Meagan took her sister's place and married someone without a penny to his name. Thinking that her husband was nothing more than a poor man, she figured she'd have to live the rest of her life humbly. Little did she know that her new husband, Zayden, was actually the most powerful and mysterious business magnate in the city. As soon as she heard a rumor about this, Meagan ran back to her cramped apartment rental and threw herself into the arms of her husband. "They all say you're the powerful Mr. Friedman. Is that true?" He stroked her hair gently. "We just look alike, that's all." Meagan stuck out her lip in a cute pout. "But that man insists that I'm his wife. It's so frustrating. Honey, beat him up for me, will you?" The following day, Mr. Friedman showed up at his company with bruises on his face. Everyone was dumbfounded. What on earth had happened to their CEO? He smiled. "My wife gave the order, so I had no choice but to obey."
"It's late now. Why not go to bed?"
The man's deep and charming voice resounded, pulling back Meagan's wandering mind into her body. Meagan Allison, a newly-wedded lady, looked up and met her husband's deep eyes. She found them conveying unpredictable emotions that she couldn't read.
At this moment, Meagan nervously held the hemline of her dress, feeling her heart beat faster and faster by the second.
Ever since entering this room, she had been sitting on the edge of the bed and didn't move much. Hence, her back went stiff from keeping this posture for a long time. In fact, she hadn't taken off her wedding dress yet. She didn't know what to do or expect. The moment the man finished taking a shower and walked out of the bathroom, it finally dawned on her that they were about to spend their first night as a married couple. It wasn't just any ordinary event. It was their wedding night.
When she thought of this, her entire body trembled. She hadn't even had the opportunity to know her husband well. After all, she was merely a substitute, a replacement for another woman.
As an illegitimate daughter of a rich family, she was made to marry this poor man in place of her half-sister, in order to complete the engagement arranged by the elders of the two families. Furthermore, it was also expected that she would acquire a considerable amount of dowry from this marriage.
With this money, her mother's medical expenses could be paid for, her little brother could continue studying, and her whole family could live a good life. All this burden was passed onto her.
Dwelling on the realization that her life had now changed, Meagan took a deep breath and shakily walked toward the bathroom. "I... I'm going to take a shower as well..."
At these words, the man's eyes suddenly dilated.
Finally, Meagan got to the bathroom door. As she went inside and was about to lock the door, she noticed that there wasn't even a lock on the shabby wooden door. She couldn't help but swallow hard. Although her previous life was not a bed of roses, it wasn't as abysmal as this.
Soon enough, tears welled up in her eyes. She wanted to cry and release her frustrations. But she could only stand there in the bathroom for a while, not even able to take off her dress.
The man outside seemed to have understood what was going on in her mind, so he said in a deep voice, "I'm going out for a smoke. You can take your time in there."
Meagan seemed to be a little relieved. To check if he really was going out, she leaned against the door and listened carefully. As he walked out of the room, the door closed with a creaking sound. Afterward, she no longer heard anything from the other side of the door.
The day before their wedding, a vicious typhoon wrecked the city. Massive billboards were dragged down, and even huge trees got uprooted and broken in half-this was the current state of the roads in every part of the city. Despite all this predicament, Meagan's wedding still went on.
Not only did she not have a decent wedding car to pick her up, but she also had to walk quite a long distance just to ride an inconspicuous minibus to take her to the village. Her shoes and wedding dress were soiled by the wet mud. Everything seemed to be a total mess.
As superstitious people, the elders said that marrying in such a condition would only result in a miserable future.
However, Meagan hadn't cared about her own happiness for so long. So, whatever happened in the future, she figured it was pretty much all the same for her.
After taking a shower, she dried her hair and finally stepped out of the bathroom.
It seemed that her husband was yet to come back from smoking outside.
All alone, she looked around and gazed at the two-room adobe house, only to see that there were leaks in some spots. But to her surprise, although the house was a little dilapidated, some maintenance and cleaning up could make it look good enough. Meagan finally found herself letting out a faint smile. Then, she decided to tidy up the room before her husband came back.
However, as she knelt on the sheets to make the bed, the man suddenly appeared.
She was caught by surprise, so she forgot the fact that she was only wearing a bath towel. With her sudden movement as she turned around, she didn't notice that it had already slipped down her body. Feeling a little chilly, Meagan screamed and quickly wrapped her chest with her arms after realizing what had just happened.
However, even before she could cover herself up, the man had already seen her naked body as clear as day.
Panicking profusely, Meagan pulled the quilt on the bed to hide her body. She was so embarrassed that her face turned red.
Unable to forget the scene he had just seen, the man swallowed, and the look in his eyes became more profound and complicated. This time, he walked slowly to her side and spoke in a low, cold voice that somehow implied a bit of intimacy. "It has gotten late. Let's go to bed now."
Earlier, his statement sounded like a mere suggestion. But this time, it was as if it became imperative.
Meagan's heart pounded so hard that she could imagine it jumping out of her throat. With her eyes closed, she eventually felt an arm going around her waist. Slowly and steadily, she fell into the man's arms as her back was pressed into his chest.
Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.
Lucia Balstone thought she had chosen the right man to spend the rest of her life with, but he was the one who ended her life. Their ten-year marriage seemed like a joke when her husband stabbed her with a dagger. Fortunately, God is never blind to people's tears. Lucia got a second chance. She was reborn at the age of 22, before all the terrible things had happened. This time, she was determined to avenge herself and let those who hurt her pay! She made an elaborate list of her goals, and the first thing on her list was to marry her ex-husband's enemy, Alonso Callen!
Rachel used to think that her devotion would win Brian over one day, but she was proven wrong when his true love returned. Rachel had endured it all—from standing alone at the altar to dragging herself to the hospital for an emergency treatment. Everyone thought she was crazy to give up so much of herself for someone who didn’t return her feelings. But when Brian received news of Rachel’s terminal illness and realized she didn’t have long to live, he completely broke down. "I forbid you to die!" Rachel just smiled. She no longer needed him. "I will finally be free."
"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Natalie used to think she could melt Connor’s icy heart, but she was sorely mistaken. When at last she decided to leave, she discovered that she was pregnant. Even so, she chose to quietly leave his world, prompting Connor to mobilize all of his resources and expand his business to a global scale—all in a bid to find her. But there was no trace of Natalie. Connor slowly spiraled into madness, turning the city upside down and leaving chaos in his wake. Natalie finally surfaced years later, with wealth and power of her own, only to find herself entangled with Connor once again.
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.