Mag-log inOn the third year of our anniversary, the cruise ship Louise York—my fiancee—and I were on sank. I gave her the only life jacket we had before getting dragged under the currents and losing contact with the world. Three years later, after I healed from my injuries, I rushed back just in time to see her getting married to my adopted brother. Since she owed me her life, she was forced to marry me instead. That caused her to start hating me, because I had separated her from the man she loved. Even my parents accused me of being immature. They said that I was ruining my brother’s happiness. Their coldness and rejection caused me to become obsessive, and I fell into despair. Then, my family’s enemy came looking for revenge. To save my life, Louise ended up being stabbed right into her heart. Blood gushed out of her as she tried her best to drag me to a safe place. “Nathan, I’m returning the life I owe you. I just hope that you won’t bother me again. I just want… to be with Stanley…” I felt my chest twist in pain as I died full of hatred. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back to the day I crashed their wedding.
view moreSaat Emily masuk ke dalam ruang kerja suaminya sore itu, ia menemukan pria itu sedang bercumbu dengan wanita lain.
Nicholas tengah mendekap Olivia di pelukannya, napas mereka beradu, kemejanya tampak kusut.
Melihat Emily masuk secara tiba-tiba, mereka menegang. Keduanya memundurkan tubuhnya selangkah. Olivia menunduk dengan canggung.
"Keluar, Olivia," perintah Nicholas dengan suara beratnya yang sedikit serak. Pria itu sibuk membenarkan letak dasinya yang miring.
"B-baik, Tuan," jawab Olivia dengan suara bergetar.
Saat Olivia keluar dan melewatinya, Emily melihat rambutnya sedikit berantakan, ada noda merah tipis yang tercetak tidak rapi di sudut bibir wanita itu.
Sepeninggal Olivia, keheningan yang canggung menyelimuti ruangan. Nicholas berdeham pelan, mencoba mengembalikan wibawanya yang sempat runtuh karena keterkejutan.
"Ada noda di pakaianku," ucap Nicholas tiba-tiba, memecah keheningan dengan nada defensif. "Olivia menyadarinya dan hanya membantuku membersihkannya."
Emily tidak langsung menjawab. Ia melangkah maju dengan tenang dan meletakkan tumpukan dokumen di tangannya ke atas meja kerja pria itu.
"Begitukah?" jawab Emily seadanya tanpa minat lebih.
Tentu saja Emily tidak percaya. Bukan hanya karena bukti fisiknya terlalu terpampang nyata, tapi karena ia tahu persis adegan ini.
Dunia ini adalah dunia novel. Sebulan yang lalu, setelah mengalami kecelakaan maut di dunia nyata, ia terbangun di dalam tubuh tokoh figuran bernama Emily. Ia adalah istri sah dari Nicholas Spencer, si tokoh utama pria yang saat ini berdiri di hadapannya.
Pernikahan mereka hanyalah kesepakatan bisnis keluarga yang dingin dan tanpa cinta. Singkatnya, dirinya hanyalah tokoh tidak penting yang hidup hanya sebagai latar belakang kisah tragis sang tokoh utama pria.
Sebagai pembaca yang sudah menamatkan novel tersebut, Emily tahu betul bahwa Nicholas dan Olivia adalah sepasang protagonis yang ditakdirkan bersama. Adegan barusan hanyalah satu dari sekian banyak momen asmara mereka di kantor.
Lalu bagaimana dengan nasib Emily di novel ini?
Tentunya…
Tidak baik.
Setelah skandal kebusukan perusahaan keluarganya terbongkar, ia akan diceraikan, diusir tanpa membawa sepeserpun uang, dan mati dalam kesendirian.
Bahkan membayangkan akhir hidupnya, Emily dapat merasakan bulu kuduknya berdiri, ia tidak ingin mati sia-sia dua kali!
Karena alasan itulah, alih-alih menangis atau meminta penjelasan melihat kemesraan suaminya dengan wanita lain, Emily memilih untuk sama sekali tidak peduli. Tujuannya saat ini hanya satu, bertahan hidup dan bercerai secepatnya.
"Nicholas." Emily mendongak sedikit menatap suaminya. "Apakah aku bisa menyewa salah satu pengacara dari firma hukum ini?"
Satu alis Nicholas terangkat, suaranya dingin dan menyelidik. "Untuk apa?"
"Untukku. Ada urusan pengadilan yang harus kuurus."
Wajah Nicholas sontak mengeras. Dari perubahan ekspresi itu saja, Emily sudah bisa menebak isi kepala suaminya. Pria ini pasti sedang berpikir bahwa Emily baru saja membuat masalah besar yang memalukan di luar sana.
Nicholas menghela napas kasar dan memijat pangkal hidungnya dengan kuat.
"Jika kau memang memiliki masalah, kenapa kau tidak mengatakannya padaku sejak awal?!" suara Nicholas meninggi, menahan amarah yang mulai meledak. "Kau kira menyelesaikannya ketika masalah itu perlu dibawa ke pengadilan adalah hal yang mudah?!"
