He Started It

I first met Kai Valentine at the basketball court when I was ten years old. Kai was taller, louder, and faster than me. And from that day on, Kai became my best friend, my safe place. But then my parents passed away, and my family went bankrupt. After that, we weren't best friends anymore. We were just two strangers living in completely different worlds. Then, Kai starts "stealing" from me. He manages to steal every single girlfriend I've ever had. The day he steals my eighth girlfriend, I finally break. That's when I decide to fight back and get myself a boyfriend instead. That's right; I'm going to pretend to be gay! Let's see how he plans to steal this one. However, I never thought that my actions would make Kai go absolutely berserk. That night, Kai presses me against a dim corner in the stairwell. His fists slam into the concrete wall, his breath hot against my cheek. "If even he can be your boyfriend," he grits out, "then why can't I?" I laugh. "Are you out of your mind?" Kai just keeps pressing closer, his scorching gaze burning into me as his lips inch closer until he is just a breath away. "Do you still not get it?" Something hot and erect presses up against me. He then growls softly in my ear. "I never wanted to steal any of your girlfriends. The only person I ever wanted was you, Aiden Winston!"

It had been ten years, and Ethan—my mate—and I still didn’t have a pup. One day, he suggested we adopt one from the Werewolf Orphan Charity Agency. “My mate,” he said gently, “pregnancy is too hard for you. You’d have to go through so many checkups and herbs. Your wolf shouldn’t have to suffer like that.” When others heard this, they all said Ethan loved me deeply—that he couldn’t bear to see me in pain. But I saw the truth with my own eyes. He took an infant pup from another she-wolf. “Luckily, Mia isn’t pregnant,” he said. “That way, the excuse of adopting an infant works—and the pup can have a legitimate status in my clan.” I knew that she-wolf well. The same one Ethan used to call a “stupid omega.” Swallowing the bitterness in my heart, I called my mentor at the Werewolf Research Academy. “I want to devote myself to herb research,” I said calmly. Three days from now, during the pup’s first New Moon blessing, I’ll fake my death in a fire. No one will be able to stop me.

By my third month on the job, I discovered that my coworkers had been calling me "the old crow" behind my back. The nickname came from none other than Jace's condescending secretary—because at 32, I was still clutching onto an eight-year relationship that hadn't ended in marriage. I confronted Jace. "Do you know your employees have been calling me the old crow?" He didn't even bother to look up. "That's just Sadie—she speaks her mind and means no harm. You're 32; why get so worked up over what a young girl says?" Then he gave me a faint, mocking smile. "Though honestly, it's a pretty fitting nickname." It felt like a cold hand had wrapped around my heart. So that was it—eight years of my youth, nothing more than a joke to him. I turned and walked away, handed in my resignation, and blocked every way he could reach me. But for the first time, the man who had always seemed so calm and untouchable finally panicked. "Elara," he pleaded, "please come back."

I was just a student who couldn't afford tuition. For five years, I was also the secret lover of Mafia Don Dante Costello. Publicly, I was his personal art restorer. In private, he spent his nights making me his, holding me close and kissing me breathless. Then his family arranged his engagement. To Isabella Rossi. A princess from a rival family. At their engagement party, Isabella stabbed the back of my hand with a shard of broken glass. He made me apologize. To her. For making a scene. Fighting back tears, I bowed my head to Isabella. When Isabella lost a bet and had to play Russian Roulette—one bullet, six chambers—he made me take her place. My hand shook as I raised the gun to my head. "You saved my life once," I told him. "Now you can have it back." The moment I vanished from his world, the ruthless Mafia Don who had everything under control...completely lost his mind.

I post a wedding photo with my fiance, Miles Kingston, on my Instagram story. But I forgot to hide it from his first love, Chloe Bennett. The very next day, Miles gets his revenge. He puts our wedding night up for auction online. After the wedding ceremony, I find Miles in a private room at the restaurant, holding my phone. Then, I hear him haggling with his buddies. "One million for one night. Not a cent less." "Miles, even if Aria's still a virgin, that price is way too much!" "Too much? She's my wife! I haven't even touched her yet! Push the bid up!" Everyone in the room bursts out laughing. "Seriously? You're ditching your wife on your wedding night? What if she totally flips out?" Miles scoffs. "She showed off our wedding to Chloe and made her upset. It already kills me that I couldn't marry the woman I actually love. Besides..." He holds up a blister pack of white pills and sneers. "With this, she'll be too out of it to even know who's touching her." My phone slips from my hand and hits the floor as tears slide down my cheeks.

