Cyberpunk Altar

WARNING: This book contains mature content and explicit content. It is also a non-fiction story, a true life story of the writer. The thurible was placed right in front of the altar as it's smoke rose to the chandelier, blackening the cobwebs that were woven by some silly spider. The evening prayer was being said, and everyone was deep in solemn prayer and meditation. All except me. How could you even expect me to be solemn and meditate, when the man I had had sex with just the past week, the man who offered to be my sugar daddy, was sitting at the kneeler right in front of the altar, conducting the evening prayer. Not only was he just sitting there, conducting the evening prayer, he was a priest, a new priest of the archdiocese, transferred to work at our parish community. Given the fact that he was the person I first had sex with, I knew I was in for a whole lot of drama.

My billionaire dad chooses a husband for me. People claim that Sebastian Lambert is a fine gentleman who's absolutely in awe of me. He seems easy enough to deal with, so I agree to the marriage. The wedding is held at the biggest hotel my family owns. On the big day, as I push open the doors in my wedding dress, a bucket of foul-smelling blood comes crashing down on me. The scene inside is even more horrifying. What was supposed to be a pure and romantic ceremony is now decorated with giant spiders and cockroaches. Grotesque clown faces grin at me from the walls. At the altar, there's a black coffin. Sebastian's adoptive sister, Ruth Lambert, strolls over with a group of people. She covers her mouth in fake surprise as she remarks, "Oh my, Claudia, you look like a pathetic mutt right now!" Laughter erupts around me. Holding my anger back, I coldly reply, "All of you, get out." She crosses her arms, arrogantly looking down at me as if she's on some pedestal. "Come on, Claudia. Seb personally asked me to surprise you. I put in a lot of effort to decorate your little wedding. You're telling me to get out? I don't even get a 'thank you'? Do you need me to teach you some manners?" She signals to the people next to her, and two of them step forward, trying to force me to my knees. Stunned for a few seconds, I pull out my phone and call Sebastian. "Is this the so-called surprise you had your sister prepare for me? Forcing me to kneel before her?"

I've been in love for six years, but my wedding has been called off 99 times by the man who claims to love me most, the mafia boss, Daniel Reed. The first time is on a private island off the coast of Sorellia. He promises me a secret wedding. But an hour before the ceremony, he gets a call saying that his new assistant, Emily Jennings, has been taken by a rival family. Without a word, he leaves me behind and sails off into the night. The second time, we're standing at the altar, exchanging vows. His underboss then leans in and whispers, "Emily's in trouble." Daniel tears off his boutonniere and walks out without looking back. Emily has been kidnapped again—this time, near the border district. He leads an armed raid that very night while I'm left behind, becoming the laughingstock in the mafia's VIP lounges. No matter when I schedule the wedding, Emily always ends up in danger. And Daniel always runs to her without hesitation. Eventually, I realize I will never win against the reckless Gen Z assistant who constantly drags him into chaos. After the 99th cancellation, I decide to break up with him and disappear from Valemont. I move out overnight, erase every trace of myself, leaving nothing behind. But I never expect him to go completely mad. He shuts down the ports, searches every villa, and unleashes his entire family's intelligence network just to find me. His eyes burn red like a wild animal on the edge of collapse. "Elara," he growls, "just give me one more chance."

The 99th time Owen Anderson slides a ring onto my finger, his adopted sister, Monica Morgan, calls again. And just like that, for the 99th time, he ditches me at the altar to be with her, who's having another depressive episode. I'm fed up. I yell after him as he walks away, "Go ahead! Walk out on me, and I swear I'll marry someone else!" He doesn't even flinch. Instead, he snaps, "Can you stop being so unreasonable? We can get married anytime, but Monica's the only sister I've got." Then, he turns and walks away, leaving me standing there like a complete fool. What he doesn't realize is that this time, I mean it. Later, when he gets down on one knee for the 100th time, his older brother, Chris, slips an arm around my waist and says, "Sorry, Owen. She's your sister-in-law now."

