Julian Rotter

Ich wurde wiedergeboren und kehrte an den Tag vor meiner Hochzeit zurück. Und das Erste, was ich tat? Ich tauschte den Bräutigam mit meiner Schwester. Beim letzten Mal hatte ich Julian geheiratet, einen sanften Tech-Magnaten. Er kam mit meinem hitzigen Temperament nicht zurecht, und ich hielt seine weiche Art auf Dauer nicht aus. Unsere Ehe zerbrach schon nach einem Jahr. Meine Schwester, süß und schüchtern, war in eine arrangierte Ehe mit Robin Kane geraten, dem Don der mächtigsten Mafiafamilie New Yorks. Dieses brutale, chaotische Leben hielt sie nicht aus. Von Robins angeblicher Jugendliebe Isabella zermürbt, glitt sie in eine tiefe Depression und starb schließlich. Als ich also zurückkehrte, traf ich eine Entscheidung: Ich würde den Don heiraten. Nur hatte ich nie damit gerechnet, dass sich dieser kalte, unbeugsame Mann nach der Hochzeit in jemand völlig anderen verwandeln würde. Nacht für Nacht hielt er mich fest, küsste mich, als wäre er besessen, und raunte mir ins Ohr: „Braves Mädchen. Ich lasse es dir gutgehen. Nur noch einmal, Baby?“

Ellara Veloz, seorang jurnalis muda, mengalami mimpi aneh yang terus berulang. Dalam mimpi itu, ia melihat sebuah rumah tua yang asing baginya. Di loteng rumah itu, tersembunyi sebuah peti misterius—dan di permukaannya, terdapat garis-garis samar yang membentuk rute menuju sesuatu yang tak diketahui. Terobsesi dengan mimpi tersebut, El mencoba menelusuri jejaknya. Namun, yang ia temukan justru lebih aneh dari yang dibayangkan—tidak ada satu pun catatan tentang desa dalam mimpinya, seolah-olah tempat itu tidak pernah ada dalam sejarah. Bersama sahabatnya, Julian Edward, El berangkat mencari desa itu. Perjalanan mereka dipenuhi keanehan: jalanan yang hanya terlihat di bawah cahaya tertentu, pemukiman yang sepi tanpa tanda kehidupan, dan bangunan tua yang tampaknya telah lama ditinggalkan. Namun, semakin jauh mereka melangkah, semakin banyak sosok asing yang mulai memburu mereka—seakan ada sesuatu dalam peti itu yang tidak boleh ditemukan. Apa sebenarnya rahasia di balik peti tersebut? Mengapa desa itu seakan terhapus dari dunia? Dan yang lebih mengerikan, apakah mereka benar-benar siap menghadapi jawabannya? Perjalanan ini bukan hanya tentang menemukan sesuatu yang hilang—tetapi mengungkap sesuatu yang seharusnya tetap terkubur selamanya.

My dad is a fan of tough love parenting. When I was a kid, there was a time when I obtained full marks on two subjects. But he told me, "Your grades don't mean anything in life. If you were a true man, you'd leap down five floors without batting an eyelash." Some time later, I was awarded for my act of bravery. But Dad scoffed in my face. "Not even a hair is harmed on your head. Why should you be awarded anyway?" I thought Dad wanted me to go through more training in life. On Christmas Eve, he ditched me on a snowy mountain under the guise of wanting me to go through more training. He didn't give me a tent or a lighter. Later on, Dad even brags about his parenting method to his relatives and friends. "A real man should survive and thrive in a desperate situation! I told Julian that he can forget about being my son if he can't even make his way back to the summit!" But the red dot on the GPS tracker installed in his phone hasn't moved for the past three hours. The truth is, I've already frozen to death in the mountains. Trapped in my fist is a crumpled, torn scrap of paper. Meanwhile, my soul is currently floating above the dining table while watching Dad brag about his tough love parenting.

