Noelle Butterfly Soup

Three years of marriage, and I'd become known in our social circle as the ultimate doormat. My husband staying out all night, his silent treatment, bringing his first love home to flaunt in my face—through it all, I'd smile and make him hangover soup, keeping the house spotless. Everyone thought I loved him to the point of madness. Even he believed it. Until the day of the divorce, when he begged me with tears in his eyes not to leave—and then watched "me" collapse rigid to the floor after a power outage, revealing a charging port on the back of my neck. He lost his mind. Meanwhile, the real me was lying on a beach in the Maldives, running my fingers through the hair of a gorgeous twenty-something with a six-pack, cheerfully pressing the "factory reset" button.

Wounded Butterfly Series I "Letting go of someone you love is not a sign of being weak, it is really a sign of being brave enough of letting someone be free even if it means of breaking you." - Samantha. Mara Samantha Montesor Gilmore is a strong woman with a good heart. She'll definitely take the pain of being an unwanted wife than letting the man she loves be deceit by someone else. She would rather hurt herself for the sake of him, that's how selfless she is -- she even made a promise to herself that she will never leave him, that she will always stay even if it hurts like hell. But how could she keep her promise and just stay by his side when there's this one reason for her to run away and leave him?

Tiga tahun lalu, Ayla berdiri di altar dengan gaun impiannya, menunggu pria yang berjanji tidak akan pernah meninggalkannya. Tapi Victor Noelle justru menghilang tanpa jejak, meninggalkan luka yang tak pernah benar-benar sembuh. Kini, takdir kembali mempertemukan mereka. Bukan sebagai pasangan, tetapi sebagai manajer dan talent—hubungan profesional yang seharusnya tetap dingin dan tak berperasaan. Namun, bagaimana jika percikan masa lalu masih menyala di antara kebencian dan penyesalan? Ayla bersumpah tidak akan membiarkan Victor menyentuh hatinya lagi. Sementara Victor… mungkin kali ini ia tidak akan membiarkan Ayla pergi. Tapi apa yang tersisa di antara mereka? Luka? Penyesalan? Atau sesuatu yang bahkan lebih berbahaya—perasaan yang seharusnya sudah mati?

Just when Anna thought she had won the heart of her husband and could be called a proper mistress after three years of mating, she was met with an ungodly sight. His business trip had been a lie, and she was going to pay for letting him leave for so many months. He was back with another Luna, and he had filed for a divorce, a basic rejection that she had to uphold. She could have walked away and taken over as the Alpha of the Flaming Moon pack, but he was way ahead, eliminating her and their unborn child silently after she had signed the paperwork. Her last wish was “a second chance for revenge.” The moon goddess hears her prayers and sends her messenger, the million-year demon. Anna is saved, trained to become stronger under his rule, and has taken another name, “Noelle,” with one mission in mind. Jake must go down!

My son’s family suddenly returned from abroad. I did not understand a single word at the dinner table. They were speaking in a foreign language. My grandson, Aiden, looked me up and down and said loudly, “Dad, Grandpa’s face is all bumpy and scarred. He’s lame, too. He’s so ugly!” My son waved his hand nonchalantly and said, “That was caused by a shell blast. Anyone who served in the military looks like that.” I did not understand their conversation. I simply placed the fish I had deboned onto his plate in silence. My grandson, however, became agitated. He picked up the hot soup and splashed it on my face. Then he cursed at me in broken English, saying, “Stay away, ugly monster! If it weren’t for you refusing to die, Grandma Sloane and Grandpa Wallace could’ve come home years ago!” My mind went blank. My wife had passed away decades ago. Who was this “Grandpa Wallace”?

A week after I gave birth via C-section, Mark Whitman invited his friends over to celebrate the birth of our son. The crowd was boisterous—more than a dozen people. Not one of them bothered to remove their dirty shoes. The wooden floor was soon covered in muddy footprints. Mark came into the room and, without a hint of concern, ordered me out of bed. "Everyone's waiting outside. Don't just hide here and rest—you're embarrassing me in front of our guests." I had no choice but to push through the pain, forcing my body to prepare a huge meal for the large crowd, all on my own. When I carried the final bowl of steaming soup to the table, Lily Hoyte—whether intentionally or not—jabbed her hand against the wound on my abdomen. My hand trembled from the sudden pain, and the bowl slipped slightly, spilling the hot soup onto Lily's shoes. Mark's face darkened instantly. "What the heck did you do, Cammy? Lily rushed here right after her plane landed from overseas to see our son, and this is how you treat her?" The crowd quickly chimed in. "Come on, Cammy, no need to be so petty." "Mark and Lily grew up together. If there was really something between them, do you think you'd even be here now?" "Do you even know how much those shoes cost? They're limited edition—easily over ten thousand dollars. And you just ruined them." Lily stood up awkwardly, her eyes misting with tears. "If Cammy doesn't like me," she said softly, "then I'll leave. I don't want to be a bother." But Mark grabbed her hand in an exaggerated display of protection, his voice harsh as he turned to me. "Wipe Lily's shoes clean. Right now." His partiality for Lily made something sharp twist in my chest. My lips quivered as I fought back tears. "The wound on my stomach hasn't healed yet. I can't bend over." At that, his expression grew colder. "Don't use childbirth as an excuse. If you can't bend over, then kneel and wipe them. And if you won't, get out of my house!"

Despite my parents' objections, I stay by Julian Grant's side for ten years. He goes from having nothing to building his own empire. The moment it's time to fulfill our ten-year promise, I proudly tell my parents I'm going to marry him. But then, he gives the vice president position meant for me to another woman. I confront him only to overhear a woman's hesitant voice behind the door. "Mr. Grant... you gave me the VP role, but what about Ms. Jones? Aren't you two getting married?" Julian's tone is cold and sharp, though his face is calm and unaffected. "Noelle's been with me for ten years. Who else would even want her? Relax—she won't dare make a scene." The words hit me like a slap to the face. Without another word, I turn and make a call to my arranged marriage contact. "Are you free?" I ask. "Let's get married."

Aliana Reeves is an affable and dazzling rising model and actress, tagged as a social butterfly in the entertainment industry. However, at the back of this lies her limited freedom, strict diets and body rules, monitored activities, lack of privacy, and greater exposure to other people’s judgment. In one private party where she was allowed to be herself, she chose to seize it as she rarely had this kind of chance. Waking up the following day, she found herself in a five-star luxury hotel next to a sleeping hot billionaire, Kievan Aldrei Martinez. In the midst of her world filled with camera flashes and his private life packed with luxury and complexity, will love be able to flourish? Is that one steamy night the start of it all, or has there always been a red string connecting them from the time an accident happened fifteen years ago?

"Your body is mine Kate... Every bit of it... I am going to make you feel the butterfly no one ever has." ** Kate Walter sought out to seek justice for her parents' death, and Dante Romano, who ran a club during the day and led a mafia at night, was a suspect. To dig into the truth, she took a job as a nanny for Dante's daughter. Little did she know that Dante was more than just a boss; he was known for his pleasurable lifestyle. The merciless mafia boss whose aura neither sized nor decreased. Now, Kate faces the challenge of staying focused on her mission without getting caught up in Dante's enticing world. Can Kate fulfill her mission without succumbing to the allure of the seductive mafia boss?

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