Novel & Cerita Synonym Stunned

I head over to my boyfriend, Skylar Reynold's house during the holidays to pay his family a visit. Skylar's mother, Helen Benett, smiles and says to me in front of everyone, "According to our rules, a future daughter-in-law must give cash gifts to all the children and elderly people in the family in her first year here. You must give every person at least 200 dollars to show how generous you are." I'm stunned, to say the least. Skylar nudges me before murmuring, "It's just a few thousand dollars, isn't it? Doesn't the holiday bonus that you've received before the holidays cover everything?" I look at the living room, where 15 children and 8 elderly people are present. That makes it 4,600 dollars—the same figure that I've received after the taxes are deducted from the bonus. I let out a soft chuckle at that moment. Then, I turn to look at Helen. "According to your rules, Mrs. Reynold, I shall be the one giving away the cash gifts. But according to my family's rules, the groom's family has to give the bride's family cash gifts as well. The cash gifts must be doubled so that our marriage will be graced by luck. "It'll be 9,200 dollars altogether. Would you like to pay me in cash, or are you going to transfer it into my account?"

The ambulance that's carting a pregnant woman is currently racing down the highway. The pregnant woman's water has already broken, which means she's in a dire situation right now. As I clutch the steering wheel tightly, I make sure to press the gas pedal all the way to the maximum. But the hospital director, Corey Johnston, who has tagged along for the ride, suddenly issues an order. "Pull up at the rest stop ahead." I'm momentarily stunned by the order. But I soon protest anxiously, "The patient can't afford to wait at all! She and her baby might die anytime soon!" Corey merely waves a hand impatiently. "Who's the one calling the shots here—me or you? I've been dabbling in the medical world for 30 years! As if a driver like you know better than me!" Thinking that Corey needs to go to the bathroom urgently, I soon park at the rest stop. But I witness him strolling into a supermarket leisurely, only to come out with two huge bags of snacks a long time later. "I bought my daughter the local specialities. She loves snacks like these the most." As Corey speaks, he tosses the snacks and his phone onto the front passenger seat. His phone screen flickers to life due to an accidental contact, which reveals the wallpaper of the lock screen. It's a photo of Corey and his daughter. I frown at the sight as my breath hitches in my throat. Why do I have a feeling that Corey's daughter looks quite similar to the pregnant woman in the ambulance right now?

* On Alice's wedding day, she receives a message from her hacker friend which contains videos of her fiancee and Sister. She goes to room 305 not ready to believe but is met with the shock of her life, she takes pictures and videos of them there and posts them on social media with the caption "Cheaters forever." She locks them in the room and goes to the hall to call off the wedding. The guests bash her for making them waste money but the filial and quiet Alice was gone already. * Alice and Arnold both share a sexual relationship on the night of the wedding, Alice escapes from there the next morning and places a 50-dollar note on the table for him thinking he is a nobody. Arnold wakes up and finds the money he was given, he looks around for Alice but can't find her. He decided to find her and teach the pathetic bride a lesson for messing with him. * Alice goes to Fishes River, ready to drown herself and die. She could not take the betrayal of her fiancee and sister to her, she couldn't even show her face to her family after spending a nightstand with a man she didn't know. She continues crying till various cars surround her, the men try to convince her to go with them but she refuses to threaten to kill herself there. * The man calls Arnold and reports to him the situation and he tells them to hold on, after five minutes he arrives there with his assistant ready to drag the pathetic bride to his house. Alice is stunned by seeing and mistaking losses her step falling into the river.

