Expensive Artinya

At graduation, I invited my classmates to attend my engagement party, but what I didn’t expect was the total meltdown one of my classmates had when she saw my engagement photos. She strutted over, full of herself, and demanded that I take off my dress so she could use it to polish her shoes. I blinked in confusion, thinking she must have lost her mind. I laughed and suggested she head over to the campus clinic to get checked out. Instead, she exploded, pointing a finger right in my face as she started yelling. “You leech! How dare you wear something so expensive?” she screamed. “You’ve been spending all of my boyfriend’s money on your filthy clothes! Have you no shame? Get down on your knees and apologize, or I guarantee you'll regret it. Who knows where you'll end up tomorrow? Maybe in the hands of some trafficker?” I couldn’t help but laugh. Who would’ve thought that my fiancé, whose tuition fees I paid for, had the nerve to keep a secret mistress behind my back?

The owner of a small company gives me an expensive bag as a gift because I want to invest in his company, yet his wife mistakes me for a homewrecker. She and her entourage crash my engagement party and trash the place. "All homewreckers need to go to hell!" "Shameless women will always be shameless. Strip her so everyone online can see what she looks like!" "Share the livestream and like it, everyone! We'll disfigure her once we hit 500 thousand likes!" Not only does my fiancé refuse to help, but he even announces that the engagement is off. "A homewrecker doesn't deserve to marry me!" I repeatedly warn them not to act rashly, but they ignore me. So, I give them each a swift punch to the gut before stepping on the perpetrator's face. Then, I call my secretary. "Tell Mr. Lane that I'm pulling out of the investment. Also, call the police and my lawyer. I've been robbed and insulted in public—I want the culprits to go to jail for this!" My fiancé regrets everything and asks me for a reconciliation, but I kick him aside. "Get lost! I'm not dumpster!"

North’s life was already on the edge of collapse when Lucien Crowe’s world found him. A final year law student crushed under his family’s debt, North sees the offer for what it is: a transaction. Becoming a billionaire’s kept secret feels like a silver lining, and he takes it without hesitation, unconcerned with consequences. Lucien Crowe built his empire on control. People bend. Systems obey. What fascinates him most are those who still believe in the law, especially before they learn how easily it can be broken. North was supposed to be temporary. Another indulgence. Instead, his indifference cracks Lucien’s perfect exterior, awakening obsession, jealousy, and a possessiveness he no longer knows how to contain. For North, everything has a price. Sex is currency. Affection is leverage. He never intended to fall in love, especially not with a man who represents everything he despises. But when rules are broken and lines blur, North becomes the villain for refusing to give his heart in return. North’s revenge demands sacrifice, and love proves far more expensive than money. As power tightens its grip, North must decide whether he can truly love a man who embodies the system he hates, or if playing with Lucien’s heart will destroy them both first.

Rakar Adiyatama is known as a cold and mysterious CEO, but beneath his expensive suits lies a dark secret—he is the legendary Alpha of the Velkan Clan, a line of werewolves thought to be extinct. For love, he abandoned his throne and married Revira Ardelia, an ordinary human woman completely unaware that the man sleeping beside her is a monster. Their perfect life shatters when their only son, Ardan, falls mysteriously ill on his seventh birthday. Doctors find nothing, yet the birthmark on Ardan's back begins to glow like blood. Rakar knows this is no ordinary sickness; it is the awakening of the *Blood Moon*, an ancient and dangerous power that a half-human child should not possess. When a mad scientist kidnaps Ardan for a gruesome experiment, Rakar is forced to unleash the beast he has buried for eight years. His secret is brutally exposed, shattering Revira's trust. Now, Rakar must fight on three fronts: win back the heart of his terrified wife, protect his son from the rival Lunaris Clan who has come to claim the Blood Moon's power, and face his own clan who brands him a traitor. Caught between two worlds, Rakar must prove that a father's love is deadlier than any Alpha's fangs.

My mom always said, "I've never played favorites. "You and your brother mean exactly the same to me." She said it so often I almost believed it. Growing up, anything my brother had, I had too. If he got a new pair of sneakers, so did I. If he signed up for coding classes, I was enrolled in the same ones. Even this year, when we came home for the holidays, my mom smiled as she handed each of us a neatly-packaged designer shopping bag. "I picked these out for you two at the store. One for each of you, exactly the same. "These outdoor brands are expensive, you know. A single jacket costs thousands. I'd never buy one for myself, but I don't mind splurging on you two." I took the jacket. It was well-cut, structured, and looked high-quality. A small warmth stirred in my chest. However, when I tried it on, the collar felt oddly irritating against my skin. Frowning, I pulled back the lining to check. There was a ring of yellowed sweat stains around the label, and tiny flakes of dandruff were caught in the Velcro. A faint musty smell lingered on the cloth, mixed with the stale odor of cheap tobacco. It was sour and impossible to ignore.

