Akito Birthday Card

I had just been discharged from surgery for a collapsed lung when my boyfriend took me to a childhood friend’s birthday party. At the party, he yanked off my ventilator and used it to inflate party balloons. My chest seized violently, as if my lung had been torn open. Justin Miller turned to Sophie Shaw proudly and said, “See? This is so much easier than blowing them up with your mouth.” I gripped the doorframe. I was gasping as my vision blurred. “Justin, I need that to survive! I can’t breathe!” His expression darkened. “Sophie was kind enough to invite you to her birthday party. Know your place! Besides, she put in a lot of effort for this day and spent hours preparing for it. Are you really going to ruin the celebration?” I struggled to speak through the pain. “Is her surprise more important than my life?” I extended a trembling hand toward the ventilator, but Justin waved it aside. He said impatiently, “I already checked. You won’t die from holding your breath for just a moment. Don’t be so selfish!” At that moment, pain stabbed me in the chest, and I used every ounce of my strength to press the emergency call button my brother had given me.

I was reborn on the day of my first birthday party. Even though I had the power of good luck, I ignored my parents' requests. In my previous life, I used my luck to help my parents become the richest family. My eldest brother became a business tycoon. My second brother became a famous doctor. My third brother became a superstar in the music world. Only my family's adopted daughter, Jade Baker, was unaffected by my luck because we weren't related by blood. She failed her college entrance exams at eighteen, was kidnapped at twenty, and died in an accident at twenty-five. Before she died, she wept and said, "It's not Mindy's fault. I've always been an outsider. She has no obligation to help me." Everyone thought I was jealous and let Jade suffer on purpose. They locked me up and ran all sorts of experiments on me, hoping to use my luck to bring Jade back to life. In the end, they tortured me to death. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at my first birthday party. My dad smiled and asked me, "Sweetheart, do you think I should sign this million-dollar deal?" I blinked. And smeared a handful of mud on his face.

My sister, Vivian Richmond, is celebrating her birthday with the rest of the family while I lie trapped in an abandoned factory, bleeding heavily. She's hired four thugs to torture me, and they've left me fighting for my life. I crawl toward my phone with what little strength I have left. When I finally reach it, I call my husband, Ethan Monroe. "Ethan, I'm seriously injured. Come save me now… I'm at the factory nearby. It won't take much of your time…" He scoffs at my weak, desperate voice. "Sienna, whining won't get you anywhere. Are you playing the victim now?" he says. "You'll stop at nothing to ruin Vivian's birthday party, huh? Hurry back with a gift and apologize to her, or I won't go easy on you this time." Before I can speak, I hear Vivian calling his name over the line. Ethan has no idea that the moment the call ends, I no longer need his forgiveness. He doesn't know that the foul, rotting corpse that makes even an experienced forensic pathologist like him recoil in disgust belongs to the wife he's hated for years.

I spent four years pretending to be obedient by West Graham’s side. Four years ago, after the video of Nina Avery running over my younger sister was exposed, my boyfriend, Jake Smith, hired a top-tier defense attorney for her to clear her name. When I was completely alone, with no one to rely on, it was Nina’s stepbrother, West, who stepped forward and chose justice over blood. He found a lawyer for me and gathered witness testimonies and physical evidence everywhere he could. In the end, he personally sent Nina to prison. When everything finally settled, West proposed to me, and I said yes. However, in the fourth year of our marriage, I saw an email in West’s inbox. It was a birthday message from Nina, and attached was a selfie of her smiling brightly at the beach. In the bottom-right corner of the photo was yesterday’s date. [Happy birthday, West! It’s been four years since I received Erin’s sister’s heart. There haven’t been any complications at all. Thanks to you and Jake, I’m given a second chance in life.] West replied. [To make you happy, I’ll do anything.] After reading all of it, I smiled brighter than ever. It’s been four years, and their time to die has finally come.

At the end of the year, I went to the spa and discovered a stranger had been using my VIP card. When I logged into my personal profile, the last three treatment records were not under my name. The preference section listed specific details about someone else. She was allergic to rose essential oil, preferred lavender, and her heating pad temperature could not exceed 108 degrees Fahrenheit. Her menstrual cycle fell around the 15th of each month, so no waist or abdomen treatments during that time. I stared at the screen, my palms turning cold. Only my husband, Zachary White, knew this password. At the time, he said he needed it to check the balance and renew my membership. I scrolled down and found a system note at the bottom: [Birthday treatment reserved for December 30, prepared according to Ms. Anderson's preferences.] Today was December 30. My phone vibrated. Zachary had sent a message: [Working late tonight. Won't be home.] Familiar laughter drifted from the hallway. Through the glass door, I watched Zachary walk into the adjacent room with his arm around a woman, the beautician hurrying forward to greet them. "Mr. White, we have Ms. Anderson's birthday treatment ready, just as you requested."

