Good Villain

It was only in the eighth year of our marriage that I discovered my husband had a mistress in the neighborhood. Her place had the same layout as mine, except her furnishings were more luxurious. He was a good husband for her, meticulously caring for his young and beautiful wife. They were even expecting a baby. She sent me a message, eager to get rid of and replace me. She had forgotten I was the one who had been through hard times with him, Clyde Sherwood, and fought alongside him for more than a decade. Her pregnancy was what they both wanted, but there was no way I would allow things to work out the way they anticipated. Taking advantage of his conflicted feelings, I made sure he didn't have any more assets. Everything came with a price. Not only would I make him fall from grace, but I would also make him rot in ruins.

During a charity gala, my boyfriend bids on a pair of matching watches but gives one of them to his true love. The media excitedly capture the scene and ask, "You bought a million-dollar watch without even batting an eye, Mr. Loewe. You've been single all these years—is it time for you to make an official announcement on your relationship status?" Everyone off stage applauds him, and I join them. I give him my blessings for his so-called announcement. To make it up to me, he attends my birthday celebration. Yet he pushes me into the cake to make his true love happy. Unbeknownst to him, there's a steel rack in the cake to keep it steady. I end up bloodied and on the brink of death.

The wedding had reached the part where the groom kissed the bride. I closed my eyes and leaned in to kiss Stella Stafford, only to end up with a mouthful of fur. Her assistant held up the camera and burst out laughing. "The almighty Mr. Rowe can't even tell if he's kissing a person or a dog?" I stared at the Husky in front of me, its tongue lolling out, and felt my stomach churn. I was about to lay into him when Stella stepped in to block me. "It was just a joke. No hard feelings." Laurent Reilly smirked smugly, his tone dripping with arrogance. "And guess what? This Husky happens to be a female, so why don't you just marry her instead? You're not good enough for Stella anyway." The employees erupted in laughter. Mortified, I kicked him square in the chest, sending him sprawling. The next second, Stella smashed a wine bottle over my head and demanded an apology. I wiped the mix of wine and blood from my face, then dialed an overseas number with a cold grin. "The wedding is short one bride. You in?"

My best friend, Sienna Monroe, who always swears she'll never marry, goes with me to the fertility clinic and suddenly snatches away the donor profile I choose. That's when I know she has come back to life too. In my previous life, I wanted a mixed-race baby, so I chose the IVF route. Sienna mocked me, saying I'd just be raising someone else's child. But two weeks later, I was taken to the royal palace of Valoria. It turned out the donor I picked was none other than the Prince of Valoria, a man of eight national lineages. He not only insisted on marrying me as his princess but also promised that our child would inherit the throne. The baby and I were cherished by the entire royal family, so much so that the jewels they draped over me nearly bent my back. Meanwhile, Sienna flaunted her extreme feminist stance and offended business partners. In the end, she was fired and blacklisted across the industry. Sienna spent all her savings on a plane ticket to attend my party, where I would introduce my baby to everyone. But when I went to welcome her, she crushed my son to death in her hands and splashed concentrated acid on me. "You don't deserve such good fortune! You worthless witch!" But when I opened my eyes again, I had gone back to the day I asked her to go with me to the fertility clinic.

Di tengah kekacauan istana dan desakan perang yang tidak terhindarkan, seorang perempuan bangsawan yang diasingkan—Li Qianru—kembali ke istana bukan sebagai korban, tapi sebagai pemain utama. Dengan kepintarannya, keanggunannya, dan rasa sakit masa lalu yang belum sembuh, ia membuat sang Kaisar Xu Jiayan—pemimpin paling ditakuti—bertekuk lutut. Namun, rasa cinta dan dendam yang saling bertubrukan justru menyulut api peperangan yang mengubah takdir seluruh negeri.

Nalira kehilangan segalanya saat kerajaannya dihancurkan. Sebagai tawanan perang, ia dihadapkan pada Aaron Devonsa, Duke utara sekaligus Jendral berhati dingin dan kejam, pria yang paling ia benci. Di balik ambisinya yang tak terhentikan, Aaron menyembunyikan rahasia kelam yang perlahan melahap sisi kemanusiaannya. Sementara Nalira, dengan keberanian dan luka yang ia bawa, menjadi satu-satunya yang mampu menantangnya. Dalam permainan dendam, obsesi, dan hasrat, mereka bertarung bukan hanya untuk kekuasaan, tetapi juga untuk hati yang seharusnya tak mereka miliki. Namun, ketika kutukan mematikan mengancam nyawanya, hanya sentuhan Aaron yang mampu menyelamatkannya. Terikat dalam takdir yang tak mereka inginkan, kebencian di antara mereka berubah menjadi sesuatu yang jauh lebih berbahaya.

