Expensive Artinya

Kehidupan Hayu sudah terlihat sempurna. Dia merasa sudah puas dengan kehidupannya selama ini. Gadis asal Jogja ini menyukai pekerjaannya yang stabil. Walau gajinya tidak besar, memiliki atasan yang baik membuat Hayu betah bekerja di Nillson Home. Terlebih lagi ada dua karibnya, Mbak Maya dan Damar yang selalu menjadi support system terbaiknya. Dalam urusan cinta, Hayu juga beruntung. Dia telah menjalin hubungan bertahun-tahun dengan Samudra, seorang pelukis mumpuni dengan ketampanan khas pria Jawa. Ketika Hayu akan menginjak usia 29 tahun, ada satu hal yang benar-benar diinginkannya, yaitu menikah dan hidup bersama Sam. Sayangnya dia harus kecewa ketika Sam menyatakan belum siap untuk menikahinya. Tapi Hayu tidak menyerah. Dia masih percaya bahwa Sam adalah jodohnya. Kehidupan Hayu menjadi semakin rumit ketika masalah di kantor juga mengusiknya. Dia dihadapkan pada kenyataan bahwa atasan yang selama ini menjadi mentornya akan menyerahkan perusahaan kepada Jason, keponakannya yang berasal dari Swedia. Artinya Hayu akan memiliki atasan baru, seorang pria asing yang tampan dan menarik perhatian banyak wanita. Drama dan gosip pun mulai bermunculan ketika ada satu skandal besar terkuak di perusahaan itu. Bagaimana Hayu menjalani kehidupannya saat ini yang berbanding terbalik dengan kehidupannya dulu yang terlihat sempurna?

Seruni Arkadewi merasa dunianya runtuh satu persatu, saat sebuah kecelakaan merenggut kesempurnaan indrawinya. Kedua kakinya yang sebelumnya kuat dan lincah, kini menjadi timpang. Dan ternyata kemalangannya bukan hanya itu saja. Dimulai dari penghianatan kekasih dan sahabatnya yang menjalin hubungan di belakangnya, hingga desakan ayah tirinya yang ingin menikahkannya dengan seorang bandot tua karena harta. Muak dengan stigma bahwa takdir seorang wanita adalah di dapur, di sumur dan di kasur, Seruni minggat dari desanya. Ia ingin membuktikan bahwa seorang wanita dengan segala keterbatasan fisiknya, mampu berdiri di atas kakinya sendiri jikalau mau berusaha. Sementara itu, Antonio Brata Kesuma--sang anak sultan klan Brata Kesuma, paling tidak bisa mentolerir segala bentuk ketidaksempurnaan. Baginya semua yang cacat, tidak akan masuk hitungan. Baik itu berupa barang, ataupun orang. "Saya tidak minta dikasihani. Yang saya pinta hanya satu. Jangan menjadikan ketidaksempurnaan saya sebagai alasan untuk menjegal semua impian-impian saya. Saya memang cacat, tapi saya tidak bodoh. Saya mohon, izinkan saya berjuang." -Seruni Arkadewi- "Kamu itu selemah-lemahnya manusia. Sudah cacat, perempuan lagi. Sudahlah, terima takdirmu dan diam saja di rumah. Jangan mempersulit diri sendiri. Dunia ini keras. Ketahuilah, tekad tanpa amunisi, itu artinya bunuh diri. -Antonio Brata Kesuma-

