Research Design Creswell

Chuck Bassett, heir to an Urbington East fortune in Nuvark City, has dated 42 girlfriends—all foreign, all in white dresses, every single one with a mole at the corner of her eyebrow. People joke about his obsession, saying he'll never get over his first love, Lylith Fowler. Then, Lorrie Scarrow shows up. She's sharp, short-haired, hates dresses, and her eyes are clear and bright. She's nothing like the women he's dated before. Chuck buys her a private island. When she mentions how much she loves the stars, he fills the sky above their estate with millions of drones, crafting a shimmering galaxy just for her. He even gets her initial tattooed beneath his collarbone. Everyone is amazed. Chuck has finally moved on from the past. Even Lorrie starts to believe it. Until she spots him in the red-light district, shelling out a fortune to book a hostess for a whole month. The woman has short hair and a button-down shirt. She looks just like Lorrie. Chuck's friends are floored. "Have you lost your mind? Lylith changed her look, and now you're after someone who looks even more like her? Remember how she dumped you for that wealthy foreign businessman when she thought you were broke? "She only came crawling back after she found out you're the heir to one of the Four Great Families. You've always said there's nothing you hate more than women like that!" Chuck knocks back the shot. "I hate her, and I love her. She pulled me out of a fire ten years ago. No one else can ever replace her in my heart." "And what about Lorrie? You proposed to her! She gave up a career at one of the world's top design firms for you. Aren't you worried she'll walk away when she finds out?" Chuck leans back on the couch, his expression cold. "I won't marry a traitor. Lorrie's pure, innocent—the closest thing to how Lylith used to be. So I'll still marry her. She loves me too much to walk away." Unseen in the shadows, Lorrie stands frozen, her heart plummeting. Turns out, she's just another her.

No dia em que Sandra Valente sofreu um aborto, Pablo Barros estava com o filho deles e seu primeiro amor, assistindo ao espetáculo favorito dela. — Você sempre faz esse drama todo. Qual a graça disso? — Papai, troca da minha mamãe. Ela é muito chata! No aniversário de Sandra, ela voltou do hospital exausta, apenas para encontrar o homem que amava comemorando o aniversário de seu primeiro amor. Sandra quase deu a própria vida para trazer ao mundo o filho deles, mas o filho jurava proteger a mulher que havia roubado tudo dela. Com os olhos vermelhos e um sorriso amargo, Sandra decidiu, sem hesitar, deixar para trás a prisão de um casamento que a havia aprisionado por cinco anos. Pai e filho achavam que, sem a família Barros, Sandra não teria forças para seguir em frente. Mas, para a surpresa deles, ela se tornou alguém que eles jamais poderiam alcançar. — Sr. Pablo, o carro projetado pela Sra. Sandra está em primeiro lugar nas vendas nacionais! Superou o Grupo Barros por completo! — Sr. Pablo, a Sra. Sandra venceu o campeonato mundial de design de inteligência artificial! — Sr. Pablo, a Sra. Sandra foi convidada para o banquete presidencial por líderes internacionais! Consumido pelo arrependimento, Pablo, junto com o filho, ajoelhou-se, implorando para que ela voltasse: — Meu amor, por favor, me ame de novo! Se você voltar, eu estou disposto a fazer qualquer coisa! No entanto, do outro lado da porta, um homem deslumbrante, com um colar de couro no pescoço, ajoelhava-se sobre um dos joelhos. Ele enrolou uma guia cravejada de diamantes na palma da mão de Sandra, enquanto seus olhos, cheios de uma paixão insana, fixavam-se nela: — Minha dona, a partir de hoje, eu só me curvarei a você. Por favor, aceite minha submissão.

