LOGIN"You want to be free of me so badly you'll throw yourself into danger?" he asked. "I have nothing left to lose, Eddie. They already took my friends and my freedom. You keep me locked aside, and I have to watch you sleeping around even in our house. What does freedom cost when the price of staying is my soul?" "I will never divorce you, Maggie," he stated, his voice final. "You are mine, and this marriage ends when I say it ends. And not because of some childish, self-destructive tantrum." Maggie Grayson built her global empire on cold calculation and a profound need for independence. But her arranged marriage to the powerful CEO Eddie Grayson is not a union-it's a high-stakes, public prison. When Maggie's emotionally abusive family publicly humiliates her, Eddie does nothing, revealing the true nature of their toxic bond. Seeking a way out, Maggie throws herself into a scandal, only to discover Eddie isn't merely possessive; he's actively leveraging her trauma and her successful company to build a corporate dynasty that will guarantee her absolute, permanent captivity. Now, caught between a husband determined to be her "sculptor" and a father willing to destroy her company to regain control, Maggie knows the only way to break free is to turn the cold, ruthless mask she wears into a devastating weapon. She's not just fighting for a divorce; she's fighting for her very soul. To survive, Maggie must dismantle her gilded cage brick by brick, even if it means destroying the man who holds the key.
View MoreHujan deras menyelimuti bumi, awan hitam di atas langit seakan mengatakan bahwa akan ada kesedihan. Seorang wanita dengan piyama putih melihat keluar jendela. Wanita itu begitu khawatir dan cemas. Suaminya belum pulang bahkan tak ada satu pun panggilannya yang di angkat. Malam ini ia ingin memberi kejutan pada suaminya.
"Kemana Andreas?" Naina begitu khawatir. Bibi Rohya pun datang membawa sebuah teh hangat. "Nyonya ini teh hangatnya. Nyonya tidak perlu khawatir, tuan Andreas pasti baik-baik saja," ucapnya. Kedua alis Naina masih berkerut, hatinya tidak tenang. Tidak pernah Andreas tidak mengangkat panggilannya. Selama ini Andreas selalu mengabarinya entah dimana pun keberadaannya. Beberapa menit kemudian, kecemasan Naina hilang, dia tersenyum melihat mobil yang masuk ke pekarangan rumahnya. Dia bergegas turun. "Bibi bawakan aku payung," ucap Naina. Bibi Rohya berlari kecil, dia mengambil payung dan memberikannya pada Naina. Naina membuka payung tersebut dan menuruni anak tangga teras depan. Langkahnya pun berhenti, petir menggelagar membelah langit seakan tau bahwa hatinya terasa panas dan perih ketika kedua netranya menatap Andreas yang sedang tersenyum dan menatap pada seorang wanita dengan tatapan hangat. Wanita itu turun dan menatap Andreas. Dia tersenyum dan melangkah bersama dengan Andreas. Air mata Naina membelah pipi putihnya. Tenggorkannya terasa tercekat. "An?" "Naina." Andreas tersenyum dan merangkul wanita di sampingnya. "Amira sudah kembali. Kau pasti senang sampai air mata mu mengalir." Imbuhnya dengan wajah bersinar. Naina mengangguk, tenggorokannya tak mampu untuk meneguk ludahnya. Bibirnya terasa berat, ia hanya menarik sudut bibirnya dengan paksa. Pria itu tidak tau jika air matanya adalah air mata kepedihan bukan kebahagian. "Ayo," ajak Andreas. Dia melewati Naina dan terus melangkah tanpa menoleh ke arah Naina. Tanpa dia bertanya Naina menerima wanita itu masuk ke dalam rumahnya. Bibi Rohya menghampiri Naina, ia tau hati Naina tidak baik-baik saja. "Nyonya muda, apa nyonya baik-baik saja?" Naina menjatuhkan payungnya. Tubuhnya hampir jatuh ke tanah. Bibi Rohya dengan sigap menahan tubuhnya. "Nyonya muda." "Bibi." Naina berusaha berdiri. Dadanya terasa sesak, ribuan duri seakan menancap tepat di ulu hatinya. Dia memejamkan kedua matanya, membiarkan air hujan itu membasahi wajahnya. Saat ini langit pun tau bahwa dirinya tak mampu mengendalikan kesedihannya. "Yang sabar Nyonya," ucap bibi Rohya. Naina menghapus air matanya. Dia memutar tubuhnya dengan pelan da melangkah. Dia menarik nafasnya dalam-dalam dan menghembuskannya dengan pelan. Naina membuka pintu kamarnya. Dia melihat suami telah menggunakan piyama hitam. "Naina aku akan menceritakan semuanya pada mu. Malam ini, aku merasa senang. Bahkan aku merasa langit berpihak pada ku. Hujan kali ini seakan menyudahi kesedihan ku selama ini." Andreas menoleh. Ia sangat senang bersama dengan Naina, semenjak kecil hingga dewasa Naina selalu ada untuknya. Sekalipun sudah menikah, perasaannya