Dead Set

Setelah tujuh hari kematian ibu, suasana rumah berubah mencekam. Suara rintihan kerap kali terdengar dari kamarnya. Aku pun melihat, ibu sedang membenturkan kepalanya ke jalan. Ada apa dengan kematian ibu?

Di jamuan makan, suamiku yang dikenal sebagai pelukis genius itu menggunakan tangannya yang diasuransikan senilai triliunan untuk mengupaskan kepiting bagi asistennya. Semua itu hanya demi membujuk asisten yang sedang tak nafsu makan itu agar mau menyantap sedikit makanan. Sementara itu, aku minum alkohol sampai muntah darah demi menarik investasi untuknya. Saat itu aku hanya meminta dia mengambilkan obat maag untukku. Namun, dia langsung menolak, "Tanganku ini dipakai untuk melukis. Kamu sendiri nggak punya tangan, ya?" Sepuluh tahun lamanya, bahkan alasan penolakannya pun tak pernah berubah. Hari itu, aku tersadar dari mabuk di tengah angin dingin, lalu meminta pengacara menyusun sebuah perjanjian perceraian. Renzo, di perjalanan hidup yang panjang ini, kamu dan aku tak lagi searah.

I married Kael Throne—the infamous king of New York’s mafia—not for his power, not for his fortune, but because I loved him. He was unlike any man I’d ever known. A man who could have a thousand women at his feet, yet dismissed them all with a single glance. I believed his faithful love until the day I learned the existence of a college girl. He’d “respected” me enough to keep her hidden… until I forced the truth into the light. Kael didn’t rage. He didn’t deny it. He only looked at me with that calm, dangerous gaze and said, “Then we divorce.” I refused. He offered me his money, his casino, his everything. Still I said no. Because I loved him. That’s when his love turned black. He had me kidnapped. My mother, too. All to force my signature on those papers. “You found out,” he said, almost bored. “And there’s no more fun in hiding. Leave now, Vivienne. Give me—and Nyssa—our happy ending.” I watched as the man he’d sent slit my mother’s throat. My answer came too late. Kael Throne was a monster. I collapsed, my head cracking against the floor. And when I opened my eyes… I was back on the day I first learned Nyssa existed. This time, I didn’t confront him. I played the perfect wife, smiling sweetly while I waited for the perfect moment to vanish from his life forever. I just never imagined that when I finally disappeared… Kael would lose his mind.

Chio Ghabila Alcoreza, daughter of the governor, is used to live her life away from her father. Halos kamuhian na ng sariling pamilya dahil sa mga isyung nakadikit na sa pangalan niya. They painted her as a girl who bedded men out of lust. As a skilled baker, her tita sent her to Priacosta to handle Rouseau. It is not her home, she believed. Ang kagustuhan niyang maging abogado ay naglaho dahil sa responsibilidad at buhay na naghihintay sa kanya sa Priacosta. Paano na kaya kung ang inaakalang kalmado at payapang buhay ay aanurin ng mga alon sa dagat sa sandaling makilala niya si Weino Miscreant Zaldego? Will the rebellious and stubborn marchioness of Priacosta tame the arrogant and snobbish young Zaldego? Kakalma kaya ang dagat kasabay ng pagtatago ng araw sa likod ng mga alon? Because when it is Priacosta, she makes the rules. Amiche Series #5

Alfa Septian, seorang pemuda pekerja keras menikahi janda beranak dua yang amat dicintainya. Tak peduli semua berkata apa, Alfa tetap bersikeras dengan pilihannya untuk menjadi suami paling setia untuk istri kesayangannya. Namun, apa yang akan Alfa lakukan Ketika mendapat kabar bahwa istrinya mengalami musibah yang sulit untuk dihindari? Apakah dia akan tetap bertahan dengan pilihannya? Atau justru mencari tambatan hati yang baru?

