Novels by Athara

The moment we arrived at the hospital, Ariel rushed toward Leonard and threw her arms around him. She burst into tears, releasing all the sorrow she had been holding inside.Leonard stood frozen. His expression revealed his concern for Ariel, but I could also see the fear in his eyes. He looked torn, as though he was afraid of hurting her feelings while worrying about making me angry.“Leonard, why haven’t you visited me? Why haven’t you answered my calls? Do you not love me anymore?” Ariel sobbed, clutching his clothes tightly.Leonard sighed and gently began to free himself from her embrace.“Ariel, please calm down. There’s something I need to tell you. No matter what, I have to be honest with you. The truth is, I’ve already—”“Leonard, please come with me for a moment!”Ariel’s father hurriedly interrupted before Leonard could finish his sentence.Leonard turned to look at me. I met his gaze and gave him a small nod. From the way Ariel’s parents were behaving, I could already gues

“What’s going on here?” my father-in-law asked, noticing the tension in the room.I immediately explained everything, from Anna following me to the garden to the way she had suddenly cursed at me and accused me of all sorts of things simply because I had entered the house with Dante.“That’s absolutely outrageous! Anna needs to be warned tomorrow so she won’t dare do something like this again!” my father-in-law said angrily.“I agree. Anna has been acting strangely ever since Isla Grace became pregnant,” my mother-in-law added.“Are you all right?” Leonard asked, gently stroking my head.I looked at him with mixed emotions. “I’d be lying if I said I was fine. Anna’s words about Ariel keep echoing in my mind. Did you choose me only because Ariel can’t give you a child?”Leonard frowned. “This has absolutely nothing to do with Ariel. I don’t want to lose you because I can’t live without you.”“Then let’s make an agreement tomorrow.” I looked at him seriously. “If we ever get divorced, t

At exactly two months into my pregnancy, Leonard accompanied me to the hospital for a routine checkup.The ultrasound results showed that our baby was developing well. However, what surprised me most wasn't the good news itself, but Leonard's reaction when he saw the image on the screen. My usually cold and emotionally reserved husband actually had tears in his eyes."I never imagined that something as tiny as a kidney bean could be our baby," he said, his voice trembling with emotion.His innocent remark made both the doctor and me laugh."Doctor, at what stage can we determine the baby's gender?" Leonard asked eagerly."We can usually tell around the fourth month, depending on the baby's position. However, if you want a more accurate result, it's better to wait until the fifth month," the doctor replied with a friendly smile.Leonard nodded before suddenly wrapping his arms around me and planting a kiss on my lips.I froze in shock, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Without thin

The cold-hearted man who had once barely spared me a glance was now cooking in the kitchen just for me. The change was so astonishing that I still found it hard to believe sometimes. If someone had told me that Leonard would treat me this way, I probably would have laughed it off as a joke.“I know I’m handsome,” Leonard teased without turning around.I immediately lowered my head. Apparently, he had noticed me watching him all this time. His muscular arms looked even more tempting with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows. As he stirred the soup, I found myself stealing glances at him without even realizing it.Leonard set down the ladle and approached me with a faint smile playing on his lips.“Why are you blushing? Aren’t I your husband?”“Who said I was blushing?” I retorted, trying to save what little pride I had left.He chuckled softly before lifting his hand to my chin, gently tilting my face up toward his. Before I could pull away, he leaned down and brushed his l

Every morning, I woke up feeling nauseous. This morning, Leonard had prepared a glass of warm orange juice to help settle my stomach.“I also made some sweet corn and carrot soup for you. Give it a try,” he offered gently.I looked at the bowl of soup in front of me before shifting my gaze to his hand. The skin on the back of it was red.“What happened to your hand?”“I accidentally touched a hot pot while cooking,” he replied casually.I frowned. “Why go through all that trouble when we already have a cook at home?”Leonard smiled as he placed a spoon beside my bowl.“I want to learn how to cook from our chef. That way, if our child wants something special someday, I can make it for them myself.”I fell silent, warmth spreading through my chest at his words.Was Leonard truly ready to move on from Ariel? Did he genuinely want to build a life with me and our child?I wanted to believe him. However, the hurt and doubts that had taken root in my heart weren't so easy to erase. No matter

After being unreachable since morning, Leonard finally came home. In his hands was a bouquet of flowers and several bags of fresh fruit that he had apparently bought for me.“Wife, I’m sorry. I was in a meeting earlier, so I couldn’t answer your calls.”Instead of responding, I laughed.I didn’t even know why. My laughter sounded almost hysterical, while tears slipped down my cheeks at the same time.Leonard immediately looked worried.“Wife, what’s wrong?”I simply stared at him.I thought Leonard had truly changed. I had even allowed myself to imagine us having a happy little family. For a brief moment, I believed all the suffering I had endured was finally coming to an end.How naive of me.Once again, fate had decided to toy with me.“Darling, why aren’t you saying anything?” Leonard asked anxiously.“You should take a shower first. The perfume on you is making me nauseous,” I said sarcastically.Leonard looked startled.“Don’t get the wrong idea. Earlier, when I was at the office

