The Perfect Stranger: A Novel

My childhood sweetheart and I are about to exchange rings at our wedding ceremony. Just then, a young woman charges into his arms and says pitifully, "Don't abandon me." My childhood sweetheart brought her home when he was in high school after chancing upon her by the roadside. Everyone knows how doting he is toward her. When she charges into his arms, she "accidentally" shoves me aside. I lose my balance and fall off the stage, knocking my head on the steps. I end up in a coma. When I wake up again, I'm taken back to the day my childhood sweetheart meets the young woman.

After being reborn, the first thing my cousin and I did was switch grooms. In our previous lives, we had gotten married on the same day. She, gentle and composed by nature, became the wife of Blake Malcolm, the aloof naval commander. On their wedding anniversary, Blake skipped the occasion to celebrate his childhood friend's birthday. My cousin had only wanted an explanation, but Blake claimed his conscience was clear. They fell into a silence that lasted fifty years. And me? With my temper—quick to fight, never one for patience—I had married an accountant from the machinery plant's compound. The accountant was soft-spoken, forever complaining about how loud I was, and how little I cared about appearances. We fought every three days, major arguments every five. Eventually, he stopped coming home. Less than a year into the marriage, we divorced. Then one day, my cousin and I opened our eyes—and it was the day we were to marry again.

Amelia adalah seorang mahasiswi di salah satu kampus. Wanita berparas cantik itu tiba-tiba di minta oleh Dosennya untuk menikah kontrak alias sementara dengan alasan yang menurutnya tidak masuk akal. Disisi lain, sang Ayah terus mendesak Amel untuk segera menikah karena di umur tuanya sang Ayah ingin menyaksikan putrinya berbahagia. Segala usaha Amel lakukan untuk menemukan jodohnya dan saat ia menemukannya, ternyata pria yang ia idamkan dan ingin dinikahi justru memilih wanita lain. Alhasil, ia memutuskan untuk menerima lamaran dari Dosennya yang bernama Alvin Mahendra yang memintanya untuk menikah selama satu semester saja. Bagaimana kelanjutan kisahnya?

I accompany my husband, Michael Yates, to a stationed assignment on a remote island. Out at sea, a sudden storm hits. The ship capsizes and begins to sink. As the commanding officer, my husband gives the last life vest to his so-called godsister, Naomi Hollister. I don't cry or scream. I just watch silently as he carefully fastens the straps around her body. In my past life, I had clutched my pregnant belly and begged him for help. After a brief hesitation, he finally put the vest on me. But Naomi was swept away by the waves, and her body later washed up on shore. Only half of it remained. Michael insisted it wasn't my fault. He also said that saving me was his duty, both morally and professionally. He even took leave to stay by my side before I gave birth. But when my water broke in the dead of night, he pushed me into the sea. His eyes were bloodshot and burning with hatred. "Leah, if it weren't for you, Mimi would still be alive! Did you really have to force me to give you the vest when you were just pregnant? Couldn't you have waited a little longer? Why do you get to live? Go down there and die with her!" I drown, and fish tear my body apart. I die without even a full corpse left behind. And then, I open my eyes. I'm back on the day of the storm.

On our fifth anniversary, Henry Judd—the guy who once swore he'd propose—rented out an entire mall for Cecilia Cheape's birthday. A diamond the size of a pigeon's egg sparkled on her finger. I'd been dumb enough to think it was meant for me. "Cece, I'm gonna give you a birthday you'll never forget," he announced, loud enough for the whole world to hear. Then he yanked the tab off a soda can and handed it to me. "Lulu, those gaudy things don't suit you. You deserve something unique." He slid the can tab onto my finger—his version of a proposal. Cecilia got the dream birthday. I got a piece of trash and a slap of reality. Later, when he found out I was marrying someone else, he got down on one knee with that same ring and begged me to say yes.

“Why can’t I hit you?” Thomas yells, smacking the belt close to her feet. “Why,” he smacks it on the door above her head. “Why, why” to the right and left sides of her body. Melina trembles against the door with her eyes closed and head tucked between her knees. She jumps, sniffing Thomas’ cologne, and tries to hide more. He’s probably bending down. “I want to hurt you, Melina, but I can’t. Tell me why I can’t. Tell me why,” she bites her lips to muffle her sobs as she fears they will exacerbate her situation. “ look at me when I am talking to you,” Thomas says, grabbing her hair and pulling her head up. “I am- so-r-r-r-y,” she says as she turns to face him with her tear-stained face and bloodshot eyes. ******** Melina Davis was born with the face and body of a goddess. Her heart was as beautiful as her, but it never did her any good. Melina was the most unlucky woman in this world when it came to love. Her first love was an abusive con artist who made sure to exploit Melina's kindness. The second one who Melina felt was genuinely worthy of owing her heart was far more dangerous than her first. His name is Thomas Costanzo. He is the second in command of the Costanzo mafia. He was highly feared in the mafia world. Some even feared him more than the don of the Costanzo mafia. Melina didn't know she shouldn't cross him, and she did. She broke the heart of one of the most feared men on this earth, and now, he is out searching for her. Once he finds her, Melina will wish she never crossed paths with him.

