Kaitlin fell in love with Alan at first sight, but failed to capture his heart even after three years of marriage. When her life was on the line, he was weeping at his beloved's grave. It was the last straw. "Let's get a divorce, Alan." Kaitlin thrived in her newfound freedom, gaining international acclaim as a designer. Her memory returned, and she reclaimed her rightful identity as the heiress to a jewelry empire, while embracing her new role as the mother to beautiful twin babies. Alan panicked as eager suitors flocked to her. "I screwed up. Please let me see our children!"
"Look at that face and body, tsk! Send her down to the red-light district, and she'll rake in a hundred grand a day, easy!"
Kaitlin Hewitt found herself restrained in a decrepit building, her forehead bleeding.
The men had been rough, her clothing torn and disheveled, revealing bruised shoulders and much of her chest-a testament to her futile resistance.
Two days prior, a mysterious call had pulled her into this nightmare. The caller claimed intimate knowledge of her biological parents and even mentioned specific details about her body that only she should know.
Lured to the city's fringes, she ended up in the clutches of these thugs.
"Let's not do anything hasty. I can pay you," Kaitlin asserted, her voice steady despite the blood trickling from her mouth's corner. "I'm Alan Hewitt's wife. Whatever ransom you're after, he can pay it."
"Alan Hewitt?!"
The revelation struck the men like a bolt, prompting bewildered looks among them. "Alan Hewitt is married? Never heard about it."
Alan was a powerhouse in Osewood, a man whose mere disapproval could send shockwaves through the city. If they indeed held his wife, Alan's wrath could obliterate them effortlessly.
Noticing the uncertainty on the men's expressions, Kaitlin steadied herself, and said, "I won't claim you kidnapped me. Just let me go, and I assure you, you'll receive your money safely!"
The group leader studied her, his eyes lingering on her expensive designer dress and striking features, appearing slightly influenced.
Clearly, her attire was costly, and she was attractive. Someone of Alan's stature taking her as his wife would certainly make sense.
After a brief, meaningful glance at his accomplices, he spoke in an icy tone. "Give me his phone number, and no tricks. If you try to deceive me, I'll sell you to a brothel around. You won't be able to walk away from the endless line of clients!"
Kaitlin, blood staining her mouth, weakly uttered a phone number.
The leader attempted the number, but the call was abruptly disconnected.
Frustrated, he shouted, "Damn it! Are you playing games with me? The call won't go through!"
His expression darkened, and he delivered a harsh kick to Kaitlin's lower back.
The blow drained the color from her face, her voice growing fainter. "He won't take a stranger's calls. Please... let me use my phone to call him."
"Typical rich people and their eccentricities!" the leader muttered. After a moment's hesitation, he handed her the phone, growling, "Tell him to send two hundred million! Or you'll be fucked until you break!"
Kaitlin's fingers quivered as she dialed, her heart racing.
Despite being married to Alan for three years, she felt the void of his affection.
Yet, he had always been generous with finances, which gave her a sliver of hope. Perhaps he would pay a ransom?
The phone seemed to ring endlessly, her knuckles paling as she clutched it tightly.
At last, a voice answered, but it wasn't Alan. It was a woman's. The caller was none other than the renowned designer Lilliana Willis, sister to Alan's beloved.
"Kaitlin? Alan and I are at Ashley's grave. What do you need?" Lilliana's voice carried through.
Tremors ran through Kaitlin's hand.
The irony wasn't lost on her. It was their third wedding anniversary, and she had been kidnapped. Two days had slipped by, and Alan was none the wiser, instead spending his time at the grave of his first love.
Pain surged in her chest.
Alan's reasons for marrying her were layered; his grandmother, Beth Hewitt, longed for great-grandchildren, and Kaitlin bore an unsettling resemblance to his deceased true love, Ashley Willis, who had perished in a landslide three years ago.
The realization that she was merely a stand-in twisted the knife deeper.
Yet, this was not the moment for heartache.
Kaitlin struggled to hold back her tears and the pain that was evident in her voice. "Miss Willis, it's urgent that I speak with Alan. Please, could you hand him the phone?"
Lilliana let out a light chuckle. "Oh, Kaitlin, you know how Alan is. Today marks the anniversary of Ashley's passing. He's really not in the mood to entertain your drama. Why don't you just tell me what's happening?"
Biting down on her frustration as she noticed the kidnappers' growing impatience, Kaitlin raised her voice and shouted into the phone, "I need to talk to Alan! Right now! I'm his wife, and you have no right to keep him from me!"
She dared not mention the kidnapping, fearing the kidnappers would panic and harm her.
Her assertive tone seemed to make an impact. She could hear footsteps in the background and then Alan's voice came through. "Who's that?"