Kinara harus menjalani hidupnya di Falseland, tempat asing yang penuh misteri dan keajaiban karena sebuah kesalahan fatal yang ia lakukan. Ia dikutuk menjadi setengah manusia setengah burung. Demi kembali menjadi manusia normal dan bisa hidup di dunia asalnya, ia harus melakukan misi penebusan dosa dengan melakukan banyak kebaikan agar bisa bertemu dengan Kinari. Mereka mendapat tugas yang sama, yaitu harus menemukan satu sama lain dan menarikan tarian kesetiaan di bawah pohon kalpataru dan disaksikan oleh seluruh penduduk Falseland. Perjalanan untuk menyelesaikan misi tidaklah mudah. Banyak rintangan yang dihadapi. Kinara dibantu oleh sahabat setianya yang bernama Rhara (berwujud setengah manusia setengah kelinci). Mereka berdua penuh optimis dan keberanian dalam menakhlukkan lawan-lawannya. Jika Kinara melakukan kebaikan, maka akan mendekatkan kepada Kinari. namun, kejahatan yang ia lakukan akan menjauhkannya dari Kinari dan membawanya ke Blackland (tempat di mana makhluk terkutuk sepenuhnya berubah menjadi binatang dan kehilangan semua sisi kemanusiaannya). Tantangan tidak berhenti sampai di situ. Sebab, Kinara adalah Si Terpilih. Artinya ia adalah sosok penentu keberhasilan bagi seluruh makhluk terkutuk yang sedang menjalani misi. Jika misinya berhasil maka semua makhluk bisa kembali ke wujud asli dan dunianya. Akankah Kinara menyelesaikan misinya? Atau justru terjebak dan memilih tinggal di Whiteland?

Suasana meledak, semua orang maju. Aku segera bergerak cepat ke arah Salma yang langsung melayangkan kakinya ke selangkangan dua pria yang mengapitnya. Aku meraih tangan Salma. Sesuai arahku Ferdi dan tiga temannya mengikutiku. "Fer, bawa!" Aku melepas lengan Salma. Ferdi bergegas menariknya menjauhiku. "Keluar!" tegasku sambil menunjuk arah belakang yang memang kosong. "Nggak, Arka!" teriak Salma, terus menjulurkan tangan. Aku tersenyum. Salma perlahan hilang. Syukurlah mereka berhasil kabur. Hampir lima belas menit, aku masih bertahan. Banyak dari mereka yang langsung tumbang setelah kuhajar. Tapi beberapa serangan berhasil membuat sekujur badanku babak belur. Kini penglihatanku sudah mulai runyam. Aku segera meraih balok kayu yang tergeletak tak jauh, lalu menodongkannya ke segala arah. Tanpa terduga, ada yang menyerangku dari belakang, kepalaku terasa dihantam keras dengan benda tumpul. Kakiku tak kuat lagi menopang, tak lama tubuhku telah terjengkang. Pandanganku menggelap. Sayup-sayup, aku mendengar bunyi yang tak asing. Namun, seketika hening. (Maaf, ya, jika ada narasi maupun dialog yang memakai Bahasa Sunda. Kalau mau tahu artinya ke Mbah Google aja, ya, biar sambil belajar plus ada kerjaan. Ehehehe. Salam damai dari Author) Ikuti aku di cuiter dan kilogram @tadi_hujan, agar kita bisa saling kenal.

Growing up to become a rejected, is nothing anyone would pray or wish to encounter. Ember, who is caught up in the deep web of rejection and unplanned love, is left in the ocean of self destruction. Now, she'd have to think about the best way to be free and leave her life. In the middle of the island, the gigantic and luxurious castle of Alpha Dino Aloysius, is located. Sources say that it is the most expensive and sophisticated home facility in the entire world. Every facility in the home, is controlled by advanced technology and robots. The center of the castle looks like a another universe of its own because of the magnificent design that surrounded it. At the north west end of the castle, a large statue of a wolf can be seen. To every other person, it was just a wolf but to Alpha Dino, it was his representation of strength and power. Each of the rooms are sound proof and designed with a colored marble. The walls are discretely painted with black and red colour ink, and also the blood of some of the people that Alpha Dino has killed in past, especially the alphas from other packs. The staff that worked inside the castle, were more than a thousand. You must literally see a maiden at every end of castle, bending down their head. The reason was that it was prohibited to make eye contact with the Alpha.

