LOGINFor three years, Ariana Grace Chase played the role of a wife who was never truly chosen. Their marriage was a contract. His heart belonged to another woman. And when his first love returned, Maxwell Cox handed Ariana divorce papers without hesitation. He thought money would erase her. He thought she would beg. Instead, Ariana walked away, with his assets, his power, and the inheritance he never knew he could lose. After the divorce, Maxwell realizes too late that the woman he discarded now controls everything he was raised to inherit. Pregnant, untouchable, and finally free, Ariana disappears from his world only to return as the woman he can no longer reach. As secrets unravel, families collapse, and bloodlines are exposed, Maxwell’s regret turns into obsession. He wants his ex-wife back. His empire back. His legacy back. But some women are only disposable once. And when a man comes crawling back after the divorce, he may find the door permanently closed.
View MoreThe sun disappears below the horizon in the west, signaling that the night has begun. The street lamps were already lit along the street as the only light that shone through the darkness of the night. Vehicles passing by on the streets turn on their front turn signal to make their journey easier.
Seen one of the three storey building with the words Sunshine above the entrance, which is a magazine publishing office still brightly lit from the outside. Currently the employees are working overtime.
Some sounds of typing on a laptop keyboard can be heard from outside the office. They try to complete their respective work before the deadline given by the editor-in-chief.
The hanging clock on the office wall is present at nine o'clock in the evening. The employees have worked overtime for four hours.
Raisa sent the file of her work to Mrs. Margot, her senior editor. After that she turns off the laptop while massaging the back of the neck with her left hand because she has been sitting and typing in front of the laptop for a long time.
"Finally my work is done." Raisa said in a small voice.
Meanwhile the other Sunshine employees were also busy tidy up their desks and getting ready to go home. There are several employees who plan to gather at the cafe to relieve fatigue after working all day.
"Sa! Let's go to the Hard Rock Cafe. Sky band sings there on Saturday night," said Katherine.
Katherine is Raisa's co-worker. They both have the same position, that is as a junior editor at Sunshine, one of the biggest magazine publications in Bali.
"Saturday night!" Raisa shouted.
Instantly Raisa grabbed her handbag quickly and stood up from her work chair.
"Sorry, Kat! I can't go with you. I forgot that I had an appointment with my best friend tonight," Raisa said gently.
"Okay. No problem Sa," Katherine replied with a smile.
Raisa glanced at the watch on her wrist and immediately ran to the women's restroom. In the women's restroom, Raisa takes out a cosmetic tool from her bag and does her makeup.
Then apply red lipstick on her thin lips. Raisa's hair, which was in a bun like a flight attendant, was removed so that her long hair fell beautifully on her back.
The young woman checked once again the appearance of her full makeup face in the mirror.
Every time she met the man, Raisa would definitely apply makeup to make her appearance seem more mature and sexy. Just like when Raisa first met that man.
A few moments later Raisa walked out of the women's toilet down the stairs to the ground floor because Raisa's workplace was on the third floor.
Raisa got on her Honda scoopy motorcycle which was in the parking lot and nodded her head towards the security guard who was standing guard in front of her office.
"Wayan! I'll go home first," Raisa said to the security guard while wearing her helmet.
"Be careful on the road Miss Raisa," Wayan replied.
"Okay," said Raisa with a smile.
***
Raisa rides her Honda scoopy motorcycles quickly towards the Royal Residence Apartment.
The Royal Residence Apartment only has five floors. This is due to adjusting the regulations in force in Bali regarding the height of the building not exceeding fifteen meters, or the equivalent of four to five floors.
The Royal Residence Apartment has facilities such as a swimming pool, gym, and jogging area.
Raisa rides her Honda scoopy motorcycles to the basement to park her motorcycles first.
After that she walk into the elevator and press the number five button. In the elevator, Raisa took out perfume from her bag and sprayed it on her neck, body, and wrists. Raisa also smoothed her hair which was messy from wearing a helmet earlier with her fingers.
The elevator door opened so Raisa walked out towards a black apartment door. Raisa pressed the six-digit pin on the apartment's digital door lock and the door opened in seconds.
The young lady stepped slowly into the apartment. Raisa's eyes widen when she sees a pair of men's leather shoes already on the shoe rack.
"He's home." Raisa said that in her mind.
Raisa hurriedly put her shoes on the shoe rack and walked towards the living room. Raisa's guess is very correct. Seen the figure of the man who owns the apartment sitting on the sofa holding a glass of red wine.
The man was wearing a white bathrobe with short black hair that was still wet and was enjoying the red wine in his hand. Raisa glanced briefly at the bottle of red wine that was on the table. The contents of the red wine in the bottle is only half.
"Adrian," Raisa called as she sat beside the man and gave the man her sweetest smile.
The handsome masculine man looked at Raisa's face intensely.
"You are late!" said Adrian in a flat tone of voice.
Raisa looked at the watch on her wrist and it showed five minutes past ten. She was five minutes late from the time of the agreement made by Adrian.
"Sorry, Adrian. Today I work overtime at the office, “explained Raisa.
Although only five minutes late, Raisa did not dare to argue with Adrian. Her job is to please Adrian.
"Just apologizing?" asked Adrian with an expressionless face.
"I will finish this one glass of red wine as punishment," replied Raisa.
Raisa wanted to take the wine glass in Adrian's hand. However, Adrian suddenly raised the glass so high that Raisa couldn't reach it.
"Doesn't he want to forgive me?" Raisa said in her mind. She looked at Adrian with a confused look on her face.
Adrian smiled faintly at Raisa's reaction. "I'll teach you how to drink red wine," said Adrian.
