Birthday Lunch

Someone steals my takeout at the school gate. It is from a BBQ restaurant. Not only does the thief eat it all, but he also humiliates me in front of my classmates. He mocks, "Look, everyone! This is what a pauper would eat. Even my dog eats better than this!" He pulls out a stack of cash and slaps one bill against my face. Then, he tosses the rest into the air. "Happy birthday, beggar!" Three days later, he is burned to death in the alley behind the school, his limbs stretched out and tied to a tree. He is literally "grilled." And I become the murderer.

On my 20th birthday, my father hosts a dinner for our allied families. He lifts his glass with a smile and turns to his old friend, saying, "It's time my principessa chooses a husband from your sons." Without hesitation, I choose the youngest—Salvatore Carlo. Everyone is stunned. After all, I'm Estella Vinci, the eldest daughter of the Vinci family. I was born into wealth and power, with a father from a long-established Virellian mafia family and a mother from Montavira's ruthless DeNucci bloodline. And yet, I was hopelessly in love with Giovanni Carlo, third son of the Carlo family. In my past life, I got exactly what I wished for. I became his wife. He got what he wanted too. With my father's power, he became the heir of the Carlo family. But after we got married, my adopted sister Eleanor Vinci became his mistress. When my father found out, he was furious. He sent her far away in marriage to Norland. From that day on, Giovanni hated me with everything he had. He drowned himself in nightclubs, night after night, always bringing home women who looked just like Eleanor. He let them mock me and humiliate me. On my birthday, one of them poisoned my cake. I died with hatred in my heart at eight months pregnant. Now that I am reborn, I decide to let them have each other. But the moment I choose Salvatore, Giovanni loses his mind.

For seven years, I had been the secret of Enzo Gallo, the new Don of the Gallo family. When I went to register our son Lucas's birth, I discovered Enzo had already married his sister-in-law, Camilla, and claimed her child as his own. Her child became the heir to the family, with all the privileges that entailed. My child became a shameful bastard. Years ago, after Enzo's brother died, the family elders gave Enzo one condition to become Don: he had to have an heir with his sister-in-law to secure the Gallo bloodline. That night, Enzo held me close and swore I was his only true wife. He promised that once Camilla gave birth, he would give me the wedding I deserved. But he missed Lucas's birthday the day Camilla went into labor. Instead of the wedding he promised me, all I got was the news of his marriage to his sister-in-law. My son gently wiped away my tears with his small hand: "Mamma, don't be sad. I changed my birthday wish. I don't want a Papa anymore." "I don't care about being an heir. Having you is enough." I pulled Lucas into my arms, swallowing the bitterness that rose in my throat. "Who says you aren't an heir? Baby, Mamma is taking you home. To our family." What Enzo doesn't know is that I am the only daughter of the most powerful Mafia family in Sicily. I never cared about being the Donna of the Gallo family.

Things took a drastic turn for Hannah as she watched her whole life crumbled right before her eyes. It was supposed to be the best day of Hannah's life as it was her boyfriend's birthday and she's prepared a birthday surprise for him. Hannah got the shock of her life when she saw her boyfriend and her bestfriend on bed making love. She felt devastated, betrayed and heartbroken, how would her bestfriend and boyfriend hurt her this way. Instead of surprising her boyfriend, she ended up getting surprised. With a heavy heart, Hannah ran out to the nearest bar and she got herself drunk which led to another phase of her life. Her life couldn't just be anymore worse. Hannah who was drunk ended up in the arms of a mysterious drunk man who was running away from his own problems. She made love to an unknown man. As if things couldn't get any worse, she found out she was pregnant, pregnant for the unknown man, yet again, life became bitter for her. She was mocked and abused severally by her ex boyfriend and best friend, making things more difficult for her since she was an orphan. What happens when she found out her baby's daddy is the CEO of Kween's Industrial Limited, topped with the fact that he was already engaged. Does Hannah stands a chance in uniting her baby with his daddy? Will she ever find love again? Or would she be forever heartbroken. Watch out for this amazing masterpiece. .

On the eve of the Eva's seventeenth birthday, the story begins. Her father's enemies are abusing her. Alpha's daughter, Eva, is the protagonist of the story. Her pack was killed. She was the only survivor. Due to her young age, the pack that slaughtered her family decided to turn her into a slave She was mistreated and hungry since she was a child, and she did all kinds of menial tasks. When confronted with insults, the heroine was obstinate, fighting back and talking back. She still retains Alpha's blood in her bones, despite being a slave. When she became an adult and her powers awakened, she secretly intended to flee this pack. She still believes in love and hopes that the moon goddess will provide her with a mate who will cherish and protect her at this time. The pack's leader's son, Alpha Liam, knew the Eva once was his chosen mate at his 18, but he despised her low status on the one hand and was pulled to her beauty on the other. He looks down on her and plays around with other girls, influenced by the pack members. On her eighteenth birthday, the Eva's wolf awoke, and she realized that Liam was her mate, and she was furious because Liam was the son of her father's assassin. Alpha Liam reject Eva. Eva released. However, the wolf within her is a little depressed. Alpha Liam's mother and her daughter assaulted Eva again while she was preparing the inheritance ceremony for Liam. Eva was saved by an Alpha from another pack. This was Alpha Raquel. He was invited to participate in the inheritance ceremony of Alpha A