He built empires by never loving anyone. She survived him by becoming something unstoppable. Adrian Blackwell did not believe in mercy—only leverage. As the youngest billionaire to dominate three continents, he ruled boardrooms with ice in his veins and blood on his hands. Falling in love with his wife was his only mistake. And when betrayal came, he chose the lie that preserved his empire over the woman who gave him everything. When Adrian cast Elara out of his life, he never knew the truth. She was pregnant. And she refused to beg. Disappearing with nothing but her name and a secret that could shatter him, Elara rebuilt herself from ruin. Years later, she returns not as the discarded wife—but as a powerbroker in her own right. Wealth sharpened by vengeance. Grace forged in fire. A woman who learned that survival is the most dangerous form of ambition. Now their worlds collide again—at the summit of global power. Adrian wants her back. Elara wants justice. But the past has claws, the truth has a price, and the child between them is no longer a secret that can stay buried. As enemies circle and empires tremble, love becomes a battlefield where forgiveness may cost everything and revenge may cost even more. Because in a world ruled by billionaires, love is the most expensive risk of all.

My daughter was being slandered at the werewolf aristocratic high school. The other party threatens my daughter, saying that her father, one of the most powerful Alphas in the territory, will soon have my daughter kicked out of school. But the father they called for backup turned out to be my mate, Derek. When I saw Emma, her hair was a mess, her clothes disheveled and torn, with tear stains still fresh on her face. My heart ached. Rage surged through me. Across from us stood a glamorous she-wolf, her chin lifted high with arrogance. "So what if my daughter slandered yours? Look at what you're wearing. You're nothing but poor Omega wolves." The girl who had spread rumors about my daughter was equally brazen. "My father is a major shareholder of this academy. If you dare defy me, I can have trash like you expelled in minutes!" But the father who arrived in a luxury SUV to back them up, dressed in an expensive tailored suit—wasn't that my mate Derek? When Derek saw Emma and me, he frowned, clearly surprised. I let out a cold laugh. "Derek, so you have another family and another daughter now?"

Sometimes, getting over pain and betrayal means Getting Up, Getting Even and Getting a Better Man! Astrid has planned out her perfect wedding. That is before she found out that her fiance, Bryan, is cheating on her with her cousin-slash-best-friend-slash-maid-of-honor, Geena. Worse, Bryan got Geena pregnant. Just when Astrid thought it couldn't get any worse, she received an invitation telling her that her Fairy Tale wedding will happen exactly the way she planned it. Except that she is no longer going to be the bride! So when her parents urged her to attend the wedding "as family", she planned the perfect revenge. She hired Ryder, the smoking hot bartender she met, to pretend to be the perfect Prince Charming--rich, smart and totally in love with her. Ryder pulled off the role quite well. And soon, everybody thought Astrid was really with a smoking hot guy who wears expensive suits on a daily basis, drives a luxurious sports car, and is totally in love with her. Astrid invented the perfect guy every girl would kill to date, and every ex-boyfriend would hate to be compared with. Or did she really just invent him? What if she really did kiss a frog and tamed a beast? And her quest for revenge was really the start of her happily ever after?

Julian Ziegler betrays his and Willow Harper's four-year marriage. He pursues his true love like mad, wanting to make up for the regrets he experienced in his youth. Willow loves him deeply and tries her best to win him back. However, he wraps an arm around his true love and mocks her. "You're the furthest thing from a woman I've ever seen, Willow! I can't even get it up when I look at your icy face!" Willow's heart dies at his words. She no longer clings to him and leaves, not wanting to embarrass herself further. … Julian doesn't recognize Willow when they meet again. She sheds her strong, domineering façade, revealing a softer, more affectionate side. Countless big shots pursue her—even the most powerful man in the city smiles only for her. Julian loses his mind! He loiters outside her door every night, giving her checks and expensive jewelry. If possible, he would dig out his heart for her. When others are curious about their relationship, Willow merely smiles indifferently. "Mr. Ziegler is just a passing chapter in the book of my life."

The day before Henry Baker and I are supposed to marry, my mother sedates me. She makes my twin sister marry Henry instead. A few years later, the company Henry established turns into a thriving empire. My sister, Diana Halliwell, flourishes with him. While I was at the lowest point in my life, my childhood friend, Jorge Ward, proposed. It's only after marriage that I realize he's worthless. Diana and Henry attend various parties. They enjoy delicious food and wear expensive clothes. Meanwhile, I end up exhausted after having to cook and clean for my family. One night, Mom speaks softly to Jorge when she thinks I've fallen asleep. "I was worried she would find out the truth about what happened back then, but it seems she's too dumb to notice anything." Jorge laughs. "You're a genius, Erica. You laced Laura's water with sleeping pills so Diana could marry Henry on her behalf. I'm glad to see how happy Diana is now." Mom sighs. "I just feel bad for you. You've always liked Diana, yet you're forced to live with a wash-out like Laura…"