Pride If Re: Zero

My husband, Luca, had a childhood sweetheart named Sophia. Years ago, during a brutal gang shootout, Sophia shielded him from the worst of the bloodshed, and since then, she had suffered from severe PTSD. Because of that, Luca would push aside family business every year and fly to our estate on a secluded island off the coast of Sicily to spend three months “helping her recover.” “Victoria, she lost her mind because of me,” he told me. “I’m responsible for her. I hope you can be magnanimous.” So, I nodded. And eventually, I got used to the fact that every year, my husband would disappear for three months to fulfill what he called a moral obligation. That was until the day I flew in without warning to inspect the family’s money-laundering network on that island and saw him. In the town square, under the bright Mediterranean sun, Luca was standing there with a five-year-old boy by his side. “Papa, how long do we have to hide on this island?” the child asked. “I want to go to New York. I want to see the Empire State Building.” Luca laughed gently and scooped him up in his arms. With his other hand, he held Sophia’s. “Antonio, be good,” he said affectionately. “Papa’s position is… complicated. When you turn eighteen and pass the family’s initiation ceremony, I’ll kill that woman and her dead old man. Then, I’ll take you back to New York to inherit the entire Corleone family.” I stood in the shadows, unseen. Slowly, I lit a cigarette. The smoke curled around me as their voices drifted over, the conversation getting more vicious as it went. Sophia leaned into his chest, her tone sweet and coy. “Luca, I’ve been with you for seven years without a name or a title. How much longer are our son and I supposed to live like ghosts?” Luca sighed. “I don’t have a choice. The old man in the Corleone family is still alive. I married Victoria just to get her territory. Don’t worry. I’ve been adding something to her milk every day. She’ll never get pregnant in this lifetime. My family bloodline will only continue through you.” The last thread of reason in my mind snapped. In the six years of marriage we shared, I had been infertile. I’d taken countless hormone injections to stimulate ovulation. I’d knelt in church and prayed more times than I could count. Yet, all along, the devil poisoning me was my own husband. The initial shock faded quickly into rage. I crushed out my cigarette and pulled out my phone. Then, I dialed my uncle, the family’s clean-up man. “Uncle Rocco,” I said calmly, “Luca betrayed me. He betrayed the family. Order a coffin in the finest black walnut for me, and make it large, large enough to fit a family of three.”

SECRETS. Too many secrets! Naiah is a girl who grew up with hardly any guidance from her parents. She, however, grew up fine. Really fine! She had been traveling for so many years and finally settled in a place she wants to call home. Naiah went into a school, called Coded University, where she meets or better say, someone, introduced her, to an odd male cousin. From then on she meets many vibrant people along the way. She felt out of place upon meeting these people, they all seemed much too familiar with each other. That's when she learned, they all had a secret that can shatter you down the core. Those secrets, how deep did they go? How sharp can those secrets be? Time goes by and everything begins to become unleashed from their secretive tight grip. No one knows what will be the consequences once they are exposed. How deep will their scars be? Secrets! A simple word that can make your life a living hell. A sharp word that can hurt you more than you could ever think. A dangerous word that will be your greatest enemy.

Laura Robert had always have a crush on Lucien Wilson but back then he was together with Megan Davis. Years later when her father’s company went bankrupt, her father went to meet Lucien’s grandfather for help and he was given the condition that Lucien and Laura get married. The marriage started out a bit smooth, she gave birth to a don but he had a heart condition. Laura hoped that Lucien would eventually fall in love with her as she made sure to help me with whatever he needs, but instead all she got from him was humiliation and being treated badly. He would spend nights with Megan and her daughter instead of Laura and his biological son. On the night Lucien was supposed to announce Laura as his partner, his mother announced Megan Davis instead. This made Laura discovered that Lucien wasn’t ever going to love her back.

The life trial system "If You Think You Can Do Better, Prove It" burst onto the scene like a traveling circus promising wonders. The idea was plain enough: "If you reckon someone's life is a mess, and you think you can do better, go ahead and prove it. There's a reward waiting if you do." Before I knew it, my whole family had me pegged for the fool in the middle of the show. There was my mother, dreaming of turning me into some grand goose; my husband, who'd spent years dodging his rightful share of the family load; and my son, mortified by the very sight of me. They shoved me onto the "judgment seat" like I was the villain of the tale. Every last one of them swore up and down that, given my place, they'd manage my life better than I ever could. The stakes? Well, if they pulled it off, my consciousness would be erased—gone, wiped out like a mistake on a chalkboard—and turned into their personal servant. On top of that, they'd waltz off with a cool million dollars. But if they couldn't? Then I'd be the one raking in three million dollars. Now that's a gamble for the ages, isn't it?

My mother is gravely ill and needs a million dollars for surgery. I run all over the city, desperately trying to borrow the money. Just when I'm at my breaking point, my childhood friend shows up, holding a check for one million dollars. His condition? He wants to marry me. Everyone's waiting for me to say yes, but I calmly refuse. Because in my last life, even after I married him, my mother still died. Her surgery failed. Later, I accidentally overhear a conversation between him and a doctor. "Christopher, you sabotaged the surgery just to transplant Alice's mom's kidney into Jennifer? Was it worth it? If Alice finds out, you’re done." "I just want Jennifer to live. And honestly, marrying someone like Alice? My life is already over." That's when I realize our entire marriage was nothing but a carefully woven lie. He did it all for the woman he truly loved.

