Nagisa Karma

Suatu hari, aku menerima telepon dari seorang pengembang properti. Orang itu dengan sopan menasihatiku bahwa meskipun aku sudah menikah, aku tidak perlu sampai membuat keributan sepanjang malam. Banyak tetangga yang mengeluh dan merekalah yang dipusingkan karena berada di antara kedua belah pihak. Aku menjawab dengan tenang. "Kalian pasti salah paham, aku saja nggak punya pacar, mana mungkin aku sudah menikah?" Melihatku masih tidak mau mengaku, pihak pengembang properti mengirimkan video pengawas lingkungan perumahan kepadaku. Dalam video tersebut, lorong bangunan dihiasi dengan lampu dan tamu datang tanpa henti. Beberapa orang mengiringi pengantin perempuan masuk ke dalam rumah baru. Pengantin laki-lakinya adalah mantan pacarku, yang sudah putus denganku dua setengah tahun yang lalu.

Deux jours avant le Noël, mon petit ami Guillaume avait prévu d'emmener sa assistante passer les fêtes à la mer. Sans un mot, je lui avais préparé ses valises avec tout le soin. Lui, en retour, m'avait raillée en insinuant que j'étais enceinte et plus compréhensive. Lorsqu'il était parti, je m'étais rendue à la clinique et j'avais subi une interruption volontaire de grossesse. Car dans ma vie antérieure, quand j'avais voulu garder Guillaume à la maison, son assistante avait été brutalement assassinée sur la plage. Guillaume a eu l'air calme, mais avant mon accouchement, il m'avait horriblement trahie, il avait ouvert mon ventre et il a étranglé notre bébé avant même qu'il n'ait pris son premier souffle. Cette cruauté m'avait révélé qu'il nourrissait depuis toujours une haine tenace vers moi. Après la renaissance, j'avais juré de lui faire perdre absolument tout.

Alexa tidak pernah menyangka, pengkhianatan dari kekasihnya justru menyeretnya ke dalam permainan berbahaya dengan sosok yang sama sekali tak terduga. Theo, guru privat yang dipercaya ibunya, sekaligus pria matang yang dingin, tegas, dan sulit disentuh. Hubungan mereka seharusnya sebatas murid dan guru. Tidak lebih. Namun semakin sering bertemu, semakin kuat pula rasa penasaran Alexa terhadap pria itu. Apalagi ketika luka hatinya membuatnya ingin membuktikan diri, bahwa ia bukan gadis kecil yang bisa diremehkan, bahwa ia cukup menggoda untuk diperhitungkan. Theo menolak sekaligus terpikat. Usia mereka terpaut jauh, tanggung jawabnya jelas, dan godaan itu seharusnya ia patahkan sejak awal. Tapi Alexa terus menantang, terus mengusik, hingga batas antara larangan dan keinginan melewati batas wajar. Namun, Alexa tidak tahu bahwa ada rahasia besar yang tersembunyi dibalik status Theo, akankah hal itu yang akan menghentikan Alexa mencintai pria yang lebih dewasa darinya?

To cure our daughter's pancreatic cancer, I made a deal with the System, trading the rest of my life for a miracle drug. My husband called me insane to my face, but secretly gave the medicine to his mistress to treat her facial scar. When I was falling apart in despair, he had the audacity to explain: "Vicky has dreams of becoming a star. She's already 24, she can't wait any longer. "Besides, didn't you get that drug by sleeping around? How could a housewife like you possibly get such high-end medicine on your own? If you want to save our daughter, why don't you go whore yourself out again? It's not like it'll kill you, right?" But the truth is, I really don't have another life to trade for another dose.

My husband, Joaquin Landon, is a renowned wax sculptor. He hangs up on me when I call him to save my life so he can focus on the wax sculpture his cousin wants. Amphetamine is injected into my system, so my mind is clear as I watch my nails get removed one by one. Every inch of my skin is covered in burning hot wax. My hair and lashes are plucked off, and my organs are ground. Steel pipes are inserted into my legs, and I'm turned into a wax sculpture. Joaquin sees me during an exhibition. His colleague tells him that the wax sculpture he sees looks eerily like me, but he merely looks disgusted. "All she does is cause trouble and act unreasonably. She's better off dead." What he doesn't know is that I already am. Joaquin doesn't recognize that I'm the wax sculpture before him.

