Koopa Steak

In our world, fathers sell their half-breed daughters to purebred wolves. If they don’t like you, they will resell you to someone else. And the one who turns out to be the chosen one is lucky, and she will be combined with the highest marriage. And others are destined to belong to the multitude... I was not sold; I gave myself up. Now the big bad red wolf is my master, and I am in his hands. But why does his rival look at me like I’m the juiciest piece of steak? Does he want to buy me out?

Editor yang satu ini, lebih killer dari dosen pembimbing. Bahkan, dosen killer bisa dibilang kamu dianggap sayur kangkung. Editor yang satu ini, melihatmu seperti steak juicy yang siap ia lahap. Si perfectionist yang menuntut segala kesempurnaan, editor rese yang membuatmu menyerah dan tak ingin meneruskan cita-cita yang terpendam. Editor galak yang menyuruh Ilene menulis cerita erotis. Dan membayangkan dirinya, membuat Ilene mengkhayal aneh. Ngomong-ngomong, siapa dalang di balik layar tersebut? Takdir mempertemukan keduanya di balik layar. Bagaimana jika takdir menuntut keduanya untuk bertemu secara langsung?

Brianna Izara, gadis malang yang hidup menderita dari kecil, tiba-tiba dijodohkan dengan Bagas Kavi Waradana, oleh seorang kakek penjual steak yang tak lain adalah kakek Kavi. Anna menyetujui pernikahan itu demi mendapatkan uang untuk melunasi utang sang adik. Tetapi di dalam pernikahannya, Anna harus menghadapi berbagai macam masalah. Mulai dari pergolakan hati Anna menyandang status sebagai istri Kavi, berada dalam pusaran konflik dengan keluarga besar Waradana, serta adanya sebuah rahasia kelam yang tersembunyi di balik nama besar keluarga Waradana.

My husband Bill and his beautiful assistant Doris are laughing and eating like they're on a first date. But the joke is on me... I'm here, Bill's wife, watching them from across the room, tending to my flat belly where a little life is now living. Of course, Bill doesn’t know about the baby yet. The news is still fresh in my mind, barely a few hours old. It is supposed to be a family dinner gathering, but I'm never the welcome one but an outsider. Watching Bill take the steak cut and handed over by Doris, his young age best friend who knows him the best, I guess I'm spoiling their fun by telling them now that I'm having a baby. Three years of marriage, and his frequent absences from the family left me feeling overwhelmed and alone. I've even forgotten the reason we got married. Maybe it was a mistake to begin with. Finally, I made a decision. Divorce. But a man came along and shifted things dramatically. And it didn't occur to me that this man was still deeply connected to bill's family. He was Bill's uncle.

At the party, my daughter deliberately raises a question to my husband. "Daddy, since Ms. Lloyd is having your baby, does that mean we'll be living with her in the future?" He places the nicely cut steak onto my plate and answers softly, "Your mommy and I made a deal—whoever betrays first will disappear from the other's life. I can't afford for that to happen, darling, so this must stay a secret. Even when the baby is born, I will never let Mommy find out about them." Then, he signs to me, "I'll always love you." My eyes turn red-rimmed without him noticing. Little does he know, my hearing was restored a week ago. He doesn't realize I've learned about the mistress he's been hiding either. And he definitely doesn't know I've secretly bought a ticket to volunteer-teach in the Seru Plateau. All I have to do is wait for the paperwork to clear in seven days. Then, I'll disappear from his life for good.

Thor and I grew up together—we were the definition of childhood sweethearts. We'd promised to attend the same university, graduate, and marry right after senior year. Everyone envied us. They said we were a perfect match, destined for a lifetime together. And I believed that too. I truly thought I'd spend the rest of my life with him. Until the final semester of our senior year in high school, when a new transfer student named Lina joined our class. At first, the two barely spoke. But as they grew familiar, their bond deepened in ways I could no longer ignore. He started staying after school to tutor her, bringing her breakfast every morning. When she was upset, he'd take her for a drive along the coast. If she craved Italian steak, he'd have fresh cuts flown in. Even during her period, he'd quietly prepare everything she needed. I was furious. I confronted him, argued with him, and even threatened to break up. The first time I said it, he thought I was joking and coaxed me out of my anger. The second time, he dismissed it as another tantrum and tried different ways to please me. The third time, he broke down—standing outside my house in the pouring rain all night, half kneeling before me, begging for forgiveness. Again and again, I tried to leave, and every time, he refused to let me go. Yet with each reconciliation, something in him shifted. He started taking me for granted, assuming I would always come back. His patience wore thin. His apologies turned perfunctory. Even when he came to make peace, there was no sincerity left in his voice. So I said it for the hundredth time, and that was the last. That was the moment I finally gave up on him.

At the Thorn Pack banquet, Jacob Mason carefully cut the steak on my plate. His gentlemanly demeanor and meticulous attention to detail drew envious glances from those around us. "Our Alpha is so good to our Luna," a voice murmured from across the table. "You won’t find a more devoted mate in all of Southspire." I glanced at Jacob, a sweet warmth unfurled in my chest. I silently tightened my grip around the Moonstone Ring—a ring my father had left me, the symbol of power in the Lotus Pack. I had planned to give it to Jacob when the banquet ended, when we were alone. But as the evening wore on, the noise and the clinking of glasses became too much to bear. I feigned a slight dizziness, excusing myself to return to our castle ahead of him. In truth, I needed the time to prepare a surprise—something special to commemorate this night. When everything was set, I silently slipped back into the banquet hall, ready to take Jacob by the hand and whisk him away. But as I arrived, I stopped dead in my tracks. There he was, holding Hazel Rhea tightly in his arms. "Chloe is so rigid," he said. "Always clinging to the dignity of being the Lotus Pack Alpha's daughter. How could she ever compare to Hazel's passion?" "Don't worry," he added, his tone light with mock reassurance. "Hazel and I are just friends. Chloe won't feel betrayed." He laughed softly. "But don't tell her, alright? She's so old-fashioned—if she found out, she'd leave me for sure. Honestly, the thought of spending the rest of my life with such a dull partner… It's exhausting." Just friends? Is that what he called the way his hand slid beneath her dress—being "just friends"? I didn't interrupt them. There was no need to disturb their lively conversation. Instead, I slid the Moonstone Ring onto my finger. Without a word, I turned and left. In the quiet of the night, Xavier Grey—who had been following me all along—waited. Together, we set off on the journey I should have taken long ago.