A Novel Kitchen

Charles’ breath quickened, and his movements became more urgent. “I’m close,” he gasped in my ear, his voice breaking between moans. My own pleasure surged, and I couldn’t hold back the scream that tore from my throat. A wave of electric tingles swept through me, my temples throbbed, and the world around me faded into white… Every pore on my body felt wide open, heat radiating from me in waves. It was surreal, as if I were in a dream, feeling everything but grasping none of it… I could hardly believe it—I had married this man, the infamous Alpha of the Black Valley Pack, Charles McLean, and I had just slept with him. But there was no love between us. We weren’t fated mates. Since his first shift at eighteen, Charles McLean had never found his fated mate. And after one engagement after another, each of his fiancées had died under mysterious circumstances. Rumor had it that he wore a mask to conceal his hideous face and that he was a cruel, violent man who would kill without hesitation. People whispered that he had murdered his previous fiancées. His last fiancée—my sister—was terrified of him. Horrified by the stories, she had vehemently refused to marry him. And just before the wedding, she found her fated mate. So, without warning or preparation, I was forced to take her place, pushed into marrying Charles in her stead, to stand as his wife in name only and the unacknowledged Luna of the Black Valley Pack…

Cerita tentang Rania untuk menyadari bahwa kebahagiaan masih ada dalam hidupnya walau dengan liku yang panjang. Orang tua dan kedua adiknya meninggal bersama, pada hari dan waktu yang sama. Dia diangkat anak oleh adik dari ibunya yang seorang petinggi militer saat berusia 18 tahun. Keluarga kandung dari ayahnya menuduh Rania tak lagi ingat mereka karena sudah ada dalam keluarga ‘berada’. Orang-orang di sekitarnya tak pernah menghargai kerja kerasnya untuk meraih cita-cita karena di anggap menumpang nama dari Mama angkat yang berasal dari keluarga produser film. Keinginan untuk menikahi teman masa kecilnya harus pupus saat ia gugur dalam tugasnya sebagai abdi negara. Inilah kisah Rania Aprilia saat mencari alasan mengapa ia tetap dihidupkan saat semua alasannya untuk hidup diambil darinya. Bergembiralah, Orang yang meninggal tidak ingin mereka yang ditinggal menderita terlalu lama.” (Lim Ju-Kyung – True Beauty 2020)

On the night Arya Sinclair discovered her husband in bed with her sister, her world shattered. Alone, heartbroken, and on the edge of despair, Arya believes her life is over… but then, there was Blake Donovan: dangerously attractive, impossibly powerful, and the last man she ever expected to see again after one reckless night of passion. Blake isn’t just offering a second chance; he's offering power, revenge, and a love that could either save her or destroy her.

When the power meter in the house trips, Mom's foster daughter, Juniper Hawthorne, is trapped in the dark for five minutes. Even though I have claustrophobia, Mom locks me in an empty, pitch-black room. "You knew Juniper was terrified of the dark, yet you intentionally shut off the power just to frighten her! I'll teach you how to behave today!" I cry and beg her not to, but all I receive in return is a harsh slap. "Claustrophobia? That's just what happens when a kid grows up too spoiled." Late that night, I sense someone breaking into the house. The first thing I do is to call Mom, a renowned criminal psychologist, for help, only to be yelled at. "You're still really getting into this role just to fight Juniper for attention, aren't you? "Kidnappers, huh? Well, go ahead and die so you'll stop bothering me!" As she wishes, I'm brutally tortured and killed. My body is buried beneath Mom's favorite flowerbed. After I die, my soul is trapped in the body of a cat. All I can do is helplessly circle Mom until five days have passed. The police arrive with a mangled body and request her help in creating a portrait of the killer.

I'm Lindt Group's CEO's mistress. When Gerald Lindt's fiancée calls to demand answers, I lean into his embrace and tell him to go to her. I play the role of a mistress perfectly. However, Gerald kisses me tenderly. "You're too kind, Lucy." I conceal the ruthlessness and hatred in my eyes as the image of a young woman's corpse appears in my mind. She was subjected to inhumane torture before her death. The pain of losing my loved one eats away at me; it's a feeling I'll never forget. I want all of these people who think they're better than me and my sister to pay with their lives.