"Tapi aku tebak hubungan terlarang kalian sudah sangat lama sebelum itu, bukan?" Risa tersenyum masam. "Sialnya aku tidak berdaya mendepakmu, karena Satria tidak mengijinkannya. Satria selalu protes ketika aku punya keinginan untuk bercerai denganmu. Hah Satria yang malang, yang sejak awal tidak pernah kau inginkan, namun ia begitu menyayangimu." "Untuk Satria …, maaf Ris, maafkan--." Danu tidak dapat mengeluarkan suara mengingat Satria yang baru dua hari meninggal dunia. Jauh di lubuk hatinya, ia juga sangat menyayangi Satria. "Maaf, hhh tidak cukup kata maaf dengan kelakuan bejatmu yang tidak pernah peduli kepada Satria. Dia Satria, anak yang dari awal tidak kau inginkan. Dia, yang tidak pernah kau perhatikan ketika dalam kandungan. Dia, yang harus lahir tanpa kehadiranmu menyambutnya. Dia, yang bahkan sampai hembusan napas terakhirnya pun, kau tidak peduli. Dimana mata batinmu itu, hah!" Risa sudah bergerak maju menunjuk dàda sebelah kiri Danu dengan telunjuk jarinya. "Kau seorang manusia yang dianugerahi pikiran, namun kau menutup mata, seakan buta. Aku tidak peduli kalau kau tidak pernah menganggapku ada, pérsetan dengan cinta, tapi Satria adalah darah dagingmu. Anak kandungmu, teganya kamu setelah menelantarkan dia ketika dalam kandunganku, kau masih sibuk mengejar kepuasanmu bersama selingkuhanmu ke luar negri disaat Satria bertaruh nyawa melawan kematiannya." Napas Risa tersengal, dàdanya naik turun tidak beraturan setelah mengeluarkan semua unek-unek isi hatinya, selama ini. *** Risa Aulia 25 tahun harus merasakan sakit yang bertubi-tubi ketika ia dihianati oleh suaminya Danuarta Prasetya 30 tahun dengan sahabat baiknya Karina Jelita 25 tahun, dua orang yang sangat di cintainya. Dapatkah Risa menyembuhkan kembali hatinya yang terlanjur hancur? Siapakah orang yang akan membantunya sedangkan ayah kandungnya yang menjadi tumpuan hidupnya juga sudah meninggalkan dirinya seorang diri di dunia ini. Akankah Dio Al Gazhali 22 tahun pria blasteran Jawa-Turki mampu menyembuhkan luka hatinya Risa. Sedangkan Danu, sang mantan datang kembali meminta kesempatan kedua. Cover Design by: Yozora Hikari

Le jour où Claire Jarry a fait une fausse couche, Adrien Charon et leur fils, Léo Charon, assistaient au spectacle préféré de l'amour idéal d'Adrien. « Tu es toujours aussi déraisonnable, tu trouves ça drôle ? » « Papa, change de maman, elle est trop pénible ! » Le jour de son anniversaire, Claire revenait de l'hôpital lorsqu'elle a découvert son mari en train de fêter l'anniversaire de cette femme. Le fils qu'elle avait mis au monde au péril de sa vie répétait sans cesse qu'il voulait protéger celle qui lui avait tout pris. Les yeux rougis, Claire a esquissé un sourire et elle a quitté, sans hésiter, la prison conjugale qui l'avait enfermée pendant cinq ans. Adrien et Léo croyaient qu'en quittant la famille Charon, Claire ne survivrait pas ; à leur grande surprise, elle est devenue une femme hors de leur portée. « Monsieur Charon ! Le modèle conçu par Madame a pris la tête des ventes nationales, il a totalement écrasé le groupe Charon ! » « Monsieur Charon ! Madame a remporté le championnat du monde de design en intelligence artificielle ! » « Monsieur Charon ! Madame a été invitée par un président étranger à un banquet d'État ! » Le cœur en miettes, Adrien a tiré son fils et s'est mis à genoux devant elle : « Claire, je t'en supplie, aime-moi encore une fois ! Si tu reviens, je suis prêt à vivre comme un chien ! » Mais, de l'autre côté, Maxime Delaunay, d'une beauté troublante, portait un collier de cuir ; Il a enroulé la laisse ornée de diamants autour de la paume de Claire, le regard brûlait d'une dévotion folle : « Ma maîtresse, à partir d'aujourd'hui, je ne vivrai que pour toi. Recueille-moi, je t'en prie. »

