INICIAR SESIÓNBetrayed by her husband, broken by his lies, Serena Caldwell’s world shatters when a car crash steals her three-year-old son, Liam. Pleading for help, she calls Ethan Warrick fifty times, only to hear his cruel dismissal: “I’m at your sister’s kid’s party. Call me when you’re dead.” Left bleeding, her son dying, Serena learns Ethan’s cheating with her sister Mia—the same sister who planned the crash with their scheming mother to bury dark secrets. As Liam’s life fades, Ethan refuses to save him, his cold voice sealing her grief: “I’ll plan the funeral.” Saved by a blood transfusion from Lucas, Ethan’s “evil” stepbrother and sworn rival, Serena wakes to a fire for revenge. Uncovering lies—her husband’s affair, her son’s murder, her own sold-at-birth past—she teams with Lucas, whose dangerous gaze ignites forbidden sparks. But as secrets unravel and their passion burns, can Serena destroy Ethan’s billionaire empire without losing her heart to the one man she shouldn’t want?
Ver másHappy reading dan jangan lupa kritik juga saran nya ya
Tidak ada yang pernah benar-benar siap menghadapi hari pertama kerja apalagi kalau pekerjaan itu menempatkanmu tepat di samping pria yang reputasinya lebih tajam dari pisau bedah: Arkana Rivard.
Gedung Aude’C Group menjulang tinggi di kawasan bisnis Sudirman. Dinding kacanya memantulkan langit Jakarta yang muram pagi ini. Orang-orang bersetelan formal bergerak cepat keluar-masuk lobi, seolah tidak ada ruang untuk kesalahan atau keterlambatan.
Dan di sanalah Narine Aldira berdiri, menggenggam map biru tua berisi dokumen onboarding dan kontrak kerjanya pekerjaan baru yang ia dapat hanya tiga hari setelah keluar dari perusahaan lamanya karena fitnah yang menjatuhkan namanya dalam semalam.
Brakk
"De cepetan dong katanya mau mandiri masa jam 7 belum siap-siap juga, kan ini hari pertama lo kerja" Pagi ku disambut dengan omelan 'Rajan' ya dia kakak ku satu satunya.
Dengan berjalan didepan ku dia masih terus mengomel tanpa henti "Lagian kenapa gak di perusahaan gue sih de, kan lebih praktis tu tinggal masuk terus ngintilin gue kemana pun"
"Justru itu yang gue gak mau, ogah banget ngintilin lu" jawabku ketus
“Nama?” tanya resepsionis formal di front desk tanpa senyum.
“Narine Aldira. Hari ini mulai bekerja,” jawabnya.
Resepsionis itu mengetik cepat, lalu mengangguk. “Divisi Sekretariat Eksekutif. Lantai 39. Pakai lift kanan.”
Ucapan ‘selamat datang’ tampaknya tidak tersedia di gedung ini. Bagus, pikir Narine. Profesional. Tanpa basa-basi. Cocok.
Begitu lift terbuka, suasana berubah drastis. Interior lantai 39 didominasi kayu walnut dan kaca gelap, dengan suasana sunyi tegang seperti ruang pengadilan. Karyawan berjalan cepat sambil menenteng iPad atau dokumen, nyaris tidak ada yang bicara.
Di dekat pintu masuk lantai, seorang wanita berponi pendek menyapanya cepat. “Kamu Narine? Saya Helena, sekretaris senior. Ikut saya.”
Tanpa menunggu jawaban, wanita itu memutar badan dan melangkah cepat. Narine mengikutinya.
“Saya akan kasih kamu briefing singkat,” kata Helena dengan nada efisien, seperti seseorang yang tidak punya waktu untuk berbasa-basi. “Kamu sekretaris pribadi Pak Arkana. Harus selalu siap dipanggil kapan pun. Termasuk kalau dia butuh kamu di luar jam kantor.”
Narine mengangguk. “Baik.”
“Nomor ponselmu harus aktif 24 jam.”
“Baik.”
“Jangan tanya dua kali kalau dia sudah menjawab sekali. Jangan ulangi kesalahan. Jangan pernah buat asumsi.”
Narine kembali mengangguk, tapi dalam hati bertanya apakah dia melamar sebagai sekretaris atau robot personal?
'Gue jadi sekretaris apa jadi babysitter nih masa 24 jam anjir'
Helena melanjutkan dengan suara lebih pelan, seakan kalimat berikutnya rahasia kantor yang tidak boleh terdengar oleh dinding. “Satu lagi. Ada tiga aturan utama bekerja dengan Mr. Arkana Rivard.”
Narine menatapnya.
