Irene, at the age of 16 was on a visit to her fiance's house. She was ecstatic about her visit, dreaming of the day when she would come of age and marry him. But the visit shattered her dreams when she realized that her fiance fancied her stepsister instead of her. She chanced to witness the love between the two of them. Heartbroken she rushed on to the street right in front of an over speeding car. The convalescing period after her near-fatal accident gave her ample tie to dwell on her life. Realization dawned on her that her life was not to be wasted on a man who never reciprocated her love.
In a luxurious villa, under the soft glow of the light, a handsome man was holding an enchanting woman in his arms.
"I've missed you so much!"
The woman's soft body was draped over the strapping young man. He was clearly basking in the woman's flattery. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling, while his large hands slowly wandered on her body.
"I've missed you too, Tia!"
he said, kissing her passionately and hugging her tighter.
"Jerry, when can we tell my sister? I can wait, but the baby in my belly can't wait for too long."
"Crash!"
The sound of glass smashing on the ground appeared to come from the door. Irene An stared incredulously at the two people, who were wrapped in each other's arms. Her big eyes brimmed with tears and she couldn't keep her voice from trembling.
"Wha... What are you doing? Tia, he is my fiance...your brother-in-law!"
Tia An, who was leaning against Jerry Zuo's chest, sobbed loudly. She looked at Jerry Zuo dolefully with tears streaking her beautiful face. Yet, she didn't appear to be guilty or embarrassed about being caught. On the contrary, she looked like she was the victim.
"What fiance? I have never agreed to this engagement! Our mothers made a promise to each other when we were not even born. Don't expect me to honor that promise. We are in the 21st century now. I have never even liked you, let alone marry you!"
Irene An felt like her heart had been stabbed by a knife when she saw the disgust in Jerry Zuo's eyes. She clutched her chest tightly and walked into the room on shaky feet.
"No, don't say that. Our relationship is fine all this while, isn't it? And we, we have already..."
"What? Slept with each other? You came to me. I had no reason to refuse it. So it's your fault," he snapped.
Irene An's face turned pale. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Could this cold, cruel man be the same gentle, considerate man she had fallen in love with?
"I never loved you. I only love Tia," he declared, looking at Irene An as if she was his enemy.
Then he turned to comfort Tia An by stroking her arm. He felt sorry for her and the love in his eyes was undisguised, which only made Irene An feel worse.
"Oh, Jerry!"
Tia An was so thrilled by his gesture that she clung to him desperately and shot a look of triumph at Irene An.
"Irene, I'm sorry. I'm pregnant, so I..."
Tia apologized. Her delicate body trembled as though she was frightened.
"Why did you tell her? Let's go. I don't want her ill-feelings to affect our baby."
Jerry held Tia's arm carefully to help her stand up. His eyes were full of love and adoration.
Watching them leave hand-in-hand, Irene's world came crashing down. She crumbled on to the ground helplessly, struggling to accept the reality in front of her.
"So, Irene! Does it hurt?"
Tia asked in a snarky tone. Irene turned around and saw her evil expression.
"What?"
"I just wanted to tell you the truth. I have been with Jerry for a long time. Our first time together was on his 16th birthday."
Something exploded in Irene's head.
Wasn't that the same year that she had gone to live with the Zuo family? 'Oh my god! I am so stupid! I believed I was the only woman in Jerry's life as we were engaged.'
"And there's more! Do you know why we didn't tell you the truth all this time? You had the shares of the An family, and you also looked after him like a maid. Thanks to you, we could be carefree!"
Irene couldn't take in any more of the venom spewing out of Tia's vile mouth.
Tia's words kept echoing in her mind. A few days ago, on Jerry's birthday, she had done something that she never knew would be her undoing. She had transferred all her shares to him as a birthday gift.
Irene stumbled out of the villa, tears streaming down her face. Her chest felt like a hollow shell. She felt numb.
"Ah!"
The sound of screeching brakes rang in her ears. She had been knocked over and felt a sharp pain. Something warm flowed out of her body. Everything in front of her was dark, and Irene fell into darkness.
"Irene, this is Mrs. Lydia. She will be your new mother from now on."
Irene, who was only five years old, looked up at her father, Tom An, innocently. He was standing in front of her with a woman who was twenty-eight years old.
"Hello, Irene. Look, this is your sister, Tia. She is half a year younger than you! We are all one family now. I think that Irene will be a good sister. Am I right, Irene?"
Lydia Xiao put on a great show of being the perfect wife and mother. She held Tia's hand and walked up to her, pretending to be a caring, loving mother. She reached out to pat her head, but Irene dodged it with a frown.
Her father was very angry with her reaction. From that day on, he gradually began distancing himself from her and instead, he started getting closer to Tia. He doted on her and showed more concern for his step-daughter than his real daughter.
The mother and daughter had schemed to take away everything from her-her father, her family, and, now, even her fiance step by step! The five years of hard work turned out to be a joke in the end.
'Lydia, Tia, Jerry, I will die before I let you be happy,' Irene promised herself.
Her head was throbbing and her entire body felt like it was being crushed by a huge stone. The pain was overwhelming. Even moving her fingers was painful at this moment.
