Twenty To Nine

On the eve of the National Robotics Championship, I smashed my carefully designed bot to pieces and announced my withdrawal. Everyone said I was a fraud who was quitting out of fear of being exposed. Online, the netizens mocked me relentlessly. Only one person, Adrian Cross, the so-called genius of the century, spoke up in my defense, his voice dripping with false sincerity, "I believe in River Lowell’s skills. Only he deserves to be my opponent. No matter what setbacks he’s facing, I hope he comes back to the arena and proves himself." In my previous life, the robot I built was identical to his. No matter how I tried to prove he had copied me, Adrian stood before the cameras, wearing his benevolent mask, and said, "It’s fine. This robot can go to River. I can always build something even better." His fans swarmed me, tearing me apart online, and no one believed in my talent. I swallowed the humiliation and vowed to rebuild my robot from scratch. However, when I was assembling it, the Power Core in my kit exploded, shattering my skull. That same night, I was rushed into the ICU. Netizens clapped and cheered, saying I got exactly what I deserved. That night, my girlfriend, Lila Hart, signed the hospital’s DNR consent form without hesitation. Until the day I died, I never understood how Adrian had gotten my robot’s data or why Lila had joined forces with him. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day of the competition.

Every where was dark, the bush surrounding her as she seems to be lost, she was frightened, they were frightened. Where was her brother and her friends, where was her pursuer. She gasps suddenly as she felt a hand touch her from behind. ________________ Five years ago, twenty five people got missing and every investigation leads to the infamous Bear Forest said to inhabit dark souls. State police can't find a trace of all twenty five tourists until five years later when nine students decided to investigate for themselves. They soon learnt why the forest was dreaded as they all were stranded in the same place twenty five people got missing, are they going to go missing as the twenty five. Or are they going to do whatever it takes to survive?

18+ Niat ingin bertemu dengan calon tunangannya, Emily justru dimanfaatkan oleh kekasihnya, dan berakhir tidur dengan Benedict, CEO Maven Group yang dikenal dengan sebutan si arogan berambut perak! Di saat Emily berusaha melupakannya, Emily justru kembali bertemu dengan pria itu, bahkan ditawarkan untuk menjadi "wanita"nya! --- Benedict menyampirkan rambut Emily, lalu melabuhkan kecupannya di bibir gadis itu. Ciuman hangat itu dalam sekejap berubah menjadi panas, hingga membuat Emily meremang. Dia tak tahu, apa ini demam ataukah panas tubuh mereka berdua yang menyebabkannya. Emily tahu, dia harus memberikan sedikit makanan pada anjing pemburu agar mau berburu untuknya. Anggap saja ciuman ini adalah makanan itu. Jadi, ketika Benedict mulai bergerilya meminta lebih dari sekedar ciuman, Emily mendorong Benedict. Lalu, memberi satu tamparan keras pada pria itu, membuat Benedict yang tidak mengira akan hal tersebut tertegun. "Apa yang kau lakukan?" seru pria itu. Emily mengetatkan genggaman di tangannya. "Kau mengambil kegadisanku, Tuan berambut perak, setidaknya kau harus membiarkanku menamparmu meski sekali."

On Valentine’s Day, I discovered that my brother’s fiancee, Erika Gibson, was cheating on him. So, I tried to tell my brother, Nathan Clinton, about it. However, he yelled at me. He said that I was trying to ruin his relationship and told me to leave. Erika then asked her lover to deal with me, so he kidnapped me. He mocked me for being unable to speak and forced me to sell 200 roses at the night market. I asked Nathan for help, but he replied impatiently. [Moon, I can’t believe you’d lie about something like this… I don’t have time for your games.] I was accidentally hit by a truck while Nathan was having a wonderful time with Erika. Haha. I was finally free, but I wished I had a different brother.

