Genius Face

My father-in-law said he wanted to experience "how the young folks have fun these days," so I took him to my wife's newly opened upscale cocktail bar for a quiet drink. I’d just finished ordering him a custom cocktail when a man from a booth across the room swaggered over, glass in hand. His eyes scanned the drink menu on our table, and a condescending smirk twisted his lips. "Only ordering the cheapest well drinks?" he sneered. "Brought the old man here to enjoy the free air conditioning? Trash like you belongs in a dive bar. Who even let you in here?" Anger burned in my chest. I stood up, my jaw clenched. "We're paying customers. What's it to you?" But before I could say another word, his face darkened with pure rage. He snatched the half-finished beer bottle from our table and smashed it on my head. "My girl owns this place!" he snarled. "Even if I crack your skull open, I can afford the payout! You filthy pauper—either get on your knees and lick my shoes dry, or get the hell out of my sight. You're an eyesore." The beer dripped down my face. My hands trembled with fury as I wiped it away. Then, a cold calm settled over me. I opened my phone, switched to the camera, and went live. "Alright, everyone," I said into the screen. "You won't want to miss this. We're going live to catch my cheating wife and see the double life she's been leading."

When my mother-in-law was poisoned and clinging to life, my toxicology knowledge was her only hope. I ended the call and grabbed my coat, ready to rush to the hospital. My husband blocked my path. "Hold on! It's the opening of Ella's haunted castle today. You're bailing to play ghost?" I stared at him, telling him about the dire situation. The poison needed to be neutralized within thirty minutes, or it would be fatal. He rolled his eyes. "Your janitor mom can drop dead for all I care. I'll toss some Monopoly money on her grave if it shuts you up. Don't try to cross me here." His best female friend draped herself over him. "In a hurry to chase some side guy? Girl, your face is longer than Herbert's when he is all revved up. Right, buddy?" Their shamelessness was almost laughable. The kicker? Herbert thought it was my mom dying.

The day Yancy Shepherd died, Benedict Page poisoned our dinner. His eyes were wild, and bloodshot, as he watched me writhe in agony. There was a madness in his gaze, but worse was the hatred, a disgust so deep it twisted his face into something unrecognizable. "If it weren't for you forcing your way into our lives, Yancy wouldn’t have died from heartbreak. You ruined us! It’s all your fault!" A photo slipped from his trembling hand and landed at my feet—Yancy at twenty, looking radiant, her smile as bright as a blooming flower. I collapsed to the ground, my strength fading fast like a rose withering in the final grasp of winter. Helpless, I waited for the darkness to claim me, consumed by despair and bitter regret. Why hadn’t I listened to the system and killed him when I had the chance? But when I opened my eyes again, everything was different. I stood watching Benedict flee our engagement ceremony. My brother moved to chase after him, but I quietly raised a hand, stopping him. This time, things would be different.

“Ya, mencintai itu memang butuh ketulusan, kesabaran, juga pengorbanan,” jerit batin Raditya Pambudi. “Tapi, ketulusan, kesabaran, serta pengorbanan seperti apa lagi yang harus aku persembahkan kepada seorang istri yang tidak memberikan hal yang sama terhadap diriku, suaminya? Memang, aku nyaris tak pernah diperlakukan selayaknya seorang suami oleh wanita yang aku nikahi dan cintai itu. Di kala aku berusaha membahagiakannya dengan segenap jiwa dan ikhtiarku, dia malah dengan tanpa merasa berdosa justru menganggapku bukan siapa-siapa dalam kehidupannya. Walau berat dan seolah hidup dalam neraka, tapi aku mencoba bertahan, bersabar, dan tanpa lelah berdoa, semoga kelak ia menjadi istri terbaik dan calon bidadari syurga bagi aku dan anak-anaknya kelak, seperti yang kuimpi-impikan dahulu.” ***

Three years after getting married and striking it rich, the lady who scorned her husband's incompetence and divorced him realized afterward that he was the golden ticket she never deserved!