On the first work day after the holidays, Samuel Cooper, the department director, suddenly corners me at my workplace with an HR executive and two security guards. "Levi Young, you are fired! Now, hand over your work badge!" I frown instantly at Samuel. As I look at the growing crowd, I reply calmly, "Mr. Cooper, are you burning bridges now?" The Christmas holidays have lasted for nine days. But I'm the only one who has been working throughout the holidays. As soon as work starts after the holidays, Samuel wants to fire me right away. Samuel huffs coldly at me. "You leaked the company's core secrets! The fact that I'm not demanding compensation from you shows how kind-hearted I am! How dare you proclaim your so-called grievances before me!" "I… leaked the company's secrets?" I've been working at this company for five years. Sure, I've managed countless projects, but I have never made any mistakes as well. The sight of my stunned expression makes Samuel scoff in return. "That's enough. Cut it with the act! The security camera in the office has recorded everything clearly! On the night of Christmas Eve, you recited a long string of numbers and alphabets into your phone! What else could it be other than an encrypted message?" I'm left feeling flabbergasted for a few more seconds before realization dawns on me. The thing is… I was sharing the Wi-Fi password to a stray at the company that night!

“Your groom isn’t coming.” Those four words destroy Clarissa Ward’s world. After four years together, Luca Richard abandons her on their wedding day, leaving her humiliated in front of hundreds of guests. She expects the wedding to be canceled. Instead, the impossible happens. Luca’s older brother steps forward. Powerful. Ruthless. Untouchable. Charles Richard looks at the stunned crowd and says, “Continue the ceremony.” The next thing Clarissa knows, she is standing at the altar with a different man. A man she never truly understood. A man who has watched her for far longer than she realizes. A man who whispers in her ear after their vows: “You were never meant to be his.” Now trapped inside the powerful Richard family, Clarissa must navigate a mansion filled with secrets, hidden agendas, and enemies hiding behind polite smiles. A god-sister who believes she should have been Charles’s wife. A cousin who betrayed her in the worst possible way. A family determined to test whether she belongs among them. And a husband whose feelings are far more dangerous than his cold reputation. Because the biggest secret isn’t why Luca left. It’s why Charles stayed. And when the truth finally comes out, Clarissa will have to decide whether the man who saved her at the altar is also the man who has been quietly stealing her heart all along. “Tell me the truth, Charles.” He holds her gaze. “I’ve been trying not to love you for years.”

When I go home for the holidays, I find out that my dad has installed a facial recognition machine at the front door. "You'll have to pay an entry fee of 50 thousand dollars. Will you be paying by card or payment code?" I thought my dad was joking at first. As I laugh, I attempt to walk through the front door while pushing my luggage forward. But my mom passes me a price list with an icy look. "That'll be 200 dollars for dragging stuff across the floor. You'll also be charged 1,000 dollars per hour for using up the air." I'm stunned by her words. "Mom, stop messing around already!" But when I walk into the house, I realize that the air inside has disappeared. Unable to breathe, my face soon turns bright red out of suffocation as I kneel down on the floor. My mom huffs coldly again. "If you want to live, then pay up!" With great difficulty, I dig out my phone and pay the fees. Once the transaction is done, I can feel air rushing through my nostrils and into my lungs. For a few moments, I pant heavily. As I stare at my cold-looking parents, I finally feel that something is off. So, I scramble up to my feet and rush for the door. But that's when I find out that the front door is already welded shut. There's a payment code pasted on the door as well as a message. "Exit fee. One million dollars."

Stephen divorced his wife, Elena, after discovering she was having an affair—or so he thought. What Stephen didn’t realize was that Elena was pregnant with his child, and the accusations were nothing more than lies fueled by his mother’s hatred toward her. When the truth finally came to light, Stephen was overcome with guilt. Desperate to make amends, he set out to find Elena and bring her and their unborn child back home. But his search ended in heartbreak—he discovered that Elena had vanished, leaving behind only whispers that she had jumped into the river. Her existence had seemingly disappeared without a trace. Years passed, but Stephen never forgave himself. He lived with the haunting regret of losing the love of his life. Then, one fateful day, everything changed. He met a baby girl named Rose, whose face was a perfect mirror of Elena’s. Curiosity and hope drove Stephen to seek answers, and when he met Rose’s mother, he was stunned to learn the truth—Elena was alive. But the shock didn’t end there. When Stephen confronted Rose's mother, she insisted she didn’t know him. She claimed her name was Davina and that she was married, living a life far removed from anything Stephen had known. What had happened to Elena? Was this truly his wife, or a woman who simply bore an uncanny resemblance? And if it was Elena, what had led her to erase every trace of her former life?