The day Alpha Marcus and I marked each other, his first love, Cecilia, threw herself off a cliff into a ravine overgrown with wolfsbane. The pack searched for three full days and nights before they found her, barely clinging to life. She was once the most spirited she-wolf in our pack, but the fall cost her a leg and the ability to bear pups. I grieved for the beautiful life that had been ruined, and I blamed myself for not seeing how fragile she'd become. Marcus comforted me gently. "Elena, this wasn't your fault. Cecilia made her own choice. You did everything you could. Don't beat yourself up." Later, not long after our pup, Rylan, turned five, a sudden illness tore through him, and he died in my arms. Night after night, Marcus held me, wiping away my tears. "Don't be sad, Elena," he would murmur. "We'll have other children." I had always believed my mate was the most considerate, most protective Alpha in the entire world. Until the day I overheard him speaking with his Beta, Adrin. "Alpha, the dosage of wolfsbane we gave Rylan was perfect—just as you ordered. It looked like a genetic defect. No one will ever suspect." "It's been so long. Don't you think it's time to forgive the Luna?" "What's one pup compared to what Cecilia lost? She lost a leg, her future as a mother. Everything."

After helping my husband build his business from the ground up, I settled into life as a full-time housewife. When our daughter's tenth birthday approached, I planned to host a grand celebration for her. I booked a party that cost 2 thousand dollars per table. But when I swiped my card at the hotel, the staff gave me a strange look. "Mrs. Richmond, this card doesn't even have fifty dollars in it to charge." Flushed with embarrassment, I went home to confront my husband. He wore an apologetic expression. "Lately, the company's been competing for contracts. The new government official is insatiably greedy, and I've had to spend a lot under the table to smooth things over. Once the funds turn around, I'll make sure our daughter gets the grand birthday she deserves." I gave him a gentle, understanding smile—but as soon as I turned away, I began tallying our assets. Because that so-called "new government official" was none other than my father. And in his office, there hadn't been any bids or contracts at all. Now I intended to find out exactly where my husband had spent all our money.

Chloe Bennett thought she had it all — a loving husband, a beautiful home, and a life built on trust. That illusion shatters the night she discovers her husband, Chris, is having an affair with her former best friend, Molly Turner. Then comes Lucas Sterling, a magnetic and dangerous man, who's hiding scars of his own. He's a billionaire with a shadowed past, he offers Chloe something she’s forgotten how to feel. “Let me show you what real desire feels like,” he tells her, and against her better judgment, she lets him in. But as Chloe begins to rebuild, the past refuses to stay buried. Old wounds, new temptations, and vengeful enemies and rivals threaten to destroy the fragile life she’s piecing together — and this time, her heart might not survive the fallout.

"Lakukan dengan benar!" ujar dua penerus kelompok besar mafia yang menjalani hubungan palsu demi mencegah pecahnya perang antara dua kubu. Naniana Kradse selalu menganggap sandiwara yang ia jalani hanya demi menjaga daerahnya dari kehancuran pasca perang, Ascian Vade Bellion juga hanya menganggap hal konyol yang ia jalani semata-mata demi menjaga keselamatan ibunya. Tetapi ketika perasaan mereka ikut campur, semua menjadi lebih nyata untuk disebut sandiwara, dan semakin rumit untuk disebut hubungan atas pura-pura. Di saat keduanya sadar adanya perasaan yang tak seharusnya, di saat itu mereka harus memutuskan haruskah memperjuangkan hubungan asli yang terlarang atau mengakhiri semuanya dengan baik dan kembali berdiri di sisi masing-masing, sisi berbeda di mana mereka saling menatap tajam layaknya musuh yang tak dapat lagi disatukan.

Did I believe in love at first sight? No. never. I'd laugh at the idea. But you little hellion proved me wrong. You think you're vulnerable? I have changed up my entire game plan in the last 2 days just to get close to you." That's it. That's the moment that changed everything.