MasukJuliet Fredrick has spent her life staying unnoticed. Working the night shift at a fast-food chain, paying her mother’s hospital bills, keeping her younger sister safe. She knows how the world works: nobody saves you. You save yourself. But everything changes the night she crosses paths with Ejike Olatunji. He is more than the richest man in Africa. He is a man whispered about. Ruthless in business. Untouchable in power. Unbreakable in will. And he has just made Juliet an offer that sounds like salvation: Marry him. Play the loyal wife. Protect his public image. In exchange, he will save her family. Juliet steps into a life she has never imagined: penthouses, private jets, global boardrooms, and people who smile at her while planning her destruction. Because Ejike has enemies. And now, so does she. A jealous socialite who refuses to be replaced. A rival billionaire who plays mind games with a smile. A former partner who wants the empire burned to the ground. The closer Juliet gets to Ejike, the more she realizes something is wrong. He is not just closed off. He is watching. He is waiting. And he is hiding a secret dangerous enough to shatter them both. Someone is lying. Someone is hunting them. And the only person Juliet can trust is the man she was never supposed to love. A marriage built on survival is becoming something else. But love, here, is not tender. Love is a battlefield. And the first mistake could be fatal.
Lihat lebih banyakDara terengah-engah saat merasakan pusat kenikmatannya berdenyut. Basah di dalam sana, tapi itu bukan berasal dari miliknya melainkan Arkha—suaminya yang sudah mendapatkan pelepasan.
Arkha, suaminya menarik selimut untuk dirinya sendiri. Tubuhnya sudah berpindah ke sisinya dengan senyum penuh kepuasan. “Makasih ya, Yang. Sekarang sebaiknya kita tidur. Aku capek banget, Yang, ” kata Arkha berbisik di telinga Dara. Dara tak menyahuti. Hatinya bergemuruh. Ia masih menginginkan sentuhan serta hujaman dari suaminya. Setiap melakukan hubungan seksual, ia tak pernah terpuaskan. Hanya Arkha yang selalu mendapatkan kepuasan. “Aku belum puas, Mas! Tidakkah kamu tahu itu. Aku bahkan belum keluar sama sekali! ” sungut Dara dalam hatinya. Ingin Dara mengatakan itu semua. Namun, teriakan itu hanya tertahan dalam pikirannya. Dara menatap langit-langit kamarnya yang gelap. Denyut di antara pahanya perlahan mereda. Hatinya terus merasa hampa. Entah apa yang salah dengan dirinya sampai tak pernah merasakan kenikmatan lagi. Dara menarik selimut hingga ke dagu, merasakan dinginnya kain sutra yang yang menutupi tubuhnya. Hal itu terasa kontras dengan hawa panas yang masih terasa di bawah permukaan kulitnya. Di sampingnya suara napas Arkha sudah berubah menjadi dengkuran pelan dan teratur. Setiap tarikan dan embusannya seakan menegaskan jurang yang memisahkan mereka di ranjang yang sama. Dara memalingkan wajah, memandangi sosok suaminya yang sudah tertidur lelap. Ujung jari Dara bergerak, meraih tangan Arkha yang tergeletak lemas di atas seprai. Dengan sangat hati-hati dia membalikkan telapak tangan suaminya, laku perlahan-lahan menuntun tangan itu meletakkannya kembali di atas pusat kenikmatannya. Dia hanya sedang mencoba mencari kepuasannya. Tangan suaminya yang hangat dan berat itu hanya diam, tidak bergerak ataupun memberi sentuhan yang bisa menuntut lebih untuk menciptakan permainan baru. Hasrat Dara tak terbalas. Hampa itu kembali menyapa. Penasaran itu selalu terjadi setelah permainan suaminya usai. “Apa hanya aku yang merasakan hal seperti ini. Tidak mendapatkan kepuasan di atas ranjang? ” Dara menarik napasnya dalam-dalam, menahan sesak di dadanya. Pertanyaan itu tidak berhenti berputar di kepalanya. Bukan hanya kepuasan secara fisik yang tidak didapatkannya, tetapi juga emosionalnya. Dara bangkit dari tempat tidur. Kakinya membawanya ke jendela. Dari balik kaca, dia melihat bayangan dirinya sendiri, samar. Seorang wanita dengan rambut berantakan usai percintaan yang menyesakkan. Matanya menyimpan kegelisahan yang tak terselesaikan. Sepasang mata Dara mengamati pasangan di seberang jalan yang sedang berpelukan di balkon, dari kaca jendela. Tawa mesra seolah dunia