Wind-up Bird

When my best friend died, his wife, Mia Lewis, was eight months pregnant. Mia said she didn't want her baby growing up without a father. I owed my best friend my life. He saved me, literally pulled me from death's door. So I stepped up, marrying Mia and raising their son as my own. Mia loved her career, so I quit mine. Traded my job for diapers and school runs. For seven whole years, I cooked, cleaned, folded laundry, and handled the housework. Rain or shine, sickness or health, I was there—every single day. Mia, though? She stayed cold, distant. Her warmth only surfaced in the bedroom—and even then, it was a flicker, never a flame. Just soft sighs and breathy murmurs, like she was playing a role she couldn't wait to finish. Afterward, she would quietly check the condom, as if she couldn't trust me. Then came New Year's Eve. A snap. A tear. A broken condom. Her fury struck like a thunderclap. She locked me out on the balcony, left me standing in the freezing rain, soaked to the bone as the wind howled like a wounded beast. Teeth chattering, I shivered as I watched the door like a dog, waiting to be let in. Then I saw him. Our boy, Ethan Bailey. Six years old. My son, at least in name. He came running with an umbrella in his hand. For a second, my heart leapt. 'Maybe, just maybe…' But he didn't even look at me. Just walked past in silence and handed the umbrella to the nanny heading out. Right then and there, something inside me cracked. I knew it was time to go.

For eight years, I was the ghost in Lorenzo Valenti's empire. By day, I was his executive assistant, the engine of his criminal enterprise. By night, I was the most submissive bird in his gilded cage, and the nameless body in his bed. I loved him with a devotion that bordered on madness, a foolish flame I'd nurtured since I was a scholarship student pulled into his orbit. I believed my quiet love could one day melt the ice around his heart. I was wrong. The day his unforgettable first love, Isabella, returned, the man I knew vanished. The rare smiles once reserved for me were now all for her. My presence by his side was erased, replaced by hers. Even when she framed me, he believed her without hesitation. He chose her, again and again. I submitted my resignation. He signed it without looking. He thought I'd crawl back, broken and begging. He was wrong. While he was busy playing house with his "cuore mio", I was quietly packing away my life, preparing to vanish from his world forever.

“Get the fuck away from her!” Owen shouted his voice heavy with desperation. “She is my Luna.” “No, Alpha.” Damon replied. “She’s mine.” *** Omega Callie always lived a quiet and humble life, with her fantasies of finding a mate one day. When the day finally came, her mate turned out to be none other than the Alpha of her park. Sadly, she was rejected and hurt. Her fate was sealed until Lycan Damon had a reason to visit her park. But with every blessing, comes a curse. Will Callie accept her new life regardless of the circumstances? Would she finally get her revenge? Explore a tale of romance, suspense, treachery, and love. The fascinating novel ‘Prophecy of the Lycan Queen will have you reading until the very last page.

Untuk menyembuhkan depresi si putri kaya palsu, kekasih masa kecilku yang pernah bersumpah hanya akan menikah denganku, Darryl, diam-diam pergi mendaftarkan pernikahan dengannya. Di belakangnya, aku menyetujui perjodohan keluargaku. Aku menikah dengan pewaris keluarga konglomerat di ibu kota, Vincent, yang diam-diam telah mencintaiku selama bertahun-tahun. Setelah tujuh tahun menikah, dia memanjakanku sepenuh hati. Malam demi malam dia selalu menuntut kemesraan dariku. Bahkan jika aku menginginkan bintang di langit, dia tetap akan berusaha mengambilkannya untukku. Aku sempat mengira, akhirnya aku telah menemukan kebahagiaan. Hingga suatu kali setelah bercinta, aku tidak sengaja mendengar percakapan Vincent dengan sahabatnya. "Avril sudah jadi aktris internasional peraih penghargaan. Kapan kamu mau pisah sama Ariel?" "Toh sama saja harus nikah sama orang yang nggak kucintai, jadi mau sama siapa pun itu nggak ada bedanya. Lagi pula, aku harus jaga Ariel agar dia nggak mengganggu kebahagiaan yang didapatkan Avril dengan susah payah." Aku membuka komputer di ruang kerjanya. Di dalam sebuah folder tersembunyi, tersimpan ratusan ribu foto Avril dan seratus surat cinta yang tak pernah dia kirimkan. Setidak percaya apa pun pada kenyataan, saat ini aku benar-benar sudah harus sadar. Aku membeli sebuah tubuh plastik, lalu merancang sebuah kebakaran besar. Mulai saat ini, entah di langit atau di neraka, aku tak akan pernah bertemu dengannya lagi.

