a pool of crimson. As my vision faded, I couldn’t understand what had happened. I had never taken illegal drugs. Besides, I was absolutely certain of Madam Pratt’s blood type. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the moment right before stepping into the operating room.

After the cruise ship strikes a hidden reef, panicked passengers shove me and Kristen Langford into the sea. My boyfriend, Elijah Jensen, is the ship's captain, so he plunges into the water. But instead of saving me, he grabs Kristen and boards the last lifeboat. I thrash and cry for help, but he slaps my hand away. "You can swim. Stop pretending for attention!" Elijah snaps. "Kristen's body temperature is dropping. I have to get her to a hospital!" The waters around me are pitch-black, and his words feel like a death sentence. When the tracking bracelet I always wear is discovered inside a shark, Elijah dives alone into shark-infested waters, searching for three days and nights. In the end, the brilliant captain who once ruled the oceans can never sail again.

In my previous life, my brother Elliot Quinn's close female friend, Ava Sutton, told him she wanted to camp on the mountaintop and watch the stars. Wanting privacy, he took all the bodyguards from home with him. Unexpectedly, the rival whom Elliot had once humiliated took the opportunity to break into the house seeking revenge. My pregnant sister-in-law fought to protect me with everything she had, while my three-year-old nephew got hurt badly trying to save me. I called Elliot over and over, begging him to come home. Knowing that the situation at home was urgent, he had no choice but to leave Ava Sutton behind and rush back. Elliot's rival was captured, but from the mountaintop came terrible news. Ava had vanished after sending her last message. "I know your sister and wife have been waiting for me to die. Well, they got what they wanted." Elliot coldly deleted the message and told me not to overthink it. Afterward, Dad punished him, and he lost control of the family business. But after the corporate gala, while I was in the backyard, Elliot killed me mercilessly. His face was cold and cruel as he said, "You're the one who made me come back. That's why Ava died. Go and make amends to her!" When I open my eyes again, the front gate of the villa echoes with the voice of Elliot's rival.

There's about half a month to our wedding when Daniel Bradshaw and I get into a horrible fight. The reason? He wants to have a child with his mentor's daughter. "We're only going to do IVF—it's not like we're doing anything else! My mentor is gravely ill now, and his only wish is to see Phoebe have someone she can rely on!" Daniel sounds indifferent, but my blood runs cold. "It's half a month to our wedding, yet you're going to have a child with another woman. Don't you find that ridiculous?" I watch as he storms off and slams the door shut behind him. Then, I update my social media. "I'm getting married in half a month, but I need a new groom. Is anyone up for it?"