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In the bustling metropolitan city of Jakarta, there stood a major corporation called "Nox Enterprises," led by a young CEO named Aidan Wira. He was known as a cold and ruthless figure in the business world. Aidan had striking looks, with piercing green eyes that seemed to see through anyone, and jet-black hair that was always perfectly styled. On the other side of the city, there was a talented doctor named Dr. Elara Santoso, who worked at Jakarta International Hospital. Elara was well-known for her strong personality-calm, composed, and never easily intimidated. With long black hair and warm brown eyes, she had a captivating beauty. But behind that charm, she carried a painful past that made her emotionally distant and hard to approach. One day, these two seemingly opposite individuals were forced into an arranged marriage set up by their respective families. Unbeknownst to them, the marriage wasn't just about family or business ties-it was deeply entangled with a dark past and hidden scandals that threatened to shake their entire world. What will happen when they're forced to face a truth far bigger than they ever imagined?
The sound of Jakarta's relentless traffic echoed beyond the tall glass walls of Nox Enterprises, but inside the thirty-seventh floor, everything was silent-eerily controlled. The air was thick with tension, and the employees who passed by the CEO's office made sure to lower their gazes, praying they wouldn't be noticed.
Aidan Wira sat at his desk like a king on a throne-flawless, untouchable, and cold. His emerald eyes skimmed through the digital reports on his tablet with calculated precision, every tap of his fingers a silent execution of someone's mistake. His tailored black suit fit him like armor, and not a single strand of his jet-black hair was out of place.
He didn't tolerate inefficiency. Not in his business, not in people, and certainly not in life.
The only sound that dared to interrupt the silence was the soft knock on his office door.
"Come in," Aidan said, not looking up.
His secretary, Nina, stepped in cautiously. "Sir, your father called. He said it's urgent."
Aidan's jaw clenched. "Tell him I'm busy."
"He insisted, sir. He said it's about... the agreement."
That word. Agreement.
Aidan finally looked up, his eyes narrowing. "Schedule a dinner with him. Tonight."
"Yes, sir."
As Nina left, Aidan leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled in thought. He knew what this was about. His father had been warning him for months-dropping hints, pushing agendas, and reminding him of a promise made long before Aidan had any say in his own life.
An arranged marriage. A merging of empires. A business deal sealed in blood and paper.
He scoffed. Old men and their obsessions with legacy.
---
Across the city, the emergency ward at Jakarta International Hospital was chaos, but Dr. Elara Santoso moved through it with unwavering calm. Her white coat flowed behind her as she barked instructions to nurses and soothed frantic patients. Her long black hair was tied in a low ponytail, and despite the exhaustion on her face, her brown eyes held a quiet intensity that kept everyone steady.
Elara was good at her job-too good. She had spent years perfecting the art of detachment. Patients died. People lied. Families broke apart. She'd seen it all. And still, she remained composed.
But beneath that surface was a storm-a history she kept buried so deep that even she sometimes forgot it existed. A childhood marred by betrayal. A mother who vanished. A family that only remembered her when they needed something.
"Elara!" her friend and colleague, Dr. Farah, called out as she caught up with her. "Your brother's here. He said it's urgent."
Elara froze. "Which brother?"
"Marco."
Of course. The one who only ever appeared when something was wrong or when their father had a command to deliver.
She sighed. "Tell him I'll be out in ten minutes."
---
When Elara stepped into the hospital's visitor lounge, she found Marco standing there in a designer suit, scrolling through his phone like he owned the world. He looked up, offering a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Elara. Looking tired, as usual."
"Get to the point, Marco. I have lives to save."
He put his phone away and straightened. "Father's made a decision. The Wira family reached out again. The marriage is happening. He's agreed to it. You're getting engaged next week."
The words hit her like a slap.
She blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. The contract our families made years ago is being honored. Their son is Aidan Wira. CEO of Nox Enterprises. Father says it'll secure the future-for both sides."
Elara took a step back. Her hands curled into fists.
"I'm not a bargaining chip," she hissed.
"You're the only daughter," Marco said, voice flat. "Selene's already married off. You knew this was coming. We all did. Stop pretending you're surprised."
Elara's breath came in short, shallow bursts. Her mind raced with a thousand objections, but none of them mattered. Her father had made a deal. Her family expected her obedience. Again.
---
That evening, at a luxurious restaurant with skyline views of Jakarta, two worlds collided.
Aidan arrived first, as always. He was seated at the private table, eyes on the glass of wine in front of him, disinterested in the extravagance around him.
When the door opened, he glanced up-and saw her.
Elara entered with her chin lifted, wearing a simple black dress and a guarded expression. Her dark eyes met his, and neither of them blinked.
So this was her.
And this was him.
She took her seat slowly, crossing her legs, maintaining her distance.
Silence stretched between them.
"You don't look thrilled," Aidan said finally, breaking the ice with a voice like sharp velvet.
"I'm not," she replied calmly. "I assume you're just as unhappy about this as I am."
"I don't do marriage for romance. This is a contract, Dr. Santoso. A strategic alliance."
