Any Man

Aku menikah dengan pria yang sama sebanyak tujuh kali. Pria itu juga bercerai denganku tujuh kali, semuanya demi wanita yang sama. Hanya agar ia bisa menghabiskan liburan dengan kekasih lamanya tanpa terikat, dan agar kekasih lamanya tak terganggu oleh gosip. Saat perceraian pertama, aku mencoba melukai pergelangan tanganku untuk memaksa dia tetap bersamaku, dan dibawa ke rumah sakit dengan ambulans. Tapi dia tak datang bahkan untuk sekadar menatapku sekalipun. Saat perceraian kedua, aku merendahkan diri dan melamar sebagai asistennya di perusahaannya, hanya untuk bisa menatapnya sekali lagi. Saat perceraian keenam, aku sudah belajar untuk mengemasi barang-barang sendiri dan meninggalkan rumah pernikahan kami tanpa ribut. Diriku yang histeris, aku yang harus menahan diri berulang kali, kepasrahan dan kompromiku hingga berakhir pada perasaanku yang mati... semua itu hanya menghasilkan satu hal: dia kembali menikahiku tepat waktu, lagi dan lagi... Mengulang semua trik lamanya. Hingga kali ini, setelah mendengar kabar bahwa kekasih lamanya akan kembali ke negeri ini, aku mengulurkan surat perjanjian cerai di hadapannya dengan tanganku sendiri. Dia, seperti biasanya, mencoba menetapkan waktu untuk menikahiku lagi. Tapi dia tidak tahu bahwa kali ini, aku akan benar-benar pergi untuk selamanya.

Clara tiba-tiba dihadapkan pada situasi yang mengerikan ketika dua pria bersenjata mengancamnya. Seorang pria misterius datang dan menyelamatkannya, namun ternyata pria itu terluka parah. Clara dengan cepat membawa pria itu ke mobilnya dan berusaha membantunya. Mereka berdua saling berkomunikasi, meskipun pria itu tidak bisa mengungkapkan namanya dengan jelas. Clara berusaha keras untuk membawa pria itu ke rumah sakit dengan harapan dia akan selamat. Di rumah sakit, Clara menunggu dengan cemas sementara pria itu menjalani perawatan. Meskipun terpisah oleh pintu ruang gawat darurat, Clara tetap berusaha memberikan dukungan dan berharap yang terbaik untuk kesembuhan pria itu.

Suamiku, Brian beralasan ada urusan di kantor dan membatalkan janji ikut kegiatan studi wisata anak kami. Dia bahkan menyuruh kami untuk tidak ikut. Melihat putriku kecewa, aku memutuskan untuk tetap menemaninya pergi. Baru saja masuk sekolah, aku langsung melihat Brian bersama cinta pertamanya, si Enny dan putranya sedang duduk di sofa panggung utama. Mereka tampak begitu akrab, persis seperti keluarga kecil yang harmonis. Brian memegang mikrofon, berbicara panjang lebar tentang bagaimana dia bisa meraih kesuksesan dalam karir, sekaligus menjaga keharmonisan rumah tangga. Di sela ucapannya, dia beberapa kali bertukar senyuman dengan Enny. Orang-orang di bawah panggung bertepuk tangan meriah. Wajah Brian terlihat puas, bahkan bocah di sampingnya pun ikut tampak angkuh. Tak lama kemudian, masuk sesi tanya jawab. Aku langsung merebut mikrofon dan bertanya, “Aku ingin bertanya sejak kapan Pak Brian punya seorang putra? Apa istrimu tahu soal ini?”

