The First Time Artinya

เพราะเสียคนรักจากการลอบทำร้ายของคู่อริเมื่อห้าปีก่อน มาร์คัสจึงไม่คิดจะรักใครอีก แต่เหมือนฟ้าจะกลั่นแกล้งเมื่อมาเจอกับมิรันดาสาวน้อยที่เขาใช้เงินซื้อมาเพื่อให้เธอเลิกยุ่งกับน้องเขยของตนเอง ชายหนุ่มทั้งรักทั้งหลง แต่ก็ไม่อยากให้เหตุการณ์แบบเดิมเกิดขึ้นอีก เขาจึงคิดจะวางมือและถอนตัวจากธุรกิจสีเทา แต่การจะลงจากหลังเสือนั้นมันยากกว่าที่คิดไว้ ในเมื่อมีคนที่จ้องจะกำจัดเขาให้สิ้นซาก

Sebagai jurnalis, Kirania Sakti Raffardan harus memburu berita-berita sensasional. Ditambah rasa ingin tahunya yang besar, menjadikan Kiran acapkali bersinggungan dengan bahaya. Bahkan, ia sampai bertemu Demitrio Atmanegara--polisi berdedikasi negeri ini--yang sering berseteru dengannya karena kode etik profesi keduanya berseberangan! Lantas bagaimana kisah keduanya? Terlebih, cinta timbul di antara Kiran dan Demitrio kala mengungkap kasus-kasus ganjil yang dibungkam pihak-pihak luar biasa.....

I, Xavier Locke, had married the same woman, Melanie Slater, seven times. But for the sake of her first love, Leonard Blueman, she divorced me seven times. The first time we got married, she told me, "I'll only love you for the rest of my life." But every time Leonard came back to the country, she sang a different tune. "Can't you be more sensible? How can you bear to stand by and let Lenny be called a homewrecker who snatches a married woman from her husband?" The first time we divorced, I cut my wrists to make her stay. I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, but she never showed up even once to see me. The third time we divorced, I humbled myself and applied to be her assistant at her company. I did that just so I could see her a little more. By the sixth divorce, I had learned to quietly pack my things and move out of the home we shared. My hysteria, my repeated backing down, and my tolerant compromises brought me nothing—just Melanie repeatedly divorcing and remarrying me. Time and time again, she pulled the same trick. With history repeating itself, I decided enough was enough. After hearing that Leonard was coming back again, this time, I handed her the divorce papers myself. As always, she set a date for our next remarriage. But what she didn't know… was that I was leaving for good this time.

I married the same man nine times. And each time, he left me for his first love, divorcing me nine times as well. The first time we parted, I lost control and threw all his belongings out the door. By the fourth divorce, I begged him to leave his luggage behind out of fear he might never return. The eighth time, I had learned to obediently pack his things, careful not to upset him. My breakdowns, my pleas, and my obedience always brought him back to me. Each time, he honored his promises. And each time, we divorced again, just like before. Until this time. This time, I packed my own things and left without telling him. A month from now, I will be gone for good.

The night I confessed my love to my girlfriend, she wept so hard she could barely breathe. She said she had seen the future, and she wanted to make a promise with me. I asked her why. She only shook her head and said, "I don't remember… all I know is that in the future I regret something terribly. Frank, no matter what happens, you must give me three chances. Will you?" I was deeply in love with Agnes Grey, so I agreed without hesitation. But later, it was as if she had forgotten all about that night—forgotten it when she clung so intimately to her male assistant. Only then did I understand why she'd made me promise that all those years ago. Because the moment I signed my name on the divorce papers, I heard a familiar voice. It was Agnes at nineteen. Through her sobs, she pleaded, "Frank… you promised me, didn't you? You said you'd give me three chances."

After being missing for 18 years, Mom and Dad finally found me. Jillian Swain, the fake heiress, crumples to the floor and starts sobbing. "Goodbye, Mom and Dad. Thanks for taking care of me all these years. But now that Wanda is home, I'm sure you don't have any use for me anymore." Mom and Dad hug her, completely heartbroken. "Sweetheart, don't talk like that! You're our only real daughter, now and always!" Even Harvey Schumer, the guy I was promised to as a kid, declares his love for her. "Forget who you really are. You're the only one I love." They're all tripping over each other to fuss over Jillian. They even throw a birthday celebration for her dog while I'm barely hanging on after a car crash. So I pack up my things, accept the space agency's offer, and slip away into a five-year confidential satellite research project. But the whole family freaks out the second I'm gone, turning the country upside down, searching for me.