Sebelum mereka menikah sang Pria berkata, “Pernikahan ini hanyalah sebuah perjanjian kerjasama di atas kertas. Di kehidupan nyata, masing-masing kita tidak ada urusan apapun." Setelah menikah, setiap kali Susan mengalami masalah, Sang CEO manja akan membantunya. Ketika Susan dibuli. ia akan melindunginya. Susan mematuhi perjanjian dan menyembunyikan status pernikahan mereka, tetapi malah sang CEO yang mengumumkan kepada dunia bahwa ia adalah istrinya.Suatu saat sang CEO diam-diam datang ke tempat tidurnya. Susan merasa terganggu “Apa sebenarnya maumu?” Dengan muka polos ia memelas “Tolong peluk aku, cium aku. Tolong…” Menghadapi CEO yang membingungkan ini, Susan hanya bisa mengaku kalah. Beberapa tahun kemudian, akhirnya dia sadar bahwa sebenarnya sang CEO sudah menyukainya dari sejak lama.

WARNING 18+!! Mengandung adegan dewasa dan kekerasan. Harap Bijak dalam memilih bacaan.^^ Stela tak pernah membayangkan menikah dengan seorang penderita Anterograde Amnesia. Kontrak menjadi psikiater pribadi keluarga Oliver, tak hanya membuatnya harus menyamar sebagai sekretaris pribadi dan juga menjadi bodyguard Vincent Oliver. Suatu hari Stela juga diminta untuk menikahi Vincent oleh Nyonya Widya Resmana Oliver. *** Auristela Indira, seorang psikiater muda, ditugaskan menjadi psikiater pribadi Vincent Oliver, seorang CEO di perusahaan broadcast. Suatu kejadian nahas membuat Vincent menderita Anterograde Amnesia, tidak bisa mengingat kejadian sehari sebelumnya. Ternyata Stela tak hanya diminta menjadi psikiater pribadi, tapi juga menyamar menjadi sekretaris sekaligus bodyguard Vincent. Suatu hari, dia diminta untuk menikahi Vincent. Akankah Stela menerima pernikahan dengan Vincent yang memiliki memori singkat? Apa yang sebenarnya terjadi kepada Vincent, sehingga membuatnya tak hanya kehilangan sebagian ingatan, tapi juga kehilangan calon istri di malam menjelang pernikahannya?

'Let's forget this ever happened!' A note laid by her side the next morning, with a $50,000 cheque associated to it. "What?!" Her eyes widened in shock as the reality of life dawned on her. ****** Meet Clarissa Wayne, a new graduate who set out with her best friend to celebrate their academic success. She came across Aiden Carter; a sinfully handsome billionaire who was celebrating his latest deal alongside his friend. He was tempted by his friend to lure Clarissa in dating him for a week, as compensation he was going to reward him with $10,000,000. Aiden accepted the deal, but things took another turn when they mistakenly had a one-night stand. It was the first time she ever got intimate with a man. This was happening with a stranger she met just two hours ago. She had set her hopes high as she thought this one-night stand was the beginning of something big, between her and this stranger. She was shocked when she got up the next morning, and the only thing left of him in the room was his sweet cologne which intoxicated the atmosphere. Two months later, Clarissa discovers she's carrying a stranger's baby in her stomach. What happens when she one day falls on the billionaire who shattered her future? "I accept the pregnancy to be mine, but we will never be a couple." Does this statement of Aiden Carter last for long?

My boyfriend has always doted on me. However, after learning that I can't go to work at the bank after falling and injuring myself, he snaps at me. "Why didn't you tell me you switched shifts with someone else? That was a cheap move!" I don't refute him. Instead, I pull out a hospitalization record as I watch the bank descend into chaos. In my past life, I attended to a couple who wanted to deposit five million dollars into their account. Their child had been diagnosed with a rare illness. They'd gotten the money by selling their organs and mortgaging the home—it was to save their child's life and pay for the surgery the following day. However, the money was stolen the following day. I helped them check where the money was withdrawn, but the surveillance footage showed I was the one who did it. My best friend wept when the couple questioned me. "You shouldn't have stolen the money someone needed to save a life, no matter how materialistic and covetous you are!" My boyfriend hurried over and said, "I wondered why you suddenly had money to buy a car—you stole it! You're heartless!" The child died after failing to receive treatment in time, and the couple stabbed me to death on the streets out of devastation. When I open my eyes again, I think injuring myself will help me escape this. To my surprise, the surveillance cameras once again capture me stealing the money.