Orange Stars

My boyfriend, Percy Gaskell, suddenly flaunts an engagement ring on the Internet. He also announces that he'll get married in two months. Everyone thinks I'm the lucky bride who will get proposed soon, including myself. Anticipation fills my heart as I start making wedding preparations. But unwittingly, I end up overhearing Percy and his friends' conversation at the doorway of a private room in a bar. "I'm seriously impressed with the method you used to select your wife, Percy. You actually gave all 19 of them different scores! Those with lower scores get kicked out, whereas those with higher scores get to ascend to the next round! In the end, you choose the best wife out of all participants! "Now, the only ones left are Maisie and your beloved mistress, Sabrina. Not only that, but you're also biased toward Sabrina, so you gave her a relatively high score. Maisie is definitely losing this time! "What if Maisie finds out that she's not the one you're marrying in the end? Will she throw a hissy fit?" Percy took a sip out of his wine glass lazily. In a flippant tone, he replied, "That will have to depend on who satisfies me the most. Let me observe them for three more days. If Maisie is still that disappointing, she shouldn't blame me for being ruthless." His friends all burst into laughter. "You're far too soft-hearted, Percy! Maisie is inferior to Sabrina, be it her figure, age, or bedroom skills! I can't believe you're still giving her a chance! "If I were you, I'd have kicked her out in the first round!" Percy just smiles in amusement. "I only wish to give her a chance because I see how pathetically low her score is. If she can't even use the final chance given to her properly, she shouldn't blame me for not marrying her." I can feel my blood turn to ice in my veins. My mind has completely gone blank. All I can hear is my heartbeat, which slowly becomes louder. With a trembling hand, I dig out my phone and text that man's number, which lies at the bottom of my contact list. "Are you up for a whirlwind marriage right now?"

Maverick Spencer, my husband's older brother, sacrifices himself just to save my husband from a car accident. In order to repay him for his benevolence, my husband, Mateo Spencer, decides to move his newly widowed sister-in-law, Lily Shepherd, into our home. Mateo tells me, "Maverick died saving me, so I must repay him for his benevolence. He was the most worried about Lily when he still drew breath. In order to fulfill his death wish, I must let Lily stay with us. "Lily's biggest wish is to have a child of her own. I have no choice but to sleep with her. It's to repay Maverick, you see. Don't worry, Phoebe. Once she gets pregnant, I won't touch her ever again. You're the only woman for me." But since then, Mateo pays more and more attention to Lily. At the same time, he spends less time with me. When I notice the way he looks at me icily, I feel my love for him starting to get snuffed out. The day Lily finds out that she's pregnant is the day Mateo puts half of the Spencer family's assets under her name. Even the token of love Mateo has given to me on our wedding can be seen adorning Lily's finger. At that moment, I know that it's time for me to leave.

At seven months pregnant, I overhear my Alpha mate, Christopher Scott, secretly planning to break tradition by promoting his secretary to a Beta and handing the Luna's duties over to her. His friend urges him to reconsider. "Luna is about to give birth. Isn't it inappropriate to throw a promotion banquet for Scarlett right now?" But Christopher dismisses his concerns. "What can I do? Scarlett is carrying my pup too. I can't just ignore her. "Besides, with Rebecca's temper, she'd definitely throw a huge fit if she found out beforehand. I might as well wait until she has delivered the pup and is too exhausted to interfere, and only then will I hold Scarlett's promotion ceremony. I say nothing. I pretend I know nothing at all and walk away. On the day I go into labor, Christopher holds Scarlett Lane's promotion ceremony at the pack's most sacred altar. While the entire pack is celebrating Scarlett's rise, the doors of the altar are suddenly kicked open. My father, the Alpha King, walks in. "Christopher Scott, is this how you treat my daughter?"

Three months into the silent treatment from my Alpha mate, Samson Holt, he holds a grand ceremony befitting of a Luna for the return of his beloved Leia Harton. Because of this, I—the real Luna—am now the laughing stock of the entire pack. "Sharon's just an orphan wolf with no real lineage. How could someone like her be our Luna?" "Exactly! Leia's the one who truly deserves to stand beside the Alpha." Ignoring them, I take up a silver blade and slash it hard across my throat. They never knew that I wasn't truly one of them. I wasn't a wolf at all, but a human from another world. And the Moon Goddess just told me that if I die in this world, I can finally go home and reunite with my family.

I have been dating my manager boyfriend, Caleb Frost, for five years. He calls off our wedding 52 times for Gina Lowe, an aspiring actress on the set. On the day I am ready to give up on him and walk away, Gina falsely accuses me of using expired makeup on her that caused an allergic reaction. So Caleb shoves me into a sealed cellar and locks me inside. As he pushes me down, his face is twisted in disgust. "It's one thing to pick on Gina, but to use expired makeup on her and cause an allergy? Do you know how important an artist's face is? "Stay down there and think about your wrongdoings." With that, he drags the crying Gina to the hospital. The cellar's air vent is blocked. Every breath I take grows harder until I suffocate to death inside. Three days later, Caleb remembers me only after attending a gathering with Gina. But little does he know, I am already dead from the lack of oxygen in that dark cellar.

