The Good Left Undone

Five years ago, my junior made a mistake in the experiment, resulting in an explosion in the lab. In an effort to save my childhood friend, Andrew, I suffered severe burns to one side of my face and was falsely accused as the culprit. Just like that, I became the target of everyone's anger. Only Andrew stood by me, promising, "I love you for who you are, not your appearance. I'll always be there to protect you." But on our wedding day, he vanished without a trace. My mother, suffering from heart disease and barely clinging to life, wanted to see Andrew. When I asked him to come, he replied impatiently, "Are you using such a lame excuse to meet me? Don't you have any shame? Every time I look at your face, I feel disgusting." I pleaded desperately, but he calmly hung up. "Do you think I'm your servant? You can't just summon me whenever you want. Just because you saved me once doesn't mean you can blackmail me for life." My mother died without peace. The junior who slandered me back then later posted a photo on social media, showing a man lifting her effortlessly. Their poses were intimate, highlighting the underlying affection. Her captions read: [It's all his fault for tiring me out during the day. I almost missed out on this beautiful ocean. When you're in love, all is clear to see. I mentioned wanting to go to Belmar Island, and he flew me around the world for it.] I was utterly heartbroken, so I texted him: [Let's break up…]

After receiving the news that her husband had died during a mission, my sister-in-law collapsed from the shock. When she woke up, she'd lost her memory. She clung to my husband and refused to let go. Our husbands were twin brothers. The doctor said she couldn't be triggered, so my husband and mother-in-law sat me down and begged me to play along until she got over this. Every time I brought it up again, they shut me down. "This is only until she gets her memory back!" So I watched as my husband and his widowed sister-in-law eat, sleep, and live under the same roof. Even our daughter could only stand by and watch her cousin call him "Daddy". One day, my daughter spiked a high fever and wouldn't wake up. I begged my husband to take us to the hospital. Unexpectedly, his sister-in-law went berserk over it and threatened to kill herself. In the chaos, I was stabbed in the heart by the scissors she swung around. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back to the day my husband agreed to play the role of a substitute husband.

Some people come into our lives some will stay and some will leave. Any of that two I believed that we don't meet people accidentally. We meet them with purpose, to teach us something or to simply add value to our life. Sedriano the man who came into my life, the man who made my world upside down. The man who values loves and gives me pain. The man who gives me butterfly kisses on my stomach. We were too young when we fell in love but I was so sure that it will last. With the promise, we made together with his bitter goodbye. This is our story.

"Apa yang akan kamu coba, Ra?" Ayra memulai aksi nekatnya dengan perasaan gugup. Dia melepaskan kaitan baju sekolahnya satu-persatu di depan Rendra. "Ayra, kamu jangan nekat!" Lelaki itu panik sendiri dan menoleh ke sana kemari, ke penjuru kelas. Takut jika tiba-tiba ada siswa lain yang masuk. "Aku tahu ini bukan dirimu, Ra!" "Kamu suka cewek yang kayak gini 'kan, Ren?" "Iya! Aku emang suka! Tapi bukan kamu, Ra! Bukan kamu yang harus kayak gini!" Sebelum Ayra membuka kaitan bajunya yang ke-tiga, Rendra menutup bagian depan tubuh Ayra menggunakan jaket yang baru saja dia lepas. Kemudian merengkuh gadis itu dengan erat. *** Ayra merupakan gadis SMA semester akhir. Dia menjadi frustrasi saat tiba-tiba diputuskan oleh Rendra—kekasih yang sangat dia cintai. Alasannya adalah karena Rendra lebih menyukai gadis berpenampilan dewasa. Ayra berusaha sekeras mungkin menjadi apa yang Rendra inginkan meskipun sebenarnya tubuhnya menolak. Rendra sendiri juga tidak menginginkan perubahan itu terjadi pada gadis tersebut. Sementara Attar—lelaki dewasa yang satu rumah dengan Ayra karena mendadak harus bertanggung jawab dengan seluruh kehidupan Ayra pun turut mengekang perubahan gadis itu. Dia sangat menjaga Ayra hingga lebih baik Ayra dia ajak menikah saja daripada melakukan hal berbahaya di luar sana. Akankah Ayra balikan dengan Rendra? Atau justru memilih untuk menikah dengan Attar? ***

When my appendix bursts, my parents, my brother, and even my fiancé are all too busy celebrating my sister's birthday. I'm outside the operating room, frantically calling every family member I can think of to sign the consent form, but every call is either ignored or hung up on. After hanging up on me, my fiancé, Joel Graham, texts back. "Sophie, stop being dramatic. It's Yvette's 18th birthday today. Whatever it is can wait until after the party." I quietly set my phone down and sign the consent form myself. It's the ninety-ninth time they've chosen Yvette Norton, my sister, over me. This time, I choose not to care. I'll stop letting their favoritism hurt me. Instead, I'll do everything they ask of me without complaint. They'll all think I've finally learned to be obedient, and they'll never realize that I'm preparing to leave them for good.

