LOGINDante Moretti, the ruthless Billionaire CEO, hungers for power and control. Cold, calculated, he sends shivers down his rivals' spines with his cold, calculated way into any business deal that might pop up in his way. But inside the steely exterior of this man, a traumatic past torments him to have left him detached and numb as regards love. His goal is simple: solidify his control and paramountcy and build on an empire. Lyra Caine grew up privileged in a family that had disintegrated; the fortune of her father, Richard Caine, once a strong king of finance, had shrunk due to a number of bad investments. She needed to be married off to Dante Moretti, a man rumored never to have shied away from getting ruthless in whatever business dealings he had, so that their name would not be utterly ruined. Lyra had lived her whole life by what this great shadow of a father expected from her: fragile, with this inner fire barely apparent in herself. But here is the kicker that makes it even more twisted: Dante isn't marrying Lyra out of love or even because of business needs. He has an ulterior motive linked to her father's long-buried secrets, one that could totally unravel her family should it come to light.
View More"Gak mau! Pokoknya aku gak mau nikah cepet-cepet. Aku masih muda, pengen senang-senang, masih pengen bebas berkeliaran, Ma!"
"Gak bisa, pokoknya kamu harus menikah sama Anand dua hari lagi!" bantah Abram, papanya Dira. "Dengar, Sayang, kamu tidak bisa seperti ini terus. Kamu sudah dewasa, umurmu sudah cukup untuk menikah. Anand itu laki-laki baik, bertanggung jawab, mama sama papa yakin dia pasti bisa membimbing kamu jadi lebih baik." Melati menambahkan. "Tapi aku udah punya pacar, Ma. Dia gak kalah baik dan bertanggung jawab dari Anand." "Tahu apa kamu tentang tanggung jawab seorang laki-laki, hah? Sudah, putusin dia dan menikah sama Anand." "Aku gak mau, apalagi mendadak banget kayak gini. Aku gak pernah bertemu sama dia, gak tahu orangnya, mau nikah kok gini?" "Nanti juga kalian ketemu. Dengar, Ra, ibunya sekarang sedang kritis, meminta Anand untuk segera menikahi kamu. Papa, mama, sama ibunya Anand sudah lama berencana menikahkan kalian berdua. Jadi gak ada alasan lagi. Ini genting, kamu ngerti dong!" ucap Abram tegas, tak bisa dibantah. "Lagian, mama yakin kalian sudah pernah bertemu sebelumnya, cuma gak ngeuh aja." Melati tersenyum membujuk. "Gak mau, Ma! Aku mau ngabisin masa mudaku dulu sampai puas senang-senang. Nikah itu bikin ribet, bikin pusing. Apalagi kalo udah punya anak. Aaaaa Aku belum siap. Pokoknya gak mau!" Setelah mengatakan itu Dira langsung berjalan cepat menuju kamarnya. Pintunya ia tutup dengan keras, membuat kedua orang tuanya mengusap dada. "Sabar, Pa," ucap Melati. "Dia itu keras kepala, manja, gak ada dewasa-dewasanya. Papa yakin sekali Anand akan bisa mendidiknya dengan sikap lembut dan dewasa yang dia miliki." "Iya, Pa, Mama juga berpikiran sama. Mama akan bicara lagi sama Dira, sebisa mungkin dia harus setuju." Abram mengangguk pada istrinya. Di kamar ... "Gila banget, dua hari lagi, Na!" ucap Dira pada seseorang di sebrang sana. "Ya gimana lagi, Ra, kan tante Farida memang keadaannya lagi kritis. Apalagi kini kak Anand tinggal punya satu orang tua, pasti apapun yang diminta sama Tante Farida itulah yang terpenting buat dia. Apalagi sekarang keadaan tante ... Lo tahu sendiri, lah, Ra. Coba buat masalah ini kecerdasan otak Lo sama sisi kemanusiaan Lo tingkatin dikit." "Ya tapi ... Oemji! Gue sama sekali gak siap, Na. Gak pernah ketemu, gak saling kenal satu sama lain, tiba-tiba harus nikah. Mending kalo ganteng gak malu-maluin, gimana kalo dia jelek? Ih, gak mau ah! Gue pasti gak bisa tidur nyenyak mulai sekarang, Naaa toloong!" "Jelek? Kakak sepupu gue ganteng, Ra! Asem, Lu!" "Masa?" "Iya serius. Lo pasti gak bisa nolak deh kalo udah ketemu. Si Danil mah lewatt!" Dira bangkit dari tidurannya. "Kalo gitu gue minta fotonya." "Gak punya, Ra. Kak Anand gak suka difoto sembarangan." Dira mendengkus. "Itu