Arti Bitter

“Laki-laki itu tidak perlu ijin istri untuk menikah lagi,” katanya. Mendengar ucapan Ayah bisa kulihat Ibu malah tertunduk lagi, ada apa sebenarnya? kenapa dia hanya diam tanpa suara? “Dari sekian banyak sunah nabi kenapa harus poligami, Riana biar kutanya langsung padamu, bersediakah kamu jadi istri kedua suamiku?” “Hmm, aku, tolong kasih aku waktu, aku engga bisa ngasih keputusan sekarang,” jawab Riana. “Kenapa nak Riana bukannya kamu dan Bagas sudah saling kenal, bukankah kalian sudah dekat sejak kuliah?” tanya Ayah mertua. Hah? Apa ini jadi mereka pernah dekat? Kenapa hidup serumit ini. Lagi-lagi aku hanya bisa tersenyum menyaksikan permainan takdirku. “Kenapa Dek, kenapa kamu malah senyum,” Mas bagas menatap heran ke arahku, raut mukanya tampak gelisah mungkin dia takut aku akan meledak. “Kenapa dunia ini begitu sempit Mas? kamu sendiri gimana? maukah menikahi mantan teman sebangkuku?” Aku harus memastikan ini sendiri disaksikan kedua orang tuanya. Dia lagi-lagi tak menjawab. “Tentu saja suamimu tidak akan menolak menikah dengan wanita cantik seperti Riana, toh mereka juga sudah saling mengenal,” sambar ayah mertuaku. “Kalau tolak ukur menikahi wanita hanya dilihat dari kecantikannya, apakah setelah menikah ada jaminan dia akan memiliki anak laki-laki, kalau tidak bukankah semuanya sia-sia.” Rasa sakit tak melulu harus ditampakkan dengan air mata, dan senyum tak selamanya memiliki arti bahagia. Senyum itu mampu menghilangkan luka walau hanya sekejap. Memberikan kekuatan baru agar aku bisa lebih kuat menghadapi kenyataan pahit.

Bukan kisah cinta yang berawal bahagia lantas terluka. Tapi kisah lara tentang orang tua yang amat ambisius mengejar harapan yang nyaris menyakiti perasaan. Berbagai siloka menjadi jalan cerita, berbagai diksi menjadi arti hidup ini. Berbagai lantunan sendu menjadi tangis amat pilu. Caci-maki yang selalu mengintai seakan-akan menyangkal bahwa ia tidak boleh bahagia. Meninggalkan kisah lara penuh kata penyesalan. "Ayah hidup itu tidak harus tentang nilai yang bagus. Tapi tentang seseorang yang menyayangi dengan tulus." "Ibu pintar itu tidak harus menguasai semua bidang. Satu bidang saja, jika sudah mengerti dengan perasaan orang lain, ia bukan sekedar pintar tapi jenius." "Kak pintar itu tidak harus punya piala. Sekedar mendekap lantas menyeka air mata, ia sudah pintar menghilangkan lara kita." "Aira, kamu memang berbeda tapi perbedaan itu terletak pada keistimewaan yang kamu punya. Di mana orang lain tidak memiliki itu semua. Kakak sayang kamu selamanya." "Kenapa Aira selalu dibentak ayah sama ibu? Sedangkan kak Ayu dan kak Andi gak pernah!" "Otakmu itu kecil. Berpikir pun lambat." "Ibu malu punya anak seperti kamu!" "Kakak sayang sama kamu. Kakak janji gak akan ninggalin kamu." "Kak Aira pergi sesuai permintaan kalian. Selamat tinggal." "Aira, kenapa kala itu kamu gak mengucapkan sampai jumpa lagi? Dan mungkin sekarang kita masih saling memeluk bukan menangisi kamu." "Yang sudah kamu dapat sudah seharusnya kamu dekap dengan erat."