My adopted sister, an Omega who has always seemed delicate, harmless, and wolf-less, vanishes the night before full moon. Everyone, including my parents and my mate—the Alpha who's supposed to protect me—blames me for driving her away. They drag me to the Memory Offering altar, bind my wolf in silver chains, and demand the truth from my memories. Little do they know that my body has been laced with 99 silver needles, buried deep under my skin, each one driven in by the hand of the innocent girl they adore the most. The silverbane has seeped through my blood, eating away at my bones and my wolf spirit. I don't have long. So, I seize control. I invoke the oldest rite in the pack, the Memory Offering, to let them see the truth with their own eyes. For three years, I've been the one who was framed, humiliated, and tortured. Meanwhile, my so-called gentle sister is the real monster behind it all. By the time the truth is revealed, the silverbane has devoured my soul. Bathed in the blinding white light of the rite, I die on that cold, stone altar, with a pain that cuts to the bone and a peace that feels almost like freedom.

It was supposed to be the happiest day for Almene for she’s getting married to the man she loves, Francis Herrera. Not until she faced the altar with an unfamiliar man, waiting for her instead. That same day she learned that her fiance died in a car accident while heading to the church. What devastated her even more is she couldn’t stop the wedding because of her father’s debt to the man she’s marrying, who turned out to be the notorious playboy, Lideon Ambrose Martin whose also from one of the richest families in the country.

"Don't leave me, I will die if you do." Lilac Hirav has always lived in the shadow of her stepsister, Milo and her father's wife, Nina since her mother's death. When a marriage alliance is made with the Lycan City, Lilac finds herself at the altar marrying the second prince of Lycania. As mysterious deaths start to occur in Lycania, Lilac and her new husband are drawn into the middle of it. Will this mystery bring them closer together, or tear them apart?

"System, I request to leave the mission world." The summoned system quickly appeared. "Ms. Young, your request has been approved. You have half a month to say goodbye to your family in this world." With that said, the system disappeared again. Andrea Young paused for a long time at the mention of the word "Family" before slowly looking toward the family photo on the table beside her. In the photo, her husband and son were each lovingly kissing her cheeks. The happiness captured in that moment suddenly left her stunned. No one knew Andrea was on a mission. Ten years ago, the system brought her into this world to win the heart of Gabriel Fulton, the crown prince of Capital City. They went from attending school together to the wedding altar over the past decade. She not only completed her mission, but also fell in love with the target of her mission.

Venus Harristian adalah penyanyi pop wanita yang sedang berada di puncak kariernya. Ia sempurna bagai namanya. Lembut dan penyayang. Setia dan penyabar. Sosok wanita yang menjadi impian semua pria, termasuk Gareth Moultens yang menjadi calon suaminya. Namun sebuah ancaman pembunuhan dan teror membuat keselamatan Venus jadi riskan. Pasalnya, ia tak sengaja menjadi satu-satunya saksi mata sebuah kejahatan pada pesta di sebuah hotel. Oleh sebab itu, Kakaknya Rei dan ayahnya Arjoona sepakat mempekerjakan seorang kepala pengawal baru yang memimpin tim keamanan khusus melindungi Venus sampai tiba saat ia memberikan kesaksian di pengadilan. Arjoona bahkan pulang ke Indonesia demi menjemput pria bernama Dion Elang Juliandra yang berprofesi sebagai polisi untuk menjadi pengawal pribadi putrinya. Apa yang akan terjadi saat benih cinta muncul kala Dion dan Venus semakin sering bersama? Di saat bersamaan, Dion dan Venus sama-sama telah memiliki pasangan yang menanti untuk mengikat janji di altar pernikahan. Mampukah kesetiaan dipertahankan dan menjadi jawaban?

Mila is a young girl of 18 who has been abused by her stepmom most of her life, you could call her another 'Cinderella'. Things gets worse when her Stepmom pushes her into an arranged marriage with the One and only McCarter Spencer, New York's biggest business mogul... At age 24, he owned over 45 percent of properties in New York, which included Hotels, Club houses Restaurants and even the Prestigious 'Spencer Conglomerate'. On a mission to acquire the bedridden Edward Monteiro's Company, Carter finds himself in a situation where he has to marry Camilla, Edward's only daughter and supposed heir of all his wealth. After a few weeks of keeping to themselves and thinking the worse of each other, they finally call a truce and become friends, to the extent someone could have sworn they noticed a love string attached to their "friendship" Things take a fateful turn when Camilla jilts Carter at the altar, leaving no trace of herself and leaving an already smitten Carter devastated and heartbroken. What happens when 5 years down the line, Camilla shows up at Carter's wedding. She doesn't only show up with a bundle of joy, she comes having a mission to execute. REVENGE. Things go haywire when Carter also sees this as an opportunity to get his own revenge. You can never tell what's gonna happen when everyone has an ulterior motive in mind. They become covered in a web of lies, secrets and untold feelings.