ciri-ciri orang yang gak punya kepercayaan diri. Pasti jelek deh kakak sepupu Lo, jangan nipu gue." Triana berdecak. "Gini, deh, nanti gue berusaha dapetin fotonya, oke?" "Nah, bagus. Nanti langsung kirim ke gue." "Siap, bos!" "Jangan lama!" "Iya, berisik!" Dira menutup telepon dengan senyuman lega. Sebentar lagi, gue bakal tahu gimana wajahnya. Dan setelah itu, gue akan mutusin buat Nerima pernikahan ini atau nggak. Dan gak boleh ada yang mentang keputusan gue. Nadira tersenyum jumawa, kemudian menyentil hidungnya sendiri dengan jempol. *** Triana turun dari tempat tidurnya dengan cepat. Tadi Anand sedang di rumahnya membicarakan tentang rencana pernikahan. Semoga saja belum pulang. Saat Triana tiba di lantai bawah, dia melihat Anand sedang makan bersama kedua orang tuanya. Triana menggelengkan kepala. "Dasar si Dira, sepupu gue ganteng gini dikira jelek. Pasti nyesel Lo nanti." "Nana, ayo ikut makan." "Iya, Ma!" Triana sengaja mengambil kursi yang berhadapan dengan Anand. Diam-diam dia mengeluarkan ponselnya dari balik meja, membiarkan kamera mengarah pada Anand yang sedang sibuk makan. Mendadak jantungnya berdebar, gugup takut ketahuan, dia menggigit bibirnya sambil menunduk, matanya menyipit siap-siap menekan tombol untuk memotret. Satu ... Dua ... Tiiiiii .... "Nana?" Triana langsung menegakkan tubuhnya dan menyembunyikan ponsel. "Iya, Ma?" "Kenapa malah main hp? Ayo makan." Triana tersenyum kikuk pada Anand yang sedang menatapnya, kemudian memasukan ponsel ke dalam saku celana. Ia menghembuskan nafas, merasa lega tak ketahuan, atau kemalangan akan menimpanya. "Kamu tunggu sebentar, ya, An, Om mau ngambil sesuatu dulu di atas." Anand mengangguk. Melihat Anand yang berlalu dari ruang makan, Triana mendesah pelan. Ia pun bangkit dari kursi dan bersiap mengikuti Anand. "Eh, mau ke mana kamu? Bukannya mau makan?" tanya ibunya. "Nanti aja, Ma!" Dengan waspada Triana bersembunyi dari balik tembok, lagi-lagi mengeluarkan ponselnya. "Gue harus segera ngambil foto Kak Anand buat membungkam mulut si Dira." Tiba-tiba Anand menoleh, Triana yang melihat itu dari layar ponselnya terkejut dan langsung menyembunyikan ponsel. "Lagi apa kamu?" tanya Anand dengan tatapan menusuk. "Emm, nggak. Aku ... Aku mau ngambil foto bunga ini buat tugas. Permisi, ya, Kak." Triana cengar-cengir dan mendekat, mengambil foto bunga yang tepat berada di samping Anand. Anand menatap Triana yang mencurigakan, namun tak mengatakan apapun dan beralih ke sisi lain, menjaga jarak dari Triana. Triana berbalik, pura-pura mengutak-atik ponsel padahal sedang membidik Anand diam-diam. Saat tombol ditekan, mata Triana membulat sempurna melihat cahaya dari hpnya menyorot Anand. Wajahnya pucat seketika. Ya ampun! Gue lupa matiin flash. Mampus! Anand langsung mendekat dan merebut ponsel Triana yang sedang mematung. Setelah melihat fotonya, Anand menatap Triana dengan tegas. "Apa ini?" tanyanya dingin. Triana gelagapan, lalu kemudian memelas. "Maaf, Kak, itu ... Aku ... " Anand mengembalikan ponsel Triana setelah menghapus fotonya. "Jangan seperti itu lagi, kakak gak suka." Triana cemberut. "Ayo, An." Anand dan ayahnya Triana pun berlalu ke luar rumah. Triana memukul kepalanya sendiri berkali-kali dan membenturkannya ke dinding. "Aaaa gak bisa gak bisa! Gue harus segera dapet fotonya kak Anand, kapan lagi dia ke sini, kan? Sial banget gue. Eh, masih ada waktu." Tepat saat Anand hendak masuk ke dalam mobil, Triana berhasil mengambil fotonya walaupun sedikit terhalang tetangganya. "Hah, akhirnya dapet juga. Dahlah langsung kirim." Gadis itu segera mengirimkan foto tersebut ke nomor Dira, lalu menghembuskan nafas lega. "Akhirnya, beres! Nadira, Lo pasti sujud syukur setelah ini," ucapnya dengan tersenyum lebar. Di tempat lain, Dira langsung menghentikan game-nya begitu melihat pesan masuk dari sahabatnya. Dadanya berdebar, tangannya mendadak gemetar saat hendak membuka pesan itu. Dan saat foto benar-benar terpampang, kedua matanya membelalak. "Aaaaaaaaaa!"