“Mana yang lebih kau sukai, Tara? Bercinta dengan seorang detektif atau membunuh para plagiator?” "Aku lebih suka ini, Sir." *** Warning & Disclaimer: 1. Memuat konten dewasa yang tidak sesuai untuk pembaca di bawah 21 tahun 2. Mengeksplorasi tema BDSM konsensual, power play, dan hubungan dengan intensitas emosional tinggi, yang mungkin sensitif bagi sebagian pembaca 3. Semua karakter dalam cerita ini telah berusia legal (di atas 21 tahun) 4. Semua peristiwa dalam cerita ini hanyalah fiksi belaka *** SINOPSIS Gregory Evans adalah detektif prodigy yang terobsesi menaklukkan kekacauan, satu-satunya benteng melawan trauma masa kecil yang menghantuinya. Tara Bradley adalah pustakawan sekaligus penulis penyintas trauma kekerasan dalam hubungan yang tidak lagi memerlukan penyembuhan. Hanya ingin merebut kembali kuasa atas kedaulatan dirinya. Sebuah kasus pembunuhan eksentrik dengan motif plagiarisme, yang meniru naskah Tara, mempertemukan mereka, dua jiwa yang sama-sama rusak dengan luka masing-masing. Batas antara penyelidik dan tersangka, antara fakta dan fiksi pun runtuh. Bagi Greg, Tara adalah cermin dari monster yang paling dia benci sekaligus dia dambakan. Juga bukti hidup bahwa hukum tidak selalu menjadi jawaban. Bagi Tara, Greg bukan sekadar seorang detektif. Dia adalah algojo pilihannya untuk menghancurkan dirinya. Bukan di balik jeruji, melainkan dalam kendali mutlak pria itu. Dalam permainan berbahaya di mana setiap sentuhan adalah interogasi dan setiap puncak kenikmatan adalah hukuman, Greg terpaku pada pilihan mustahil: Mempertahankan lencananya dan kehilangan Tara selamanya, atau mengkhianati sumpahnya untuk memiliki wanita yang hanya merasa hidup saat dihancurkan olehnya.

My grandfather, Terry Sims, suffered from bipolar disorder and was prone to anger and mood swings. My mother, Catherine, was his only chill pill. On the day they were hunted down by enemies, my mom went into early labor and lost her life in an attempt to save him. Devastated, my grandfather could not see a way out of his disorder and poured all his love into me. He would pull out the tongues of those who mocked me and fed them to the dogs. The families of those who hurt me would meet their end. It was known to the people of Mistvale that the granddaughter of Terry Sims was untouchable. Due to my congenital heart disease, he reluctantly sent me abroad for medical treatment. After my surgery, I rushed back to his side for his birthday, thinking of giving him a surprise. However, I was mistaken for a gold digger by a carer and locked in the basement. “Of all the things you can do for your age, you throw yourself at men. Since your parents won’t restrain your behavior, I’ll have to do it for them.” She pulled out my tongue, dumped acid all over me, and dug out my snewly transplanted heart to give as a birthday gift to my grandfather, who had been waiting for my return. “Mr. Sims, the skank tried to impersonate Ms. Sims, but I got everything sorted out for you.”

My mother despised me because I was the unintended consequence of a one-night stand. She poured all her love and attention into her students, treating them as if they were her own flesh and blood. One day, when her favourite pupil confessed his feelings for me, she flew into a rage. She slapped me hard across the face and called me a whore. Years later, as Alzheimer's clouded her mind, she forgot I even existed, yet still remembered every single one of her precious students. The irony was that not one of them ever came to visit her in the nursing home. They all loathed her just as much as I did.

My husband’s first love and I were kidnapped at the same time. As a professional negotiator, my husband rushed to the scene as soon as possible to save us. When the kidnappers agreed to release one hostage, he chose to let them keep me to protect her. I knelt on the ground, desperately begging him to save me first, but his face was expressionless. “Tammy is still a virgin. If she’s raped, she won’t be able to handle it.” “You’re different. You’re already married to me. Even if something happens to you, I won’t hold it against you.” He shoved me toward the kidnappers. He probably didn’t know I was three months pregnant, and he was about to become a father.

The financially disadvantaged student I was sponsoring secretly went behind my back and sold my small island, which was worth two billion dollars. I was furious and confronted her, but she publicly slandered me in front of the entire school. She exclaimed, "I saw you doing unspeakable things with eighteen men on that island! You're still young and you can't keep making mistakes like this. I sold the island for your own good!" I was so enraged that I kicked her to the ground and prepared to call the police, but my brother stopped me. He and my fiancé stood in front of the student, protecting her. They accused me of being violent and in need of medical treatment. Before I could resist, they joined forces and threw me into a psychiatric hospital, where I died that night from food poisoning. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day I discovered the island had been sold.