Sad Face Draw

The day my husband's first love shows up at my house, I catch a faint, cloyingly sweet scent of gardenias in the air. My genetically-linked asthma flares violently at the scent of gardenias. As expected, halfway through the meal, my chest suddenly tightens. I can barely draw a breath before collapsing onto the couch. My younger brother sprints into my bedroom like he's lost his mind, grabs an inhaler, and shoves it straight to my mouth. "Tess!" he roars. "Why the hell is there gardenia perfume?" Everyone panics. My dad grabs a liquor bottle. My mom lunges forward, grabbing the woman by the hair. And my husband positions himself in front of her, protecting his beloved first love as she trembles. Amid the chaos, I muster the last of my strength. I reach into the crack of the couch, grab another inhaler, take a deep breath, and slowly push myself upright. I let out a cold laugh as I fix my gaze on the woman cowering behind my husband. "Finished with your little performance? It's my turn now."

Aku tidak mengerti tiba-tiba tubuhku lemah, aku sering merasa sakit kepala dan letih sepanjang hari, kangen aku berhalusinasi melihat berbagai makhluk halus di sekitar rumahku tapi aku masih tidak percaya. sampai aku ke dokter dan dokter menyatakan tidak terjadi apa-apa dengan tubuh atau mentalku. belakangan, aku mengunjungi suamiku ke tempat dia bekerja, situasinya yang bekerja di luar kota membuat kami jarang berjumpa, begitu aku tiba di messnya dan mendapati dia tinggal bersama seorang wanita, lahan aku mulai menyadari bahwa wanita itu telah mengirimkan sesuatu yang jahat ke dalam rumahku dan membuat tubuhku mulai sakit.

On my third day driving for a ride-hailing app, I picked up a female passenger who was completely wasted. Early the next morning, the police knocked on my door. At the station, the woman pointed straight at my face and screamed, "It was this driver! He raped me while I was drunk in the car. I’m still bleeding down there!" Her boyfriend lunged at me, trying to punch me, but the officers restrained him. People at the station started pulling out their phones to record, shouting insults like "scumbag" and "pervert" at me. An officer who wore a gloomy face asked, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" I calmly took off my baseball cap. I even thought about unbinding my chest. "Officer, there’s something I’m really curious about. I’m a woman. With what, exactly, would I have made her bleed?"

Ever since my mom gave birth to her second child, everything in the household is tied to drawing lots. Everyone has to draw lots in order to decide whose favorite food will be served for each meal. We have to draw lots to see who among us gets a hug from our parents. Every time, I end up drawing the short end of the stick, so everyone automatically assumes that my younger sister, Anabelle Madden, gets the better lot. She easily reaps my parents' love without having to do anything at all. Whenever I feel like crying because of the injustice, Mom will scold me instantly. "I bought the lottery box because I was worried that you might feel upset about this. I'm doing this just to be fair to both of you. "If you want something, you have to be the one deciding who gets what. Your father and I won't interfere with your decision at all. Since you can't draw the better lot, that just means you have bad luck." Hence, I keep practicing my lot-drawing skills every day, hoping that I can eventually draw the better lot in order to obtain my parents' love. But for ten years, I never get to draw the better lot. Not even once. On my birthday, Anabelle wants to go to the amusement park, so Mom tells us to draw lots once again. I secretly glue two short lots together before giving it to Mom in an attempt to get her to stay with me. Instead, she slaps me and berates me for being a disobedient child who cheats in lot-drawing. Then, she leaves the house with Anabelle. When I fall to the floor, I feel the short sticks piercing through my neck.

My new dormmate thinks my boyfriend is a player and advises me to break up with him. After I politely reject her, she gets mad and complains about me online, saying I'm love-addled brain. Her video goes viral, and the online community calls me an ingrate who doesn't know what's good for me. When I see the smug smile on my dormmate's face, I slap her without even batting an eye. "Stop acting like you're a champion for feminism when all you can think of is making yourself seem better than other women!"