My father-in-law tossed a credit card across the table and looked down at me, demanding that I divorce his daughter. In my past life, I had refused with everything I had. But this time, I picked up the pen and signed the divorce papers without a second thought. Because right then, I remembered what had happened last time. In that life, I found my wife after she had lost her memory. To support her, I worked myself to the bone, delivering 200 food orders a day. But when her memories came back, she realized she was actually the daughter of the wealthy Harretts. She saw our marriage as a stain on her perfect life. To get rid of me, she pretended to have amnesia again. She said, "Since you saved me once, I'll give you some money. But after this, don't ever show up in front of me again." I refused. I stayed by her side, enduring her insults and beatings. But in the end, she ordered our son to set the fire that killed me, just so she could marry her first love. Now that I had been given another chance, I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

Enzo Corretti is a monster. He runs the most powerful crime family in the world. Being ruthless and unfeeling is in the job description but nowhere in the handbook did it ever say how to deal with someone like Dylan. She may look like a saint but underneath her pretty doe eyes there's a monster in waiting. Dylan Monroe is a Saint. That's what everyone always said about her. Growing up in violence and tragedy, she managed to live a normal life despite it. Well, that was until eight men showed up in her house with seven guns aimed at her head and the most vicious of them all, Enzo Coretti claiming she had something that belonged to him. Maybe she did. But Dylan knew if she gave it to him, it wouldn't end well for her.

I died with blood on my hands and betrayal in my heart. My husband didn't love me. My sister didn't respect me. And when I tried to expose them, they let me fall straight into a shattered glass table that ended my life. But I woke up a year earlier, with my voice restored and a second chance I didn't ask for. This time, I won't be the silent, obedient girl they walked all over. This time, I'll play their game better than they ever could. And when a billionaire offers me a deal I can't refuse, a fake marriage in exchange for saving his empire, I take it. They think I'm still that broken, voiceless woman. They have no idea what's coming.

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.]

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…

On my fifth birthday, my parents showed up at my birthday party later than usual. They brought with them a skinny little girl who couldn't seem to speak at all. I rushed over, hoping to hug Mom, only to get knocked down by her. That was how I fell into the ten-foot cake that my parents had specifically picked out for me. Buttercream filled my nose and mouth, suffocating me to no end. When I managed to climb out of the mess, I burst out in tears and asked Dad to cuddle me. But Dad retracted his hands while looking conflicted. "Don't blame your mom, Willow. From now on, you must take good care of Maple, your little sister. As long as Maple is happy, your mom will be happy." Later on, the mean kids in the neighborhood shove Maple Thompson, my new little sister, into a pile of sand. I rush over to protect her immediately. Once we get home, I mimic my parents by drawing a bath so that I can clean Maple up. That's when Mom suddenly barge into the bathroom and slap me heavily across the face. "You've already enjoyed our love for the past five years! Why are you still greedy for more? I can't believe you're trying to drown Maple right now!" Mom's eyes have gone bloodshot. She drags me by the hair and stuffs me into the washing machine. "Only a washing machine is capable of cleanse that filth out of your soul! You can only scramble out of the washing machine and apologize to Maple once you've decided to quit bullying your sister!" In the living room, Dad lowers his voice. "Keep your voice down when you're chewing Willow out. Maple is about to fall asleep. Don't go around waking her up now." Mom doesn't want to look at me anymore. Instead, she slams the lid onto the washing machine forcefully. I can't get out of the machine. What she doesn't know is that the washing machine will activate. "The 212-degree-Fahrenheit wash cycle has been activated." Scalding hot water is soon dumped onto my body. It hurts so much that I gradually lose my consciousness. Will Mom love me again once I'm squeaky clean after the wash cycle?

On the night before Match Day, it's 2:17 am when I find myself staring at the screenshot on my phone. For a long while, my heart refuses to calm down at all. Ethan Blake: "Let's have a bet, guys. If Leah doesn't get a spot at Redwood General Hospital tomorrow, this will mark the end of our relationship. The starting bet is two thousand dollars. Is anyone following up on this bet?" Already, more than a dozen people have responded to the message with various emojis. Someone even comments, "Count me in!" I feel my nails digging into my palms. "The end of our relationship", he says. To think that Ethan actually used this phrase. We've been dating for four years. This is the very same man who once told me that he wanted to marry me. Is it this easy for him to end a relationship? I take a deep breath and force myself to calm down. There are still other medical interns in the staff room with me. I mustn't lose my composure around them. I know that Ethan is waiting for me to react how I did in the previous times. I'd either spam his phone with missed calls, beg him to delete the message while crying, or apologize to him in an extremely humble manner. But now… Now, I'm really done with this relationship.