Vampires and humans cohabit in peace in the City of Pinephil. Vampires are divided into two factions: shadow vampires are the ones who put mercy on the bottom of their list and scavengers are those who do not take pleasure in killing and clanking a glass of human blood but to celebrate holidays like an ordinary human being. And oftentimes, Scavenger Hut is a place to be if you want a safe celebration between you and your family. But behind these great cuisines stands a two-star Michelin chef who has spent his life savoring every drop of chances to earn his third star and vanquish La Rosa. But how can he do it when his adversary is a coward who crawls to the Elders' feet and hides behind his puppets? But as he continues to walk through a crooked path of vengeance and burning ideas... a passerby will hook his craving.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself supposedly transmigrated to some ancient era. Every morning, before light touched the sky, someone would yank me out of bed to haul trash, chop wood, and do whatever filthiest job needed doing. Somehow, I'd become the lowest-ranked servant in the entire estate. The estate lord's son would climb onto my back and ride me around the courtyard like some pet he was proud to show off. Anyone in the household could hit me, kick me, or shove me aside, and not a single soul would speak up. Five years passed like that, so awful that I almost lost my mind, as if I were living in hell. Then one day, a group of servants cornered me. They didn't bother hiding their intention. The moment I saw their faces, I knew I was in trouble. Fists flew, boots landed, and everything blurred. Just before I passed out, I heard them whispering, "We're going to kill him if we keep this up." "Come on. This place only looks like some old noble estate. It's not an actual one. If he dies here, we're the ones who'll get dragged to court!" "Relax. Ms. Shaw will handle it. The idiot pissed off her childhood sweetheart. Getting tricked into this place is exactly what he deserves." Fear swallowed everything, and the world went dark. When I woke again, the lady of the house had conveniently "returned from visiting her family." The lord threw a grand celebration with tables full of food, wine flowing, and musicians playing like nothing had happened. I carried dishes into the banquet hall and lifted my head. Her face was the same as my wife's, Melissa Shaw. I set the final dish down, stepped closer, and in a voice only she could hear, asked, "Ma'am… are you enjoying your little game?"

18+ Kata orang, menjadi istri seorang Aiden Malik yang merupakan pewaris tahta kerajaan bisnis Malik Group adalah impian setiap wanita. Tapi, tidak bagi Eva. Karena Eva selalu berharap kalau dia bisa menghindari hal ini, namun, kenyataan berkata lain. Bagaimanakah Eva menghadapi kehidupan yang tak seindah seperti kelihatannya? Eva memelototi bagian belakang kepala suaminya dengan kesal, "Percaya atau tidak, tapi tadi malam ada yang memberiku obat perangsang." "Oh ya? Menurutmu aku percaya?" Eva mendecih. "Terserah kau mau percaya atau tidak. Tapi sejujurnya aku katakan kalau aku lebih suka tidur di samping onggokan sampah daripada tidur denganmu." Suara Eva sarat dengan amarah. Betapa menjijikkan dan sombongnya pria itu karena telah membuat video tentang apa yang terjadi tadi malam lalu memutarnya kembali di hadapannya seperti ini. Suaminya hanya ingin mempermalukannya. "Apakah kau kesal karena tadi malam aku tidak melakukannya hingga lima kali denganmu, Eva? Uhm, atau mungkin kau hanya ingin hamil anakku sehingga statusmu sebagai istriku tidak perlu dipertanyakan lagi?" Eva menghela napas, sudah cukup dengan omong kosong ini. Dia tidak ingin dipermalukan lagi oleh suaminya. "Yang harus kau lakukan hanyalah menandatangani kertas ini, Aiden. Tanda tangani saja surat perceraian kita lalu ceraikan aku." Aiden memalingkan kepalanya. "Apa yang baru saja kau katakan? Sebuah perceraian, hm? Tidak semudah itu, Sayang. Siapa yang memberi ide di kepalamu kalau aku akan melepaskanmu?"

Emily Warner, the crazy and happy go lucky side-chick in all of the stories. She is happy that all of her friends met the man of their dreams but she hasn’t. She has never met a man who even remotely loved her. As a kid, she always hoped for a crazy life story like beauty and the beast or toy story or finding nemo. But she worked at a nine to five job, at the age of twenty nine, she was single, while all of her friends were either getting married or pregnant. And there she was sitting in front of the television, eating chips out of her hair. At this point in her life, she was heartbroken, depressed and done pretending to be happy when she was clearly not. She just wanted to escape, run away and have a crazy adventure. Little did she know that she would regret making that wish.

Another tail-chasing journey come forth when Etheral’s original pack was slaughtered and she was forced to become a rogue in a place where unruly rebels like rogues live, feral wolves kill, painted wolves wander and other wild animals hunt. And in the hopes of getting away from the never-ending chase, Etheral continues to survive as a lone wolf until a pack is willing enough to accept her. But many packs didn’t open their doors for Etheral for she carries a peculiarity that a pack member shouldn’t have. Etheral is a runt. And all those packs were afraid to take her in. While Etheral runs away from her nightmares chasing her into the rabbit burrows, there is a question, long been lingering in her heart: Will the tail-chasing continue until she falls down deep on her death bed? Or will she find a new home, her mate, and a better ending?

Connor Lockwood abandons me at the hospital's entrance even though I'm bleeding in the middle of my pregnancy. He insists on sending his client, a divorcée, home. The blood flows down my legs, but he hurries off without another look back. He should've been at the hospital and by my side, but instead, I see him in his client's social media update. It's captioned, "Thank goodness for my wonderful lawyer. Do you know who gets to have hangover soup when they're drunk? Me!" I spend the rest of the night wide awake. The following morning, I calmly dial a number. "Dad, I've made up my mind. I'll return home in three days to take over the company."