the good stepmother

Three years into our marriage, Chris Davis doted on me deeply. But I accidentally discovered that he had been cheating on me for two years. In front of that woman, everything he said showed his disdain towards me. "Who would marry a cripple?" "She's like a dead fish in bed." "She's just a deaf person who makes me want to throw up now." Later, I took the initiative to file for divorce. But he went crazy. Kneeling in front of me, every word was filled with regret...

Megan Hurley orchestrated a bullying scheme to drive a wedge between me and my childhood friend, Eugene. I fell into her trap as she intended, but only saved Eugene Carson. The thugs she hired, however, proved reckless. As a result, she accidentally died. This enraged Eugene to the point of hatred. He was convinced I had set up the bullying that led to Megan's death. On our wedding anniversary, he pushed me off a high building, his face twisted with relentless fury. "This is what you owe me and Megan. Sherlyn, you deserve to die!" When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day of the bullying. This time, I didn't intervene. Later, he knocked on my window in the rain, saying hoarsely in despair, "Sherlyn, why do you no longer care about me?"

Meet Noel Atkins, kinda awkward, has her face stuck to a screen almost every time, talks to herself and always, always wears a beanie. She moves to a new town in other to start things afresh, and scale through Highschool unnoticed and alone. Meet Aaron-lee Altamira, the popular boy, rich, handsome, every girl's dream and every boy's model. With his killer blue eyes and charming attitude, Aaron-lee always gets what he wants. Aaron-lee doesn't do flings and hook ups, he's searching for something real. Something substantial. Something challenging. Something more cherishing than his cars. Something he finds in the eyes of the new girl who talks to herself and always wears a beanie. With the school's hottest boy interested in her, Noel's quite, boring, gaming and withdrawn life is about to take a ride on a rollercoaster. Noel isn't interested and Aaron-lee isn't taking no for an answer.

When I died with a smile on my face, right before my brother's eyes, he looked as if the anguish might tear him apart. Yet, for twenty-one years, he hadn't stopped wishing I would meet this exact end. It all traced back to my fifth birthday—the day I had innocently hoped our parents would come home from their business trip to celebrate with me. They rushed back that night but never made it. A car accident took both their lives. From that moment on, my brother resented me, despised me. He didn't just stand idly by as our cousin snatched up my work as her own; he encouraged it. And when my landlord threw me out, it wasn't a random cruelty—it was my brother pulling the strings. All he had ever wanted, from the very beginning, was to see me die a miserable death. But when he finally got his wish… why did he cry, pleading for me to come back, begging me to call him 'brother' one last time?

The emergency center I worked in went haywire as the typhoon closed in on our town. That night, my husband’s first love made seven emergency calls in a row to me. However, she did not say anything when I picked up. By the eighth call, I thought it was a prank caller, so I gave them a piece of my mind. Then, I heard my husband’s angry voice. “Melinda! This is the eighth time Sadie's called you for help! Haven’t you made her suffer enough?!” After that fiasco, he decided to avenge Sadie by taping my mouth, tying my wrists and legs up, and throwing me into our basement for three whole days, despite it being flooded with seawater, I begged for mercy, but it was to no avail. “You knew Sadie couldn’t talk because she hurt her throat, yet you still hung up on her! I'm going to make sure you feel the same hopelessness she felt!" Those three days left me with a collection of severe infections. I ended up having to remove my kidney. Even after all that, that man still had the gall to kneel by my bed and beg me to give him another chance.

Sebelum mereka menikah sang Pria berkata, “Pernikahan ini hanyalah sebuah perjanjian kerjasama di atas kertas. Di kehidupan nyata, masing-masing kita tidak ada urusan apapun." Setelah menikah, setiap kali Susan mengalami masalah, Sang CEO manja akan membantunya. Ketika Susan dibuli. ia akan melindunginya. Susan mematuhi perjanjian dan menyembunyikan status pernikahan mereka, tetapi malah sang CEO yang mengumumkan kepada dunia bahwa ia adalah istrinya.Suatu saat sang CEO diam-diam datang ke tempat tidurnya. Susan merasa terganggu “Apa sebenarnya maumu?” Dengan muka polos ia memelas “Tolong peluk aku, cium aku. Tolong…” Menghadapi CEO yang membingungkan ini, Susan hanya bisa mengaku kalah. Beberapa tahun kemudian, akhirnya dia sadar bahwa sebenarnya sang CEO sudah menyukainya dari sejak lama.