She was betrayed, broken, and bound in silver chains. Now, she’s back—with vengeance in her blood and a wolf that won’t be silenced. Vera was meant to inherit her pack’s legacy, blessed with alpha blood and a future full of promise. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, everything was ripped away—her family destroyed, her reputation shattered by lies, and her body imprisoned by those she once called kin. Three years of torment left her scarred and forgotten… until a fiery death returned her to the night it all began. Now, with a second chance carved by the Moon Goddess herself, Vera has one mission: expose every betrayal, rewrite her fate, and bring down the cousin who orchestrated her downfall. But as secrets resurface and shadows close in, a powerful alpha from a rival pack—Gabriel Black—enters her life with a past she can’t remember and a promise she can’t forget. As the clock ticks toward the same cursed birthday that once doomed her, Vera must outplay rogues, uncover deadly truths, and resist the pull of a mate bond she doesn’t trust. Because this time, she’s not the prey. She’s the fire. And everyone who tried to bury her is about to burn.

Adrianne Hale cannot wait for her 18th birthday, not because she might find a mate, she doesn't even want one. After her 18th birthday, she would be able to cut off her link with the pack of North London that had mistreated her for the past 10 years because of a past mistake. Her sole plan was to become a rogue wolf.But her coronation brings her surprises in more than one way as she finds herself cheaply pawned off to the most powerful pack in all of Europe. As Adrienne tries to adapt to her new life, she finds out that her destiny is even more complicated than she thought, making her wonder if her life was just a sick joke from the moon goddess. Kincaid Stuart, also known as the rogue alpha lives with grief after his fated mate was brutally killed by a rival pack. In his bid for revenge, he crossed path with Adrienne who he immediately hates. But they soon find out that they destinies are more entwined than they could imagine. Will Kincaid's hate for Adrienne win over the budding attraction? Will Adrienne look past Kincaid's crime against her family and allow herself to trust him?

The night my in-laws were rushed to the hospital after a car accident, I hurried over to handle the situation. At the payment counter, I swiped my card—only to find that the joint account I shared with my husband had a mere two dollars left. I called my husband, Zarrick Thompson, over and over again. But he never picked up. It wasn't until later that I learned the truth—he had taken our money to celebrate his first love's birthday. Desperate, I borrowed seventy thousand from a friend to save my in-laws. But after they recovered, they flat-out denied everything. My husband, meanwhile, made no attempt to hide his relationship with her. He wanted me gone. To force me into a divorce, he went as far as setting me up—staging an affair, taking photos of me being humiliated. Then he used them to threaten me. Either I walked away with nothing, shouldering all our debts, or he would ruin me completely. I worked endlessly, day and night, to pay it all off. Until, one winter, I collapsed in a frozen alley and never got up again. But when I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the accident.

I had funded Tilly Jenkins for five years—and spent those same five years chasing after her. Just when I thought I had finally won her heart—when I believed she was ready to spend her life with me—I discovered the truth: the one she had loved all along was her childhood sweetheart, the boy who had grown up by her side. I, on the other hand, to her, was nothing more than a privileged elite who used money to grind her pride into the dirt. A few years into our marriage, she secretly transferred my assets away—and even had a child with that childhood sweetheart of hers. In the end, I died filled with resentment, trapped in a raging fire. The flames reflected the sight of the three of them together, smiling like a perfect family, while I cried myself to death in despair. After I was reborn, Tilly's childhood sweetheart shoved me hard, sneering with open contempt. "What do you take us for? Toys for rich people like you?!" I slipped my bank card back into my pocket at once. "Sorry, having money doesn't mean I'm brain-dead. I'm not interested in trashy toys like that."

Rangga dan Berlin punya satu kesamaan: mereka muak menjadi boneka bisnis keluarga. Demi menghindari perjodohan paksa dengan "anak orang kaya manja," keduanya kabur dari kencan buta mereka dan bertemu secara tak sengaja di sebuah bar pinggiran kota. Mabuk oleh rasa frustrasi dan keinginan memberontak, mereka membuat kesepakatan gila: menikah kontrak untuk membungkam orang tua mereka. Syaratnya sederhana—hidup mandiri dan sederhana tanpa bantuan keluarga. Rangga mengaku sebagai pengangguran yang sedang merintis usaha, sementara Berlin mengaku sebagai staf administrasi biasa. Namun, menjalani peran "orang miskin" ternyata jauh lebih sulit daripada memimpin rapat direksi. Di balik daster murah Berlin tersimpan kartu kredit black card, dan di balik kaos oblong Rangga tersembunyi aset triliunan rupiah. Masalah terbesar muncul ketika cinta mulai tumbuh di tengah kebohongan: Bagaimana mereka menjelaskan bahwa pasangan yang mati-matian mereka hindari sebenarnya adalah orang yang kini tidur di samping mereka? Ini adalah kisah tentang dua "Sultan" yang berpura-pura miskin demi mencari cinta yang tulus.