"You are doing good for me babygirl, spread those legs wider." he licks his lips while his eyes scan my body. I moan as my heavy eyes open, my body shaking with need, I hate the way my body reacts to him, he knows how weak I am when it comes to him, so he takes advantage of it. "That's it." he says and shoves his tongue down my throat. He was never one to shy away from a show, especially when my mate is kneeling by the door, bound in chains, and held down by two guards. "Hold him still, I want him to watch as I fuck his mate." He growled. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Bloodmoon pack was cursed by the moon goddess for 600 years. Having fated mates was no longer allowed and to enjoy the feelings of a sacred bond was forbidden. Lylah Summer, deeply in love with Thane Anthra, was hoping to celebrate their eternal bond on her eighteenth birthday. However, after the Alpha's death, Thane was chosen as the new Alpha and publicly humiliates Lylah with a brutal rejection. Devastated and determined to seek revenge, Lylah swore to take revenge. But everything changed when she met the Alpha of the Silverlake Pack, who was destined to be the mate of Darla, the Luna Heir of the dead Alpha. Will Lylah succeed in winning the heart of a man that the moon goddess has bound to another? Or will she face the bitter taste of rejection? This book is strictly 18+ Readers discretion is advised.

When Father asks me who I want to marry, I resolutely give up on Prince Maurice Swain. I choose to marry his uncle, Prince Gideon Swain. Father is confused. After all, everyone in the capital knows that I'm desperately in love with Maurice. I've said more than once that he's the only man I'll marry. I only have a bitter taste in my mouth. I married Maurice in my past life, and I gave my all in managing the household. Yet he never came home and even took a mistress behind my back. When I eventually became bedridden after wearing myself out, he brought Camilla Chapman back and threw her a grand wedding. The children they'd secretly had together came with her. It was only then that I realized the tonics Maurice had given me had rendered me infertile and weak. They slowly ate away at me from the inside. I watched as Maurice and Camilla lived a happy life with their children. I chose to let them have what they wanted. Now that I've been reborn, I'm going to stay away from Maurice and marry Gideon instead. Yet when Maurice finds out, he goes berserk. He stands before me with his eyes bloodshot as he forbids me from marrying Gideon.

Olivia Jamerson spent years stewing in hidden rage for the person behind all her high-school ridicule and embarrassment. That person was none other than Joshua Taylor, son of the football coach and the famed bully of Westminster High. Students feared him, his friends revered him and teachers were sick of him. Two years after graduation and leaving town, Olivia had changed her whole appearance and character so much that no one could recognize her. Drowning in the sea of New Yorkers, Olivia finally felt that she had left her past behind and become a whole new person. At least that was the case until she bumped into the unlikeliest person she expected to meet in the big city—her old bully. Despite being annoyingly hotter than she remembered, the only thing that bothered her was that he was disturbingly nice, but worst of all, he did not remember her. Things turn a whole lot crazier when she finds out that Joshua has amnesia and when he starts flirting with her as if they did not have a complicated past. A big city, sparks and tension, and two people—one with bitter memories of their relationship and one with a blank canvas eager to fill it with potential memories. Will their tragic past catch up to them and will their horns lock once again? Will Olivia hold on to her grudges and lock him out of her life once again, or will she open her heart to the new and improved Joshua?

If I know one thing, it is that I know nothing for sure. I know nothing about my existence, who I am and the one I love. My name is Baela Rossi and although I am a really smart girl, I make really poor choices. I agreed to be mated to this worldly guy I barely knew, who was a wanderer without a pack. My reason? - He intrigued me...he was rebellious, arrogant, wickedly handsome and he saved my life!  I fell hard for him but I felt something was wrong because he acted cold towards me. I was too innocent and naive to believe someone as cold would be my mate after he had the world at his feet. It took him becoming the alpha of my pack and I losing my place for me to realise the bitter truth of my existence - it was all built on deceptive honesty and now my life was worthless! In my deepest grieve, I turned to him as my Alpha and my future mate but instantly nothing was the same. He changed towards me to my surprise...the one who had my heart and he rejected me! I could see the hell in his eyes...the hell he wanted to put me through. He wanted to erase his very memory from my mind...but our fate was already sealed, a fate I could never have imagined...