WARNING 21+ Bijaklah dalam memilih bacaan. Menjual keperawanan adalah pilihan terakhir Raline Ansara, demi menyelamatkan dua PSK yang disayanginya, Laura dan Maria. Mimpi Raline seakan sirna, saat rahasia kecantikannya terbongkar dari seorang germo bernama Mami Monalisa. Sampai akhirnya Raline Ansara terselamatkan dari lelaki tua keparat hidung belang yang membelinya dengan harga fantastis. Lelaki yang menyelamatkan Raline tidak lain adalah lelaki mesum yang sangat dibencinya saat masih duduk di bangku SMA, bernama Gavin Maheswari. Bukannya senang, Raline malah terperangkap dengan pernikahan paksa karena harus mengganti uang yang sudah dikeluarkan Gavin untuk menyelamatkan Raline dan keluarganya dari Mami Monalisa.

Perselingkuhan dan pengkhianatan yang dilakukan oleh Arsa membuat Andira marah besar. Ia mencoba menyelidiki siapa wanita yang menjadi simpanan suaminya. Dan betapa terkejutnya ketika Andira mengetahui bahwa wanita simpanan Arsa adalah adik tirinya. "Kamu telah mencuri ayahku. Tak akan aku biarkan kamu merebut suamiku!" Selingkuhan Arsa, mengejek dan menantang Andira. "Kita lihat siapa yang akan dipilih oleh Arsa. Aku, atau kamu? Aku bukan hanya bisa merebut suamimu. Tapi juga anak-anakmu. Akan aku rebut apa yang kamu miliki!" Andira tak mau apa yang menjadi miliknya direbut kembali oleh sang adik tiri. Apakah Andira akan berhasil mempertahankan rumah tangganya? Bagaimana reaksi sang suami ketika mengetahui Andira membalas dendam kepada orang yang telah mengkhianatinya? "Jika aku tidak berhasil mempertahankan semua yang aku miliki, akan lebih baik jika kalian semua mati bersama. Kalian hancur bersama-sama!"

I sponsored Emily Fagan from an underprivileged background just to help her get through school. She was good-looking but wasn't exactly the brightest. Despite my warning not to tamper with my things, she slipped stimulants into my water bottle. Thanks to her, I was accused of cheating in the swimming competition. Our team's score was nullified. As for me, I was banned from competing for life and kicked out of college. When I confronted her, she cried pitifully, "Julie, I just wanted you to win. I didn't know that'd happen." My boyfriend, Elijah Strauss, held her and comforted her. He even snapped at me, claiming, "Em had good intentions. Why are you giving her a hard time?" Crushed, I shut myself in at home. Feeling sorry, she and Elijah visited me and brought along some vodka as an apology. After I took ten shots, I asked her to buy some over-the-counter pain relievers for my splitting headache. Little did I know that she'd make me take a dangerous dose of Ibuprofen mixed with alcohol. The bleeding in my stomach was what killed me. Emily looked pitifully remorseful at the hospital. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't even tell what I shouldn't have given her…" During the police interrogation, my boyfriend gave false testimony to protect her. He accused me of taking my own life by mixing Ibuprofen and alcohol because I couldn't handle the mental stress from cheating in the competition. When I reopened my eyes, I found out that I was transported to the day before the competition.

After I bought my new home outright, my relatives organized a housewarming party to celebrate. During dinner, my nephew Leo suddenly said, “You’re just a spinster living alone in a huge apartment. What do you need all that space for? I happen to be getting married soon. That’s a huge deal. You should transfer the place to me. I’ll even cover the transfer fee.” I was stunned. “Are you out of your mind?” His mother Linda said, “How can you be so ungrateful? Him using your place for his newlywed life is doing you a favor. It’ll bring you good luck! Other people would jump at the chance!” The son and mother were united against me. “Anyway, tomorrow’s a great day. Grab the property deed and come with us to transfer ownership!” I rejected them without hesitation and called them crazy. Who knew they would get so furious that they would storm into my brand-new apartment and go on a rampage, smashing everything in sight. They even said smugly, “We need to show you our family doesn’t get pushed around! Go ahead and call the police! What proof do you even have that it was us?” What they did not know was that I had installed surveillance cameras on the day I moved in.