How I Live Now

I wake up to find the entire room shrouded in thick smoke and flames. I grab my phone and call my boyfriend, a fire captain I've been dating for five years. The phone rings seven whole times before he finally picks up. His sharp, irate voice comes through before I can get a word out. "Bella! How many times have I told you not to make false fire reports out of jealousy! You're a Warrior. Don't you feel ashamed of yourself for constantly picking fights with an Omega like Laura?" Suddenly, I hear Laura Knapp's sweet, pitiful voice on the line. "Thank you, Daniel. I'm safe because of you." As the flames spread, I have no option but to dial the emergency hotline. But the dispatcher tells me, "Sorry, ma'am, but all firefighters in your area are currently tied up. The earliest we can send help is in 30 minutes. Please hold on." I hang up with a bitter smile and see the news of a fire captain rescuing an injured pregnant woman. The flames close in around me, and just before death takes me, I send Daniel Ingram one last text. "Farewell. I wish you a happy life together."

My son just had surgery. I'm sitting by his bedside in the hospital when I come across a post online. "What's the worst thing you've ever done?" One anonymous comment stands out. "I used the upperclassman who funded me as a stepping stone. My sponsor was rich but clueless. After she paid for my entire college, I slept with her husband and got pregnant. "The craziest part? My son and her son were born on the same day, but my husband swapped the babies. Now, she treats my son like he's her whole world, working day and night to give him a better life. "But her own son lives with me, wearing hand-me-downs and eating leftovers. Today, my son had surgery. I was worried sick, so I slapped her son hard a few times. "Oh, and her family just got a three-million-dollar payout for relocation. My husband is going to the hospital later. He's going to use the excuse of buying a house near the schools to get the money. "Once we have the money, I'm buying a villa. Then I'll get my son back and kick her out!" The post includes a blurry photo of a boy begging on his knees. My breath catches because the charm on his wrist is the same lucky charm I gave my son the day he was born. Just then, my husband pushes open the door to the ward and walks in. "Honey, Sean's starting elementary school soon. Let's use that relocation money your mom received to buy a house near the schools."

"I am the air you breathe? Oh, I must be suffocating.'' Zaphyra Andrejez always thought of a fairytale themed love. But when her dreams shattered, they crushed her down and tore her apart. Remembering how her first love went despite of forgetting, she found herself falling in love once again. Yet even with her heart stammering when she's around him, she still denies. He didn't want to give up but he felt having no strength to move forward and keep waiting for her only to get rejected again. But remembering what he felt when he first laid eyes on her, he got that smile back again. What will she think this time? Will her feelings change once she feels different? Or will she find another air to breathe?

My husband's childhood sweetheart was diagnosed with a terminal illness. To fulfill her last wishes and let her experience the warmth of family, my husband, Aaron Turner, gave her my necklace. He even let her claim my birthday. Even our son started calling her "Mom" in private. He told me, "Chrishell, Sylvia is dying. Just give in to her, will you?" Whenever I asked him to spare even a little time and affection for me, our son, Lucas, would rush to speak on their behalf. "Mom, didn't you always teach me to be generous? Sylvia is dying. Why do you always make things difficult for her?" Over time, I stopped asking for anything at all. Then one night, I overheard my son speaking to his father after returning from the hospital. "Sylvia is so gentle and graceful. I wish Mom could be more like her." Aaron chuckled and affectionately brushed his hand over our son's hair. "Your mom may be a little strict, but it's all for your own good. Since you like Sylvia so much, how about we let her be your godmother?" So even the child I risked my life to bring into this world didn't like me. I lowered my gaze, quietly closed the bedroom door, and pretended none of it had happened. Since they were both filled with such regret, I'd leave quietly and give them what they wanted.