Di hari ulang tahunku, tunanganku menukarkan poin supermarket untuk membelikanku sepasang sarung tangan cuci piring. Namun, di lelang, dia menawar paling tinggi demi membelikan permata seharga 10 miliar untuk cinta pertamanya. Aku marah, tetapi dia justru menuduhku sebagai perempuan materialistis. "Aku kasih kamu uang buat dipakai, bukannya sudah sewajarnya kamu melayaniku? Ini sebenarnya ujian terakhir yang mau aku kasih sebelum nikah. Kalau kamu lulus, kita nikah. Tapi kamu benaran bikin aku kecewa." Aku mengajukan putus, dan dia langsung berbalik melamar cinta pertamanya. Lima tahun kemudian, kami bertemu kembali di sebuah pulau liburan pribadi. Kevin melihatku mengenakan pakaian kerja sambil memungut sampah di pantai, lalu langsung melontarkan ejekan. "Celine, dulu kamu remehin sarung tangan yang kubelikan, sekarang malah mungut sampah di sini." "Sekarang, sekalipun kamu mohon agar aku nikahi kamu, aku nggak akan melirikmu lagi." Aku tidak menanggapinya. Pelajaran praktik sosial putraku berjudul membersihkan halaman belakang rumah bersama orang tua. Ayahnya memperluas halaman sampai ke tepi pantai, membersihkannya sungguh melelahkan.

My husband, Gavin Chapman, is giving his secretary, Natasha Gardner, exactly what she wants. He's making her his wife. To pull it off, he fakes a lab accident, pretends to have amnesia, and brings her home. In his office, Gavin wraps his arms around Natasha and murmurs indulgently, "Not just Mrs. Chapman. Even if you want to pretend to be the vice president for a week, I'll let you." My eyes dim, but I let the lie go on. The next day, at a press conference, Gavin holds Natasha's hand and tells the world she's his real wife. He even threatens to kick me out of the company and take over all my research data. Dozens of cameras swivel toward me, waiting for my outburst. But I stay silent and simply sign the termination papers. Gavin doesn't know that the pharmaceutical project he believes will be done in seven days isn't quite finished. There's still one final step, and I'm the only one who knows how to do it.

Seven years ago, my husband, the King of the Humans, banished me to the Everfrost Plains, where my life came to a tragic end. Seven years later, a grave illness befalls the Queen of the Humans, and blood spills endlessly from her lips. The clerics claim that I have cursed her. Only the blood taken from my heart can cure her fully. Gareth Lancaster, my former husband, comforts his new wife, the queen, and says, "You have nothing to fear. To think she's still trying to harm you, her older sister, even when she has been exiled! "I'll march to the Everfrost Plains right away and carve her heart out to use as your cure. Then, I'll have her soul sent to hell to suffer in torment for all eternity." Sword in hand, Gareth heads to the Everfrost Plains. He finds a Serpentkin, one who should've died in the Great War of the Beasts and Men seven years ago. The Serpentkin has frozen solid, standing before my grave with his hands clasped together as if in prayer. In front of my grave sits a young girl. She says, "You won't be able to take my mother's heart. She died many years ago. I stayed here to let the truth be known to all…"

Three months after the mysterious disappearance of my Alpha mate during his patrol, I found him in a bar near the border. He was cuddling his childhood friend, a she-wolf, laughing smugly. "I wanted to get rid of Bethany for ages! Thanks for giving me the idea to enjoy the freedom I've been looking forward to for a long time." The she-wolf nestled delicately against his chest, feeding him wine with her mouth. She asked him when he was planning to return—his answer was nonchalant. "I'll enjoy myself for another week and go back once Bethany's gone mad. That'll teach her not to be such a micromanager!" His close friends all praised them. "Great move! After this, the Luna will obey your every word." "The witch's disguise potion is so useful. No one recognized you all this time!" No one noticed me hiding in the shadows, watching how carefree he was. I called the pack's elder; using my position as the Luna, I announced that the Alpha was dead and that it was time to prepare for the election of the next Alpha.

Gideon Gray deliberately failed to arrive on time on the day of our bonding ceremony, all so that he could defend my adoptive sister. Dusk had already fallen when he finally had his Beta relay a message to me. "If you hadn't stolen Selene's necklace, she wouldn't have been upset all day. Consider this a lesson. If you don't apologize to Selene, the bonding ceremony isn't happening." Just like that, I became the laughingstock of the entire pack. Even my own brother took Selene's side. "Maybe Gideon defending her is a good thing. It'll teach you to fix that attitude of yours." I turned and walked away. Since I could not rely on my mate or my brother, I would claim the Alpha Female position myself.