When Your Mother Doesn't

The new colleague at my company is a stingy mother. On her first day, she shows up with a huge pile of expired snacks that her son refused to eat and hands them out to everyone. Once we're done, she pulls out her PayPal and says, "These are all imported snacks for my son. I'll need 50 dollars from each of you." During a company team-building event, she refuses to participate, saying she has to go home to take care of her child. The day after, she comes over holding her phone and asks me for money. "I didn't eat with everyone yesterday. Since the company is footing the bill, just hand me the cash equivalent for my meal." Furious, I rejected her request immediately. What I fail to realize is that she would bear a grudge against me over it. One night, her son comes down with a high fever, so she calls me and requests a ride to the hospital using the company car. Once again, I refuse without a second thought. Because of the delay, her son suffers severe cognitive damage. She blames me for everything that happened. In a fit of rage, she ends up running me over with her car. As I open my eyes again, I find myself transported to her first day on the job.

Alice Smith longed to turn the tortuous days of loving Camila into a happy ending but you know how the universe isn't always on your side, a fiasco named Jake appeared.  He came like a domestic cat and settled in as a wild tiger, a predator domineering over the masses, his soft side captured camila´s heart that she forgot family and her one and only best friend Alice. Camila didn't realize she had entered the territory of the wild tiger until she looked around her and realized everyone had either died or left her . A love so beautiful it cannot be defined by mere mortals' views on affection, a love that isn't stained by societal norms and rules. No matter how broken, Alice could not give up on her love. Brandishing her swords against all odds she went up against the wild tiger with the power of love.

When the power meter in the house trips, Mom's foster daughter, Juniper Hawthorne, is trapped in the dark for five minutes. Even though I have claustrophobia, Mom locks me in an empty, pitch-black room. "You knew Juniper was terrified of the dark, yet you intentionally shut off the power just to frighten her! I'll teach you how to behave today!" I cry and beg her not to, but all I receive in return is a harsh slap. "Claustrophobia? That's just what happens when a kid grows up too spoiled." Late that night, I sense someone breaking into the house. The first thing I do is to call Mom, a renowned criminal psychologist, for help, only to be yelled at. "You're still really getting into this role just to fight Juniper for attention, aren't you? "Kidnappers, huh? Well, go ahead and die so you'll stop bothering me!" As she wishes, I'm brutally tortured and killed. My body is buried beneath Mom's favorite flowerbed. After I die, my soul is trapped in the body of a cat. All I can do is helplessly circle Mom until five days have passed. The police arrive with a mangled body and request her help in creating a portrait of the killer.

One day, Fisya Jazira lost all her savings and the small apartment she had bought with great difficulty. What's even sadder is that all of this was the work of her lover—Dean Brasta. She, who was on the verge of despair, decided to commit suicide. However, just as she was about to do that, suddenly a call stopped Fisya's steps. The call 'Mama' came out of the mouth of the boy who was hugging her leg. That boy was Adnan Adzura, the son of a famous billionaire—Regan Adzura. It's not enough to stop there. Fisya is faced with many bodyguards pointing guns at her. Finally, a proud and handsome man approached her and confessed that Adnan was his son. Upon hearing that name, Fisya finds out that he is not a random man, but the CEO of a well-known company—Regan Adzura dan the man asked her to make an agreement to be a surrogate mother for his son for 1 year. Will Fisya agree to it?

Ophelia Martins was once the girl everyone wanted to be—charming, magnetic, untouchable. But when betrayal rips through her inner circle and the ones she trusted most reveal their darkest sides, her world shatters. From best friends turned enemies to ex-lovers hiding cruel secrets, Lia is left to rebuild her life from the ruins of public humiliation and heartbreak. As she struggles to find her footing, Tyler Reed, her childhood friend with a mysterious past, steps in. But Tyler’s return isn't just timely… it's calculated. Beneath his easy smile lies a vendetta years in the making, and Lia might be the one piece in a revenge game she doesn’t even know she’s playing. Secrets run deep in Crestwood High. Everyone has something to lose. Everyone has something to hide. And just when Lia thinks she’s taking back control, a buried truth about her identity threatens to unravel everything. Love. Lies. Legacy. In a world where betrayal feels like love and revenge wears a charming face, can Lia survive the truth long enough to reclaim her own story?

