Spring Betty

Betty Da Jogja Menul, gadis kampung berbibir sumbing itu terdampar di pantri sebuah perusahaan media terkenal di Jakarta. Namun itu sangat disukurinya, karena kini ia tidak harus lagi keluar masuk hutan, untuk mencari rumput dan kayu bakar. Terlebih ia sangat suka membaca dan menulis. Setiap waktu luang, dia gunakan untuk menulis. Semua hal dia tuangkan dalam notes merah jambu. Namun, semua berubah saat ia kehilangan notes merah jambu itu. Menul kemudian masuk pada intriks perusahaan. Terlebih saat ia harus berdekatan dengan Andre, calon kandidat CEO perusahaan tersebut. Berbagai cibiran, bahkan makian, sering ia terima. Termasuk Reno, kandidat CEO yang lain. Ia begitu membenci Menul. Ada apa dengan Menul? Apakah nasibnya akan sama dengan Betty la Fea, gadis buruk rupa yang kemudian menjelma menjadi gadis yang diidamkan banyak lelaki?

Musim Semi adalah musim yang disukai orang-orang. Musim yang seharusnya memberikan kebahagiaan, karena Musim Semi adalah musim yang mengawali sebuah kehidupan. Di mata orang-orang, hidup Jolanka tampaknya tak pernah bisa menyentuh Musim Semi. Tapi, Jolanka positif, bahwa ia bisa merasakan Musim Semi-nya meski hal itu datang di hari kematiannya.

I've been with Shawn Turner for a decade. He doesn't give me the wedding he promised me. I'm about to propose to him after preparing for a year when I overhear him talking about me. "Rowena's like an out-of-season garment—there's nothing exciting about her. It'd be a waste to throw her out, but I also feel washed out with her." His friends tease him and warn him to be careful. He merely laughs carelessly and confidently. "Nothing will happen. Rowena can't live without me—she's liked me since we were kids, after all." He smugly pulls the young woman I sponsored close. They act intimately with each other. I look down at the diamond ring I've prepared for my proposal. Then, I go on a blind date and get into a flash marriage with someone else. Shawn's eyes are bloodshot when we next run into each other—he sees my pregnant belly. "Who gave you the nerve to cheat on me, Rowena?"

My boyfriend thought I was just a nerd. When he was drunk, he complained to his friends. “Does it matter if she has good grades? Her family’s broke. You know, I could slap a wad of cash in her face, and she’d come crawling like a dog.” However, I later ended up crying and sitting on a certain someone’s lap. He kissed me from behind my ear down to my neck and chuckled softly. “Hmm, a nerd? Does he even know that you’re actually the daughter of the city’s biggest real estate tycoon?”

For the ninety-ninth time, Thomas Wells brought a strange woman home. Following his instructions, I was washing Chloe Brooks's feet. Without warning, she kicked the basin violently, sending hot water splashing onto my face. "Thomas, Ms. Harris just pinched my foot! My feet are for ballet—I'm in so much pain. What am I supposed to do for tomorrow's competition?" Thomas flew into a rage. To punish me, he had someone bring a brazier, and I was forced to press my foot into the burning coals. The smell of burning flesh filled the entire living room in an instant. Thomas paid no attention as I collapsed to the floor, curling up and breaking out in a cold sweat. He turned away, carrying Chloe off to the bedroom. Shortly afterward, I called Thomas's sister, Tracy. "Tracy, I'm sorry. I don't intend to be with Thomas anymore." After that, I left and vanished from his life. Later, I heard that Mr. Wells of the Wells family had gone mad.

When my father's business collapsed, he racked up an astronomical debt to the Andor family. And when they finally came knocking, he did what no loving parent should ever do—he collateralized me, his only daughter, handing me over to Cassian before vanishing off the face of the earth. For ten long years, I stayed by Cassian Andor's side. He treated me with a tenderness so indulgent it bordered on worship. There was nothing I asked for that he would not give; there was no whim of mine he would not entertain. Everyone in our world knew me as his princess. I grew up believing with certainty that once I came of age, he would sweep me into his arms, march me down the aisle, and make me his wife. But reality—cold, brutal, and as dazzlingly cruel as the world we lived in—had other plans. Instead of the ring I had dreamed of, Cassian gifted a breathtaking pink diamond—the very symbol of eternal devotion—to his assistant, Heidi Torres. As if that wasn't betrayal enough, he threw a lavish celebration in her honor, a veritable explosion of flowers. He knew I was deathly allergic to pollen. Yet he still left me stranded there, drowning in a sea of blossoms. Eventually, I collapsed in a violent asthma attack, gasping and clawing for air, teetering on the edge of consciousness. And Cassian? He merely tightened his hold around Heidi in his arms and cast me a cold glance. "Your allergies have been fine for ages," he said with a sneer. "Why the sudden drama today? Don't tell me you're faking it." At that moment, as I lay there humiliated and struggling to breathe, I realized there were exactly seven days left until my twentieth birthday since when I could register a marriage.

