Cal X Merrin

จาก 'ลูกหมาตกขี้โคลน' ที่เขาว่าในวันนั้น สู่ 'เมียเด็ก' ที่เขาทั้งรักทั้งหวงในวันนี้

Pada kehidupan sebelumnya, demi sahabat baikku, abang dan calon suamiku bersekongkol untuk menghancurkan perusahaanku. Ketika melihat aku yang gulung tikar berdiri di tengah hujan deras, mereka berdiri di samping sahabat baikku sembari mentertawakanku. “Rose, kamu seperti seekor anjing saja!” Saat aku membuka mataku kembali, aku kembali ke acara tender proyek pada tiga tahun silam. Awal berdirinya perusahaan pada kehidupan sebelumnya, abang dan calon suamiku memperingatiku. Mereka tidak mengizinkan aku memanfaatkan kekuatan Keluarga Tiara dan Keluarga Qindara. Katanya, perbuatanku tidaklah adil bagi orang lain. Namun di balik itu, mereka justru menggunakan berbagai alasan untuk memberikan proyek kepada sahabat baikku demi mengembalikan senyum manisnya. Saat aku terlahir kembali, aku melihat mereka berdua sama seperti kehidupan sebelumnya, diam-diam mengambil proyek yang seharusnya menjadi milikku kepada sahabat baikku. Akhirnya aku pun telah patah semangat. Sewaktu mereka mengetahui kabar aku hendak ke luar negeri, abang dan calon suamiku memasang kembang api semalaman demi merayakan akhirnya terbebas dari beban sepertiku. Namun pada acara tender Grup Arkava pada tiga tahun berikutnya, aku menggunakan statusku sebagai istri presdir berpidato di atas panggung. Kedua mata mereka berdua malah memerah.

I’d just left a creative meeting when a TikTok video popped up on my feed, slamming my company. The title: "Stay Away! This Austin startup is incredibly cheap. The perks are a joke." The video showed off the pour-over coffee from Austin's hottest independent cafe and pastries from a top-tier French bakery. The same ones I’d just had my assistant, Sam, hand out. I frowned. In the company's Slack channel, I tagged everyone. "@here Any suggestions for this afternoon's Happy Hour?" Leo, the new Gen-Z intern, replied instantly with a voice note. “Asher, with all due respect, these snacks with gluten and dairy are so unhealthy.” “A truly visionary company would hire a private chef to customize raw, vegan bites for everyone's dietary needs. That's what respect looks like.” I laughed. It was an angry laugh. The company's daily snack budget was $25 per person. For an Austin startup, that was top of the line. I typed back: "Since it's impossible to please everyone, the snack perk is canceled. I'll convert the budget into a cash bonus for all of you." Less than five minutes later, the TikTok caption was updated. "UPDATE: Y'all, I can't make this up. I made a suggestion about dietary inclusivity, and my toxic boss just canceled all the perks! This is how toxic bosses act. Can't handle a single piece of feedback!"

Aku terpaksa menikahi pacar adikku yang sudah berbadan dua sebagai bentuk tanggung jawab keluarga, karena adikku meninggal seminggu sebelum pernikahannya. Kuhina, kumaki-maki bahkan kusiksa mental dan batinnya, tak kuturuti ngidamnya karena dialah penyebab semua kekacauan terjadi. Kupikir dia hanya akan menangis dan tak berani padaku, tak kusangka dia justru ....

Kehidupan sarah yang selama ini selalu di sia-siakan oleh keluarganya, kini berubah semenjak ia dijodohkan dengan lelaki pilihan neneknya. Calon mertua yang ternyata kaya raya, sangat menyayangi Sarah seperti anak sendiri.

Hari pertunangannya hancur berantakan ketika Audrey Ginnifer memergoki tunangannya bercinta dengan wanita lain. Terluka dan mabuk, Audrey menyerahkan dirinya pada seorang pria asing berwajah dingin yang membuatnya lupa segalanya. Ia mengira itu hanya pelarian satu malam, tapi pria itu justru kembali, menuntut tubuh dan hatinya tanpa pernah melepaskan. Dialah Denzel Shaquille—pria yang membuat Audrey candu dengan sentuhannya, sekaligus ayah dari mantan tunangannya sendiri. Terjebak dalam pelukan penuh gairah calon mertuanya, Audrey harus memilih.. Kembali pada hidup yang hancur, atau bertahan dalam cinta terlarang yang membakar, meski itu berarti menghancurkan segalanya..

