A Man Of Culture

"Bukankah itu Dewa ?" tanya Sal mengikutinya dari belakang. Sal adalah anak perempuan yang tumbuh bersama empat kakak sepupu laki-laki dan satu adik sepupu perempuan. Hal ini membuatnya menjadi wanita yang tomboy. Keluarga mereka cukup terpandang di kota ini. Keluarga Damian merupakan keluarga besar yang memiliki perusahaan bersama dengan ayahnya Sal sebagai pemimpin perusahaan. Sal memiliki ambisi suatu saat bisa menggantikan posisi ayahnya karena itu dia bekerja sangat keras. Hari ini adalah pernikahan adik sepupunya. Dewa sudah sampai di tepi pantai. "Apa yang dilakukannya di sini di tengah-tengah persiapan pernikahannya ?" tanya Sal dalam hatinya. Di sana sudah menunggu Alder di tepi laut sambil menatap ke arah laut. Alder membiarkan kakinya dihempaskan oleh ombak-ombak kecil. Alder adalah seorang laki-laki yang lahir dari keluarga pengusaha yang memiliki masa lalu kelam yang membuatnya membenci wanita. Alder sudah mengenal Dewa sejak mereka duduk di bangku SMA. Hubungan mereka sangat dekat bahkan sebelum Dewa bertemu dengan Riya. Sal mengikutinya dan bersembunyi di balik karang. "Ada apa lagi ?" tanya Dewa terlihat kesal. "Aku ingin bertemu denganmu apa salah," jawab Alder. "Aku sebentar lagi menikah," ucap Dewa. "Kau yakin menikahinya karena cinta atau kau menikahinya karena takut dengan pandangan masyarakat soal hubungan kita," balas Alder. Sal yang mendengar hal itu sangat terkejut dan nyaris limbung. "Tidak ini tidak mungkin," ucap Sal dalam hatinya. "Aku sudah bulat pada keputusanku," ucap Dewa. "Sebaiknya kau pertimbangkan lagi," bujuk Alder berusaha mendekati Dewa. Dewa berjalan mundur untuk menjauhinya. Sal merasa seluruh bulu kuduknya berdiri. "Riya harus tau tentang hal ini," kata Sal dalam hatinya. Riya adalah calon istri Dewa. Apakah Sal akan memberitahukan hal ini dengan Riya ? Apa yang terjadi jika pernikahan tetap terjadi ? Apakah Alder akan membiarkan hal itu terjadi begitu saja ?

"I saved his life with a lie. Now, I have to live it—or die in his bed." Noah Bennett is a nobody, a starving survivor in a kingdom of ice. When he finds the poisoned, half-dead King Ethan Walker in a frozen ravine, he makes a desperate, split-second choice to secure his future. He pitches his voice high, binds his chest, and claims to be a maiden named Abigail. He expected a reward and a quiet escape. He didn’t expect the King to wake up with a terrifying, soul-deep obsession. Now, the "Angel of the Ravine" has been brought to the palace in a carriage of gold and silk. Ethan Walker is a man of cold steel and dark hungers, a King who pampers his "Abigail" with a devotion that feels like a chokehold. He wants his savior. He wants a Queen. And he wants her—him—in his bed before the moon turns full. As the wedding bells toll, the stakes reach a breaking point: The Lie: One torn gown or one slipped word will lead Noah to the executioner’s block. The Lust: Ethan’s touch is electric, a "Good Turn Bad" obsession that makes Noah’s heart hammer for all the wrong reasons. The Trap: The King’s traitorous brother is watching, the General is suspicious, and the Silver Wolf of the north is howling for the truth. In a court of vipers, Noah is playing the most dangerous game in Aethelgard. He must navigate the King’s possessive "Silk Noose" while hiding the truth beneath his robes. But as Ethan leans in to claim his "bride's" neck, Noah realizes the most terrifying secret of all: The King might already know. And he might like the lie even better than the truth.