On my birthday, I go out to eat with my family. I make a wish, hoping that we will always stay happily together. When I open my eyes, I see my son, Luigi Marino, holding up his tablet. On the screen, a line of text reads, "Dad, Maria says she's pregnant with your baby. Am I going to get a new mom?" Giovanni Marino is busy taking pictures of me with a Polaroid. He glances at the screen casually before writing a reply on the back of the photo. "No. I made a promise with your mom. If either of us betrays the other, we will have to disappear from the other's life forever. I can't live without your mom. So, you have to help me keep this from her. Even if Maria's baby is born, they will never appear in front of your mom." After writing that, he looks at me and asks in a gentle voice, "What's wrong, my love? Why are your eyes red? Did the smoke from the candles irritate them?" My tears are about to fall, but I force a smile and reply, "I'm fine. The birthday gift you all prepared for me is wonderful. I'm so touched that I can't help but cry." He doesn't know that my dyslexia was cured a week ago. It seems I no longer have to hesitate about the job offer from a well-known international nonprofit that teaches children with dyslexia how to read. The paperwork will be done in seven days. When that time comes, I will disappear from their world completely.

A very deep loss for the Syailendra family. Never imagined before, the death of her only brother was right on the birthday of her brother. When all eyes were fixed on Michael who was cutting his birthday cake, suddenly a gunshot boomed at the scene of the ongoing event, everyone panicked seeing the Michael who was limply covered in blood.One year waiting for the uncertain results regarding who killed her brother, Miska Aluna Syailendra is determined to find out for himself who killed her brother. Even the police have closed the case of her brother's death without knowing who is behind the case of her brother's death.Looking for evidence of whether her brother had any enemies during this time, Miska looked at her brother's phone call history hoping she would get proof. In the midst of searching for the perpetrator of her brother's shooting, Miska was kidnapped by the hired person who shot her brother. Trying to find help, she finally managed to retrieve one of the cellphones of the person who kidnapped him. Miska tried to contact her family but not a single call was answered, so she calling the police station to save her from the kidnappers. In the middle of the rescue process, Miska felt an unnatural feeling when she saw the figure of the police forcefully fighting the kidnappers. Miska tried to get rid of her feelings for the policeman who saved her who she knew was named Randy Pramono, finally she tried to explain to Randy so that she could help her reveal her brother's death.

On April Fool’s Day, my CEO husband cut out my heart to save his childhood sweetheart's son. After the surgery, he tossed me into a cold rental apartment, where I died in agony. Three days after my death, my five-year-old daughter played in the room as usual. Walking by the sofa, she wrinkled her little nose and mumbled, "Mommy, there's a weird smell in here." She touched my face and murmured, "Mommy, are you pretending to be Snow White? Why are you so pale?" She shook my arm harder and raised her voice, "Mommy, it's my birthday today—get up and blow out the candles!" Confused, she picked up the phone and called her father. “Daddy, did I make Mommy mad? I lit the candles, but no matter how much I call her, she won’t wake up.” On the other end of the call, Patrick Hart’s voice was cold and impatient. “What could possibly be wrong with her? She’s just pretending to be asleep for sympathy. It’s Johnny’s birthday, I’m busy. Don’t bother me! Tell your melodramatic mother to stop playing her little tricks. I don't have time to humor her." My daughter removed the candle from her bun, pinched off a piece of the bun, and fed it to me. "Mommy, I made a secret wish… I really wish you could hold me again, just like before."

I've been in a relationship with my brother's best friend, Emilio Slater, for three years, but he's never been willing to make our relationship public. Still, I never doubt his love for me. After all, he's been with 99 women before, yet he stops looking at anyone else because of me. Even if I have a slight cold, he drops billion-dollar projects and rushes home to take care of me. But on my birthday, when I'm excitedly preparing to share the news of my pregnancy with Emilio, he forgets my birthday for the first time and vanishes without a trace. The housekeeper tells me he's gone to pick up someone important from the airport. I rush there and see him holding flowers, his face full of nervous anticipation, waiting for a woman—one who looks strikingly like me. Later, my brother tells me she's Emilio's first love, the one he can never forget. Emilio defied his parents for her, and he fell apart after she dumped him. He sought out 99 women who resembled her to fill the void. My brother speaks with admiration for Emilio's deep devotion, unaware that I'm one of those stand-ins. I watch Emilio and his first love for a long, long time. Then, I return to the hospital without hesitation. "Doctor, I don't want this child anymore."

I wheel myself into the birthday celebration that Wales Price has thrown for me. The atmosphere is originally lively, but a brief silence descends when everyone sees me. The guests are there for different purposes, but celebrating my birthday is not one of them. "Is that Mr. Price's crippled fiancée, Joey Hertza?" "Yeah, but the one he really loves is Anna Giovanni. I saw them kissing in a corner earlier." They use their wine glasses to block their mouths as they speak loudly. They think I'm still the crippled deaf I used to be. They don't know that I regained my hearing last week. I can hear every mocking comment they make. Meanwhile, Wales stands there and allows it to happen. He doesn't stop the guests from talking about me. He seems to have forgotten that I only ended up like this while protecting him. I shoved him away when the accident happened and got trapped underneath the car myself. When I was rescued, Wales swore to stay with me and care for me for life. It's only been three short years since then, but he's already changed. I receive a message on my phone. "Ms. Hertza, the lifelike corpse that you've ordered is now complete. Reply to this message with your confirmation, and your death-faking service will be immediately effective. We will send the corpse to your and Mr. Price's wedding in five days." I don't even hesitate as I reply with my confirmation. Enjoy your wedding, Wales.