Up Smoke

Aku duduk sendirian di meja makan, tepat di hari ulang tahun pernikahan kami yang ke-7. Ponselku tiba-tiba berdering. Di layar kunci telepon, ada dua notifikasi pesan masuk yang masih belum terbaca. Pesan pertama datang dari Riki, dia bilang kalau dia harus lembur di kantor malam ini. Sementara pesan yang satu lagi datang dari nomor tidak dikenal. [Pak Riki sungguh luar biasa. Kakak sanggup mengatasinya?] Ada satu foto yang ikut dikirimkan dalam pesan tersebut. Foto itu menampilkan sepasang pria dan wanita yang sedang bercumbu mesra. Aku pun meniup lilin kue ulang tahun pernikahan kami sambil menutup mata dengan penuh kelelahan. [Ayo kita cerai.] Aku mengirimkan pesan balasan ke Riki.

“Adrian, why would you lie to me? Why would you let her push my mum like that?” Yvonne’s voice trembled, holding back tears. Adrian smirked. “Wake up, Yvonne. You really thought I wanted you when Tricia was right here?” That was how Adrian—her first crush, the boy she thought cared—chose to humiliate her in front of everyone as she was the cleaner’s adopted daughter. But fate had other plans. Because the Diamond Belfort brothers—the heirs everyone adored were coming to their school in search of their missing heiress- baby sister. But the queen bee steals the chance that should have been hers. Then again, secrets don’t stay buried forever. With her true identity waiting to explode, Yvonne must decide to rise from the ashes, claim her place, and bring down everyone who tried to destroy her. Because the real heiress doesn’t beg. She takes rather. Now, Yvonne is done playing small. It’s her time to rise, reclaim her crown, and make everyone regret ever doubting her.

It’s ironic, you think you have a basic boring life: go to school, go on summer vacation, work, eat, sleep and repeat, and still people will find things to complain about saying they want more adventure, or something exciting to happen to them. Then suddenly, that exact thing happens to you. And you get dragged in to a war that’s been raging for hundreds of years. I’m only 17, I should be worrying about other things! Finishing school, what I want to do with my life, boys! But the day I meet Ash everything changed and I am yet to decided if they changed for the better. And it all started because of a nightmare. Who would have thought nightmares could be real. DEFINITELY NOT ME!…

Gale, a weak college student, accidentally awakened the powers hidden within him. As someone who experience injustice in his life, he tried to play a hero in an attempt to instill justice using his new found powers. However, when he realized that the world isn't as simple as he think it is, it was already too late as he already crossed the line that he shouldn't have. With the emergence of the powerful enemies who hunted him, he was forced to join a mysterious group in order to cultivate his powers. Upon reaching several ranks in his cultivation, he slowly learned the secrets of his parents as well as the clue of the mysterious entity who are responsible of their deaths. He also felt that this mysterious entity was actually controlling everything behind the scenes to achieve their ultimate goal, which is to awaken the SUPREME NATURE and rule over the world and the entire universe.

Di malam valentine, aku bertemu dengan sahabat kecil tunanganku di depan sebuah bar. Dia tampak seperti habis diracuni, tak sadarkan diri. Kali ini, aku pura-pura tidak melihatnya dan langsung berbalik pergi. Di kehidupan sebelumnya, aku sama sekali tidak mengenalnya. Karena niat baik, aku menolongnya. Tapi, malah tanpa sengaja melihat ada tato nama tunanganku di tulang selangkanya. Awalnya, aku kira itu hanya salah paham. Tapi sesaat kemudian, saat aku membantu mengangkat teleponnya, aku mendengar suara tunanganku dari ponselnya. Karena marah dan cemburu, aku pun memutuskan sambungan telepon itu dan mengabaikan 99 panggilan tak terjawab darinya. Aku baru pergi setelah memastikan dia sudah baik-baik saja di hotel milik keluargaku. Siapa sangka, dia malah menjadi korban pelecehan malam itu. Karena merasa memalukan, dia memilih mengakhiri hidupnya. Setelah kebenaran terungkap, tunanganku tetap pura-pura tidak tahu apa-apa, bahkan tetap menggelar pesta pernikahan megah untukku. Namun, di hari aku mengetahui kehamilanku, dia malah mematahkan kedua kakiku dan mengurungku di rumah. Aku sangat terpuruk dan bertanya kenapa padanya. Dia malah tertawa gila-gilaan. “Kalau bukan karenamu, Luna nggak akan jadi korban pelecehan, dia juga nggak akan bunuh diri! Ini semua salahmu!” Tak kusangka, saat membuka mata lagi, aku malah kembali ke hari di mana aku bertemu sahabat kecilnya di depan bar.