“Pertama, jangan pernah telat kamu harus tepat waktu. Kedua, jangan pernah menunda instruksi. Ketiga-” Helena menatap langsung, “usahakan jangan pernah salah.”
Nada itu membuat Narine sedikit mengeraskan rahangnya. “Saya bisa mengikuti standar kerja tinggi. Itu bukan masalah, kak.”
Helena tersenyum tipis. “Bukan standar kerja yang jadi masalah. Orangnya.”
Maksudnya apa?
Tapi sebelum Narine sempat bertanya, pintu ruang eksekutif terbuka. Seorang pria keluar dengan wajah memucat, memegang dokumen yang tampaknya baru saja dikoreksi. Kemeja birunya basah oleh keringat meski lantai ini ber-AC dingin.
Dia membisik pada Helena sebelum pergi, “Dia kenapa kayak bukan manusia.”
Helena hanya menepuk bahunya. “Dia masih hidup, ada-ada aja kamu”
Narine hampir tertawa sampai seseorang lewat di hadapannya.
Langkah panjang, jas hitam slim fit, aura tenang yang berbahaya. Sorot mata tajam. Rahang keras. Rambut hitam rapi sedikit berantakan seolah disentuh angin pagi. Arkana Rivard. Bahkan tanpa diperkenalkan pun semua orang akan tahu: dialah pusat gravitasi lantai ini.
Udaranya berubah saat pria itu lewat. Beberapa staf langsung menunduk. Ada yang pura-pura sibuk. Ada yang menahan napas. Sementara Narine berdiri diam.
Arkana nyaris melewatinya, tapi kemudian berhenti. Menoleh. Menatap Narine sebentar dari ujung kepala sampai ujung sepatu. Bukan tatapan menggoda. Bukan juga tatapan ramah. Lebih mirip evaluasi instan dan dingin.
“Orang baru,” katanya datar pada Helena.
“Ya, ini Narine Aldira, sekretaris-”
“Follow me,” potong Arkana.
Begitu saja. Tanpa kata perkenalan, tanpa salam. Ia berbalik dan berjalan. Narine refleks mengikuti. Helena memberi isyarat halus, cepet ikutin.
Ruang kerja Arkana berada di sisi paling ujung. Pintu kacanya tertutup, dan saat terbuka otomatis, Narine langsung merasa masuk ke tempat dengan tekanan oksigen lebih rendah.
Tidak ada foto pribadi. Tidak ada dekorasi. Hanya kesempurnaan dingin rak buku hitam, meja kerja walnut besar, dan pemandangan Jakarta dari dinding kaca.
“Sit,” katanya pendek, tanpa melihat ke arah Narine yang masih berdiri. Ia membuka iPad dan file digital.
Narine duduk. Diam. Menunggu.
Satu menit. Dua menit. Lima menit. Tidak ada suara selain suara notifikasi e-mail yang sesekali terdengar dari perangkat Arkana. Narine ingin bicara tapi tak punya alasan.
Akhirnya, pria itu angkat wajah.
“Saya tidak akan bicara dua kali,” ucapnya tiba-tiba.
Narine menatapnya heran. “Maaf?”
“Saya tidak ulangi instruksi,” ulangnya, datar.
“Sa-saya belum menerima—”
“Kamu sekretaris. Artinya kamu harus cepat tanggap. Mengerti?”
Narine menahan napas. Wow. Ini baru tiga menit bertemu, dan pria ini sudah membuatnya ingin melempar binder.
“Baik,” jawabnya singkat.
“Bagus.” Arkana menggeser iPad-nya. “Jadwal saya hari ini.”
Agenda itu muncul di layar yang diarahkan padanya penuh rapat, penuh negosiasi, penuh panggilan bisnis.
“Tugas pertama,” kata Arkana. “Siapkan dokumen kontrak dan proyeksi final untuk meeting jam sepuluh. Pastikan setiap lembar rapi, highlight poin negosiasi, dan tanda tangan direktur legal sudah ada sebelum pukul sembilan empat puluh.”
Narine mengecek jam tangannya. 08.52.
Sisa 48 menit?
“Dokumennya ada di server. Cari folder ‘Confidential’, subfolder ‘Aurum Merger’,” lanjut Arkana.
Narine mencatat cepat. “Passwordnya?”
Arkana menatapnya lama lalu tersenyum tipis. Sebuah senyum yang tidak ramah. Lebih mirip tantangan.
“Cari tau. Kalau kamu pantas duduk di ruangan ini, kamu harus bisa menemukan semuanya.”