"Then let's call it what it is," she said, tone steady. "A trap."
Aidan studied her. There was no fear in her eyes. Just fire.
Interesting.
"I won't be a puppet in your empire," she added.
"I don't need a puppet," he said, leaning in slightly. "I need someone who won't fall apart when the vultures come."
"Then you might have the right woman," she replied coldly.
Another silence.
Aidan smirked, just slightly. "This might not be as boring as I thought."
But neither of them noticed the quiet photographer in the corner of the restaurant, hiding behind a waiter, capturing their first meeting.
And somewhere in the shadows, someone was watching.
Planning.
Waiting.
On the day she lost her stillborn child, Isolde managed to escape from the hitmen and survived. She found refuge in a place thanks to someone who helped her on the road. Since she had just given birth and her milk was overflowing, it happened that in the house there was a child who had lost their parents and needed milk. Isolde became a wet nurse and was later seen with Luca Monticelli, a ruthless mafia figure feared by everyone.
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."
When Zora was sick during the early days of her pregnancy, Ezrah was with his first love, Piper. When Zora got into an accident and called Ezrah, he said he was busy, when in actual fact, he was buying shoes for Piper. Zora lost her baby because of the accident, and throughout her stay at the hospital, Ezrah never showed up. She already knew that he didn't love her, but that was the last straw for the camel's back, and her fragile heart could not take it anymore. When Ezrah arrived home a few days after Zora was discharged from the hospital, he no longer met the woman who always greeted him with a smile and cared for him. Zora stood at the top of the stairs and yelled with a cold expression, "Good news, Ezrah! Our baby died in a car accident. There is nothing between us anymore, so let's get a divorce." The man who claimed not to have any feelings for Zora, being cold and distant towards her, and having asked her for a divorce twice, instantly panicked.
P-please, I beg you. Come let's go tell Christian I had no hand in whatever happened, p-please." I clutched the lapel of his jacket desperately. "Let's go. You need to tell my husband you were paid." "Young lady, you're harassing me." His tone was cold and his stare granite. But I could care less. "You harassed me first! You had sex with me without my consent, my husband knows and now I'm pregnant with this child he doesn't want. You ruined my marriage! I-I hate you!" ************************************ Caught by her husband with another man on their matrimonial bed the morning after her birthday, Hailey Codza could not defend herself. As though it's not enough, she gets pregnant. Her enraged husband decides to pay her back for her infidelity by having an affair with his ex-girlfriend - Denise Kellers, the family Hailey never knew she had. Losing her family's wealth and company to her husband and his ex (now girlfriend), she is devastated, homeless and penniless as all her credit cards are blocked by her husband. She sees the man who is responsible for her pregnancy. The man she has no idea how he'd found his way to her matrimonial bed - Jared Johnson. Jared is annoyed when this strange woman disrupts his meeting and accuses him of ruining her life, marriage and impregnating her. It affects his business deals and having no choice, he marries her to calm the public whilst engaged to someone else. But he loathes her and allows his family treats her badly. Hailey who has fallen in love with Jared is broken when she can no longer take the humiliation. She signs the divorce papers and leaves, only to arrive six years later to the country as a self-made, secret billionaire and a mother of twins. Now her two ex-husbands are begging to have her back...
After three secretive years of marriage, Eliana never met her enigmatic husband until she was served with divorce papers and learned of his extravagant pursuit of another. She snapped back to reality and secured a divorce. Thereafter, Eliana unveiled her various personas: an esteemed doctor, legendary secret agent, master hacker, celebrated designer, adept race car driver, and distinguished scientist. As her diverse talents became known, her ex-husband was consumed by remorse. Desperately, he pleaded, "Eliana, give me another chance! All my properties, even my life, are yours."
The day Raina gave birth should have been the happiest of her life. Instead, it became her worst nightmare. Moments after delivering their twins, Alexander shattered her heart-divorcing her and forcing her to sign away custody of their son, Liam. With nothing but betrayal and heartbreak to her name, Raina disappeared, raising their daughter, Ava, on her own.Years later, fate comes knocking when Liam falls gravely ill. Desperate to save his son, Alexander is forced to seek out the one person he once cast aside. Alexander finds himself face to face with the woman he underestimated, pleading for a second chance-not just for himself, but for their son. But Raina is no longer the same broken woman who once loved him.No longer the woman he left behind. She has carved out a new life-one built on strength, wealth, and a long-buried legacy she expected to uncover.Raina has spent years learning to live without him.The question is... Will she risk reopening old wounds to save the son she never got to love? or has Alexander lost her forever?
In the previous life, Maggie Johnson was so cowardly, gullible and stupid that she was coaxed by her fiance and stepsister and then broke her legs and lost everything including her fortune, love and even life. However, she was so lucky that she was reborn in the year before everything happened. Since her life restarted, how could she repeat a previous tragedy? Therefore, in this life, she took the opportunity to improve herself and take revenge on the ones who had ever insulted her. Facing the people who had humiliated her previously, she became smart and experienced to break their frames and tricks that had caused her to hurt in the previous life. Finally, no one could stop her pace to amaze the world any more.