After I discovered I was pregnant, I slammed the pregnancy test report down in front of my playboy boyfriend. Alan Rivers lit a cigarette and blew smoke rings at me, his tone casual and cruel. "Seeing as you've kept me company for seven years, I'll give you two choices. "First, you can abort the baby. I'll compensate you with a million dollars, and you can stay by my side. Second, keep it, take the kid, and disappear. The farther, the better." Why did I have to choose? I wanted both, so I took the million dollars and vanished from his world without a trace.

Loud music, smoke scattered everywhere, and lots of crazy people dancing their asses out. She was sitting on the corner, still thinking about how her beautiful morning, turned into a disaster. How is her so-called silent life ruined because of one asshole who-she-called Boss? She was fired because of an unreasonable reason. And now, here she is, drinking her ass out because tomorrow will be another day. She drinks and drinks then starts dancing to the tune of electro music. She slowly opened her eyes as she felt something was moving beside her. And suddenly, reality strikes her. Who the fuck this guy beside her? At bakit wala siyang saplot?

Pacarku, Bima Arya, divonis menderita kanker dan membutuhkan transplantasi hati. Begitu tahu aku cocok jadi donor, tanpa ragu aku langsung memutuskan untuk menjalani operasi. Dua per tiga hatiku diangkat, rasa sakitnya luar biasa. Namun, saat sadar, hal pertama yang kulakukan adalah memeriksa keadaannya. Di depan kamarnya, aku mendengar dia berbicara dengan temannya. "Kak Bima, kamu benar-benar genius. Bisa-bisanya kepikiran cara balas dendam sehebat ini." Bima tertawa kecil. "Kalau saja aku nggak mau buat masalah besar, sebenarnya aku ingin ambil ginjalnya buat main-main." "Semua ini gara-gara Nimas, Vivi jadi gagal ujian masuk universitas dan harus kuliah di luar negeri. Sebulan lagi Vivi akan pulang ke dalam negeri dan saat itulah aku akan sepenuhnya putus dari Nimas."

Parting his lips, Jordan placed the burning cigarette on his mouth and stood up from his seat before walking towards his shelves containing all his important documents related business, but soon there a light tug on his arm stopped his actions. It was her, he knew it cause no one other than her had the audacity to enter and exit his cabin without his permission. His wife, Hattiea. Or maybe the woman pretending to be his wife? Jordan's dark eyes landed on the culprit immediately with darkness but as soon as he found her behind him close to him... He got lost for a moment or so... The proximity rose slight tension between them. Raising her fingers up, Hattiea pulled the burning cigarette out from his mouth which was still resting on his lips. Her delicate fingers brushed his chin and lips softly. Following by the smoke, he released his minty breath in slight awe, her breath taking face was so close to his face. They both never came so close to one another actually. Even though it had been quite of time getting married with one another, they minded their boundaries well. As it was not any marriage of love for them but a marriage full of compromises. Hattiea's eyes soon travelled up from his lips back to his eyes, which were still staring at her ditching their shame. "It's dangerous for your health." Hattiea exclaimed hinting his smoking habit, while looking right into his eyes. Her hazel eyes were blank yet they held millions of emotions. "So are you!" Jordan's smoky breath caressed her face. The deepness of his voice solely made Hattiea's heart race million times faster. It was true... she was dangerous for him. Way too dangerous to handle.

Sofia Reyes lived her life by the book... careful, meticulous, invisible. But when a single photograph drags her into the orbit of Tristan Jacinto, Manila's most elusive billionaire, everything she thought she knew about safety and control unravels overnight. What begins as scandal becomes a dangerous dance of power and proximity. Tristan is calculating, magnetic, and built from a world where reputation is armor and affection is currency. To him, everything is a transaction. To her, everything is survival. But the closer she gets, the harder it becomes to tell if she's protecting her name - or her heart. When the smoke clears, will Sofia escape with her life intact, or will she find herself too entangled to ever let go?