My best friend, Cassidy Braun, earned a modest monthly salary of 2,800 dollars, only to constantly trash her doting husband with an annual income of 600,000 dollars, labelling him a broke loser. “That incompetent husband of mine can’t even afford a 20-carat diamond ring! “I have the looks that can bag me a billionaire. I must have been out of my mind to marry that piece of trash.” I chimed in. “You’re right. You’re practically a goddess. Only a Greek God stands a chance with you.” Eventually, Cassidy left her husband and hooked up with a trust-fund kid, just as she wanted. A year later, she was scammed out of every penny she owned and diagnosed with cancer. Fragile and broken, she came to me. “I heard that ex-husband of mine remarried and that he’s loaded now. Judging by the way he used to worship the ground I walked on, I bet he’ll drop the woman in a heartbeat if I ask to get back together.” I gave a dismissive nod while running my fingers along the new Birkin bag my husband had bought. “Oh, absolutely. He’s pretty wealthy now.”

Lowa was reincarnated in a world called Lycanthrope where humans were hunted by werewolves, a catastrophe that occurred over a thousand years, causing all survivors to hide in magical membranes. Humans are divided into many areas to live in, each area will have a mage to protect. Tragedy fell from the sky when the magic curtain cracked, her parents, the people living with Lowa could not survive, except for her and Dai. The organization is called: “Peace Corps”, Lowa and Dai are helped by the goddess Irina to take care of them after their objects are discovered and destroyed. They are taught that people must always be put first, the only goal is to destroy all werewolves to regain this land towards freedom. During a mission, Lowa meets a werewolf. He helped Iowa, another human, return to the organization. It was also from this meeting that Iowa understood that attempting to kill all the werewolves would be tantamount to using violence against violence that would only cause more casualties for innocent people. Lowa sets out to find people who share the same ideal of peace, between humans and werewolves, both deserve to live. One thing that Lowa didn't think about, it was Dai, her best friend, who was the most staunch opponent. He thinks werewolves deserve to be destroyed for the crimes committed against humans. Irina, the esteemed older sister to Iowa, was extremely disappointed in her. She officially kicked Iowa out of the organization, silently sending people to kill Lowa.

Erica has fallen in love with a man na akala niyang magbibigay sa kanya ng pagmamahal na matagal na niyang pinangarap at inasam. Kay Troy Sandoval. A mysterious guy na biglang dumating sa kanyang buhay at ginulo ito. Sa simula pinakitaan siya ni Troy ng mabuti. Niligawan siya nito, hindi nagtagal ay sinagot niya ito. Mabilis na nahulog ang loob niya sa lalaki kaya naman nagpakasal sila agad. Ngunit ilang buwan pa lamang ang lumipas ay nag iba ang trato nito sa kanya. Naging bastos ito at mapangahas sa kanya. Dahil ang totoong motibo ni Troy ay ipaghiganti ang kapatid na nasa ospital pa rin hanggang ngayon at hindi parin nagigising sa coma. Sobrang mahal ni Troy si Rix. Si Erica ang sinisisi nila sa trahedyang nangyari sa kanyang kapatid. Matagal ng manliligaw ni Erica si Rix at palagi din itong basted sa kanya kahit anong pagtataboy niya rito ay ayaw siyang tantanan ng binata. Ayaw sana niyang paasahin si Rix kasi wala talaga siyang feelings para dito at kaibigan lang ang turing nito sa kanya. Ngunit isang araw bigla na lang itong tumawag kay Erica at nagbabantang magpapakamatay ito kapag hindi siya nagpakita sa dito. Pumayag si Erica sa gusto nito kasi alam niya ang kayang gawin ni Rix. Sa kasamaan hindi nakarating si Erica sa lugar kung saan dapat sila magkikita ni Rix dahil sa isang insidenting nangyari. Isang insidente na magpapabago sa takbo ng kanilang mga buhay. Insidenting naging dahilan kung bakit dumaranas siya ngayon ng impyernong buhay sa piling ni Troy. Tama bang inilihim ni Erica kay Troy ang insidenting yun? Paano kung sinabi niya kaagad sa kanila? Dadanasin pa kaya niya ang pagpapahirap na pinaparanas ni Troy sa kanya? O mas mamahalin siya ng tuluyan ni Troy kapag nalaman nito ang totoo?

At my own wedding, the groom switched—Malcolm Lowell bailed, and the best man stepped in. Lumi, the Irving's real daughter, latched onto Malcolm's arm and smirked from the crowd. "I was just feeling a little low," she said. "Didn't think Malcolm would go this far for me." Malcolm raised a brow. "I just wanted to make her happy. You took her spot for years. Time to pay it back. This is for your own good." That's when it hit me—this whole wedding was a setup, a twisted show just to entertain Lumi. All because I was the adopted one. I'd lived in her place for over two decades. I didn't cry. Didn't freak out. I just took the new groom's hand, faced the priest, and said, "Keep going."

