Thirty-three Thousand

I was twelve when Henry Shaw took me home from the orphanage, gave me a new name, put me through school, and gave me a good life. Ten years later, his first love returned from abroad. Her name sounded like mine, and her face looked like a mirror image. I quickly realized I had been a stand-in all along. Crushing the diagnosis in my pocket, I decided that I was going to live the rest of my life for myself, even if I did not have much time left.

I'm having a mental breakdown as I face a clogged drain with my feverish and fussing daughter in my arms. Meanwhile, my husband has reserved a hotel to celebrate another woman's birthday. My mother-in-law spits on the floor. "This is what you deserve. You can't even capture a man's heart!" I clench a fist around the winning lottery ticket in my pocket. I want to get a divorce.

Steven Lambert claimed my mother almost killed his wife and daughter, branding me as a sinner from birth. For twenty years, he and his family tormented me in the name of atonement. I was forced into a cruel marriage with the vile Caleb Carpenter in Cindy's place, only to suffer a tragic end. Only then did the Lamberts realize I was their daughter. Yet all this time, the very existence they believed to be a sinner enjoyed their bottomless affection and adoration.

In front of the orphanage gates, Rebecca Schwartz, the impoverished student I had been sponsoring, stood glaring at me with a face full of disdain. "If you don't let Freddie come along, I'm not going to your house either," she declared, her tone sharp and unyielding. In the past, blinded by love and hopelessly infatuated, I would have caved to her demands, humbling myself just to keep the peace. But things were different now—I had been reborn. Staring at this despicable pair, who had once caused my tragic demise, a tidal wave of fury surged within me. Yet, it settled into nothing more than a faint, icy smile on my lips. "Then stay here," I said, my voice cold and steady. "Rot in this place alongside your precious Freddie. After all, trash like you belong in the garbage heap."

Have you ever heard of this secret, mysterious cruise? On a cruise ship that traverses the expansive ocean on New Year's Eve, rows of beautiful yet blind masseuses wait to be selected. To search for my sister, I pretend to be blind and think of a way to sneak onboard that cruise ship. A bigwig selects me and takes me back to his suite. He tilts my jaw and waves a hand before my eyes. "Are you really blind? Let's try something different, then…"

Hindi ko kailanman inakala na ang isang desperadong desisyon ay tuluyang magbabago sa buhay ko. Nang lumobo ang bayarin sa ospital ng aking lola, wala akong ibang pagpipilian kundi tanggapin ang isang hindi pangkaraniwang alok—ang magpakasal kay Conrad, ang bulag ngunit malupit na tagapagmana ng makapangyarihang pamilya Laurier. Sinasabi nilang ipinanganak siyang nagdadala ng kamalasan dahil namamatay ang mga mahal niya sa buhay. Ngunit kailangan nila ng asawa para sa kanya, at kailangan ko ng pera. Dapat sana, isang simpleng kasunduan lang ito. Ngunit mula nang pumasok ako sa kanyang mundo, napagtanto kong may higit pa kay Conrad kaysa sa mga bulung-bulungan. Ang kanyang pagkabulag ay hindi kahinaan—bagkus, ginawa siyang mas matalas, mas mapanganib. Bawat salitang binibigkas niya ay may bigat, at bawat dampi ng kanyang kamay ay nagpapadala ng kilabot sa aking balat. Hindi niya ako pinagkakatiwalaan. Iniisip niyang isa lang ako sa mga babaeng nais samantalahin siya. Pero paano kung unti-unti kong makita ang totoong lalaking nasa likod ng malamig niyang maskara? At mas masama pa—paano kung mahulog ako sa kanya?

My brother, Theo Sorento, died in a plane crash on his way back home just to celebrate my birthday. They never found his body—only wreckage. Ever since, my parents forced me to kneel in front of his grave every year on my birthday, demanding that I repent for surviving when he didn’t. Then came my eighteenth birthday. I realized someone was following me. Panicked, I sent a few messages asking for help. Just then, Mom called, not to check on me but to lash out. “I know exactly what you're doing. You’re just making up excuses so you don’t have to kneel in front of your brother’s grave! You’re a liar. Why wasn’t it you who died instead of him? You’re a walking curse!” Before my phone was smashed under a boot, the last thing I heard was the cold click of her hanging up. Then, I was cut up into pieces, and what was left of me was tossed across the city. My father, the lead forensic pathologist on my case, didn’t even recognize me. Later, Theo returned alive with his wife, whom he had eloped with eight years ago. When they found out the pile of rotting flesh was me, they all went insane.

Superioritas Indonesia di dunia bulu tangkis memang sudah diakui dunia. Terlebih ketika pertama kalinya Indonesia mendulang medali emas olimpiade pada tahun 1992. Tak terkecuali bagi wanita asal Pangalengan, Kabupaten Bandung, Dwi Astriani Aprilliani, juga turut serta ikut merawat tradisi emas juara bulu tangkis di Nusantara. Namun apa jadinya jika raga yang kuat di lapangan, selalu menghias podium juara dengan kecantikannya, ternyata jiwanya hancur. Seorang atlet pria dari negara berbeda yang juga adidaya di dunia bulu tangkis telah mengalahkannya dalam hal cinta. Hanya pria yang bernama Yuxuan yang mampu mengalahkan seorang Dwi. Apa yang sebenarnya Yuxuan lakukan? Lalu, bagaimana Dwi mampu bertahan di tengah sakit hatinya demi bendera Merah Putih berkibar di tempat tertinggi? Bagaimana pula Dwi mampu jujur terhadap lukanya dan berdamai dengannya?

This is the sequel to "Trio of Mates" (can be found on here) and is NOT a stand-alone book. I felt as if I had just fallen asleep when flashes and fragments of dreams began to play through my mind. They are disjointed, speeding through my mind almost too fast to catch. There is Charlie holding two pups in her arms, the pack being attacked on the western front, Arya fallen to her knees sobbing in the middle of a battlefield, funeral pyres, me looking down at my pregnant stomach with Gael and Hakeem smiling down at me, whoops of victory, and wails of defeat. As the images flit through my mind, a voice enters the chaos. “A war of threes. Three deaths. Three victories. Three trios. Three losses. Betrayal. Birth. Death. Sorrow. Joy. Warn them, Meredith. Be prepared!”

Dahlia Nicholson and Dustin Rhys had been married for three years. After Dahlia’s meteoric rise to success, she abandons the useless dead weight that’s Dustin, proposing divorce. Unbeknownst to her, everything she had ever achieved was only because of him.