At the pack's festival, a witch hands me a crystal orb that reveals the truth. When I ask "why," she says she was entrusted to deliver it and reminds me only to use it when I am alone. As the image in the orb grows clearer, and my mate appears, I forget how to breathe. "Jared Hamilton, do you love me?" a woman asks in her sweetest voice, curling her arms around his neck. "I do. Of course, I do. You're the only one I'll love for the rest of my life, Luciana." My hand slips. Even after the crystal orb hits the floor, I can still hear them talking. "I swear before the sacred Moon Goddess that I'll be with you, Luciana Rose, until my very last breath. If I ever break this oath, may I never know joy again." I feel suffocated. All I can do is stare in disbelief. The woman he vows to love for life is none other than my very best friend.

After a long beat he asked, voice low, “Why are you doing this? Why are you helping us?” I looked at him and felt the last brittle piece of hope finally crack and fall away. “Because I hate you too, Elias.” The room stayed quiet except for Peanuts’ soft breathing and the distant tick of the hallway clock. “I despise you.” °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ Lila Danforth has spent her entire adult life in the shadow of her twin sister, Clara. When Clara abandoned her fiance Elias at the altar, Lila stepped in, convinced that her quiet, steady love could heal the man her sister left behind. She became the perfect wife while knowing deep down she was only ever the replacement. On their anniversary, Lila walks in on the one betrayal she never saw coming: her husband in bed with the very woman who once threw him away. Shattered by Elias’s indifference, Clara’s cruelty, and her own family’s cold dismissal, Lila finally stops settling for crumbs. She walks away from the life she fought so hard to build, determined to choose herself for the first time. But walking away is only the beginning.

Ran Cecilia— seorang 'Janda Muda' yang belum lama diceraikan suaminya ini menyamar sebagai anak SMA. Sementara Ran harus menutupi identitasnya, dia juga harus berurusan dengan Gilang Kertarajasa--lelaki buaya di sekolah itu yang diam-diam tertarik dengan tubuhnya. "Dasar playboy IQ jongkok!" —Ran Cecilia. "Kasih gue waktu sebulan untuk buat Ran tergila-gila sama gue." —Gilang Kertarajasa. Di sini Ran diuji kesabarannya. Terlebih dengan godaan berondong buaya sekelas Gilang. Bagaimana aksi Ran Cecilia dalam mempertahankan identitas dan juga hatinya?

Aroma kopi memang sangat menenangkan, Ratna menyukai aroma dan itu membuatmya sering menghabiskan waktu di coffee shop kesukaannya. Menghidu aroma kopi membuat pikiran tenang dan juga melupakan masalahnya, masalah jodoh. Diego, public figure yang membuka coffee shop. Public penasaran dengan sosok kekasihnya, tapi sampai sekarang tidak ada satupun wanita yang bisa menarik hatinya. Satu wanita yang masih membayangi hari-harinya yaitu Ratna. Akankah mereka bertemu dan bisa bersama?

Ini kisah tentang Eleana dan Mikael, yang saling mencintai setelah pernikahan mereka. Mereka pikir pernikahan mereka akan selalu di selimuti kebahagiaan. Tapi, ternyata masih ada batu kerikil yang menghalangi kebahagiaan mereka. Mampukah mereka bertahan? Atau pada akhirnya mereka akan merelakan?

Prince Christian is temptation in royal form—tall, commanding, heartbreakingly beautiful. Jessica is his maid. His best friend. The girl who has loved him in silence for years. In the kingdom of Orlander, the royal family announces a Royal Selection to find the future princess. Christian wants nothing to do with it. His heart is still bruised from Mirabelle, the woman who left him. But the king and queen are determined. The kingdom needs a bride. The prince must choose. Christian agrees only under one condition—he will end the selection if he feels nothing. On the day of the ceremony, he draws twenty names. Mirabelle’s. A mysterious girl named Evelyn Hunter—whose name makes him smile for the first time in months. And Jessica watches the man she loves prepare to choose someone else. She is the maid no one notices. The best friend who is always at his side. The girl who knows him better than anyone… except the one thing she can never tell him. He is searching for love. She is standing right there. But in a palace full of glittering gowns, secrets, royal duty, and heartbreak… she might be the only girl he never sees. This is a forbidden romance, best friends-to-lovers, royal drama, and slow-burn heartbreak where loyalty, destiny, and hidden love collide.