pada Naina tetaplah perasaan sahabat. "Naina kenapa kau diam saja? Apa kau tidak bahagia melihat ku bahagia?" Naina tersenyum, ia mengangguk. "Aku bahagia." Rupanya selama ini dia tidak bisa membahagiakan suaminya, Andreas. Jadi selama ini cintanya, kasih sayangnya tak berarti apa pun. "Dia menghubungi ku dan aku sangat senang." Andreas memeluk Naina. Tanpa dia tau pelukan itu terasa meyayat hatinya, pelukan yang ia terima selama satu tahun ini yang begitu hangat kini terasa dingin membekukan tubuhnya dan juga hatinya yang terasa sakit. "Andreas kau sangat mencintai Amira? Selama ini kau tidak pernah melupakannya?" "Tidak! Aku hanya diam saja, tapi tiap malamnya aku selalu berharap suatu saat nanti di persatukan dengan Amira. Naina kau tau bagaimana aku mencintai Amira kan?" "Aku sangat senang Naina, akhirnya aku bisa menemui Amira." Andreas berlalu pergi dengan wajah gembira. Dia meninggalkan Naina seakan dia hanya tau jika Naina senang sampai menangis tapi rupanya tangisan itu tangisan kesakitan hatinya. ... Andreas duduk di samping Naina yang sedang mengelus perutnya. Naina pun belum menyadari keberadaan Andreas, niat hati dia ingin meberikan sebuah kejutan ternyata dirinyalah yang mendapatkan kejutan. Ia tidak ingin mengatakannya pada Andreas bahwa ia sedang mengandung. "Naina, apa kau sakit perut?" Tanya Andreas tampak khawatir. Naina tersadar, dia memalingkan wajahnya dan menghapus air matanya. Dia tersenyum dan terkekeh. "Kau menangis?" tanya Andreas lagi. Dia menatap lekat kedua mata cantik Naina. Naina menggelengkan kepalanya. "Ada debu yang masuk di mata ku." Tentu saja ia berbohong demi Andreas. Dia tidak ingin pria yang ia cintai mengetahi bahwa ia tidak menerima kehadiran Amira. Andreas menghapus air mata Naina, kelembutan inilah yang membuatnya betah bersama dengan Naina. Dia meyakini Naina bisa menjadi sahabat dalam hidupnya. "Naina, aku ingin berbicara sesuatu pada mu," ucap Andreas dengan wajah serius. "Aku ingin kita bercerai. Aku sudah menemukan Amira dan tidak mungkin aku melanjutkan pernikahan ini." Tengorokan Naina tercekat, nafasnya terasa berhenti. Dia menatap dalam kedua manik Andreas. Netra warna cokelat itu yang membuatnya jatuh cinta."Cerai?" Tanya Naina dengan pelan. Kedua telinganya terasa panas. "Bercerai? Andreas, apa kau tidak bisa mempertahankan diriku sedikit saja? Apa kau tidak kasihan pada ku." Naina ingin mempertahankan pernikahan ini sekalipun Andreas menikah dengan Amira. Andreas menunduk dan menggelengkan kepalanya dengan pelan, ia tidak ingin berpisah dengan Amira. Baginya Amira segalanya dan ia lakukan untuk kebahagian Amira. Wanita itu telah banyak menderita. Karena tidak menerima pernikahannya dengan Naina saat neneknya menjodohkannya, Amira pun pergi tanpa mendengarkan penjelasannya. "Aku menyayangi, tapi bukan mencintai mu. Sejak dulu kau tau, aku hanya menganggap mu sebagai adik ku," papar Andreas. Naina tersenyum, air matanya terus mengalir. "Biarkan aku di sini sebentar saja. Aku berjanji akan berpisah dengan mu." Mulutnya bergetar mengucap kalimat tersebut. Hatinya patah, hancur berantakan, kepingan hatinya seakan membawa jiwanya. "Baiklah, aku membelikan rumah untuk mu, atau kau ingin kembali ke rumah orang tua mu?" Tanya Andreas. Dia ingin memastikan keadaan Naina setelah bercerai dengannya. Dia tidak mungkin meninggalkan Naina. Naina tak menjawab, kemanakan ia harus pergi? sedangkan kedua orang tuanya telah tiada, ia hanya memiliki Andreas sebagai rumah ternyamannya, namun Andreas malah ingin ia pergi. "Aku pergi, malam ini aku harus menemani Amira." Andreas meminta izin. Dia yakin Naina akan mengerti dirinya. Naina memilih diam, rasanya begitu sakit, menusuk-nusuk hatinya. Seandainya saja kedua bibirnya bisa mengatakan bahwa ia ingin Andreas menemaninya, tapi bibirnya tidak kuat.The air in Hawaii was no longer a tropical paradise; it felt like a pressurized chamber, thick with the scent of expensive hibiscus and the metallic tang of a storm brewing offshore. I stood on the sand, the hem of my black silk dress already damp, feeling the eyes of the elite bore into my back from the glass terrace above.The Audience of VulturesUp on the teak deck, the music didn't stop, but the laughter did. I could see them through the floor-to-ceiling glass—the Ho family, my sisters, the corporate vultures. They weren't horrified by my mother’s cruelty; they were fascinated by it. “Did you see?” a cousin whispered loud enough for the wind to carry. “The Tyrant actually has tear ducts.”“She’s probably just angry she didn't get the inheritance,” Bethany added, her voice dripping with artificial sympathy as she sipped her champagne.They didn't see a daughter being disowned. They saw a high-stakes glitch in a perfect machine. To them, my pain was a performance, and they were w