She blinked her eyes and a few seconds later she blurted out in a low tone, "Baby Rathore, Can I Muaah you?" "What is Muaah?", He asked bewilderedly. but she fell asleep again, leaving him in the heat of obsession. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and lifted up her body close to him, planting a kiss on his lips with a loud noise- 'Muuuaaah' "This is Muaah", She said as she laid down again and fell asleep. He rubbed his lips, the sensation of her lips was still there, creating storm inside of him. Helplessly, he closed his eyes and held his Persephone near to his heart. ~SHIVSHAKTI Singh Rathore, An honest police officer who is ruthless, cold and darker than the HADES. He is the third prince of GADH, Rajasthan, India. ~ADRIJA Singh, who is full of herself. An arrogant, domineering and aggressive but also has a Persephone's heart with spring full life. A kick-ass heroine who loves to poke, mock, and taunt the hero. ~Different from the original mythological story of HADES and PERSEPHONE. ~This story is poles apart. Here, PERSEPHONE is three years older than HADES. ~This PERSEPHONE has a sassy personality who loves to suck the blood of Hades and irritate him to the death. ~Sweet, Salty, Sour, Steamy and Spicy ride of SHIVSHAKTI and ADRIJA who has mystery around herself and a bitter secret hidden deeply in her heart that Shiv wants to solve and unveil it. [Mature Content 18+, Agegap]. Thank you ShineeSunshine ️

Cassiopeia the future Luna who can't shift has been neglected by her pack because of her scarred face, the small amount of respect she gains is just because she's the daughter of Alpha Magnus, the current Alpha of the Silver Moon pack. When Alpha Magnus died, everyone turned their backs and betrayed her, including Baron, who was supposed to be her mate and became the new Alpha rejected her in front of the pack, they believed she is a cursed Luna, who brings misfortune like what happened to Alpha Magnus, written on her scarred face. And Calypso, her best friend replaced her as the new Luna. But beyond the Silver Moon packs’ knowledge, Baron and Calypso planned everything from the moment Alpha Magnus died, and to the assassination of Cassiopeia. Yet the God of the moon and the prophecy has other plans for Cassiopeia, and now she's rebirth as the most beautiful she-wolf alpha, ready for her revenge and a responsibility enticed in her second chance to change fate. Along with her errand, she’ll cross the path with Ezra a human with a huge grudge toward werewolves, and Killian, the Alpha of the Black Moon Pack —the strongest enemy of the Silver Moon pack who was both on a mission, unexpected intimacy will sprout among the three. Secrets will unfold. Is there a chance that Cassiopeia will fall in love with Ezra when Killian shows signs as her true mate? When the future of the augury is foreseen, which unconditional love will continue to bloom? Will they allow the prophecy to decide their harshly bitter fate?

Guinevere, the beloved daughter of a powerful Alpha of Crimson howl pack, is ready to unite two strong packs through her marriage to her loving boyfriend Hayden Perez, the son of another powerful Alpha of the Moon Claw Pack. She has always been the perfect daughter, loved by her family and pack. As her wedding day approaches, everything seems perfect, but everything changes when Hayden's estranged stepbrother disguises himself as Hayden and takes his place at the altar. Reagan, once abandoned by his father, has formed his own pack and become a feared and powerful Alpha of the notorious shadow fang pack. Heartbroken and angry, Guinevere learns she is now bound to Reagan by ancient rituals. Forced to rule the pack with the man she despises, she vows to make him pay for ruining her life. Her anger grows when she discovers that Hayden had been cheating on her with her cousin, Shayla, and planned to reject her after the ceremony. As Guinevere's world falls apart, she becomes bitter and vengeful. But as she spends more time with Reagan, she begins to see a different side of him—a side that challenges her feelings and stirs something new in her heart. Stuck between a past full of betrayal and an uncertain future, Guinevere must choose whether to hold onto her pain or embrace a new love that might heal her broken heart.

So this is how the mate bond feels. A rush of energy, a pull like gravity tightening around us, and an almost maddening awareness of the other person. I wasn’t about to let it sway me though. Sure, the man in front of me is ridiculously perfect, but I wasn’t some love-struck fool who’d drop everything at the first spark of fate. I had a life, plans, and a fiancé waiting for me upstairs. I raised an eyebrow, forcing myself to stay calm even as my heart raced. “Take a number and get in line, sweetheart,” I said coolly, flashing the engagement ring on my finger in front of his gray eyes. “I’m otherwise occupied right now.” …Five years later, when I pushed the door open, my mate remained motionless on a leather couch, his piercing gaze boring into me with a cold detachment that sent shivers down my spine. He leaned back, the casualness of the gesture at odds with the intensity in his eyes. His arms rested lazily on the backrest, but there was nothing relaxed about him. His body was coiled tight, like a predator ready to pounce, and the air between us crackled with tension. “Is my number finally up?” he asks, his tone laced with bitter amusement. “My dear mate.” The words sting, but I can’t deny the truth in them. He is my last chance.