Mary Preston and her family fled to another country, leaving everything behind. Suddenly, she found herself surrounded by unfamiliar faces, in a foreign land, speaking a language she didn’t understand. A few years later, at the tender age of 19, she ended up married to Maximus Palmer, the grandson of the powerful Catherine Palmer. Mary loved him with all her heart, but he never felt the same. He married her out of obligation, not out of love. One misunderstanding after another pushed their marriage into a downward spiral, filled with infidelity, abuse, and endless disillusionment. For years, Mary lived under the shadow of another woman, enduring the pain until she finally found the courage to ask for a divorce. Her decision took Maximus by surprise, and he refused to let her go. But fate had other plans, and a tragic event forced the divorce to happen sooner than anyone expected. Afterward, Mary tried to rebuild her life, hoping to find love again and happiness that would last. But the scars from her past made it hard for her to trust or believe in love again. She faced many moments of anguish, sadness, and loneliness. Yet, through it all, she slowly began to find herself and step back into the light. Perhaps this time, she wouldn’t have to face everything alone. Maybe someone new would come into her life, someone who could be her rock and her reason to live. Although she learned that the past was never truly left behind, she also discovered that with a strong foundation, even the most broken things could still stand tall. Life had taught her about the three kinds of love: the one that teaches you how to love, the one you wished was yours but wasn’t meant to be, and the one you never saw coming that heals your wounds and brings true happiness.

My wife is a pilot. We had our wedding three years ago, but she's stood me up 18 times since then when we agreed to register our marriage. The first time she stood me up was when her apprentice took his first flight. I waited outside city hall the whole day for her. The second time she stood me up was when she turned around after receiving a call from her apprentice. She left me by the roadside. Later, whenever we set a date to register our marriage, her apprentice would run into all sorts of trouble. Finally, I decided to leave her. But after I board a flight to Avalonia, she chases me all the way there like she's lost her mind.

Love does not always look like salvation, sometimes, it looks like ruination. For six years, Sara has lived in the shadows of her own marriage. Hidden, humiliated and disgraced, over and over again. Her husband's hatred of her has striped away every layer of her identity. She is empty, she has given and given. Now, there's nothing left to give. Sara has had enough. She is filing for a divorce and needs separation from her husband. She is determined to make something good out of her life, and leave Derek Marshall behind. Just when she is almost free, she stumbles on a devastating secret, a secret that unravels her life. Now, Sara has to chose between the man who has broken her heart, lied to her, broke her trust over and over again, and, the promise of a better, simpler, easier life. Sara and Derek find themselves, stuck between a bullet and a heartbreak. Quite literally.

My husband did not love me, and he certainly did not love our child. On the day our son was born, he did not even glance at him. He merely tossed him into my arms. Then, his first love came back from overseas. That night, the ever-cold Henry had gotten drunk for the first time. He even smiled as he held our child in his arms. Delighted, our son wrapped his little arms around my husband's neck and asked me in a soft voice, “Mommy, what’s wrong with Uncle?” I crouched down, pulling him into my embrace. My eyes reddened as I explained, “Uncle's favorite person came back, so we shouldn’t bother him anymore. We’re going to find a new home.”

At my best friend's wedding, a girl lunged forward and caught the bouquet—only for it to slip from her hands and land squarely in my arms. My best friend, Lauren Walker, beamed at me. "Madison, looks like you're the next bride." The guests exchanged knowing glances and turned toward my boyfriend of eight years—Mason Ryder, the CEO of the Ryder Group. But he calmly plucked the bouquet from my hands and casually passed it to the girl standing beside me—his secretary, Natalie Carter. "She caught it first." He ruffled my hair, his voice gentle. "Be good. Give it back to Natalie for now. We'll wait for the next time." The spotlight—and the guests' attention—shifted with the bouquet, settling on Natalie. I looked at her startled yet shy expression, then rested a hand on my stomach and forced a bitter smile. Mason didn't know there wouldn't be a next time. Our eight-year promise had already come to an end, and we still hadn't taken the step into marriage. And I had already promised my parents, who were royalty, that next week, I would leave and return to Montelvia to inherit the family legacy.