Lilliana, feigning grievance, covered the receiver slightly and whispered, "It's Kaitlin. She's adamant about speaking with you. I mentioned we're visiting Ashley's grave, but she got quite upset and claimed her rights as your wife..."
Alan scoffed dismissively. "Wife? Does she even count as that? She's nothing but a stand-in. Just hang up. Speaking to her will only disrupt Ashley's tranquility."
With a chilling beep, the connection was severed, and Kaitlin felt her heart plummet.
In their three years of marriage, Chelsea had been a dutiful wife to Edmund. She used to think that her love and care would someday melt Edmund's cold heart, but she was wrong. Finally, she couldn't take the disappointment any longer and chose to end the marriage. Edmund had always thought that his wife was just boring and dull. So it was shocking when Chelsea suddenly threw divorce papers at his face in front of everyone at the Nelson Group's anniversary party. How humiliating! After that, everyone thought that the formerly-married couple would never see each other again, even Chelsea. Once again, she thought wrong. Sometime later, at an award ceremony, Chelsea went onstage to accept the award for best screenplay. Her ex-husband, Edmund, was the one presenting the award to her. As he handed her the trophy, he suddenly reached for her hand and pleaded humbly in front of the audience, "Chelsea, I'm sorry I didn't cherish you before. Could you please give me another chance?" Chelsea looked at him indifferently. "I'm sorry, Mr. Nelson. My only concern now is my business." Edmund's heart was shattered into a million pieces. "Chelsea, I really can't live without you." But his ex-wife just walked away. Wasn't it better for her to just concentrate on her career? Men would only distract her—especially her ex-husband.
Bailey seems to be never destined to fit in, a little geeky, but under it all, a hidden beauty that so many seem to miss, but still not what her pack Alpha is looking for in a fated mate... so he is determined to reject her and make her life hell. Bailey, knowing her life will likely never be the same focuses on what she can control, her future, and heads off to study; becoming a teacher. Asher is the Beta of Autumn Valley Pack, a neighbouring pack. A broken man having suffered the loss of his mate after a rogue attack, Asher is slowly crumbling. Falling to pieces. A shadow of his former self, and not a man that anyone wants to be around anymore... Until, Autumn Valley Pack require a new teacher, and Bailey finds herself there and pushed together with the Beta. Is there a connection building or is that in their imaginations? And what will happen when Bailey's mate comes back to claim what is his?
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.
Trigger warning!!! Intended for mature readers who enjoy morally complex, slow-burn, poseesive, forbidden, dark romance that pushes boundaries. ***EXCERPT*** Blood everywhere. Trembling hands. "No!" My eyes blurred. His lifeless eyes stared back at me, his blood pooling at my feet. The man I loved-dead. Killed by the one person I could never escape - my stepbrother. *** Kasmine's life was never hers to begin with. Kester, her stepbrother, controlled and monitored her every move. At first, it was all sweet and brotherly until it began to turn into an obsession. Kester was the Alpha, and his word was law. No close friends. No boyfriends. No freedom. The only consolation Kasmine had was her twenty-first birthday, which was supposed to change everything. She dreamt of finding her mate, escaping the sickening control of Kester, and finally claiming her own life. But fate had other plans for her. On the night of her birthday, not only was she disappointed that she wasn't mated to the love of her life, but she found out that her mate was none other than him - Her tormentor. Her stepbrother. She'd rather die than be mated to a man whom she had known as her big brother all her life. A man who would do just anything to make sure she was his. But when love turns to obsession, and obsession turns to blood, how far can one girl run before she realizes there is nowhere else to run to?
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...
For as long as Emily can remember, she has wanted to overcome her shyness and explore her sexuality. Still, everything changes when she receives an invitation to visit one of the town's most prestigious BDSM clubs, DESIRE'S DEN. On the day she chose to peruse the club, she noticed three men, all dressed in suits, standing on the upper level, near the railing. Despite her limited vision, she persisted in fixating on them. Their towering statues belied the toned bodies concealed by their sharply tailored suits-or so she could tell. The hair of two of them was short and dark, and the third had light brown-possibly blond-hair that reached the shoulders. The dark, crimson background incised their figures, exuding an air of mystery and strength. They stood in stark contrast to the unfiltered, primal energy that pulsed through the club. Shocked by the desires these men aroused in her, she was disappointed to learn that they were masters seeking a slave to divide and conquer. She couldn't afford the fee, and she also realized that they were outside her league. Emily hurriedly left the club, feeling disappointed and depressed, unaware that she had also caught the group's attention. A world of wicked pleasure, three handsome men. Over the years, they have lived a life of decadence, their lavish lair serving as a stage for their most sinister desires. But despite the unending parade of willing subjects, one woman sticks out. A mysterious stranger with white porcelain skin and a killer body, a slave, a name with no address, the first lady to attract their eye and they will go to any length to obtain her no matter the consequences.