Selena sure is a lucky girl. She became a scholar at the prestigious Wynnford University, and she also caught the attention of the school's twin heartthrobs, Alexis and Alexander. But this is not because of her looks or intellect. It's because she reminds them of their missing childhood friend, Limstella. Then there's Marga, the campus queen, who is a childhood friend of the twins and is overprotective of them. How will Selena compete with the memories they had with Limstella? Can she replace Limstella in their hearts? Can she get closer to them with Marga doing everything to make her life miserable? And what if the secrets from the past have been revealed? How will these affect all of them?

I've been pregnant for six months, but my Alpha mate, William, has delayed our mating ceremony 29 times. He's waiting for his adopted sister, Rita, to find a mate so they can have a "two-couple mating ceremony." The 30th time I altered the waist of my beloved mating ceremony dress, the bridal shop assistant looked embarrassed, "Miss, this dress really can't be widened anymore. How about you choose another one?" Disappointment rose in my throat like bile. I called William, asking when the ceremony would finally happen. But William said: "I will give you an unforgettable mating ceremony, but Rita's mate hasn't been matched yet. Darling, can you wait a little longer? We shouldn't ruin her whole life over such a small thing, right? I know you'll understand. You're always so kind." My heart clenched suddenly. So, my dream mating ceremony is just a small thing. Rita's sweet, high-pitched voice chimed in: "Brother, my mating ceremony dress matches yours so perfectly!" That was the moment I realized I was never the one being chosen. I looked down at my round pregnant belly, tears slipping quietly from the corners of my eyes. Then, with a trembling hand, I dialed the number that had always been waiting for me. "I'm ready to leave." After the call ended, the clerk cautiously asked: "Would you like to choose another one?" "No. Just cancel it, please." I took one last glance at the dress that would never belong to me. If this ceremony was never for me, then I won't stay for it.

The Alpha of our pack decreed that his heir’s mate must be chosen from a decent background. But the next Alpha, Bleiz, chose me as his mate—a slave picked up by a healer. For me, Bleiz gave up his inheritance and endured ninety-nine lashes, blood soaking through his shirt. Still, he smiled at me and said, “Nancy, don’t be afraid. You’re the only one I want as my future Luna.” Later, the Alpha finally relented, agreeing to let Bleiz and me elope, but Bleiz had to leave an heir for the family. Since then, the words Bleiz said to me most often were: “Please wait.” The first time, Bleiz asked me to wait—for him to get another omega pregnant. The second time, Bleiz asked me to wait again, because the first child was a daughter, and the Alpha family wanted a son. Just when I thought I’d finally endured enough, Bleiz and Mona’s daughter—who had just celebrated her 100-day celebration—suddenly developed a high fever and vomited blood. Everyone believed I had poisoned her. When I was stripped naked and thrown into the freezing ice pond in the dead of night, Bleiz stood at the edge, watching. “I told you to wait,” he said, his eyes filled with disappointment. “Why did you hurt my child?” This time, I decided I would wait no longer.

It has been 99 times that Henry and I have filed the application for divorce and then withdrawn it. Each time before finalizing the divorce, Henry always waits for me to humbly beg him to stay married. I turned down the offer to be the chief composer at a famous studio in Vienna because Henry didn't want a long-distance relationship. I deleted all my male friends because Henry didn't want me to be too friendly to them. I stopped wearing red lipstick, composing, and traveling alone, because he said married women should stay at home instead of being impulsive. Only after I finally manage to appease him will he allow me to withdraw the divorce application. After my 100th divorce application, as I was leaving, the deputy clerk asked me curiously: "So, when are you going to withdraw your application this time?" I looked at Henry's cold back in front of me, forced to smile with tears, and told myself in my heart— This time, there will be no withdrawal of the application. After the 30-day cooling-off period, we'll be officially divorced. But why did his love only find its voice when I had already walked away?