I've been married to Derek Gunther for many years. Every anniversary, he tells me the airline scheduled him for a flight, then sends an expensive pair of earrings to smooth things over. But on our ninth anniversary, I accidentally overhear him joking with his friends. "Derek, you spend every anniversary with Ivy—and Sienna still hasn't caught on?" "No wonder she can't get pregnant. After all, you give all to Ivy." Derek exhales a stream of smoke and says, "Ivy gave up everything to be with me. I owe her a real home. As for Sienna, I stopped loving her after she miscarried. When the time's right, I'll file for divorce. It's unfair, sure—but I'll make it up to her with money." What Derek doesn't know is that he won't get that chance. It's on our anniversary that I'm diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer. Since he stopped loving me long ago, I'm ready to walk away on my own terms. Derek, from now on, we're done.

He’s even more attractive up close, my nostrils are invaded with his expensive scent and sex appeal. My knees grow week in my seven inches platform heels. His perfect brow raised. “Did I not request for a private session?” My daze was broken as I blushed in embarrassment of literally eye fucking this man. I nodded slowly and cleared my throat. “There’s a no touching rule, sir.” I state breathlessly. He stared down at me intensely with a slight smirk on his full lips. “Go on.” ******** Yanna has been stripping for a year to pay off medical bills, unknown to her that she is the daughter to the former don of the Italian mafia. An unexpected private session with a mysterious man, changes the course of her life as he is none other than Enzo Bernadi, the current don of the italian mafia who had been promised a wife by the former don. What happens as she is forced to wed Enzo and has to adjust to the life a mafia don's wife. Expect thrilling plot twist, action, betrayals and most importantly, the steamy romance that'll brew due to their force proximity. *Expect mature scenes*

On the day of my wedding gown fitting, a stranger burst into the VIP suite and stabbed me with a knife. “You think you deserve a dress this expensive after stealing someone else’s man?” She tore at the delicate fabric of my skirt. Then, with a twisted smile, she hurled a bottle of acid at me. The blade was buried in my lower abdomen. The pain drove me to my knees. She grabbed my hair and yanked my head up. “Gerald’s my husband! What are you? You’re nothing but a mistress who can’t even be seen with him in public!” Blood dripped down my fingers. That was when it finally sank in. The man I had been with for seven years had been keeping another woman by his side. “What’re you staring at? Even if I kill you, with my husband’s influence, no one will dare touch me!” Staring at her smug face, I pulled out my phone with hands slicked in blood and called my brother. “Matt…” My voice was unnervingly calm. “Come pick me up at the bridal shop. And please inform the Hoover family that the engagement is off.”

Elena Carter never thought her life could get any worse. After years of being treated as an outsider in her own family, she thought she had finally found love with her boyfriend, Brian. But everything shatters when she catches him in bed with her younger sister. Her father, a desperate gambler, sees her as nothing more than a burden. When a ruthless mafia boss, Dominic Moretti, comes to collect a debt, her father makes a horrifying decision—he offers Elena as payment. Before she can process what is happening, she is handed over to a dangerous man who sees people as nothing more than pests under his expensive shoes. Elena is taken to Dominic’s estate, where she is treated like a prisoner. But unlike the others who fear him, she refuses to submit. “I'll be a good girl," I said. "But only if you treat me right." Something crossed his face at the mention of my words. Amusement? Respect? Crossed his face. "We'll see," he said, pulling his hand away.

After I brought in 300 million dollars in investment for his company, my fiance showed me the home we would share. I thought we would finally get married after eight years together, but instead, he turned on a building game. “I laid every brick here. Once the company is listed, I’ll build you a house just like this one.” I found him and his secretary showing off their love. He had bought her an expensive villa as a gift. I sent the photo to my fiance. “You can afford to buy someone a villa as a gift, but not our home?” Displeased, he said, “Alyssa is the company’s backbone. I’m only giving her a villa to encourage the other staff to do better!” But in the background, I heard Alyssa’s pleased laughter. “Some people should really be more self-aware. Does she think getting some investment makes her the boss of this company?” I did my best to suppress my anger. I wanted to see just how long the company would survive if not for the investments I found!