Two years into my marriage with Don Dante, my ex came back. Julian, the man who shattered my heart five years ago. He announced he was getting engaged. And he wanted me as his mistress. "I know I hurt you," he said. "My family looks down on mob ties. It was never going to work. But now? I'm marrying Tiffany. I'm taking over the family empire. I can finally afford to keep you." I just sneered at him. "Did it ever occur to you that I might be married?" He scoffed. "What decent family would have you? The daughter of a mob underboss? Don't be ridiculous." His arrogance made me sick. When I refused, he slapped a black card on the table. Told me to buy whatever I wanted. He said he'd pick me up next week. That we could spend every weekend tangled up in his bed. I spat on the floor at his feet. "Get him out," I told my guard. "And take his trash with him." He didn't get it. Not then. But he would. The moment he found out who I married. I didn't just marry anyone. I married the king of the Chicago underworld. A man he could never touch. And when he finally figured it out, he lost his goddamn mind.

Sebagai perencana pernikahan, aku sendiri yang merancang pernikahan suamiku dan selingkuhannya. Bersama Julian selama lima tahun: tiga tahun pandemi, dua tahun menikah dan punya anak. Pernikahan yang kuimpikan, di mulutnya selalu saja menjadi "lain kali". Sampai suatu hari, aku menerima proyek pernikahan baru. Pemberi tugasnya seorang gadis muda dengan alis dan mata yang melengkung indah, senyumnya merekah. "Ini lokasi yang khusus dipilih pacarku, katanya pernikahan harus diadakan di sini." Aku menerima berkas itu, pandanganku tertahan pada nama lokasinya: sebuah gereja di Negara Faricia yang sudah berkali-kali kusebut pada suamiku, tempat impianku. Aku baru saja hendak tersenyum sambil mengagumi, ternyata ada orang di dunia ini yang seleranya begitu sejalan denganku. Detik berikutnya, nama mempelai pria masuk ke pandanganku. Julian. Ujung jariku terhenti tanpa suara di atas lembaran kertas. Gadis di seberang masih tenggelam dalam kebahagiaan, lalu menambahkan dengan lembut, "Katanya, meski kami baru bersama dua bulan, dia ingin memberiku pernikahan terbaik." Aku melengkungkan bibir, menatap wajah yang selama lima tahun ini bersamaku dari pagi hingga malam. Setelah menunggu bertahun-tahun, akhirnya tiba juga hari di mana aku merancang pernikahannya. Sayangnya ... pengantinnya bukan aku.

Discovering this piece of information out, I groan without thinking about it and then everyone stares at me.  Quickly, I turn to Arabella and that is when she raises her voice after winking at me, and states with a smirk on her lips, “I agree, it is to die for.” At that moment, I know our match is perfect.  After we finish dinner, I scoop her up and carry her upstairs, while kissing her passionately in front of all the onlookers.  Unable to take my hands off her, I kick the door open to the bedroom and then walk in quickly.  I throw her down on the bed and kick off my boots before climbing on top of her.  When I gaze into her eyes there is a fire inside and I realize that I have never seen that particular look there before.  She pulls my head down and wraps her fingers in my hair, while she returns my hot kisses everywhere.  Feeling the pressure in my pants, I break our kisses off suddenly and straighten up.  With a confused and hurt look in her eyes, she asks, “Do you not want me?” Julian the Alpha King has a secret. One night when he goes to save some of the humans from being massacred, he meets Arabella and feels drawn to her like no other before. However, when she finds out that werewolves exist, she runs from him repeatedly. After all, she thinks he is the big bad wolf.