Mendengar itu Narine hanya bisa tersenyum lebar dan bergumam dalam hati
'Akhhhhhh! gila ni orang yang punya password kan dia, gitu aja suruh gue yang mikir'
William's reply lit up my screen before I even finished closing the door to my office.“Sir, we still haven’t found the reason why she quit. But there’s talk she’s dating a board member. She left the country yesterday.”I exhaled, slow, irritated. Not surprised.“And what member of the board is it?” I asked.His answer came fast.“Samuel.”Before I could react, Serena turned to me so sharply her hair whipped over her shoulder.“Sorry—Samuel? The same Samuel you fired today?”Her disbelief was loud enough to echo.“Yes.” My jaw felt tight enough to crack. “That Samuel.”I put the phone on speaker and leaned against the desk, eyes still on Serena.“William,” I said, “dig everything. I want the timeline of how they met, their conversations, any odd transfers, unauthorized access, every single meeting he’s had with anyone suspicious. Open every drawer you can find and dump it on my desk.”“Yes sir. Should I alert HR to repost the secretary position?”“No.” My eyes drifted to Serena, who
Serena’s POVFirst off, I didn’t even know she was here until a few minutes ago. Someone from your board tipped me off,” Ethan said, wearing a smirk that begged to be wiped off.“What? You think this is some stupid company drama?” Lucas stepped forward, jaw sharp with anger.I grabbed his arm before he got too close. “I’ll handle him.”“Serena…”But I didn’t let him finish.My palm cracked across Ethan’s face so hard the sound echoed through the hallway. A full-blown, soul-resetting slap. His head snapped sideways, and for a second, even he looked confused by reality.“What the hell is wrong with you!” he barked, lunging toward me like he forgot who he was standing in front of.Lucas didn’t move. He just gave Ethan one look.One.Ethan froze mid-step like someone unplugged him.“You called me a murderer?” I said, stepping forward. My voice wasn’t loud. It was sharp. “You told the internet I was drunk driving? You know damn well I haven’t touched alcohol once since we got married.”Eth
Serena's POV “Lucas,” I whispered, fingers tightening around his. “Stop. Please.”He didn’t even look at me when he answered. “I warned them. They poked anyway.”Samuel scoffed. “This is a joke. She killed her own son, and you’re defending—”The sound of Lucas’s chair scraping back echoed like a threat.“Say that again,” he said quietly.Everyone in the room froze.Samuel swallowed but kept his chin high. “I said—”Lucas slammed his palm against the table. Not hard enough to break anything. Just enough to make every man present jolt.“Don’t.” His voice was low, lethal. “Not in front of her. Not in my company. Not ever again.”Samuel’s face drained a shade. His eyes flicked to me, then to the security guards already stepping in.“This isn’t over,” he muttered.“It is,” Lucas said. “For you.”Two guards took Samuel by the arms and led him out. The doors shut behind them with a thud that felt like a judge’s gavel.Silence swallowed the room.Every man stared at Lucas like he’d just flip
Serena's POV Lucas didn’t say a word on the drive. He kept one hand on the wheel, the other tapping restlessly against his thigh like he was arguing with himself in his head.I stared out the window. Different country or not, grief still followed like a shadow that refused to mind its business.When we pulled into an underground garage, he exhaled like he’d been holding the breath since we left the apartment.“We’re taking the back elevator,” he said. “Less people.”He didn’t give me time to argue. He just took my hand and guided me toward a quiet hallway tucked behind security doors and tinted glass. Everything smelled like money and disinfectant.Inside the private elevator, the air felt tighter than the space.“Remember,” he said, voice low, “you stay close.”I rolled my eyes, but my pulse was climbing fast. “Relax. I’m not planning to dive out the window.”“You say that now,” he muttered.The elevator dinged, doors sliding open into a minimalist, marble-walled private lobby. His
Serena A month later I woke up to the splitting light shinning into my eyes, I darted my gaze around, to the sight of test tubes, monitors, drips...And then it all came back to me.The accident, Liam, Ethan and Lucas, the step brother I was supposed to avoid."Mrs Warrick, you're awake," A docto
Serena And then the edges of everything softened. The light went wrong and the machines hummed like distant thunder. I clung to his hand until my fingers loosened and the last thought that fluttered through was a single stupid, aching gratitude, that I had not been completely alone.The rest was a
Serena “Mrs. Warrick,” a doctor called, stepping into the room.“Why am I alive?” I asked, staring emptily at the ceiling fan turning like a slow, indifferent clock.“You were—” the doctor began, but I cut him off.“You should have let me die!” I screamed, my voice tearing through the quiet. “Shou
Serena"Mommy, when is Daddy going to come home? It's been a long time I’ve seen him last," Liam, my three-year-old son, asked as I wiped the glitter from the park off his face."Tonight. Daddy will be home tonight, it’s your birthday, remember?" I cooed, kissing his forehead—just as the sound of a


















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