Long Time No Sea

After two years of marriage, I believed I was living the dream—until the day I gave birth to our long-awaited heir. The house was filled with joy as my husband's family arrived, bearing gifts and ready to bestow a name upon our child, as tradition dictated. But the happiness of the day shattered in an instant when my husband walked in, hand in hand with his childhood sweetheart. In front of everyone, he announced not only our divorce but also his engagement to her, as if I had never mattered. *** "I’m divorcing Stacy," Jason announces, his voice unwavering, "to marry Nicole Cruz, my childhood sweetheart." He points to the woman standing before him who smiles and waves at everyone in the room. My world tilts on its axis. The words echo in my mind, louder and louder until they drown out everything else. What is going on?? "But why?" I whisper, my voice barely audible, even to myself. I'm unable to believe his betrayal. Jason doesn’t even glance at the child in my arms. "Because this has been a long time coming, Stacy. I’ve only stayed this long out of obligation and not love." Important Author’s Note: This is a rewritten version of my book The Alpha’s Betrayal: Reclaiming His Rejected Luna. From Chapter 12 onward, the story takes a new turn with fresh twists and drama. Thank you for reading—I hope you enjoy this new version!

Before the start of the marking ceremony, my mate's childhood sweetheart, Gracie Green, almost drowns in the swimming pool. Simon Lloyd is bent on thinking that I was the one who pushed Gracie into the pool with the intent to murder her. So, he has me tied up in the bathtub as a punishment. "One year ago, you pushed Gracie down the stairs and cost her her pup! Now, you even intend to drown her! Why are you such a vile and selfish she-wolf? "Anyway, the marking ceremony shall only be held once you've finally acknowledged your mistakes!" When I'm in the middle of getting corroded by silver nitrate, Simon is busy celebrating Gracie's birthday with her. When Gracie pretends to be all gracious by suggesting to Simon that I should be released, he replies instantly, "Hmph! I'll only let Juliette out when she finally apologizes for her mistakes! This is what she gets for bullying you all the time, anyway!" After that, he gives my favorite moonstone necklace to Gracie as her birthday gift. One week later, Simon receives the prenatal vitamins that I've bought beforehand. He's finally willing to release me from the bathroom. The news of my pregnancy delights him so much that he keeps telling everyone he meets that he's about to become a father. But what he doesn't know is that the water running from the bathtub's tap has been changed to silver nitrate. My body has gotten corroded to the point that I'm now a pile of bones.

A monotonous, colorless life and dull relationships instantly fade into the background the moment you step into a completely different world—one with its own rules and laws. It looks so much like ours, and yet is radically different, for here live werewolves and countless other incredible beings. Bring a cursed Alpha King’s heart back to life? Ride off into the sunset with one of the handsome guards? Or fall for a dangerous witch and uncover the true face of evil? Wrap it all up for me—I’ll take it! An extraordinary world, vivid characters, blazing emotions, and passionate love with a touch of spice ❤️‍🔥 18+ “Quite an interesting hall you’ve got here,” Karadeylis said without even glancing around, his steps bringing him dangerously close. “But OURS holds unforgettable memories of the time we unwrapped your restless little ass.” I gasped in outrage at his brazen words—especially with so many people around—but my panties betrayed me, dampening at the memory of exactly what that bastard had reminded me of. “How dare you?!” I hissed, our faces now only inches apart. Goosebumps ran across my skin at the dangerous nearness. I could feel his hot breath on my lips, the heat of his half-bare body, and that intoxicating scent I knew too well. Our breathing came ragged, as if we had just finished running a marathon, unable to break free from the magnetic pull of each other’s gaze. “No one else dares—only me, Prepedollie!” the scoundrel growled, gripping me firmly by the tail and yanking my face closer to his as his eyes devoured me. “I warned you—once I found you, there would be no mercy!”

Kehidupan Hayu sudah terlihat sempurna. Dia merasa sudah puas dengan kehidupannya selama ini. Gadis asal Jogja ini menyukai pekerjaannya yang stabil. Walau gajinya tidak besar, memiliki atasan yang baik membuat Hayu betah bekerja di Nillson Home. Terlebih lagi ada dua karibnya, Mbak Maya dan Damar yang selalu menjadi support system terbaiknya. Dalam urusan cinta, Hayu juga beruntung. Dia telah menjalin hubungan bertahun-tahun dengan Samudra, seorang pelukis mumpuni dengan ketampanan khas pria Jawa. Ketika Hayu akan menginjak usia 29 tahun, ada satu hal yang benar-benar diinginkannya, yaitu menikah dan hidup bersama Sam. Sayangnya dia harus kecewa ketika Sam menyatakan belum siap untuk menikahinya. Tapi Hayu tidak menyerah. Dia masih percaya bahwa Sam adalah jodohnya. Kehidupan Hayu menjadi semakin rumit ketika masalah di kantor juga mengusiknya. Dia dihadapkan pada kenyataan bahwa atasan yang selama ini menjadi mentornya akan menyerahkan perusahaan kepada Jason, keponakannya yang berasal dari Swedia. Artinya Hayu akan memiliki atasan baru, seorang pria asing yang tampan dan menarik perhatian banyak wanita. Drama dan gosip pun mulai bermunculan ketika ada satu skandal besar terkuak di perusahaan itu. Bagaimana Hayu menjalani kehidupannya saat ini yang berbanding terbalik dengan kehidupannya dulu yang terlihat sempurna?

