Cerita Pendek Hot-Blooded & Novel Independence Regret

My fiancé’s first love Chloe had returned. Rumor had it she’d been overseas, treating some rare disease. I hadn’t believed it—until the day she showed up at my engagement party. And I watched as the man I’d been hopelessly in love with since I was sixteen left our party with her. “Wait for me,” Nathan said, “She is fragile. I need to make sure she is well.” He ignored me, but accompanying her to everywhere. I threw away the rings, trashed the wedding gown. When I was pale and trembling from a heart failure later. Nathan finally showed up. “Don’t you dare die on me, Emily,” His hands were shaking. His voice cracked. “We still have a wedding.”

It's my seventh anniversary with Chase McGregor. I hide in his car's trunk while holding a pregnancy report. In my other hand, I hold a limited-edition watch that I've prepared for him. I want to surprise him and tell him we're about to have a child. To my surprise, I hear something that devastates me. "Chase, you're not really going to marry Daphne, are you? Lucille Gervais wants to marry you. As long as you do that, the North Sea's shipping routes, cargo operations, and drug trade will come under your control." "Help me set up a date with her. I'll break up with Daphne." My breathing hitches. I want to hear Chase object to this or show even the slightest bit of hesitation, but none of it comes. The pregnancy report slips from my fingers. I once thought he would be the father of my children; I thought we would have a happy family together. Now, my dream has been shattered.

My company had moved into the heart of the business district, where rents were sky-high. To make things easier on my employees, I paid out of my own pocket to lease a luxury apartment building near the office. I wanted everyone to have more time to rest and enjoy life instead of wearing themselves out at work. But instead of appreciating the gesture, they accused me of offering fake perks. They believed the money I'd spent on those apartments should have gone straight into their pockets as project bonuses. To pressure me into handing over the money, they anonymously filed a complaint with the state labor department, accusing me of using the apartments to control my employees, keeping them on call around the clock, and forcing them to work overtime. Someone even went online and claimed I was spying on their private lives, painting me as a voyeuristic creep. In the end, they all walked out and quit, deliberately bringing an international project to a standstill. They hoped the crushing breach-of-contract penalties would force me to cave. What they didn't know was that ten minutes earlier, I'd called my mentor, and the best team in the industry was already on a plane headed here. If they wanted to quit, fine. I'd grant their wish!