As Messed Up As Me

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Mine's been chilling for five years. The night James Reed kicked me out of his life, I was pregnant, penniless, and naive enough to believe love mattered more than money. He taught me better. When you're bleeding out in the rain, clutching your stomach while your best friend laughs from his doorway, you learn exactly what you're worth to people like them. Zero. But the woman who nearly died that night? She stayed dead. The one who came back is someone else entirely. Anna Quinn. Lost daughter of California's most powerful family. CEO of her own pharmaceutical empire. And the silent majority shareholder in James Reed's failing company. He's about to learn what happens when you build an empire on stolen foundations. His marriage has cracks he doesn't see. And the investors keeping him afloat? They answer to me now. He thinks he's untouchable. That my formula made him invincible. But success built on stolen work has a way of crumbling when the original genius decides to pull the rug out. I don't want him back. I want him ruined. And this time, I'm the one holding all the cards.

One year ago, Frank Luccasio, the heir to the future Don of Newborough's underworld, saved me when I attempted to commit suicide. He cleared my school debt, admitted my younger sister, Ariana Romano, into rehab, and hired the best doctors in the world to treat my mom's cancer. His only request? I had to become his mistress. I thought Frank was a gift from God—that he was a beam of light illuminating my dark world. When he got ambushed by assassins, I used my body to block the fragments caused by the explosion for him. As Frank scooped my blood-drenched form into his arms, he screamed hysterically, "Isabella!" But… my name was Selena… After I got admitted into the ICU, the real Isabella Messina returned to Frank's life. Knowing that I was just a replacement, I sensibly left Frank, only to be brought back by force. Since then, I became a plaything for the both of them. They humiliated and tormented me incessantly while flaunting their love for each other. Unable to take it anymore, I sent a text to a certain someone and attached a photo to it. "Don Luccasio, the one giving your son head in the photo happens to be your darling wife, Isabella Messina. Those who betray the family must never be forgiven." This time, I would be the one sending Frank and Isabella to hell.

I married my vampire husband ten years ago and gave him a half-blood heir, abandoning my career as a painter to become a full-time mother. Fortunately, my son inherited my talent. At just six years old, he held his first solo art exhibition, inspired by the theme "My Mother." But he never let me attend, and he never let me see his paintings. My husband said my presence would make Luke nervous---that I should stay home and do the housework as a good wife and mother, and wait for them to come back. I told myself he was just young and didn't know better, that he was only pushing back against my discipline, not truly rejecting me. Until the day I snuck into the gallery wearing a surgical mask pulled low. In the center of the crowd, my husband held our son's hand while tenderly pulling a woman in a red dress into his arms. He turned to the guests and announced: "This is Luke's mother---my wife." The three of them stood together, beaming with perfect happiness. And I---the one who'd stayed up all night setting up this exhibition---stood before the paintings while not a single person recognized me. That was when I finally understood. My seemingly gentle, caring vampire husband had long ago given our son a replacement mother. And I was nothing more than the human nanny who'd served her purpose by producing an heir.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, My heart filled with worries as I gazed at my husband who walked in with his eyes contorted with rage. He looked at me with disgust. Without a word, he threw something at me. It wasn’t until the papers scattered on the cold floor that I realized they were pictures. My eyes widened in horror as I stared at the images. They were pictures of me. But not just me, it was me and another man. A man I didn’t even know. The photos were intimate, showing us in compromising positions as if we were lovers. God, How did he get this? ********************************************* After four years of heart-wrenching miscarriages, Emily's world is turned upside down when her husband accuses her of infidelity, shattering their marriage. Six years later, Emily returns as a billionaire heiress, driven by a thirst for revenge against those who wronged her. But when her ex-husband, Alex, begs for a second chance, Emily must decide. Will she forgive and forget, or will the wounds of the past prove too deep to heal?

Mi novio, Pablo Pimentel, es el heredero de la familia más poderosa de la capital. Su fortuna supera los cien mil millones de dólares. Para ponerme a prueba, durante siete años de relación, nunca me regaló nada, nunca gastó un solo centavo en mí. Ni siquiera cuando iba a comprar condones: insistía en pagar mitad y mitad. Después, mi madre se enfermó de gravedad. Les pedí dinero a todos los familiares y amigos que pude. Solo me faltaban dos mil dólares para cubrir el costo de la cirugía. Le supliqué, le rogué. Pero Pablo no me prestó ni un dólar. Tuve que pagar yo sola los gastos del funeral de mi madre. Cuando regresé a casa para recoger mis cosas, encontré por casualidad una lista de regalos que le había comprado a Sara García: una villa de lujo, bolsos de marcas exclusivas, joyas valoradas en cientos de millones de dólares… También vi los audios en el grupo con sus amigos: "Pablo, ¿es cierto que Leticia se arrodilló para pedirte dos mil dólares?" Pablo se rió con frialdad, su voz sonó despreocupada, casi divertida. "Sara tenía razón: quien se arrodilla por tan poco dinero no es más que una interesada. Apenas llevamos siete años juntos y ya está desesperada por sacarme dinero." Resultó que siete años de "prueba" no valieron más que un comentario venenoso de su vecinita de al lado. No importa. Desde el momento en que mi madre murió, ya lo había decidido: desaparecer de su vida para siempre.

