Permainan Simon Says

“Richard, if Lynn and I were hit by a car at the same time, who would you save first?” I once asked, curled up in his arms, teasing like a spoiled pup. He just scoffed, ruffling my hair. “That kind of situation doesn’t exist.” But when blinding headlights tore through the rain— He didn’t hesitate. He shielded Lynn in his embrace, and I was thrown into the blood-soaked street. Through the agony, I heard my phone buzz. A message from him: [What tantrum are you throwing now? Why didn’t you come to Moonstone today?] While the machines beeped beside me, I caught the sound of his gentle voice drifting from the next room—comforting her. “Don’t be afraid. I just reacted to the person closest to me.” That was the moment I wiped away bloody tears with a smile. Fine, Richard. Then you’ll watch with your own eyes—ten days from now, when I put on a wedding dress, it won’t be for you. It’ll be for your sworn enemy, the Alpha of Bloodmoon. On the eve of the ceremony, a helicopter thundered down onto the estate balcony. He kicked open my door, yanked my wrist with his tie. “Come with me.”

"Mas Bayu ada?" Tanya seorang wanita di depan pintu dengan angkuh. "Kamu siapa?" tanyaku. Wanita itu tidak menjawab, justru langsung masuk rumah tanpa dipersilahkan seolah ini rumahnya. Baru sebulan pernikahan ini dengan lelaki pilihan ibu tiri. Pagi ini, wanita itu datang yang membuat duniaku terasa mau runtuh. Pernikahan ini seperti sebuah permainan. Ibu tiri wanita itu dan suami sekongkol demi ambisi masing-masing. Mereka kira aku sudah mati. Aku kembali dengan wajah berbeda karena ingin membalaskan dendam atas kejadian malam yang hampir merenggut nyawaku. Inilah awal terungkapnya kenapa aku diselamatkan seseorang. Permainan balas dendam menjebak dalam dilema rasa cinta.

David Lewis mati di usia 39 sebagai pecundang. Dia bangkrut, sendirian, dikhianati ibu tiri dan kakak tiri yang merebut warisan miliaran dolar keluarganya. Tapi dia terbangun kembali di tubuhnya yang berusia 21 tahun. Wajah lebih tampan. Tubuh sempurna. Dan ukuran... yang membuat setiap wanita tidak bisa berpaling. Dengan pengetahuan 18 tahun ke depan dan mental yang sudah ditempa penderitaan, David punya rencana yang sempurna. Dia tidak hanya akan merebut warisannya. Dia akan menghancurkan mereka yang mengkhianatinya dengan cara yang paling intim. Membuat mereka terobsesi, bergantung, mengemis untuk tubuhnya. Dan ketika mereka sudah menjadi budaknya... permainan yang sebenarnya baru dimulai.

“Dia ternyata mantan kekasihku, Hans” seru diriku ketika melihat seorang laki-laki dihadapanku saat itu. Tidak pernah terbayangkan dalam pikiranku, aku akan dipertemukan lagi dengan seorang laki-laki yang sampai saat ini masih aku cintai. Naasnya, dia sudah menjadi suami orang lain, perempuan yang sengaja orangtuanya pilihkan untuk menjadi pendamping hidupnya. Betapa hancurnya hidupku ketika mengetahui aku adalah alat untuk membayar hutang keluargaku kepada perusahaannya. Menjijikan sekali ketika mengetahui dia meminta diriku untuk mengandung anaknya, karena istrinya tidak bisa memberikan keturunan untuk keluarga besarnya, dia dinyatakan mandul. Dan saat ini, aku yang menanggung semuanya. Menjadi alat bayar hutang keluargaku kepadanya, bertemu dengan satu-satunya laki-laki yang bisa mengambil dan mendapatkan tempat khusus dihatiku sekaligus laki-laki yang menghancurkan hatiku dengan sangat di masa lalu, kemudian mengandung anak darinya tanpa ada hubungan pernikahan. Belum sembuh luka yang ia berikan, saat ini harus ada luka baru yang aku terima. “Tugasmu hanya mengandung anakku saja, jangan pernah berpikir bisa mengambilnya dariku,” ucap Dheyna, istri dari mantan kekasihku dengan tatapan mata memberikan peringatan.

Erwin Wilson wakes up to find himself in a novel. This book Erwin read a long time ago, did not expect that after so many years he would come to this place again and become a self-sacrificing character. Then Erwin met another self-sacrificing character. How unlucky enough to marry someone. Erwin thought this marriage would be a marriage in the name of no love. Unexpectedly, one evening, Frederick pulled him onto the bed and whispered confessions in his ear. “Erwin, you’re mine!”