Ayah terus meneleponku. Karena kesal, akhirnya aku memilih mematikan ponsel.Ayah hanya mengingatku saat membutuhkan sesuatu. Kenyataan itu terasa menyakitkan untuk kuterima.Saat tiba di rumah, aku terkejut melihat mobil ayah terparkir di sana.Begitu masuk, orang tuaku yang sedang duduk di ruang tamu langsung menghampiriku.“Isla Grace, kami dengar kamu mengalami kecelakaan. Bagaimana keadaanmu?” tanya ibu.“Hanya gegar otak ringan,” jawabku datar.“Tapi sekarang kamu sudah membaik, kan?” sela ibu.“Hmm. Kenapa kalian datang?” tanyaku balik.“Isla Grace, Liam sedang merintis bisnis, tapi kami kekurangan modal. Bagaimana kalau kamu meminta suamimu bekerja sama dengannya?” bisik ayah.Selalu begini. Demi Liam, mereka tidak segan-segan merendahkanku di hadapan keluarga Ashford.“Maaf, Ayah. Aku tidak bisa melakukan itu. Selama ini, kita sudah bersikap seperti parasit,” tolakku.“Apa maksudmu menyebut kita parasit? Kamu istrinya! Sudah menjadi kewajiban suamimu untuk membantu keluargamu

Keesokan harinya, saat terbangun, pinggangku terasa seperti akan patah. Tadi malam aku menangis dan memintanya berhenti, tetapi Leonard benar-benar mengerikan saat sedang marah.Aku merasa seperti kelinci yang dilahap habis oleh serigala kelaparan. Namun, ada satu hal yang berbeda. Tadi malam, dia menyebut namaku.Biasanya, dia justru memanggil nama Ariel, mantan kekasihnya.Saat menoleh ke samping, kulihat suamiku sudah tidak ada di tempat tidur. Namun, terdengar suara gemericik air dari kamar mandi. Leonard sedang mandi.Kartu hitam yang kutolak tadi malam tergeletak di nakas di samping tempat tidur.Tiba-tiba, ponselku berdering. Aria meneleponku.“Halo.”[Halo, kenapa dari tadi teleponku tidak kamu angkat?]“Maaf, aku baru bangun. Ponselku dalam mode senyap.”[Baru bangun jam segini?]“Tadi malam aku bertengkar dengan Leonard, lalu dia menyiksaku sepanjang malam.”[Sialan! Ayo kita lakukan visum, lalu laporkan ke rumah sakit!]“Eh, bukan penyiksaan seperti itu maksudku. Tapi penyi

Dominic adalah pria yang menyenangkan dan pandai mencairkan suasana. Dia tahu bagaimana mengimbangi sifatku yang pemalu.Audisi berjalan lancar. Dominic bahkan semakin puas setelah mengetahui bahwa aku bisa menulis lagu sendiri.“Penampilanmu benar-benar mengesankan, Isla. Aku yakin kamu akan menjadi penyanyi terkenal!” puji Dominic setelah audisi selesai.“Terima kasih, Bos.”“Mulai besok, kamu resmi bergabung dengan agensi ini. Aria akan mengurus proses pendaftarannya. Kamu hanya perlu fokus berlatih dan membangun kepercayaan diri. Selebihnya, biarkan Aria yang membimbingmu!”“Baik, Bos Dominic.”“Kalau begitu, kalian boleh pulang sekarang. Aku juga harus pergi ke kantor,” kata Dominic.Sebelum kami pergi, Dominic sempat berbicara dengan Aria.Aku samar-samar mendengar dia mengatakan bahwa aku masih perlu menjalani beberapa perawatan kecantikan. Bagaimanapun, seorang penyanyi harus terlihat sempurna di depan kamera.Karena itulah, setelah meninggalkan rumah Dominic, aku tidak bertan

Biasanya, aku selalu bangun paling pagi. Aku akan menyiapkan pakaian kerja suamiku, lalu memasak sarapan untuk semua orang.Namun, kali ini aku tidak akan melakukannya. Tidak adil rasanya mereka bisa tidur nyenyak dan bangun dengan sarapan yang sudah tersedia, sementara aku harus bersusah payah melakukan semuanya. Belum lagi, mereka sama sekali tidak menghargai pengorbananku.Mereka bahkan selalu mengkritik masakanku. Aku juga tidak berniat membangunkan Leonard. Aku tidak peduli lagi kalau dia terlambat berangkat kerja.Selama ini, aku bahkan tidak pernah menerima uang bulanan karena semua keuangan dipegang oleh ibu mertuaku.Kalau dipikir-pikir, aku memang bodoh. Aku tak lebih dari seorang pembantu sekaligus pelacur gratis. Memikirkannya saja membuatku muak.Tak lama kemudian, Leonard bangun dan bergegas mandi.Setelah selesai, dia membangunkanku dengan cara yang cukup menyebalkan.“Isla Grace, mana seragam kerjaku?”“Memangnya kamu tidak bisa mengambilnya sendiri? Aku masih sakit,”

“Dasar pria brengsek! Bukannya mengurus istrinya yang baru mengalami kecelakaan, dia malah bersenang-senang dengan wanita lain!”Aku hanya tersenyum getir mendengar luapan amarah sahabatku. Namun, memang begitulah kenyataannya. Alih-alih menjagaku di rumah sakit, dia bahkan tidak mau mengangkat teleponku.Namaku Isla Grace. Saat berusia delapan belas tahun, ayahku menikahkanku dengan Leonard Ashford karena dia tidak mampu melunasi utang-utangnya.Saat itu, Leonard tidak menolak pernikahan kami, tetapi dia juga tidak mengizinkanku mengungkapkan status kami sebagai suami istri. Hanya Aria dan keluargaku yang tahu bahwa aku adalah istri Leonard Ashford.Selama lima tahun, aku berusaha menjadi istri dan menantu yang baik. Namun, tak pernah sekalipun aku mendapat pengakuan. Leonard hanya mau menatap mataku dan berbicara denganku saat kami berada di ranjang yang sama.Begitu hasratnya terpuaskan, aku kembali diperlakukan seperti orang asing.“Sialan, aku benar-benar kesal! Kalau aku jadi ka