hanya milik berdua. Perasaan hampa di dalam dadanya semakin menjadi. Iri dengan apa yang dilihatnya. “Apa dia juga pura-pura puas dengan suaminya?” tanyanya dalam hati. Dara menatap tangannya yang kosong, mengingat kembali bagaimana jari-jarinya sendiri lebih setia memenuhi hasratnya dari pada pasangannya di ranjang. Setidaknya sentuhannya sendiri tak pernah membuatnya merasa sendirian. *** Keesokan harinya, untuk menemukan jawaban dari kegelisahannya, Dara membuat janji temu dengan Fanny, sahabatnya. Matahari siang menyelinap lewat jendela kaca Cafe de Luna. Suara gemericik air mancur di taman tengah mall hampir tenggelam oleh bunyi mesin pembuat kopi dan bisik-bisik percakapan pengunjung lain. Fanny duduk bersebrangan dengan Dara. “Kamu kayaknya harus ke profesional deh, Ra. It's serious! Kamu nggak akan bisa kalau cuma curhat ke aku!” kata Fanny. Dara menatap sedotan panjang di gelasnya, mengaduk-aduk bubble yang sudah habis. Sisa milk tea-nya yang mencair itu seolah menjadi gambaran pernikahannya dengan Arkha. Rasa manis di awal kemudian pudar dan jadi tawar seiring waktu. “Aku bingung, Fan,” ujarnya. Suaranya lirih namun sarat beban. “Tiap kali kayak gini tuh rasanya aneh. Aku juga pengen kayak kamu. Bisa puas. Hasratku bisa ... terpenuhi.” Fanny mendesah pelan, matanya yang tajam menangkap setiap kerutan kekhawatiran di wajah Dara. Dia meraih tangan Dara di atas meja, menggenggamnya erat. “Dengerin aku, Ra. Ini bukan cuma soal kamu nggak klimaks. Ini soal kamu yang merasa sendiri di ranjang tiap kali kalian berhubungan. Itu masalah serius!” ucap Fanny menekankan, suaranya terdengar khawatir. “Kamu harus ke profesional, Ra. Aku punya rekomendasi tempat yang bagus. Ada seorang sex therapist yang terkenal. Kamu dateng ke sana buat dapet solusi, bukan cuma tempat curhat.” Dara mengangkat pandangannya, bertemu dengan mata Fanny yang penuh keyakinan. Ada sebentuk harapan kecil yang mulai menyala di dadanya yang sempat beku. “Terapis ... seks?” gumannya, mencoba mengucapkan kata itu di lidahnya. Rasanya asing, sedikit menakutkan, tetapi juga menjanjikan sesuatu yang selama ini ia rindukan. Sebuah kepuasan untuk hubungan romantis dengan suaminya. “Iya,” sahut Fanny meyakinkan. “Itu bukan aib, Ra. Itu sama kayak kamu periksa ke dokter kalau sakit gigi. Coba kamu bayangin, kamu bisa belajar bukan cuma soal tubuh kamu sendiri, tapi juga cara komunikasiin yang kamu inginkan ke Arkha.” Dara menarik napas dalam, lalu menghembuskannya perlahan. Sebuah harapan kecil akhirnya terlihat di matanya yang biasanya pasrah. “Iya deh,” katanya, sambil memainkan ujung sedotan. “Nanti ... nanti aku coba omongin sama Arkha.” “Iya, Ra. Ini serius. Kamu harus pikirin saran aku kalau mau hubungan kalian di ranjang bisa balik harmonis. Percaya, deh!” Fanny terus membujuknya. Namun di balik kata-kata yang terucap dari bibirnya itu, sebuah pertanyaan menggelitik di benaknya. Bagaimana cara menyampaikan hal seserius itu pada suami yang selalu ‘selesai’ lebih dulu, saat mereka berada di dalam permainan ranjang mereka? “Terapis … seks? Apa aku harus mencobanya?” ***The false information they fed Selena was simple but irresistible.Ejike would be transferring a significant portion of his international holdings into a new offshore account. The transaction would happen through a single point of vulnerability. A digital transfer requiring his personal authentication codes. Billions of naira moving through one carefully monitored channel.For someone planning to destroy him financially, it was too good to ignore.Bassey had designed the trap beautifully. The information Chiamaka passed along was detailed enough to seem legitimate but flawed enough to be exploitable. Any attempt to intercept or manipulate the transfer would leave digital fingerprints. Proof of corporate sabotage. Evidence that could finally put Selena and Victor away.All they had to do was wait for them to take the bait.Juliet watched Ejike prepare over the next two days. He moved through the house like a man going to war. Which, in a way, he was. Meetings with lawyers. Coordination