Bentakan itu membuat Emily terdiam. Wajahnya tetap datar, tapi di dalam dadanya, rasa kesal mulai mendidih.
Pria itu bahkan tidak repot-repot bertanya apa alasannya dan langsung menghakimi Emily. Tapi melihat kebisuan Emily yang menatapnya dengan dingin, Nicholas justru mengartikan hal itu sebagai rasa ketakutan atau rasa bersalah.
Di matanya, Emily adalah istri tidak becus yang hanya membuat masalah.
"Sudahlah," ucap Nicholas tiba-tiba. Suaranya sedikit merendah, meski sisa-sisa kekesalan masih kental terdengar. "Aku yang akan menjadi pengacaramu. Apa kasusnya?"
"Kamu tidak bisa menangani kasusku," jawab Emily. “Aku harus mencari pengacara lain.”
Penolakan Emily yang tenang itu justru membuat emosi Nicholas tersulut lagi. Rahang pria itu mengeras dan wajahnya menggelap.
"Kamu meragukanku?"
Tatapan dingin itu dan suara rendahnya sejujurnya begitu mengerikan, Emily nyaris tak mampu berkutik. Tapi ia berusaha mengumpulkan keberaniannya.
“Bukan begitu…” ucapnya, menatap lurus ke dalam manik mata pria itu dan menjatuhkan kalimatnya.
"Karena kamu adalah tergugatnya. Aku ingin bercerai darimu."
“You… You rascal!” Mr. Xander was furious and wanted to slap Stanley, but suddenly, Stanley started cackling like a mad man. He shoved Louise away and stood up as he stared at his adopted parents resentfully. “I’m a rascal? You finally acknowledge that I’m a rascal?” He laughed so hard that he started crying. “Who’s the one who told me that as long as I behave, I will always be the heir of the Xander family? Who’s the one who allowed and supported me when I was talking bad about Nathan? Do you think you’re innocent? You looked down on Nathan for being a country bumpkin and thought that you couldn’t show him off in public events. That’s why you treated me as the perfect replacement!”He pointed at them and started yelling hysterically, “You don’t love me or Nathan! You only love yourselves and the Xander family’s dignity!”Those words stripped the last shred of dignity from Mr. and Mrs. Xander. Exasperated, Mr. Xander pointed at the gate. “G-Get lost! From now on, you’re no longer
In her anguish, Louise shut her eyes, as if she wanted to lock those beautiful memories in her mind and not let them slip away. “I’m a piece of trash and a coward! I let myself be bound by favors and responsibility and fell for Stanley’s lies. I pushed you away with my own two hands and hurt you. But I love you, Nathan! I’ve always only loved you!”She opened her eyes and looked at me with passionate, obsessive eyes, as if she wanted to find a trace of me being moved by her words. “Life is hard here, isn’t it? You’ve become so thin. How could you still stay here? I won’t let you! Come back with me, and we’ll get married. I’ll make it up to you and be good to you for the rest of our lives. We can make up for our regrets from the two lifetimes!”Just as she was about to touch me, I took a step back and avoided her. Then, I shook my head gently and smiled with endless sorrow but also liberation. “You’re wrong, Louise. The girl that I loved is the one who stood up for me when I was
“Nathan, I…” Louise wanted to take a step forward, only for my companion to stop her. He was Ajax, one of my best friends here, and he was a hot-tempered person. For a long time, he had found Louise an eyesore. “You’re Louise York?” Ajax sized her up with hostility in his eyes. “Nathan suffered because of you, and you still have the gall to show your face here? You’re just asking for a beating, huh?!”He swung his fist at her.“Ajax, don’t.” I stopped him. I did not want people and things unrelated to me to interfere with my peaceful life. Despite not wanting to, Ajax still pulled his fist back. But he continued glaring at Louise fiercely. Along with a few more of my friends, they shielded me behind them and formed a sturdy human wall. When Louise saw this, she felt as if a knife had stabbed her heart. Many years ago, she was the one who shielded me behind her back. But I already had new guardians. “Nathan, can we talk? Just for a few minutes.” She was almost pleading at
Louise shoved away the crying Stanley and ran out of the wedding venue without a care for anything else. Behind her were Stanley’s despair-filled cries and a farce that had ended up as a complete joke. Like a madwoman, Louise ran out with only one thought in her mind. Finding Nathan. She made use of all the York family’s connections and resources to expand her search to the entire world. That search formed an impenetrable net that would allow no one to escape. However, a day went by, then two days, then a whole week. The news remained the same. They could not find Nathan. It was as if he had disappeared from the world. There was no record of him entering or exiting any flight, railway, or harbor. His bank cards showed no signs of any transactions made, and his social media accounts were never updated. He had taken away all his assets before disappearing without a trace. Louise became thinner. Her eyes sunk in and became bloodshot. She shut herself up in her room and kept


















Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.