Lyra Vayne, daughter of Alpha Thorne of the Stormfall Pack, was raised on one truth, the Bloodline Pack is the enemy. Their wolves are killers, their Alpha ruthless, and any wolf who crosses their path is expected to be killed without hesitation. Lyra has never questioned this; hatred is easier than doubt, and loyalty is survival. But everything Lyra believes begins to unravel the day she encounters Talia Blackthorn, the Bloodpine Alpha’s daughter. Instead of violence, Lyra finds a girl as restless and lonely as she is. Against every law and instinct, the two form a secret friendship… one that would be catastrophic if discovered. Their fragile bond is shattered when the Rogue Dominion ambushes them. Forced to fight for their lives, Lyra is stunned when Alpha Kaelan Blackthorn, Talia’s father and Stormfall’s sworn enemy, arrives to save them. His presence is cold, commanding, and impossible to ignore. And when Lyra meets his eyes, something inside her shifts in a way she cannot explain. She tries to avoid him, but fate has other plans. Again and again, Lyra and Kaelan cross paths, during border patrols, rogue attacks, and moments neither can justify. Their connection deepens into something dangerous, something forbidden. To be seen together would mean treason. To act on their bond could ignite a catastrophic war. It could destroy everything they love. But as the Rogue Dominion grows stronger, threatening to destroy both packs, Lyra and Kaelan may be the only ones capable of stopping the coming darkness… if they can survive the fire between them and the risks it holds.

It started out as a rejection where she disappeared, but once she returns an outlaw alpha who could burn the whole world down, everyone is scared. Raven was once a soft-spoken omega, hopelessly in love with her fated mate, Jax Thorn, the cold, dominant Alpha of the Iron Howlers MC. And on the night where the two of them discovered their mating bond, he rejects her coldly and publicly. Three years later, the world knows her as “Ghost, the ruthless leader of a feared rogue biker gang, her name whispered in fear and awe across packs. The girl who once cried over love is now a girl who is dominant and more than willing to protect those that serve her and stunned against those who she wants to turn against. What starts as a rogue attack that threatens those that she once loved. She is forced to choose to protect those that she once called family or to stand against them. Now, Raven and Jax are forced into close quarters: riding together, fighting side by side, and navigating a dangerous world where desire burns just as hot as betrayal. The scent of their mating bond still lingers between them, but so does the pain of the past. He thought he could live without her. She thought she could never forgive him. But when war explodes, enemies rise, and her hidden Alpha bloodline is revealed, Raven must decide—will she use her power to lead alone? Or will she risk her heart again for the man who once destroyed it? A rejected mate. A dangerous second chance. A love story forged in fire and fury.

In my previous life, during my birthday party, my wife Ruby’s so‑called best friend, Hayden, walked up to me with a glass of wine and a smirk. “Ruby had a little too much to drink last night,” he said. “I helped her shower. Hope you do not mind.” I lost my temper on the spot, and I demanded a divorce. I left with nothing because I wanted to get away from the two of them as quickly as possible. In the end, I died alone in a rented apartment. No one came to see me, not even once. After my death, Ruby’s company went public without any trouble. Her wedding with Hayden became the talk of the city. Everyone called them a perfect match. When they mentioned me, there was only ever one line: "That man just had bad luck. He was never meant for anything better." When I opened my eyes again, I was back at my birthday party. Hayden walked up to me once more and repeated the exact same words. This time, I did not get angry. I smiled. I reached for Yara, my closest friend, who had come with me, and slipped my arm through hers in an intimate gesture. Under Ruby and Hayden's stunned gazes, Yara blinked innocently at Ruby, whose face had gone pale. "Ruby, don't be jealous. Jeff and I grew up together." She paused just long enough, then added with a faint smile, "After all, I was the one who taught him his first time."