Any Duchess Will Do

An unscrupulous company discharges toxic wastewater into the river, causing my whole family to be poisoned because we rely on that river for survival. Everyone in my family, including my aunts and uncles, lives in the same village. We're all waiting for an urgent antidote delivery to save our lives. My boyfriend is Harrison Somers, and his company is the only one with the antidote. So, I ask him for it. He agrees to come but doesn't show up after a long time. Ultimately, my family members die after being tormented by the toxic wastewater because they don't have the antidote. Meanwhile, Harrison shows up at the hospital with his childhood sweetheart because she accidentally sliced her finger while peeling a fruit.

"Hentikan semua ini, Evan! Kamu nggak bisa membodohiku." Grace berdiri di depan Evan, mengulurkan tangannya ke kanan dan kiri. "Aku tahu kamu sembunyiin sesuatu." Evan menyilangkan tangan di depan dada. "Jangan terlalu percaya diri. Dan tolong, tahu posisimu. Aku punya kekuatan untuk taruh orang lain menggantikan kamu." Di dalam ruangan yang sedikit remang itu, ia mencondongkan tubuh ke arahnya dan berbisik ke telinganya. "Atau, sebenarnya kamu lagi coba merayu aku? Berapa tarifmu untuk satu malam?" Setelah mendengarnya, Grace menampar wajah Evan seketika itu juga. Ia terdiam beberapa saat tidak percaya. Air mata mulai mengalir di pipinya. "Kamu jahat banget, Evan. Aku-benci-kamu," katanya, patah hati. Dia berbalik dari pria itu tanpa basa-basi lagi. Evan menangis juga, melihat sahabatnya pergi. "Maafin aku, Grace. Aku harus lakuin itu. Kita nggak bisa bersama," katanya lemah. ~~~~ Grace dan Evan menjadi teman baik setelah dia menyelamatkannya dan ibunya setelah tabrakan lalu lintas. Persahabatan mereka tumbuh lebih kuat selama bertahun-tahun sampai mereka menjadi sangat menyukai satu sama lain. Namun, takdir mempermainkan mereka. Mereka harus berpisah selama bertahun-tahun, kehilangan kontak dan mengubur impian mereka. Ketika mereka akhirnya bersatu kembali di tempat kerja yang sama, semuanya tidak lagi sama seperti dulu. Copyright 2021. SairentoGaaru.

I fall in love with my father's friend, an Alpha 20 years my senior. I'm only eight when I first meet him. It happens at a banquet for the upper echelons of the werewolf pack. My father brings me with him. Layson Romanov instantly catches my eye. He stands tall at six feet and two inches, and his toned figure shows through his black suit. He exudes a natural dominance. My father introduces me to him, and he caresses my hair with a smile. Then, he gives me a pink dress adorned with pearls and pink diamonds. "You'll look beautiful when you're old enough to wear this." Back then, I didn't understand what he meant. … Ten years later, I put on that dress and enter his room. He's drugged after falling into someone's trap, and his wolf is out of control. His usually calm eyes are filled with mania. I know that he'll go insane—even lose his life—if he doesn't have an antidote. So, I give him my pure, untainted body. I become his antidote. We later marry, and he loves me as my father would've done. However, when I'm four months pregnant, I discover that his personal secretary, Grace Parker, is also pregnant. "I'm sorry to have put you through this, Grace. Everyone knows I only married Charlotte out of duty. I'll make sure our child is my only heir," he says. It all makes sense now—no wonder Layson refused to mark me despite us being married. Grace is the one he loves. I'm heartbroken. I ingest a large amount of wolfsbane, leading to a miscarriage. I ultimately die of blood loss. Intense regret washes over me as I breathe my last breath. When I open my eyes again, I find that I've been reborn. I'm taken back to the day Layson is drugged…

As the year ended and payday finally arrived, my salary still hadn't hit my bank account. I headed straight to the finance department to sort it out, but Sarah Thompson dismissed me impatiently. "You picked up those coupons last week, didn't you? The ones for "Spend 2,000, save 1,000". You got ten of them, adding up to $10,000. Your salary is $8,000, and that extra $2,000 is a perk." I stared at her, stunned. No one had said a word about this when the coupons were handed out. Worse, they could only be redeemed at our boss's supermarket, where commodities were ridiculously marked up. Items that cost $19.99 at a regular supermarket went for $49.99 there, more than double the price. It dawned on me that the boss was just shuffling money from one pocket to another, which meant I had been basically working for free. I shoved the coupons back at her. "I don't want these. Just deposit the cash into my bank account." Michael Wright walked over with a frown. "What's all the yelling? We gave you an extra $2,000, and you are not even grateful? You're stirring up trouble for nothing. You'd spend your salary on stuff anyway. We're just making it convenient." My voice rose, shaking with fury. "What you're doing is illegal!" He laughed, cold and scornful. "Then sue me. I manage things here. You think I'd be scared by a minor employee like you?" Right then, my phone buzzed with a text notification: [Lisa Matthews, congratulations on securing the Enforcement Officer position at the tax bureau.]