My younger sister and I unlocked our systems on the same day? The setting? The nation decades ago. She went for the learning system and married an intellectual. I had no choice but to go with the useless storage space system. Then, I was forced to marry a thug. A very rude and crass one at that. Thanks to the storage space system, I got through a famine and became the village's richest person. My sister's learning system was useless, and she almost died of starvation. Driven by jealousy, my sister seduced my husband and slept with him. To get my wealth, they came up with a plan and pushed me down a cliff. When I came to, I realized we'd returned to the day we awakened our systems. My sister shoved me away and picked the useless storage space system. "Move, you bitch! Now I have your system! I'll survive the famine and get rich! You'll live in my shadow forever, as you should!" She was so smug. She was gloating. I took the learning system and smiled to myself. Unbeknownst to my sister, I got rich during the famine, not because of the system, and my dream was to score high on the exam and get into a good college. My sister managed to mess up her life even when she had the better system. Now she took the useless one. I could practically see the misery waving at her down the path.

GINAWANG PAMBAYAD sa utang si Yza ng kanyang ama. Masamang-masama ang kanyang loob, kaya nilunod niya ang sarili sa alak. Sa sobrang kalasingan ay natumba siya ngunit bago pakinabangan ng matigas na simento ang malambot niyang katawan ay nasalo siya ng lalaking estranghero. Kinabukasan ng magising siya ay nagimbal si Yza sa kanyang natuklasan. Wala siya sa sariling kwarto. Higit sa lahat hubo’t hubad din siya. Naramdaman niya rin ang munting kirot sa pagitan ng kanyang mga hita. She’s lost her virginity… Sa lalaking hindi man lang niya namukhaan. Ang isang gabing pagkakamali ay nagbunga. Paano na siya? Gayon naglayas siya sa kanila at pagala-gala na lamang siya sa kalsada… She’s meet Manuel ang lalaking hindi yata marunong ngumiti at ubod ng suplado. Naging Knight and shining armor niya ang binata... Nakahanda akuin ni Manuel, ang anghel nasa sinapupunan ni Yza. nakatakda na ang pag-iisang dibdib nina Manuel at Yza. Pero dahil sa natuklasan ni Yza ay hindi natuloy ang kasal. At pagkalipas lamang ng ilang linggo ay nagpakasal si Yza sa ama ng binata,kay Don Hector...

The aloof CEO and his childhood sweetheart bring the tragic novel's female lead to an orphanage to adopt a child. All the children pounce on the childhood sweetheart, saying, "Mommy, pick me! Pick me!" The viewers' comments come flooding in. "She can't birth her own child, and now even the orphans don't want her. The tragic female lead is truly pitiful, humiliated by both her husband and his childhood sweetheart!" "The childhood sweetheart keeps winning—spoiled by the CEO, and the orphans scramble to call her 'Mom.' The female lead is nothing but a piece of decor." "It's not tragic enough! Make her even more miserable! It's even better if she cries on the spot so that later, when the CEO recalls this scene, he'll have to work double time to win his wife back!" I glare at the comments, feeling so mad that my short legs push me forward, landing me right in front of the ignored female lead. I tug at her sleeve. "Missy, can you make stew?" The female lead freezes up. "I… I can." My eyes light up with joy. "That's it then! That's exactly what I love. I'll go with you!"

Lena is bankrupt, her entire family fortunes completely dwindled due to the poor financial choices made by her father. At the age of 23, her family’s future completely depends on her. For a while now she has been closely watching David, the top eligible bachelor in the city of Hue, not only is he the most eligible bachelor in all of Hue, he is also the richest man in Hue. David is the CEO of Spark Enterprise, most people call him proud and haughty, but those that are close to him know it’s just a wall he has learnt to put around himself to protect himself from others. Afterall to be a CEO you need to be careful of people, especially of women who want you only for your status and money. Imagine the shock on everyone's face when the news of his marriage surfaces. Will Lena approach him and change her life and that of her family? Will he accept her or make a public ridicule of her for having such a thought?

Ataisha was on the brink of losing herself. Everything has gone cold—he has gone cold. It all played perfectly a few months back but everything changed in a blink of an eye. She couldn’t handle the pain all at once, especially when she felt the love she had always craved in him. Siya na lang ang nakakapag paramdam kay Aisha na may taong nagmamahal sa kanya at magpapahalaga, but what happened? Why does it have to be like this? She was never loved by her family, treated less than trash. She was always desperate for affection and when she finally gets it with him, this has to happen. He kept blaming her for something she doesn’t even remember doing, and he won’t explain. He will keep acting like he hates her, or maybe he really does. Who knows, she might have really done something to push him away like this. But the truth is always bound to be unveiled, and in desperation to find answers and make sense of it all, Ataisha found herself trapped in a deeper hole of secrets waiting to be freed. Secrets that will bring new wounds and open scars she never knew were still needed healing. Secrets that will forever open her heart to acceptance even if it’s going to be painfully difficult. Will she be able to free herself from the chains holding her in that deep hole of secrets and lies? or will she forever be tangled in whispers of secrecy and distrust?