My brother wants to become the godson of a Mafia don. As his sister, I was picking out his burial plot. In my last life, I overheard the truth that the selection wasn’t an honor but a suicide mission—used once, then erased. I did everything I could to stop him, but he cursed me for blocking his path to power. With no other choice, I secretly called the police. So, my brother was arrested; his dream shattered. Instead, someone else took his place, and during a bloody shootout, that man proved himself. He became the don’s sole successor. Our family lost its home, paying the price for offending the Mafia. My parents and my brother went insane. Convinced everything was my fault, the three of them worked together and buried me alive in the hills behind town. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my brother excitedly announced he was going to take part in the selection. Looking at his stupid, clueless face, I smiled. This time, I’ll watch with my own eyes as he becomes nothing more than a replaceable lapdog.

Caramel hancur ketika Leon membatalkan pernikahannya begitu saja. Padahal, ia tengah mengandung anak mereka. Parahnya lagi, pria itu menjadi boss baru di tempat kerjanya dan mengaku telah bertunangan dengan Alexa--wanita yang selama ini diakui sebatas teman masa kecilnya. Sebenarnya, apa yang terjadi? Lantas, bagaimana nasib janin yang tengah dikandung Caramel? Akankah Leon menyesali keputusannya?

Senia dibesarkan oleh keluarga yang memanggilnya anak, namun memperlakukannya seperti bayangan yang tidak pernah benar-benar diinginkan. Pada malam pesta pernikahan, acara yang sengaja dirancang oleh keluarganya dan Hanan, calon suaminya, untuk mempermalukannya, Senia jatuh dari lantai teratas hotel. Ia mati di hadapan mereka dalam kondisi mengenaskan. Senia tidak pernah menyangka bahwa keluarga dan kekasih yang dulu menjaganya dengan penuh kehati-hatian, meski hanya sesaat, dapat berubah begitu kejam… hanya demi membuat saudara kembarnya, Livia, merasa bahagia.

Pernikahan yang awalnya dilakukan karena keinginan dari kedua orang tua mereka masing-masing. Pernikahan yang awalnya terjalin tanpa adanya perasaan cinta sama sekali kini berlahan-lahan membuat keduanya saling terikat satu sama lain. Seiring berjalannya waktu yang mereka habiskan bersama memunculkan getaran aneh di hati mereka, ya cinta mulai tumbuh di hati mereka berdua. Meskipun Ezel memiliki perasaan terhadap Sthella, istrinya. Namun dia tetap bersihkeras menolak perasaan itu karena wanita di masa lalunya, yang tidak bisa dia lupakan sampai saat ini. Awalnya pernikahan mereka berjalan dengan baik sama seperti pasangan pada umumnya, ya walaupun terkadang mereka masih selisih paham dan bertengkar. Ezel yang memperlakukan Sthella sedikit tidak adil dan manusiawi sebagai seorang suami, selalu melakukan apapun tanpa mau mendengarkan saran orang lain. Akan tetapi, di balik ketidakperduliannya ada kasih sayang yang begitu besar pada Sthella. Ditengah-tengah kebahagiaan mereka yang mulai bisa saling menerima, wanita masa lalu Ezel muncul kembali membuat Ezel di lema. Mampukah Ezel menolak perasaan masa lalu? Mampukah Ezel memberikan cinta yang sama besar kepada kedua istrinya?

Aksara menepati janjinya untuk menunggu selama 12 kali gajian. Ia memelihara rindunya seorang diri kepada Elang, sahabat yang telah ia bantu berdiri dan bangkit dari keterpurukan. Sementara nun jauh di tanah pengabdian, Elang telah menemukan hati yang baru. Melupakan janjinya. "Sebagai siapapun nanti, kamu adalah orang pertama yang akan aku temui." Itu adalah janji yang Elang ucap sebelum meninggalkan Aksara. Tapi, Elang lupa untuk memastikan, apakah saat ia pulang, Aksara masih di tempat yang sama untuk menunggunya.