After deciding to leave Azurea and follow Clara Miller to Northwood City, I was cast out by my parents. "That girl is an orphan–what can she possibly give you? If you choose a life of hardship now, you’ll spend the rest of your life suffering! Once you walk out that door, don’t bother coming back!" I left anyway. For five years, I watched Clara rise step by step, becoming one of Northwood City’s most respected psychologists. Just as she had promised, she gave me a home. As the New Year approached, I planned to take her back to Azurea to reconcile with my parents. However, just before boarding the plane, she abandoned me again–this time for a depressed patient threatening to take his own life. She let go of my hand, her eyes full of pain. "Julian Vance… he’s just like I used to be–alone, with no one to rely on. If I don’t go, he’ll jump. I’m sorry. Just this once. I’ll catch the next flight and meet you there." Then she turned and ran toward the exit without hesitation. I stood there, staring at the two plane tickets in my hand. She had saved everyone who needed redemption. Everyone… except me. Slowly, I tore up her ticket. Then I walked alone toward the security gate and turned off my phone. What Clara did not know was this: Some journeys home, once missed, are gone forever.

Julia fights against the world, gives up everything she has, and endures humiliation just to be with Alpha Damien when he was at his lowest where everyone abandoned him. But after everything she did for him when he healed, he cruelly rejected her and dethroned her from her rightful position, because she was a weak omega and he replaced her with someone stronger, Beta Aurora. Julia was in pain and had to return home after the hurt. Upon getting home, her father was no more and all she had was the fragments of his memories. Her deceased father, Mr Wade left a box to be given to Julia. And when Julia was given the box from her mother, she opened it and saw a powerful silver necklace and a piece of paper that contained everything about the past she never knew about herself. She was from the Dark Knight pack. It happened that the Dark Knight pack ceased to exist after it was destroyed and the land was taken by the Blood moon pack headed by Alpha Damien's ancestors. All the other pack members that survived the attacks lived in the shadows. Julia's deceased father also revealed that she wasn't an Omega. And she should find that out. Puzzled, she went on a journey of discovery wearing the silver necklace and upon going to the last moon celebration. The moon focused on her and she passed out. After Julian had left, Alpha Demian realized he had fallen in love with her. All the traits that he saw on her couldn't be found in Beta Aurora and now he would do just anything to get her back.

Renací y volví al día antes de mi boda. ¿Lo primero que hice? Intercambiar de esposo con mi hermana. En mi vida pasada, me casé con Julian, un magnate tecnológico de carácter apacible. Él no podía soportar mi temperamento explosivo, y yo no toleraba lo blando que era. Nuestro matrimonio se vino abajo en menos de un año. Mi hermana, dulce y tímida, estaba comprometida en un matrimonio arreglado con Robin Kane, el Don de la familia criminal más poderosa de Nueva York. Ella no pudo soportar aquella vida brutal y caótica. Torturada por Isabella, la supuesta amor de la infancia de Robin, cayó en una profunda depresión y murió. Así que, cuando volví, tomé una decisión: esta vez, la que se casaría con el Don sería yo. Pero jamás esperé que, después de la boda, aquel Don frío y estoico se convirtiera en un hombre completamente distinto. Cada noche me tenía debajo de él, besándome como si estuviera obsesionado, mientras me susurraba al oído: —Buena chica. Voy a hacerte sentir bien. Solo una vez más, nena.

Eu renasci, voltando para o dia antes do meu casamento. A primeira coisa que fiz? Troquei de noivo com a minha irmã. Da última vez, me casei com Julian, um magnata da tecnologia de temperamento calmo. Ele não conseguia lidar com o meu jeito explosivo, e eu não suportava o quanto ele era fraco. Nosso casamento desmoronou em menos de um ano. Minha irmã, doce e tímida, estava em um casamento arranjado com Robin Kane, o Don da maior organização criminosa de Nova York. Ela não conseguiu suportar aquela vida brutal e caótica. Atormentada por Isabella, a suposta "paixão de infância" de Robin, acabou caindo em uma depressão profunda… e morreu. Então, quando tive uma segunda chance, tomei uma decisão. Eu seria a mulher que se casaria com o Don. Mas eu nunca esperei que, depois do casamento, aquele Don frio e implacável se tornaria um homem completamente diferente. Todas as noites, ele me prendia contra o corpo, me beijando como se fosse obcecado, sussurrando: — Boa garota… vou fazer você se sentir bem… só mais uma vez, baby…