Sudah lima tahun menikah, tiba-tiba cinta pertama suamiku mengunggah foto sertifikat rumah di instagram. Dia menulis, "Terima kasih Kak Boni sudah memindahkan kepemilikan rumah ini untukku." Aku terkejut melihat alamat di sertifikat itu adalah rumah kami, jadi aku memberikan komentar, "?" Tak lama kemudian, suamiku langsung meneleponku dengan nada marah, "Dia itu ibu tunggal, kasihan sekali. Aku hanya memindahkan kepemilikan rumah supaya anaknya bisa lebih mudah untuk daftar sekolah nantinya. Itu nggak akan mengganggu tempat tinggal kita!" "Kenapa kamu nggak punya hati nurani? Masa nggak bisa sedikit bersimpati?" Di balik telepon, terdengar suara tangisan lembut dari cinta pertamanya. Setengah jam kemudian, cinta pertamanya mengunggah lagi, kali ini menandai aku di unggahannya. Dia memamerkan sebuah mobil mewah seharga dua miliar, lengkap dengan catatan, "Dibayar lunas, seperti kata pepatah, pria yang mencintaimu akan rela menghabiskan uang untukmu." Aku tahu itu hadiah dari suamiku untuk menenangkannya. Tapi kali ini, aku sudah memutuskan untuk bercerai. Bukankah hanya memberinya sertifikat rumah?

Ia dijual oleh keluarganya. Ia diselamatkan oleh pria yang lebih berbahaya dari neraka yang ia tinggalkan. Jennaira Kirei Atmaja hanya ingin hidup dengan tenang-namun satu penolakan menyeretnya ke dunia kekuasaan, intrik, dan pernikahan tanpa cinta. Radiva Emha Sanjaya, CEO dingin dengan pengaruh gelap, menawarkan perlindungan ... dengan harga sebuah ikatan yang tak bisa dibatalkan. Di hadapan dunia, mereka adalah pasangan sempurna. Di balik pintu tertutup, mereka adalah dua orang asing yang terjebak dalam permainan berbahaya. Karena di dunia Radiva, cinta bukan senjata-dan menikah hanyalah awal dari perang.

After awakening years before the demise that once destroyed me, I, Lucy Hale, swear I will never again fall for Adrian Hawthorne. In my last life, loving him earned me nothing but humiliation, betrayal, and a future broken beyond repair. Now, armed with memories I shouldn't possess, I tuck myself away inside my boutique, determined to avoid him, avoid fate, avoid everything. But the universe has never been kind to my plans. No matter how I twist the timeline, Adrian keeps slipping back into my life, closer, impossibly entangled. His eyes linger longer than they should. His questions cut deeper than I’m ready to admit. And worst of all, he seems drawn to me in ways he never was before. And then there is Elias Ward, quiet, observant with eyes sharp enough to see through any disguise. Elias is nothing like Adrian. Where Adrian gleams with cold polish and empty promises, Elias is warmth wrapped in quiet mystery. A man who shouldn’t matter to me. Yet, somehow, he does. As I try to distance myself from the Hawthornes, Elias drifts steadily closer, noticing the cracks in my composure, the ache beneath my smile, the truth I’ve fought so hard to hide. He becomes the one thread I can’t cut, no matter how much I fear being stitched into someone else’s future again. With Adrian circling me like a ghost from the life I escaped, Elias begins to draw me toward a fate I never expected, a fate where for once, I might finally choose myself. And maybe him, too. But the past doesn't release its hold so easily. And neither do the Hawthornes.

“Kita menikah hanya di atas kertas. Jangan pernah berharap lebih dariku.” Itulah kalimat pertama yang Aurora dengar dari suaminya, Rayden Arvelio—CEO dingin pewaris keluarga mafia. Demi menyelamatkan keluarganya dari kehancuran, Aurora terpaksa menerima pernikahan kontrak yang tak pernah ia inginkan. Tapi siapa sangka, di balik sikap tunduknya... ia menyimpan rahasia dan luka yang bisa menghancurkan pria itu dari dalam. Ketika cinta dan kebencian mulai bercampur, siapa yang akan menyerah lebih dulu?

Di hari pernikahan, sahabat kecil tunanganku muncul di lokasi dengan mengenakan gaun pengantin yang sama persis denganku. Melihat mereka berdiri berdampingan menyambut tamu, aku tersenyum dan memuji bahwa mereka benar-benar pasangan yang serasi. Sahabat kecilnya langsung pergi dengan wajah malu dan kesal, sementara tunanganku menuduhku picik dan suka membuat keributan di hadapan semua orang. Setelah resepsi berakhir, dia malah pergi ke tempat bulan madu yang sudah kami pesan bersama sahabat kecilnya. Aku tidak menangis dan ribut, melainkan langsung menelepon pengacara.

"Why aren't you ready for me?" His voice cut through the darkness, sharp as a blade. His hands gripped my hips, fingers digging into soft flesh. "How often do I have to tell you about the rules?" "I'm sorry," I whispered, my throat tight. "I was sick again today, and work was—" "Excuses." He ripped away my underwear, the fabric tearing. "You smell like a kitchen maid. Disgusting." I bit my lip until I tasted blood, fighting back tears. Three years. Three years of being his unwanted wife, forced on him by his grandfather's deal. The old man's words still echoed: "You saved my life, child. Let me give you a good life in return." ***** Five years ago, Elena thought she’d left her nightmare behind. Forced into a loveless marriage with the ruthless Nikolai Ashford, she endured his cold accusations and cruel indifference. But when their toxic relationship threatened the life of her unborn child, she vanished, reinventing herself as Mia Thompson—a confident heiress with a powerful empire of her own. Now, Mia’s carefully rebuilt world is crumbling. One of her twins is gravely ill, and the only hope for survival lies in Nikolai, the man who shattered her heart. Returning to his world isn’t just a desperate gamble to save her child—it’s a chance to exact the revenge she’s dreamed of for years.