Apa jadinya, ketika dua orang berbeda usia 13 tahun, harus terjalin sebuah hubungan pernikahan? Mungkinkah keributan akan perbedaan sifat, atau justru kisah menyenangkan yang akan mewarnai? Damian dan Ines, dua orang yang bersepakat menjalin kerja sama menguntungkan dalam wujud pernikahan, akibat keadaan mengimpit yang memaksa. Keluarga Damian mengalami kebangkrutan, dan ia harus menerima banyak penghinaan yang ingin sekali dibalas tuntas. Di sisi lain, Ines pun diterjang isu tak menyenangkan, tentang dirinya yang dianggap pencinta sesama jenis, karena belum juga menikah di usia 40 tahun. Hingga suatu kesempatan, Ines melihat Damian dihajar dan diusir oleh seluruh anak buah Max. Ines memerintahkan anak buahnya menyelamatkan, membawa ke rumah dan memberi perawatan. Di saat itulah, muncul ide di kepala Ines dan langsung mengutarakan pada Damian. Wanita pemegang takhta tertinggi dalam dunia bisnis itu, beranggapan bahwa Damian mudah dikendalikan dengan uang. Namun, rupanya Ines salah menilai sosok Damian. Seiring berjalannya waktu, rahasia demi rahasia pun mulai terbongkar. Pada akhirnya, Ines mengetahui banyak kebenaran tentang Damian, yang tak pernah diketahui atau sekedar dipikirkan selama ini. Lantas, apakah rahasia yang dimiliki oleh Damian? Mungkinkah, jika Ines akan bisa memaafkan Damian, ketika mengetahui tentang kebenaran hidupnya?

My mother was the best portrait artist in the police station. She had a strong sense of justice and brooked no evil. However, all I got was a sharp retort when I called her to save me. "You know it's your sister's coming-of-age celebration today, and you're cursing her? Kidnapped, are you? Fine, the kidnappers can kill you for all I care." She assumed it was a prank call. So, she refused to go to the police station and do her job. I wasn't saved in time and was tortured to death. When the DNA report came out, she came to the scene all wobbly. She drew a portrait of me with my bones as reference, her hand trembling all the way. "Jessica? It can't be her. This is a mistake!" She tried again and again. Yet, it didn't matter how many times she redid it as the portrait showed my face. My mother, who had hated me my whole life, teared up.

Aris bergegas mengemasi pakaiannya, berderai keringat, nafasnya memburu tak karuan. Sementara di luar jeritan orang tertindas dan lolongan kebencian massa saling bersautan. Toko-toko dan kendaraan dibakar. Langit sedang dipenuhi asap hitam dan tangisan kaum perempuan. Di sisi lain, Asha dengan langkah yang gontai, berusaha mencari kekasihnya. Betapapun kacaunya keadaan di jalanan. Setibanya di tempat tinggal Aris, dia mendapati bahwa pintunya tergembok. Ada sedikit angin yang melegakan tenggorokan, setidaknya Aris masih ada di bumi tentu karena dia masih sempat mengunci pintu. Asha memutuskan kembali ke tempat persembunyian, alih-alih Aris sudah pergi kesana. Sayangnya segerombolan massa telah menghadang. Siap dengan segala aksinya. Asha kelimpungan, gemetar seluruh badan. Suaranya tercekat, sementara air mata terus meluncur bebas tanpa henti. kakinya seperti mati. Dalam batinnya dia menggaung pasrah, di pikirannya dia mengenang nama Aris.

“Apa yang bisa kamu lakukan untuk saya, Nes?” Suara berat dengan bahasa formal yang kaku itu menyentak kesadaran Nesa. Sudah pasti lelaki itu persis dengan apa yang digambarkan kepalanya. Dari namanya saja seolah sudah terbaca; Barata—Tua, tambun, jelek dan genit. Jemari Nesa meremas ujung baju kurungnya yang menjuntai hingga atas lutut dengan kuat. Dia dikirim ke rumah besar ini sebagai tebusan utang menggunung bapaknya pada sang tuan tanah. Dia harus kabur dari sini. Dia sudah berbalik dan hendak mengeluarkan jurus seribu langkah, tetapi suara bariton lelaki itu berhasil menghentikannya. “Jika kamu nekat keluar dari rumah ini, maka pintu rumah ini akan selamanya tertutup untuk kamu. Dan kamu tahu apa artinya?” Nesa menelan salivanya susah payah. Apakah ini akhir kegadisannya? Terperangkap ke dalam cangkang si tuan tanah tua?