I am reborn on the day my wife, Courtney Clarke, embezzles company funds to pay off her childhood best friend, Travis Foster's, gambling debts. This time, I, Nathan Turner, don't sell my patents to help her plug her financial hole. Instead, I swiftly file for divorce with the court and cut ties with her. This is all because in my previous life, I had loved her with everything I had for 50 years. I was at her beck and call. She claimed she longed for a platonic marriage, and so I endured a sexless marriage for decades. All this lasted until the day of the shipwreck, when I gave her the last life vest. Yet, after she was saved, she never told the rescue team that I was still trapped inside the cabin. In my final moments, through a crack in the cabin door, I watched her throw herself into Travis' arms. "Trav, I love you. I only love you. From now on, no one will stand in the way of our love." In that moment, I abandoned all will to live, letting the sea swallow me whole. So this time, after being reborn, I choose to step aside and let her pursue her love.

Joana Alexa Claudiana, seorang mahasiswi yang sejak lahir sudah dijodohkan oleh orang tuanya pada cowok bernama Stiven mulai lelah dengan nasib bucinnya yang tak kunjung merdeka. Faktanya Joana menyukai Stiven yang kini menjadi calon dokter muda itu sejak puluhan tahun lamanya, namun Stiven tidak pernah menganggapnya ada. Meski lelah dan kesal dengan cintanya yang tak pernah dihargai, Joana tak pernah bisa menangis sama sekali karena trauma masa lalunya yang sampai saat ini masih belum ia sadari. Keaadan membaik saat seorang barista bernama Kelvin datang mewarnai hidupnya, ia lambat laun bisa melupakan Stiven. Berkat Kelvin juga Joana kembali mengingat sebuah trauma terberat dalam hidupnya sehingga ia bisa menangis lagi seperti orang normal lainnya ketika sedang merasa terpuruk. Sejak itu Joana mulai membuka hatinya untuk Kelvin. Namun disaat ia melupakan Stiven, Stiven datang untuk mengungkapkan perasaanya "Sorry, sorry if Im late to love you," ujar Stiven dengan suara halusnya dengan penuh penyesalan. Hanya saja, Kelvin bukan seorang cowok yang menyukai lawan jenis pada umumnya. Yah, menurut informasi dan banyak fakta yang Joana tahu, Kelvin adalah seorang gay. Lantas bagaimana nasib Joana seterusnya yang mulai menyukai Kelvin disaat Stiven mulai peduli dengannya?

You're Mine Book 1: In Kendrick Natividad's motto, 10 years Age-gap was nothing to possess and become obsessed with his little girl, Haya De Silva. You're Mine Book 2: Duke Melendrez didn't mind if he's 12 years older than his princess, Clarisse Ann Victorino. He will do everything to get his princess by claiming that she was his greatest obsession. You're Mine series compilation of Kendrick Natividad & Duke Melendrez.

As the only daughter of a casino magnate, I have grown up surrounded by danger and betrayal. To keep me safe, my father has raised nine bodyguards from a young age. After I come of age, he asks me to choose one of them as my fiance. Everyone expects me to pick Harry Hunt, the man I have secretly loved for years. But I do not—not after what happened in my previous life. On the day of our engagement, I was kidnapped, and my hands were pierced with poison-tipped spikes. Tortured and desperate, I called Harry for help. His response still haunts me today. "Victoria, stop with these games. Your location shows you're still in the hotel suite. Trying to pull these pity stunts just to keep me to yourself? Pathetic." With another woman laughing in the background, I closed my eyes and gave up. As the iron cage sank beneath the waves and the sea filled my lungs, my life ended. Then, I open my eyes and find myself back on the day my father asked me to make a choice. This time, Harry's name is the first I cross off the list. But why is he crying and begging me to marry him at my engagement banquet with Jeffrey Reed?

**One girl. One mission. One deadly secret coursing through her veins.** Hilda Alegre thought escaping her abusive father was the hardest thing she'd ever do. She was wrong. Sold to a powerful criminal organization, the naive Filipino girl becomes their perfect weapon—not through training, but through a single injection that turns her blood into poison. One remote command, and she becomes a walking death sentence. Her target? Aron Nicastro, the crime boss's own son who dared to defy his father and disappeared into the shadows. But infiltrating the world of exclusive art galleries and elite criminals isn't easy when you've never left your rural village. Disguised as a street vendor, Hilda must get close to a man dangerous enough that his own father wants him dead—all while hiding the lethal secret pumping through her heart. **The rules are simple: Complete the mission. Don't get caught. Don't fall in love.** **Because in her world, one wrong touch could kill them both.** As mysterious protector Art watches over her and handler Gabriel struggles with his conscience, Hilda discovers that the deadliest weapon isn't the poison in her veins—it's the growing connection she feels to the very man she's supposed to destroy and the who need to protect. In the criminal underworld, trust is fatal, love is a luxury, and innocence is the most dangerous weapon of all. **Some missions are worth dying for. Some people are worth killing to protect.** **But when you're literally toxic to love, how do you choose between your heart and your life?**