"Ouch!"
"Irene, wake up!"
Came a choked voice through sobs. Irene opened her eyes in surprise.
She looked at the white ceiling and the white curtains, and the smell of disinfectant filled her nostrils. She was dumbfounded.
'What's going on? Shouldn't I be dead after being run over by that car? Could I have survived such a serious injury?'
"Irene, what's wrong with you? Answer me!"
Hearing the woman's hysterical voice, Irene turned her head and her gaze landed on the woman near her.
Irene almost fell off the bed.
The woman in front of her was none other than her mother, Jessica Lin!
Irene was baffled. She scratched her head, trying hard to recollect. 'If my memory serves me right, when I was 16 years old, I was sent away to Jerry's house as his fiance. Mommy had a big quarrel with me at the time because she objected to it. What's more, when I was living with the Zuo family, I had a car accident. Mommy had come to see me, and I had vented on her.' Her mother had been so heartbroken that it affected her health. She was taken back to America by Irene's grandmother and, since then, they had lost contact with each other.
COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE SERIES BOOK ONE: THE 5-TIME REJECTED GAMMA & THE LYCAN KING BOOK TWO: THE ROGUES WHO WENT ROGUE BOOK THREE: THE INDOMITABLE HUNTRESS & THE HARDENED DUKE *** BOOK ONE: After being rejected by 5 mates, Gamma Lucianne pleaded with the Moon Goddess to spare her from any further mate-bonds. To her dismay, she is being bonded for the sixth time. What’s worse is that her sixth-chance mate is the most powerful creature ruling over all werewolves and Lycans - the Lycan King himself. She is certain, dead certain, that a rejection would come sooner or later, though she hopes for it to be sooner. King Alexandar was ecstatic to meet his bonded mate, and couldn’t thank their Goddess enough for gifting him someone so perfect. However, he soon realizes that this gift is reluctant to accept him, and more than willing to sever their bond. He tries to connect with her but she seems so far away. He is desperate to get intimate with her but she seems reluctant to open up to him. He tries to tell her that he is willing to commit to her for the rest of his life but she doesn’t seem to believe him. He is pleading for a chance: a chance to get to know her; a chance to show her that he’s different; and a chance to love her. But when not-so-subtle crushes, jealous suitors, self-entitled Queen-wannabes, an old flame, a silent protector and a past wedding engagement threaten to jeopardize their relationship, will Lucianne and Xandar still choose to be together? Is their love strong enough to overcome everything and everyone? Or will Lucianne resort to enduring a sixth rejection from the one person she thought she could entrust her heart with?
Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"
On her wedding day, Khloe’s sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. She was sentenced to three years in prison, where she endured much suffering. When Khloe was finally released, her evil sister used their mother to coerce Khloe into an indecent liaison with an elderly man. As fate would have it, Khloe crossed paths with Henrik, the dashing yet ruthless mobster who sought to alter the course of her life. Despite Henrik’s cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.
Kaelyn devoted three years tending to her husband after a terrible accident. But once he was fully recovered, he cast her aside and brought his first love back from abroad. Devastated, Kaelyn decided on a divorce as people mocked her for being discarded. She went on to reinvent herself, becoming a highly sought-after doctor, a champion racer, and an internationally renowned architectural designer. Even then, the traitors sneered in disdain, believing Kaelyn would never find someone. But then the ex-husband’s uncle, a powerful warlord, returned with his army to ask for Kaelyn’s hand in marriage.
Iris grew from an orphaned child to the adopted daughter of the Stewart family at age ten, finding warmth in her nominal uncle Vincent's kindness. Seven years later, she became his secret lover. When Vincent's engagement was announced, gossip spread about the notorious playboy CEO finally settling down. But only Iris knew the extent of his cold, two-faced nature. Iris fell for Vincent and, through tears, begged, "Marry me," only to be met with his frosty refusal. Defeated, she accepted a lawyer's proposal, sparking public excitement. Then, on her wedding day, Vincent pleaded desperately, "Don't marry him…"
In order to fulfill her grandfather's last wish, Stella entered into a hasty marriage with an ordinary man she had never met before. However, even after becoming husband and wife on paper, they each led separate lives, barely crossing paths. A year later, Stella returned to Seamarsh City, hoping to finally meet her mysterious husband. To her astonishment, he sent her a text message, unexpectedly pleading for a divorce without ever having met her in person. Gritting her teeth, Stella replied, "So be it. Let’s get a divorce!" Following that, Stella made a bold move and joined the Prosperity Group, where she became a public relations officer that worked directly for the company’s CEO, Matthew. The handsome and enigmatic CEO was already bound in matrimony, and was known to be unwaveringly devoted to his wife in private. Unbeknownst to Stella, her mysterious husband was actually her boss, in his alternate identity! Determined to focus on her career, Stella deliberately kept her distance from the CEO, although she couldn't help but notice his deliberate attempts to get close to her. As time went on, her elusive husband had a change of heart. He suddenly refused to proceed with the divorce. When would his alternate identity be uncovered? Amidst a tumultuous blend of deception and profound love, what destiny awaited them?