My best friend, Sienna Monroe, who always swears she'll never marry, goes with me to the fertility clinic and suddenly snatches away the donor profile I choose. That's when I know she has come back to life too. In my previous life, I wanted a mixed-race baby, so I chose the IVF route. Sienna mocked me, saying I'd just be raising someone else's child. But two weeks later, I was taken to the royal palace of Valoria. It turned out the donor I picked was none other than the Prince of Valoria, a man of eight national lineages. He not only insisted on marrying me as his princess but also promised that our child would inherit the throne. The baby and I were cherished by the entire royal family, so much so that the jewels they draped over me nearly bent my back. Meanwhile, Sienna flaunted her extreme feminist stance and offended business partners. In the end, she was fired and blacklisted across the industry. Sienna spent all her savings on a plane ticket to attend my party, where I would introduce my baby to everyone. But when I went to welcome her, she crushed my son to death in her hands and splashed concentrated acid on me. "You don't deserve such good fortune! You worthless witch!" But when I opened my eyes again, I had gone back to the day I asked her to go with me to the fertility clinic.

Tell us how you managed to capture the heart of these dangerous men?” The host asked. The audience waited for their response. “ Well, I don't think I encountered many obstacles like the rest” Jenna chuckled as she glanced at them. “ He loved me too, let go of his dark side, changed for me. Everything changed when I broke up with him, I…misunderstood him. I waited for eight years thinking he would beg me, but he didn't, then fate brought us back. That was when I learnt his dark side never leaves, always with him…” she laughed. “ But it's too late to run away from him” “ Thank you, Mrs Hindelys. What about you, Miss Kelly?” “ Err… I knew he didn't love me, but still chose to love him, he might be cold and quiet, but his heart whispers a lot, so I chased him and found myself in his trap, unable to leave” Kelly laughed with the audience” That's how I'm struck with your Big boss” “ Hahahaha, that's funny, please Mrs Lisa … how did you end up with Mr Norman?” “ I knew he had an eye for another person, but couldn't stop myself from falling for him… he treated me badly, so I thought he hated me, I decided to stop bothering him, but the thing is, he actually cares for me, he did that to protect me” “ Wow…” the host laughed and moved to the next person. “ What about you, Miss Elizabeth, how did you manage to capture the heart of the greatest doctor” “ I want him, so I got him, he was my boss so I slept with him by mistake, he was drunk and mistook me for his ex. So we're fated” “ Hmmm, I love that, thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with our leaders”

During summer break, I took my son, Luke Thorne, diving at our private beach. Ralph Foster, a hotshot TV actor, suddenly showed up with a whole entourage and barged in. "This is a private beach that Gloria personally secured for me to entertain VIPs. You two nobodies had better get lost right now!" He threw his weight around and even dragged my wife, Gloria Stokes, out as a threat. When he learned who I was, he went a step further and mocked me as a kept man living off my wife. I actually laughed. I was the head of the Thornes, the most powerful family in Frenkinston. Since when did I become some freeloading, useless husband? On top of that, Gloria's film studio and every bit of her backing came from me. But when Gloria arrived, she sided with Ralph and actually tried to force Luke to put on a show for some sleazy investors. Sneering, I made a call that only the head of the Thornes had the authority to make. "Shark Vanguard, clear Crescent Bay. Now."

Dice Ivan Sanjorjo is known as Heartless Man, meant to marry the Yulara Cesaralla Grandeza to save their company. Kahit labag sa kalooban ng dalaga ay wala siyang magagawa lalu na't uhaw sa kayaman ng Sanjorjo ang kanyang ama. Paano niya makakasalamuha ang bagong asaawa kung sa unang gabi nito ay hindi umuwi sa kanya. At higit sa lahat ay malamig ang tungo nito sa kanya. Pero ang nakakapagtataka ay noon wala itong pakialam sa kanya subalit nanghihimasok na ito sa pagiging lakwatsera niya. Hindi niya mawari kung galit ba ito o nagseselos na. Can she save their company even though she doesn't want it? Or she will try her best to be a good wife so they can live happily ever after?