Amanda bertemu dengan Steve di sebuah pesta ulang tahun mantan temannya. Sebuah kesalahan baginya karena membiarkan kesadarannya hilang hingga tanpa sadar telah mencium sembarang pria. Sayangnya, Steve bukan sembarang pria. Dia pewaris sebuah perusahaan besar dengan aset kekayaan berlimpah. Dalam semalam, statusnya berubah dari pria yang hampir menikah menjadi pria brengsek yang berselingkuh. Dan itu semua hanya karena seorang wanita asing yang sialannya menarik. Tentu saja, pria itu tidak akan membiarkan siapapun yang mengganggunya bebas begitu saja. Itu pasti.

Demi menemukan kalung pusaka keluarga kekasihku, aku rela bertahan di tengah demam 40 derajat celcius, merangkak di tengah hujan selama lima jam penuh. Dengan sisa tenaga yang ada, aku berniat segera pulang untuk beristirahat setelah berhasil menemukannya. Namun, karena khawatir pada kekasihku, aku kembali lagi. Akan tetapi, pemandangan di depan mataku menghancurkan segalanya. Aku melihat kekasihku membuang kalung itu ke tempat sampah dengan santai, lalu tertawa terbahak-bahak bersama teman-temannya. "Kak Gading keren! Demi membalas dendam pada kakaknya Sekar Danantya, kamu sampai tega menyiksa adiknya seperti itu. Kalau kakaknya tahu, dia pasti bakal mati saking marahnya!" "Sekar itu juga bego banget sih, sudah dikerjain 90 kali lebih masih saja nempel kayak perangko. Dia nggak sadar apa, kalau cuma Manda Hapsari yang ada di hati Kak Gading?" "Lagian salah kakaknya Sekar sendiri sih, cari gara-gara sama Gading Bramantyo. Tunggu saja sampai genap 99 kali. Begitu video-video ini dikirim ke kakaknya, wah, fiks bakal kena mental tuh orang!"

I am a firefighter. A beam crashes onto me in the middle of a burning building. At the same time, my oxygen is about to run out. I writhe and struggle as much as I can to reach for my backup oxygen canister, only to feel my fingers brushing over a bottle of water instead. When I turn around, I see my wife, Leah Sawyer, giving the last backup oxygen canister to her new mentee, Roderick Wyndham. I begin calling out to her via a walkie-talkie. "Leah, I'm being pinned down right now, and my oxygen's running out! Where is the oxygen canister?" As Leah shields Roderick behind her, she replies impatiently, "I've already given it to Roderick. It's his first time inside a burning building, so he's frightened. Having an extra canister on him gives him a sense of security. "You're already a veteran firefighter, so you can just think up a way to resolve your situation. Don't go around wasting precious resources." I can feel thick smoke infiltrating my lungs at that moment. Feelings of asphyxiation soon overwhelm me. "My leg is broken, so I can't move at all! Without oxygen, I won't be able to hold out till I get rescued!" But Leah merely chortles in response. "Stop playing the pity card! Every time we're out on a mission, you're always the cowardly one who's terrified of dying! You have zero sense of dedication at all! I shouldn't have let you join the firefighting squad, to begin with! "What's the use of you clinging to the equipment? Giving it to the newbies is the best way of maximizing its value!" I can only smile bitterly in response. Using what's left of my strength, I switch to a public channel and begin reporting to the command center. "For the record, Captain Leah Sawyer deliberately tampered with the essential rescue equipment in order to protect Roderick Wyndham, causing me, a fellow firefighter, to be trapped in a deadly situation. "I hereby request the immediate activation of the Firefighter Emergency Evacuation Act. Also, I formally charge Leah with gross negligence and attempted homicide."

At eight months pregnant, I was hit by a car and gave birth early. But unexpectedly, I regained my hearing. Outside the operating room, my husband was talking to the doctor. “Mr. Griffin, the baby is fully developed and stable. A normal delivery should be possible—” Albert Griffin cut him off immediately, “No, induce the labor now! I promised Summer that I would let our child rightfully join the Griffin family. Paulina is almost a month old. If she gets any older, people will figure out the truth. “If this baby doesn’t make it, that’s fine. She can always have another one. But this is the only way she will truly believe that Paulina is her own child.” I closed my eyes tightly and forced myself to stay calm. He thought his lies were perfect, but he was wrong. I heard everything. And if he could lie and pretend, so could I.

As I took my newborn daughter from the nurse, I heard the voice of the baby in the next bed echoing in my head. “Don’t take her, Mommy. I’m your real baby!” The doctor and nurses did not seem to hear a thing. I thought I was hallucinating due to my fatigue, so I continued nursing my baby girl. “How dare you cry, you burdensome wretch? I’ll pinch you if you keep crying!” The baby’s grandmother picked him up and walked outside, but the voice came again, crying, “The mean old lady is taking me away. Mommy, look over here quickly! Look at the birthmark on my left ear!” I froze. My first child, who had died in an accident, had a birthmark on his left ear.