Dustin Fox worked hard for the Wyatt family for more than ten years and was exhausted, both physically and mentally. His body was covered in scars because of it. When he dragged his wounded body back to celebrate Amara’s birthday, he was told that the Wyatt family did not care for “useless crap,” and the Wyatt sisters kicked him out as if he were an unwanted dog. Disappointed, Dustin decided to live for himself. In the end, the Wyatt sisters begged him for his forgiveness.

    I try to go back to the memory and see if I could see his face but it just made my headache worse.       Fuck, this isn't good, this is not good at all. I lost my virginity to a man that I do not remember. Just listening in, I know that he's not in this room and he's probably long gone.  **************     Natalie Nichols lost the only parent that she knew and as if that wasn't enough, she was thrown into a new life with people who were supposed to be her family, but she barely even knew them.      A one night stand led to her destruction, her children were taken away from her and she was thought to be dead. But now she's back, more powerful and not the same weak girl as before.       Will she be able to get her children back or will she fall in love with the man that got her pregnant in the first place? 

On the day I was diagnosed with uremia, my husband asked me to donate a kidney to his one true love. I turned him down, claiming I wasn’t feeling well. I didn’t expect him, my own husband, who was a doctor, to drag me to trial. The charge? Ingratitude. If found guilty, I would be executed on the spot, my kidney forcibly harvested, my soul condemned for eternity. But if the charges were dismissed, my husband would face immediate execution. His love would fall into ruin, plagued by illness and poverty. Everyone pressured me to confess. After all, when I nearly died in a car crash years ago, it was her blood transfusion that had pulled me back from the brink of death. But what they didn’t know was… I had been reborn. In my past life, I died never knowing my husband and his lover had orchestrated the car crash that nearly killed me. Now that I had returned, I would tear off their masks and expose their malice for all to see.

Denzel dipandang sebelah mata oleh keluarga istrinya karena ia bisu. Padahal, di balik kebisuannya ini, ia memiliki keahlian pengobatan yang luar biasa layaknya seorang tabib jenius. Suatu hari ia kembali bisa bicara dan ia mulai menunjukkan kemampuannya dalam menyembuhkan orang, yang membuatnya dihormati oleh gubernur setempat. Sikap keluarga istrinya kepadanya pun berubah 180 derajat, menjadi jauh lebih baik. Akan tetapi, istrinya justru tidak menyukai perubahan ini; perempuan itu merasa kehilangan Denzel dan ia jadi teringat kepada lelaki lain di masa lalunya. Kelak Denzel menyadari hal ini dan ia menunjukkan kepada istrinya betapa ia adalah sesosok suami terhebat yang pernah ada!

Si Yana "Kelly" Reyes, medical graduate na maling inakusahan ng plagiarism at itinakwil ng sariling pamilya, ay tumatakbo sa kanyang nakaraan sa pamamagitan ng pagtatrabaho bilang nurse sa MS Pacifica, isang mamahaling cruise ship na naglalakbay mula sa Pilipinas patungo sa Europa. Si Kapitan Lucas "Alex" Montenegro, ang matapang, gwapo, ngunit lubhang misteryosong pinuno ng barko, ay una nang nagdududa kay Yana — akala niya ay isang espiya o mandaraya. Ngunit habang nakikita niya ang kanyang katapatan sa pag-aalaga ng mga pasyente at tapang na harapin ang sunud-sunod na kakaibang pangyayari sa barko (misteryosong sakit, nawawalang gamot, pati na rin ang mga nakakatakot na "aksidente"), unti-unting nahuhumaling si Alex sa kanya. Habang mas malalim na iniimbestigahan ni Yana ang mga kaganapan, natuklasan niya ang isang malawak na sabwatan na kinasasangkutan ng mga mayayamang negosyante, pulitiko, at maging ang sariling pamilya ng barko — isang sabwatan na hindi lang nasa MS Pacifica, kundi may malalim na ugnayan sa kanyang sariling iskandalo noon. Kasama si Alex, na may sariling nakaraan na kinasasangkutan din ng sabwatan, kailangan nilang harapin ang panganib, linisin ang kanilang mga pangalan, ilantad ang buong katotohanan, at ipaglaban ang isang ipinagbabawal na pag-ibig na maaaring magbago ng lahat ng kanilang alam.