My sister, Anna Hawkins, and I are twins, but I'm slightly heavier than her when we were born. Anna has always been weak and sickly since young, whereas I'm always active and healthy. When Anna was four years old, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Mom blamed me for stealing Anna's nutrients when I got born, so I needed to return the nutrients to her. When I got my blood extracted for the first time, a thick syringe was used on me. I was so scared when I saw it. Mom told me not to be scared. She gave me a magical pen, stating that whatever wish I wrote down with the pen would come true. I wrote, "It won't hurt." When the syringe was plunged into my arm again, Mom bought me a sweet lollipop. The pain never struck me again afterward. When I was five years old, I drew a strawberry cake on the paper while getting 1000cc blood withdrawn from me. That week, Anna could sit up in bed and play on her own. When I turned seven years old, I wrote down my wish that I'd like to go on a vacation. The next day, I was sent into the operating theater for the doctors to collect my hematopoietic cells. For the first time ever, Anna's cheeks became rosy. When I was eight years old, I wrote that I wanted to become the top student of my grade. But a day before my exams, my bone marrow was drawn from me. Anna finally got discharged by the hospital. She got to wear new dresses that I never got to wear. In the year I turn nine years old, my body is heavily depleted. With a trembling hand, I can only write down a line in messy handwriting. "I hope… that I won't become Mom's daughter in my next life."

"You have to remember one thing, I'll never let go of someone who stole something from me, and you're so sassy stealing my kiss. Naomi ... I think you in trouble right now." (*) Starting from a mistake one night, leading Naomi to an affair scandal with an American businessman who was her ice skating club sponsor. Then, after learning that the man was betrothed by his parents and planning to get married soon, Naomi realizes her relationship with Enrico is no longer just a sex partner. Enrico can't undo his matchmaking with Eve because he doesn't want to disappoint his parents, but he also doesn't want to lose Naomi. The woman he recently realized was someone he loved. When Naomi finally decides to leave his life on his wedding day with Eve, how does their story end?

My mother marries into the Patterson family with me after her divorce. She marries Thomas Patterson, the dean of a veterinary hospital. Meanwhile, I marry Walter Patterson, a firefighter captain and Thomas' son. On this day, there's a huge storm. I'm almost due for labor, but I still head to the hospital to pick my mother up after an operation. We head to the subway, but it ends up being flooded. I endure the labor contractions and call Walter with trembling hands, wanting to ask for help. He finally answers after hanging up on me 18 times. "What the hell do you want? How stupid can you be, calling me in such a huge storm? "I'm saving lives here! Tracy's foot was cut by glass while being saved, and I've just bandaged her wound. Now, I have to take her dog to Dad's hospital so he can save it. The dog is hanging by a thread; if you need help, get some other firefighter to do it! Don't pester me!" Later, the rescue team arrives. My mother and I are pushed to the back of the crowd, and people won't stop shoving us around. The floodwater rises, and I have no choice but to carry her on my back while trudging along the corridor. This continues for three hours. When we're finally rescued, my mother is already unconscious, and I end up losing my child, who's almost to term. My mother and I look at each other tearfully in the ward we share. I say, "Mom, I'm getting a divorce." She says, "It's not a big deal, sweetheart. I'll do it with you. I've done it once before—I know how this goes."

Every Thanksgiving, my husband, Salvatore, brings home a showgirl from one of his clubs. He makes me kneel and serve them drinks. A lesson, he calls it, in how to please a man. This was the eighth Thanksgiving, and this time, he brought back a girl poured into a tight leather dress. "She doesn't have any decent jewelry," Salvatore announced. "Give her your heirloom diamond ring. Your grandmother's pearl earrings, too. And take off that silk choker for her." He smirked. "And listen, she's young, doesn't know the rules. You'll have to show her the ropes. Especially how to handle a man in bed." Every member of the Genovese family was watching, waiting for my humiliation. I didn't disappoint. I opened my mouth and asked Salvatore for a divorce. Salvatore let out a sharp, ugly laugh, his eyes full of contempt. "Francesca, you pull this same shit every time," he jeered. "Your act is pathetic. Even more dramatic than your performance in bed." He leaned in. "You really want to divorce me? Fine. I'll give you five million in cash if you actually walk out that door." The living room erupted in laughter. They all said I was playing hard to get, that I didn't know my place. But they didn't know. This was the 88th time I had asked for a divorce, and it was the first time I truly meant it.

Five years later, Stella was released from prison—only to face the brutal vengeance of Joseph, the new Alpha. Convinced she had caused his father’s death, he tormented her mercilessly. Yet he never imagined the truth: the accident five years ago had been his father’s doing, and Stella had been innocent all along. Now, as Joseph realizes he’s fallen in love with her, where does that leave him?