Setelah terlahir kembali, aku memutuskan untuk tidak terobsesi pada teman sejak kecilku, Jacky Halim. Di pesta ulang tahunnya, dia memasang plakat di pintu masuk. Dia menulis namaku di samping logo anjing, dilarang masuk. Jadi, aku sengaja pergi ke Hawai untuk menghindar jauh-jauh darinya. Dia bilang mual dan jijik saat mencium bauku di rumah, jadi aku pun memilih pindah rumah dengan patuh. Setelah itu, dia bilang setelah tamat nanti, dia tidak ingin menghirup udara kota yang sama denganku. Jadi aku cepat-cepat angkat kaki pergi dan tidak pernah kembali lagi. Terakhir, dia bilang keberadaanku gampang membuat wanita idamannya salah paham. Aku menggangguk kepala. Tak lama kemudian, aku pun menemukan pria lain dan mengumumkan hubungan kami. Di kehidupan kali ini, aku selalu membuat keputusan yang berbeda dengan kehidupan sebelumnya. Semua ini hanya karena di kehidupan yang sebelumnya, saat impianku menikah dengan Jacky terwujud, wanita idaman Jacky bunuh diri dengan loncat dari tebing. Dia menuduhku sebagai dalang pembunuhnya. Dia pun mulai menyiksaku, sampai akhirnya aku mati dan mayatku menjadi santapan ikan. Di kehidupan kali ini, aku hanya ingin hidup tenang. Kemudian, saat aku merangkul tangan pacar baruku. Jacky malah mengadang di tengah jalan dengan mata merah padam. “Vivi, kalau kamu ikut denganku sekarang, aku akan memaafkan semua lelucon yang kamu buat.”

She is a free spirit, trapped in a bird cage of death, danger and despair. Little Alessa has always known one thing above all- she was born to be the perfect Principessa of the Cosa Nostra, the Italian Mafia. She was urged to smile when asked to, laugh even when the jokes were anything but funny, charming to all who were allies. She was perfection incarnate...well, that's what they think. They know nothing of her wild abandon, of her plans to be anything but the perfect princess, royalty of a world dredged so deep in blood, she choked on it. Her plans to run were absolute...well, until HE came along. The mysterious Pakan-a Don like her father- shielded by the shadows that he ruled from. He was the anomaly that she least expected. He destroyed her plans and she hated him for it. So why then does her heart beat so fast when he is near? Why is he the one she thinks about before she sleeps? Why does she so long to see him when she's sad? She wanted the freedom, the life beyond the shadows and explore the world. But Emerald colored eyes, cocky smirks, rough hands, cigarettes and darkness were starting to look a little more appealing...

“It’s about midnight, the cool and gentle breeze will be blowing by now. I remember setting my bound hair loose to feel the soft but harsh power of the wind, sending cold shivers down my nape; the blinding bright lights illuminating the street would be lit. What about the big mansions? Situated right beside the lone empty road. So sad I can’t see or feel any of that; these great white-cornered walls would not stop me from reminiscing the beauty of taking a night walk; "who would have thought, this beautiful street conceded an Asylum?!" Emilia Vilia-Rosario was dragged into rivalry and a revenge war between,The Pedro's and her family. She was tricked into signing a contracted marriage proposal to Mariano Douglas Pedro, the billionaire heir to Pedro's Fortune.

She was left at the altar. Her fiancé married another woman right in front of her. Joan Richard's perfect life collapsed in a single moment. Humiliated and grieving she disappears to a quiet town with nothing but her father’s old motorcycle and a heart full of rage. There, she meets Jax Wolfe a rugged, tattooed biker with a past as brutal as hers and a name that isn’t what it seems. He’s running from a bloodstained past. She’s running from betrayal. Neither of them is looking for love. But love doesn’t wait for permission. It crashes in loud and fast, like chrome on asphalt. And love on two wheels? It’s dangerous. It’s reckless. And it never comes without a price.

Fernando is the scion of the Quinn family, one of the wealthiest families in the capital. He should be living in the prime of his life, surrounded by honor and luxury. But three years ago, he was expelled from the Quinn family-the tendons in his hands and feet were mercilessly cut off. Michael, Joyce's father, took pity on him and helped him, even getting his daughter married to Fernando. From then on, all members of the Nagel family regarded Fernando as a failed man, someone unworthy of standing by Joyce's side. They kept trying to convince her to divorce him. However, little did they know... the man they despised was actually one of the richest men in the country. What will happen when the truth is finally revealed?

Setelah aku meninggal, orang tuaku menandatangani surat persetujuan donor organ dan memberikan retina mataku kepada anak angkat kesayangan mereka, Emma Moore. Emma pun menikah dengan kakak kandungku. Mereka hidup bahagia sebagai keluarga yang utuh. Seumur hidup, aku selalu bersaing dengannya, tetapi ujung-ujungnya aku kehilangan segalanya dan berakhir tragis. Setelah terlahir kembali, aku memilih menjalani hidup tanpa memikirkan siapa pun dan justru itulah awal dari kebahagiaan yang tak pernah kuduga.