Our daughter, Luna Woods, developed a high fever. Her body was burning hot. I immediately dialed 911 for help. The dispatcher on the other end kept repeating his questions. He spoke slowly, as if deliberately stalling for time. By the time I finally heard the ambulance siren, Luna was already turning cold in my arms. In less than a year, my wife and I separated. We were consumed by endless grief and blamed for each other. Afterward, I merely existed for the sake of it. I was a hollow shell of a man. Then, one day, I received a wedding invitation from my ex-wife. The moment I played the audio invitation, a chill ran down my spine. The groom’s voice was identical to that of the slow, dawdling dispatcher from that year! I rushed out, utterly distraught, only to be hit by a roaring train. When I opened my eyes again, I heard Luna crying in the next room. Her forehead was burning hot. My wife hurriedly handed me the phone. “Quick, call 911! I’ll get a wet towel.” My hands trembled as I took the phone. When it was answered, I heard a familiar male voice through the receiver. “911, what’s your emergency?”

Umibig si Zoey Trisha Ramos sa isang playboy na si Edrick Kurt Lim. Labing-pitong taong gulang pa lamang noon si Trisha, isang freshman sa isang kilalang Unibersidad samantalang dalawampu’t dalawang taong gulang na noon si Edrick, graduating na ito at isang heartthrob. Sa simula pa lamang ay alam na ni Trisha na maling umibig sa isang playboy ngunit kahit sya mismo ay hindi napigilan ang puso nya sa pagtibok. Nangako ang isang playboy na magbabago ito at hinding hindi nya sasaktan ang babae ngunit dumating na nga ang araw na kinatatakutan ni Trisha. Ito ang araw na iniwan sya ni Edrick at nakipaghiwalay sa mismong araw ng graduation nito. Nalaman ni Trisha na paalis na rin ito ng bansa, dahil maraming katanungan ang hindi nasagot nag madaling pumunta si Trisha sa airport at ganoon na lamang ang tagpong naabutan nya, tila naman binibiyak ang kanyang puso sa nakikita ng dalawang mata nya sa harap mismo nya. Habang masayang masaya ito hindi man lang alam ni Edrick na may isang taong sobrang nasasaktan at nasasaksihan ang kaganapan na iyon. Samantalang parang na estatwa naman si Trisha sa kanyang kinatatayuan at hindi na nya nagawang lapitan si Edrick hanggang sa namalayan nya na lang na papalayo na ito sakanya na kasama ang isang babae. Makalipas ang limang na taon ay bumalik ang lalaki sa Pilipinas. Laking gulat nila na sa pag balik nito ay sya na ang naging substitute professor nila. Gagawin lahat ni Edrick mabawi lang nya ulit ang tanging babaeng minahal nya. Nasaktan nya ito ng sobra kaya sa kahit anong paraan ay babawiin nya ito at pinangako sa sariling hinding hindi nya na muli itong iiwanan at sasaktan pa. Muli nga kaya syang bigyan ng pangalawang pagkakataon ni Trisha? Maging pamilyar pa kaya ang mga puso nila sa LOVE?

Drevan Valkor is the Darkmoon pack's Invincible Alpha. This makes him grow arrogant and believe himself to be untouchable. Even when he drags a knife across his own hand, the wound closes almost instantly. He laughs at me and says, "Kyra, you gasp for breath after walking just a few steps. What a pathetic, sickly burden." What he doesn't know is that a curse forces me to suffer every bit of pain he should be feeling. The only cure is for him to acknowledge me and complete the mate bond willingly. I endure three years of his pain, his cold shoulder treatment, and his constant entanglement with my "healthy and lively" stepsister. I tell myself that if I can survive until the mate bonding ceremony, I will finally be free. But that hope dies on the night of the ceremony. Before the entire pack, he pulls my stepsister, Belle Wynter, into his arms and kicks me off the altar. "I reject Kyra Wynter as my mate," he declares. "My pack doesn't need a weakling like her." That is the moment my conscience dies. If that's how it is, then he can't blame me for choosing the worst possible cure.

"Sentuhannya membuat darahku mendidih." Bermula dari pesta lajang yang diadakan oleh teman-temannya untuk merayakan detik-detik terakhir sebelum pernikahannya, Nayra Yovanka Salim justru terjebak dalam malam terlarang bersama dengan seorang pria asing. Pernikahannya dengan putra konglomerat dari keluarga Wiratama terancam hancur ketika Damian Sylvester datang dan mengaku sebagai kakak dari calon suami Nayra. Malam yang singkat telah berubah menjadi petaka bagi masa depan pernikahan Nayra bersama Julian Wiratama. Ketika harta, takhta dan wanita lah yang diinginkan oleh Damian Sylvester, akankah pernikahan Nayra bisa diselamatkan?