I was reborn on the day of my first birthday party. Even though I had the power of good luck, I ignored my parents' requests. In my previous life, I used my luck to help my parents become the richest family. My eldest brother became a business tycoon. My second brother became a famous doctor. My third brother became a superstar in the music world. Only my family's adopted daughter, Jade Baker, was unaffected by my luck because we weren't related by blood. She failed her college entrance exams at eighteen, was kidnapped at twenty, and died in an accident at twenty-five. Before she died, she wept and said, "It's not Mindy's fault. I've always been an outsider. She has no obligation to help me." Everyone thought I was jealous and let Jade suffer on purpose. They locked me up and ran all sorts of experiments on me, hoping to use my luck to bring Jade back to life. In the end, they tortured me to death. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at my first birthday party. My dad smiled and asked me, "Sweetheart, do you think I should sign this million-dollar deal?" I blinked. And smeared a handful of mud on his face.

Celia Johnson, my boss's sister-in-law, joined the company as the finance director and announced that all reimbursements must strictly follow the standards. I spent an entire week running around for the company and finally closed a five-hundred-thousand-dollar deal. Because the client had used two extra packs of paper towels, the per-person amount for their meal ended up eight dollars over the limit. Celia folded her arms, glanced at the reimbursement form on my desk, and sneered. "Five hundred and eight dollars?" "Yes. Last night at The Peak Restaurant, where we closed Richard's deal. Zack was there too," I explained patiently. "Eight dollars over the per-person limit. Not reimbursable," Celia said coldly. I tried to reason with her. "This was a special case. The client is high-level, and the deal amount is large, and Zack personally said it would be fully reimbursed last night." She returned the reimbursement form to me. "I don't care who said that. Don't think closing a five-hundred-thousand-dollar contract lets you ignore company rules. Reimbursements must all follow policies. Everyone will follow them to the letter." I took a deep breath. I knew arguing with her head-on would get me nowhere, so I called Zack directly. Zack said, "I did say it would be reimbursed, but I never said company rules could be ignored. It's just five hundred. And you still get commission from closing the deal. You young people need to have perspective." I stopped arguing. I turned around and refused the delivery containing the hard copy of the five-hundred-thousand-dollar cooperation contract, smiling as I explained, "Company rules say all cash on delivery packages must be refused. "Also, today is my last day here. Starting tomorrow, I work for Richard's company. As the client, I will be setting the rules this time."

The year my girlfriend, Maisie Summers, and I were supposed to get married, I broke up with her. Later, she made it big and used every means necessary to force me to marry her anyway. Everyone says we're destined to be together from the start. Yet no one knows that after we got married, she's been bringing different men home every so often. I never react and pretend as if I don't see anything. While she sleeps around night after night, I silently count how many days I have left to live.

After reliving my life for the third time, Soren Vantrell still died at 28. Unwilling to accept it, I started over again, meeting him and falling in love as before, until a sudden turn changed everything. He began claiming his mental state was unstable, using it as an excuse to visit his psychologist, Dr. Nadia Pembroke, again and again. Until one day, I caught them kissing inside her consultation room. With a light, mocking laugh, Soren said, "You might think I’m crazy if I told you this, but I really have died three times. Every single time, I died right next to Sloane Hartwell. "I was originally curious to see how she would try to save me this time. Now that I think about it, she must have been bad luck. Once I stayed far away from her, didn’t I end up living just fine?" I quietly stepped back. In this fourth life, whether he lived or died has nothing to do with me anymore. This time, I was going to live my own life.

Every year, the village had to choose a girl of age to become the Blossom Bride. The girl who was chosen would be sent into the cave as the village god’s wife. She would spend the entire night with him. If she came out alive, she would be honored for the rest of her life as a village elder. Any child she bore was said to be blessed, destined for a life of effortless fortune. If she died, the village would simply wait for the next year, when another Blossom Bride would be chosen. The blessing of the Blossom Bride was believed to pass on to her parents and elders as well. However, no one wanted to be chosen. To escape the ritual, families quietly left the village, one after another. I was the only one who volunteered. I had a lust problem, and I had always wondered what it would feel like to be with a god.

The last time I argued with my husband, he slammed the door on me and left. I was so upset that I died from a heart attack. Meanwhile, he took his lover and her son traveling to take his mind off things. The entire time, our daughter, who was just a child, was abandoned at home for seven days with my corpse. At last, when Eliott remembered me and my daughter, he returned home to see my corpse. Having fallen sick, my daughter was all skin and bones. When Eliott realized his mistake, he hugged our daughter tightly and broke down crying in front of my grave. My daughter pulled away from him and hid behind my gravestone. She hissed sharply at him, “Who do you think you are? Don't disturb Mommy’s rest!”