Another Word For Stepping Up

Lisa tidak menyangka masa remajanya menjadi runyam setelah bertemu dengan Pramana. Lelaki bermata coklat seperti kayu yang merebut novel semi pornonya saat di toko buku itu ternyata guru olahraga di sekolah barunya! Di sisi lain, Pramana mulai menyadari ada sosok cinta lamanya dalam diri siswinya itu. Semua pilihan yang datang seketika nampak abu-abu baginya. Ia mulai mempertanyakan profesionalitasnya sebagai guru setelah peristiwa kelam itu terjadi.... "Sekali lagi kukatakan, akulah biang keroknya." "Jika kau tidak ingin membantuku, maka aku sendiri yang akan menghilangkannya dari bumi."

On the way to get our marriage certificate for the twentieth time, Rolf Trivett regretted it once again. In eight years, this was our twentieth attempt to get the certificate. But every time we reached City Hall, he would always say he needed time to care for his seriously ill childhood friend and couldn't promise to marry me. This time, I couldn't take it anymore and asked him, "If she’s never going to get better, does that mean you’ll never marry me? What am I to you?" Rolf immediately lost his temper and yelled at me, "I've already promised to take care of her for life. Can you stop being so selfish? "Besides, we've been together for eight years. What difference does it make if we don't get this certificate?"

I secretly invite my in-laws over for the New Year, hoping to surprise my husband, Huxley Carlson. But the moment my father-in-law steps through the door, Huxley's secretary shoves him out. He slams into the shoe cabinet, throwing out his back. She sneers. "Who do you beggars think you are, strolling into Mr. Carlson's villa like this? You're this broke and still have the nerve to call yourself his father-in-law?" I immediately call for the housekeeper to help him, but the secretary blocks her. She even shoves my mother-in-law. "You really think you're the lady of the house?" she snaps. "Mr. Carlson hired the housekeeper to serve him, not to waste time on you or your useless parents." My mother-in-law is so enraged that she suffers a heart attack on the spot. I call Huxley in a panic, begging him to come to the hospital. But he sounds utterly unmoved. His voice is cold and mocking as he says, "Jen told me what happened. The nerve of you, bringing your parents to my house! Now you want me to rush to the hospital because your mom's pretending to be sick? "Tell them to get out! If she dies, she dies. Hell, maybe it's a blessing—just in time for the New Year!"

Paisley Brooke is a 29 year writer who lands a contract with one of the biggest publishing companies in the world. Despite her best friend's advice to date and get married, Paisley is only interested in her career and dislikes the concept of family. Everything changes when she meets a single and irresponsible dad; Carter Reid. Meanwhile, Kori Reese is Paisley's best friend and has been married to the love of her life for over three years. There's just one problem, they have no children, despite all their effort. Being pushed daily and interrogated by her husband puts a strain on their marriage and she finds herself faced with the choice of staying, or leaving.

Jason Trujilo employs Cara Thompson as a worker in his exclusive club in order to pay back the money her father owed. Once she paid off the debt, Jason tells Cara that she is free to go. Six months later, Cara is doing well for herself, until Jason comes crashing back into her life, demanding that she leave with him. Cara refuses to leave her new life, and Jason is hell bent on having Cara under his control. So how will this story end? ------------------------------------------------- SNEAK PEEK: Thirty minutes prior to lunchtime, Cara knocked on Jason's office, and after given permission, she entered the office with a stapled packet. Jason looked at Cara swiftly before focusing back on the blank screen of his laptop. She sat on one of the chairs, and stared at him from behind her glasses, waiting to be acknowledged. A princess she was, but Jason didn't care to be her knight in shining armor. No. He would rather be the villain who trapped her in a tower and punished her for being so innocent and yet spoiled and self-centered and confident.

He died two years ago. Tonight his perfect replica whispered the safe word only the real him knew. Now she must decide: keep the lie alive… or lose him forever.

Even though this is my eighth time proposing to Beverly Galvan, she still coldly turns me down again. She says that she isn't ready yet and that she needs more time. Since that's the case, I tell myself I will wait as long as it takes. That's when I see it—her and my brother's marriage certificate, posted for everyone to see on her social media. When I question her about it, she merely says in a calm voice, "Timothy's unwell. He can't get too upset, so you'd better not start anything!" They are wearing wedding rings in that photo, and there is a barely visible bump on her belly. In that moment, the storm within me dissipates. Hitting the like button on the post, I type out a comment. "I wish you both a lifetime of joy. May the two of you grow old together!" A year later, a desperate-looking Beverly shows up in front of me, begging that we get back together. Unfortunately for her, her best friend, who was clearly pregnant, steps in with a smile and pushes her aside. "Give it a rest, will you? My husband already has a wife. We can have kids of our own. There's no need for him to be someone's fallback guy."

The heir of a commerial empire returned to fight for control of his assets despite his father's love affair. As part of his plan, he offered a smart, ambitious, yet innocent young girl, Melainy, a contractual marriage. Is Melainy really the perfect "contractual wife"? Melainy seized this opportunity as a "game changer". But what is her "game" after all?

Kiara sat at her small kitchen table literally bumping her head into the wood. Several times. Why the hell did she agree to spend four days in a island with loaded snobs she knew nothing about? Of course, she didn’t know exactly what she signed up for before she accepted his offer, but she knew it came from the guy who sent her to jail and said yes anyway. And based on what? A hunch. Something so intangible and arbitrary she would be unable to explain even to her dad, who was always a firm believer in following your gut. But she saw it, right there hiding behind his handsome stoic façade. He was… desperate. --All Kiara has in life is her passion for art. Her career as a circus performer is a constant search for real attention, for people to see through the veil of plain entertainment. Chris Wright is the heir to one of the most profitable construction empires of the city, but to get to the top he needs the approval of his authoritarian father. Who knows what will happen when art meets business and passion meets duty?

It was the third anniversary of my registration of a mate bond with Xavier Ashford, the alpha of Shadowcrest Pack. My gift to him was a positive pregnancy test, but his gift to me was a contract terminating our bond as mates. I froze, too distraught to reach out and take it from him. Xavier cleared his throat awkwardly. "A wolf tricked Talia into getting pregnant. A pup born out of mate bond can't get the rights to live in the pack. My plan is to terminate our bond as mates and become mates with Talia for the time being so that her pup can have a legal identity. After she gives birth to her pup, then you and I can become mates again. How does that sound?" He passed me a bond termination contract. It had clearly been prepared a long time ago. He noticed my hesitation and explained gently, "You're my one true love. I'm only helping her as a friend. Even after we split up, I can guarantee that you won't be mistreated." I looked up at him with a smile and stayed silent. Then, I reached into my pocket and felt the pregnancy test under my fingers. The two red lines on the screen were as clear as day.