“Yes!” Dante retorted as he refocused his attention back into the room. He couldn't believe that he had zoned out during an important meeting. He scoffed at the reason for his distraction. Lyra CaineWith a calm voice, Williams replied. “Sir, we wanted to know if you had any suggestions or criticisms concerning everything we've tabled so far. We”ll also like to know if you had a schedule in mind. Is there a timeframe that you'd want us to work with, so that we can divide our milestones and know how we can work towards them.”Silence ensued.“Mr. Dante?” Maggie's voice chimed in.Dante blinked, then a look of pure irritation shadowed his face. “Is this what I’m paying you all for? To wait for me to spoon-feed answers? Figure it out.” He snapped. “And if that’s too hard, then maybe we need a new team altogether.”The silence and tension in the room skyrocketed. Williams swallowed his response and slowly closed his laptop.Dante stood up. “This meeting is over.” Without waiting for an a
Lyra was in her own bubble. Navigating her way to Bonny Venture was without hassle. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the humongous building standing before her. With quickly calming breaths, she pushed through the entrance door and walked towards the reception desk. “Good morning ma'am. Welcome to Bonny Venture. How can I be of service?” The receptionist asked in a polite voice. “Uhm. Yeah. I'm Lyra Caine. I'm here to see Mr. Jude concerning a job.” Lyra announced breathlessly. “Okay. Can I see your identification?” The receptionist asked calmly. Lyra nodded and dug through her bag for her identification which she handed over to the receptionist. After careful perusal, the receptionist nodded her head in approval and typed something into the desktop computer in front of her. “Once again, welcome to Bonny Venture Ms. Caine. Your identification checked out and you are being expected. Mr. Jude's office is located on the top floor. Just walk down to the elevator and
An Hour Earlier The sharp click of Lyra’s heels echoed in the hallway as she made her way to the front door. Seated at the dining table, Dante grimaced as the echoes invaded his ears, mocking him and reminding of how Lyra was slipping out of his grasp. He watched her slip into a black blazer that hugged her frame in a slightly seductive manner. She looked different —something that he hated to admit. Ever since she landed the job as Mr. Jude's personal assistant, her countenance and poise had changed, metamorphosed into something else— something unpredictable. “Fuck!” Dante cursed as he sucked on his lip. In a distracted state caused by Lyra's appearance, he had mistakenly poured hot coffee on himself. Lyra's head whipped towards his direction, her eyes wide as saucers as if she had just noticed his presence for the first time.“Dante, are you alright?” She asked as she cautiously approached him.Danted grunted an incoherent response and waved her away.Lyra sighed. It was evident t
"I have to get going," Mr. Jude said, glancing at his watch. "This has been quite the long day."The others all nodded in a yes manner as they all hailed their goodbyes to Lyra , who had just been dismissed that day.Williams and Sharon gave Lyra a smiling encounter and left for their destination.Lyra walked with Danteto his car, and the air was just thick with tension between them.He drove home and remained silent, looking at the road.Lyra tried to break the silence. "Dante , thanks for."But the grimace on Dante 's face silenced her.They reached home, and Dantestepped out of the car, still not saying a word.Lyra followed behind him, feeling uneasy.The steps up to the living room were sounded out in the stark silence.Lyra hovered around, not knowing what to do.Dantesank into the couch, his gaze set blankly ahead.The silence between them just grew, and grew heavier.She moved closer, setting herself down beside him."Dante , what's wrong?" she asked softly.Dantedid not












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