Martabak yang satu ini memang horor, sepertinya namanya, ia akan mempengaruhi manusia untuk memakannya. Jika dimakan dalam jumlah ganjil, maka kesialan akan mengejarmu. Jika dimakan dalam jumlah genap, maka nyawamu selamat. Akan tetapi jika dimakan hingga habis tak tersisa, maka nyawamu akan melayang. Simak kisahnya!

{Warning: Some chapters of this story, entails erotic and matured contents. Read as your own dim fit, or at your own detriment. Consider this an authors advise.} "Then I realize what it is. It's him. Something about him makes me feel like I am about to fall. Or turn into liquid. Or burst into flames." * * * Amethyst Villarreal had been secretly in love with her best friend - Sebastian Almonte. But something between her dream to win the heart of the man she love. Pietho, her cousin who is her best friends fiance. Alam n'ya na mali ang mahalin ito ngunit ayaw paawat ng kan'yang puso. She tried to hide it, even if it pains her the most, but she couldn't believe and never expected that Wade Harris Coleman - Seb's best man, knows her romantic feelings toward her best friend since then. Ngunit sa kabila ng inis n'ya rito ay natagpuan n'ya ang kan'yang sarili na ibinubuhos dito ang lahat ng sakit na dinaramdam n'ya sa mahabang panahon. And the next morning she found herself next to his bed . Now, how was she going to get out of that mess? ✓ Collaboration Series of PaperInk Publishing House ✓ Not for minors

The night I found out, I almost fixed it. Almost. My assignment had been changed to Everglades Academy. Two thousand miles south. Swamp territory. Three omegas died there last year. I'd asked Kael to file my school preference. Silver Peak Academy. Together. The way we'd planned since we were twelve, lying in the snow making promises to the stars. Now the screen said Everglades. I called him immediately. He picked up on the second ring, relaxed as always. "Hey." "My assignment," I said. "It says Everglades." "Oh." Not guilt. Recalibration. "Lil came by while I was filing yours. She wanted to play a prank—switched it to Everglades for a laugh." He laughed. Light. Careless. "Deadline's tomorrow night. Just override it yourself. It takes thirty seconds." "If I hadn't checked—" "But you did check." That patience. "Fen. You always check everything. That's why she knew you'd catch it. It was just a joke." Just a joke. So my future was a punchline. My life, someone else's entertainment. I said nothing. I packed my gear. I left for the transport hub on departure day. Kael found me at the platform. His smile was gone. "I told you to override it. You didn't change it back?" "No."

Two years after I return to Cendria, I unexpectedly run into my daughter, whom my ex-wife had taken with her when she left me. "Do you regret everything you've done?" she asks, her voice dripping with arrogance. "If you apologize to my new dad, Liam, I'll try to convince Mom to forgive you." Before I can respond, an adorable little boy throws himself into my arms. "School's finally over, Dad. I missed you so much!" he exclaims. I take his hand and turn to leave. My ex-daughter is furious. "If you walk away from me now, I'll disown you!" she yells after us in frustration. I remain unbothered. She's free to do whatever she pleases. After all, none of it matters to me anymore.

Sebastian Pena hates me for a whole decade after his true love's death. I try to please him at every turn, but he merely scoffs. "If you really want to make me happy, you should go to hell." That hits hard. However, when a truck hurtles toward me, Sebastian throws himself at me. He saves me, but he dies in a pool of his blood. Before he breathes his last breath, he looks into my eyes and says, "If only… I'd never met you…" His mother is devastated at his funeral. "I should've given Sebastian and Gillian my blessings. I should never have forced him to marry you!" His father resents me. "Sebastian saved you three times—he was a good person. Why weren't you the one who died?" Everyone regrets having Sebastian marry me, myself included. I'm kicked out of the funeral. Three years later, someone invents a time machine, and I travel back in time. This time, I'm going to sever all ties with Sebastian. Everyone will get the happiness they deserve.