Nine Perfect Strangers By Liane Moriarty

We’d been together for seven years, but during that entire time, my fiancée rejected the idea of getting married ninety-nine times, all because of a male intern. The first time, she canceled our vacation at the last minute, saying the intern was stuck on a night shift and afraid of the dark. She got on a flight that very night and rushed back to the hospital. The second time, we were already halfway through the doors of the courthouse to get our marriage registered. But just then, she got word that the intern had collapsed from exhaustion. Without a second thought, she left me standing alone in the snow for the entire day. After that, it became a pattern. Every time we were together, the intern would find some excuse to pull her away. Eventually, I made up my mind to let go. I stopped dreaming about a happy marriage with her. However, just when I announced I was transferring to another city, she broke down, begging me, almost hysterically, not to leave.

Because I loved him, I became Luke’s secret lover for five years, thinking he must have some feelings for me.  However, when someone kidnapped me, and I called him for help, he impatiently said, “Suzy Roland? I have no idea who that is.” Then, he turned around and flirted with another woman. As he wished, I cut ties with him and became a stranger. Yet now, he’s weeping and begging me for another chance.

Malaking gulo ang nagawa ni Liam na maaaring magdulot ng pagbagsak ng kanilang kumpanya at malagay ang kanyang ama sa kapahamakan. Kaya kailangan niyang gawin ang lahat upang mailigtas ito, kahit pa ang magpakasal sa isang taong hindi niya kilala. Isang hindi inaasahang pangyayari ang nagtulak kay Crystal upang makilala ang sikat na tagapagmana na si Liam Spencer. Ang lalaking nag-alok sa kanya ng kasal kapalit ng malaking halaga ng pera. Noong una ay nag-dalawang isip siyang tanggapin ang kanyang alok, ngunit nang marinig ni Crystal kung magkano ang kayang ibayad nito sakanya ay agad rin siyang sumang-ayon, dahil matagal na niyang hangad ang pamumuhay na mas marangya at komportable kumpara sa kasalukuyan niyang kalagayan. Kahit na walang alam ang dalawa tungkol sa isa't isa, at hindi isinasaalang-alang ang mga kahihinatnan ng isang mahalagang desisyon, ang dalawang hindi magka-kilalang tao ay lumagda sa isang kasunduang kasal. Ngayon, kailangan nilang mabuhay bilang mag-asawa upang maiwasan na madungisan ang reputasyon ng Spencers.

Once upon a time, Leonard truly loved me. In order to establish a Mate Bond with me, he confessed 99 times. On the 99th time, I was finally moved. On the day of our Marking Ceremony, I gave him 99 forgiveness coupons. I promised him that I would forgive him 99 times. As long as he still had coupons left over, I would forgive him and stay with him no matter what he did. We were bonded for six years. In the first five years of our Mate Bond, I rarely ever used the forgiveness coupons. Since his childhood friend Judy returned, however, I started burning through the coupons. When I tore up the 98th coupon, Leonard noticed that I had changed. I no longer made a fuss or fought him over Judy. I simply asked him calmly, “If you go to Judy, can I use up one forgiveness coupon?” Leonard paused and then recovered his cool. “Sure. I only used up slightly over half, so use another if you want.” I stayed silent as he left the house. As it turned out, he had no idea he had just lost his 98th coupon. He only had one chance left. After that, I would leave him forever.

"You're not his wife!" "But I am the mother of his child! And I have an equal share in this family!" Camila's life turns blissful when she gets pregnant by a billionaire and now she is the daughter-in-law of the Russells, basking in luxury and privilege. But she will never have one thing she has always craved, and that is a loving relationship. Or will she? Being rich comes with problems money can solve and others money can't. As she faces the life-threatening hassles of being a daughter-in-law and wife to Konrad, her perspective begins to change. Will the love that blossoms turn her into a good person or is it all just a facade to become the next billionaire in 9 months?

To cure my half-sister's illness, my brother took my beast bone—all because I was a half-beast and had a strong self-healing ability. Later, to make me suffer in her place, the tiger beast servant I had cared for joined forces with my brother and sent me straight into the Beast Den. The tiger said I didn't deserve to be his master, and the one he wanted to protect was my sister. In the end, I was tortured and died a terrible death. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day I had to choose my beast servant.

My husband, Daniel Thompson, looked down on me. I was just a farmer's daughter in his eyes, and he never loved the son I gave birth to. It wasn’t until our baby turned 100 days old that he held him for the first time. Then, one day, his first love, Claire Matthews, came back to the city. That night at dinner, Daniel, who was always cold and distant, finally smiled. He even reached across the table and placed a piece of meat on Noah’s plate. Noah beamed all evening, clutching onto that tiny gesture like it was a treasure. Just before bed, he whispered to me, "Mom, do you think he likes me now… even just a little?" I wrapped him in my arms, tears blurring my vision as I gently shook my head. "No, sweetheart. It’s because the woman he truly loves is back. It’s time for us to go."

My sister abruptly returns to the country on the day of my wedding. My parents, brother, and fiancé abandon me to pick her up at the airport. She shares a photo of them on her social media, bragging about how she's so loved. Meanwhile, all the calls I make are rejected. My fiancé is the only one who answers, but all he tells me is not to kick up a fuss. We can always have our wedding some other day. They turn me into a laughingstock on the day I've looked forward to all my life. Everyone points at me and laughs in my face. I calmly deal with everything before writing a new number in my journal—99. This is their 99th time disappointing me; I won't wish for them to love me anymore. I fill in a request to study abroad and pack my luggage. They think I've learned to be obedient, but I'm actually about to leave forever.

He screamed in despair, furious about the small clause in Müller's will (marriage) that had halted what was already destined, after waiting two years to determine who would be the owner of everything. Adal Müller had to desperately search for the perfect candidate who could help him achieve his goal of "completely obtaining the inheritance." With great desperation, he asked his secretary to marry him, assuring her that it would be temporary. However, she refused and confessed that she would marry her boyfriend and was not interested in his lucrative proposal. But all was not lost, as she came up with the great idea of introducing him to a friend who would be willing to accept his proposal in exchange for money. Who is she? Who is Gisela Fischer? Would she accept to marry the great magnate Adal Müller? The secretary continued to sweet talk him, promising that her friend would accept and that both would win; one would gain the entire inheritance and the other would receive the extra money she needed."

Lyra Mae Miracle considers her life perfect just as it is. Amazing friends, decent enough grades, the best family, and an annoying brother with his equally annoying friends. But when the past that she's worked so hard to forget comes back to bite her, she learns that her life is far from perfect. With a downhill spiral of her life, she finally learns to accept help from those who want to. She blocked people out because of her past, even if it was unconsciously. But she can't let the past take control of the present. So she's going to end everything. Set the line, and accept reality. All to obtain what she would most definitely consider, a perfect life. But nobody and nothing is perfect, and imperfections is what makes perfection. Perfectly imperfect.