The day my brother, Chester Rodney, came to the orphanage to take me home, my boyfriend Dominic Huxley looked at me coldly and said, "If you choose to acknowledge your birth family, we're over." I knew he had his pride—he could never accept the difference in our social standing. So, for him, I turned my back on the family I had yearned for my whole life. In the decades that followed, I toiled without complaint, saving every cent to help him rise to success. By the time I was not yet fifty, overwork had worn me down. Lying on my deathbed, my breathing shallow and weak, I watched Dominic on television. He was now an acclaimed scientist, just awarded the nation's highest research honor. Tears welled in his eyes as he thanked another woman. "All these years," he said, "I never felt worthy of Alicia. But now, maybe I can use this award as the prologue to a love I've owed her for decades." The "Alicia" he spoke of was the woman mistakenly switched with me at birth—the false heiress the Rodney family raised as their own. The camera zoomed out. Alicia Rodney stood radiant, graceful, and perfectly preserved by years of luxury, blushing as she accepted the trophy. "I waited for you for decades," she said sweetly, "but marriage is still something I'll need to ask my brother about." Chester, who had long taken over the family, looked at her with an indulgent tenderness tinged with something unspoken. "I was adopted by our uncle back then for one reason—to protect Alicia. Making the only princess of the Rodney family happy has always been my life's mission." Only then did I realize—everything I thought I had chosen freely, every sacrifice I made without regret, was nothing but a trap, carefully woven by two men, all for Alicia. The betrayal pierced my heart. I died without peace. But when I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day Chester came to take me home from the orphanage. I glanced past the two men eyeing me with subtle disdain. Without hesitation, I stepped into the car. "Take me home," I said. This time, I'd send whoever stole my life back to the gutter they slithered from.

My father suffered from serious manic depression. When I was eight, my house was robbed and my mother was killed. I became blind while shielding my father from being stabbed. I became the only solace for my father after that. Anyone who hurt me would suffer my father's wrath. When my classmate made fun of me for being blind, her thermos suddenly exploded a few days later and she was blinded. When the class bully targeted me, he was found lying in an alley the next day. Something had dropped on him from a high building that broke his limbs. Not long after, my father achieved great success in his career. He was known for being a sharp businessman. I continued to be the most important person to him. Whoever dared touch a hair on me was as good as dead. I was lucky that a top medical research center overseas successfully came up with a treatment to restore my eyesight. On the day they removed my bandages, I received my father's wedding invitation. [Rina, I found you a new mother. We'll both dote on you when you come home.] My father told me how gentle and kind my new mother was and how much he looked forward to us meeting each other. I was touched and specially prepared a present for her. However, she instructed her bodyguards to abduct me and bring me to an abandoned factory. "Of all the things to learn in life, how dare a young girl like you learn to seduce another woman's husband? How shameless! How dare you steal something that belonged to my husband's late wife? I'll skin you alive!" My present was flung to the ground and destroyed. She ordered her bodyguards to force themselves on me and broke my bones. She skinned me alive and put plaster all over me to turn me into a statue. She then put me into an exquisite gift box to give to my father as a surprise. "Sweetheart, this is the vixen you've kept hidden from me. I turned her into an angel statue. You can see her every night if you put her in your bedroom. You won't need to sneak out to see her.

Leon Vincent, the shark of Warren Street, is the one who raised me. Twelve years ago, a fire tore through the orphanage and took everything from me. He was the one who pulled me out of the flames and gave me a second chance at life. To repay him, we make a weird deal—a 99-debt contract. I have to either obey him or be abandoned 99 times. After that, the debt will be cleared. Every time he goes on a date with some high-society socialite, he'll toss another insanely expensive piece of jewelry into my safe. In just two short years after turning 18, I've accumulated 96 diamonds in my safe, each one marking the 96 times he's cast me aside. One day, his fiancee, Elena Harrington, sends me a provocative email. "Dearest Isabelle, Leon and I are finalizing the wedding invitations. Do you think velvet with gold foil or matte leather would be more elegant? The ceremony's early next month. Can't wait to see you there! Love, Elena." Right after that, Leon calls, asking me to pack his bags for the summit in Parienne tomorrow. I simply send the wedding gift I've prepared in advance—a seven-figure emerald necklace—straight to his darling Elena without any words. That night, Leon returns to the apartment and finds out what I've done. He praises me for being considerate. Late into the night, he pulls me into his arms with rare tenderness. Nothing is left between us; no clothes, no holding back. He whispers that he wants to give me a special kind of reward, one that only I can carry. Somehow, Elena discovers my pregnancy. She stands on the balcony of Vincent Estate, screaming like her life depends on it. "Leon, I'm begging you! Don't let her have that baby! If you do, I'll jump!" The cold and proud Leon begs me, for the first time, to get rid of the baby. Everyone at the party awaits my breakdown, but I just smile softly and nod. "Alright. I will." He whispers in my ear, "Our marriage is just a business arrangement. I don't even like her. Once we're divorced, I'll give you another baby." What he fails to realize is that it was never in my plans to keep this one. There are only three more times left before I pay off this life debt from when he pulled me out of that fire all those years ago. After the 99th time, I board a ship bound for Azara to join a medical research mission. From that moment on, my life will be mine alone to live for.