How Does Noriko Smiling End?

Nora was part of a transaction her father and Erik agreed upon. She was already married at the age of 18 five years ago. Nora is alone and desperate. The life, she thought, is nowhere near reality. The life of crime, and the unbridled carnal excesses that her husband lives, are dangerously bordering her on the brink of despair. Betrayed by her family, and by her husband. Nora wants to find a way out of this unwanted life, and one day finds love. Life seems to shine her way finally, but her that happiness was cut short. Nora thought that she had finally found her way to happiness. But her whole life fell apart in a matter of minutes. Alone and pregnant, Nora will have to face the person she fears the most from her past. Discover the future that awaits Nora. Where betrayals and misfortunes are just around the corner. And revenge is the main dish. Join Nora and Erik on this turbulent journey. Where mistakes are paid dearly. And the solutions are very painful.

Nora Ellison has spent her whole life not knowing where she came from. Adopted as a baby, and raised by her grandmother Ruth. Until Ruth dies and leaves behind a tin box containing a birth certificate she has never seen, a letter and a photograph of a woman she does not recognise with the words Chiang Mai, 1998 written on the back. She flies to Thailand to find answers. On her first night she locks herself out of her rented cottage, falls into a fertilizer trench in the dark, and ends up stranded on a deserted road in a soaked sundress with nowhere to go. A car passes by and stops. “What the actual hell do you think you are doing out here looking like that?” Arlo Reeves is arrogant, sarcastic, and impossibly handsome. She is convinced she hates him. He takes her in for the night anyway. What Nora does not know is that Arlo was partly sent to Chiang Mai to keep an eye on the cottage she is renting. What neither of them knows is that the secret buried in that cottage is the same secret Nora came to Thailand to find. As Nora starts her investigation, she and Arlo keep ending up in the same places. But the closer Nora gets to the truth, the more dangerous it becomes. When she finally finds it and as the pieces start to fall into place, a hard slap cuts across her face before she can say a word. “You think you belong here? You were given away. You were never wanted then and you are not wanted now.” The slap stings and tears fall as she hears those words. Meanwhile across the city, Arlo Reeves has a choice to make.

On the day of my wedding, my fiance suddenly announced that he had already registered his marriage with my sister. The system declared my mission a failure and sentenced me to be erased in a car crash. Just as despair closed in, Wayne Kinsey threw himself in front of me to save my life—and lost the use of his legs because of it. Later, I was given another chance to choose a new target, and I accepted his proposal. But five years into our marriage, I overheard a conversation between him and a friend. "Wayne, your crush already has a husband and children. Your legs are healed too. Aren't you going to come clean with Arden?" "No. Arden will always be a risk. Only if she keeps feeling guilty will she stay away and let Naomi have her happiness." As his familiar but cold voice echoed in my ears, my tears fell like beads of a broken string, and that was when I finally realized the so-called salvation Wayne had given me had been nothing but a lie through and through. In that case, there was no reason for me to keep holding on to this sham of a marriage.

I've always been a goody-two-shoes. The boldest thing I've ever done is falling in love with my older brother's friend, Oliver Anderson. The day Oliver finds out about my feelings for him, he's left feeling shell-shocked for a long time. But in the end, he still agrees to become my boyfriend. I thought we loved each other. But Oliver sends me a video featuring him and another young woman on my birthday. In the video, they did everything a couple can possibly do. At the end of the video, Oliver glances at the camera casually while smoking. "Vera, this is my gift for you. Never trust a man this easily." That's when I feel my confidence getting smashed into smithereens. That's why when Oliver and that woman show up in front of me, I give up on pursuing him once and for all.

Eleanor Sutton was in love with Harrison Luther since she was 20 years old. She married him when she turned 22. Five years into their marriage, they had yet to have a child together. Harrison kept protecting Eleanor from his family while enduring the pressure they kept inflicting on him. At that time, everyone claimed that Eleanor was Harrison's weak spot. But everything changed once news of Harrison having an illegitimate child was leaked. He kneeled in the downpour for the whole day afterward as a form of punishment. Then, he explained to Eleanor that it was just an accident, and that he vowed to love her and her only. So, Eleanor accepted the outcome of the illegitimate child being kept in the family, while the mistress was exiled far, far away. But despite Harrison's promise, his mistress, Winona Birch, still ended up moving into Eleanor's home, where she'd be cared for during her pregnancy. Harrison began skipping meetings for her sake, and he'd also ditch Eleanor just so he could go on strolls with Winona. In fact, he'd even abandon Eleanor halfway during their dates in order to be with Winona. The first time Eleanor brought up divorce, Harrison slit his wrists in the bathroom. He left a suicide note, claiming that he'd rather die than not being able to grow old with Eleanor. When divorce was brought up the second time, Harrison hurriedly pleaded to Eleanor to not leave him. But after multiple conflicts, his attitude toward her became wishy-washy. After their 100th argument, Eleanor ran away from their home. Harrison no longer went after her, thinking that she'd eventually return to his side. But she died in that rainy night. When Eleanor opens her eyes again, she finds out that she has returned to the day Harrison's illegitimate child is exposed. This time, she dials a number. "I shall accept the offer of becoming a war correspondent." Her editor reminds her that she won't be able to get in touch with the outside world once she embarks on this journey, and that she needs Harrison's permission in order to accept the offer. Eleanor merely replies, "I'll divorce Harrison soon. I'll depart on time in a week." She wants to make sure that Harrison will never be able to find her anymore.

I woke up in the middle of the night to find my wife crying and begging me to let her see that young man one last time. "I’ll come right back after seeing him one last time. Please, I’m begging you." In our seven years of marriage, this was only the second time she’d spoken to me in such a pleading, ingratiating tone. The last time was when I caught the kid running out of her office, his clothes in disarray. Afraid I’d make a scene, she grabbed my hand and pleaded, "Honey, I promise I’ll cut him off. Please don’t divorce me. I’ll die without you." So, I gave her another chance. Just as she promised, she devoted herself to our family, becoming the perfect wife everyone admired. Until today. I turned on the bedside lamp, looked into her eyes, and told her seriously, "Go. Don’t leave yourself with any regrets." I had no regrets left. I hoped the same for you.