The envelope arrived by courier at noon.Plain manila. No return address. Delivered directly to Juliet while Ejike was at the office. Mama Kemi brought it to her in the library, concern etched on her face.Something about it felt wrong immediately. The weight. The thickness. The timing.Juliet opened it carefully, half expecting something dangerous to spill out. Instead, she found photographs. Dozens of them, printed on glossy paper with professional clarity.Her hands started shaking before her brain fully processed what she was seeing.The photos showed Ejike and a woman. Not Juliet. Someone else. Someone beautiful in the calculated way of women who spent fortunes on their appearance. They were at a restaurant, heads close together in conversation. Another showed them leaving a hotel, walking side by side. A third captured them in what looked like a heated discussion, the woman's hand on Ejike's arm.Each image was timestamped. All within the last two weeks. While they'd been fighti
Three days of peace felt like a lifetime.No attacks. No schemes. No midnight emergencies. Just normal days filled with work and meals and evenings spent talking. Juliet almost forgot what crisis felt like.Almost.The reminder came in the form of Bassey, appearing at the house unannounced with his laptop and grim expression. Juliet had learned that combination meant trouble.They gathered in Ejike's study. Dami joined them, closing the door with a finality that made Juliet's stomach tighten.Bassey opened his laptop without preamble. He'd been monitoring Victor and Selena since their retreat, tracking their movements and communications. What he'd found wasn't good.Victor had left the country. Private jet to South Africa three days ago, current location unknown. His company headquarters was shut down, employees laid off with minimal notice. He'd liquidated assets quickly, almost desperately.Someone running, Dami observed. Or someone repositioning.Bassey's expression suggested the l
Juliet woke to sunlight streaming through her windows and the unfamiliar sensation of peace.No emergency calls. No threatening texts. No crisis demanding immediate attention. Just morning birdsong and the smell of coffee drifting up from the kitchen.She stretched, feeling muscles relax that had been tense for weeks. The board meeting was behind them. Victor and Selena had retreated. For the first time since the wedding, she could breathe without waiting for the next attack.Her phone showed a text from Nkechi, sent an hour earlier. Their mother wanted to see her. Wanted to see the house where Juliet now lived. Wanted to meet Ejike properly.The request made Juliet's stomach flip. Bringing her mother here felt like colliding two worlds that weren't meant to touch. The woman who'd raised her in poverty meeting the man whose bathroom was bigger than their old apartment.But she'd been putting it off long enough.She found Ejike in the breakfast room, reading the financial news on his t
The boutique didn't have prices on anything, which meant Juliet couldn't afford a single item in it.Adunni seemed to read her thoughts. "Mr. Olatunji has an account here. Everything is already arranged."A saleswoman appeared as if summoned, her smile professional and her outfit probably worth mor
Juliet barely slept that night.She lay in her narrow bed, staring at the ceiling while Rashida snored softly in the other corner of their shared room. The events of the evening played on repeat in her mind. The handshake. The look in Ejike's eyes. The weight of the decision she'd made.At six in t
The car glided through Lagos like it existed in a different dimension from the rest of the city.Outside, traffic was a nightmare of honking horns and aggressive drivers. Inside, everything was quiet, climate-controlled, insulated from reality. Juliet watched the city pass by through tinted windows
The hospital smelled like disinfectant and despair.Juliet pushed through the crowded waiting room, past crying children and exhausted families camped out on plastic chairs. General Hospital Lagos was always packed. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting everything in a sickly yellow glow.












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