On my fifteenth birthday, I begged my mom to teach me how to make a cream cake from scratch. We only had cream at home. No flour. So we went out to buy some. When we came back, we didn't walk into a birthday surprise. We walked in on my father pressing a strange she-wolf down onto the dining table. Cream was smeared all over her bare body. That night ended with my parents signing the Mating Dissolution Agreement. From that day on, cake became my nightmare, a taboo I could never touch. The night I mated with Alpha Kaelen of the Shadow Pack, amidst the pain and pleasure of his marking bite, I whispered in his ear. "Honey, if you ever want to end our mating, just bring me a cake." He frowned, his eyes burning with possessiveness, and kissed the words away. "Don't talk nonsense, Seraphina. You are my fated mate. How could I ever let you go?" Later, on his birthday, his intern secretary Elena ordered a three-tier luxury cake. Kaelen went into a rage, throwing both the cake and the intern out the front door. Back then, I was moved, even telling him not to be so harsh on a low-ranking wolf for my sake. But six months later, Elena had been promoted to Kaelen's personal assistant. On my birthday, she walked into my laboratory, swinging her hips, holding a burnt, homemade cake. I called Kaelen, asking him to remove the provocative item. On the other end of the line,his tone was casual. "Elena put her heart into making that for you. It would be cruel to throw it away. Be a good girl, don't be so sensitive. Have the grace of a Luna." The phone slipped from my hand. It turned out my mother wasn't wrong. Cake really is best served with a side of rejection papers.

Bo Ra is a normal girl like us. She wants to live a happy life. But she faces too many problems beyond us.

Rose, the ex-wife of billionaire Derek Clair, has been wronged in the worst possible way. After a messy divorce, Derek used his wealth and influence to destroy Rose’s reputation and leave her financially ruined. Now, Rose is back, and she’s seeking revenge. With the help of a wealthy ally, Rose sets out to dismantle Derek’s business empire and expose his darkest secrets. But as the stakes grow higher, Rose realizes that her desire for revenge may come at a steep cost. Will she be able to continue her quest for vengeance after discovering an unexpected truth about Derek? Or will she be swallowed by her desire for vengeance? Can she find a way to heal and move on, or will her thirst for revenge forever define her? Will they ever be able to find closure and move on, or is their love forever lost? Will they ever find a happily ever after?

Dos semanas antes de la boda, Nelson decidió posponerla una vez más. —Ivana inaugura su primera exposición de arte ese día —me dijo—. Estará sola y nerviosa. Tengo que estar ahí para apoyarla. Al final, tú y yo ya estamos juntos, ¿qué más da casarnos un día antes o después? Pero ya era la tercera vez que aplazaba nuestra boda por aquella mujer. La primera, Ivana acababa de operarse y sentía nostalgia de la comida de su tierra, por lo que Nelson no dudó en viajar al extranjero y quedarse con ella durante dos meses. La segunda, Ivana decidió irse al bosque en busca de inspiración para pintar y él, preocupado por su seguridad, fue tras ella. Esta era la tercera. Colgué la llamada y miré a César, mi amigo de toda la vida, quien se encontraba sentado frente a mí, relajado, jugando con su bastón de esmeralda, cuyo golpeteo en el piso de mármol rompía el silencio entre nosotros. —¿Todavía necesitas esposa? —le pregunté, sonriendo con picardía. El día de mi boda, Ivana sonreía radiante, copa en mano, esperando el brindis del hombre a su lado. Pero él, con los ojos rojos, observaba en silencio la transmisión en vivo de la boda del heredero del Grupo Santos, el imperio inmobiliario más grande del país.

Nadhirah Aleena yang kini hidup dengan trauma yang terus menghantui hidupnya menyebabkan terus menyesali apa yang telah terjadi, diselimuti ketakutan dan bahkan jauh dengan dirinya sendiri. Ia tidak mau siapapun hadir dalam hidupnya termasuk dari masa lalunya sekalipun. Tapi hal yang tidak di harapkan justru terjadi. Rendi yang merupakan masa lalunya datang kembali membuat Nadhirah berusaha untuk terus menghindar. "Menangislah, aku rindu tangisanmu, aku rindu semuanya tentangmu. Dan aku tidak pernah membencimu dengan keaadan sekarang.” Direngkuhnya tubuh Nadhira kedalam pelukan Rendi. "Aku tidak tahu apa arti kehidupan, aku lupa cara tersenyum, aku lupa bagaimana rasanya mencintai dan dicintai. Ini seperti bukan diriku. Aku mati, ya hatiku telah mati bahkan aku sangat membenci ketika melihat orang tertawa bahagia. Untuk tertawa saja aku sulit melakukannya apalagi untuk bahagia. Aku hidup dengan penuh rasa bersalah, penyesalan, dan tidak ikhlas dengan takdir yang telah digariskan. Apakah aku kejam? hahahaha sepertinya itu bukan pertanyaan tapi pernyataan. Tolong jangan tinggalkan aku.”Pinta Nadhirah dengan lirih diiringi isak tangis yang mengalun begitu menyanyat hati Rendi.