What Does Betrayal Feel Like

Nine years into my "non-cohabiting partnership" with Simon, his father passed away. The first condition in his will was simple: Simon and Ella had to conceive a child. On the day the child turned one month old, Simon would inherit his father's fortune. Simon told me this himself—the night I walked in on them tangled in our bed. Afterward, as he took a slow drag from his cigarette, he murmured, "Lily, just wait a little longer. Once I get the inheritance, I'll marry you." But he went back on his word. From then on, every time Simon planned to meet Ella at our house, he would hang a string of bells on the door. Since his father's passing, those bells had chimed ninety-nine times. After the ninety-ninth, the news arrived—Ella was pregnant, and their engagement party was set. My daughter saw the invitation, hesitated, then softly asked, "Mom, is Daddy's name on this?" I forced a smile and gently smoothed her messy hair into a neat ponytail. "Daddy is marrying the one he loves," I said. "And I'm taking you home." Simon never understood—I never cared about that marriage certificate.

Buong akala ni Sky hindi na siya magkakagusto pa sa isang lalaki, matapos lokohin ng boyfriend niya noon at iwan ng Papa niya para sa ibang babae. Ngunit nagbago ang lahat nang makilala niya si Zach Villanueva, ang bagong CEO ng kumpanyang pinagtatrabahuan niya. Lihim siyang humanga dito, ngunit malayong magustuhan siya ng boss niyang perfectionist at may mataas na standard. Nang minsang magbiro ang tadhana, sa kasal ng kanyang ina, natuklasan niyang si Zach ay hindi lang basta boss, kundi anak ng lalaking papakasalan ng Mama niya. Stepbrother niya ang lalaking lihim niyang hinahangaan. Mas lalong naging kumplikado ang sitwasyon nang mapilitan silang magsama sa iisang bubong. Sa bawat titig, sa bawat paglapit, at sa bawat paghinga sa iisang espasyo, mas lumalalim ang tensyon sa pagitan nila. Isang tensyon na hindi dapat mabuo… pero imposibleng pigilan. Family by law. Forbidden by morals. But temptation doesn’t always play by the rules until it becomes...a sacred betrayal.

In my previous life, I was eight months pregnant when my mother-in-law and husband forcibly dragged me to grab decorative gift boxes from the Christmas tree. I told them there was nothing inside, but my mother-in-law slapped me across the face while my husband pulled me into the crowd. A stampede broke out. They clutched their gift boxes and fled to save themselves, while my child and I were trampled to death. They eagerly tore open all the gift boxes with high hopes, only to find exactly nothing, just like I'd warned them. But as I lay dying, I noticed something in the final gift box. A Black Widow spider with an hourglass pattern on its belly crawled onto my mother-in-law's hand. This spider carries deadly venom. Anyone bitten either dies or suffers permanent disability. When I open my eyes again, I'm back on Christmas Day. This time, watching my mother-in-law and husband gear up to fight over those Christmas gift boxes, I won't try to stop them!

"Hatred is still an emotion, sweetheart," I murmured, stepping closer. "That means you still care." Forced into a marriage with the man who despises her family, Isla vows to resist him. But Dante is a man who always gets what he wants, and what he wants… is her. As secrets unravel and enemies close in, Serena finds herself trapped in a dangerous game of power, revenge, and an undeniable attraction she can't escape. Because in Dante’s world, love isn’t gentle. It’s a war. And Serena is about to learn—when the Don wants something, he takes it.

After being reborn, I tear up my school withdrawal form. I no longer wish to become a househusband just for Eliza Stewart's sake. She messages me when she hears the news, but I blacklist her number right away. She camps outside my house to confront me, so my family and I move to a new place immediately. Eventually, she compromises by asking me to join her in Northcrest for college. That way, I can still take care of her. I go behind her back and apply to be an education major at Southwell University instead. In my previous life, she dedicated herself to everything and everyone else, except for me. This time around, I just want us to go on our separate paths and never meet again. A few years later, I set off for the rural region of Westridge to volunteer as a teacher. Eliza, who is also volunteering there, sees me. Her eyes start turning red. She grabs my hand and refuses to let go. "Don't run off this time, Matthew…"

Lisa is a teenage girl who fell in love with her stepfather, Laredo. They ended up having an intimate relationship under her mother’s nose. The story unfolds with more intense drama and the consequences of family betrayal.

Aiko, wanita yang introvert, berpenampilan kurang menarik namun memiliki kemampuan design yang baik. Jatuh cinta pada COO-nya, Cleosa Nicolas Ivander. Aiko jatuh pada pesona pria tersebut, namun berulang kali pula hatinya dipatahkan olehnya. Aiko memilih menata ulang perasannya, berusaha melupakan Ivander dan berusaha mengubah penampilannya. Namun karena intensnya pertemuan 'tidak sengaja' antara Aiko dan Ivander. Ivander akhirnya menyadari bahwa dirinya telah jatuh pada aura tersembunyi yang dimiliki oleh Aiko. Apakah Aiko berhasil melupakan Ivander atau bahkan terperosok semakin dalam pada pusaran cinta Ivander?

I've been married to the prince of the underworld for ten years and have endured countless life-or-death situations by his side. My hands, once trained to play the piano, are covered in calluses from holding guns and stained with blood. But at 28, my husband ends up falling for a young woman from the slums. She's as delicate and pure as a chamomile. She's his well-kept little secret—until I run into them at the woman's prenatal appointment one day. I storm up to him, demanding an explanation, only for him to nonchalantly hand me divorce papers. "Sonia is a devout follower of the church and can't have a child before marriage. I must make an honest woman out of her. Sign these, and you'll get 40% of the company's shares." I refuse to do as told, so he corners me. In the end, he has my crippled younger brother tied up and forced under a hydraulic compression machine. "Sign the papers, Maeve, or watch your brother become a human mince pie. The choice is yours." I fall on my knees and beg him to stop. As the machine turns on, my hands fly to my aching lower belly, and I scream as I lose consciousness. When I wake up again, I'm back in the hospital, in the same spot where I ran into my husband and his mistress at her prenatal appointment. This time, I don't confront him. Overnight, I make arrangements with a sanatorium abroad, get divorced, and run away from home. Yet the moment I truly disappear, my husband loses his mind.

I loved him when he was poor. Then I disappeared. Now he’s a billionaire—and I work for him. He looks at me like I’m a mistake he never forgot. Cold. Untouchable. Unforgiving. He thinks I betrayed him for money. He doesn’t know I was paid to disappear to save his life. Every day, he punishes me with power. Every night, he protects me from enemies I can’t escape. I carry a truth that could destroy us both. And if he ever finds out why I really left… I don’t know if he’ll hate me forever— or never let me go again.

On New Year's Eve, I waited at home with a box of sparklers, hoping Jake Thompson would come. Instead, an earthquake struck. Trapped under fallen debris, I prayed for his safety. Little did I know, Jake was putting on a grand fireworks display across the city for his high school sweetheart who had just returned from abroad. The whole town buzzed with excitement, wishing them a lifetime of happiness together. Meanwhile, I had lost my hearing in the disaster, with no hope of recovery. When I tried to break off our engagement and leave town, Jake stood before me, his eyes red-rimmed and pleading. I couldn't understand a word he said. I simply wished him, “May you always have a day like today, year after year.”