Raisa nodded her head obediently and looked intently at Adrian with her clear and big eyes.
The man drink up the red wine that was in the glass and put the glass on the table. Then his right hand held Raisa's chin. The young woman felt her heart beating very fast because she knew what Adrian would do next.
Adrian kissed Raisa's lips. Raisa's eyes widened when she felt the flow of red wine from Adrian's mouth into her mouth. At this moment Raisa just understood the meaning of Adrian's words. This is how Adrian taught her to drink red wine.
Adrian gave Raisa a long and deep kiss on the lips so that Raisa's hands unconsciously gripped the man's bathrobe tightly. The bathrobe loosened and exposed Adrian's athletic chest.
The man stop kissing and glanced briefly at his bathrobe. "You naughty cat!" said Adrian while pinching Raisa's sharp nose.
Adrian carried Raisa and stood up from the sofa. Raisa's tiny body felt as light as cotton in Adrian's arms. The young woman wrapped her arms around Adrian's neck spontaneously and pressed her face against the man's athletic chest. Her heart was beating so fast. She felt embarrassed because she was lulled by Adrian's kiss.
Adrian stepped into the bedroom and laid Raisa's body on the bed. With a quick movement Adrian took off his bathrobe and threw it on the bedroom floor. Raisa turned her face to the side, avoiding staring at Adrian's naked body.
"Raisa. Look at me!” Adrian commanded when he was on the top of Raisa's body.
Raisa turned her face to face Adrian. The young woman's cheeks were as red as a tomato. Adrian smiled with satisfaction because Raisa obeyed his orders. Adrian leaned forward and his lips kissed Raisa's neck aggressively.
The soft voice from Raisa's lips because of his aggressive kiss, made the desire in Adrian's body appear non-stop.
Adrian takes Raisa on a fantasy adventure in seconds. A fantasy adventure that the two of them would go on every weekend and it all started three months ago.
Three months ago, a bad news regarding the person she loved most forced Raisa Febriani to have a relationship with Adrian Saputra, CEO of Saputra Company. A relationship that requires Raisa to sacrifice her body to serve Adrian every weekend according to mutually beneficial agreement.
SELENETwo days later, I'm sitting in Eleanor's study, and she's simply watching me, saying nothing, the silence stretching long enough that I'm about to fill it myself when the door opens.Ariana walks in, and stops the moment she sees me sitting there.She straightens slowly. "Selene.""Ariana."Eleanor watches us both with the particular patience of someone who arranged this exact collision and is now enjoying the results. "Selene is married," she says simply, to Ariana.Ariana's eyebrows shoot up. "Married." A short laugh, disbelieving. "Selene, married? Who on earth agreed to marry you?"Eleanor's mouth twitches, catching the joke, though she says nothing, her gaze sliding to me instead, a clear invitation for me to answer this myself.I stand, letting the ring catch the light. "Victor."Ariana blinks. "Victor who?""Victor Cox."For a moment nothing registers on her face at all, and then her eyes go wide, genuinely wide, her mouth actually falling open slightly.Of all the react
SELENEIt's been two weeks since I've been back from Susan's, two weeks of never getting enough of the other Victor, and something about me finally feels like it's settled.I noticed it gradually. The night sweats stopped first, then the restlessness underneath my skin, then, eventually, the strange, insistent pull toward Victor that had made absolutely no sense given everything unresolved between us at the time. I've decided it was simply my body catching up to something my head hadn't fully admitted yet, that I wanted him, and once I'd finally acted on it, whatever pressure had been building just quietly released and left. It makes sense, in its own way. I've never been a woman who does well denying herself something she wants. Apparently my body agrees.Victor and I sat down together properly last week, both of us finally calm enough to actually discuss the agreement instead of arguing around it. I brought my own clause, the one I'd worked out at Susan's place weeks ago. If the
MASON"What?" I ask, amused."Nothing." She looks resolutely ahead, though a small smile gives her away completely."You've been doing that all night.""Doing what?""Looking at me like you're trying to solve something."She laughs, caught. "Maybe I am.""Any progress?""Not yet." She glances at me again, briefly, before looking back out at the water. "I'll let you know when I figure it out."I don't push it further. I just let the moment sit there between us, warmer than the night has any right to be.By the time we get back to the estate, the house is quiet, most of the staff already down for the night. I walk her to the door and find myself reluctant to actually say goodnight."Stay for a nightcap," I say, before I've fully decided to say it.She glances at me, surprised. "You have a room here?""Eleanor likes me."She laughs. "So that's how you always manage to show up early to pick me up. Mystery solved.""My secret's out." I gesture toward the east wing. "Come on. I'll show you
MASONI'm barely out of the car when the front door bursts open, and two small figures come tearing across the gravel in matching pajamas, shrieking with the particular joy of children who've successfully evaded bedtime."Mama! Mama, read to us!"Ariana catches Thea mid-launch, laughing, hoisting her onto one hip while Ethan wraps himself around her leg like a barnacle. "How did you two get out here?""Ran fast," Ethan says, delighted with himself.Mrs. Patricia appears a beat later, out of breath, hands on her hips. "They outran me. Both of them. I turned my back for one second.""One second," Ariana repeats, arching an eyebrow at her son, who grins without a trace of remorse.Eleanor comes out onto the porch behind all of them, unhurried, taking in the scene with the composure she brings to everything. "And where are you two off to tonight?""Out," Ariana says, breezy, though I catch the small glint in her eyes she doesn't quite manage to hide, the same one that's been showing up mo












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