The air in Hawaii felt heavy and damp, smelling of tropical flowers and the salty sea. It had been two days since our tense flight, and in that time, Eddie and I had barely spoken. He just hung around the doorway of our room like a shadow.I stood in front of the tall mirror, acting calm even though I felt empty inside. I picked out a long, black silk dress. It was a huge contrast to the bright, flowery outfits my sisters, Lily and Bethany, would definitely wear. To me, it felt like I was dressing for a funeral—my own.I smoothed the dress over my hip to make sure it hid the bandage on my knee. I looked powerful and cold, like the boss everyone thought I was. I didn't look like a woman who had spent two days wondering if her husband was a villain or just another person caught up in my family's lies.As I walked downstairs, the sound of my heels on the marble floor felt like a clock ticking down to something bad.Eddie was waiting in the expansive, open-concept living room. The ocean b
The vanity mirror was a vast, silver-backed sheet of crystal that spanned the entire length of the marble wall. In its reflection, I didn't see the Tyrant. I saw a ghost with long blonde hair, eyes like frozen lakes, and a charcoal silk jumpsuit that looked more like a bruise against the blinding white of the room.My heart hadn't just stopped; it had been seized.Resting on the cool, polished surface of the vanity—right where my hand would have naturally landed—was a small, tarnished silver music box. It was a relic from a lifetime ago, a piece of my childhood I thought had been ground into dust the day my father burned my old room.I reached out, my fingers trembling so violently the silk of my sleeves rustled like dry leaves. The metal was ice-cold. I flipped the latch. The mechanism groaned, a slow, dying melody of Clair de Lune staggering out into the silent room.How did she find this? My mother didn't leave "gifts." She left landmines. This box wasn't a memory; it was a threat.
The door hissed open, and the heat hit me like a physical blow.Hawaii didn't smell like the brochures. It smelled of salt, jet fuel, and a thick, oppressive humidity that made the silk of my jumpsuit cling to my skin within seconds. The sun was blinding, reflecting off the white concrete of the private airfield.I descended the stairs, the wind whipping my long blonde hair across my face. I squinted against the glare, spotting the black SUVs waiting at the edge of the tarmac. The beach house was a forty-minute drive away—a fortress of glass and volcanic rock perched over the Pacific. My mother’s kingdom.I reached the bottom step and paused, the heat radiating off the ground through my thin soles. Behind me, I heard the heavy tread of Eddie’s boots and the frantic, light patter of Bella’s sandals.I didn't turn around. I kept my back to them, looking out at the palm trees swaying in the distance.“The car for the Ho family is the lead one,” Eddie said, coming up beside me. He didn't
Before I could process the sound, Eddie was there. His hand didn't simply grab; it clamped around my wrist—the hard, non-negotiable grasp of a proprietor.“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded, immediately twisting my wrist against his grip.“I should be asking you that, Maggie,” my husband cou
“I see you did check your text. I sent you a text on UsChat. I canceled the date because I have other plans today,” my husband stated, his voice low, his eyes fixed on me.I checked my phone—my UsChat app had just finished updating in the background. I opened it and saw the message, timestamped nea
The next morning, I woke to a profound stillness. It was the Christmas holiday break, the one period where The Citadel truly fell silent, and I didn't have to worry about the market or the next hostile takeover. I was still twenty-three, and even if I didn't act it, I looked my age—a point of silen
The digital glow of the dashboard clock bled into the weary darkness of the car's interior. One of those nights. My hands gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white, the hum of the engine a dull throb against my skull. Veritas City, a sprawling lie wrapped in glass and steel, blurred past my window
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