Three years into my arranged marriage with the Valachi family heir, the one that got away came back. He left me for Julia eight times. The ninth time, he left me bleeding on the side of the road with a gunshot wound to go running to Julia, who’d called him because she felt a little dizzy. "She needs me. You get that, right, Leona?" This time, I didn't fight for him. He didn't know about the bet I’d made with Julia. The ninth time he abandoned me, I would be the one to leave for good. So on his birthday, I left a set of signed divorce papers on his desk and got on a plane.

Sa edad na 35 ay nabiyudo na si Ambrose at naiwan sa kanyang pangangalaga ang limang taong gulang na lalaki at bagong silang na kambal na babae. Mag-isa niyang pinasan ang responsibilidad na palakihin sila. Pagkalipas ng limang taon, lalo niyang nakita ang pangangailangan ng kalinga at pagmamahal ng isang ina sa kanyang mga anak. Sinubukan niyang lihim na makipag-date ngunit walang tumanggap sa kanyang tatlong anak. Hindi nila kayang panindigan ang pagiging instant mommy para sa kanila. Hinanap ng kanyang mga anak sa kung kani-kaninong babae ang pagkukulang na iyon. Hanggang sa malaman niyang nakikipagkita sa isang may edad na babae si Ambrox na halos kamukha ng kanyang ina. Muli niyang nakita si Rose Anne. Nagbalik ang sakit ng nakaraan dulot ng panlilinlang na ginawa ni Roxanne. Hanggang isang gabi, hila-hila ng kambal ang babae papasok ng kanilang gate. "Daddy, I got you a wife. Meet our Mommy!” Kinindatan pa ng mga bata ang kanilang ama. At nagbago ang lahat sa pagdating ni Rose Anne sa kanilang buhay. Magkaroon kaya ng puwang ang pagpapatawad sa pagitan ni Rose Anne at Ambrose? Maging maligaya kaya sila sa pagkakataon ito upang ituloy ang kanilang naudlot na pagmamahalan o maghihiwalay na silang tuluyan sa piling ng kani-kanilang bagong minamahal?

After the big downfall of The Cervantes Group Of Companies, Daniella Vianna ‘Davina’ Cervantes was forced to marry the richest bachelor in Asia, the ruthless Roscoe Davidson. Walang choice si Davina kundi sundin ang utos ng magulang niya. Kahit na ayaw niyang ipakasal— hindi lang ipakasal, kundi’y binenta siya ng sariling magulang para masalba ang kanilang kompanya. Kapatid niya dapat ang ipapakasal kay Roscoe, ngunit dahil mahal ng magulang niya ang nakakatandang kapatid at ayaw nitong masaktan ang kapatid sa kamay ng isang Roscoe Davidson. The ruthless and heartless billionaire that no woman can tame. Siya ang pinakasal sa binata. She wanted to cry during her wedding day because she knew her life would become more miserable with Roscoe. Ngunit hindi. Dahil sa araw ng kasal nila’y hindi niya aakalain na si Roscoe Davidson ay ang lalaking hindi niya makalimutan. Hindi siya makapaniwala. Magulo ang utak at puso ni Davina sa muling pagkikita nila ng lalaking minsan na niyang minahal, ngunit nasira lang. Pero ito siya ngayon, ikakasal na dito. Gusto ba nitong maghiganti sa kanya dahil sa pang-iiwan niya sa binata noon? Lalo na’t sobrang yaman na ito ngayon? Mas lalo siyang natakot lalo na sa mga binitawang salita nito nang makasal na sila. “Finally… you’re mine again, Davina.”

“Papunta na tayo sa exciting part,” mapanukso ang tonong sabi ni Natalia rto. Wala siyang nasa isip ng mga sandaling iyon kundi iparamdam kay Timothy kung gaano kasakit para sa kanya ang kataksilang ginawa nito. Unti-unti niyang kinalas ang butones ng suot niyang blusa. Tahimik lang si Matt habang nakatingin sa kanya. Lumapit siya rito at hinawakan ito sa magkabilang pisngi, “ Ibibigay ko saiyo ng buong-buo ang katawan ko. Damn, paligayahin mo ako. Paligayahin mo ako na para bang wala ng bukas. Gusto kong makalimutan ang kahayupang ginawa sa akin ni Timothy. Gusto kong kalimutan ang katarantaduhang ginawa nila sa akin,” nanginginig ang mga kalamnan na sabi niya rito. “Natalia. . .” “Angkinin mo ako, patunayan mo na hindi lang si Timothy ang lalaki sa mundo!” Yamot na sabi niya rito.